Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume32 Chapter6 1 (section)

===<noinclude>Support and Skinship. </noinclude>Part 1.===

Seemingly an annual tradition, the 'Search of the Rose Mansion for the Third Years' Forgotten Items' took place on the day before the graduation ceremony.

That 'seemingly' was deliberately added in there because she hadn't participated in this last year. Noriko was only a first year. Although she'd heard about this from her onee-samas.

"Well then."

"Shall we make a start?"

"I guess so."

Having arrived a little late due to going to the staff room and other such places, and having just finished their lunch, the three second years stood up.

The second floor of the Rose Mansion. 2pm.

Seeing the three seniors starting to move off, the first years Noriko and Touko quickly attended to the washing up then followed after them.

The stage was the seldom used room on the first floor. Since it had been mainly turned into a warehouse there was the possibility that treasures could be discovered between the strata. So they held this annual excavation, to try and find the personal belongings of the graduating seniors and return them to their owners.

There were five people in this search party. Naturally, the third years did not participate.

"Well, this shouldn't take too long."

Were the words of Rosa Chinensis en bouton, Fukuzawa Yumi-sama.

"Even so, we have to do this for appearance's sake."

Rosa Foetida en bouton, Shimazu Yoshino-sama muttered, chuckling like an elegant lady.

"Oh, do you think we won't find anything?"

This was Noriko's onee-sama, Toudou Shimako-san. Despite only being a second year, she was Rosa Gigantea. Even if you took away the rose-colored glasses Noriko saw her through, she was still a beautiful, kind and smart – an impeccable lady.

"I wonder if we will find anything."

As the descended the creaking stairs, the attitude of the members seemed to be anything but brimming with enthusiasm.

There was a reason that everyone was so ambivalent about this search. Because they knew they weren't going to find anything.

Some time last week, either during lunch or after school, when both Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida happened to be present the conversation had turned to the search for lost items. At which point, Rosa Chinensis proclaimed:

"Well, in my case, there's no way I would have forgotten any of my personal belongings."

And then gave a small laugh, like ancient nobility in a comic. Since she was so filled with confidence, they all thought they wouldn't find anything of hers. Support from that didn't just come from the person herself. A few days ago, when the three second years went into the first floor room for an unrelated matter, they reported that they hadn't seen any personal belongings of Rosa Chinensis or Rosa Foetida.

(On top of that.)

Noriko let out a sigh.

She hadn't said anything because she didn't want to trouble Yumi-sama, but yesterday morning she had witnessed Rosa Chinensis coming out of the room on the first floor of the Rose Mansion. 

Having declared that nothing would be found, it would have been embarrassing for her if something was, so she had probably done a check prior to the search. Noriko hadn't actually seen this, but she assumed Rosa Foetida had probably done the same thing too.

So even though they were going to search, they weren't going to find anything. And because they had to search for things they wouldn't find, there was no sense of tension.

So while the search last year took place two days prior to the graduation ceremony, this year because it was a search 'for appearance's sake' that 'wouldn't take long' they were holding it the day before the graduation ceremony. It may have been a grave mistake, but because they didn't expect to find anything, they didn't see a need to leave a whole day free to return any items.

The second years were all somewhat busy seeing off their seniors.