Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume24 Chapter5 5

===<noinclude>First Year Camellia Class is Normal. </noinclude>Part 5===

Monday of the last week of January, two days out from the candidates' speeches.

At lunch, before heading to the Rose Mansion, Yumi timidly approached the library.

For no real reason. Maybe she was reminded of what happened last year. Looking behind the counter for Shizuka-sama, who obviously wasn't there.

If Shizuka-sama was still enrolled at Lillian's, Yumi would have been able to ask her all about what transpired back then. Maybe it would have explained some things about Touko-chan, who was, in a way, in the same position.

(That's probably it.)

She didn't even consider discussing it with her soon-to-be-graduated onee-sama. Since it had to do with Yumi's relationship to Touko-chan, she had to somehow stumble upon a solution herself, even if she didn't know what it was just now.

Why was Touko-chan running in the election? Was it because she wanted to be a Rose?

If Yumi continued on and graduated without a petit soeur, then the seat of Rosa Chinensis would automatically open up. At that point there would be no problem with her running in the election.

Why couldn't she wait a year?

Or did she want to beat Shimako-san and the two boutons in order to become a Rose?

Maybe she was dissatisfied with the current student council? But then, two of the three were changing, so it was bound to change too.

So then, was the problem the boutons? Yumi, or Yoshino-san. Had she nominated herself to show that she wouldn't recognize one of them as a student council leader?

''"A fresh breeze for the Yamayurikai."''

That slogan was written on Touko-chan's poster.

If Touko-chan thought she wanted to be a student council president for all the right reasons, shouldn't Yumi admire that determination?

(Even though in the one-in-a-million chance that Touko-chan wins, one of us will lose.)

Yoshino-san's scary face stole into her mind.

Following in the footsteps of her onee-sama.

Continuing to do her best to support the Yamayurikai with her friends, like she had up to now.

How was that for a motive?

(While that may be true, what can you do, Yumi-san?)

This time the gentle face of Shimako-san floated by. Yumi was one person, she didn't have hundreds of ballots to cast.

That was exactly right. Even if Yumi voted for Touko-chan, it was very rare that an election was decided by just one ballot. But, even if that one vote was the difference between victory and defeat, they wouldn't know who it was that lost and was left behind until the votes were tallied. Speculate however she may.

(Hold on, Yumi-san. What are you thinking?)

The phantoms of her two dear friends seemed to overlap each other.

(If you do that, I'll never forgive you.)

But there was still time, even now.

The deadline for candidate registration had already passed. There were four candidates. If one dropped out, that would leave the requisite three. Those three would become the next Roses through a vote of confidence.

She could continue to fight Touko-chan, or she could withdraw her candidacy and cede the position of Rosa Chinensis.

She'd gone over this countless times in her mind.

"Haa .. "

In the end, she couldn't come up with an answer just by changing her location. Yumi sat in the reading room for about ten minutes before leaving the library. The number of students who'd come to the library during lunch to study or research something had increased. If she was just going to sit around sighing, she didn't have to do it there.

As she was walking back towards the school building, she noticed a middle-aged lady walking back and forth in front of the visitor's entrance.

"Um … ?"

Upon hearing her voice, the lady's shoulders jumped in surprise and she turned around.

"My apologies. I could guide you to your destination, if you'd like."

"Oh my."

She was probably a student's mother, or maybe an alumni. She was a little bit plump, wearing a fine looking tailored coat, and smiled elegantly.

"Thank-you, that would be a great help. I brought something my daughter left at home, but I wasn't sure how best to go about it. I set out when I noticed she'd left it behind, so I haven't been in touch with her. To be honest, I was thinking about just going home. I've been here for school festivals and sports festivals, but it's somehow hard to approach the school building on a regular day, don't you think?"

"I see. Ah, here, use these."

Yumi led the lady to the entrance and laid out a pair of blue slippers for her.

"Thank-you."

After putting on the slippers, the lady unbuttoned her coat. After sliding her coat back past her collar, she stood there for a little while. Yumi looked at her, unsure what she was doing, and eventually the lady blushed and said, "Ah."

"Oh no. Silly me."

It looked as though typically someone else would remove her coat for her. As befitting the daughter, no, wife of a high-class family.

"Which class is your daughter in?"

Yumi asked, pulling herself together.

"First-year – no, could you perhaps guide me to the high-school staff room?"

"Okay?"

Yumi asked, and the lady said:

"I don't think you'd like it if your mother brought something you'd forgotten to your classroom, right?"

In front of her friends.

"That … might be true."

Yumi tried replacing the lady in front of her eyes with her own mother.

(Thank-you for always looking after Yumi. I've brought something she left at home today. Ah, Yumi-chan, look, here. You left it in the entrance. Honestly, you're so absent-minded.)

Imagining it, it was indeed painful.

"I don't want to embarrass my daughter, so it would be better to leave it with her homeroom teacher. Don't you think so?"

In addition to her handbag, the lady held a simple brown paper bag, which probably contained the thing her daughter had left behind – so it didn't look like it required any special care.

"I understand completely."

In full agreement, Yumi obediently headed towards the staff room. She tried to imagine what the forgotten item could be. Typically, it'd be something like a forgotten lunchbox. In that case, the sooner it was delivered the better. Even though Yumi's lunch still sat untouched in her bag.

The lady looked around restlessly as she walked, apparently finding the school on a weekday an unusual sight.

"Student council election … ah."

The lady said, reading from a poster in the hallway.

"You've heard about it?"

It wasn't a candidate's poster, just an informational one about the election. Stating when the candidates' speeches would be held, as well as the election day and other such things.

"Yes, my daughter told me all about it. She said that, this year, the current Rosa Gigantea, Rosa Chinensis en bouton and Rosa Foetida en bouton were running. It sounds like my daughter's supporting them all too. She said they're all lovely onee-samas, so they'll surely be elected. Isn't that wonderful?"

She probably couldn't imagine that the girl in front of her was Rosa Chinensis en bouton. And since the praise had been made unknowingly, it wouldn't be appropriate for Yumi to respond humbly with, "Oh, you're too kind." That said, they weren't close enough that she'd introduce herself formally either, so Yumi simply smiled vaguely as they arrived at the staff room.

"Thank-you very much. You've been a great help."

The lady said, implying that she'd be able to handle it from here, having seen the teacher's seating chart posted near the doorway.

"I'm sorry for prying, but you still have your lunch left in your bag, don't you? I'd feel terrible if lunch ended before you finished eating, so don't worry about me."

So that meant it probably wasn't her daughter's lunch in the bag. Yumi excused herself, and thought she'd head to the Rose Mansion to eat. As she was leaving, the lady said:

"Say, have we met somewhere before?"

"No?"

Yumi looked uncertain, having no memory of any such meeting. Even if they had met, it hadn't been anything monumental enough for her to remember.

"I see. Maybe all the young ladies in the same school uniform look similar … but I don't think you were wearing your school uniform."

"The sports uniform, maybe?"

Yumi said, remembering the lady's earlier comment about the sports festival. 

"Ah, maybe that was it. Or at one of the stalls at the cultural festival."

"I wore a happi coat at one of the food stalls."

She may have been one of the customers, but Yumi couldn't remember. Or maybe they'd just passed each other in the street.

"Ah, I've detained you again. Please, go ahead."

"Okay. I'll leave you here then."

"Gokigenyou."

She was probably a graduate of Lillian's. The farewell, "Gokigenyou," had flowed naturally from her mouth.