"Yes, Air Groove-sensei, I've learned how to listen," Mizuno said to Air Groove.

Though the one I'm listening to isn't flowers, but you…

"That's wonderful…" Hearing the news, Air Groove felt a deep sense of relief and joy.

As a teacher guiding a student from complete ignorance to half-understanding, and finally seeing them master the knowledge fully—the sense of achievement from this was incomparable to anything else!

"Phew…" Air Groove closed her eyes in relief, breathing out comfortably.

"Eh? Trainer, look quickly…" Behind Mizuno, Tokai Teio tugged at his sleeve, seemingly having discovered something incredible.

She tiptoed, leaned close to Mizuno's ear, and whispered quietly:

"Trainer, look, Air Groove-senpai is smiling…"

Indeed, it was exactly as Tokai Teio had said—Air Groove's lips were slightly raised. Though the curve wasn't large, compared to her usual gloomy expression with drooping corners of her mouth, this slight upward curve was especially rare and obvious.

Young Master! Young Madam finally smiled!

"Ahem… I know…" Mizuno coughed awkwardly a few times, then quietly gestured for Teio to stay silent.

In fact, Mizuno didn't need Teio's reminder; he had long noticed Air Groove's subtle expressions and mood.

But Mizuno wouldn't mention it openly. For introverted, withdrawn people, being caught smiling was deeply embarrassing. Once they noticed excessive attention focused on their smile, they would usually force themselves back to a bitter expression, suppressing their joy.

So Mizuno chose to pull Tokai Teio along and play ostrich, deliberately ignoring Air Groove's current smile—letting her enjoy a moment of sincere happiness undisturbed by others' eyes a little longer…

"Trainer Mizuno, what's our next step…?" Air Groove opened her eyes, looking at Mizuno expectantly.

"Mmm," Mizuno nodded, pulling a bottle of Plant Growth Potion from his pocket.

"The preparations are complete. It's time to accelerate the experiment and make a sunflower bloom perfectly."

"Mmm-hmm!" Air Groove nodded excitedly. Teaching Mizuno to listen to flowers' voices had all been for this!

Accelerate the experiment's progress! First, successfully cultivate one sunflower! Then move on to cultivate the more difficult Cereus! And finally… finally… Wait, what was it for again?

Air Groove suddenly froze, unable to remember why she wanted to see the Cereus bloom…

Right! The mysterious man! It was the mysterious man!

She had almost forgotten—the reason she was cultivating Cereus was to lure out that hateful mysterious man and capture him!

"Trainer Mizuno, when do we start?" The mere thought of finally getting her hands on that guy made Air Groove unable to stay calm, her whole body trembling slightly with excitement.

"…" Seeing Air Groove so agitated, Mizuno helplessly shook his head, forced to pour cold water on her fiery enthusiasm.

"Now isn't the best time to cultivate…" Mizuno gazed at the gradually setting sun on the horizon and explained, "It's best to wait until the sun completely sets, at night, when we can use artificial lighting to freely control the amount of UV light the plants receive. Only then is it optimal for cultivating the sunflower."

"And even though we have the [Plant Growth Potion] to shorten the growth cycle, cultivating a sunflower from seed to bloom should still take an entire night—requiring us to stay up late to manage it…"

"So…" Mizuno raised one finger, suggesting, "At this point, let's eat first, and worry about tonight's affairs tonight."

"But…" Seeing success just around the corner, Air Groove was unwilling to stop, wanting to push further.

Yet the sudden growling sound from her stomach instantly choked off the words at her lips.

"Grrr…" A day of fatigue had drained her energy, and even if she desperately wanted to continue, she didn't have the strength left to keep fighting.

"Air Groove-senpai, let's go eat first…" Tokai Teio stepped forward, taking Air Groove's hand and persuading gently, "With an empty stomach, you won't have energy. No energy means you can't run fast, and you can't do your job either~"

"Teio's right…" Mizuno nodded, explaining to Air Groove, "We'll definitely have to stay up tonight. With empty stomachs, we won't last."

"Air Groove-sensei, you don't want to collapse from hunger before even seeing the mysterious man, do you?" Mizuno teased with an annoyingly sly grin.

"Ugh…" Mizuno's words were like a sharp sword, stabbing straight into Air Groove's weak spot.

After careful consideration, Air Groove finally gave in.

"Alright… Let's go eat first…" Air Groove lowered her head, defeated, as if she'd lost all strength.

"But!" she suddenly changed her tone sharply.

"You must promise me, once we finish eating and night completely falls, we'll immediately start cultivating."

Air Groove crossed her arms, turning her head to the side, not even glancing at Mizuno, making it clear she wouldn't move unless Mizuno agreed.

"Alright, alright, I promise…" Mizuno nodded without hesitation.

Air Groove's request wasn't unreasonable; besides, Mizuno himself wanted to cultivate the sunflower as soon as possible. He'd only suggested eating first because the experiment really would be more convenient at night.

Since Air Groove wanted to get right to work after dinner, Mizuno decided he'd humor her and go along with it…

...

Outside the Tracen Academy's Great Cafeteria.

Mizuno stared blankly at the building in front of him, marveling at the miraculous place that provided enough food for all the academy's Uma.

When was the last time he'd come here to eat?

It seemed to have been months ago, when he'd drunkenly handed out his S-Grade Honey Drink to the Uma here like a madman…

Mizuno originally hadn't wanted to come here—he normally didn't need to eat at the cafeteria. He'd just pull out some honey drink from his item space and be satisfied.

But he couldn't expect Air Groove and Tokai Teio to do the same, living on the unbalanced nutrition of honey drink. Thus, he had no choice but to come along with the two Uma to the cafeteria, eating here again after a long absence.

"Let's hurry and finish eating…" Air Groove said, taking the lead entering the cafeteria, planning to just grab something quick to fill her stomach and then hurry back.

Exchanging a glance with Tokai Teio, Mizuno followed after her…