Time Treasure Box

"According to records, about seven years ago, Shuchiin Academy had a tradition of burying a time treasure box under the tree, and then alumni would dig it up after graduation to see what wishes or feelings someone had written at that time. It even became a tradition, a special lesson in collective class action."

"At that time, it wasn't buried in this labyrinth garden, but in the backyard of the teaching building. When the school was renovated and the trees were uprooted, this tradition ended on that day, and all the iron boxes buried beneath it were destroyed."

"This one in my hand might be the only time the treasure box was still buried at the school seven years ago."

Shinichi looked at Mafuyu, who didn't want to face that reality.

"Why is it the only one left? And why wasn't it buried in the designated place, but in this labyrinth garden?"

"The reason is very simple. According to school records, there was a student who was absent on the day of the event for some reason. She only received the time treasure box from the school after the incident."

"This incident was the Japanese junior skating competition. She won first place but missed the opportunity to bury memories with everyone else."

"Strangely, she also received a Time Treasure Box, but on the day of the school renovation, her name was not on the record sheet for receiving the Time Treasure Box."

"No one found it until now. For some unknown reason, she buried the treasure box under the cherry blossom tree next to this stone pavilion and kept it tightly closed for seven years."

Shinichi looked at Mafuyu. She seemed to have given up and couldn't say anything.

"As embarrassing as I am, I can't dig up soil and objects hidden by other students, can I? But I want to leave memories for this regretful young man, so I can only find a suitable reason."

"When that student encountered difficulties, sadness, or things she didn't want to face, she would sit in this stone pavilion and look at the sky."

"Watch the cherry blossoms in spring, listen to the crickets in summer, see the leaves fall in autumn, and enjoy the snow in winter."

In this bitterly cold winter, Mafuyu didn't curl up but looked towards the sky.

There was no rain or snow, time seemed to stop in the night sky, even the wind slowly subsided.

She had seen such a scene before.

But this time, there were two students beside her.

Not alone.

"...This is one of the few beautiful memories she has, that's the reason."

Mafuyu looked at Shinichi calmly.

"How do you know that I buried the treasure box here? I don't remember telling anyone about it, and even the school wouldn't have any records."

As she said this, she acknowledged that the student was herself.

It was pointless not to admit it. These two knew everything they should know, so it's better to face the past honestly.

Mafuyu now felt resigned to herself.

"Kirisu-sensei, do you still remember?" Shinichi showed a strange smile, "What you said half a year ago, the day we met each other behind the teaching building on the corner leading to the labyrinth garden."

"That day?" Mafuyu frowned slightly, she really couldn't remember such a small thing clearly.

Seeing her expression of distress, Shinichi stopped pretending and immediately recounted the event in his memory:

"I met you, and you asked me if I was going to the Labyrinth Garden. I said I found a nice place to have lunch there. After you taught me not to neglect my studies because of puppy love, I said with a bit of nostalgia. I thought I didn't hear it, so I immediately dismissed it."

After he finished speaking, not only Mafuyu but also Itsuki opened her mouth in surprise.

"Asada-kun, you remember it too carefully..."

"It's nothing." Switching to a smile at Mafuyu, Shinichi's tone of voice was very serious.

"Besides, I'll never forget my meeting with Sensei that day."

"Mhm..."

Mafuyu blushed slightly, but didn't lose her composure; she was about to say something.

"No choice. Sensei took notes, found her skirt torn, fell to the ground, and put on a tragic expression 'My career ends here.' How could I forget that famous scene... She even asked me to help smooth things over. Seriously... Pftt hahahaha-"

Shinichi couldn't help laughing at the last part himself.

The other two women didn't smile at all and looked at him with cold eyes.

"Asada-kun, this is the worst... Kirisu-sensei, you can hit him as much as you want, I won't stop you this time."

Mafuyu took a deep breath; fortunately, the December air was very cold, effectively calming the burning anger in her body.

"Forget it, I don't want to argue with this 'kid,' I just want to laugh it off and let it go."

