Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume26 Chapter6
The Red Card's Outlook
Part 1
"Huuuuuuuuuh!?"
The silence in the Rose Mansion was shattered and the room was awash with shouting.
The yellow card had been found!?
And it was in the hands of her sœur, Rosa Foetida!
The overexcited participants would normally have spotted the slight problem with that right away, but in their current state they seemed to have completely missed it.
(Calm down, everyone.)
Yumi said inside her head.
Rei-sama wasn't permitted to participate directly today because she'd entered into the "second-chance draw."
From her seat, Yumi couldn't see what Rei-sama had presented to Yoshino-san, so she couldn't say for certain, but she thought it had to be something other than the real card.
Of course, she didn't know what the misleading card was, or why Rei-sama would be carrying it.
(Wait, hold on a minute.)
She couldn't completely rule out the possibility of it being the real thing. The "second-chance draw" entrants weren't physically prevented from doing anything. One of the requirements was that they couldn't participate in the event, but that didn't mean that such a thing was impossible.
The reality was that Rei-sama was here.
In the event that a card was found during the main event by someone entered into the second-chance draw, the result would be void.
(But.)
What if Rei-sama had forgotten about that?
Even if she remembered it, she may have wanted to be the one to find Yoshino-san's card even though it meant her disqualification.
(It's possible, especially for Rei-sama.)
She usually conducted herself with good sense, but when Yoshino-san was involved the blood went to her head and she couldn't make rational decisions.
– This was the train of thought that flowed through Yumi's brain in the five or six seconds until the truth was revealed.
". . . R-"
Yoshino-san's voice brought Yumi back to the present.
(R?)
When Yoshino-san couldn't get the words out, Yumi looked at her to see what was going on. Yoshino-san's face was bright red and her body was rigid, but trembling slightly.
(Th-this is . . .)
Then, after reaching critical mass, Yoshino-san exploded in the usual manner.
"Rei-chan, you idiot!"
"Yo—"
Rei-sama had started to say "Yoshino," but sadly she wasn't allowed to make it to the end.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot! What the heck were you thinking?"
Rei-sama was drowned out by Yoshino-san's anger.
"Yoshino-san, you don't have to keep saying 'Idiot.'"
Shimako-san tried to intervene, but her words weren't enough to calm Yoshino-san. Yumi understood this, but decided to sit tight and watch how things proceeded due to the number of people surrounding the Yellow Rose sœurs.
(Ahh.)
Everyone else may have heard rumors about it, but it was obviously quite a shock for them to see Yoshino-san verbally abusing her Onee-sama first hand. Yoshino-san usually played nice, but when her anger reached its peak she completely and utterly forgot about the sœur system — and the onee-sama's place within it.
Alas, the public image of last year's "Best Sœur" award winners, the Yellow Rose sœurs, was crumbling. But, in truth, it looked like the fans of Rei-sama and Yoshino-san took more damage than the pair themselves.
After being around her for the last two years, Yumi knew that this was about the time when Yoshino-san would want to stop, but would still feel unsatisfied if she stopped now.
Sachiko-sama also seemed to understand this, as she continued to watch from her seat. She was probably thinking that they weren't finished just yet.
Unfortunately for the White Rose sœurs, who were frantically trying to smooth things over, the Red Rose sœurs were united in not intervening — in word or deed.
(What's wrong with that?)
One of Yoshino-san's favorite sayings was that a fight between sœurs couldn't harm a fly.
Sachiko-sama flashed a smile when she noticed Yumi's gaze. Yumi may have just been imagining things, but it felt like a grin. She was a bit sensitive to her Onee-sama's expressions because of her earlier declaration about "waiting for Rosa Chinensis en bouton to reveal her faults." Simply put, Yumi was scared.
"What's wrong with calling an idiot an idiot?"
Yoshino-san continued with her rant about Rei-sama.
"Calm down, okay?"
Mami-san jumped in, desperately trying to resolve the situation.
"How could I calm down? What do you think this idiot just handed me?"
"What is it?"
