Grow Big!
The next morning, I was woken up by Georges and pressed with, “What did you do? The greenhouse is in chaos.”
I had no idea what was going on until I saw it myself, so I quickly changed and rushed to the greenhouse. The whole family was already there.
“Hardt, what did you do?” Asked Brother Gerald.
“I just gave water to the tonmi.”
Anyway, we headed deeper into the greenhouse together. Soon, we saw one section where the grass had grown so tall it reached the roof of the greenhouse.
Could that possibly be… tonmi?
Brother Gerald looked up with the rest of the family and muttered, “What is that grass…”
“I think it might be tonmi,” I whispered.
Father asked how it ended up like that, so I told him about the slime that loves tonmi and how Maria asked me if it could be used as material to make cool fabric.
“So, you used water magic on the tonmi while saying, ‘Growth Enhancement, grow big!’ and that’s the result?”
“Yes. That’s the result.” I nodded and told Father.
I also explained that although I have the divine protection of the Plant God: Growth Enhancement, I hadn’t expected such rapid growth because my mana level is still low.
Tom, the gardener, brought over the slime that loves tonmi.
The slime happily bounced side to side and headed straight for the tonmi. We followed it to the spot where it was planted.
Without a care in the world, the slime stretched out a part of its body like a thin tendril, snapped off a stalk of the elongated tonmi, and began munching it from the break point.
“This slime really loves tonmi.” Said Brother Gerald.
Now that we understood the situation, we left the greenhouse and headed to the dining hall together as a family.
I was told not to water any plants on my own again, and that I should start magic training with Captain Kyle as well.
I thought I’d be scolded a lot more, but… well, I guess it's fine.
Now, Captain Kyle and I are at the greenhouse.
“It really has grown close to the ceiling.” He said, looking at the tonmi.
After checking on the Tonmi’s condition, we left the greenhouse and headed to a flower bed where nothing was currently planted.
“I’ve had several types of out-of-season vegetable seeds planted here. Try doing the same thing you did with the tonmi.”
I said, “Growth Enhancement, grow big!” and watered the area using water magic.
We’ll check the results tomorrow and left the flower bed.
I asked Captain Kyle about the difference between water magic and the Plant God’s divine protection of growth acceleration.
He said there’s no clear distinction—it’s more about asking or imagining with the blessing.
For example, wishing for wolves to be caught in tree branches, or praying for crops to grow while watering them, or picturing a tree full of fruit while casting magic.
So apparently, what I did was correct. He said the sudden growth was probably due to my high mana amount, and I may have unconsciously released a large amount of it.
Depending on tomorrow’s results, he said we’d consider measures like adjusting my mana output or focusing more strongly on imagery before using magic.
—-------
After parting with Young master Reinhardt, I was on my way back to the knights’ dormitory.
I felt a jolt when he asked if something was written on the tablet on the wagon leaving for the dungeon.
There was, in fact, something written that I hadn’t told anyone.
I was shocked by the title “Savior of the World Tree and Alraune,” but “Guide of Young Master Reinhardt” was even more surprising.
I figured it was because Young master Reinhardt has the same blessing (Plant God: Growth Enhancement), but still, it felt too dramatic. The title as well.
I couldn’t keep both things secret, so I only reported the title.
After returning from the dungeon, I opened the tablet to check my magic level, and the words “Guide of Young Master Reinhardt” had disappeared—
They’d been replaced with “Captain of Young Master Reinhardt’s Guard Knights.”
So titles can change. Still, this new one is better.
Nothing else has changed. When I told Master Alfred (Reinhardt’s father) that new words had appeared on the tablet,
He started to say something, then simply said, “Understood. I’ll be counting on you from here on as well.”
Maybe he realized I had been hiding something.
And now, our unit has officially become Young master Reinhardt’s personal guard.
—-------
The next day, I visited the flower bed and saw that sprouts had come up, though not nearly as big as the tonmi.
“It seems imagery is important too.” Said Captain Kyle.
Ah, maybe because I just said “Grow big, tonmi!” But for the flower bed, I only knew they were vegetables and didn’t know which kinds.
So today, I asked what vegetable each row was. Then, after picturing that specific vegetable, I changed my incantation to “Grow big xx vegetable!” and “Growth Enhancement, grow big xx vegetable!” and watered them.
Looking forward to seeing the results tomorrow.
The next day, I saw that some spots had grown about 5 cm, while others were already ready for harvest.
“Just a difference in imagery and incantation caused this much variation in growt.” Captain Kyle exclaimed. I was just as surprised.
Only one vegetable was harvested to be appraised to see if it was edible.
It occurred to me that this power could be both good (useful in times of crop failure) and bad (if the royal family or nobles found out, they might send me to famine areas or exploit me for land development).
I definitely want to avoid being used for their convenience with whatever excuse they come up with.
I was warned not to use the phrase “Growth Enhancement, grow big!” anymore.
Also, not to tell anyone outside the family—because you never know where information might leak.
Only one of the ready-to-harvest vegetables would be sent for appraisal, and the rest, though a waste, would be buried before anyone else saw them.
Vegetables that grew just a little faster were fine to leave out in the open.
Captain Kyle’s unit will be patrolling the territory for the next few days, so I’ll be watering on my own.
He reminded me to be very careful.
I’ve already caused enough trouble for Captain Kyle and his men, so I just nodded obediently.
“Harvested on day 14, huh? Still better than harvesting on day 2.
Normally, these take two months, so 14 days is already fast. But with the blessing, I think it’s still within the range of what can be explained away.” He said.
“What about you, Captain Kyle?”
“For me, it’s about a month.”
And so, the experiments and training on growth acceleration of plants ended today.
Next, we’ll be practicing manipulating trees in a nearby forest.
What do you think about this chapter?
