Faced with Mizuno's request, Air Groove furrowed her brows uneasily.
It wasn't that she didn't want to teach Mizuno, but rather that listening to the flowers' voices was something even she herself couldn't quite explain clearly—something she wasn't sure could even be taught…
And besides, she and Mizuno weren't close.
Even lifelong friends sometimes struggled to accurately convey their true thoughts. With just the relationship they'd developed in one single day, she doubted very much if she could teach this unfamiliar Trainer-san how to sense the flowers' feelings.
Therefore, Air Groove remained silent for a long time, deeply conflicted about whether or not she should agree.
After all, this ability wasn't something from a textbook, learnable by memorization. It was born from her childhood habit of tending flowers, and even after more than a decade of practice, she could only faintly perceive their whispers.
If she agreed—then how should she teach it?
Did it mean she had to ask this Trainer-san to also spend a decade growing flowers?
That was obviously unreasonable, taking far too long.
Then…should she refuse?
But what if learning to hear the flowers' voices was actually an integral part of this Trainer-san's research? If she refused him, the research might stall, making it impossible to capture the mysterious man…
Either scenario was something Air Groove didn't want to see happen, and so she couldn't make a choice at all.
"Nn…" Air Groove's delicate eyebrows drew tightly together. She bit her lip anxiously, her hand subconsciously gripping her tail and pulling at it forcefully, as if the pain could ease her stress even just a little.
"Wait—wait, no need to go that far…" Seeing Air Groove in such distress, Mizuno quickly spoke up to reassure her.
The truth was, Mizuno's request to learn how to hear flowers had just been a spur-of-the-moment whim, not something he absolutely needed to succeed at.
If he managed to learn it, great—it might speed up his research progress. But even if he didn't, it wouldn't matter. Hearing the flowers' voices was never part of his original plan, so it wouldn't affect the experiment at all.
However, Mizuno was startled to see how extreme Air Groove's reaction was. It was clearly a minor issue, yet to Air Groove, it seemed as weighty as the trolley problem—like failing to find a perfect solution would forever haunt her conscience.
But there were no perfect solutions in this world. Gaining something inevitably meant sacrificing something else. Pursuing perfection blindly would only drag one deeper into a mire disguised as flawless outcomes.
Perhaps…this was exactly why Air Groove was currently so listless when doing anything, yet became excessively intense when actually attempting something…
Mizuno lowered his gaze thoughtfully, sensing he'd caught a crucial insight to untangling Air Groove's knot, though precisely how to do so…he hadn't yet figured out.
Fortunately, Mizuno wasn't prone to stubbornly drilling down dead ends the way Air Groove was right now. Even if he couldn't think of the solution at this moment, perhaps after a good night's sleep tonight, the answer would pop into his head tomorrow morning.
For now, the most important thing was to handle what he could do.
For instance, calming down the anxious Air Groove before him…
Thus, Mizuno gently grasped Air Groove's hand, preventing her from further tugging at her own tail.
Then he softly reassured her:
"You don't need to get so anxious. Whether or not I manage to hear the flowers' voices won't affect the experiment. At most, it's just an extra bonus. You can teach me however you think best, without worrying about the outcome."
"But…" Air Groove wanted to explain to Mizuno that listening to flowers wasn't so simple—without at least several years, he likely wouldn't even scratch the surface.
But Mizuno had already anticipated the difficulty. Rather, the entire idea of hearing flowers' voices was absurdly fantastical in the first place, something he'd never even imagined possible before today.
Instead of worrying he might fail, Mizuno was far more amazed by the mere possibility that he could actually learn it!
Thus, Mizuno quickly interjected:
"No worries. I consider myself a fast learner. Even if something is extremely difficult, I'll still be able to grasp at least the basics. Just teach me what you can; I'll handle the rest." Mizuno confidently thumped his chest.
Though she didn't know where Mizuno's confidence came from, seeing his assured attitude—acting as if nothing was beyond his ability—slightly calmed Air Groove's anxious heart.
"Alright…I'll try…" Air Groove nodded to Mizuno, her voice betraying deep uncertainty, while her hand unconsciously moved once more towards her tail.
"..." Mizuno didn't say anything else. Instead, he simply reached out his hand, gently stroking Air Groove's back, providing silent comfort.
Though touching Uma had always been an absolute taboo for Mizuno, seeing Air Groove so deeply tormented, Mizuno broke his own ironclad rule without hesitation.
His heart was racing frantically, yet he forced himself not to reveal even the slightest bit of discomfort. To ensure he didn't transfer his nervousness to Air Groove, he pushed down his anxiety entirely. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Hah…hah…" Under Mizuno's gentle touch, Air Groove took several deep breaths, gradually releasing her tight grip on her tail, then slowly raised her gaze to meet Mizuno's eyes.
Though Air Groove's heart was still somewhat troubled, she was in far better shape than just moments earlier.
The Trainer-san in front of her seemed to possess a mysterious power. Although it was just a simple touch, even through his gloves, Air Groove clearly felt the warmth radiating from Mizuno's hand.
This warmth was like sunlight, gradually melting the icy glacier trapped within her chest; and like a spring breeze, scattering the mist that obscured her path ahead, making her feel safe again.
Air Groove wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but the comforting warmth emanating from this Trainer-san felt strangely similar to that mysterious man who had appeared so suddenly before the Three Goddesses' statue that day…