From the bottom of her heart, Yumi wanted to know the answer to Mami-san's question too. It almost certainly wasn't the real yellow card, but —
"Why don't you let everyone see?"
At Yoshino-san's urging, Rei-sama reluctantly handed the piece of paper to Mami-san. Even from Yumi's position, she could tell it wasn't the real yellow card. It had a bit more of a reddish tinge than the real card's lemon yellow, making it more of a dandelion yellow or a bright golden-yellow. But more than that, the size was clearly wrong. It was about two-thirds the size of the actual card, just small enough to fit in a pocket.
"Pardon me."
Having been handed the piece of cardboard, Mami-san unfolded it and read out the words written there.
"'Valentine's Chocolate Request Form'. . . ?"
Mami-san tried to sound detached as she read it, but by the time she got to "Form" her face and tone were clearly saying, "What the heck is this?"
Valentine's Chocolate Request Form. Mami-san wasn't the only one puzzled by that; everyone's gaze shifted to Rei-sama, seeking an explanation.
"Well, you see, I've been so snowed under with entrance exams this year that I wasn't able to bake her a cake."
Rei-sama hesitantly admitted. What happened to the spirit she'd shown when she came through the door?
"So I was thinking that I should make her something as soon as I was accepted into college, and—"
"And?"
Yoshino-san forced a smile as she asked. Rei-sama seemed to regain her nerve as she spoke, apparently not noticing Yoshino-san's expression and mistakenly thinking that she'd exhausted her anger with that barrage of "idiot."
"And since I'm doing this for her, I should ask her what she wants, and make something great. Since I'm making her wait, you know . . . I should make something incredible, right?"
That last word, "Right?" and the accompanying impish smile pressed down directly on Yoshino-san's "anger" button.
"I've told you, that's not the sort of thing someone studying for college entrance exams should be thinking about!"
Yoshino-san slammed her left fist hard on the nearby tabletop.
"Uh."
Startled by the noise, Rei-sama jumped back.
"You're taking entrance exams, so act like it, and focus on the tests. Don't come to school on days when you have an exam. Don't show up at these events. Go home and prepare for your next exam. Don't worry about chocolate."
As she spoke, Yoshino-san raised her right index finger high in the air before lowering it to point at Rei-sama, who leaned back.
"Entrance exam students usually lose sight of their surroundings because their head is so full of test material. But what are you doing? Filling your mind with frivolities! You need to stop paying so much attention to what's going on around you. Then you wouldn't have bothered with this. Gah, I'm so angry right now!"
Yoshino-san stamped her foot, then crouched down and hung her head.
It looked like Yoshino-san's anger at "Rei-chan" for getting carried away had mixed with some self-loathing at the way she'd flared up about it, and turned sour.
"I understand."
Shimako-san made her way over to the pair and placed her hand on Yoshino-san's shoulder.
"You wanted Rei-sama to say nothing because you were going to give her something, right Yoshino-san?"
"That's right. But there's no point in that now."
"Uh . . ."
Leaving behind a bewildered Rei-sama, Yoshino-san walked over to the corner of the room, picked up the large paper bag she'd left there earlier, and returned to her original position.
The bag had the label "Hasekura Rei" on it and was filled with numerous smaller bags and prettily wrapped boxes.
Yumi remembered seeing something like this before. Last year, a similar bag of presents addressed to Rei-sama had been given to her petite sœur, Yoshino-san.
Yoshino-san placed the bag in front of Rei-sama.
"You know, I thought you'd be so busy studying that you'd forget about Valentine's Day chocolates. So I thought it'd be a burden to you if I gave you chocolates."
". . . So you didn't make any."
Shimako-san murmured, and Yoshino-san snarled at her friend.
"No."
Apparently, her deduction was mistaken this time.
"I hid it in this mountain of chocolate, so I wouldn't have to hand it over directly. I was being meek."
Although a meek person wouldn't show their hand so brazenly. If this were pointed out to Yoshino-san, she'd likely say, "Stop poking holes in everything," so Yumi remained silent and watched on.
Yoshino-san stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out a single box. She held it out to Rei-sama and said:
"Here. There's no point in hiding it now."
