Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 29 Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

After school that day, having finished her cleaning duties, she ran into Rei-sama as she walked past the third-year cla.s.srooms.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh - . Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi quickly checked Rei-sama's appearance as she said her greeting. Rei-sama wasn't carrying her school bag, but she was wearing her school coat.

 

 

 

 

 

"Have you just arrived? Or are you just about to head home?"

 

 

 

 

 

Usually, the second option would be the most obvious given the time, but Yumi knew that Yoshino-san had walked to school alone today, so she thought she check just in case. And then, as suspected:

 

 

 

 

 

"Just arrived."

 

 

 

 

 

Was the response. Because of entrance exams, results publications and all kinds of other formalities, students who were applying to other universities were often absent or came and went at odd hours. Even Rei-sama's handbag would probably have a manila envelope with the name of a university printed on it somewhere in there.

 

 

 

 

 

"Have you finished what you came to school to do? If so, won't you join us at the Rose Mansion?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah, I was planning on heading over there next. I've just come from the staff room, so I have nothing left to do here."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama had taken hold of her arm and was about to walk off when Yumi hastily called her to a stop.

 

 

 

 

 

"Wait, please. I was just going to visit my onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi said, pointing at the third-year pine group cla.s.sroom. She wasn't just aimlessly wandering around. She had a purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

"Sachiko?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama tilted her head.

 

 

 

 

 

"If you're looking for Sachiko, I ran into her earlier."

 

 

 

 

 

As she said this, Rei-sama repositioned Yumi's arm so it was pointing in the opposite direction to the third-year cla.s.srooms.

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh? Where?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Just as I was going through the main gate. In front of the library entrance."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was glad she had met Rei-sama here. Without that piece of information, she would have been searching blindly. But after she'd taken a single step forward, this time it was Rei-sama that called her to a stop.

 

 

 

 

 

"I know you want to chase after her, but she might have got on the bus already."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama explained that quite some time had elapsed since she had seen Sachiko-sama. Looking at her watch, Rei-sama said, "I went to the staff room after I left Sachiko, and I talked to my teacher for about ten minutes."

 

 

 

 

 

"So, in other words, she's probably gone home. My onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi said, in a miserable sounding voice.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep. Why, had you arranged to meet?"

 

 

 

 

 

"...We hadn't, but..."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had come here because they hadn't made any arrangements. She had thought it would be a simple matter of heading to Sachiko-sama's cla.s.sroom straight after cleaning and catching her there.

 

 

 

 

 

"This time of year, there's hardly any third-years around because of entrance exams. So our cla.s.s will use the homeroom and self-study periods to do the cleaning."

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

Not only that, some third-year cla.s.ses would alternate who had to clean each day, since they had a smaller area they were responsible for. Satou Sei-sama had told her that long ago, but it had slipped her mind.

 

 

 

 

 

"Sachiko said she had some things to take care of."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh."

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly, Yumi felt drained.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, just like our onee-samas before us, we generally won't visit the Rose Mansion now that we're on the verge of graduation."

 

 

 

 

 

So that's how it was. Rei-sama patted her on the shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

That's how it was. Yumi understood, having experienced it last year.

 

 

 

 

 

Moreover, the main topics of conversation at the Rose Mansion were currently the third-years' send-off and the farewell party for Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida. The seniors probably didn't want to get in the way, knowing their juniors would be busy preparing for these.

 

 

 

 

 

Still, Yumi had a faint expectation that they should come, if only for today. She thought her onee-sama would have felt the same, and been waiting in her cla.s.sroom for Yumi to invite her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, you'll have to make do with me for today."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama smiled brightly, and nudged Yumi gently in the back.

 

 

 

 

 

"Let's go!"

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps she intended to sound like a steam train's whistle. Incredibly enthusiastic.

 

 

 

 

 

"Rei-sama, have you heard about the farewell party?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, I've heard of it. Sat.u.r.day week, right? After the send-off. Yoshino told me about it, maybe a week ago. Seems like you started preparing quite early this year."

 

 

 

 

 

"Because of what happened last year."

 

 

 

 

 

They both giggled, knowingly.

