Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume1 Chapter3 3

Anxious Wednesday, Friday of Battle. Part 3.

Rosa Gigantea, who was sitting by the windowsill and looking outside, noticed Yumi and looked up.

"How admirable. We didn't have to come pick you up?"

She's treating me like a pre-school child who went home without a guardian.

"Now that I've been tabbed for the Sister B part, it wouldn't be right to not show."

"Oh my, now she's talking back. Good girl."

Rosa Gigantea jumped down to the floor, laughed weakly, and rubbed Yumi's head.

"It looks like I arrived too early?"

There was no one else on the second floor of the Rose Mansion.

"Oh, don't mind that. Help yourself to whatever drink you'd like."

There was a teacup on the bay window sill that was still steaming. Apparently Rosa Gigantea had been in the middle of drinking, herself.

"What's that?"

"Just pure instant coffee with hot water. If you want to drink this, go ahead and find some sugar."

"Ah."

Then, without any further ado, she found an overturned teacup, put instant coffee in it, and poured hot water. The pot was properly seething, and with the help of sugar and powdered milk, she was able to make instant coffee taste well enough.

"Yumi-chan, did you do cleaning?"

"Ah. The chorus club took over the music room today, and they said they would clean up as they left."

Yumi answered, leaving her stirring spoon in the sink.

"The school festival is getting close, everyone's desperate."

Rosa Gigantea's murmur sounded like it was all someone else's problem.

Even the Cinderella play should be in the stages where everyone's running around on fire. Yumi worried if it was alright to be sitting around leisurely like this. After all, there was less than 10 days left, and they were still muttering about swapping roles.

"How about you, Rosa Gigantea, did you finish cleaning duty?"

It was the time of day for high school students to be cleaning, which is why Yumi had left her classmate Shimako-san and arrived at the Rose Mansion first.

"When you become a third-year, you become better with these things."

"So you skipped out?"

"Idiot-. How could a Yamayurikai executive skip out? You'd never hear the end of it. No, we split the cleaning groups in two, and work two groups' worth per day. Well, it's possible because third-years have to clean less places, of course."

Of course, that means group sizes become bigger. It's a system to have less people do more concentrated work, rather than have more people meander around.

"Ehh, I wish we were like that."

Her speech accidentally turned casual. For some reason, around Rosa Gigantea, her pace crumbled, or more like, Rosa Gigantea somehow didn't feel like her senior by two years.

"Don't you-. But, when we were first-years, we diligently cleaned, too."

"Rosa Gigantea, a first-year…"

"Oh, what's with that look."

As a response to Yumi's admiring sigh, Rosa Gigantea feigned an insulted face.

"I just thought, how unbelievable."

She had the presence of an eternal third-year.

"I hope that's a compliment?"

"Yes, of course."

When Yumi firmly replied thus, Rosa Gigantea laughed, "hahahahahah," sat back on top of the window sill and looked outside.

When you think about it.

Even for these confident third-years, they did have first-year and second-year lives at Lillian. Even Rosa Gigantea was an underclassman at one point, and had experienced accepting a rosary. Yumi felt fascinated, realizing that, as the ceremony came with its own set of drama, Rosa Gigantea must have also gone through a phase of doubt and worries.

"Umm."

"Hmm?"

"May I ask a question?"

"I don't like tough questions, though."

Because her previous class was mathematics, Rosa Gigantea's brain was tired, she claimed. Even for someone maintaining a top-10 grade for mathematics in the school, she struggled fighting between mathematical formulae and the demon of sleep.

"Why did you make Shimako-san your sœur?"

"It's not a tough question, but it is an unusual one. No one usually asks for my reasons regarding Shimako."

"That's because she seems destined to have been chosen."

"Right."

Because everyone was so accepting of her overall talents, everyone probably agreed with the choice. Something like, ahh, of course.

"The complete opposite of me."

Yumi felt a bit depressed think about it.

"You're pretty timid?"

"Because I'm just a rice stalk."

"Rice stalk? What's that?"

