Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume6 Chapter1 6

===<noinclude>Order. </noinclude>Part 6.===

"What am I planning, huh?"

Shizuka-sama put on a slightly evil looking face and smiled.

"Yumi-san, who told you to come here? Shimako-san? Or maybe Sachiko-san?"

Thump.

"No, it's not like that. Nobody sent me here."

Hastily, Yumi swung her hand over her heart and vehemently denied it.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes, of course. It would be a stain on my honor to do such a thing to Shizuka-sama."

Her intended grin turned into an insincere smile. What she was saying wasn't a lie, but she was feeling a little bit guilty after all. She broke out into a cold sweat.

After she parted from Shimako-san, Yumi returned to her classroom to pick up her bag and coat. In the first floor hallway she had spotted Shizuka-sama, who must surely have been on her way home, and without thinking had chased after her and caught her at the entrance. That was all. Although, to be honest, if it hadn't been for Shimako-san's sigh, she probably wouldn't have called out to Shizuka-sama.

But Shizuka-sama wasn't conducting a detailed investigation. She smiled good-naturedly and said, "Well that's okay then." That was how Yumi had wanted to smile just recently, so her feelings were somewhat complicated.

Students on their way home were passing around them. So as not to be a bother, they moved to one of the closed doors before Shizuka-sama gave her answer to the initial question.

"What am I planning? Well, nothing. I'm neither a god, nor a magician nor do I have ESP, so of course I didn't know where Shimako-san had hidden her card. Therefore, my finding it was just a co-incidence. Mere chance."

"Haa."

Shimako-san's hidden white card. It had been put up on the committee notice board. She had only heard this afterwards, but while Sachiko-sama had arrived early in the morning and took the time to bury her card in the ground herself, Rei-sama and Shimako-san's cards were hidden by a first year newspaper club member moments before the treasure hunt started. While the participants were gathered in the courtyard and having the rules explained to them. Since Shizuka-sama was participating in the treasure hunt, she obviously didn't have an opportunity to witness Shimako-san hiding her card.

"I have a question though, what made you think of taking part in the treasure hunt in the first place?"

"Why, indeed. To be brief, it seemed like fun, I guess."

"It seemed like fun?"

"It seemed like fun, didn't it? I was hungry for some festivities at this school, you could say. I definitely made some happy memories this Valentine's Day that I can take with me to Italy."

Shizuka-sama said that her school life had always been centered around singing, so she hadn't been able to participate with her class in school festivals and the like. So her goal wasn't really to get a date with one of the boutons but simply to have fun with everyone, she said. Was that really it?

But, what if it was? To be safe, she would have been looking for her classmates Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama's cards. If she had chanced upon it, as she claimed, wouldn't it have been better to hand it over to someone who desired Shimako-san's card. Despite being a first year, Shimako-san was popular as a bouton. She was admired by her classmates, but there were also a lot of second years who would like to make her their petit soeur.

"I thought it would cause an uproar if I found Shimako-san's card, so I aimed for it from the beginning. But I never thought I would actually find it."

"An uproar, huh."

To cause an uproar, huh, Yumi grumbled in her mind. The person who tried to usurp Shimako-san's role as a Rose in the student council elections got a date with her.

What does it all mean?

"So I'm incredibly satisfied."

Shizuka-sama made the peace-sign with her right hand, which wasn't holding her bag.

"So, about the date with Shimako-san."

"Of course I'm going. It's going to be super fun."

The tone she said that in wasn't thoughtless, like Yumi's, but it seemed like the number of people mistakenly wondering whether Shizuka-sama liked Shimako-san would increase.

I'm sorry, Shimako-san. – Yumi prayed silently.

I have absolutely no idea what Shizuka-sama is thinking.