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly one year before, the current members of the Yamayurikai had the bitter experience of almost completely forgetting about the private farewell party for the Roses. Back then, they were able to salvage matters by hurriedly organizing the party after the third-years' send-off, which was for all graduating students.

 

 

 

 

 

"Very dignified of you."

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi accepted the compliment without humility. Learn from your mistakes. Turn calamity into opportunity. If they were to repeat the same mistake, would their onee-samas really be pleased to have started such a tradition?

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh yeah, is Yoshino doing okay?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi turned to look at Rei-sama as she answered. Rei-sama leaned over and whispered in her ear:

 

 

 

 

 

"This morning. Did she make it on time? The results for one of my entrance exams were published this afternoon, so I thought I'd have a leisurely sleep-in. But there was a shout from next door that was loud enough to wake me. It was Yoshino, shouting 'I'm laaaate.'"

 

 

 

 

 

"She made it just in time for the morning prayers."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, that's a relief. The last thing I heard was, "Rei-chan you idiot,' so I was afraid that she was going to blame me for being late."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahaha."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi could picture it. Yoshino-san flying out of her house, blaming everyone else and poor, innocent Rei-sama bolting up out of her bed in confusion.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, suddenly, Rei-sama came to a stop. Like a train carriage decoupled from the engine, Yumi too came to rest.

 

 

 

 

 

"I am glad that she's feeling better. I just wish she'd show a bit more restraint."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi heard the somber voice coming from behind her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh."

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan. Please look after Yoshino."

 

 

 

 

 

Ambushed.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi hadn't been mentally prepared to hear a last will and testament.

 

 

 

 

 

"You and Shimako-chan are the only two people I can ask this of."

 

 

 

 

 

It seemed to Yumi as though Rei-sama had said, 'Because Yoshino doesn't have a pet.i.t soeur,' but the sound itself was drowned out by the thud from Rei-sama's brow impacting on the nape of Yumi's neck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The White Rose Soeurs, Yoshino-san and Touko, formerly Touko-chan, were already present in the Rose Mansion's second floor room.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, you're here, Rei-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san spared only a quick glance at the appearance of her beloved Rei-sama. Instead she grabbed Yumi, who had arrived with Rei-sama, by the arm and walked her over to a corner of the room.

 

 

 

 

 

"Could it be, could it possibly be..."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san whispered furtively.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, umm."

 

 

 

 

 

"When I arrived, Touko-chan and Noriko-chan were cleaning the room together. Then when they finished cleaning, they started preparing tea."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, I'll explain properly."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had asked everyone to come to the Rose Mansion after school to introduce someone, but she hadn't said anything more. Or, rather, she had carelessly forgotten to mention that she was now a grande soeur. Thankfully, her level-headed pet.i.t soeur had taken the right approach.

 

 

 

 

 

"It was impossible to get anything out of her. Noriko-chan wasn't saying anything either. Shimako-san looked as though she suspected something, but was politely pretending not to notice. We were all just waiting anxiously for you to arrive."

 

 

 

 

 

So the moment Yoshino-san saw Yumi, she just couldn't contain herself and came rushing over.

 

 

 

 

 

"I have to make a formal report."

 

 

 

 

 

Upon hearing this, Yoshino-san let go of Yumi's arm, as if to say 'Go ahead.'

 

 

 

 

 

"A report to everyone."

 

 

 

 

 

"Sachiko-sama's fine with it?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I spoke to her at lunchtime."

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

It was a shame that she had gone home before Yumi had a chance to invite her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Touko."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi invited her over. Yoshino-san let out a small squeal of delight when she saw what was happening, but Yumi continued, unfazed.

 

 

 

 

 

"I, f.u.kuzawa Yumi, and Matsudaira Touko, have today performed the rosary ceremony, making us officially soeurs. As soeurs we're very new, and still a bit raw around the edges, but please watch over us fondly. Please take care of us."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi and Touko both bowed deeply.

 

 

 

 

 

When they both simultaneously raised their heads, they were greeted with applause and congratulations from their friends. The greatest joy was the gift of happiness.

 

 

 

 

 

There had been plenty of doubts along the way. Yumi truly believed that this day was only possible due to everyone's support.

 

 

 

 

 

"Noriko?"

