After that, Shizuku drove back to the office. When they saw her return, Mayu Hinase, Shizuku, and the others came over to greet her.
"Welcome back."
"I'm back... Is something wrong?"
"Yes."
At Shizuku's question, Mayu Hinase nodded, then brought over a cardboard box.
"This was just sent by Miss Asou Misaki. There's also a letter."
"Oh...?"
Curiously, Shizuku took the letter and opened it, then looked over its contents. Inside were a photograph and several sheets of letter paper. The main content described how Asou Misaki and the others had been living since returning, as well as their plans for the future. There was also a photograph attached—Asou Misaki, Tsukimori Sonoka, and Minazuki Ruka were all smiling in it. It was clear that what had happened on Rougetsu Island had not affected them too badly.
As for the cardboard box...
"I found this while sorting through the branch family's warehouse. These are things left behind by our ancestor, Asou Kunihiko. I don't think we have any use for them anymore, so I'll leave them to you, Miss Kasugano, to handle."
I see.
"Mr. Asou Kunihiko's belongings?"
After hearing Shizuku read the letter aloud, Mayu Hinase was quite surprised. Although she had known nothing about the man before, after learning that Asou Kunihiko had invented the Camera Obscura, she had developed some interest in him. But she had not expected Asou Misaki to send her ancestor's belongings here... Clearly, she no longer wanted anything to do with this sort of thing.
Driven by curiosity, everyone opened the box. Most of what lay inside were records and photographs, along with some Camera Obscura blueprints and parts. Apparently, Dr. Asou Kunihiko had been an inventor as well—though if he had lived in modern times, he would definitely have been one of those