So rude.
Regardless of the circumstances, this was a petite sœur giving her Onee-sama chocolates. Even if she wasn't willing to add any words of gratitude, she could at least look affectionate as she handed them over, otherwise she'd just be inviting divine retribution.
However.
"Yoshino. . ."
Rei-sama was teary-eyed despite her shabby treatment.
It may have been Yoshino-san's saying, but "Rei-chan" truly was an idiot. She seemed happy just to receive something from Yoshino-san, no matter what it was or the circumstances around it.
(Habits built up over decades weren't so easy to change, huh.)
Part amazed and part deeply moved, Yumi watched the Yellow Rose sœurs.
"Do you know what's inside?"
"Uwah!"
Hearing that voice right next to her, Yumi almost jumped out of her chair.
Most of the first-years had left their seats, drawn in by the confusion over the yellow card's discovery, and at some point during all this Sachiko-sama had moved to the empty seat next to Yumi.
"What's uwah?"
"Ah, pardon me, Onee-sama."
Being stared at from across the table was scary, but having her close like this was also nerve-wracking. Although it wasn't like Sachiko-sama was going to order her, "Tell me where your card is hidden," so all she had to do was remain calm and not reveal her faults. But her opponent was her Onee-sama and, frankly, Yumi didn't have much confidence that she'd be able to do that.
"I was asking about the type of chocolates that Yoshino-chan was giving Rei. Or had you not heard either?"
"Ah, I heard."
Because unlike Shimako-san, Yumi was in the same class as Yoshino-san.
"She melted down store-bought chocolate and reset it in molds."
"Oh, is that all? She was acting so proud I imagined it was some laborious epic."
Sachiko-sama was a bit surprised.
"But according to Yoshino-san, this year's is a special version."
In truth, Yoshino-san had also taken the easy path of making "reset chocolates" by melting down and resetting store-bought chocolate last year. But she'd been annoyed at doing the same thing again this year, since she thought it meant she'd made no progress.
"A special version. . . ?"
"The gimmick is that there's five different flavors to enjoy, depending on where you bite."
"That's incredible. How do you think she did it?"
Ah, Sachiko-sama's interest had been piqued. But it didn't seem like she was interested in making something like that herself, she was just curious about how the confectionery amateur Yoshino-san would make a special version of reset chocolates for the pro Rei-sama.
"She bought five different flavors of chocolate, then melted them down one at a time and poured each one as a layer into the mold so they wouldn't mix."
Yumi was gesticulating as she talked, and made it this far into her explanation when Sachiko-sama exclaimed, "Ha!" It looked like she hadn't meant to laugh that loudly, as she quickly covered her mouth with her hand — apparently embarrassed by her unintentionally raucous laugh.
"That's incredible. Just like Yoshino-chan."
Sachiko-sama whispered, paying attention to her surroundings.
"I know, right?"
But everyone's attention was still focused on the Yellow Rose sœurs, so no one paid any mind to the Red Rose sœurs.
While one may have expected Rei-sama's teary-eyed "Yoshino. . ." to gradually reduce Yoshino-san's anger, reality was not that kind.
"And what were you thinking with that 'request card'? You just had to make it out of yellow cardboard, didn't you?"
Technically, it was a "Valentine's Chocolate Request Form," but Rei-sama didn't correct her. Smart move.
"Well, I mean, yellow's sort of been our default color for the last two, three years. Birthday cards, handmade wrapping paper, even your new bike. You're always saying that we're the Yellow Roses, so it has to be yellow."
"You still have to consider the time and place. Of course it's going to cause a commotion if you take out a yellow piece of paper that looks like the treasure hunt card in this situation."
It looked like she was being put on trial for intentionally misleading everyone and causing a panic. But Rei-sama quickly picked up on something Yoshino-san had said.
"Oh, but I did find the card."
"Huh?"
She said it so smoothly that it almost seemed like she'd said, "I didn't," instead of, "I did."
"But as a non-participant, I couldn't very well pick it up. So I pretended not to see it."
So she hadn't lost sight of the consequences of picking up the card, after all. Yumi mentally apologized to Rei-sama for doubting her earlier.