 

 

 

 

 

Touko suddenly dashed out from beside Yumi. Looking over at what was happening, Yumi saw tears streaming down Noriko-chan's face. Plonk, plonk. Like drops from the G.o.d of crybabies.

 

 

 

 

 

"Noriko's ecstatic."

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san said. Noriko-chan was unable to speak because her throat was blocked from crying, so instead she nodded her head repeatedly in agreement.

 

 

 

 

 

"Noriko."

 

 

 

 

 

Touko embraced her friend.

 

 

 

 

 

"Just like a baby."

 

 

 

 

 

Touko joked, but Yumi could see the sparkle from a teardrop that had formed in the corner of her eye.

 

 

 

 

 

Just for a moment.

 

 

 

 

 

Then Touko adjusted her bangs and used that opportunity to wipe her tear away with her fingertips.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thought Touko would have been better off not hiding it. That would have been honest.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh... If I may."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama had her hand raised, as though she were in cla.s.s.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm overjoyed that I could be present on such an auspicious occasion. It's not at the same level as this major news, but may I also make an announcement?"

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone urged Rei-sama to continue, whereupon she beamed happily.

 

 

 

 

 

"I, Hasekura Rei, have today made it safely through the entire university application process."

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, she had completed all her entrance examinations and received all the results.

 

 

 

 

 

"So, how did you go?"

 

 

 

 

 

There was tension as the question was asked, then Rei-sama made the peace sign with her right hand.

 

 

 

 

 

"All pa.s.sed."

 

 

 

 

 

"Woo."

 

 

 

 

 

"Incredible."

 

 

 

 

 

It was just modesty to suggest this wasn't big news itself. It's no wonder she was in such high spirits. The sense of relief from knowing that she had finished her exams and pa.s.sed would have Rei-sama on a high.

 

 

 

 

 

"So, have you decided?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san asked, meaning which university Rei-sama would go to. Since she only had one body, no matter how many universities had accepted her she could only attend one.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm still undecided. I'm going to give it some serious thought tonight."

 

 

 

 

 

"Humph."

 

 

 

 

 

Based on her bored response, there was no doubt that Yoshino-san found this uninteresting. Since there was no chance that Lillian's Women's University would be amongst them, they were all the same to Yoshino-san.

 

 

 

 

 

At any rate, everyone raised their black tea in a toast. The happiness multiplied, joyously, and everyone shared a laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

Even so, Yumi regretted that her onee-sama could not be there. If Sachiko-sama had known how enjoyable a time they would have, surely she would have postponed whatever it was she was doing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day, after school, Yumi was in the newspaper club's clubroom.

 

 

 

 

 

"How times change."

 

 

 

 

 

Someone said, letting out a theatrical sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

"Who would have thought that the day would come when a future Rose would volunteer material to the Lillian Kawaraban."

 

 

 

 

 

It wouldn't have mattered if she had remained seated, but the pony-tailed student deliberately stood up and turned her back on the computer she had been using. Both arms open, talking in a loud, clear voice. - She was in fine form.

 

 

 

 

 

"It's been a while since we've talked, Minako-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had initially recoiled from this unexpected meeting with someone who had seemingly been lying in wait, but she could still manage a greeting.

 

 

 

 

 

"You seem to be in a good mood."

 

 

 

 

 

"Indeed. My mood is incredibly good."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was surprised, so Mami-san whispered into her ear:

 

 

 

 

 

"My onee-sama was accepted into her first choice university."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, is that it."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had come here because she had something to talk to Mami-san about. It wasn't something secret, so Yumi didn't mind that there might be other club members here who would overhear their conversation. And then that one student with her back to them had suddenly turned around and said, 'How times change.'

 

 

 

 

 

That person was Tsukiyama Minako-sama, the former head of the newspaper club and former editor-in-chief of the Lillian Kawaraban, the one who had pa.s.sed all this responsibility on to her pet.i.t soeur, Yamaguchi Mami-san.

 

 

 

 

 

On a somewhat related note, Mami-san and Yumi were in the same cla.s.s so they could have talked in their cla.s.sroom. However, Yumi had something to say to Mami-san in her capacity as editor-in-chief of the Lillian Kawaraban and not as a cla.s.smate, so going through official channels meant coming to the newspaper club's clubroom.

