Maria-sama Ga Miteru:Volume17 Chapter 4 1

The Mouth of Truth's Complaint Part 1

Rome's subway has only two lines, A line and B line.

Because it is so simple, at least compared to the Tokyo Subway Transit Map, you probably wouldn't recognize it if you saw it.

Well, this is a foreign land. Not being what you're used to, even buying one ticket is a big task.

Each class had some freedom in choosing some activities. In Japan, they chose the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, the Colosseum, and the Mouth of Truth. In that earlier discussion, it was unanimously agreed that "this would be a good chance to ride the subway." But now that they were actually trying it, it was quite the terrible challenge.

In any case, it was crowded. But today is Sunday.

Because it would have been impossible for 30 people to all board the same car, they split into three groups, confirmed how many stations down the line to go, and which exit to head towards. After they got through the exit, they called roll. After confirming that everyone was present, they moved on. They called roll before leaving the station. They called roll as soon as they left. Everything was fine. Because of the event with Sakura class yesterday, Sensei was more nervous than usual.

Upon hearing the word "subway," Sensei blatantly made a face that meant "that's going to be a hassle". Now they understood why. But Katori-sensei was trying to accommodate what the students decided, as long as it wasn't dangerous. That was also the high school's policy.

From the station next to the hotel, they first rode the A line, bound for Termini Station. Here the station intersected with B line, along with international and domestic national rail lines. It was probably the largest station in Rome.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore was around a 5-minute walk from Termini Station. This was a church built due to a revelation of Maria-sama. By coincidence, there wasn't a cloud in the sky today. So under a sky that reminded them of the deep blue of Maria-sama's Heart, the white building also called "Saint Mary of the Snows" shone bright and beautiful.

When they entered the church, it was the height of Sunday mass.

In the center of the wide church was a simple partition of something like rope, where rows of seats for the priests and faithful offered their prayers. Although the words of the prayers and sermon differed, there were many sections that overlapped the masses held in Lillian's church. They attended a Christian school, so Yumi's group also put their hands together and prayed behind the faithful.

They returned to Termini Station, this time riding the B line to the Colosseum. As soon as they exited the station, the famous round stadium appeared. To tell the truth, the second-year Pine class homeroom had arguments for and against including this place in the plans

The arguments in favor included "this was one of the many places that Princess Anne went sightseeing in 'Roman Holiday', which I want to see with my own eyes." The arguments against included "I don't want to go to places that made a spectacle of killing." Eventually, they decided to look at it only from the outside. Both sides agreed that the Colosseum was a good waypoint for the Mouth of Truth, even though it was one train station earlier.

There was lots of greenery. The air improved. Relaxing and walking on old cobblestones, they came to an old church.

Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Really, there was no doubt that the reason this place stood out was that the "Mouth of Truth" was here. If you saw the line formed outside the church, you'd nod in agreement "yes, yes."

"I bet it's empty inside the church..."

"Yeah. You can see that from the street."

Despite this conversation, for now, the second-year Pine class formed a single line behind the queue. The head of the queue turned to the right after entering the church, then down a long and narrow passage. There is the "Mouth of Truth."

The "Mouth of Truth" is a marble disk with the face of Triton, a god of the sea. Tradition says that if a liar put their hand into its mouth, it would eat the hand

The disc is said to be an ancient manhole cover. Yet people line up to see it. Is this too the influence of that famous scene in "Roman Holiday"? All the time Yumi and friends were watching, nobody mimicked a tabloid reporter by howling and pretending to have lost a hand.

Tourists were conscious of the number of people lined up behind them. As each person's turn came up, they took a picture or two in front of the "Mouth of Truth," then made way for the next person. As a result of this, the line moved much more quickly than they thought it would. Of course, it goes without saying that the Lillian students followed this implicit rule.

Yumi and Yoshino-san both put their hands in the "Mouth of Truth" at the same time, and Tsutako-san's camera went "click."

"The two of you together" was requested by both the Newspaper and Photography clubs. If Shimako-san had been in the same class, they certainly would have asked for "all three people."

After they finished taking their picture, they went into the church. It was old, dark, and small. But the floor was beautiful with its Italian tile and gave the church a special atmosphere. Some tourists were content to just put their hands into the "Mouth of Truth" and leave, but that seemed more than a little wasteful. There was a lovely church here, just a few steps away.

After a late lunch at a restaurant a short walk from the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, they walked to Circus Maximus Station (a nice leisurely stroll while digesting lunch), rode the B line to Termini Station, then the A line back to the hotel