Editing Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume9 Chapter4 2

===<noinclude>Rosary or Juzu. </noinclude>Part 2.===

It's about time we had a talk about school – that was what Sumireko-san had said.

"I suppose."

Noriko answered as she sipped her tea. At first glance Sumireko-san had been a bit slipshod in making the royal milk tea but, wonders never cease, it actually tasted quite good. You could probably say she'd mastered the skill. Her grandfather's family had a rather long pedigree, so perhaps Sumireko-san had been a proper lady back in her youth. Still able to remember the thousands of cups of tea she'd prepared for guests in salons or at tea parties.

"Yep. We haven't discussed school once since you started going there. Have you made any friends?"

"Friends? … To the degree that I can talk to them during lunch or after school."

"What would you call them, if not friends?"

"Maybe you're right."

Noriko thought, "But she's older than me."

Sumireko-san was also older than her. So was Takuya-kun. Maybe she just got on well with older people.

She occasionally met Shimako-san beneath the cherry tree. They didn't arrange it. When they felt like it, their legs carried them there.

There had been times when they met, and times when they hadn't. But even when they didn't meet, Noriko hadn't felt disappointed. She knew that Shimako-san was busy because her commitments as Rosa Gigantea pulled at her, and the time Noriko spent waiting and thinking about her was surprisingly enjoyable.

Before she knew it, Noriko had become quite adept at spotting Shimako-san in a group of students. Whether in the hallway, or out on the campus, or in the courtyard, Noriko felt as though she could easily spot her, no matter how many students she was surrounded by.

Occasionally she wondered.

Just what was it that existed between the two of them?

Empathy?

(That's not it.)

Friendship?

(It seems like it has a slightly different nuance to that too.)

She liked Shimako-san. It felt comfortable being beside her.

But was that by itself enough? Was just being able to understand the other's feelings enough of a connection?

Recently, Noriko had been thinking that she wanted to do something for Shimako-san. But she had absolutely no idea what she could do.

"I don't know."

Noriko slumped over the table.

"Oh, fret, fret. Fretting over trivial things is the privilege of youth."

Sumireko-san laughed, holding out the box of chocolate truffles.

"Huh. How can you say it's trivial?"

"I don't know what it is you're worrying about, but look back on it in ten years."

"Ten years … "

To someone who was currently 15 years old, ten years seemed like an absurdly long amount of time. Unlike a certain someone who had lived more than 4 times 15 years.

"Say, Sumireko-san. What if there was a devout Christian who thought that she was constantly betraying God as she lived? How do you think she could be helped?"

"What? Are you worrying about yourself?"

"I'm not a devout Christian."

"I see."

For some reason, Noriko thought it was okay to discuss this with Sumireko-san. Expecting some of that wisdom of the elderly.

"I don't really know. What if she came clean before God and asked for forgiveness?"

"Then it would turn into a big ordeal."

"Then what if she gave up Christianity?"

"Whoa, that's extreme."

"Otherwise, there's what I said earlier, "time." Time heals all wounds."

As she said this, Sumireko-san stood up and opened the refrigerator door. 

" – or there could be some kind of brouhaha, I guess."

"Brouhaha?"

"Yep."

She rummaged around in the refrigerator before eventually returning with a small, plastic-wrap covered bowl.

"If there was some kind of brouhaha, then it would sort things out once and for all, for better or worse. Then you wouldn't have to worry about it."

"I see … "

But she wasn't just about to stumble over something like that. And it went without saying that it wasn't something she'd be able to do herself – 

"But, you know, Riko, if that's all you think about, it'll eat you up."

Sumireko-san returned to the table and slipped a piece of pickled daikon radish into Noriko's sweet with chocolate mouth.