When Shinichi heard this, he immediately stopped laughing.

"Kid?"

Itsuki was completely helpless, holding her forehead and sighing, "Asada-kun, it's time for you to stop making dirty jokes..."

"I didn't say anything dirty. Itsuki, are you misunderstanding again?"

Itsuki: "..."

Now, she wanted to replace Mafuyu and hit this person twice.

"Alright, I understand the cause and effect."

Mafuyu waved her hand, drawing their attention to her side.

"You knew that day that I had been to... the Sakura Pavilion, and deduced from the information that I took the Time Treasure Box but didn't bury it in the designated place, so you came here to dig for three hours?"

She glanced at the ground; indeed, not only under the cherry blossom tree, there were also many soft areas nearby that looked very exhausting.

Just to dig up her time treasure box, this man tried so hard... Mafuyu didn't know whether to admire his perseverance or teach him a lesson for wasting time.

"Right. I got lucky. I thought Kirisu-sensei buried something, so I didn't dig up the whole place."

Shinichi said casually, Mafuyu looked at Itsuki again.

"In that case, Itsuki-san, are you his accomplice?"

"Ahahahaha, it's better to say the opposite..." Itsuki scratched her cheek in embarrassment and whispered, "I did ask Asada-kun, but he did almost everything, even digging. He didn't allow me to help. In the end, I only did a little work, and I'm really ashamed..."

"Why did you ask him to do that? For what purpose?" Mafuyu looked at her in wonder.

Before she could think carefully, a possibility suddenly flashed through her mind.

"...Itsuki-san, if you're threatened, just blink and tell me."

"That's right!"

Itsuki was stunned. Mafuyu had just urged them to be more serious, and now she threw out a joke like that.

Shinichi felt sad.

Itsuki adjusted her expression and tone to be slightly more serious.

"As I said at Asada-kun's house, to discuss the future and dreams with a teacher, I asked him to gather information about you and find out what happened to you in the past... I know this is wrong, so I think it's okay to apologize repeatedly."

"I just hope you can give me a chance."

Itsuki looked at Mafuyu calmly and spoke earnestly.

"I want to open my heart and communicate with you, Kirisu-sensei."

Mafuyu stared at his clear gaze in silence, and after a few seconds, she slowly turned away.

"...I have nothing to communicate with you, and it would be foolish to open my heart to you."

"Digging up things that others want to hide and forcing them to face the past will only widen the gap between both parties. You have chosen the wrong method."

She coldly rejected Itsuki's request.

Mafuyu still didn't want to face it.

She had always been running away, her talents and dreams like rolling stones, forcing her to panic and flee until now, to no avail.

She had no reason to accept that naive approach.

"In that case, forgive me for being rude."

Perhaps she had already guessed the answer, so Itsuki showed no surprise.

Instead, she opened her hands in front of Mafuyu, trying to stop her.

Mafuyu was startled at first, then realized something was wrong, and looked towards Shinichi behind her.

At the same time, Itsuki shouted loudly.

"Asada-kun!"

"Received!"

Shinichi cleared his throat, then slowly unfolded the letter.

"Yo-You...!?"

Feeling what they were about to do, Mafuyu's eyes widened, her scalp tingled, or rather, she felt goosebumps all over her body. Like before, she was ready to snatch the letter from his hand, or at least tear it up so it couldn't be read.

However, this rare act of violence against Mafuyu was still firmly stopped by Itsuki's gentle touch.

"In that case, I will read it!" Shinichi said with a serious expression.

"No, don't! Stop!" Her face pale or red, Mafuyu could only stretch out her hand powerlessly.

Feeling guilty, Itsuki hugged her gently and spoke softly.

"Don't worry, we're not secretly recording."

Mafuyu: "..."

(I just realized now that you two, president and vice president, are just a pair of demons!)

(Is it something you learn or something you've had since birth?)

Reluctant as she was, the next moment, the contents that made Mafuyu's entire body stiff slowly echoed in this serene and beautiful scene.

"This is a letter—"