 

 

 

 

 

The supposedly-retired Tsukiyama Minako-sama moved in front of Yumi, brushing aside the person she had originally been talking to.

 

 

 

 

 

"The newspaper club is delighted to take you up on your offer."

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, so cheeky of her to act as the newspaper's representative. The real representative, Mami-san, was smiling ruefully beside her. Understanding her onee-sama's personality, Mami-san seemed content to let Minako-sama continue until she had worn herself out. Hurriedly abandoning the battlefield, Mami-san started looking over some doc.u.ments.

 

 

 

 

 

"So, to sum it up, you want to use the Lillian Kawaraban to announce that you have taken a pet.i.t soeur. That's what we're talking about, right Yumi-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes."

 

 

 

 

 

Reluctantly, Yumi decided to continue talking to Minako-sama. It didn't matter who she was actually talking to, as long as Mami-san was in the room she would hear and Yumi might still be able to achieve her goal.

 

 

 

 

 

"Just something small, in the corner of the Lillian Kawaraban, would be fine."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi made a small gap with her thumb and index finger, about the size of an azuki bean, as she said this.

 

 

 

 

 

"Something small?"

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama's eyes sparkled.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. Something small."

 

 

 

 

 

Annoying. Yumi hadn't really known what would be considered something small. Perhaps she should have started with something the size of a sesame seed.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ho-hohoho."

 

 

 

 

 

Suddenly, Yumi heard loud laughter. Naturally, the source of this was Minako-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

"No can do, Yumi-san. You are Rosa Chinensis en bouton. Can the gigantic news that you have taken a pet.i.t soeur be let go of that easily? I certainly wouldn't be able to let it go. It's the will of our readers. The public demands it. It's comparable to my earlier article with Sachiko-san, 'Exclusive Interview with Rosa Chinensis! She Tells All About Her Pet.i.t Soeur,' - no, I think it needs even more s.p.a.ce than that. In that case, we have no choice. For something this big, we have to replace next week's edition with a special devoted entirely to the birth of the Rosa Chinensis en bouton soeurs - "

 

 

 

 

 

"We can't do that, onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san interjected.

 

 

 

 

 

"What?"

 

 

 

 

 

Drunk on her own words, Minako-sama suddenly turned on her pet.i.t soeur and bared her fangs.

 

 

 

 

 

"What, indeed. Next week's edition is the special about the Valentine's Day dates."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san said coolly, without looking up from the doc.u.ments she was reading. Incredible. She was still paying attention to their conversation even as she carried out her other work. Yumi let out a sigh of relief, now that she no longer felt Minako-sama's intensity pressing down on her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Then we'll b.u.mp the dates to the next issue."

 

 

 

 

 

"Even though it's the graduation special edition?"

 

 

 

 

 

Not even Minako-sama would be willing to cut back on the graduation edition. And what would happen if they postponed the date special for two editions? Freshness was key, after all.

 

 

 

 

 

"We put an announcement about the date special edition in this week's edition. And I've already received the first report for publication in next week's paper."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san said, lightly tapping the ma.n.u.script she held in her hand.

 

 

 

 

 

"Incidentally, since we're on the subject, this is the report for the Rosa Chinensis en bouton soeurs' date."

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, the report that Touko had submitted. Touko had given her a copy of the report yesterday, as she was about to go home, and said, 'Please read it.' Yumi had given Touko the okay when they met in the hallway earlier today, so it looked like Touko had handed it in not long after that.

 

 

 

 

 

"No matter how big a scoop it is, I won't slight someone who has gone to all this effort writing a report."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san turned to her onee-sama and forcibly expressed her opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi did feel a bit sorry for the hyped-up Minako-sama, but all this could have been avoided if she had just agreed to a small notice in the corner saying, 'Rosa Chinensis en bouton has chosen Matsudaira Touko as her pet.i.t soeur.' Something about the size of a wedding announcement in a regular newspaper.

 

 

 

 

 

But Minako-sama wasn't about to give up.

 

 

 

 

 

"If you're to be the editor-in-chief of the Lillian Kawaraban, that's exactly what you'll have to do, Mami."