As Rosa Gigantea seemed to have forgotten the conversation from the day before yesterday, Yumi explained. Rosa Gigantea then, remembering, started laughing in tears, "Oh, yeah." Well, the people who are told these things tend to remember these things best (or carry these words with them).

"Rice stalk, that's fine, though."

Rosa Gigantea said, as she wiped away her tears with her palm.

"What are you talking about?"

"The part where Sachiko's still clutching tightly, maybe."

Rosa Gigantea drained her cup of instant black coffee and placed the empty cup back on the window sill.

"Ah."

Really, speaking to someone smart always opens up unexpected doors in conversations. Whether they're speaking from instinct, or whether they're simply abbreviating the development and turn parts of the introduction, development, turn and conclusion poetry structure I don't know.

"Don't you think someone with the talents of Shimako should be kept running in the Yamayurikai?"

"But that's not your answer to that question."

"If I'm answering as Rosa Gigantea, that's my answer. But personally, I have other reasons. Those, however, are secret."

Rosa Gigantea covered the center of her breast with both hands. She seems to want to say, those will be locked in her heart.

"Shimako-san said the two of you sought similar things in partners."

"Mm, yes. That's one thing. We're a bit similar, in that we know how to keep our distance from each other, so we feel at ease together."

Rosa Gigantea didn't choose a petite sœur until she had merely half a year left in her high school career. There were plenty of wonderful people in the current crop of second-years. Yet, she decided they weren't right for her, but that Shimako-san was.

Almost as an answer, Shimako-san also thought Sachiko-sama wasn't right for her, but chose Rosa Gigantea. Human relations always provoked deep thought, whether they seemed simple or complicated.

"From my perspective, Shimako might be a bit envious of Yumi-chan, I think?"

"Again, why do you keep jumping topics so much?"

Because the statement was so abrupt, the cooled coffee almost went into her trachea.

"That,"

Just when she thought Rosa Gigantea was about to speak, she suddenly hugged Yumi tightly.

"Is because I want to see Yumi-chan's cute life phases."

"Hey… Rosa Gigantea!!"

The coffee was about to spill.

Or, more importantly, regardless of the mysterious thought process of Rosa Gigantea, if someone else were to see this scene, everything would become even more complicated.

Yet, at that exact moment, something did happen.

As she struggled to free herself while taking care to keep the teacup level, her body suddenly felt much lighter.

"The millionaire has arrived, so playtime's over."

"Millionaire?"

Sachiko-sama was standing at the biscuit-like door.

"You two looked to be having quite some fun. I walked up the stairs making quite the squeaking sound, yet you two were so busy frolicking that you did not notice me coming."

Sachiko-sama walked into the room and placed her bag on a chair. Yumi slowly edged away from Rosa Gigantea, as the situation was somewhat awkward.

"Oh come on, I saw Sachiko coming, that's why I did some service."

Rosa Gigantea said, without any hint of evil.

"Service?"

Sachiko-sama's forehead quivered.

"If I were going to seriously attack her, I'd do it where no one would see us."

Uh oh. That's not good.

She was deliberately saying things to annoy the fastidious Sachiko-sama. What should she do, at this rate she would snap, she would snap, she would snap-.

"Ahh!" Yumi yelled.

"What!?"

Rosa Gigantea and Sachiko-sama both turned at the same time.

"Umm…"

She yelled, but she had nothing prepared afterward, so she stumbled. Helplessly, she exaggerated looking at her wristwatch.

"It's already this time! Everyone will be arriving soon, right? Rosa Gigantea, are you done with your cup? I'll go ahead and wash it for you."

Ahh, why could she only do things this way? She was sure anyone else would have interceded in a smarter manner. Though it did seem they had evaded Sachiko-sama's hysteria.

"Yumi-chan, good girl."

Rosa Gigantea offered forth her cup, shoulders trembling. Judging by her unwillingness to look Yumi in the eye, she was definitely laughing. She whispered softly to Yumi.

"I made Sachiko envious."

"Eh?"

