Maria-sama Ga Miteru:Volume17 Chapter 1 3

Everyone's Farewell Presents Part 3

It was after 10 p.m. when Noriko phoned.

"Sorry for calling at such a late hour."

"It's fine. We have all sorts of folks visiting us, so we're going to be awake for some time."

"But, Shimako-san . . ."

"Yes?"

"You're not 'early to bed, early to rise'?"

During school, Noriko called Shimako "onee-sama," but anywhere else she used "Shimako-san." Initially, after they first became sœurs, she was a bit shaky switching between the two names. She'd hesitate and it would not go smoothly, but she's settled into it now. She knew that Yoshino-san called Rei-sama "Rei-chan" in private, so the switch was possible. Even among third parties, she could easily move between "Shimako-sama" and "Shimako-san" as appropriate.

"I already checked over tomorrow's luggage one last time."

She started preparing little by little a week ago, so she was mostly done already. Although, I wonder if she's the kind of person who keeps a list of her belongings in her guidebook so that she can check it again to make sure nothing would be left behind.

"I see. Because of where you're going, you can't go back to pick up anything."

"They sell things there, but would it be easy to shop?"

But it would be a problem to forget something you needed like a uniform or a passport. Because you wear your uniform, it would be impossible to forget it. As long as you carry your passport, you can borrow from friends or procure items locally without interrupting the trip. Whether that's comfortable or not.

"Me too . . ." Noriko started. "I'm also the type to worry about forgetting things."

"I see."

"I forgot to say something at school. I'd gotten a little flustered, so, sure enough, I ended up calling. Shimako-san . . ."

"What is it?"

"Have a good trip. Take care. Well, because it's you, Shimako-san, I'm not worried about you behaving rashly or anything."

"Yes."

"I'll be here, waiting. Waiting for you to come back."

"Noriko."

She'd always thought of it as a place that she wanted to be free to fly from at any point. But now she had someone there waiting for her to return. It was a precious nest; not a birdcage keeping her trapped.

At some point, unnoticed, Lillian Girls' Academy had become a place she felt compelled to return to.

"Thank you."

Shimako savored the meaning of that word.

A nest that precious chicks could depend on.