Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume34 Chapter2 6

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The next morning, when I got to school, Chinami-san was trembling in her chair.

“What’s wrong?”

I tried asking quietly in front of my classmates, but there was no response. It’s not that my voice wasn’t heard. Chinami-san had the ability to read my thoughts even without me saying anything out loud.

But it didn’t seem like she was ignoring me.

It felt like she didn’t have time to respond and didn’t have a clear answer to “What’s wrong?”

“The nurse’s office…... is out”.

Only I could see Chinami-san. If I took the nurse here, she would think I was crazy.

I was at a loss. My friend seemed unwell, but I couldn’t do anything to help her.

Without telling me the reason, Chinami-san just kept shivering violently during class, and during the break she ran up and down the classroom. It looked as if she was trying to escape something and was looking for a place to hide.

That’s how she spent the morning and then it was time for lunch.

I still ate lunch alone most of the time, but now that the rainy season was in full swing, I would often open my lunch box alone on my desk. Of course, if it’s raining, you can’t have lunch outside.

After the fourth class, Chinami-san was running around on top of the lockers and under the podium, occasionally bumping into the glass windows, but then she suddenly stopped like a toy with a broken beanbag, and looked towards the hallway.

As I was watching, wondering what it was, the next moment she came running straight towards me, like a toy with a fully wound spring.

“What is it?”

“Hush”.

Chinami-san put her slender fingers in her large mouth, grew to the size of a pickled plum and ate the egg omelet that was just between my lunch chopsticks and slipped into the empty space.

At that time, I was only interested in Chinami-san. So I was completely unaware of the commotion that was happening in the classroom.

“Terasu-san, Terasu-san”.

A member of the group of people eating their lunches together at four tables pushed together in front of me turned around and called out to me.

“Eh?”

I looked up, wondering if I was needed for something, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the case. She motioned me with her eyes to look around the front door of the classroom. As instructed, I turned my head in that direction and saw a student standing there surrounded by several classmates.

“Oh”.

When our eyes met, she walked slowly towards me, showing off her fangs. Coincidentally, she followed the same path that Chinami-san had just taken.

“Terasu-san”.

She stopped in front of me. As I stared at her in shock, she asked me to check again.

“You are Watanuki Terasu-san who took these notes for me while I was away, correct?”

The notebook that was handed to me by my teacher yesterday was in front of me. My and Chinami-san’s exchange class notes.

My head was all confused and I was starting to lose confidence in myself, but I was sure that my name was correct, so I nodded just that once.

Since Chinami-san was the only one I was taking notes for, this person must be Hibino Chinami-san. Even without the deduction, I knew exactly who it was the moment I saw her.

I knew it, but I didn’t understand it.

Chinami-san has returned to class. My classmates are excited.

I looked inside my lunch box.

So, what about Chinami-san, hiding there, holding her breath? Wasn’t Chinami-san Chinami-san?

“I actually came in the morning, but I had been absent for a long time, so I had to go to the staff room, the student guidance room, the nurse’s office, and other places in the morning to listen to the teachers’ lectures”.

As she spoke, Chinami-san attached her desk to mine.

“I will resume classes this afternoon. However, I will be observing the PE class for a while. Oh, and can we eat lunch together?”

After she was completely ready to eat, she said it as if she had just remembered, so I nodded slightly. I tried to find a reason to refuse in front of Chinami-san, but I couldn’t find one.

“Ah, found it”.

Chinami-san picked something up from my lunch box.

“Oh”.

It was Chinami-san.

“Uwah, let go”.

She squirmed and screamed, but Chinami-san didn’t care and just shoved her into her mouth. It happened in an instant and I couldn’t stop it.

Munch, munch, thump.

I can’t believe it. Chinami-san ate Chinami-san.

“Thank you for the meal. As Terasu-san recommended, the cherry tomatoes are very sweet”.

“Huh?”

Did I recommend it?

Moreover, Chinami-san seems to think that she has eaten a cherry tomato.

Hmm, were there cherry tomatoes in my lunch today?

Now that she mentioned it, I guess that’s true.

What should I do? I’m starting to find it harder to trust my memories.

“As a token of my thanks, please try my mother’s special cream croquettes”.

“Here you go”, said Chinami-san, handing me the lunch box.

After making sure the croquette had no arms or legs, I put it in my mouth and swallowed it.

And that was it.

Next to me, Chinami-san would sometimes laugh “gya-gya-gya” loudly with her mouth open.