Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume7 Chapter5

Monday

Part 1

"Ah."

With that.

Sachiko-sama (Rosa Chinensis en bouton), Rei-sama (Rosa Foetida en bouton) and Shimako-san (Rosa Gigantea en bouton), all stood up simultaneously.

After a morning spent rehearsing for the graduation ceremony, the two afternoon classes had been effortlessly dispatched and lessons were concluded for the day. As always, the regular group of five scholars had gathered in the Rose Mansion. Before beginning their daily tasks, there was a brief period of peace and tranquility spent enjoying fragrant tea … as you can see, I, Fukuzawa Yumi, am still feeling the effects of my sixth-period classical literature class.

Setting that aside for now.

"Yumi, what did you just say?"

Naturally, the one asking the question was my onee-sama, Sachiko-sama.

"Umm … "

Oh dear. I quickly tried to determine how I'd failed my onee-sama this time. I've become accustomed to being the soeur of my beloved Sachiko-sama, but the word "unworthy" has been hovering over my head for six months now. Just hearing my onee-sama say, "Yumi," in a slightly harsh tone was enough to remind me of the many times I've failed her in the past.

"Was it, "The way things are, it doesn't really feel like a graduation ceremony?""

Strange. Even repeating the words I'd spoken immediately before they all stood up, I couldn't see what was wrong with them.

"A bit before that."

"Then, "The third-years are lucky, they don't have end of semester exams?""

"Not that far back. Come on, get it together. Before we forget what it was."

Even if Sachiko-sama said that, when I was speaking earlier it had been more like I was talking to myself than anything else. It'd be even more strange if I remembered each and every word I'd said. But even if I couldn't remember it by myself, it was wrong of her to get mad at her petit soeur for that too.

Still, hearing my onee-sama selfishly lash out had felt good, so it looks like I've been reduced to the status of deviant.

I guess that's the result of being molded by Rosa Gigantea.

Still, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama was growing more and more irritated as she waited intently for an answer, and that would lead to even harsher words.

"Yumi, why are you daydreaming!?"

"I, I'm sorry."

I yelped and dropped my head, like a dog covering its ears. No matter how much I loved her, Sachiko-sama's thunder was terrifying.

"Hey, Yumi-chan, weren't you saying something about the Roses?"

This year's Rosa Foetida en bouton, as well as Mister Lillian – although rumor had it that title was going to be retired and awarded to her in perpetuity – that is to say, Hasekura Rei-sama, interjected with a question. She'd probably thought it was a silly soeur fight and didn't want to watch.

"Ah, the going away party for the Roses?"

I said, remembering. And then:

"Right, that."

"Exactly."

"Ah, what should we do?"

The red, yellow and white boutons said in turn. Why? I had no idea.

"What should we do about what?"

Yoshino-san asked, looking at Shimako-san standing bolt upright.

"We forgot all about it."

"Again, forgot what?"

"The going away party for the Roses?"

I asked without thinking. Based on the way the conversation had been going, that was the only possible answer.

"Exactly. Just like Shimako-san said. What should we do?"

The usually resplendent Sachiko-sama had turned oddly pale. The only other time I've seen her this shaken was in the jeans shop.

"Ah – I thought we'd forgotten something. So that's what it was."

Rei-sama took things in at her own pace. Her composure was probably due to the discipline instilled in her by her martial arts training. Then again, if Yoshino-san's stories about the "occasional gigantic fool Rei-chan" were to be believed, perhaps it was simply a matter of situational familiarity.

"The going away party for the Roses?"

I said. Sachiko-sama looked flabbergasted, responding with, "You know, that's all you've been saying for a while now, Yumi."

"Haa."

"Well, it's fine. Thanks to your solo prattling, we were saved from making a careless blunder."

"Umm, okay. But I don't really understand what you're talking about."

My mind was sloshing around in confusion. I heard those feelgood phrase like, "Thanks to you," and "we were saved," but it was honestly a bit sad that I didn't know the actual feat I'd accomplished.

Indeed, I had said, "The going away party for the Roses." The rehearsal for the graduation ceremony had gone smoothly, and there was the third-years' farewell party coming up, which was bound to be a lot more exciting, so I'd been thinking about how the actual graduation ceremony would be when I opened my mouth.

"Don't make me say it again. We completely forgot our onee-samas' farewell party."

The three boutons all had the same distraught expressions as Sachiko-sama flatly muttered this.

"Ah, but. So then."

I looked to Yoshino-san for support. I thought she was in the same boat as me, but at some point she'd made it to the opposite shore. In other words, she'd crossed over to the "People who understand the situation" faction.

"… I see, a farewell party for the Roses … so when you were talking about "third-years" you meant graduating students."

Yoshino-san nodded to herself. Hey, share some of that info with me, will you.

"The Roses are going to graduate, aren't they?"

Reluctantly, I fished for a clue. Then Yoshino-san raised her index finger and said, "There's a subtle difference."

