Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 8 Chapter 1

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In this world, there are some things that no-one can do anything about it. One such example is time: no matter how much one might whine or plead, it was not possible to stop time from advancing. Even those born into rich families weren't exempt from this harsh reality.

 

 

 

 

 

Now that February was over, the third-years photographed in the yearbook were looking off into the distance, and that made her feel like crying. But it was different now to the earlier vague feeling of unease, with the realization that they were actually going to be gone causing the feeling of imminent loneliness to close in on her.

 

 

 

 

 

Even as she was dreading the thought of it, March eventually arrived. The events to send off the graduating seniors came one after the other, until at last the graduation countdown board in front of the office read "2 days to go."

 

 

 

 

 

"Are you alright?"

 

 

 

 

 

As they walked along the pa.s.sage between the gymnasium and the school building, s.h.i.+mako-san's hand gently touched Yumi's shoulder.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why do you ask?"

 

 

 

 

 

When Yumi raised her head to speak, right in front of her eyes was a neatly folded cloth being offered to her.

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; Umm."

 

 

 

 

 

It was unmistakeably a handkerchief. Since she was being offered a handkerchief, did that mean -

 

 

 

 

 

"Do you think I've been crying?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, was I wrong? Your shoulders were s.h.i.+vering the entire time during cla.s.s, Yumi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

"That was probably from the cold."

 

 

 

 

 

Working in the unheated gymnasium, setting up row after row of folding chairs, was tough.

 

 

 

 

 

"But I thought I saw you sobbing."

 

 

 

 

 

"I was just sniffling. You know how sounds echo in the gymnasium. I didn't want to disturb anyone by blowing my nose."

 

 

 

 

 

The first-years had worked in silence - even when they weren't listening to instruction from their teachers, no-one talked. The cold made it annoying to talk, and the preparations for the ceremony two days later gave things a somber mood.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, I see. Then have one of these, Yumi-san."

 

 

 

 

 

s.h.i.+mako-san put the handkerchief back in her pocket and instead pulled out a packet of tissues and offered them to Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah &h.e.l.lip; thanks."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi expressed her grat.i.tude then took a tissue and blew her nose as hard as she could.

 

 

 

 

 

Ah-pffft.

 

 

 

 

 

Her ears were ringing.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi knew the reason her eyes were stinging in the cold air wasn't because of allergies, or dry eye, or anything like that.

 

 

 

 

 

Her temporarily wet eyes had become susceptible to the slightest stimulus.

 

 

 

 

 

But for now she wanted to appear strong.

 

 

 

 

 

Beside her, s.h.i.+mako-san's eyes were also red.

 

 

 

 

 

"Only two days now."

 

 

 

 

 

"Don't say that. It's getting me down."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi dabbed at her eye with the corner of the used tissue. If she left it alone, then the production of tears wouldn't stop, and she really would end up with dry eye.

 

 

 

 

 

"You're right."

 

 

 

 

 

s.h.i.+mako-san agreed, and her sigh showed she was feeling it much more acutely than Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

That was surely because her onee-sama was two years her senior. So the graduation ceremony meant her onee-sama was going away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yu-mi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

A voice called out to her, then before she had a chance to turn around she was embraced from behind, like wings closing around her body. She'd been right in the middle of cleaning, using a bamboo broom to sweep the tree-lined path, so was at her most vulnerable.

 

 

 

 

 

"Gya &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi instinctively started to cry out, but since she'd become quite accustomed to this sort of attack she toned it down and ended with a comparatively restrained, "Ahh." This was her response to the almost-graduated Rosa Gigantea's request.

 

 

 

 

 

But something felt off, and as she tilted her head in puzzlement, the disappointed voice of her s.e.xual hara.s.ser reached her ears.

 

 

 

 

 

"Hmmpf."

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; "Hmmpf." ?"

 

 

 

 

 

She got a surprise when she looked over her shoulder. There was Rosa Chinensis.

 

 

 

 

 

"Is this a joke?"

 

 

 

 

 

Hastily she jumped away.

 

 

 

 

 

In a sense, it was a bigger shock than when she was embraced. Why was the honor-student Rosa Chinensis engaging in this sort of game? Look, over there, not ten metres away, Yumi's cla.s.smates were looking at them, frozen to the spot.

