Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume30 Chapter3 1

Those two, on the other hand. Part 1.

Since it was a fairly popular attraction, the haunted house was quite busy.

The line of people waiting to get in turned back on itself numerous times, and the lady on duty told them it would be a thirty to forty minute wait.

(...Let's do it)

In a spot where she couldn't be seen by Tsutako-sama, Shouko psyched herself up. She was determined that this was where she would liven things up. Shouko wanted to avoid her esteemed photography club senior becoming bored – well, as much as possible anyway, given her usual emotional detachment.

"Tsutako-sama, did you see that bunny rabbit do a back-flip during the parade?"

"Huh?"

Perhaps this conversation was a bit too sudden. Tsutako-sama's eyes were wide from surprise. However, having started with this topic, Shouko had no choice but to plunge onwards.

"It had to be a man inside that costume. It must have been tough with those tights and bloomers, and that ribbon attached to its head."

"Sorry, I didn't see it."

Tsutako-sama said. And with that, the conversation came to a grinding halt.

"Ah, okay."

Still, Shouko couldn't let such a trifling setback stop her. On to the next topic.

"So what did you think the differences between the twin piglets were?"

The amusement park had a pair of identical twin piglets as two of their mascot characters. Every day, there would be five differences between the two piglets. The park guests could then amuse themselves by finding those differences.

"I saw that the position of their buttons and the colors of their socks were different, but couldn't find the other three. Then Rosa Gigantea told me that the brims of their caps had different shapes."

Shouko turned her head around, trying to find Rosa Gigantea in the line behind her. But Rosa Gigantea wasn't looking her way, instead engaged in conversation with her petit soeur, Noriko-san. Even though the group of ten had decided to have fun together, they naturally split into their own little groups.

"Add to that the shape of their tails and the fruits they were carrying."

Tsutako-sama said.

"Their tails?"

"The older twin's was curly while the younger one's was straight."

Ho ho. So she hadn't been watching the bunny rabbit, but she had been paying attention to the pigs.

"And the fruit?"

"The older twin had a green apple, the younger one a pear."

"Incredible."

If it had been a red apple then it would have been easier, but the difference between a green apple and a pear was just too small. Shouko hadn't thought that someone with such thick lenses in her glasses would be able to spot those differences so easily. Those must be the eyes of a photographer, able to capture everything in an instant. Very impressive.

(Just what you'd expect from the photography club's ace.)

– Danger. Danger. She had relinquished that role for today.

Shouko continued to chat with Tsutako-sama in a lively, perhaps even frantic, manner and before she knew it twenty minutes had passed. The line had been moving steadily and they had almost reached the entrance.

A sign by the door listed the rules for the haunted house, one of which was "No flash photography."

"I wonder if anyone still takes photos in there, even without a flash."

Tsutako-sama smiled, probably thinking she should have brought a specialized camera. Although if they were concerned about that, the rules could just say that photography was forbidden inside.

"I don't know. Although if they did ban it outright, people might be tempted to take photos just for the thrill of it. Then you'd end up with a situation like at concerts, where you have to hand over your camera on the way in."

"That'd be a pain, if it came to that."

Tsutako-sama thrust her hand into her pocket.

"Ah."

Immediately after her little cry, Shouko concealed her "Ah."

Her realization came too late as well.

They'd both forgotten, just for a moment, that the camera Tsutako-sama was searching for wasn't in her pocket.