Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume27 Chapter1 2

Warrior Demands a Response. Part 2

"Testing, one, two."

Mami-san said, speaking into a megaphone. Despite departing in such a hurry, Mami-san strode purposefully into the courtyard with her demeanor conveying, "I've emerged at precisely the appointed time," and exuding the impression, "Everything is going according to schedule," as she stood in front of the participants. The slight hoarseness in her voice just added to the charm.

"This is the deadline for anyone who has found a card to come forward."

The three future Roses, that is Yumi, Yoshino-san, and Shimako-san, stood beside Mami-san. The members of the newspaper club, who had been scattered around the school during the treasure hunt, had also resumed their positions in the courtyard. Only Hidemi-chan, who had gone to the broadcasting room to make the earlier announcement, was nowhere to be seen.

"In that case, I shall announce the results."

When Mami-san said this, all the chattering students stopped their conversations and looked towards the front.

"This year, two of the treasures, the bouton's cards, were found."

This caused a bit of a stir. Those who already knew this result and those who were hearing it for the first time listened carefully to what came next. The red flush that was visible across their faces probably couldn't be explained solely by the setting sun.

Of the three, two were found – which meant that one was still undiscovered. That kind of result probably gave rise to agitation within the primary participants.

"Would those people whose name I call please step forward."

Losing out to the surrounding tumult, Mami-san raised her voice as she spoke into the megaphone.

"The first card found was the yellow card. It was claimed by Tanuma Chisato-san, from the second-year chrysanthemum class."

Both applause and gasps of surprise came from the crowd. That was understandable. Chisato-san had claimed the yellow card last year, and followed it up with a repeat performance this year. So this was the second consecutive year she'd achieved this remarkable feat.

From amongst those excited voices Chisato-san calmly made her way to Mami-san's side, her face showing she was eminently pleased with the reaction she was getting.

"Good grief."

Yoshino-san shook her head, as she too moved. In the event that a card was found, the hider of the card would stand next to the victor. That had been arranged and agreed to beforehand.

"Congratulations."

"Thank-you."

The interview began.

"I'll start by asking how you're feeling about being the first person to find a card."

"I'm really happy."

The interview proceeded at a surprisingly brisk pace, because at some unknown point in time Mami-san's megaphone had been swapped for a microphone. Since Hidemi-san could be seen hunched over walking away from Mami-san with the megaphone under her arms, the obvious inference was that she'd borrowed the microphone from the broadcasting room and brought it with her. – What a commendable petit soeur.

"And where did you find the yellow card?"

"On the exterior wall of the staff room."

As expected, there was a stir from the audience, and even some booing. The explanation that was given earlier in the room on the second floor of the Rose Mansion would have to be repeated.

"The exterior wall of the staff room? Is that correct, Rosa Foetida en Bouton?"

Of course, Mami-san had anticipated this reaction from the crowd and calmly continued the interview.

"Yes. That is correct."

Yoshino-san agreed.

"But I can hear a number of people saying that the staff room was out of bounds."

Then, Yoshino-san and Chisato-san both looked immensely self-satisfied as they simultaneously said:

"The inside was."

Neither of the pair said anything more, instead only smiling broadly. In the end, it fell to Mami-san to settle things once more.

"If you look at the maps you were given, I think you'll all understand – "

Much thanks for all your hard work.

Mami-san then asked Chisato-san if she had any final statement, handing the mic over to her.

"If this treasure hunt event is held next year, naturally I'll be aiming to get the yellow card for a third year running. When that happens, club president, I'd like my name inscribed on a roll of honor, so that future generations know of my deeds."

High-school was three years. So, short of repeating a grade, a record of three consecutive victories could never be broken. Of course, this year the middle-school students had been allowed to enter in the form of the "absentee's chance draw," but that should probably be viewed as a special case since it didn't involve actually walking the grounds and searching for yourself.

"It's a deal."

Mami-san's assurance was met with much cheering and applause. In reality, a miraculous string of three consecutive victories was unlikely to happen, but everyone present was all fired up.

