Elian's promise kept circling through her mind. That night——at the entrance to the hidden section, the taciturn boy had said "come again." That was all. Just that, and yet Celeste found herself chewing over those words during class, during her shift at the herb shop Rootwork, over and over. When Gale said "you're spacing out today," she felt genuinely awkward. When the blunt shopkeeper pointed something out so sharply, it always felt like he'd hit the mark. "[sarcastic]It's fine to listen to plants, but listen to customers too" "[surprised]I am listening, I am! Um, three bundles of dried Luminous Lavender leaves and one box of sleep tea——" "[sarcastic]That's what I just said" He was right. Celeste bowed apologetically and returned to organizing the shelves. The first floor of Rootwork was always filled with the scent of herbs, and Celeste actually liked it quite a bit. Every time she walked between the herb shelves, the leaves would respond softly——"we're doing well" or "too dried out"——sensations that weren't quite words would reach her fingertips. Celeste had always thought of it as intuition and experience, but today it felt especially vivid. (Why today of all days?) When she thought about the nighttime Garden, her senses seemed to sharpen. It might be her imagination. But it might not be. After her shift ended, she walked down Petal Street. The sun was setting. The edge of the sky was stained orange, and the surface of the Somnia River caught that color and sparkled. Treading on the cobblestones along the riverbank, Celeste looked up at the sky just once. The Garden hadn't appeared yet. There was still a little time until Luminous Hour. Tonight, she would go again. That much was certain. --- She lay on her bed at home and closed her eyes. From downstairs in the living room, she could hear her mother humming. It was a gentle voice. She didn't know the song, but it sounded kind somehow. Celeste listened to that voice for a while, steadying her breathing. She slowly lifted her consciousness. Her body felt lighter. Her spirit body slipped away from the bed—— The Celestial Garden spread before her. A meadow of light. 1,200 dream flowers swayed. Golden hope, blue-violet contemplation, silver-white love, pale pink affection. Each one was born from someone's dream, blooming like constellations in the night sky. Celeste walked toward the meeting place——near the boundary between the Public Bloom at the outer edge and the hidden section. Elian was already there. Hood pulled low over his eyes, arms crossed, standing in the sea of flowers without leaning against anything. Black hair with red streaks, deep crimson vertical-slit eyes. The small tattoo mark beneath his left eye caught the Garden's light and glimmered faintly. His expression didn't change when he saw Celeste. "You came" A brief confirmation. Celeste smiled a little. "[excited]I came. We made a promise" Elian didn't respond and started walking toward the eastern end of the outer edge——in the direction of the withered area. It seemed he wanted her to follow. Celeste jogged to walk beside him. The two of them walked side by side through the meadow of light. When she matched Elian's stride, Celeste had to walk a bit faster. It couldn't be helped——they were more than ten centimeters different in height. "[excited]How many times is this for the investigation?" "……I come every night" "[surprised]Every night!?" "It's my job as the garden keeper" He said it matter-of-factly. Like coming every night was obvious. Celeste fell quiet for a moment. The garden keeper of the hidden section——the role of guarding the non-public section deep within the Garden, alone. Elian had been doing that all this time, by himself. (That's amazing, she thought. But saying it out loud would be embarrassing.) "[gentle]……Thank you for your hard work" Elian's pace faltered for just an instant. His feet almost stopped. But he quickly returned to his normal rhythm. "……It's nothing" --- When they reached the entrance to the withered area, a sensation reached Celeste's fingertips. A sharp tingle. Close to pain, but not quite. It was the sensation she got when plants were trying to tell her something. "[serious]……Hey, Elian. That flower over there, something's wrong with its roots" She pointed at a dream flower three plants ahead. It should have been golden, but its color was slightly dull. The base was just barely dark. Elian took out an observation tool. A thin glowing glass tube——a device used to quantify the state of dream flowers, essential for professional Garden observation. When he brought the tube close to the flower, its faint glow changed. "……The numbers are dropping. Early signs of withering" "[excited]See, I was right!" Elian looked at her for a moment. His expression was blank, but his eyebrows shifted slightly. That alone was enough for Celeste to tell he was surprised. "It could be coincidence" "[sarcastic]Then look at this one" Celeste pointed in another direction, relying on the sensation in her fingertips. "That one too. It looks like it's struggling" When Elian checked, the numbers were dropping again. It continued——three flowers, four flowers. By the fifth one, Elian's stride became noticeably uneven. Celeste could tell. The way the grass beneath his feet swayed had changed. "[excited]See, my intuition is pretty accurate, right?" "……This time" "[sarcastic]Not 'this time'——every time" Elian's gaze slipped away. He looked toward the far side of the flower sea. No response. But that was response enough. Celeste did a small internal victory pose. Very small. The investigation confirmed that three more flowers showing signs of withering had appeared compared to last time. Elian recorded the data and spoke in a low voice. "The expansion pace is accelerating" "[serious]Yeah, I thought so too" The Garden's atmosphere grew heavier. The flowers swayed faintly. Sensations like "help me" reached