Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume11 Chapter6 6

Visitor. Part 6

In the living room, when Sayako oba-sama heard of Sachiko-sama's hunger, it was as though she'd witnessed a miracle, she was that surprised.

"Yumi-chan, you're like an appetite promoting medicine."

What looked like freshly prepared black tea was placed at the table.

Yumi prayed at the small altar covered in white flowers, then helped herself to some tea. In the portrait, Sachiko-sama's grandmother was smiling so vividly it was as though she was alive and breathing within the photograph.

"Oh, what happened to Youko-sama?"

The only people visible in the living room where Sayako oba-sama and Kashiwagi-san.

"Weren't you going for a stroll together?"

She asked Kashiwagi-san.

"We did for a while. Then, suddenly, she headed out the main gate on her own. Said she'd be back soon. I thought I'd go with her, but she bluntly turned me back."

He answered, his expression showing he wasn't amused.

She would have said, "Keep away from me." Yumi could just picture the scene between the two of them.

"It looked like she suddenly thought of something."

Yumi thought that Youko-sama simply didn't want Kashiwagi-san around any longer, but she didn't say this. Instead she stirred the waters by saying, "It's rainy out though."

Whereupon.

"My onee-sama has an umbrella with her so she'll be fine."

Sachiko-sama asserted. Given her personality, there was no way Youko-sama wouldn't have a folding umbrella in her bag during the current season. Sachiko-sama didn't actually say this, but that's surely what she meant.

Everyone agreed, then Sayako oba-sama cheerfully closed in on Sachiko-sama.

"Hey, Sachiko-san. Where to?"

In her hand she had a number of thin booklets fanned out like playing cards. On closer inspection, they were all take-away menus.

There was a lunch catering shop, a noodle shop, a sushi shop, a katsudon shop and a shop specializing in eel. There was even a menu from a cafe.

"So, we're going to get takeaway. From here?"

"Well, there's only enough to make tea in this house. You should know that."

Apparently it had only been Sachiko-sama's grandmother living in the house, and it had been mainly vacant since her hospitalization. From time to time Sayako oba-sama or Sachiko-sama would come to check the mail, or air out the place, or other things like that, but there was never any need to stock the house with food.

"On the way back from the crematorium, didn't father and grandfather get sandwiches because they said they were getting hungry? Can't we eat those?"

Sachiko-sama asked, not backing down.

"But you told them you didn't want any because you weren't hungry, remember? So they took the rest with them."

"They took them? So, where are they?"

"At work."

"It's Sunday, right?"

"They were just rattling around here, so I let them go to work."

" … Ah, so that's it."

While Sachiko-sama had made a revival, she didn't have the will to follow them to their company just to reclaim some sandwiches.

"I've got it. How about this."

Sayako oba-sama clapped her hands together, as though she'd just hit upon a good idea.

"Why don't we all go to a restaurant? Let's see, what about that place you like in Ginza? Oh right, reservations, reservations. I wonder if I wrote their phone number in my notebook."

"I don't really want French food."

Sachiko-sama said peevishly.

Well, that was probably true. Yumi could understand. A (Japanese) person who was about to have their first decent meal after eating very little for a while probably wouldn't dare to choose French food.

Better to go with vegetables and rice or noodles, as those were easier on the stomach. As she was thinking about this, Yumi suddenly found herself feeling hungry. Come to think of it, since she'd been picked up by Youko-sama straight after cleaning, she hadn't eaten lunch today. And it was after 3 o'clock.

"If we went back to the estate, we could make something, but I'm sure takeaway would be quicker."

Sayako oba-sama's face showed her consternation.

"Well, I could go get something and bring it back."

Kashiwagi-san elegantly stood up.

"Something?"

What, and from where, Yumi asked.

"On the way in we passed a convenience store, right? I'll take the car for a spin and pick something."

Indeed, right before they turned off onto the side road there had been a convenience store on the main road. Getting something from there would certainly be quicker than takeaway or going to a restaurant.

"Just like a man."

Sayako oba-sama was openly praising him, but Yumi couldn't meekly go along with her. It was just a smidge galling that Kashiwagi-san would get the credit. However, Yumi knew full well that that was simply jealousy.

"I don't know what they have, but please get something that Sachiko can eat."

Just as Kashiwagi-san was about to accept some of the money that Sayako oba-sama was offering.

"I'm back."

A voice came from the entrance.

"Ah, Youko-sama."

"Oh, Yumi-chan, is that you? Can you come here please."

"Okay?"

Knowing nothing more, Yumi headed to the entrance where she found a wet Youko-sama wiping the door with a handkerchief.

"You didn't have an umbrella?"

"I had too many bags, so I couldn't use it all that well."

Youko-sama smiled wryly, at her feet were two bulging bags from the convenience store.

"What's this?"

"Food."

"Oowah."

Peeking inside the bag she'd been handed, Yumi gasped in delight. Frozen udon noodle broth, onigiri rice balls, cup-a-soup and a bread roll. All sorts of food jumped into view.

"Even with just this, there should be something that Sachiko will want to eat."

"Incredible, Youko-sama. But how did you know?"

How did she know that Sachiko-sama's appetite would return so soon.

"I'm not just posing as Ogasawara Sachiko's onee-sama."

Youko-sama puffed up with pride.

"I guess not."

That was Youko-sama. As she carried the large bag Yumi felt happier. Kashiwagi-san hadn't been up to the task. He was tens, no, hundreds of steps behind.

As she walked behind Yumi, Youko-sama called in to the living room like a snack salesman on the bullet train.

"Ladies. We have food on offer. What would you like?"

It goes without saying that Sayako oba-sama gleefully bought the whole lot.

And so, they all shared a late lunch together.

They gave the bread roll to the poor chauffeur, for despite the effort he put into polishing the car, it still got wet in the rain.

Sayako oba-sama and Sachiko-sama both regarded the frozen udon noodle broth with curiosity, and after it had been heated and an offering made to Sachiko-sama's grandmother, lapped it up.

"We haven't had a fun lunch like this since Yumi-chan and everyone came to visit for New Year's."

It didn't feel like Sayako oba-sama was simply excited about tasting something she wasn't used to: common people's food. She got a bit too merry, and stained her valuable mourning dress with broth.

"Convenience stores are such handy restaurants."

To a degree, that should have been expected.

Sayako oba-sama was even more of an alien than Sachiko-sama.