 

 

 

 

 

"Tch."

 

 

 

 

 

"Tch?"

 

 

 

 

 

Even the way she was talking was a bit strange. It was a strange, new sensation, like the vengeful spirit of Rosa Gigantea had switched bodies.

 

 

 

 

 

"I failed at hugging Yumi-chan's soft body."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis sulkily kicked a pebble.

 

 

 

 

 

"Sei said you roar like a baby dinosaur, so I was looking forward to hearing your voice."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi couldn't think of anything that would be an appropriate comeback. So she silently watched the pebble that Rosa Chinensis kicked as it tumbled off the path and disappeared into the bushes.

 

 

 

 

 

She'd got stuck on the word "Sei."

 

 

 

 

 

Recently, the Roses had been referring to each other by their names. Whether this was something arranged, or coincidence, she didn't know. But Yumi had witnessed that sort of scene numerous times.

 

 

 

 

 

She wasn't coping particularly well with hearing the real names of the Roses flutter around. In the past she thought nothing of it when she heard their names, but recently it had been rubbing her the wrong way.

 

 

 

 

 

When Yumi entered high-school, the Roses were already the Roses. So hearing their real names felt out of place. Even though the three of them had only been called Roses for one year of their eighteen.

 

 

 

 

 

So for the Roses to return to using their real names was a way of saying that they were no longer everyone's onee-sama, and Yumi didn't like that.

 

 

 

 

 

It was unfair, although she had no right to make such a complaint. She thought that they shouldn't be acting like they've graduated already, since the ceremony hadn't taken place yet.

 

 

 

 

 

"I thought I'd give it a go just once."

 

 

 

 

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Being the Yumi-chan-hugging-monster. I won't be able to do it once I've graduated, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi heard this as her way of saying she didn't want to leave it undone. She felt a bit sad, since it meant Rosa Chinensis was already looking beyond Lillian's. It was a lonely feeling, like she was being left behind.

 

 

 

 

 

"Since I'm not going to Lillian's University and all."

 

 

 

 

 

This year's three Roses had all declined the option of priority placement at Lillian's University, instead choosing the path of entrance exams. Even though they were all brilliant students and would have been accepted into any course at Lillian's University. Such a waste. Well, they were actually more brilliant than Yumi imagined, because despite Lillian's Girls Academy not really preparing them all that well for entrance exams, they had pa.s.sed their exams and been accepted, so would all be university students from April.

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; You'll have to come and visit some time."

 

 

 

 

 

"We'll see."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis smiled softly. But that was all.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi knew that "We'll see" wasn't "Yes." Rosa Chinensis probably knew it too. When April arrived and her new school life started, she may not look back at Lillian's Girls Academy.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis wasn't the type to get nostalgic and come back quickly. If she'd thought it hard to leave, she wouldn't have applied to another university and would have stayed at Lillian's. She was that kind of forthright person.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan, you've almost finished cleaning, haven't you? Are you doing anything after that?"

 

 

 

 

 

"No, not really. I was just going to go to the Rose Mansion like usual &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

While the "Third-Years' Farewell Party" and the "Roses Going Away Party" were safely completed, the boutons were always busy with something, so Yumi was going to help out. The second-years had it tough because the third-years were all comfortably retired, and their pet.i.t soeurs weren't yet reliable. It was even worse for s.h.i.+mako-san, who wasn't a second-year, so didn't have a pet.i.t soeur to act as her personal a.s.sistant.

 

 

 

 

 

"Hoho, the Rose Mansion. Come with me then, just for a little while."

 

 

 

 

 

"Come with you?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis picked up the broom, handed it to one of Yumi's cla.s.smates who was also cleaning, saying, "Can you take this?" then put her arm around Yumi's shoulder and started walking away.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, umm, Rosa Chinensis."

 

 

 

 

 

Taking someone away without their consent, that was kidnapping.

 

 

 

 

 

"It's fine, don't worry. You should spend some time with your grandmother every once in a while."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the place that her "grandmother" dragged her to was Milk Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

"Come on, don't be shy, drink up, drink up."

 

 

 

 

 

"Okay &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

Hot milk wasn't the sort of thing Yumi could gulp down, even if urged to. To make matters worse, she was supposed to drink it directly from the bottle. When Yumi grumbled about this, Rosa Chinensis lowered her voice and said:

 

 

 

 

 

"Silly Yumi-chan. What would happen if warm milk came in a carton?"

