Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume27 Chapter1 1

Warrior Demands a Response. Part 1.

The alarm on Mami-san's wristwatch noisily sounded.

Game over.

Time was up for the treasure hunt.

The participants had already started to assemble in the courtyard. Although they couldn't hear Mami-san's alarm, they'd come because they could each tell the time with their own watches.

4:40pm.

The individually tiny voices and laughter joined together and knocked on the outside of the room's glass window, like a wave breaking upon the shore.

Everyone was waiting for the results to be announced.

However.

Here, in the room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The events that had taken place during the last few moments had been so hectic that it took a while for comprehension to catch up.

Either that, or everyone's mind had gone blank as they struggled to think of how to control a situation that was as chaotic as someone upending a toy-box, scattering toys everywhere.

Let's sort out what happened.

First off, at 4:35pm, Rosa Chinensis (Ogasawara Sachiko-sama), having waited until the time was ripe, ordered the hider of the red card, Rosa Chinensis en Bouton (Fukuzawa Yumi), to, "Stand up."

Just as Yumi was in the process of standing up, Matsudaira Touko-chan, who until that moment hadn't set foot in the Rose Mansion at all that day, burst into the room with incredible force, looking for all the world like a person possessed.

"Yumi-sama, won't you take me as your petit soeur?"

All the students around them had been surprised, but the most surprised had to be the person being addressed herself. It's said you can never really know another person, but Yumi had asked Touko-chan to be her soeur previously, and been refused. On top of that, she'd been attacked by Touko-chan once more the previous week, albeit as part of a completely incomprehensible conversation, and the subsequent cold shoulder had not really garnered her any sympathy.

Some kind of misunderstanding had obviously arisen between them. Therefore a refusal would be soon forthcoming, and then a wait for the blood that had obviously gone rushing to Touko-chan's head to recede so that the misunderstanding could be sorted out and the tie between them cut. It shouldn't take too long. The surrounding students decided to settle themselves.

And yet, Touko-chan had come sprinting, door-slamming, panting and leaping in front of Yumi as though something had happened.

It seems reasonable enough that surprise would reach Yumi's face before happiness or any other emotion.

Then, without thinking, she stood up. That was when the red card made its entrance. As a result of spending the last hour wedged between the chair cushion and Yumi's backside, it was warm from her body heat.

"Ah."

And that was when the alarm went off on the wristwatch worn by the head of the newspaper club, Yamaguchi Mami-san.

Well, what to do now.

Somebody, take control. Of this situation.

There was somewhere between twenty and thirty (no time to take an accurate count) students watching on, holding their breath.

At that point.

"It's 4:40pm. The treasure hunt has ended, so would all the participants please assemble in the courtyard. I repeat – "

The voice came from the school's PA system.

"Ha."

Hidemi-chan's voice sounding through the speakers brought everyone back to reality. Hidemi-chan had been scheduled to make the announcement from the broadcasting room in place of her onee-sama Mami-san, who couldn't move from the event's headquarters, that is, the Rose Mansion. Of course, her watch was synchronized with Mami-san's. The approximately ten seconds delay was probably due to confusion about how to use the equipment in the broadcasting room.

"This is no good. We have to get out there."

Mami-san called out. In other words, what would happen if the promoters were late? She still had the important task of announcing the results ahead of her.

"Everyone, to the courtyard, quickly."

Having calmed down, the other students heeded these words and broke for the biscuit door. Rosa Gigantea en Bouton (Nijou Noriko-chan) who was today playing the role of assistant, dashed out carrying three baskets full of bite-sized chocolates that were prizes for participation.

Things moved fast. Like watching an emergency evacuation.

However.

"One moment."

Sachiko-sama called Mami-san to a halt.

"There's just one thing I want to confirm. What do you plan to do about the red card?"

"Ah…"

Yoshino-san's yellow card had been found by Tanuma Chisato-san. Shimako-san's white card hadn't yet been claimed, so a winner would be chosen from amongst the absentee entrants.

However, what of the red card?

It was only just within the time limit, but the red card had made an appearance. However, while it had "made an appearance" there had been no specific person that had come forth, card in hand, and said, "I've found it." In truth, the red card was even now still atop the cushion, although it had probably cooled down slightly.

"Well … "

Mami-san started to speak, but then closed her mouth.

If multiple people found the card at the same time, the winner was supposed to be impartially decided by rock-paper-scissors. But did that mean that chance was granted to all participants in the room, with the exception of Chisato-san. But then there were those who were at point-blank range, and those who were further away and only found out about the card later, and various levels in-between, so it couldn't just be decided by calling everyone together and having them all play rock-paper-scissors.

If, just after 4:35pm, Yumi had stood up when Sachiko-sama had asked her to, then the red card would unquestionably belong to Sachiko-sama. But, with the arrival of Touko-chan, the situation became more complicated.

"It's Touko-chan's, right?"

Sachiko-sama said.

"Uh."

Upon hearing these unexpected words, everyone caught their breath simultaneously. Sachiko-sama hadn't stopped Mami-san to press her own claim.

"But, even if you say that Rosa Chinensis."

"It's true that I asked Yumi to stand up. But even though she started moving, she remained seated. It was Touko-chan that made her stand up."

The participants who had been entertaining a slight hope despondently filed towards the door. Someone with a far stronger case than they had just renounced her claim. With that, there was no way it would be overturned.

"Yumi-san."

Mami-san turned around and called her name. Seeking confirmation that this was acceptable.

Yumi nodded.

Just like Sachiko-sama had said, Yumi had started the process of getting out of her chair, but she had still remained seated. It had been the shock of hearing Touko-chan's words that had caused her to stand up.

If it had been someone other than Touko-chan, Yumi probably would have accepted. But it was Touko-chan, so nothing more complicated needed to be considered.

"Then hand the red card to Matsudaira Touko-san. We'll handle the formalities later."

Mami-san spoke quickly, as she made a dash for the biscuit door.

"Okay, everyone out."

In accordance with that order, everyone quickly left the room like commuters exiting a train during rush-hour. Yumi started walking in the opposite direction, opposing that flow.

She could see both Touko-chan and Sachiko-sama, but they were too far away that she couldn't reach out to either of them.