 

 

 

 

 

Her reasoning was hard to follow, but basically she was saying that emotions shouldn't play any part in her decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

"The value in a topic is in how fresh it is. You have to publish it now, while people still are unaware of it."

 

 

 

 

 

"Anyway, let's suppose I did find some way to fit it into next week's edition."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san sighed, then continued.

 

 

 

 

 

"By that time, most of the student body would already know about it."

 

 

 

 

 

"Then publish it this week."

 

 

 

 

 

"Surely that's impossible."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi too raised her voice. It was just absurd. She didn't know exactly how long it took to make an edition of the paper, but you had to get all the data for a story, then write it up, then proofread it and finally print it. Today was Tuesday. The Lillian Kawaraban was usually published on Wednesday, although it could vary depending on circ.u.mstances. Even though she wasn't in the newspaper club, Yumi could clearly see that it wouldn't be possible for them to have something ready for tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

"Don't try and tell me what's impossible."

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama shrieked. She was incredibly worked up. She looked as though she was going to burst a blood vessel. Unless she could find a way to increase the number of Wednesdays in March, there wasn't going to be enough time.

 

 

 

 

 

"I've got it."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san looked up from the doc.u.ment she had been reading.

 

 

 

 

 

"There's a way we can do this."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san, you must have misspoken. Surely you meant, 'There's no way we can do this.'

 

 

 

 

 

(Oh? But then what did she mean by that 'I've got it.')

 

 

 

 

 

"So, please tell us about how you intend to do this."

 

 

 

 

 

Minako-sama glared as she looked back over her shoulder. It was obvious that she was in no mood for frivolity.

 

 

 

 

 

"That's because..."

 

 

 

 

 

Mami-san spoke smoothly.

 

 

 

 

 

"We can do this as an extra."

 

 

 

 

 

I see. - Wait.

 

 

 

 

 

What!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"And so."

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the Rose Mansion, Shimako-san smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

"You were forced to accede, Yumi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Pretty much."

 

 

 

 

 

Seated in her chair, Yumi slumped her shoulders. She had felt under pressure just dealing with Minako-sama, but there was no way she could handle a tag-team of Minako-sama and Mami-san. You could say her defeat was sealed the moment she could no longer picture herself winning.

 

 

 

 

 

"But that's fine, don't you think?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh? Really?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

Easy for her to say, it was someone else's problem. Even so, Shimako-san had become incredibly positive since she started her second-year, so she would probably still say it was fine if she were the one in this position.

 

 

 

 

 

"You don't want the article to be too small, people won't check every little corner."

 

 

 

 

 

Were Noriko-chan's words, as she brought over some warm tea.

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. That's one reason."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi started to share the same opinion as the two soeurs. Currently, the only people in the Rose Mansion were Yumi and the White Rose Sisters, so it was a majority opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, what happened to Yoshino-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

When Yumi entered the second floor room, there was a half-filled tea cup at the seat facing Shimako-san. It had probably been Yoshino-san's. Yumi had last seen Yoshino-san leaving their cla.s.sroom, saying "I'll go ahead of you," before Yumi set off for the clubhouse. Yoshino-san hadn't said where she was going, but the Rose Mansion was the obvious a.s.sumption. Yoshino-san wouldn't have said, "I'll go ahead of you," if she was going to the martial arts building for club activities.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, about that. Tanuma Chisato-san came to visit, and they both left together."

 

 

 

 

 

"Speaking of Tanuma Chisato-san - "

 

 

 

 

 

From memory, she had been Yoshino-san's partner for their date on Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah, it seems like they were going to talk about their report. After all, when you put something in the newspaper, a lot of people will see it. So they were probably going to discuss whether what was written so far was okay, or if some parts should be omitted."

 

 

 

 

 

Since she said this, did that mean that there were some parts of Shimako-san's date that wouldn't be in their report? Hmm, what was it? The name of Shimako-san's partner. The name 'Ami' sounded familiar.

 

 

 

 

 

"Will you be okay, onee-sama? You haven't talked to Ami-san about your report."

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan said, sounding a bit sulky. That's right, it was Ami-san. Igawa Ami-san, to be precise.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'll be fine."

