Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter2 2 (section)

===<noinclude>Falling Cherry Blossoms / Exam Failure. </noinclude>Part 2.===

– Reverse "Hidden Christian."



That was the masochistic nickname that Noriko had given herself.

(My hobby's viewing Buddhist statues, yeah.)

In her spare time, she'd visit Buddhist temples and admire their statues. But that wasn't the sort of thing you could say out loud at a Catholic school.

There was no image of Kannon inside the statue of Maria-sama.

A long time ago, persecuted Christians would pray before statues of the virgin Mary shaped to look like the goddess Kannon, but she wasn't even close to being that devout. Noriko was simply charmed by the beauty of the shape of Buddhist statues.

The cherry trees were visible from the windows of the first-year camellia group classroom.

Since they'd been in full bloom on the day of the entrance ceremony, the branches were now quite bare. But even so, when the wind blew, there was a scattering of petals like the first flurries of snow. 

The sister in charge of religious education was telling a story related to the bible scriptures.

(If it hadn't been snowing that day … )

Noriko would ponder this from time to time.

Speculating that she wouldn't have been here.

Another place would have been made for her, not here, and that place must be her proper location, right?

The snow of roughly a month and a half ago combined with the somewhat refined hobby for a 15-year old girl had changed the course of Noriko's life.

– She'd lost out in the fiercely competitive entrance exams.

She hadn't tasted a setback related to studying. She was more than confident that she could conquer the high-school entrance exams. She got a passing grade on all the mock exams for her first-choice school, and her homeroom teacher had given her the seal of approval, saying she'd definitely pass.

So why was it that she was currently here? For no other reason than that on the day of the entrance exam, she wasn't able to make it to the examination hall. All the seals of approval in the world didn't count for anything if you didn't take the test.

On the day before the entrance exam, Noriko was in Kyoto.

That day was the one day every twenty years that a certain temple made their statue of Kannon viewable to the public. – Once in twenty years. If she let that chance escape, she'd be 35 by the time it came around again.

She didn't even think about it. Chiba and Kyoto were close enough for it to be a day-trip.

However.

(As they say, going's easy, it's the coming back that's hard.)

Unfortunately, bullet-train services were suspended due to heavy snow. So, the only option she had was to accept the offer she'd already received to attend Lillian's Girls Academy.

"Nijou-san, are you listening?"

"Ah, yes."

The sisters didn't get angry, even when the students looked out the windows.

Maria-sama's always watching over you. That sort of thing was all they'd say.

"There's also Chapter 15 in the Gospel According to Luke."

It was the story about a shepherd with 100 sheep, asking if he'd leave behind 99 sheep to search for the one that had gone missing. The Bible was overflowing with parables.

The sister was still lecturing as she spread her arms wide.

"The Lord will not abandon those who seek his assistance. Let us pray together. For God is pleased when we guide his lost little lambs."