Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume10 Chapter1 4

Peppermint Candy. Part 4

At that moment, all Shimako could do was sigh inwardly and watch over her.

"I'm Nijou Noriko."

"Gokigenyou. Welcome to the Rose Mansion."

Three days after their conversation in front of Maria-sama, after school on Monday, Noriko accepted the invitation to the Rose Mansion.

Since they knew Noriko was going to be there, it wasn't just Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama in attendance; Yumi-san and Yoshino-san were there too. The Rose families had all assembled to greet their visitor.

Shimako knew that Rei-sama had taken a day off from her club activities to be there, and that Yoshino-san and Yumi-san had carefully cleaned the room during their lunch break.

Everyone wanted to give Noriko a warm, welcome feeling. But just having them express this left Shimako with mixed feelings. She still didn't know whether she should bind herself to Noriko as soeur. Noriko had only been brought to the Rose Mansion because a loose end had slipped out and been discovered as she went around in circles on this issue.

Perhaps she should proceed if Noriko fit in with the rest of the group, much the same way that Yumi-san had blended in after her sudden appearance during the autumn of the previous year. That seemed to be the expectation, more or less.

Both sides seemed more awkward than usual, but the opening of the biscuit door and the exchange of greetings had passed without incident.

"Noriko-chan, why don't you sit here? Would you be fine with tea to drink?"

Sachiko-sama put on her best smile and beckoned to Noriko.

"No, it's okay. I came to help out."

Watching Noriko bluntly deny the offer, Shimako felt dizzy.

There was no hidden meaning behind Noriko's statement, she was simply putting her thoughts in to words, but it might come across as a display of defiance to people who weren't familiar with her.

"Well … "

Just as Shimako had expected, Sachiko-sama had a slightly surprised expression on her face. But then Rei-sama intervened, her cheerful voice an apparent rejection of the current atmosphere.

"That won't do at all. After all, just for today, you're our guest here, Noriko-chan."

She guided Noriko from her position by the door over to the table, and, in a preemptive strike, had her sit beside Sachiko-sama. Such consummate skill.

"Over time you'll learn all the everyday chores, but for today we'd like to chat with you. Ah, Yumi-chan, can you make some of the good tea?"

After raising her hand towards Yumi-san, who'd been waiting nearby, Rei-sama took her own seat. It looked like Noriko was stuck between Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida.

"Okay."

Yumi cheerfully responded. Yoshino-san too moved to support her, and before long tea was being poured into six cups.

It was completely different to the makeshift tea-bag tea of three days prior. Rather than mixing it one cup at a time, the tea leaves were allowed to dance within the teapot, rewarding them with an elegant scent. On account of their guest, they were using the finest tea.

"Shimako, why are you still standing? Have a seat."

"Ah, right."

Having been cautioned by Sachiko-sama, Shimako hurriedly sat down. Since Yoshino-san had already sat down beside Sachiko-sama, and Yumi-san had sat down beside Rei-sama, Shimako sat down opposite Noriko. In other words, she was the furthest away.

"Noriko-chan, sugar or milk?"

Yumi-san held out the basket with sticks of sugar and creamer to Noriko.

"Noriko, how do you like your tea? With sugar and milk? Or without?"

It's not as though anyone would have misinterpreted Yumi-san's words. Even so, Shimako couldn't stop herself from acting as interpreter for Noriko.

"Ah, I'm fine."

Naturally, Noriko bypassed Shimako and responded directly to Yumi-san.

"It tastes good."

Noriko drank her tea straight. Yumi-san added a stick of sugar and a stick of creamer, while Yoshino-san added two sticks of creamer and waited until her tea turned beige before bringing it to her lips.

Shimako too brought her cup to her lips. For whatever reason, she barely noticed the taste. Instead, she found herself excessively thirsty.

However, that thirst would not be abated if she were to down the entire cup of tea, nor would the warming of her stomach after the liquid had passed down her esophagus bring satisfaction to her.

That cool, sweet wind was whistling around her chest. Who else was there that would understand this sensation?

"Oh, is that true?"

Shimako was brought back to her senses by the sound of laughter.

The conversation had flowed around her. Although it did seem that it had mainly been Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama asking questions, with Noriko answering them.

Have you become accustomed to school life at Lillian's?

What are your favorite subjects?

Are you having any problems at school? – etc, etc.

The Rose Mansion was indisputably the Rose's territory. There was no avoiding the fact that the newcomer would be the focus of their questions.

"What about your family, Noriko-chan?"

Sachiko-sama inquired.

"What does your father do, for instance?"

Perhaps having run out of questions related to school life, the questions now turned to her private life.

"My family?"

Just for a moment, Noriko had a puzzled look on her face. So, without thinking, Shimako answered for her.

"Ah, at the moment, Noriko's living with her great-aunt. Since her family lives in Chiba, and it's a long commute."

" … Why are you answering for her?"

When this was pointed out by Rei-sama, Shimako felt a bit dejected. What was she in such a hurry for? In comparison, Noriko was composed.

"My father's a public servant and my mother's a teacher. I have one younger sister."

As for the contents of the question, there was nothing too troubling about the answer. It was the sort of response you'd find in a textbook on the Japanese language.

"It must be lonely living away from your parents."

"Yeah. But my great-aunt's a Lillian's graduate too, so she tells me stories about the old days, which is fun. Even though we're far apart in age, our relationship is more like friends."

"Wow, friends! That's incredible."

"Amazing."

As she watched the girls smiling elegantly, Shimako felt the blood draining from her head. – What on earth was going on?

Smiling face piled up on top of smiling face, to the point where it looked like they were trying to manufacture something where there was nothing.

Thinking about it calmly, it seemed implausible that the instigators of the "Maria Ceremony Inquisition," ie. Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida, were only now discovering this personal information about Noriko. They surely knew all about her family and her living arrangements, and yet they were still asking the questions, so, on reflection, it must be deliberate.

In that case, this was a process.

Process – ? To what possible ends?

What possible direction were they heading in?

"Ah, although it's more characteristic of the Asuka or Hakuhou periods."

Now that Noriko had bled for them, they'd moved on to questions about Buddhist statues.

"I've seen Buddhist statues like that before but never understood the meaning. I've learned something."

The smiles kept piling up, like they were made of papier mache.

It seemed to Shimako as though they were trying to coat her with so many of those smiles that she wouldn't be able to move.