When she turned around, Rosa Gigantea was in the middle of stretching herself, and then she walked out, deliberately thinking out loud, "Well, I guess I'll go check downstairs."

It seemed like Rosa Gigantea was having a tremendous misunderstanding. Sachiko-sama was not one to become envious over something as pithy as an embracing scene.

Yumi put both teacups in the sink and let the dishwashing detergent froth.

Sachiko-sama had pulled out the chair adjacent to the chair with her bag, had sat down, and had started reading a book.

(See.)

Sachiko-sama hardly cared about Yumi.

"Ah, there's no hot water."

It seemed like gas was not provided, so the water boiler wasn't working. She helplessly rinsed with cold water and felt thankful it was still autumn.

"The water supply freezes during the winter."

"Really…!" She was surprised.

Not so much about the water supply freezing, so much that Sachiko-sama had been paying attention to Yumi speaking to herself. She assumed reading was a sign of shutting out her surroundings. Of course, Sachiko-sama's gaze was still upon the book.

After putting the cups and spoon into the drying basket and closing the top, Yumi turned 180 degrees to the right.

"Sachiko-sama, thank you for the scenario book during lunchtime."

She flipped a page. Extremely difficult words were packed tightly into that book, from the looks of it.

"Did you have a look through?"

"Ah, … yes, a bit."

"Why did you lower your voice?"

Sachiko-sama finally lifted her head from the book.

"I… don't think I would be able to memorize Cinderella's parts in time…"

She fidgeted and mumbled. Then, a saving "of course not" cut into her despondency.

"I did not request that much."

Then "how much" is she requesting? Just as Yumi began thinking that, Sachiko-sama placed her book on the table, stood up and spoke.

"I will wear a red velvet dress with English-made frills."

What happened to you, Sachiko-sama!? –is what she thought at first, before realizing she'd heard those words before. Or more accurately, she'd read those words, in the Lillian-version Cinderella script. Right before one of Sister B's blue highlight lines. It was Sister A's line.

She did not know why Sachiko-sama suddenly said that line, but it was clear she was awaiting some sort of response. If she could not answer here, she had no doubt Sachiko-sama would be disappointed.

"I am fine with my usual skirt."

Having resolved herself, Yumi began speaking.

"However, I will wear a manteau with a golden floral pattern and a diamond broach. That is an extremely rare product, after all."

When Yumi managed to finish her line, Sachiko-sama stepped closer and stood behind her back.

"Sister, how does this hair look?"

The scene changed, and this time Sachiko-sama was Cinderella."

One danger after another. Yumi tried to remember her lines for the sake of her life. Umm-.

"Cinderella. Do you not wish you could also attend the Ball?"

"Good."

Sachiko-sama touched Yumi's shoulders.

"You've properly remembered your lines."

(Huh…?)

I wonder what happened. My heart's throbbing.

She visited the right shoulder twice. The soft, delicate touch was a fresh sensation, totally different from "good girl" and "there there."

Maybe that was why I felt so conscious of it. Even when Rosa Gigantea patted my head, or embraced me, my heart rate didn't go up, at all.

"Everyone is late."

Sachiko-sama suddenly turned around and walked toward the door. Yumi sighed softly, relieved.

She was embarrassed, as her heart was beating so fast.

"Rosa Gigantea has not yet returned from walking downstairs, too."

"Perhaps they changed the meeting spot? I will go check."

"Then, I, too."

Yumi followed after, cooling her red face with her hands.

In the middle of the staircase, Sachiko-sama stopped and turned around.

"… be careful."

At first, she thought she was being warned about the steep stairs. Yet, she thought what she missed hearing in the beginning sounded similar to "Rosa Gigantea."

"Be careful of what?"

Sachiko-sama replied, "The stairs, of course," and walked down the remaining stairs.

(Ohh.)

She thought Sachiko-sama had worried for her just a bit.

Things don't work out quite so well in the world, though.

Yumi listened to Sachiko-sama and paid careful attention to each step as she walked down.

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