 

 

 

 

 

"What would happen?"

 

 

 

 

 

She timidly asked. The topic of the conversation was milk, but it looked like it was going in a hair-raising direction. However.

 

 

 

 

 

"A hot milk carton would be ominous, no?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis' answer didn't do anything to rea.s.sure her.

 

 

 

 

 

"The milk carton might erupt if it got too hot. Or there could be problems with the quality. That's the sort of thing I'm talking about."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, that sounds reasonable."

 

 

 

 

 

Then Rosa Chinensis laughed and said, "Calling it ominous was just a joke though." Oh, so that was a joke, huh.

 

 

 

 

 

"And that's why you shouldn't drink hot drinks through a straw."

 

 

 

 

 

"Why's that?"

 

 

 

 

 

The mention of a straw had been unexpected, so Yumi thought it was still a joke and prepared to laugh, but Rosa Chinensis answered without smiling.

 

 

 

 

 

"Because you'll burn your mouth."

 

 

 

 

 

Completely serious.

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; Did you, perhaps, try it as an experiment?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Of course. During my seventh winter. Using miso soup."

 

 

 

 

 

Straw, seventh winter, miso soup. Were those the key words she had to use in an improv sketch?

 

 

 

 

 

"But, why?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Who knows. The spirit of adventure, perhaps."

 

 

 

 

 

A seven year old child with the spirit of adventure. That was incredible.

 

 

 

 

 

"Your parents didn't stop you?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Why would they? It was something their child was interested in."

 

 

 

 

 

It's not as though she was going to die from burning her tongue. Rosa Chinensis' household seemed to be quite enthusiastic about learning. Because of that, they'd produced such a strong lady.

 

 

 

 

 

"What?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, nothing. I just thought you'd be able to study hard and give the men a run for their money."

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as she said it, Yumi thought, "Oh no." She'd brought up the topic of graduation on her own. Would her tear ducts be getting another workout?

 

 

 

 

 

Since Yumi had been at Lillian's since preschool, until now she'd never really thought about going to another university. Much less a co-ed one. She didn't have Sachiko-sama's fear of men, but she had a hunch she wouldn't be able to study peacefully if there was a guy at the desk beside hers.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep. That's right."

 

 

 

 

 

"And the law department. You could be a lawyer or a prosecutor."

 

 

 

 

 

"I wonder."

 

 

 

 

 

As she said this, Rosa Chinensis stood up, then walked over to the vending machine by the wall, came back and sat down again facing Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

"I set my sights on the law department because I'm interested in law. Lillian's university doesn't have a law department, so I had to go somewhere else. And when you're studying, it doesn't really matter if there's boys there or not, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I suppose."

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, Eriko's interested in the unusual, so whether it was a girls school or a co-ed school was important to her. Hey, did you hear?"

 

 

 

 

 

"About what?"

 

 

 

 

 

"To keep herself entertained, Eriko took the entrance exams for a bunch of different faculties. She didn't care whether it was humanities, or science, or anything else. Then she pa.s.sed them all, so as a last resort she decided by picking one out of a hat."

 

 

 

 

 

So that's why she was in the Fine Arts department. Up until now, Rosa Foetida had never said a single word about liking art.

 

 

 

 

 

"A true masterpiece."

 

 

 

 

 

Still, even though she made fun of her close friend, Rosa Chinensis had made her choice not because it was her number one hope, but because she thought that taking the entrance exam on the best day of her life (Valentine's Day) had been a good omen.

 

 

 

 

 

"But best of all was Sei."

 

 

 

 

 

Tears fell as Rosa Chinensis laughed.

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm, tell me Rosa Chinensis, why did you choose to study law?"

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing the tears accompanying the laughter, Yumi quickly changed the topic. She'd had quite enough of talking about the people she loved going far, far away.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, in my case."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis took a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at the overflowing tears.

 

 

 

 

 

"I realized I wanted to become an artist, and that's the ideal situation."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh!?"

 

 

 

 

 

Had Yumi misheard? What she heard Rosa Chinensis say just now was that she was going to the law department, but she wanted to be an artist. But wasn't Rosa Foetida supposed to be the one going to the Fine Arts college?

