The flower hadn’t lied.
Neither had the System.
Arianne stood silently inside the greenhouse.
Her eyes moved between the tiny spirit flower…
And Erin.
The same words lingered in her mind.
Condition: Not Yet Met.
“…”
There had to be a reason.
Flowers didn’t simply stop growing.
People didn’t either.
Something…
Was preventing them.
“…Lady Arianne?”
Erin’s voice gently pulled her back.
“You’ve been staring at that flower for a while.”
Arianne blinked.
“Oh.”
“I was just thinking.”
Erin smiled faintly.
“I do that a lot too.”
She carefully picked up the small clay pot.
“It hasn’t grown.”
“…Not even a little.”
Arianne looked at the tiny sprout.
“It still looks healthy.”
“It is.”
“I check it every day.”
“I water it.”
“I replace the soil.”
“I even move it so it gets more sunlight.”
Erin lowered her eyes.
“But…”
“It never changes.”
“…”
For some reason…
Those words sounded painfully familiar.
Almost…
As though Erin wasn’t talking about the flower anymore.
Arianne knelt beside her.
“…Do you like flowers?”
Erin nodded immediately.
“They don’t compare themselves.”
“They don’t laugh because another flower grows faster.”
“They just…”
“…grow when they’re ready.”
Arianne quietly smiled.
Master Conrad would’ve liked that answer.
Just then…
A breeze drifted through the greenhouse.
Several flower petals floated into the air.
Erin instinctively reached out to catch one.
“…Pretty.”
Arianne watched the small smile on her face.
It was different.
Natural.
Not forced.
“…”
Maybe…
The first thing Erin needed…
Wasn’t training.
It wasn’t another instructor.
It wasn’t another evaluation.
Maybe…
She simply needed someone…
Who believed she could still grow.
The System quietly chimed.
[Synchronization Increased.]
[3% → 5%]
Arianne’s eyes widened.
“…”
She hadn’t taught Erin anything.
She hadn’t used a skill.
She hadn’t even completed a quest.
They had simply…
Talked.
The corners of her lips slowly lifted.
“…I think I’m finally starting to understand.”
Arianne returned to the greenhouse the next day.
And the day after that.
It slowly became a habit.
Some days…
She helped water the flowers.
Other days…
She simply sat nearby while Erin worked.
They didn’t always talk.
Surprisingly…
They didn’t need to.
The silence between them was comfortable.
“…”
One afternoon…
Erin carefully transplanted a tiny spirit herb into a larger pot.
Her movements were slow.
Deliberate.
As though she were afraid of hurting it.
Arianne watched quietly.
“…You’ve done this before.”
Erin nodded.
“My mother taught me.”
“She says healthy roots are more important than beautiful flowers.”
Arianne smiled.
“…She’s right.”
Erin gently pressed the soil into place.
“…I like taking care of them.”
“They never complain.”
“They never tell me…”
She stopped herself.
“…”
Arianne didn’t rush to fill the silence.
She simply waited.
After a long moment…
Erin quietly laughed.
“Sorry.”
“I was saying something strange.”
“I don’t think so.”
“…”
Erin looked at the flower instead.
“When I was younger…”
“I thought if I trained hard enough…”
“…I’d eventually catch up.”
“I practiced every day.”
“I never skipped.”
“I listened to every instructor.”
Her fingers tightened slightly around the watering can.
“…But nothing changed.”
“The mana inside me stayed exactly the same.”
“So…”
“I stopped wondering why.”
Arianne’s chest tightened.
A ten-year-old…
Had already given up asking questions.
“…”
“Does it still hurt?”
Erin blinked.
“What?”
“…Not growing.”
The greenhouse became quiet.
Even the breeze seemed to disappear.
After what felt like forever…
Erin smiled.
It was a gentle smile.
The kind someone wore after making peace with something they couldn’t change.
“…Not as much as before.”
“I think…”
“…I just got used to it.”
For some reason…
Those words hurt far more than tears would have.
Because no child should ever have to get used to giving up on themselves.
The System quietly shimmered.
[Synchronization Increased.]
[5% → 8%]
Arianne looked at the notification.
Then at Erin.
“…”
She was beginning to understand.
The Spirit Gardener didn’t nurture power.
It nurtured hope.
That evening…
Arianne couldn’t stop thinking.
Not about Erin’s rank.
Not about the Ashvale family.
About one sentence.
“I just got used to it.”
“…”
She hated those words.
Not because they were wrong.
Because they came from a ten-year-old.
Ellis’s notebook lay open across her desk.
Master Conrad’s lessons echoed in her mind.
“A seed blooms in its own season.”
Ellis had written…
“A gardener prepares the season.”
The two men had never met.
Yet somehow…
They believed the same thing.
Arianne rested her chin on her hands.
“…”
“If growth is locked…”
“…then something is acting like a lock.”
She froze.
A lock.
Every lock…
Needed a key.
The thought lingered.
She immediately called up her Status.
The familiar blue screen appeared.
[Main Quest]
[The Second Seed]
[Synchronization: 8%]
[Seed Formation: Unavailable]
Still nothing.
No new hints.
No explanation.
“…”
“You’re really stubborn.”
As if responding…
The screen flickered.
One new line slowly appeared beneath the quest.
[Current Objective: Discover the Condition.]
Arianne blinked.
“…That’s it?”
No directions.
No location.
Just…
Discover the Condition.
She laughed.
“…You’re making me do all the work.”
The System quietly disappeared.
Outside…
The evening breeze carried the scent of blooming flowers through her window.
Arianne looked toward the garden below.
Then…
Her eyes slowly widened.
“…”
Flowers.
Master Conrad had once told her…
“No flower blooms without the right environment.”
Sunlight.
Water.
Healthy soil.
None of those were the flower itself.
They were…
Conditions.
“…”
“What if people are the same?”
Perhaps…
Erin didn’t need more mana.
Perhaps…
She didn’t need another instructor.
Perhaps…
She simply hadn’t encountered…
The one condition her growth had been waiting for.
A slow smile spread across Arianne’s face.
“…”
“Then let’s find your season.”
Far across the city…
Erin carefully placed another tiny flowerpot onto her bedroom windowsill.
She quietly whispered…
“Good night.”
To anyone else…
It looked like she was talking to a flower.
But for the first time in years…
Somewhere…
Someone had begun searching…
For the reason she couldn’t bloom.
End of Chapter 19