"It was so annoying to find it and not be able to pick it up. So I turned my energy to this "Valentine's Chocolate Request Form." Even though I didn't have the right to claim the card, I still had the right to bake you the cake you wanted."
Naturally, no one was listening to her words of devotion.
No matter what she said, it would have been lost in the face of the impact of finding out there was someone that had found a card standing right there. To top it off, Yoshino-san's anger had flared again when she heard this news.
"What color was it?"
Yoshino-san asked, quite deliberately.
"Yellow. It was your card, Yoshino."
Judging by her laugh, it looked like she was telling the truth. Rei-sama really had found the yellow card.
"Where? Where was it?"
Yoshino-san's fans recovered from their shock at seeing Yoshino-san's true nature and questioned Rei-sama.
"You'll have to find it yourself."
Just like Shimako-san earlier, she wasn't going to answer their questions.
"At least give us a hint. Like, was it in a school building, or outside? You can do that, right, Rosa Foetida?"
"Heheheh."
Rei-sama laughed happily, buoyed by the sense of superiority that came from knowing where the yellow card was.
"Going by what she said, it must have been somewhere out in the open. Rei-sama came here from the front gate, so it must be somewhere along that path —"
Even if they stayed in the Rose Mansion, they weren't likely to get any better information than that. The treasure hunt participants that had been thronging around Rei-sama (primarily Yoshino-san's fans), quickly turned around and scrambled for the exit.
"Too bad."
Standing there was a solitary second-year student.
"The yellow card is right here."
Tanuma Chisato-san said, holding the yellow card up next to her face, and looking eminently satisfied.
Part 2
This card had the right color and size, and was undoubtedly the real one.
The definitive proof was the slightly larger plastic bag — with loose strips of tape still attached — that she was also holding aloft.
The card had been placed in a plastic covering, otherwise it may have been damaged when it was ripped off the wall.
So, all the promoters understood that Chisato-san had taken the plastic bag and card from the external wall of the staff room.
"Pardon me."
Even so, Mami-san took the card to confirm this, as a formality. She looked at the front, turned it over and looked at the back, then unfolded it and looked inside. Then she made a gesture as though she were adjusting a pair of glasses, even though she wasn't wearing any.
"This card is genuine."
She handed down her judgment.
The girls that had been watching on with bated breath let out a collective, "Oooh." For some reason, the voices seemed more happy than disappointed when compared to last time, perhaps because the earlier feint had drawn some of that away.
"Please state your grade, class, and name," Mami-san asked, even though she knew all that without having to ask. She was just doing it for form's sake.
"Second-year Chrysanthemum class, Tanuma Chisato."
Chisato-san presented her student ID card to Mami-san, who compared it to the entry slip signed by "Tanuma Chisato" that Noriko-chan handed to her, and then nodded her head.
"Tanuma Chisato-san. I acknowledge that you were the finder of the yellow card. Congratulations."
Mami-san held out her hand. Chisato-san gave her a firm handshake and said, "Thank you."
And then.
"I knew it. You found it, huh?" Rei-sama said, watching the proceedings with a conflicted expression.
"Oh, thanks for before."
Noticing Rei-sama's gaze, Chisato-san greeted her with a smile. It looked as though they'd run into each other somewhere earlier today.
"I wasn't sure if it was going to be found, but if it was, you were the only that could have done it, Chisato-chan."
"After you walked off, I looked to my right and there it was."
"Well, not much I could have done about that then."
"But I'd say about half of it was thanks to you, Rei-sama."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Rei-sama and Chisato-san got swept up in their own private conversation.
"Say, what's all this about?" Sachiko-sama asked. Unlike Yumi, who knew the card's hiding spot, she couldn't really understand how their meeting was related to the location of the card, or the significance of Chisato-san looking to her right. To the regular participants, it would all sound like gibberish.
"Chisato-san, we're going announce it at the post-event assembly, but if you don't mind, could you give everyone here a sneak peak? Where was the yellow card hidden?"
Mami-san proposed and Chisato-san happily agreed.