 

 

 

 

 

"Figuratively speaking."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis laughed. As she laughed, she poked the attached straw into the carton of strawberry milk she'd bought from the vending machine earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

"With art, you don't study it because you're looking for a job, you just enjoy painting, then when you realize that, you want to become an artist. Isn't that how it is?"

 

 

 

 

 

"So you're studying law because you want to become a lawyer?"

 

 

 

 

 

Even as she asked, Yumi couldn't keep herself from watching what Rosa Chinensis was doing with her hands. After finally putting the straw in, she immediately took it out - what was she planning on doing?

 

 

 

 

 

"Right. Although saying I wanted to do something to help people sounds more persuasive."

 

 

 

 

 

But the other way was fine too. It might even be more persuasive coming from a teenaged girl.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, I'm glad you're not studying to be a surgeon, Rosa Chinensis."

 

 

 

 

 

"Why's that?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Because it would mean you just enjoyed cutting up people's bodies, then you realized that, and decided to become a surgeon."

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; I wouldn't want that sort of surgeon operating on me even if I was dead."

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, you wouldn't be dead when they started."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi answered with a straight face.

 

 

 

 

 

"That's for sure!"

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis voice rose as she laughed without restraint.

 

 

 

 

 

"You really are funny, Yumi-chan!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey, what exactly are you doing with your hand while laughing so hard!?"

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as she saw what was happening, Yumi grabbed Rosa Chinensis' wrist, but it was too late.

 

 

 

 

 

"What am I doing? Surely you can tell just by looking."

 

 

 

 

 

After blowing on the milk to cool it, Yumi had managed to drink about a third of her bottle, and it was into this empty s.p.a.ce that Rosa Chinensis poured the strawberry milk. Squeezing it out the hole previously occupied by the straw.

 

 

 

 

 

"Wh-wh-wh"

 

 

 

 

 

While watching Yumi sputter in confusion, Rosa Chinensis asked:

 

 

 

 

 

"Why? Is that what you wanted to ask?"

 

 

 

 

 

Coolly throwing a lifeboat. Right, that. That's what Yumi had been searching for.

 

 

 

 

 

"Didn't you say you couldn't drink it when it was hot?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I did, but."

 

 

 

 

 

That didn't mean she wanted it diluted with strawberry milk. At least if it had been coffee flavored milk, Yumi could have thought of it as a cafe au lait that was heavy on the milk.

 

 

 

 

 

"But it had already cooled."

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Yumi-chan. You won't be the only one with this bad memory."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis poured it into her own milk too. Because there was air in the pack, it drained quickly. Then she took a single mouthful, and her impression was:

 

 

 

 

 

"It's not that good, is it?"

 

 

 

 

 

So, why do it? That was the obvious retort, but Yumi didn't say it. Because she could guess the answer. This was obviously something Rosa Chinensis had wanted to try once too.

 

 

 

 

 

"Exactly."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi looked up as she struggled to drink her lukewarm strawberry milk, and Rosa Chinensis was smiling.

 

 

 

 

 

"You're sharp, Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

"Wha?"

 

 

 

 

 

"But funny despite that."

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm."

 

 

 

 

 

Not knowing how to react, Yumi reached out for her milk again. Rosa Chinensis continued on, unconcerned.

 

 

 

 

 

"That's why I think you're worthy."

 

 

 

 

 

"To be chosen to experience the hot strawberry milk au lait &h.e.l.lip; ?"

 

 

 

 

 

Then Rosa Chinensis shook her head, "No." Her silky black hair gently touched her left and right cheeks once before settling down.

 

 

 

 

 

"To be Sachiko's guardian."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Chinensis smiled at her and spoke softly.

 

 

 

 

 

"Take care of Sachiko for me."

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; O &h.e.l.lip; kay."

 

 

 

 

 

"She's not charmingly innocent, but she's my irreplaceable pet.i.t soeur."

 

 

 

 

 

It was at that point that Yumi realized that Rosa Chinensis had invited her there to hear her final request.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Where have you been?"

 

 

 

 

 

When she opened the door to the meeting room, or salon, on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, Sachiko-sama was waiting there, looking imposing.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm sorry I'm late."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi quickly lowered her head, a.s.suming a respectful bowing pose.

