ep [3] for whom?

Welcome to Flower Laundry!

Hello, Sonia. I’m sorry to come in after closing.

Hi, Yodaka-shan. Are thingsh going alright at the bar?

Yes. We’re already past our peak hours, so my employee’s keeping watch over it. Is Netaro here yet?

He wash reading shome booksh and making shome weird noisesh over there, but I think he fell ashleep.

Hm… Yes, he’s sprawled out on the floor with a book over his face. The Mask of a Friend, How to Stop Being a Good Person… He seems to be quite lost.

Oh, my.

Yodaaaaaa…

Oh, you were awake the whole time. Okay, I’m going to shtart closing up shop, so feel free to pick out the flowersh you want for your bouquetsh.

Alright. Thank you.

Netaro, judging from your selection of books here, you must be quite worried and upset. You should get up off the floor for now.

Good grief. Here, give me your hand.

Hup.

Aahh, now the world has returned to being vertical.

Ryui told me what flowers he and Toi chose back at my bar just now. We should pick something different from them.

……

…Is there even any point to this, I wonder…? A flower bouquet is incapable of closing his wounds. I’m not certain if he’d ever forgive me…

…Did you figure out another plan from the books you were reading?

I read approximately 200 books, but the human mind is still complete and utter nonsense to me… Three-body problems are far simpler to comprehend.

Every human acts individually, so they find it hard to cooperate with each other. It would be better if they could simply come together and form a hivemind. That way, there would be no need for arguments or forced compromise.

That is how things were done in my hometown, so this is all just very…indirect and bothersome.

…You’re talking about Earth, correct?

Aaahhhwahh, I was talking about a show I watched with Toy the other day!

I see.

You watch shows with Toi quite often, Netaro.

Mm! Toy prefers romance shows, and I like any genre, as long as it concerns the feelings of love and hate. Both of those emotions are very novel to me, so I am quite curious about them.

Is that so?

Did you know that every flower has a meaning behind it?

A meaning?

It’s called flower language. For example, from what I know… Roses represent love. They’re a great choice when you’re looking for a gift for a partner.

Hohhh…

Humans are unable to parse each other’s thoughts. It’s incredibly difficult to fully understand each other, and even twins who share the exact same genes may house differing emotions and thoughts.

So we must repeatedly communicate with our words in order to express gratitude, love, and sincerity.

But even those words are incredibly flawed.

They are. That’s why we express our love by commenting on the beauty of the moon and our feelings by giving flowers. Finding a way to express the emotions that we can’t portray through words alone requires constant trial and error.

You said that you found communicating with others to be “indirect and bothersome”, but don’t you find a sense of beauty in it as well?

Hm…

I see. So it holds value precisely because it is indirect and bothersome.

Yes, and I believe that the shows you watch with Toi take the elegance of the human heart and turn it into entertainment.

Interesting.

That must be the reason why I find love and hate to be so fresh and charming!

Yodaaa, thank yooouuu! Things are much clearer! Now I can make a bouquet to express my words flawlessly!

Mhm.

What does this one mean?

Let me look it up. Hmm, gerbera means kindness.

And this one?

A sunflower. In flower language, it means “I only have eyes for you”. It’s quite common to see out-of-season flowers at the florist these days.

What flowers are you going to select?

Let me see… Hmm….

…Yoda, you do not seem like the type of person to participate in arguments very often. Because you always choose to be alone.

…Who’s to say?

Well, you did not pressure me to speak about my hometown earlier, for example.

Well, that’s because…

(I know very well that it’s better to simply remain unaware of the world’s mysteries.)

Perhaps that’s what I am lacking.

I read that the correct way to approach human relationships is to draw a distinct boundary between yourself and others while making sure you never cross it, and vice versa.

So I am a bit surprised that you suggested we create bouquets.

……

Haha, you see me as quite heartless, don’t you?

Have you ever sent somebody flowers before?

No, I’ve only experienced it second-hand.

From whom?

My mother. She often decorated the house with the old white lilies she received from my father. Whenever I looked at those flowers, I knew that they would remain in my heart for years to come.

Did you live separately from your father?

Huh… No, they…

But your mother decorated the house with old flowers from your father, correct?

……

So if your father ceased giving your mother white lilies, would that not make him heartless in turn?

They’re still…happily married and living together… I think.

You think?

I haven’t contacted them in a while…

Why not? Did you have an argument?

No, it’s just…

(My head…)

You’re a human. Are you not worried about whether or not your family still exists?

…Netaro.

Hm? Does your head ache?

Yes, a bit…

I see you holding your head like that on occasion. And you often doze off, so could it be that⁠—

Be quiet…!

!

……

……

…I apologize. My head…hurts.

……

(He left…)

(…The pain’s starting to fade away…)

……

A bottle of Yippie! Green Tea… Is this for me?

……

Ah… It’s okay, you can speak.

Pwah… Phew…

Perhaps I misread yet another boundary.

Netaro…

Did I hurt you, Yoda?

No, it wasn’t your fault. I just…

I get these awful headaches whenever I think about my past. I thought I was just imagining them for the longest time, but…

Hm…

Yoda, nothing in this universe is purely a result of your imagination. Everything has a root cause.

…I know.

I know, but I don’t want to find that out. I’m afraid that finding out will destroy the treasured sense of tranquility I have.

I feel as if I’ll cease to be myself…

I’m sorry for telling you all of this when there’s nothing you can do.

That is fine.

Gii made me realize that the truth is not kind to humans. It has the power to destroy them.

I do not usually like to ignore things and let them be, but, Yoda, if that is what you desire, I will do my best to refrain.

After all, you cannot be put back together once you are broken.

…Thank you.

This one heeeeere… Done!

I am as well.

I hope these will make Gii smile.

Those feelings are sure to reach Nagi. I know they will.