Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume37 Chapter5

Farewell Bouquet III

Knock-knock.

After hearing the two knocks, and before they had a chance to respond, the door was opened from the other side.

"Yumi-sama … ah, there you are."

Rosa Gigantea's petite soeur, Nijou Noriko-chan, opened the door about 30cm to confirm the state of the room, then left the door like that. Yumi and Katori-sensei's eyes met, as they wondered what they should do now, as they heard the sounds of footsteps going down the stairs, and then coming back up again.

"Pardon our intrusion."

This time Noriko-chan entered the room with an unknown student following behind her. She was probably a first-year, based on the newness of her uniform and the atmosphere that surrounded her. Yumi briefly imagined that Noriko-chan had already found herself a petite soeur candidate, but in that case, why would she have mentioned "Yumi-sama" when she first poked her head into the room? If she was presenting her petite soeur, she would have started with her onee-sama.

"She said she had some business with Rosa Chinensis. Since you weren't in the third-year pine classroom, she thought you might be here."

It looked as though this girl had made it to the front door of the Rose Mansion easily enough, but then found herself unable to take that first step inside. If Noriko-chan hadn't called out to her, she'd probably still be loitering around the courtyard or the walkway. Yumi understood this feeling well, since she'd had a similar experience when she was a first-year.

"Go on, you can speak for yourself."

The first-year finally looked up when Noriko-chan stepped out of the way. Her nervousness peaked when she saw it wasn't just Yumi there, but also a teacher.

"Um, here."

The first-year's voice was loud and wavering as she held out a floral-patterned paper bag. Or rather, it was more like she thrust the bag at them.

"This … is for me?"

Since Yumi didn't know the first-year girl, it seemed unlikely that she was returning something. In that case, it was probably a present.

"Yes. C-cookies. I made them yesterday. If it's not a bother."

The first-year's face was bright red as she frantically struggled to get her sentences out. Charmingly innocent. Yumi instinctively wanted to reach out and hug the younger girl, even though she wasn't her petite soeur. At times like this she thought she should "Go for it," but she wasn't a certain Lillian graduate, so she didn't follow through on this idea.

"It's no bother at all, in fact, I'm overjoyed. Thank-you. May I open it?"

Yumi accepted the paper bag and opened it to have a look inside. It contained a plastic bag, with neatly lined cookies, like little full moons.

"I'm not sure if they'll be to your liking … "

"Ah, right. If you wait a little while, I can give you my impressions."

Yumi picked out one and placed it in her mouth.

Crunch, munch, mmm.

"Oh!"

An exquisite harmony unfolded within her mouth.

"They're not as sweet as normal cookies, but could that be what allows the aroma of the ingredients to come to the fore … ?"

Fittingly, the cookies had herbs baked into them.

"At any rate, they're delicious."

"Really?"

The cookie maker asked, somewhat dubiously.

"How should I prove to you that it's not just flattery?"

"That statement alone does."

The first-year smiled, her nerves finally abating.

"Since they're so good, would you mind if I shared them with everyone later?"

"No, not at all … ah, but."

She looked uneasy, as though she was reconsidering this.

"Wouldn't it be impolite to Rosa Chinensis en bouton?"

"Touko? Don't worry, she'll be fine. She won't be bothered by this, right?"

Yumi looked to Noriko-chan for confirmation. Touko and Noriko-chan were incomparably close friends, to the point where they knew each other better than their onee-samas did.

"Yeah, I think Rosa Chinensis en bouton would happily partake in eating them."

Yumi had asked the question, but Noriko-chan responded looking at the first-year girl. Noriko-chan probably wouldn't be bothered if someone brought something for Shimako-san either.

"Would you care to join us for tea?"

Yumi asked, both by way of thanks and politeness, but.

"N-no."

It was a rather firm refusal. The first-year was probably nervous about being in the Rose Mansion to begin with, but sitting down with a teacher made that unthinkable. It was an understandable reaction.

"Well then … let's see. Would you like some herbs?"

"Herbs?"

"That's right. Fresh herbs."

As Yumi led the first-year girl over to the simple planters, she told the story about the herb boom that was happening in their families.

"We're going to divide them up and take them home today, so please take one if you want."

"Did any of these come from your home, Rosa Chinensis?"

"Ah, this chamomile was from my veranda at home."

"May I have it then?"

"Of course."

The plant was only just smaller than a full-size milk carton, so Yumi had carried it in a shopping bag when she brought it to school.

"Thank-you very much."

"And you too, thanks for the cookies."

Yumi saw the girl off, waiting by the biscuit door until she had left through the Rose Mansion's main entrance, during which time the first-year turned and waved multiple times. Yumi stood there waving until the girl was no longer visible, then returned to the second-floor room and was sipping on her tea when Katori-sensei said:

"Copyright Katori Maki."

"Ah."

How should I prove to you that it's not just flattery? – for whatever reason, she had spoken those words.

"Thank-you for letting me borrow your phrase. Here, your fee."

Yumi opened the paper bag she'd received from the first-year, took out a cookie and placed it on a piece of tissue paper. On closer inspection, its color differed to the one she'd tasted earlier. It looked like they all had herbs kneaded into the dough, but there were a number of different varieties.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly … "

Katori-sensei put up a pretense of refraining, but her eyes were fixed on the cookie. Yumi repeated the offer, saying, "Here you go."

"You must have heard what she said, Katori-sensei. That I had her permission to share them with everyone later."

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