 

 

 

 

 

"What were you doing to make you arrive thirty minutes later than your cla.s.smate s.h.i.+mako-san?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm."

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm sure I told you to arrive early because we'd be discussing what happens after the graduation ceremony."

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes. I'm sorry."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had realized that her onee-sama was worked up about this, so she earnestly apologized without offering an excuse. Talking back would only be adding fuel to the fire. The explanation of why she was late could wait until after her onee-sama had calmed down.

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, Sachiko-sama. While Yumi-san and I are in the same cla.s.s, we're responsible for cleaning different areas."

 

 

 

 

 

Now that s.h.i.+mako-san had been dragged into it, she was unable to contain herself and rose from her seat to protect Yumi. While Yumi was grateful for s.h.i.+mako-san's consideration, in this case it was probably just going to make things even more complicated.

 

 

 

 

 

"In that case."

 

 

 

 

 

Like a teacher scolding students that had forgotten their homework, Sachiko-sama stood facing Yumi and s.h.i.+mako-san, arms folded.

 

 

 

 

 

"At your next cla.s.s meeting, raise the matter of the number of students allocated to each cleaning area. That level of variation is unacceptable."

 

 

 

 

 

Whoa, so incredibly combative. Like the stereotypical mother-in-law from a TV drama.

 

 

 

 

 

"A cla.s.s meeting? I don't think that's &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

The two first-year peach group students looked at each other. s.h.i.+mako-san wasn't really under the impression that Yumi was late because she'd been cleaning the entire time, she simply meant that they wouldn't necessarily arrive at the same time just because they were in the same cla.s.s. And even if there was such a discrepancy between cleaning areas for the pine group, it was a bit late bringing it up midway through the third term.

 

 

 

 

 

"Umm, onee-sama. I'm not late because of cleaning."

 

 

 

 

 

Out of options, Yumi opened her mouth. She couldn't carry out her plan of remaining steadfastly apologetic until Sachiko-sama's anger had run its course. s.h.i.+mako-san whispered, "I'm sorry I made it worse," to Yumi.

 

 

 

 

 

"Then why?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi's mind wasn't working fast enough to come up with a good excuse on the spot. No, even if she had thought of one, she wasn't so desperate to get out of the situation that she'd lie to her onee-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

"I'm late because I stopped off somewhere on the way."

 

 

 

 

 

"You stopped off?"

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama asked, with a quizzical look on her face.

 

 

 

 

 

"Alone?"

 

 

 

 

 

"No."

 

 

 

 

 

"Then who were you with and where did you go?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi sensed that the way Sachiko-sama's eyebrows shot up meant she already knew that Yumi hadn't been alone, but surely that was just her imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

"Rosa Chinensis invited me to Milk Hall."

 

 

 

 

 

"My onee-sama did?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had expected thunder to come cras.h.i.+ng down, something along the lines of, "No matter who invites you, if it's going to make you late for something then you should refuse." However.

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. Alright then."

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama backed down surprisingly easily. To Yumi, it felt like the life had been sucked out of her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Onee-sama &h.e.l.lip; ?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi hadn't intend to say anything about Rosa Chinensis entrusting care of Sachiko-sama to her. If asked what happened, all she was going to report was that Rosa Chinensis treated her to some hot milk. But since there didn't seem to be any interrogation forthcoming, she chose to keep her mouth shut.

 

 

 

 

 

The mere mention of Rosa Chinensis' name had been enough to acquit her. Was Rosa Chinensis a get out of jail free card?

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama returned to the seat at the table she must have been sitting on earlier without asking any further questions. As Yumi idly watched this:

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan, Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida en bouton, Hasekura Rei-sama, had been watching events unfold from the table, and quietly beckoned Yumi over.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi walked over, her head tilted in confusion, and Rei-sama whispered to her:

 

 

 

 

 

"You'll have to forgive her. Sachiko was so worried about you that she couldn't focus on her work, and that's why she verbally lashed out at you."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

"Rei, what are you blathering on about!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Nothing. I was just telling Yumi-chan to have a seat. Ooh, scary. You're scary when you're hysterical."

 

 

 

 

 

"What did you say - "

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama stood up and raised her clenched fists, but the outcome of any fight between herself and the second-rank kendo student was obvious, so she glared at Rei-sama as she lowered her fists and kicked at the legs of her own chair instead.

