章 185: A Letter from the Past

"Since we all agreed to come together, there must be someone who can remember, right?" Elf said nonchalantly, rare for her not to be angry or upset because of Muramasa's reprimand.

Homura thought to himself, 'As long as she isn't called a demi-human, Elf's ability to let things slide is quite impressive!'

"...Leaving that aside, Homura-kun should be able to remember, right?" Megumi spoke up. "Not just the matters concerning the time capsule, but he would probably remember anything the rest of us have forgotten..."

Everyone remained silent.

"In that case, should we consider Homuhomu-senpai as a living time capsule?" Yui suddenly blurted out!

Homura: "..."

What? Do you want to bury me?! Yui, you're quite clever, huh!

No, the topic is derailing. Let's bring it back on track!

"By the way... Yui, don't you want to read the letter?" Homura asked directly.

"I actually want to..." Yui mumbled but continued, "But it's better for Mugi-chan to read it herself... Letters like this shouldn't be read by others..."

"In fact, it's fine for everyone to read it..." Tsumugi felt warmth not only in her body but also in her heart at this moment.

Homura waved his hand. "Mugi, you said you don't even remember what you wrote, right?"

She nodded, and then Homura continued, "In that case, you should read it first... Once you confirm that it contains something that can be shared, then it won't be too late to let everyone read it."

After listening to his explanation, Tsumugi replied, "I understand."

The letter was simply placed inside an envelope, making it easy to retrieve.

Tsumugi looked at her childhood handwriting, unintentionally smiling...

===

A letter to my future self.

Hello, future me! I am the past me... Huh? That doesn't seem right! It should be, "I am the past you!"

Okay! Let's start over! The previous one doesn't count!

Hello, future me! I am the past you!

As you read this letter, how old are you right now?

Are you in your teens? Your twenties? Hopefully, you're not an old granny!

Ah... If you were an old granny, you probably would have forgotten about this letter a long time ago, so it's better to stay young!

I feel like I have so many questions to ask you! Unfortunately, the past me could never know!

We, who have been learning piano since we were little, have you given up on it now? I hope you haven't...

Let me tell you! Recently, I met a boy... What was his name again?

Oh well! I'll just call him Homura-niisan! Even though he's only a year older than me, he always seems so much older and more mature, not like other kids we knew, hmph!

But Homura-niisan is really nice! No matter what I tell him, he never finds me annoying. Even though he doesn't play with me, he always watches over me!

Hmm... Could it be that Homura-niisan likes me? Hehehe~ I'm so happy!

Hmm... I still don't quite understand what it means to like someone, but I suppose it means wanting to be with them?

Forget it... I don't want to think about it! It feels so complicated!

Ah! That's right! I heard from Father that people who like each other can... can, oh yeah! They can get married! Then the girl can become a bride!

Let me ask you secretly... Have you become Homura-niisan's bride? I really want to know...

Huh? Why is Father calling me? Didn't we agree that I could play for a while before writing the letter?

Alright... I can't let Father see this letter! But I've written quite a lot already!

To my future self... I hope you make lots of good friends! And... it would be great if you could become his bride!

===

Tsumugi's expression kept changing, from anticipation at the beginning to warmth, then blushing as she carefully observed the others while protecting the letter. And now, she seemed somewhat embarrassed to show the letter's content...

Leaving the onlookers bewildered...

Homura rubbed his chin and glanced at her expression before looking at the photo...

'Could it be... the content of the letter is related to me?' Homura pondered silently. 'It's quite possible... Otherwise, there wouldn't be a photo related to me in the time capsule.'

'The content of the letter must be something that can evoke such a reaction from Mugi. If it's related to me then...' Homura felt like he had figured it out...

'Truly brimming with the innocence and loveliness of a little girl!' Homura smiled and approached Tsumugi, who had finished reading the letter, reaching out to pat her head.

"Haru, come here for a moment. Do you feel anything again?" Homura said, leading the little one a bit farther away, but only about ten meters.

Tsumugi stood still, originally planning to hide her letter immediately. She hadn't expected Homura to give her a headpat!

"Mugi-chan, what did the letter say?" Yui immediately came closer and asked.

"Eh?" Yui's voice made Tsumugi react. "It didn't say much. I was only six years old at the time, so I couldn't write much."

"But... your face was so red just now..." Yui added.

"Ahaha... well, it was written when I was six, so it felt a bit embarrassing to read. It's natural to blush a little..." Tsumugi explained.

Homura's ear twitched, a speechless expression on his face. Tsumugi's explanation sounded quite plausible.

However, the clever girls among them also noticed something was amiss!

For example, Eriri, who was the first to discover Homura in the photo; Utaha, who was observant; Elf, who was sensitive and intelligent; Megumi, who knew Homura the best... even Yui had guessed something.

Megumi watched Homura crouch on the side talking to Haru and thought to herself, 'Homura-kun must be avoiding putting Tsumugi in an awkward position, which is why he intentionally moved a bit farther away. But this distance shouldn't mean much to Homura-kun's hearing...'

Since Homura acted that way, the clever girls had already guessed the reason but had no intention of revealing it. It was considered Tsumugi's personal privacy.

On Homura's side, he wasn't just giving Tsumugi some space to avoid awkwardness. He was also testing the Explore Skill once again, and this time, the little one sensed a place that was a bit farther away.

"Everyone, shall we continue?" Homura shook the shovel in his hand and shouted to the girls.

"Is there more?!" Elf hurriedly ran over, once again revealing an interested smile. "Surely there won't be more time capsules from other people, right?"

Homura furrowed his brow. "It's unlikely, right? If there were more, they would have to be time capsules from how long ago? From ancient times? By the way... did ancient people have the habit of burying time capsules?"

"In any case, we're still very interested." Eriri also walked over, with others following behind her.

"Moreover, it would be great to find time capsules from ancient times, right?" Nanami added, joining in on the excitement.

Homura nodded. "Indeed, if there were truly time capsules from ancient times, they would be ours once we dig them up."

"It's becoming more and more like a treasure hunt..."