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Tsukinomori Girls' Academy - Vegetable Garden

SoyoAre you going to plant something again?

MutsumiYes, bitter melon.

SoyoSounds good to me.

MutsumiThank you...

SoyoHuh?

MutsumiI heard you... watered them while I was away from school.

SoyoAh... yeah. Only when I noticed. The cucumbers didn't really grow well in the end, though.

MutsumiNo. That was my fault for stopping halfway.

SoyoHow long have you been taking care of this garden? It's been quite a while, right?

MutsumiTake this...

SoyoA notebook...?

Mutsumi"My" Observation Diary.

Soyo(She's been writing this for a long time...)

Soyo(The first page is...)

Middle School, First Year - Spring

Mutsumi...

SakikoAnd then, Mother and Father... What are you looking at, Mutsumi?

MutsumiThe plants... they're all withered.

SakikoOh... you're right. It looks like a senior from the gardening club used to take care of them...

SakikoBut it seems no one is tending to them now.

MutsumiI see...

SakikoThat's a little sad, isn't it?

MutsumiYes...

MutsumiIt's full of weeds...

MutsumiThere's something... sprouting in the weeds...!

MutsumiI need to water it...

MutsumiWhere is the faucet?

Soyo("June 13: Watered it with a watering can." "June 17: Pulled the weeds." "June 20: Borrowed a gardening book from the library.")

Soyo(It's such a simple diary, just dates and little notes... But she kept writing in it all this time.)

Mutsumi(The first cucumber came out a little crooked, but... Saki still said it was amazing.)

Mutsumi(Watering it, fertilizing it, setting up stakes...)

Mutsumi(I'm only taking care of it because I want to. It's not like anyone asked me to.)

Mutsumi(But when I take care of it... it grows. The leaves, the stems, the flowers... they all perk up.)

HousekeeperMilady, here is the cucumber you asked me to slice. I really did only slice it, though. Is that all right?

MutsumiYes, thank you.

Mutsumi...

MutsumiIt tastes like cucumber...

Soyo(Since she started high school... there are barely any entries.)

Soyo(Ah, right. That was around when Mujica started.)

Soyo(This is the last page...)

Soyo"Maybe I will try growing something new."

SoyoThe rest of the pages are blank...

MutsumiSo, bitter melon this time.

SoyoI see. Something new, then.

MutsumiYes.

Soyo(Thank goodness... After everything she went through, she's managed to settle down this much.)

Soyo(She's acting like her usual self at school, and the band made their comeback. I'm sure she's okay now... but...)

Soyo(Mortis-chan hasn't been showing up lately...)

MutsumiWhat?

SoyoNo... it's nothing.

Soyo(I should leave this to Saki-chan and the others. There's probably nothing more I can do...)

MutsumiThe bitter melon should be ready by summer.

MutsumiIt's bitter, but I think it'll taste good.

SoyoYeah...

Soyo(I'm sure... I'll see Mortis-chan again.)

SoyoIt'd be too bitter raw. Maybe we could make bitter melon stir-fry?

MutsumiYes.