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san smiled sweetly. Apparently not noticing the hint of jealousy from Noriko-chan. Really, she could be quite dense.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why do you think that?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thought it was cute of Noriko-chan, the way she was pecking away at Shimako-san - although she would never say that. She was subconsciously glad to see Noriko-chan, who always acted mature beyond her years, displaying some of the jealousy that more befitted someone her age.

 

 

 

 

 

"Because Ami-san has someone else she can talk to about it."

 

 

 

 

 

"Someone else? Who?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi leaned forwards, unable to ignore such a statement.

 

 

 

 

 

"That answer will be in the Valentine's Date edition of the Lillian Kawaraban."

 

 

 

 

 

"Oooh. How about a preview?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thought it was cruel of Shimako-san to say that much but no more, conveniently overlooking the fact that she hadn't said anything to her cla.s.smates earlier today.

 

 

 

 

 

"Teeheehee. It'll be interesting."

 

 

 

 

 

"Then I'll look forward to reading it."

 

 

 

 

 

Not even Noriko-chan could keep asking her directly. The power of Shimako-san's laugh was incredible.

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Shall we get to work?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi stood up, trying to make up for the time lost by her late arrival. As she walked over to the corner of the room where the papers were stacked up, Noriko-chan called out to her:

 

 

 

 

 

"There's no work to do though."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi couldn't believe her ears. She didn't have to look at a calendar to know they had a lot of preparation work to do for the third-years' send-off party. Every day, the doc.u.ments they had to go through kept piling up. Decisions they had to make. On top of that, there was the farewell party for the Roses, so there was surely a pile of work they had to do.

 

 

 

 

 

"More accurately, there's no work that we can do right now."

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san explained, looking at her notebook.

 

 

 

 

 

"We can't decide what should be displayed in the auditorium lobby because we don't have the completed questionnaires from all of the groups who wanted to partic.i.p.ate. Same for the order of events. The due-date for both of those is tomorrow. And it looks like we'll have to have a meeting to go over the flowers and other things we have to buy after all."

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. And since I wasn't here until just now, and Yoshino-san isn't here currently, it's decided that we can't decide."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama and Sachiko-sama retired about the time the elections for the next term were concluded, so they were no longer attending Yamayurikai meetings either.

 

 

 

 

 

"It's no good if we decide with only two of us here, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

That's right. Now that they were almost third-years, the Red Rose family had a new member. Which brought the total up to five people, making it somewhat more respectable.

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, did Touko have club activities?"

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering, Yumi asked Noriko-chan, Touko's cla.s.smate.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. She made a brief appearance here, helping out with the cleaning, before heading off. She said to give her regards to you, Yumi-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah. The third-years' send-off is coming up soon, isn't it."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had heard that the drama club, which Touko was a member of, was splitting into groups and performing multiple plays. All the clubs partic.i.p.ating in the third-years' send-off party were busy practicing. As usual, that statement went double for Touko.

 

 

 

 

 

In spite of this, she'd already completed her report on the date and submitted it to the newspaper club, which was quite impressive. It was only barely noticeable, but Touko really did have a very serious and methodical nature. At any rate, it was something to be admired and thankful for.

 

 

 

 

 

"I heard she was doing a scene with the club president. What kind of practice could they be getting up to?"

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan whispered.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why?"

 

 

 

 

 

"It looks like she's been having club activities before school and during the lunch break, but Touko, her arms and legs&h.e.l.lip; how do I put this ... they're covered in wounds."

 

 

 

 

 

"Wounds?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. Individually, none of them are that big of a deal."

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like they were light grazes, or bruises like you'd see on a peach if you press down too hard. While they might be small individually, it was still worrying if there were lots of them.

 

 

 

 

 

"I met her today and didn't notice anything."

 

 

 

 

 

"You'd never know it when she's wearing her school uniform."

 

 

 

 

 

Apparently Noriko-chan witnessed this when they were changing into their sports tracksuits. Which meant that only her cla.s.smates would know.

 

 

 

 

 

"What did Touko say?"

 

 

 

 

 

"She said it was no big deal, and not to worry about it. She seemed focused on the play, but didn't want to talk about their rehearsals. I'm not an actress so I might not understand, but I prefer to have a clear distinction between reality and fiction."

