Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume14 Chapter2 1

That's a Problem. Part 1

"Your younger brother's jealous of you, Yumi-sama. Definitely."

The girl said as she gathered trash from the floor into a dustpan.

"Jealous?"

Normally someone as tall as her, 179cm, wouldn't be labeled a "girl" but she was actually only 15 years old. A high-school first-year, one year below Yumi.

"Having such a completely flawless and perfect older sister, who's wise, cute and has a bubbly personality, the only way he could preserve himself would be to thoroughly bully you, raise the white flag and become your servant, or completely deny your existence itself."

"P-perfect older sister? Kanako-chan."

What a joke. Yumi had stopped wiping the tables and was getting to ready to laugh, but –

"The best thing about you, Yumi-sama, is that you don't realize what a wonderful girl you are."

Kanako-san said with a straight face. It seems she didn't consider that earlier "joke" to be a joke at all.

"You're always so modest, Yumi-sama."

The younger girl mumbled, her eyes sparkling.

It was after school and, for now, it was just Yumi and her on the second-floor of the Rose Mansion.

So there was no-one there to back her up.

But, ah.

How on earth was she supposed to react to this room filled with an atmosphere of sparkling adoration?

"Um."

Never before in her life had Yumi been complimented like this by a younger girl. Basically, she had no previous data samples to draw on, so she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to react to this situation.

"Ah, oh, right."

It seemed awkward to remain silent, so she decided to say something.

"I'm sorry you got dragged in to helping clean the Rose Mansion. You shouldn't have to worry about it, since we're the ones that use it, we should be able to keep it clean."

"It's fine."

Kanako-chan ran a hand through her long hair and smiled.

"I only came to help because Noriko-chan has outside cleaning duty this week, so I thought she might be late getting to the Rose Mansion. Which seems to be the case, since you were the first to arrive, Yumi-sama. I was hoping that I'd get to enjoy some time with you. Ah, I'll get that."

As she said this, Kanako-chan nimbly plucked the dishrag from Yumi's hands.

"Ah."

"You shouldn't concern yourself with this sort of thing, Yumi-sama."

The dishrag was rinsed in the sink, wrung out to dry, then banished to a corner of the bench.

"You know, Kanako-chan."

If wiping the table clean was something she considered beneath herself, then just what type of cleaning would she ever do? In truth, Yumi had been cleaning the school restrooms before she came here, but saying that would be a bit too brutally honest. Especially since she'd been in charge of cleaning the toilet bowls.

"It's only because of a lack of first-years that you have to do this hard work, Yumi-sama. Rosa Foetida en bouton really should hurry up and get a petit soeur."

"…"

Kanako-chan said something that would undoubtedly have Yoshino-san scowling in anger if she heard it.

In that case, Yumi herself should get a petit soeur. She was about to rebuke Kanako-chan, but that girl's eyes were off looking at a different dimension.

"Oh, Kanako-chan, you're here."

"Ah, gokigenyou, Rosa Foetida."

It was only after the biscuit door opened and Rosa Foetida entered the room that Kanako-chan finally returned to this dimension.

Yumi breathed a sigh of relief. There was someone else besides just herself and Kanako-chan. At the very least, the atmosphere of sparkling adoration should dissipate.

"Thanks for your continued assistance."

Rei-sama set her bag down on one of the seats, then flopped down in the chair next to it.

"Not at all, I only just got here. Yumi-sama had finished most of the cleaning by the time I arrived."

"Oh, really?"

A glance. Rei-sama looked away from both Yumi and Kanako-chan and smiled.

"Would you like some barley tea, Rosa Foetida?"

"Ah, thank-you."

"I'll pour some for you too, Yumi-sama."

"Th-thanks."

Already well practiced in this, Kanako-chan took the glass jug out of the refrigerator and poured some of the cool barley tea into glasses that had been standing upside-down in the dish rack.

"Um, Rei-sama."

Yumi whispered while Kanako-chan was looking the other way.

"About the cleaning, I wasn't really involved … "

"I know that. But it's fine. She's valiantly helping out for your sake, Yumi-chan. With everyone running around busy with the school festival, it's hard to find someone who's willing to help out without some form of compensation. It'd be kind of sad to pour cold water on her good mood."

"Hah."

Well, apart from the excessive compliments, there was no real harm for now. In reality, she was a huge help.

But still Yumi had her doubts. Was it alright to be taking advantage of her this way?

They were grateful for her volunteer work, but was this the sort of thing they should be accepting volunteers for?

"Well, I'll be leaving now."

Kanako-chan placed the two glasses of barley tea on the table and bowed quickly.

"Ah, thank-you."

"Not at all. Until next time."

After she disappeared beyond the biscuit door, the sounds of her going down the stairs and the faint sound of the Rose Mansion's front door being opened and closed were carried to Yumi's ears.

Alright then. As she reached out a hand towards a glass of barley tea, Rei-sama smiled.

"What's the matter, Yumi-chan?"

"Huh?"

"You were sighing."

"Uh."

"It was an incredibly large sigh too."

"R-really?"

It was only when it was pointed out that she became aware of it, but that was certainly the sort of mood she was in – sigh.

"Deep with meaning."

"As if."

But maybe she had been a bit tense being in front of Kanako-chan. After all, wasn't it only human nature to not want to show any eccentricities to someone who admired you, leading to a subconscious stress.