Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter1 3

The semester exam and the paperback. Part 3.

Speaking of Rei.

While the two lambs were with one another in the library, she had diligently opened her math textbook to a set of problems.

Living close to the school comes with its own set of joys. While other people are busy being tossed and turned inside buses and trains, she would already be home, so she could sometimes even eat lunch there.

She'd become so accustomed to a ten-minute walking distance that she couldn't imagine having to bear traveling an hour and a half to go one way. And with that, it'd been a quick twelve years and nine months of attending a school for princesses, contrary to her boyish looks. And now, she was somewhat apathetically thinking that at this rate, even after graduating high school, she'd probably end up going to Lillian's college or junior college.

"Gosh, Rei-chan's lunches are the best. This hot sandwich, the cheese is so neatly melted, and the corn-cream croquette and the minced cabbage somehow works so well together, it's so good!"

One of the reasons for Rei being fastened into Lillian - her sœur and cousin, Yoshino, popped the last bit of the hot sandwich into her mouth and admired the lunch menu.

"Flattery won't bring you anything. Come on, if you're done, open your textbook."

"I'm not flattering!"

As she exclaimed, Yoshino reluctantly placed her tray on the floor, and brought her textbook onto the table.

This was Rei's room.

It was the year-end bargain sale or something, so both of their mothers had gone out together, so in turn, Rei had called Yoshino over to have lunch. Incidentally, their mothers weren't blood-related, but they'd been classmates at Lillian, so they were rather close friends.

They were such close friends that they married each others' brothers. And then they settled down next doors, so they were way too close, Rei sometimes thought, somewhat exasperated at their mothers.

But she could understand now. She wanted to live next-door to Yoshino forever. Ahh, she didn't want their relationship to be messed up ever again.

- And as she was sentimentally thinking that.

"Rei-chan."

A super-close-up of Yoshino.

"Woah, you scared me!"

Placing her hand on the low-dining-style table, Yoshino leaned over like she wanted to tell a secret, and whispered.

"Rei-chan, umm. I just remembered, at class today-"

She should have been used to it, but it still made her heart race. Yoshino's eyes were this big.

"… Yoshino, if you want to just chat, save it for later."

She mumbled, hiding her embarrassment.

"Weren't you the one that asked for help, because you were in trouble for tomorrow's math exam?"

"But, Rei-chan."

"Private tutors usually don't come with a meal."

"Fiiine."

In truth, the math textbook Rei had opened was "Math I" from last year, and she'd gone out of her way to dig it out of her bookshelf for Yoshino. Yoshino was hospitalized for surgery over the fall, so she'd fallen behind in classes. Let's have lunch together, of course included a study session afterward. As her "onee-sama" she felt obliged to help her little sister avoid the hell of red test marks.

"For starters, I want to know how far along you are, so go through all of these problems. Then…"

She glanced at Yoshino. She was fiddling with her braids, and looked like she was almost about to explode. Gosh, who did she think Rei was spending such valuable time for, anyways?

Sheesh. Rei shut her textbook.

"So, what?"

"Eh?"

"What you were saying. I'll listen. But you have to promise you'll concentrate fully on studying afterward, okay?"

And simultaneously, Yoshino's face brightened like a lamp.

"And that's the Rei-chan I know."

"I'm way too soft."

But there weren't many people who wouldn't be moved by that sort of cute face, she thought. An angel's smile. They say people are drawn to things they don't have, and that definitely felt true here.

"Umm, it's mainly about our class, but there's this weird rumor circulating."

Yoshino happily began.

"A weird rumor?"

She had a bad feeling about this. There was never anything good to come out of gossip. She herself got wrecked by the "Yellow Rose Revolution" gossip just last month. And then the pregnancy rumors of her big sister, Rosa Foetida, took off on its own, and half of the student body actually spoke of it like it was the truth. She still couldn't understand how wisdom teeth and pregnancy get confused.

"Ah, this has nothing to do with Rei-chan and I, by the way."

"That would be dreadful. … So?"

Relieved, she urged Yoshino on. And there, she lowered her voice a bit.

"This time, it's Rosa Gigantea."

"Uh?"

"This time Rosa Gigantea's the protagonist of the rumors."

"…"

Crimson October, Yellow November, and now White. What a lovely order of stories. It was enough to make her wonder if the newspaper club caused all of this, but if that were the case, they'd run it as a scoop article. Given that club captain that definitely felt more likely.

"But. If it's Rosa Gigantea I can't find myself being surprised at whatever she did."

Aloof, flirty, carefree. Unless she did something super extraordinary, it was easy to just say, "Oh it's just her."

"Then, how about an autobiographical novel?"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, Rosa Gigantea composes a frank confession of a hidden part of her past? That would be incredible, and it'd cause a lot of uproar, wouldn't it?"

"… She did?"

"Well, that's the 'rumor,' anyways."

"But that's a lie, right?"

"Oh how cruel! Rei-chan's doubting me!"

"No, that's not what I mean."

That rumor can't be true, she meant. But, having misunderstood her, Yoshino became excited and tossed a cushion at Rei.

"Even if I don't like studying I wouldn't lie to get away."

"That's not what I meant."

On one hand she felt she should be happy Yoshino was this energetic again, but it wouldn't be funny if it got to bloodshed, so she used both hands to stop Yoshino, who was about to lift a tray filled with dishes.

"I don't think the first-years, Yoshino included, know."

Rei said to Yoshino, who looked clueless. That meant she'd have to explain.

"Rosa Gigantea's past… is like, taboo, I guess? We're not really supposed to talk about it."

"What do you mean?"

"An unspoken agreement, sort of. Everyone who knows about it closed their mouths to protect her."

"What happened?"

"I don't know… I was just a first-year, and they never told me about it."

But she knew something happened to Rosa Gigantea last year, right before Christmas.

"Past, you mean, last year?"

"Yes."

Around winter last year, Rosa Gigantea changed. Yoshino might not believe it, but that Rosa Gigantea was hardly imaginable with this Rosa Gigantea, being extremely cold and apathetic.

What could possibly change a person this much? It probably had to do with the student that suddenly vanished from Lillian before the third semester-. She thought of a lot of scenarios, but she never found out the truth. But she could assume something big happened.

So, it was unimaginable Rosa Gigantea would turn that into a novel on her own accord. After all, everyone staying silent around her meant they were afraid of wounding her further with just their words.

"If the rumor were to spread, Rosa Gigantea probably will come out and deny it, but I think it might be good to shut down these irresponsible rumors before they spread."

They are rumors after all, so they needed to act quickly if they wanted to shut it down.

"I don't think it's possible to suppress it, though."

"Why? We just have to find where the rumors started, and then deal with it."

"Where the rumors started? Where are you talking about, Rei-chan?"

"Where Rosa Gigantea's book is supposedly going to be published. The literature club? If it's just a 'Lillian Kawaraban' special, it would be the newspaper club."

It was the middle of exams, but if the situation called for it, she was prepared to walk into the classroom of the person responsible and request a meeting. She'd been helped by Rosa Gigantea so many times that she wanted to help her whenever she could.

"Ummm."

But Yoshino still looked troubled.

"Where did it come from?"

This time, Rei probed Yoshino.

"I think Rei-chan will be stunned."

"Stop dancing around, spit it out."

Then, Yoshino pointed at the bookshelf, stuffed with books with floral symbols.

"That."

"… What?"

"Kyuuteisha's Cosmos Book Collection."

- This was no longer the time for math study.

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