"Huh? That's what you meant?" Mizuno let out a sigh of relief, realizing he'd misunderstood—he'd thought his real identity had been discovered.

"What else did you think I meant?" Air Groove asked, puzzled.

"Ahem, nothing…" Mizuno coughed awkwardly, quickly changing the topic. "So, what exactly is this method you've found to help us understand the flowers' feelings?"

"It's very simple!" Air Groove excitedly pointed at her own chest:

"Touch me."

"…" Mizuno froze completely, certain he must've misheard.

"Touch me," Air Groove repeated clearly, and only then did Mizuno realize it wasn't his imagination.

"Hah?! Touch you?" Mizuno exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, right here." Air Groove again pointed seriously at her chest, her expression entirely earnest, without a hint of joking.

"This…isn't appropriate…" Mizuno tried to pull his hand back, but Air Groove's grip on his wrist was ironclad, impossible to escape.

Even worse, Air Groove began pulling Mizuno's hand toward her chest.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Air Groove replied innocently.

She thought, after all, Mizuno was also a girl. Just lightly touching her chest shouldn't be an issue at all.

But Mizuno minded! How could he, a grown man, touch a girl's chest?!

"No way! Absolutely not!" Mizuno firmly refused, mustering all his strength to resist Air Groove's forceful tug.

Although Mizuno excelled at lying—able to fabricate even elaborate tales such as being a gender-identity-disordered girl—he had a firm bottom line. He would never use lies to take advantage of someone else, especially a kind-hearted Uma like Air Groove.

"…" Seeing Mizuno's stubborn refusal, Air Groove suddenly thought of a very strange question:

If someone was biologically female but identified as male, and then fell in love with another girl…was that homosexual or heterosexual?

"But if you don't touch me to feel my heartbeat directly, I won't be able to teach you how to hear the flowers' voices…" Air Groove said seriously.

"Does it really have to be touching?" Mizuno asked, struggling weakly.

"It absolutely has to be touching…" Air Groove nodded solemnly, then immediately started pulling Mizuno's hand toward her chest again, not caring if he agreed or not.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Seeing he couldn't overpower her and was moments away from forcibly touching the softness of her chest, Mizuno quickly blurted out, "If it's just about feeling your heartbeat, then I can do that from your back as well!"

"…" Hearing this, Air Groove paused briefly, blinking innocently. "I suppose that makes sense…"

Mizuno: "…"

Seizing this brief moment while Air Groove was still in thought, Mizuno quietly withdrew his hand, rubbing his aching wrist with lingering fear.

That was close—I almost became a genuine pervert…

"I'm sorry… I was too impulsive…" Air Groove lowered her head, self-blaming over her earlier recklessness.

At the same time, she gained another level of respect for Mizuno.

"Because she identifies as male due to a gender identity disorder, even with permission she won't casually touch another girl's chest…" Air Groove murmured thoughtfully, her respect for this peculiar Trainer-san growing significantly…

Meanwhile, Tokai Teio, who'd been silently watching Mizuno and Air Groove's commotion from the side, was filled with a vague sense of irritation. After all, Mizuno was her Trainer. She wanted to interact a tiny little billion percent more with him herself.

Normally, seeing another Uma flirting with Mizuno like this, Teio would absolutely rush over and assert her dominance immediately.

But right now, Air Groove-senpai was unwell—having a bit more interaction with others would probably help her get better sooner…

So, Tokai Teio could only pout slightly to express her dissatisfaction, quickly hiding her feelings before gently asking Air Groove:

"Air Groove-senpai, are we supposed to feel your heartbeat now?"

"That's right…" Air Groove nodded. "Teio, you can touch my chest. Trainer Mizuno…you can feel it through my back."

"Alright!" Tokai Teio cheerfully agreed, placing her hand firmly on Air Groove's chest without hesitation.

After a brief hesitation, Mizuno placed his palm gently against Air Groove's back, close to her heart.

Though feeling the heartbeat from her back was less distinct than from the chest, Mizuno could still clearly sense the gentle, rhythmic thump-thump transmitted through Air Groove's body.

"Air Groove-sensei—"

Just as Mizuno was about to ask what came next, Tokai Teio suddenly interrupted:

"Air Groove-senpai, what does this 'jiji-chuchu' feeling represent?"

"It means uneasiness!" Air Groove stared at Tokai Teio, her eyes widening in shock. "Teio, you can really sense it?!"

"Yes, I can!" Tokai Teio nodded earnestly. "I even heard the 'pawuu~' sound! Senpai, you must feel happy that I can hear your feelings, right?"

"Exactly, exactly!" Air Groove's surprise grew even greater at Teio's precise answer, nodding frantically like a little chick pecking grain. This was the first time she'd felt genuinely happy since that day…

"Yay~!" Seeing she'd guessed correctly, Tokai Teio raised her hand and cheered excitedly.

Meanwhile, Mizuno, standing behind, stared at the excited Uma pair and let out a confused sound:

"Hah?"

Mizuno scratched his head bewilderedly, utterly baffled at how Tokai Teio had succeeded so quickly.

No, wait—how had she even done that?

Wasn't it extremely unscientific to be able to distinguish different emotions just by feeling someone's heartbeat?!

As Mizuno sank into existential confusion, Air Groove had already moved onto guiding Tokai Teio through the next step.

Air Groove: "Now I'll try to sense this sunflower seedling's feelings. Teio, use me as your intermediary and try feeling it too."

Tokai Teio nodded firmly: "Okay!"

Air Groove: "I'm feeling this one now. What do you hear?"

Tokai Teio: "Mumu-shu-pa…"

Air Groove: "Exactly! That means it's thirsty. It needs water…"

Air Groove: "And what about this one?"

Tokai Teio: "Yii! Umu!"

Air Groove: "Correct! It's feeling cold and wants sunlight…"

Mizuno: "?"

Seeing Tokai Teio making progress at an astounding rate, Mizuno had no choice but to close his eyes and seriously concentrate again.

Yet no matter how deeply he focused or how long he waited, he simply couldn't hear anything remotely like "Yii! Umu!" He could only faintly sense Air Groove's normal heartbeat through her back…

Mizuno couldn't help suspecting whether this unscientific telepathy was something only possible between Uma…