Mirai eyes Sora with renewed suspicion. It isn't that she doubted the veracity of his stories exactly. His words could be easily passed off as a tale for a wide-eyed child. The trouble is that he was something completely foreign and unknown. 

If Nozomi’s nature was to view the unknown with wide-eyed wonder, then Mirai’s nature was to regard it with great caution. Given Mirai and Nozomi’s already precarious circumstances, Sora was an unknown variable that could bring trouble at a moment’s notice.

"At least he seems to be capable of communicating now," Mirai thinks to herself. When children learn to speak, communicating by the heart is never the hard part — written and spoken word is, so Sora learning to be understood is not of particular note to Mirai. Though, to Nozomi, it was thrilling to witness.

Now that Sora’s novelty had met its peak, Mirai ushers the trio to breakfast on the first floor of the Inn, determined to send him on his way as quickly as possible.

Mirai fixes her scarf half-mindedly to make sure they are still covering her ears — the fox-like ears of a beastkin. Sora cocks his head, staring curiously at Mirai’s hat. Mirai freezes instantly and blood drains from her face, as she stares back.

“Did he see?”

It wasn’t a secret exactly. The Innskeeper knew she was a tail, but because she was here with Nozomi, the Innskeeper assumed she was simply the young girl’s servant and treated her accordingly. 

But great trouble would be found if anyone learned that Mirai wasn’t Nozomi’s servant. 

One's treatment of a servant reflects their consideration of the master, and no consideration is owed to one without a master.

If Mirai were found out, they might not be able to stay here any longer, or worse, she might be hunted under the pretext of kidnapping Nozomi.

But just as quickly as she froze, Sora smiled and averted his gaze, waiting patiently for her to be ready. 

“Nozomi, protect your heart.” Mirai chides, like a mother training her child to look both ways before crossing the street, still distracted by her brief panic, now self-conscious, double and triple checking that her tail is properly concealed. 

Realizing something, she freezes again frowning. “Sora...”

Nozomi beats her to it. “Sora! You have to protect your heart too!” She says sternly. 

"Huh?" Sora's forehead creases.

“It’s like ...” She pauses, thinking of how to explain how to conceal one’s heart.

The main reason he collapsed the night before was he failed to guard his heart against Mirai’s confrontation.

“It’s like ... when you’re hungry, but you wish with all your might to stop your tummy from growling so that you don’t get embarrased.”

Her tummy, as if on cue, growls, but she doesn't notice. She nods, satisfied with her explanation. “But for your heart not your tummy. It takes a lot of concentration, but I believe in you! You learned how to talk super duper fast after all!” 

Sora pauses and directs his attention inward for a few moments, and asks, “Like this?”

Instantly, Mirai felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over a campfire that had been warming her. She blinks. She didn’t realize how ... comforting this heart's presence was. 

Mirai was used to Nozomi’s hopes entering and leaving her heart freely when they were home together, but she didn’t realize how much she let her guard down around Sora, allowing his to flow freely within her as well.

This surprised her. And it frightened her. 

To expose one’s heart to another’s hopes can leave one open to great peril. In a fight, it can easily lead to permanent damage, if not death. If another’s hopes are to bring harm, and those hopes are strong enough, they will surely bring that harm to the extent that they can. There is no greater vulnerability. 

How could she have been so careless? And twice. Nearly exposing her ears and exposing her heart.

Nozomi looks up at Mirai’s momentarily shocked face and giggles as if she had expected as much.

“Yes yes, that’s it! Very good, very good!” Nozomi preens, as though doting on an exemplary student whose successes were her own.

“Thank you so much, master Nozomi! You’ve helped me learn so much.” Sora laughs.

Mirai softens a bit, regathering herself, and smiles at their exchange, happy to see Nozomi’s joy sparkling freely upon the world. And Sora’s laugh too, cast a light blanket of warmth like before. 

“I guess we can take things in stride.” She concedes to herself, wrestling away the mixture of her emotions.

“Ahem!” Straightening herself out, Mirai declares it time. “Time for breakfast then.”

Sora and Nozomi turn their heads to one another and nod as though stepping forward on a very serious and important mission.