"WHO said they're thirsty? THE SUNFLOWERS?"

Mizuno wore an expression full of disbelief, suspecting Air Groove might be joking.

But Air Groove making a joke seemed highly improbable.

So Mizuno began to wonder if he'd misheard, or perhaps misunderstood her meaning entirely.

Maybe the "sunflower" Air Groove mentioned wasn't a plant, but rather an Uma named "Sunflower"…

"Hmm…I want to ask something…" Mizuno rubbed his chin, speaking with a bit of hesitation:

"This 'Sunflower' you mentioned…is it male or female?"

"Huh?" This time, it was Air Groove's turn to wonder if there was something wrong with her ears.

Sunflowers had gender distinctions?

"I'm not sure…" Air Groove shook her head uncertainly. "But generally speaking…aren't sunflowers usually hermaphrodites?"

"It's actually the flowers?!" Hearing Air Groove's response, Mizuno finally confirmed he'd understood correctly—those "sunflowers" she was talking about really were the ones they'd planted in the experimental garden!

At this moment, no matter how calmly Mizuno usually handled things, he couldn't sit still.

But Mizuno's first thought wasn't that Air Groove could understand the language of flowers. Instead, he immediately suspected that the sunflowers in the experimental field might have mutated…

Because the moment he heard the words "the sunflowers said they're thirsty," the first thing that came to his mind was the smiling sunflower cannon fodder from Plants vs. Zombies.

After all, the reason he'd chosen sunflowers for the experiment in the first place was because he'd played that game, and he held a special affection for sunflowers—mainly as cannon fodder.

Could it be the potion he'd concocted this time had some kind of problem, mutating the sunflowers into some sort of flower spirits that could now complain aloud about being thirsty?

And was this mutation good or bad?

Hopefully, these sunflowers wouldn't turn out not only incapable of defending humanity but instead open their gaping mouths to devour brains—that would be terrible…

"They…ah, forget it." Mizuno originally intended to ask Air Groove for more details, but after thinking it over again, decided it'd be better if he checked personally.

Pulling out a shovel from his dimensional pocket as a precaution, Mizuno hurried over to the experimental garden.

But when Mizuno stepped into the greenhouse, the chaotic scene he'd imagined—a bunch of sunflowers loudly crying out for water—didn't appear at all.

Instead, everything was tranquil. Apart from the crisp bird songs drifting in from outside, there wasn't a sound—let alone sunflowers talking.

After this period of growth, the sunflower seeds had sprouted green shoots two or three centimeters above the soil. With growth-promoting solution dripping steadily from the drip irrigation system, the plants were silently growing at speeds barely noticeable to the naked eye.

Everything appeared completely normal.

"Where…where's the flower spirit?" Mizuno stared blankly at the peaceful scene, the shovel in his hand rendered completely useless.

"Trainer-san? What's wrong?"

Air Groove had followed him inside. Seeing Mizuno's disappointed appearance, she tilted her head in confusion.

Didn't she just say the sunflowers were thirsty? Why had Trainer-san brought a shovel instead of water?

"Didn't you say, 'the sunflowers said they're thirsty'?" Mizuno asked.

"Mm…" Air Groove nodded.

"Then…how exactly do you know that?"

"..."

Air Groove lowered her head thoughtfully, seeming unsure of how to answer.

"Sometimes…I can hear the flowers' voices…"

Mizuno: "Huh?"

Hear the flowers' voices?

Wasn't that the sort of thing fantasy stories gave to elves? How did an Uma like her manage that?

"Hmm…how should I explain…" Air Groove placed a hand on her chest, as if trying to sense something.

"It's like a feeling. Maybe after growing many flowers, you become able to sense their voices…"

Mizuno: "..."

Really? Then why had he planted tens of thousands of flowers over the past few days yet never heard their voices at all?

"Trainer-san, look here…" Air Groove pointed at a sunflower by her feet, explaining to Mizuno, "This sunflower thinks the soil here is too hard…"

Then she pointed to another sunflower in the greenhouse corner, which happened to be out of the sunlight's reach, "And that one feels a bit cold…"

Finally, Air Groove pointed seriously toward the sunflowers in the fourth experiment plot and said:

"They're the ones who said they were thirsty earlier…"

"Hmm…" Mizuno stared intensely at the sunflowers Air Groove had pointed out, concentrating with all his might, trying to sense their voices.

But after a few moments, he gave up.

Because what Air Groove described was simply too fantastical—Mizuno couldn't comprehend it at all.

To him, these sunflowers appeared identical, with no sign whatsoever of emitting signals or "voices." He simply couldn't feel them.

Still, Mizuno decided to trust Air Groove, taking out a watering can to water the sunflower seedlings.

He watered them for roughly three minutes—each sunflower received at least one liter of water—until Air Groove finally spoke again:

"That's enough now…"

Mizuno set the watering can aside, squatting down to carefully observe these newly watered sunflowers, hoping to notice something special.

Unfortunately, he didn't spot any significant changes. The stems and leaves looked just slightly fuller than before.

Without close observation, who could possibly know they'd been thirsty?

Then, Air Groove's soft voice suddenly sounded behind him:

"Thank you…"

"Hm?" Mizuno turned his head, confusedly looking at Air Groove.

He was the one watering the flowers, why was she thanking him?

"It wasn't me…" Air Groove shook her head slightly, clarifying, "I was only relaying their message…"

"Their?" Mizuno's eyes widened in shock. "You're saying they thanked me for watering them?"

"Yes…" Air Groove nodded, squatting beside him, gently stroking the sunflower seedlings' tender leaves. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

"Although, as plants, they don't know of our existence, nor where the water comes from…they still feel a special kind of emotion towards this water that appeared suddenly…"

Air Groove raised her head, gazing towards the sun above the greenhouse.

"This emotion feels similar to when they bask in the sun's warmth, so I believe it means gratitude…"

"!" Mizuno stared silently at Air Groove's profile, too stunned to speak.

He'd assumed that when Air Groove said she could hear flowers, she merely sensed their basic conditions. He never imagined she could understand their specific feelings in such detail!

This ability was way too convenient!

If only he could also hear the flowers' voices anytime, immediately knowing their needs—whether nutrients or environmental changes—then he wouldn't have to spend so much time experimenting through trial and error like he did now.

"Could you…teach me how?"