"Okay, moving on to the red card, which was found only moments before time was up."

Silence fell over the courtyard.

"After consultation, Matsudaira Touko-san, from the first-year Camellia class, was declared the winner."

At that instant.

The ground shook as though there were an earthquake. Unheralded, thunder rang out. A sudden gust of wind rocked the school walls. – Of course, none of those things actually happened, but they're good metaphors for the roar of voices that reverberated around the courtyard.

The sound of all different voices clashing together made a noise that was hard to believe could come from humans. Those few moments of sound encompassed cheers of joy, angry roars, shrieks, and applause – to name just a few. At any rate, they all undoubtedly conveyed 'surprise.'

"Over here, please, Matsudaira-san."

From amongst these seething voices, Touko-chan emerged looking completely unaffected by the reaction, and took the final few steps to stand beside Mami-san.

On reflection, it was good that both Chisato-san and Touko-chan had made their way to the Rose Mansion before the time limit was up. As a result, when they went downstairs they were towards the front of the crowd (ie. standing near the entrance to the Rose Mansion), so they weren't expected to push their way through the crowd.

"You too, Yumi-san."

When Shimako-san pointed this out, Yumi belatedly remembered that she had to go and stand next to Touko-chan.

Standing next to Touko-chan.

Everything had been in such a state of confusion since Mami-san's alarm went off that Yumi hadn't had time to become conscious of it. However, Touko-chan had indeed said those words.

(Yumi-sama, won't you take me as your petit soeur?)

Just remembering it was enough to make her heart race. Yumi nervously looked out upon the crowd, as though she herself was the one who had found the treasure.

"Congratulations."

"Thank-you."

The interview commenced, with Yumi standing by. There was still a little bit of noise around, but everyone gave Touko-chan their attention because they all wanted to hear the full story from the finder of the red card.

"So tell me, where did you find the red card?"

"On the second floor of the Rose Mansion."

Touko-chan answered. Whereupon Mami-san asked, with a straight face:

"Could you provide us with some more details?"

Touko-chan glanced at Yumi. As though to ask, "Is that okay?" Of course, Yumi nodded. Since that answer contained a deeper meaning, it had always been her intention to tell the specifics of the location.

"On a chair. Rosa Chinensis en Bouton had been sitting atop the card."

The moment Touko-chan said this, the courtyard burst into uproarious laughter.

"Is that correct, Rosa Chinensis en Bouton?"

"Er, ah, yeah."

Yumi hastily agreed to Mami-san's request for confirmation. She hadn't considered that this would be met with laughter. Touko-chan had probably anticipated this, and that's why she'd initially responded with, "On the second floor of the Rose Mansion."

Probably thinking that this explanation was unsatisfactory, Mami-san added her own commentary.

"Immediately following the start, Rosa Chinensis en Bouton sat on that chair, the card pressed against her butt, for the entire hour. But it wasn't brute force – she'd assured us that she would stand up if anyone asked her to do so. Five minutes before the end, Rosa Chinensis en Bouton's onee-sama, Rosa Chinensis, asked her to stand up, and she started to do so, but was made to sit down again. Immediately afterward, Rosa Chinensis en Bouton was startled into standing up by the force with which Matsudaira Touko-san entered into the room. As I'm sure all the participants that were there to witness the events would testify. Rosa Chinensis accepted this situation, and Rosa Chinensis en Bouton gave it her seal of approval. And with that, Matsudaira Touko-san was acknowledged as the winner."

After Mami-san had said that much, Noriko-chan, who had slipped away and gone back into the Rose Mansion at some earlier point in time, came dashing out of the entrance carrying a bundle of documents and whispered something into her ear. Mami-san nodded in agreement, and said:

"Since we didn't have time earlier, I'll take the opportunity now."

Grinning, she turned to Touko-chan.

"Matsudaira Touko-san, sorry to bother you, but may I see your student card?"

"Okay."

Touko-chan put her hand into her pocket and produced her student ID card. Mami-san took the card and compared it to what was on the papers that Noriko-chan brought. This was just a precaution – surely she'd registered properly.

