Even though Air Groove had accidentally spilled all the potions earlier, fortunately, Mizuno had already noted down today's solution ratios. It wouldn't take him long to prepare a new batch.
To prevent further accidents, Mizuno even found a small cart this time.
He figured, as long as Air Groove put the potions on the cart, she wouldn't spill them again.
"..." Air Groove glanced at the potions on the desk, then back at the cart, suddenly coming up with an idea that Mizuno couldn't have expected.
She reached out, bundled all the potions into her arms, and then sat herself on the cart.
After she finished, Air Groove turned back to Mizuno, as if silently asking him whether she'd done it right.
"Uh, well…" Mizuno wore an odd expression.
Could you say she got the point?
She did put herself in the cart…
But could you say she didn't get it?
After all, weren't the potions technically on the cart now too?
After some internal debate, Mizuno ultimately nodded, giving approval to Air Groove's behavior.
"..." Seeing Mizuno's response, Air Groove's eyes flickered slightly. Her expression didn't noticeably change—it remained as indifferent as before—but her ears on top of her head joyfully wiggled.
For some unknown reason, during the following tasks, Air Groove's frequency of spacing out dropped dramatically…
With Tokai Teio and Air Groove's help, today's preparations for the experiment were completed before noon.
All Mizuno had left to do was wait patiently for half a day until tonight's experimental results came out.
During this idle period, Mizuno decided to pass the time by reading some gardening books.
However, while Mizuno was reading books, the other two Uma were on either side watching him…
On his left sat Tokai Teio, holding another book in her hands. Though she appeared to be reading, her mind was fully on Mizuno.
Originally, she'd intended to just hop onto Mizuno's lap and snuggle up affectionately. But there was another Uma here—a respected school senior, no less—so she didn't dare. Thus, she resorted to sneaking glances every few moments.
On his right stood Air Groove, staring at Mizuno without blinking.
But unlike Tokai Teio's simple desire for closeness, Air Groove resembled a gamer trying to speedrun, standing ready beside him to accept new tasks at any second, just to finish the level faster.
Even though Mizuno had repeatedly told her there was nothing else to do, Air Groove would still occasionally ask in a quiet voice:
"Is there something else for me to do?"
"Ugh…" Mizuno found it utterly impossible to concentrate on his reading.
It felt exactly like when he was about to drift off into sleep, only to suddenly have someone turn on the lights. Simply put, it was torture. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⚫𝙣𝙚𝙩
Unable to bear it anymore, Mizuno had to give her some tasks.
"Could you make me some tea?"
Air Groove quickly brewed him a cup of black tea.
"Could you clean the room?"
Picking up the cleaning tools, Air Groove quickly made the entire tent spotless.
"Could you tickle Teio?"
"Huh?! Why?!" Before Tokai Teio could even react, Air Groove's hands were already at her waist.
"Wait! Hahaha—Air Groove-senpai hahaha—stop it! Hahaha!"
Yet, facing Tokai Teio's pleas for mercy, Air Groove had no intention of stopping, continuing to tickle her vigorously.
Though Air Groove herself didn't quite understand the significance of these tasks, since the Trainer-san asked for it, there must be some deeper meaning. Perhaps this was part of the experiment.
Thinking thus, Air Groove sped up her tickling.
"Hahaha—Senpai, stop it, please—!"
Five minutes later, Tokai Teio slumped weakly onto the table, eyes rolled back, looking completely broken.
Air Groove, after completing her task, once again stood silently beside Mizuno, staring straight at him with her entire face clearly saying: What's the next task?
Air Groove's intense gaze made Mizuno's skin crawl, nearly prompting him to shout out loud: Stop visually assaulting me!
But he knew she wasn't doing it intentionally; she just wanted more tasks to occupy herself. So, Mizuno swallowed those words back down.
Still, having Air Groove constantly staring at him was not sustainable. Mizuno had to think up a lasting solution—a task that would both occupy Air Groove for a good while and keep her from lurking next to him at all times.
After racking his brains, Mizuno finally came up with a somewhat reasonable assignment.
"How about you go out to the experimental field and help me observe the sunflowers' growth in real-time?"
Previously, Mizuno never closely observed the detailed growth process; he always waited a day to inspect the final result to find out why the experiment failed.
This time, letting Air Groove help keep detailed records might reveal issues he had overlooked.
"Understood," Air Groove nodded, accepting immediately.
Watching Air Groove leave the tent, Mizuno heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, he could quietly get back to his book.
But moments later, Air Groove returned again.
"What happened?" Mizuno asked.
"Um…" Air Groove pointed in the direction of the experimental garden.
"Trainer-san, the sunflowers say they're thirsty…"
"Oh, they're thirsty…?"
Mizuno didn't immediately find anything odd, even thinking Air Groove herself might be thirsty and had returned for water.
But upon further reflection, he suddenly realized something was very wrong.
"Wait a minute! WHO said they're thirsty?!"