 

 

 

 

 

"Good, good, it's bad for your body to bottle up your anger."

 

 

 

 

 

When did Rei-sama get so good at controlling Sachiko-sama? She'd deflated like when the Roses poked fun at her.

 

 

 

 

 

(Take care of Sachiko for me.)

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering the words that Rosa Chinensis had said to her, Yumi felt her confidence slipping. With such a reliable friend already by her side, Yumi had no idea how she was supposed to take care of Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

s.h.i.+mako-san had already returned to her seat, so Yumi hastily settled into her regular position. Without realizing it, it had become her home position, next to her beloved Sachiko-sama.

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, now that we're all here, let's start - "

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi heard her onee-sama's voice from right beside her. The topic for discussion was the post-graduation ceremony private commemorative photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

"I spoke with Takes.h.i.+ma Tsutako-san from the photograph club regarding this, but the newspaper club must have overheard because they approached me asking to be present too &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

As she listened to s.h.i.+mako-san's report, Yumi sipped from the teacup that had been placed at her spot.

 

 

 

 

 

It was cold.

 

 

 

 

 

The complete opposite of the hot milk.

 

 

 

 

 

It had probably been cooling for as long as Sachiko-sama had been waiting for her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A final request, huh. I think I understand."

 

 

 

 

 

Yos.h.i.+no-san muttered as she put the cleaned teacups in the cupboard.

 

 

 

 

 

"You understand?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi squeezed the sponge under running water, making sure she got rid of all the foam, then returned it to its holder.

 

 

 

 

 

The meeting was over and the boutons had gone to the first-floor storage room ahead of them. To check that the Roses hadn't left any of their personal belongings behind. In truth, Yumi was relieved to be left behind to clean up the second-floor salon with Yos.h.i.+no-san. Helping with a task whose sole purpose was to ensure the Roses never had to return to the Rose Mansion again would be absolutely heartbreaking.

 

 

 

 

 

"It's like going to the shrine for pre-wedding jitters. Well, it's also like making a love confession just before graduation."

 

 

 

 

 

"It's like those? How?"

 

 

 

 

 

"In every way."

 

 

 

 

 

Yos.h.i.+no-san turned off the tap as she spoke.

 

 

 

 

 

In her mind, Yumi questioned how a last request was similar to pre-wedding jitters. That said, she could sort of understand how it was like a love confession.

 

 

 

 

 

"It's like this. When people leave an environment they've been familiar with for so long, they're bound to have all kinds of thoughts about the things they've left undone."

 

 

 

 

 

"So they make a final request."

 

 

 

 

 

"Right. That's just another name for it. It's called pre-wedding jitters when they're wondering if it's really okay to get married. And it's pretty common for people to make a confession when they'll never have to see that person again if they're turned down."

 

 

 

 

 

"Hmm. Wait, what about the shrine?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi innocently asked, and Yos.h.i.+no-san momentarily stopped moving and said, "Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

"I mean, is it really regret, if they're going to the shrine to thank the G.o.ds?"

 

 

 

 

 

"It's just a figure of speech. At school, "going to the shrine" might mean, hmm, getting a teacher you hate to meet you behind the school gymnasium &h.e.l.lip; and then venting your frustrations at them &h.e.l.lip; well, all sorts of things could happen."

 

 

 

 

 

Probably expecting some kind of reaction from Yumi, Yos.h.i.+no-san had been deliberately vague in her explanation.

 

 

 

 

 

"That dreadful sort of thing actually happens?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Well, Lillian's doesn't really have that sort of tradition, so you can relax."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, right."

 

 

 

 

 

Even if she hated a teacher, she didn't want to become like that student. It was kind of sad, slinging mud around right on the verge of leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

"As for the back of the gymnasium, I was called there by Rosa Foetida."

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh."

 

 

 

 

 

"Rei-chan's in the middle of our love triangle. There were things we wanted to say to each other."

 

 

 

 

 

Yos.h.i.+no-san posed holding an invisible blade, like the samurais Musas.h.i.+ and Kojirou about to duel.

 

 

 

 

 

Still, why would she go straight to that example?

