"It seems like there's nothing here!" Elf looked around carefully and shouted.
"Could it be underground?" Muramasa suddenly said.
"That's possible!" Elf's eyes lit up.
Homura smiled and revealed the shovel he had brought along. "It looks like I got this thing right!"
"I remember now!" Tsumugi suddenly realized.
"Mugi-chan... What did you remember?" Yui asked curiously.
"Of course, I remembered this place..." Under the scrutinizing gazes of everyone, she had no choice but to say, "When I was a child, our whole family used to come and play at this villa. We stayed here for quite a while, probably around ten days or so."
"During that time, I made a time capsule. It seems like I buried it here. But because it's been so long, I can't quite remember what I buried exactly..."
As soon as she said that, everyone understood, and they all looked at Haru with strange expressions.
The thing that Tsumugi almost completely forgot about had actually been found by Haru! If this got out, who knows how many people would be astonished!
"Since that's the case, we can't just dig it out randomly," Homura shrugged. "After all, it's Mugi's thing, and only she has the right to decide."
Tsumugi felt conflicted upon hearing this. She wasn't sure if it should be dug out or not. It seemed like... a letter?
There were probably some other small things too...
"Let's dig!" Tsumugi nodded, "I also want to see what I buried when I was a child."
"Alright then, I'll help you dig it out." Homura came to the tree, holding the shovel, and gestured, "I should be careful since I don't know what the time capsule is made of. It would be a disaster if I accidentally damaged it."
Homura cautiously started the excavation, not exerting too much force. Suddenly, he felt something hard under the shovel and proceeded to clean the nearby soil with extra care.
"...What the heck, why is it a stone?" Homura was speechless, he reached out and picked the stone out.
Then, beneath the stone, a plastic box that wasn't too large appeared before everyone's eyes!
"So that's it!" Homura smiled and nodded, 'Mugi was really clever back then! She must have been afraid of accidentally damaging it in the future, so she used a stone to protect it.'
"What's inside?" Yui asked curiously, her face full of anticipation, as if she were about to open the box immediately.
Mio held her back. "Yui, this belongs to Mugi. Only she can decide whether or not to let others see it."
"It's alright. The time capsule I made as a child probably just contains some small toys or something... Maybe..." Tsumugi carefully thought for a moment, "There might also be a letter for my future self."
"Very likely." Ritsu put her arm around Mugi's shoulder. "A letter to your future self is a common thing, isn't it?"
"A letter to my future self..." Elf pondered, "It would probably be a wish. If it were me, I would probably write a letter asking my future self if I became the world's top novelist."
Homura chuckled. "That's so like you."
"Then, let's see it." Homura reached out and took the box, then turned and handed it to Tsumugi. "Mugi, open it yourself."
"Um..." Tsumugi took her own time capsule and gently touched the box. "It's been about eight or nine years..."
"That means the Mugi from back then would have been around six or seven years old, right?" Ritsu raised an eyebrow. "No wonder she can't remember what she buried."
Tsumugi nodded, slowly opening it...
"A toy model of a piano?" Yui discovered the first item.
"And a pretty little stone?" Ritsu mentioned the second item.
"Is this... a photo?" Mio saw the third item.
"And finally, as usual, a letter... a time capsule filled with a girly atmosphere," Homura concluded.
"Huh? This photo?" Eriri noticed something peculiar. "Isn't this Tsumugi and Homura when they were kids?!"
""What?!""
Instantly, it attracted everyone's attention, and Homura also looked over.
There were no particularly unique photos. On top were a little girl and a little boy, each sitting on separate swings. The little boy was just sitting on the swing, but his gaze was fixed on the little girl playing on the other swing, and the girl was smiling brightly!
"That's... a young Minamiya-senpai?" Eyes sparkling, Nayuta stared closely at the photo, not willing to miss any details.
"He looks quite peaceful," Utaha remarked with interest.
Homura scratched his head. "If it weren't for seeing this photo, I wouldn't have remembered this at all..."
"Is there any backstory to it?" Megumi asked, looking at him.
"I remember it was shortly after meeting Mugi for the first time at a banquet. My dad took me to the Kotobuki Family to visit. I don't know what they talked about specifically, but once we arrived at their place, they sent Mugi to me to play together."
Homura slowly recalled the memory, and the others listened carefully.
"Uncle Kotobuki didn't have the butler by his side. Instead, he had him watch over Mugi and me. Right! This photo was taken by the butler, Saito! By the way... Saito took this photo on his own accord. I just didn't expect that you would actually keep it, Mugi."
Mugi blushed slightly. She couldn't even remember it herself, but she didn't expect him to remember it so clearly.
Due to Homura's Photographic Memory, all kinds of memories were usually stored in his mind, needing some triggers to stimulate his memories.
Therefore, whenever certain keywords were mentioned, Homura could recall related things based on those keywords.
"At that time, did you just keep staring at her?" Elf smirked.
"Because Mugi was laughing so happily back then..." Homura nodded, not feeling embarrassed to say, "So it was inevitable that my gaze was drawn to her."
"Oh~ Mugi-chan looks so adorable! Hehe..." Yui giggled while looking at the photo of the young version of Tsumugi.
"This photo... Mugi, do you want to have it back?" Mio asked Tsumugi.
Tsumugi glanced at the photo, then looked at Homura and nodded. "Let's have it back. After all, this time capsule has already been opened. If we're going to put something back, it should be filled with memories of the present, not the past."
"How about we make a time capsule ourselves?" Elf suggested. "On some future day, we can retrieve our current memories. It feels really great, doesn't it?"
"Oh?" Muramasa glanced at her. "Are you sure someone like you wouldn't forget where you buried the time capsule? I doubt it. Then, it would be completely meaningless."
"..."
Everyone fell silent. Muramasa sure knew how to deliver a sharp blow.