Taking advantage of Air Groove's complete lack of attention toward him at the moment, Mizuno quickly reached out his left hand, pulled over the still-self-satisfied Tokai Teio, and whispered sharply:

"Teio, didn't we agree to keep this secret and not tell anyone else? Why did you bring Air Groove herself over here?!"

Faced with Mizuno's questioning, Teio instead looked genuinely puzzled.

"That's right—I didn't tell anyone else…" Teio tilted her head innocently. "Air Groove-senpai is the one we're trying to help, right? She doesn't count as 'anyone else'…"

"Pff—!" Mizuno almost spat blood.

"Then let me ask you: if you and a friend were secretly preparing a birthday gift for a certain classmate, and your friend told you not to tell anyone, would you call that classmate over to watch you prepare the present?"

Teio thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head, "Nope."

"That's exactly it!" Mizuno clapped his hands once sharply. "Right now, Air Groove is just like that classmate who's supposed to get the present, and what we're doing is the same as preparing a gift for her. Obviously, we shouldn't bring her here before the gift's ready!"

"Ehh?! Was it like that?!" After hearing Mizuno's explanation, Teio immediately realized she'd made a mistake.

She had thought Air Groove-senpai didn't know about the experiment simply because Trainer Mizuno was too busy to inform her.

But now it turned out that Trainer Mizuno had deliberately kept Air Groove-senpai in the dark until results were achieved...

"I'm sorry, I thought it would be better to invite Air Groove-senpai to join us…" Teio lowered her head awkwardly, sheepishly poking her two index fingers together.

Seeing Teio had realized her mistake, Mizuno turned his gaze toward the innocent-looking Symboli Rudolf standing nearby.

This time, he reached out his right hand, pulled Rudolf close as well, and quietly questioned her:

"Luna, Teio didn't get it—but how could you not understand either? Why did you let her bring Air Groove here?"

"Eh...? But I thought Teio's idea was perfectly reasonable…" Rudolf tilted her head, puzzled. "Instead of letting Air Groove continue shutting herself in her room and wasting away, wouldn't it be better to let her get some fresh air at the garden, find something to occupy herself, and maybe speed up her recovery?"

"And what about me?" Mizuno pointed at himself anxiously. "Are you certain nothing will happen?"

Seeing Mizuno cowering anxiously, too terrified to even glance at Air Groove, Rudolf couldn't help but chuckle softly. She confidently patted her chest: "Don't worry. With me by your side protecting you, you'll definitely be safe."

"Guh..." Mizuno seriously doubted Rudolf's assurance.

"Oh right..." Mizuno suddenly recalled another question he had for Teio.

"Teio, how exactly did you convince Air Groove to come here?"

From what he knew, Air Groove had absolutely zero interest in anything other than tracking down that mysterious man. At most, she'd barely forced herself back to the Student Council to help review documents—and even then, her judgment had become distorted by her desperation to find him, approving absurd requests like placing trackers on all Trainers…

Mizuno was genuinely curious how Teio had managed to successfully bring Air Groove here.

"About that…" Teio pouted her lips slightly, recalling last night's events.

"Yesterday evening, I went to visit Air Groove-senpai and found out that she really had been poisoned terribly by that hateful mysterious man. She seemed lost, dazed, not responding no matter how I tried comforting her…"

"But eventually I told Air Groove-senpai, 'That mysterious guy you're looking for is definitely a playboy, and playboys obviously like flowers, right? So if you come to the school garden, you'll surely find him.'"

"So Air Groove-senpai agreed to come with me."

Mizuno: "Ha?!"

Setting aside the ridiculousness of how Teio arrived at the conclusion that "playboys obviously like flowers"...

The crucial problem was that the mysterious man they were talking about really was right here!

Standing right next to them!

Mizuno took a deep breath, calming himself down, then asked slowly, "What if she doesn't find the mysterious man here? Won't Air Groove just become even more depressed?"

"Ahh...sorry, that's my fault...I didn't think of that..." Teio's ears drooped sadly.

But she soon raised her head again, having thought of a great idea:

"Trainer Mizuno, why don't you pretend to be the mysterious man, just to cheer Air Groove-senpai up a bit?"

"Me, pretend?!" Mizuno pointed at himself, utterly stunned.

Nice suggestion—please never suggest it again.

He himself was the actual mysterious man—what use would there be in pretending?!

If Air Groove lost control and ended up stripping off his clothes, would he even survive?!

Mizuno glanced over at Rudolf, who knew the truth about his identity. But Rudolf had her head lowered, biting her lips, clearly struggling to hold back laughter.

Mizuno asked flatly, "Is this funny to you?"

"N-no, not funny at all," Rudolf sternly shook her head, barely containing herself.

"Pfft—" But barely holding back a few seconds, she couldn't help herself, quickly covering her face and laughing helplessly, making a sound suspiciously similar to crying.

"Wuuu…"

Mizuno: "..."

Neither of these two gives me any peace—today I've completely lost to them...

"Hm? Where's Air Groove?"

At that moment, Mizuno suddenly noticed that Air Groove—who'd been standing by the tent entrance zoning out—had vanished without a trace.

Mizuno felt his heart tighten anxiously.

Although, for his own selfish reasons, he really hadn't wanted Air Groove coming here…

But since she'd already arrived on his territory, Mizuno now had a responsibility to ensure her safety—he couldn't afford to let her disappear or get into trouble.

"I think I saw Air Groove-senpai heading over there just now..." Teio pointed toward the greenhouse containing the experimental fields.

"Over there?"

Hearing this, Mizuno immediately rushed in that direction.

As soon as he entered the greenhouse, Mizuno saw Air Groove squatting quietly on the ground, carefully digging up the soil around the dead sunflowers with her bare hands.

Behind her were already several small holes—she seemed to have been digging for quite a while now.

Seeing Air Groove safe, Mizuno let out a small sigh of relief.

Shortly afterward, Rudolf and Teio also caught up, entering the greenhouse.

"Air Groove, what are you doing?" Rudolf asked gently, squatting beside her friend.

"Looking for someone," Air Groove replied quietly, not stopping her digging.

"The mysterious man?" Rudolf asked again.

"Yes..." Air Groove nodded slowly. "I suspect he's hiding underground, which is why these flowers withered."

Air Groove suddenly accelerated her digging, heedless of the dirt staining her clothes. She seemed absolutely determined to keep digging until she'd unearthed him.

Mizuno felt speechless.

Has she started thinking of me as toxic waste polluting the environment—something so poisonous that burying it underground could kill plants...?

"Air Groove-senpai is so pitiful…" Teio murmured sadly, clearly sympathizing deeply.

Just a few days ago, when Trainer Mizuno had disappeared, she'd also turned the entire academy upside-down looking for him...

"Trainer…" Teio tugged gently on Mizuno's sleeve, eyes glistening pleadingly. "Maybe you really should pretend to be the mysterious man and comfort Air Groove-senpai a bit…"

Mizuno narrowed his eyes sharply, crossing both arms in a firm "X":

"Absolutely not!"