Realizing she had misunderstood why the flowers had withered, Yoshino quickly withdrew her Spirit power and canceled the effects of her frozen puppet. As her power faded, the air shifted rapidly. The moisture visibly thinned, and the dark clouds above slowly began to disperse.
People passing by were baffled—the rain had lasted barely twenty minutes.
"Huh? The rain stopped already?" Ryo noticed the change too, surprised.
Given how overcast the sky had looked, she'd expected the rain to last much longer. It ending so quickly felt almost anticlimactic.
Yuki knew the real reason, of course, but he didn't explain. Ryo still didn't know about Spirits or supernatural powers, so it was better to keep it to himself for now.
"Um… Yuki… big brother…" Yoshino timidly tugged at the corner of his shirt after canceling her ability. Her eyes shimmered with hope as she looked up at him. "What… what should we do to save them?"
She still cared deeply about the wilted plants in the flower bed.
"It's simple. I'll go buy some plant nutrients nearby—that should bring them back." Yuki gave her a warm smile and gently patted her head.
The moment he did, Yoshino's cheeks flushed bright red. Her ocean-blue eyes flickered with shyness as she quickly lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze.
"Oh my, oh my~ Yoshino's getting shy from a head pat! Hehehe… Yuki, you might have to take responsibility now~" Yoshinon let out a teasing laugh, poking fun at both of them.
"Uh… sorry." Yuki quickly pulled his hand back and apologized.
But Yoshino felt a pang of disappointment the moment his hand left. The closer she was to Yuki, the stronger that inexplicable sense of closeness grew.
She didn't mind him patting her head at all—in fact, she loved it. If she could, she'd want him to keep doing it forever. But Yoshinon had ruined it, and for a moment, she felt a little frustrated with her puppet.
"I-it's okay." Yoshino's soft, almost inaudible reply made Yuki smile.
He then asked Ryo to stay with Yoshino while he went to buy the nutrients. Within five minutes, he found a nearby flower shop and picked some up. When he returned, under the watchful eyes of the two girls, Yuki carefully applied the nutrients to the wilted flowers.
"All right. That should do it." After finishing, Yuki disposed of the empty bottles and turned to Yoshino. "They'll need some time to absorb the nutrients and grow back. We'll have to wait. But the nutrients I gave them won't be enough on their own. The real problem is the soil—it's poor quality, which is why the plants are lacking nutrients in the first place."
He went on to explain the root cause. Yoshino listened intently, as if she were in a classroom.
"So… does that mean they need nutrients every day to survive?" She looked thoughtful.
"In theory, yes. But there is another way," Yuki nodded.
"Replace the entire flower bed with fresh, high-quality soil," Ryo answered in his place.
"Exactly. Honestly, this should've been taken care of by the park staff. But for some reason, this place has been neglected, and that's why things ended up like this. Usually, the people in charge of maintaining these parks are from the local government." Yuki looked around at the overgrown park—clearly, it hadn't been maintained in a while.
"Th-then… what should we do?" Yoshino looked a little lost when she heard that government departments were involved.
Once things involved the authorities, it became a lot more complicated. With her kind nature, there was no way she would use her powers to pressure government officials. That left her feeling helpless.
"Ahh, this is the 'adult world' we're talking about. The situation is complicated. Looks like our Yoshino can't do much about it." The rabbit puppet on her hand shrugged, doing a surprisingly good job of expressing helplessness.
"True." Ryo nodded in agreement. When it came to matters involving government agencies, ordinary citizens like them didn't have much say.
Yuki, however, just smiled. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. Leave it to me. In a few days, Yoshino will see this place completely transformed."
He glanced around at the surrounding streets. As it turned out, this area fell within the boundaries of the properties he had purchased before. The park itself was public land, but the entire hundred-kilometer radius around it belonged to Yuki.
So technically, as one of their biggest clients, the local government would bend over backward to keep him happy. All it would take was one word from Yuki, and they'd rush to fix the issue just to stay in his good graces.
"Okay… thank you, Yuki." Yoshino nodded softly.
"Well then, it's time for us to go." With that settled, the group prepared to part ways.
Once they stepped out of the park, Yuki and Ryo said goodbye to Yoshino.
"Will you be okay walking home by yourself?" Yuki asked.
Yoshino gave a small nod. "I'll be fine, Yuki."
"Hehehe~ Well, it wouldn't be so bad if Yuki wanted to be Yoshino's escort. After all, our little Yoshino is so cute—she might run into some trouble out there." Yoshinon covered its mouth with a paw and snickered.
"I don't mind. What do you say, Yoshino?" Yuki shrugged and turned to her.
Though she was tempted, Yoshino shook her head. "It's okay. I know this place well. I go out shopping by myself all the time. I'll be fine."
"Alright. Be careful, then. We'll get going." Yuki nodded, then left with Ryo.
Yoshino watched him walk away, her gaze distant, almost mesmerized. She didn't snap out of it until his figure had completely disappeared.
"Um… what was it I came out to buy again?" She thought for a moment, then quickly remembered. "That's right—I was supposed to buy paintbrushes and pigments for Nii-sama."
"Oh, and new clothes for Yoshinon!" The rabbit puppet waved its little arms excitedly, making sure to remind her.
"Um... but you just got new clothes, didn't you, Yoshinon?"
"It's not enough! I want lots and lots of pretty outfits!"
"I don't think I have enough money for that..."
"Oh? Well, that can't be helped then."
And so, Yoshino continued on her way to the store, chatting with Yoshinon as she walked.