 

 

 

 

 

Noriko-chan tried to explain by using a convoluted example of painting in one color right next to a still-wet area of paint in a different color, causing the two colors to mix together disagreeably.

 

 

 

 

 

"That didn't happen when she was playing Amy, though."

 

 

 

 

 

Touko played Amy in the drama club's production of Little Women during this year's school festival. Perhaps her preparations were different this time around. Needless to say, on the same day that she performed in "Little Women" for the drama club, Touko also appeared onstage in the Yamayurikai play. But, perhaps due to a memory lapse, Noriko-chan wasn't counting Touko's role as Minister of the Right in "Torikaebaya Monogatari."

 

 

 

 

 

"Since Touko said not to worry about it, let's just keep quiet about it for now. I'll discreetly try to find out what's going on."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san returned a short while later.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm baaack. Ahh."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san sat down in her seat, then flopped down onto the table.

 

 

 

 

 

"Working hard?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm exhausted. It'd take all day to go through everywhere we went and everything we did. The report's supposed to be the date winner's responsibility, right? So why did I have to be there while she thought about it? Chisato-san wrote one last year as well, so she should be good at it by now."

 

 

 

 

 

Caught up in her own complaints, it took Yoshino-san a while to notice.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, Yumi-san's joined us."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san energetically got up and made her way over to Yumi, as though to make sure she hadn't been mistaken.

 

 

 

 

 

"I heard this from Chisato-san, but apparently there's a strange rumor doing the rounds."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi looked surprised when Yoshino-san pointed a finger at her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Me?"

 

 

 

 

 

It was probably about Touko. Yumi had accepted that there would probably be all kinds of rumors until the Lillian Kawaraban extra came out.

 

 

 

 

 

"Nope, not you, but your onee-sama."

 

 

 

 

 

"Sachiko-sama?"

 

 

 

 

 

That was unexpected. Yumi couldn't even imagine what the rumor could be about.

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey. Sachiko-sama's going to Lillian's Women's University, isn't she?"

 

 

 

 

 

"That's right."

 

 

 

 

 

"And with priority entrance, they look at your high-school results so you don't have to take an exam."

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah?"

 

 

 

 

 

That's why it's called priority entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

"So then, why is she frantically studying?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Studying!?"

 

 

 

 

 

"It's like she's obsessed with it - apparently she's studying something during recess and self-study periods."

 

 

 

 

 

People study every day. For someone to start studying to meet some goal, that in itself isn't that strange.

 

 

 

 

 

However, you had to wonder when that person was Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

"Was that something that Chisato-san saw directly?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was completely unable to accept it. All she could think was, 'No way.'

 

 

 

 

 

She knew her onee-sama was the type of person that never needed to study, either for mid-terms or for the end of semester examinations.

 

 

 

 

 

"Who knows? She said it was a rumor, so it was probably just something she heard."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san said it could have been something like someone in Chisato-san's cla.s.s had an onee-sama in Sachiko-sama's cla.s.s. She didn't seem to know who started the rumor.

 

 

 

 

 

Still, no matter where the rumor came from, there was probably one way of settling this.

 

 

 

 

 

"Next time I see my onee-sama, I'll ask her about it indirectly."

 

 

 

 

 

"I think that will be fine."

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san agreed. Rumors were rumors, they shouldn't be taken as truth. Even if the rumor itself was only that Sachiko-sama was studying, it's possible it could be embellished into something preposterous.

 

 

 

 

 

"There will probably be a few people troubling us with questions about this. Having said that, it's not something so huge that it will cause people to go out of their way to ask about it. So let's leave this up to Yumi-san, as she is Sachiko-sama's pet.i.t soeur."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san and Noriko-chan agreed to Shimako-san's proposal. Therefore.

 

 

 

 

 

"Very well, your humble servant accepts this responsibility."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi thumped her chest. Unfortunately, she thumped a bit too hard, and ended up having a coughing fit.

 

 

 

 

 

(So that means.)

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi wouldn't have to carefully watch over just her pet.i.t soeur, but also her onee-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

A succession of worrying things had arisen since her arrival here.