"Huh? What's that nonsense?" I asked looking at his sad face. "Although it's true you can't use it to fight, your ability is still incredible," I said, genuinely impressed by Ardel's ability. "Being able to connect with nature like that will be quite the advantage, especially in situations like this. Not to mention, you can develop your own fighting style which suits your ability as well."
Ardel's cheeks flushed with pride at my praise, clearly buoyed by my positive reaction. His expression softened at my words, a hint of gratitude shining in his eyes.
"Th-thank you, Adrian," he said, his voice filled with emotion. "You're the first person to ever say something like that to me."
"Come on, don't say stuff like that. It sounds weird." Really, it was weird.
"Oh, ok."