"The Roses are indeed going to graduate, but you can't say that "graduating students" equals "the Roses.""

So, what? Was this some kind of math party? – this question flew around my head as I thought.

"Ah, oh!"

I'd finally figured out what to say.

"The bouton organized "Third-years' Farewell Party" is for all the graduating students!? I thought – "

I thought it was just going to be a relatively small and intimate farewell party held in the Rose Mansion. Based on her earlier response, Yoshino-san had definitely had the same misunderstanding.

"We've been saying that all along."

Sachiko-sama sighed.

"Hold on, we may not have actually said that. Since we all knew what it meant, we may not have explained it fully. But Yoshino and Yumi-san are first-years, so they won't know what happened last year."

Rei-sama rested her chin on her fist, in the classic "Thinker" pose. The way she looked, she was without peer. While I may not be Takeshima Tsutako-san, photography club ace, if I'd had a camera with me I definitely would have clicked the shutter.

"At the very least, I didn't mention anything to Yumi-san or Yoshino-san … so I suppose it is true."

Shimako-san and Rei-sama were in agreement. Hearing that, Sachiko-sama had no choice but to say, "Perhaps so," and back down.

"The three of us have been under such pressure to ensure the grand task was a success that we lost sight of something dear to us. It's a mistake unbecoming of a bouton."

Just like that, Sachiko-sama became dispirited, so Rei-sama patted her on the shoulder.

"We should have taken precautions to prevent this."

So, for the time being, the three boutons resumed their seats.

Basically, it went like this:

For the last week, the boutons had been frantically preparing for the "Third-years' Farewell Party." This occupied so much of their thoughts that they'd completely forgotten the private farewell party. And their petit soeurs, who were supposed to cover for them in these situations, had stupidly been under the impression that the farewell party their onee-samas were preparing was actually for the Roses. Even though it was actually a massive event for the entire school.

"Classes wouldn't be canceled just for a private farewell party."

Sachiko-sama tapped the small blackboard hanging beside the sink as she spoke. Indeed, it had, "Farewell Party, Saturday, Starts at 9," written on it, but the loop of the 9 was very faint so it looked like 1. The boutons knew it was happening during class time, so they saw it was 9, but Yoshino-san and I read it as 1, since we thought it was taking place in the afternoon. So it hadn't looked suspicious to anyone, despite both groups thinking different things.

Thinking about it now, if it was just a private farewell party, the bouton's wouldn't have treated it so sensitively. Plus when I was talking about the "Third-years' Farewell Party" with some of my classmates, it had sort of felt like we were talking across each other.

Mistake was piled on top of mistake like a mille-feuille, with the end result being that it wasn't until today that the truth came to light.

"Wait, when should we have it?"

"Schedules, schedules."

The boutons hastily confirmed their schedules. Since it was a private party, it would be pointless if anyone was missing. But leaving it until after graduation just to get everyone there would be bad too.

"Saturday afternoon."

Rei-sama circled her calendar.

"That's the only possible time."

Sachiko-sama agreed. By holding it after the third-years' farewell party, they could be reasonably certain that the Roses would be at school.

"We'll have to confirm that with the Roses quickly."

"I'll do it."

I stood up and took off towards the door. It was a soeur's duty to provide support to her onee-sama. While I may not have brains or looks, I could make up for it with legwork.

"Ah, Yumi, wait."

At roughly the same time that Sachiko-sama's voice reached me, something light crashed into my back.

"Oww."

Well, it didn't really hurt. I looked down at my feet and something was skipping around on the floor.

"An eraser … ?"

When I picked it up, I knew I'd seen that soccer-ball patterned eraser somewhere before.

"Nice shot, even if I do say so myself."

The owner of the eraser, Yoshino-san, laughed as she asked for it back. Throwing something at someone to get them to stop, who did she think she was, Zenigata Heiji?

"Please wait until we've finished talking before rushing off."

Sachiko-sama let out a deep sigh.

"Even if I asked you to go out and look for them now, they wouldn't still be here."

"Ah, I see."

Damn. I'd failed again.

"You really are restless, aren't you."

My onee-sama's offhand remarked stabbed me like a knife. No matter how you looked at it, being described as "restless" was not a compliment.

I could take those sort of comments in my stride when everything was going swimmingly, but if I was feeling a bit off, then they would get me down. Thinking she'd be better off with a less restless petit soeur.

"Isn't it great that she's so energetic? I think we should let Yumi-chan contact our onee-samas."

Rei-sama said, grinning. Yoshino-san's "Rei-chan" was as kind as ever.

"We'll need an answer by this time tomorrow. Just ask them whether or not they're free Saturday afternoon. And, let's see, if it's not convenient for anyone, I suppose we'll have to think some more about when we could schedule it this week."

Sachiko-sama watched Rei-sama quickly list off the instructions before resignedly turning to face me.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

"Okay."

At the time, I replied energetically.

Later, I would miserably recall those words. But for now it was inconceivable.

Translator's Notes

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