Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume20 Postscript (section)

==Afterword==



This, in accordance with what is written up there (↑)<ref> In the original text, the lines go from right to left and are read from top to bottom, so in the original text it is actually "in accordance with what is written on the right (→)", as the word "afterword" is to the right of the current line.</ref>, is the “afterword”.

I will be talking with the assumption that the reader has come here after finishing the main story, so there may be spoilers.

If you think it would be a problem for you, please go back.

If you don’t mind at all, please continue.



Hello, it’s Konno.

Finally, “Soeur Audition”. Just looking at the title, it’s crazy, isn’t it. If you knew the title in advance from a publication guide or something, you may have had fun imagining various kinds of stories like “that kind of story” or “this kind of story”.



For example.

Applicant: “Number one, OO-san. I’m 170 cm tall. My three sizes, from top to bottom, are 95, 58 and 93 (incidentally, these are the sizes of a certain gravure idol)”.

Judge: “Please don’t be so careless about reading mackerel!<ref> I have provided the literal translation; it is an idiom meaning "to lie about numbers for your own advantage.</ref>”

Or.

Applicant: “My special skill is eating udon through my nose”.

Judge: “…… Why don’t you show us?”

<div style="text-align: right"> ------ Just kidding. </div>



For some reason, in this situation I can only see Sachiko’s face in the role of the judge. In comedy terms, I think Sachiko is basically the funny man, even though straight man’s lines suit her so well. Coversely, Yumi may seem like the funny man at first glance, but I think she really is the straight man at heart.

The crimson rose family comedic duo of a hidden funny man and a hidden straight man. Things that I want to show, things that I want to hide. Before I knew it, they both became the funny man and things got out of control.

The white rose sisters are a perfect match, with Shimako being the funny man and Noriko being the straight man.

For the yellow rose sisters, I am unsure which is which, however Yoshino would surely say, “I want to be the funny man,” and push through any opposition, wouldn’t she. Though, they are basically a married comedian couple. The closing lines would be, “I can’t do it with you anymore,” and then, after a pause, “Thank you very much!” (←but, why in the Kansai dialect?<ref> Here in the original text the arrow is pointing upwards, because the preceding line is above the current remark.</ref>).



All jokes aside.

About what I thought while writing this story.

“If I were a first-year at the Lilian Girls' Academy high school and admired Yumi (Yoshino), would I apply for the tea party?”

Well, in conclusion.

If it were me, I think I would apply. Because it sounds interesting. I feel like it’s a conversation starter. Even if I don’t get chosen as a bouton’s petit seour, I can keep my spirits up with a “well, it can’t be helped”. Of course, a shock is still a shock.

If I was my 15 or 16 year old self, I don’t think I would have applied. The reason being that I would be afraid of getting hurt. If Yumi (Yoshino) didn’t pick me as her petit seour, I think I would get depressed feeling like my very existence was being denied.

Why was it that I was so serious back then, that I was strangely blind to my surroundings, that I could only think about things in binary terms, and that I couldn’t forgive myself for so many things? Maybe that is just what being young is like.

I’m not saying everyone is like that, but I do think girls go through such periods. Even though the times have changed, I don’t think the growth process of humans has changed all that much. Sometimes, in the letters I receive, I find images of my classmates from middle school and high school, with whom I had so many joys and sorrows, and it makes me feel nostalgic.

That’s why someone like Youko, who is an honor student and has a vision, is a very rare specimen. There is no way she didn’t have a rebellious phase, so let’s just say that in her case it came early and was short on top of that.

And so I was impressed by the first-year students who attended the tea party to try and take action.



Oka~y, attention (in the tone of an overly excited young female teacher).

This time, a lot of first-year characters appear. Among them is Naitou Shouko. I was worried that she may have been forgotten, so I’ll do a review here just in ca~se.

If you remember her, you can skip this pa~rt.

She is not a new character. She is the girl that appeared in “Chocolate Portrait” from “Variety Gifts” and was worried about being bad with photogra~phs.

Make sure to memorize her properly. It will be on the exa~m (kidding).



Now.

This time there are a lot of pages in the afterword, so I’ll go away from the content of the novel and talk about things that happened around me for a change.

I wrote a little bit about it in the Cobalt magazine, but recently two white-eyes have started coming to my garden. Because it was a cold season, food was in short supply, so I hung pieces of apples on a tree and they happily ate them.

Ah, do you know what a white-eye is? It’s a small bird that looks like a Japanese bush warbler. Because the area around the eyes is white, this bird was given the name “White-eye”.

I was watching them from inside the house, thinking how cute they were, but then a bird many times their size came along. It was a bulbul.

White-eyes are a little smaller than sparrows, and bulbuls are a little smaller than pigeons. Naturally, the bulbul would win. If you have a large body, the amount of food you eat isn’t half bad either. The apples ran out quickly, and there wasn’t enough left for the white-eyes to eat.

I don’t have any preference towards wild birds, but I wanted to support the white-eye. I, myself, am from the hobbit tribe (lol), and when the smaller ones are fighting the bigger ones, I can’t help but cheer on the smaller ones. I’ve always loved small sumo wrestlers.

Well, even though I support white-eyes, I don’t really do anything special. However, when a bulbul comes, I keep a close eye on it. That’s all. Bulbuls don’t seem to like being watched during meal time, so they quickly leave after eating a few bites. Then, when the white-eyes come, they never come close to the window glass. Because white-eyes also don’t like being watched during meal time.

The unfortunate thing about this strategy is that I can’t get a close look at the white-eyes eating, which I find cute. Ah, the dilemma.

Lately, perhaps because the weather is getting warmer and food is plentiful, neither of them has been seen much. Although I’m sad, I’m also a little relieved.

Feeding wild animals needlessly, huh. Somehow, I felt like Shimako-san was going to scold me.



But, I guess the ban will be lifted when winter comes again.



Konno Oyuki



=== Translator's Notes ===

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