Celeste's fingertips in bursts, but right now she was more focused on Elian's profile. (He was surprised on the inside, but he'll never admit it. He's so stubborn.) But somehow, that was interesting. --- When they ventured deep into the withered area, the Garden's atmosphere changed drastically. Heavy. Different from before. The light seemed thinner. The flowers stopped swaying. Celeste's fingertip sensations intensified all at once——and changed to "run away." "[scared]Elian, something——" "I know" A low voice. Elian was already on alert. Something crawled across the ground. Black mist. No outline. Darker than the color of night, a mass that seemed to absorb light. A fragment of The Shadow——the black misty presence that appeared in the withered area slid across the ground toward them. Elian immediately grabbed Celeste's arm to pull her back. But the fragment moved faster than expected. It wrapped around Celeste's feet. "[scared]Cold……!" Not cold air. Something different. A pulling sensation, like being swallowed. She heard a voice——faint, impossibly small. In that moment, Elian pulled Celeste toward him with all his strength. Their spirit bodies pressed together. Elian's body heat——warmth she could feel even in spirit form——enveloped Celeste's spirit body. His hood touched her shoulder. The red streaks in his black hair filled her vision. "[cold]Bring your consciousness back, now!" His voice was low, but desperate. Different from his usual blunt tone. It was almost pleading. A shock shook through the entire Garden. The meadow of light flashed white—— --- She gasped and sat up in bed. The ceiling came into view. Her own room. The white blouse she'd worn to Rootwork still had a faint herb scent and was caught in the sheets. Outside the window, the nighttime Garden glowed. The reaction when a spirit body was forcefully ejected——cold sweat, rapid pulse, a tingling sensation at the back of her head. Just as she'd learned at the Flower Keeper Academy. It all made sense. Everything made sense. Then she noticed. The back of her hand was touching something. Because their spirit bodies had been pressed together when they were ejected from the Garden——their hands must have overlapped during the dive. Elian's hand back and Celeste's hand back were touching, just barely. Elian noticed first. He withdrew his hand silently. Celeste noticed a beat later and pulled the blanket up sharply. Silence stretched on. (Wait, just now……something made my heart skip……? No, that's not it! My spirit body was ejected with that much force, so my heart rate just went up! Definitely! That's what it was! And anyway, can you even feel body heat from a spirit body? No, you can't, you can't, I definitely didn't feel anything! I wasn't feeling anything!) Her face was hot. Probably red. She was glad the room was dark. Meanwhile, on Elian's end—— (……Her hand was soft.) His thoughts stopped there. (What am I thinking? I'm a garden keeper. I'm on duty. I'm not the kind of person who cares about the feel of someone's hand. Besides, spirit bodies shouldn't have much tactile sensation……but it was soft. No, that's not the point. That's not the point at all.) Elian's face was hot too. He pulled his hood a bit lower. After a long silence, almost simultaneously—— Elian gave a light cough. Celeste also gave a light cough. Both their coughs echoed in the quiet room at almost the same timing. Then they both realized it, and fell silent again. "[serious]……Are you hurt?" A blunt confirmation. Celeste answered while gripping the blanket tightly. "[serious]N-no. Thank you, for protecting me" "It was a judgment call based on the mission" An immediate response. But Celeste saw it from the corner of her eye. His ears were slightly red. The tips of his ears, visible from beneath his hood, were faintly flushed. (Wait……could it be……?) "[serious]……Anyway, report. Did you sense anything when the black cold came?" Elian switched topics first. His voice was still low and flat, but slightly faster. Celeste had been about to think more about "could it be," but reluctantly set it aside. --- "[serious]I heard a voice when the black cold came" Celeste spoke slowly. "[serious]Help me, it said. It was really faint, but I definitely heard it. Or rather, it was more like a sensation……but something definitely reached me with that meaning" Elian's expression froze. Different from his usual blankness. Something went still. His crimson vertical-slit eyes looked at Celeste. Searching, confirming. "……Say that again. You heard it asking for help?" "[serious]Yeah. The Shadow——could it be that it's not actually a monster, but like, someone's twisted desire or something? Because monsters don't ask for help——" "[cold]……It might be related to why I became a garden keeper" Quietly, almost under his breath. Celeste leaned forward. "[excited]What do you mean?" Elian paused. His gaze moved from Celeste to the Garden outside the window. The meadow of light was visible. Blue-violet dream flowers swayed. "I can't say yet. There are still things I haven't confirmed" "[serious]……I understand. But tell me someday, okay?" Elian's eyes widened slightly. He seemed surprised by her straightforwardness. He probably expected Celeste to say something like "that's unfair" or "why won't you tell me?" But Celeste already understood that pushing wouldn't get her answers. She could tell that about Elian from just two conversations. Besides——he was carrying secrets, yet he was still investigating with her. Tonight, he'd protected her. That was enough for now. "……Yeah" A short, certain answer. Quiet returned to the room. But it was different from before. A warmer kind of silence. --- After they finished discussing the investigation summary, they naturally moved toward parting. Rather than Celeste returning to the Garden in spirit form, the two of them continued their exchange in the real world tonight——even after returning from a sp