"Ah, sure. The card was. . . ."
Everyone's attention was centered on Chisato-san. Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Yumi heard an imaginary drum-roll echoing in her head, despite knowing the answer already.
"Stuck to the staff room wall."
Hearing this, the students that had been waiting for the answer all exclaimed, "Wha~!?" The students that had been partaking in the Rose Mansion tea-party for the duration of the event pulled out their maps to check, while those that had spent some time outside searching didn't need to look at their maps.
"But the staff room is out of bounds!"
Scattered booing erupted around the room, since they weren't supposed to go searching in that place.
Yoshino-san had been silent for a while, but then she softly muttered, "The inside was."
At some point she'd sat down in an empty chair, and was looking at the commotion about the yellow card's discovery as though it was someone else's business, even though this sort of "foul-play" reaction was the only realistic outcome. But the way she was resting her chin in her hands and looking off into the distance seemed to indicate she wasn't in a particularly good mood. Presumably, she wasn't overjoyed about having her card found.
"The inside?"
"All she said was the staff room wall, that could mean a couple of things," Mami-san added, in place of Yoshino-san, who'd lapsed back into silence as though she were sulking.
She then continued her explanation over an unfolded map, by comparing rooms to boxes and saying that if the inside was out-of-bounds, the outside was in-bounds.
"So that means. . . ?"
"My apologies. To be more precise, it was on the staff room's external wall."
Chisato-san amended her statement.
"Wha~t!"
People tended to think of things at eye-height, so when they'd been told it was on the staff room wall their first impression was that it was on an internal wall, but when they heard that was wrong they seemed to assume it was on the wall facing the hallway.
The staff room was on the second floor. It would be hard to see for someone that wasn't four or five meters tall. It would probably be easier to spot at a distance from the school building, but, unfortunately, the narrow path to the adjacent library passed beneath the staff room window. So it would be hard to spot unless someone intentionally stopped in the middle of that path and looked up.
Yoshino-san had taken advantage of that blind-spot. She'd chosen that location because she wanted the participants to be annoyed, thinking, "But I passed under that so many times," and because she wanted to say, "The inside was," to those that objected by saying the staff room was out-of-bounds.
But Chisato-san had found it. And Rei-sama had let it go because she didn't have the right to pick it up.
The participants that had been booing had no choice but to accept Mami-san's explanation.
Now that the commotion had died down, the still sulking Yoshino-san stood up from her seat. With a sour look showing her obvious displeasure, she strode forwards. Instinctively, the other participants made a path in front of her. Finally, she came to a stop in front of the winner, Tanuma Chisato-san.
"Congratulations, Chisato-san."
Yoshino-san forced a smile.
"Two years in a row is quite impressive."
Holding that forced smile all the way to the end, her thoughts were probably along the lines of, "How could someone like you find it?" But she didn't say them out loud. Remarkably mature.
"Thank you. The hiding place was brilliant, and very fitting for you, Yoshino-san."
Chisato-san smiled. Unlike Yoshino-san, her smile was genuine.
"What do you mean by that?"
One of Yoshino-san's eyebrows twitched upwards.
"I said it was brilliant, and that's a compliment. Better off leaving it at that, don't you think?"
Chisato-san wasn't afraid of Yoshino-san. Instead, she seemed to relish provoking her and watching the reaction.
"You wanna fight?"
Yoshino-san didn't say this out loud, but Yumi didn't overlook her mouthing it. On second-thought, she decided to overlook it. To maintain the dignity of Lillian's students.
"By the way."
After taking a deep breath and recovering some of her composure, Yoshino-san put her fake smile back on and questioned Chisato-san.
"Are you aware that the bonus prize is a ticket for a half-day date with me?"
"Yeah."
Of course she'd be aware, she'd exercised that right last year.
"Then what do you think about going on a date with me?"
Yoshino-san dropped her fake smile and stared at Chisato-san. Apparently she thought that Chisato-san wouldn't have considered this, even though she was holding the winning card.
"Obviously," Chisato-san announced loudly. "I'm really looking forward to it."
She was even more of a warrior than anyone had expected.
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