 

 

 

 

 

"Like what?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Who won. About the closeness of Rei-chan to her next door neighbor and cousin, me. And whether that was outweighed by her onee-sama, Rosa Foetida. We covered it all."

 

 

 

 

 

Given her usual att.i.tude, they probably went into minute detail, like how much sugar and milk she liked in her coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

"And?"

 

 

 

 

 

Who was Miyamoto Musas.h.i.+ and who was Sasaki Kojirou? Basically, who won?

 

 

 

 

 

"There's no way we could come to a conclusion. It's because we couldn't decide that we've been able to get along so far. It was &h.e.l.lip; simply a performance."

 

 

 

 

 

"A performance?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. Everyone does it. Their methods may differ, but in their own way they're reluctant to let go."

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh, so that was it. Yumi felt like she understood. And because Sachiko-sama knew that, she hadn't scolded her pet.i.t soeur for being taken aside by Rosa Chinensis.

 

 

 

 

 

The wise Sachiko-sama had probably guessed what the general topic of conversation had been too. Perhaps Sachiko-sama had even been entrusted with the care of Rosa Chinensis by her onee-sama, one year earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

After they'd finished cleaning, Yumi and Yos.h.i.+no-san met up with the boutons in the first-floor room. When they entered the room, they were surprised to see what looked like three bodies huddled together, crying. But that wasn't it.

 

 

 

 

 

"Here, take a look. There's a lot of Rosa Gigantea's personal belongings."

 

 

 

 

 

Noticing their entrance, Sachiko-sama smiled as she held out a paper bag.

 

 

 

 

 

"Textbook, sports towel &h.e.l.lip; ? Oh, that's the lunch box she made such a fuss about when it went missing!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-san, don't just take everything out of the bag."

 

 

 

 

 

Yos.h.i.+no-san looked away. The case of the missing lunchbox dated back to before winter break. A small consolation was that it was empty, the contents having been eaten. But if the lid of the box were opened, it would almost certainly smell awful.

 

 

 

 

 

"It had fallen down behind a stack of cardboard boxes."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama smiled, dust piled on her shoulders.

 

 

 

 

 

While on that topic, the number of items stored in that room had increased since then. The end result of them being busy and neglecting to properly sort things.

 

 

 

 

 

"Back then my onee-sama was so adamant that it was on the second floor."

 

 

 

 

 

Everybody nodded at s.h.i.+mako-san's statement. And because of that, everyone had focused on searching the second-floor room. They'd moved the table and looked through the mainly unused shelves. Right, right, they'd even checked the courtyard thinking there was a possibility it may have fallen from the window.

 

 

 

 

 

"She must have eaten lunch on the second floor, then stopped in here on her way out. That's why she had the wrong idea."

 

 

 

 

 

"So no matter how hard we searched, it wouldn't turn up."

 

 

 

 

 

"Since it was on the first floor."

 

 

 

 

 

They all suddenly burst into laughter. It may be their last opportunity to laugh at Rosa Gigantea's expense.

 

 

 

 

 

"At any rate, I'm glad we found it before the graduation ceremony."

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama placed the lunchbox back in the paper bag. Indeed. It did seem sort of pathetic to come back to your alma mater merely to pick up a forgotten lunchbox.

 

 

 

 

 

They'd unearthed a single mechanical pencil belonging to Rosa Chinensis, and one handkerchief of Rosa Foetida's. Both items had probably got mixed in with the storage boxes back during the rehearsals for their Cinderella play in the lead-up to the school festival.

 

 

 

 

 

As well as the Roses' personal belongings, they'd also found a pair of scissors and a couple of marker pens that were part of the Rose Mansion stationery.

 

 

 

 

 

"Even though they don't have names written on them, you know whose they are?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked bluntly, and Sachiko-sama picked up the mechanical pencil and rubbed it against her own cheek.

 

 

 

 

 

"Of course we know. Because we're their pet.i.t soeurs."

 

 

 

 

 

Tears streamed down Sachiko-sama's face, but no-one moved to comfort her. No, they couldn't move. They all knew their own eyes were equally clouded.

 

 

 

 

 

"Let's return these tomorrow."

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama said, as though issuing instructions.

 

 

 

 

 

As though drawing a clear line in her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the various pre-graduation performances were necessary rituals for the heart.