It must have only taken about five seconds, but Yumi's nervousness grew and grew.

Mami-san nodded.

"This is indeed her entry form. She is officially recognized as the holder of the red card."

A mixture of applause and sighs could be heard from the participants who had been watching intently, awaiting the outcome.

"Now, just a reminder that in the unlikely event that two "absentee's chance" entrants both picked the correct location, those entries would not be honored."

In other words, if the prize was over-subscribed, it would not be awarded.

"Which brings me to the white card, which sadly went undiscovered. Preliminary results indicate a single entrant picked the correct location, winning the white card and the special prize of a half-day date. The name of the winner, and the location of the white card, will be published in the Valentine's Day special edition of the Lillian Kawaraban. We'll also have speculation about the dates, so we hope you'll look forward to it!"

The response to Mami-san's feel-good PR for the school newspaper was an abundance of cries of dissatisfaction. Understandable, really. The special edition wasn't going to come out today, and if it were to include speculation about the dates then it probably wouldn't be out for at least a week. Waiting that long would be hard for even the best trained dog.

But, now that she'd said that, there was no going back. Mami-san brought the event to a close, forcing the words out her mouth.

"And on that note, the "Future Roses Treasure Hunt" Valentine's Day event comes to an end. I'd like to thank everyone that was involved in the event. The future Roses will be handing out chocolates to all the participants, so please take one on your way out."

Yumi took one of the baskets that Noriko-chan had prepared and hurried to the edge of the courtyard. Similarly, Yoshino-san stationed herself near the entrance to the school buildings, and Shimako-san moved to a spot along the path that led towards the rear of the courtyard, so that the students would be enticed to disperse.

"Thanks for participating, please take one."

Inside the basket were merely bite-sized chocolates, but the participants received them as though they were the treasure.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It was fun."

Seeing their smiling faces and hearing their words of thanks made Yumi want to throw the basket in the air and jump for joy. Of course, it would be problematic if the chocolates came flying out of the basket, so she didn't do this.

"Yumi-sama. What did you think about Touko-san finding the card?"

One of them hit her with a straight ball, out of nowhere. The girl had a tense expression on her face, as though she'd been angry when she heard the result. A first-year, apparently. Yumi wasn't busy, since this girl seemed to have waited to approach her until after the crowd had thinned out, when she wouldn't be inconveniencing anyone.

"What did I think?"

Yumi tilted her head, questioningly.

"Well, Rosa Chinensis must have realized it was on the chair, right? And yet, it seems a bit unfortunate, you know."

"I see."

This girl was being serious – there was no trace of deception or an attempt to conceal anything. So she was openly speaking what was on her mind.

"You know, whether it was Touko-san, or Rosa Chinensis, or even someone else I don't know, my feelings probably wouldn't change. I'd just be happy that someone found it. And that's how I am now."

After she'd said that, Yumi impishly drew her index finger up to her mouth.

"Although that's a bit rude to Shimako-san, since no-one found her card. Don't tell her I said that, okay?"

The first-year laughed at this, and the tension seemed to be released.

"Whether the person who found the card was someone I knew well, or someone I didn't know at all, wouldn't change my feelings."

"So you'd still feel that way, even if I'd found the card, for example?"

"Of course. I'd be delighted."

"I understand. Sorry for asking such a strange question."

"Not at all. Thanks for participating."

After taking a chocolate from the proffered basket, the girl quickly bowed her head and ran off. Feeling refreshed, Yumi watched her go for a short while.

"You done?"

Hearing that voice, Yumi turned around and saw that Yoshino-san had made her way over and was swinging her basket around.

"Rei-chan said she wanted one, and there's some left over, so is it okay if I give it to her? A chocolate, that is."

"That should be fine … ah, wait."

Looking around the courtyard, a group of students remained congregated around Shimako-san. Would she have enough chocolates left in her basket to be able to handle that group?

"Don't worry about them. All of those girls already took a chocolate."

Yoshino-san said, yawning.

"They've got a chocolate, but they still haven't gone home?"

"You should remember what happened last year, Yumi-san."

"Ah."

Where on earth had Shimako-san hidden her white card? Those who just couldn't wait for the Lillian Kawaraban special edition to come out were sticking around, unwilling to leave. Probably intending to accompany the newspaper club members when they went to retrieve it.

"Like I said, it'll be revealed in the Lillian Kawaraban special edition."

Even at this distance, they could hear Mami-san's troubled voice as she explained the situation. But Yumi and Yoshino-san knew she really wasn't that troubled. She was just sifting out the participants, until an appropriate number remained. And, because they knew this, the group stubbornly remained, despite her calls for them to go home.

"Hold on a minute."

Mami-san said to the remaining students, then walked over to Yumi and Yoshino-san.

"It doesn't look like I'll get the numbers down any further than this, so I'm going to get the white card. How about you, Yumi-san, Yoshino-san?"

Will you come too? That's what was being asked, and Yumi and Yoshino-san looked at each other. There were about fifteen or sixteen girls left in the group. Add to that Tsutako-san and Mami-san from the newspaper club, the leading lady Shimako-san and her petit soeur Noriko-chan, and it was a pretty big bunch. The more people there were the harder it would be to lead them, plus they already knew the hiding place, so they decided to sit this one out.

"We'll tidy up the Rose Mansion."

"Really? That'll be a great help. I told the other newspaper club members they could leave after they'd collected the hints for Shimako-san's card, and it's getting late, so this looks like a good place to call it a day. The review meeting's tomorrow at lunch. See ya."

Without waiting for an acknowledgment from Yumi or Yoshino-san, Mami-san headed back to where Shimako-san and the others were waiting. As a group, they headed off towards the school building with Shimako-san in the lead.

Which led to an odd sensation. The courtyard, which had earlier seemed to be absolutely buried beneath the mass of students suddenly seemed quite deserted, now that there were none there.

After picking up washcloths that were hanging on the line between the Rose Mansion and the school building, the bouton pair entered the Rose Mansion.

"That Touko-chan,"

Yoshino-san said, as they climbed the stairs.

"Hmm?"

"She didn't go to you, did she, Yumi-san?"

For a moment Yumi had no idea what Yoshino-san was talking about, but then Yoshino-san swung around and held out her basket, and Yumi realized that she was talking about when they were handing out chocolates to the participants.

"Ah, now that you mention it."

Yumi realized that, indeed, she hadn't seen Touko-chan get a chocolate.

"It's not, "Now that I mention it." She took a chocolate from my basket, then left. What's up with you two?"

"What do you mean, what's up with us?"

Yumi hastily followed her friend who stomped up the steps with an angry and amazed look on her face.

"Just before, there was that huge uproar when she asked to become your petit soeur in front of everyone. Then after that, it's like, ohhh, nothing happened – but that's not true, right?"

When you put it that way.

"This time she was the one that asked. So hurry up and give her the rosary already, and stop all this constant flirting, and flirting, and flirting, and flirting."

Yoshino-san waited for Yumi to finish climbing the stairs, then slung her arm over Yumi's shoulder, around her neck, and pulled it in tight.

"Owwwww."

Chocolates from their baskets scattered all over the floor.

Yumi used the dust cloth in her free right hand to signal her surrender and eventually Yoshino-san relaxed her hold. Then, rather than removing her arm, Yoshino-san left it there, swung around in front of Yumi and embraced her with both arms.

" … I'm so glad, Yumi-san."

Yoshino-san whispered into Yumi's ear.

"Yeah."

Their bodies separated and they smiled at each other. The joy was doubled and the sadness halved. Yumi was thankful to have that sort of a friend to care for her.

"Alright. Let's hurry up and clean this place, Rei-chan's waiting in the classroom for me to meet her so we can go home."

With satisfaction emanating from every part of her body, Yoshino-san did as she said and hurried into the room.

" … Oh geeze."

Left behind in the corridor, Yumi gathered the scattered chocolates in her basket, picked up the washcloth and headed for the biscuit door.

"What's taking you so long?"

Yoshino-san's voice called out from inside.