Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume37 Chapter15

Afterword

Reading back over it, it's so nostalgic …

Hello, this is Konno.

So, with this, "Maria-sama ga Miteru Variety Gifts 5," no, no, "Maria-sama ga Miteru Farewell Bouquet." has arrived. As an explanation for those unaware, this is the fifth book that's a collection of short stories previously published in Cobalt magazine.

Introducing them in order of publication, "Yesterday's Enemy" was published in the September 2009 issue, "Until Graduation" in the November 2010 issue, "Private Teacher" in the May 2011 issue, "Candy and Stretch" in the November 2011 issue, and "Breast Cookies" in the March 2012 issue. "Farewell Bouquet I-VII," "Announcement," and "Conversation over Fresh Herb Tea" were all newly written.

This volume's running theme is "teacher."

Since the setting is a school, I thought it would be easy to come up with some material … but it wasn't quite like that. To avoid falling into the same pattern, it doesn't just cover school teachers, there's also trainee teachers and private tutors.

Ah, right, right, I have to explain the meaning of "Farewell Bouquet." Farewell means "farewell" or a "send-off," so a literal translation might be "Goodbye Bouquet." But it by no means has a gloomy image, it's the sort of farewell gift that would be given with a smile and a, "Congratulations," "Take care," as a good friend sets off on a new journey. After you finish reading this book, I think you'll understand the meaning.

This book has lots of "Which era is this in?" I wonder if the familiar characters make an appearance in "Yesterday's Enemy." It takes place when Yumi's a first-year, but not during work hours. For the "What era is this in?" teachers, they may or may not take place when Yumi's in high-school, or they may be a middle-school teacher that got promoted to vice-principal.

Now then, compilation afterwords are for some reason typically short, and I usually don't touch on the individual stories much, but this time around there I thought I wanted to make some comments (Spoilers below. Be warned!)

"Candy and Stretch" … this one came together the quickest when I was writing it. For instance, I wrote the character Oosugi Wakako-sensei based on two sports club instructors (both lovely women) and the episode with Hisa's grandmother was born from my own mother's recent cataract surgery.

"Private Teacher" … This is one of those "What era is this in?" stories. It has the sort of old-time feeling of something that could have been from 50+ years ago. At least that was the aim, with things like the turtleneck sweaters and scarves. There's a slight question of whether the coat should have been an overcoat, but I think it's okay to have a little bit of the olden days peeking through, so I'm going to leave it like that.

"Breast Cookies" … This was borrowed from a true story that happened when my older sister was a trainee teacher. Although, that was just the fine arts teacher saying, "Please bake some cookies." The later development with Iruma-sensei and Amachi Kanko-san obviously didn't happen.

"Yesterday's Enemy" … I like Japanese history. World history not so much … I think that's probably due to the long running historical dramas on NHK. But it does cause some confusion when actors' faces pop to mind when thinking of historical figures like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. So if you get Yumi and Morimi mixed up, we'll be able to say to each other, "Right!"

"Until Graduation" … Not that it matters, but I'm sure the Christmas cake that Onoe-sensei bought was delicious (that's the only comment I have!). Ah, it was a bit strange for me to be sitting by myself in front of the computer, checking the pronunciation of "O-ne-e-sa-ma."

"Announcement" … Katori-sensei's husband reminds me of the older guy from the comedy quartet "White Mammoth," but even with that established it's not touched upon in the story (it's not related to the tale). Still, I wrote it here.

"Conversation over Fresh Herb Tea" … No teachers make their appearance, but I wrote it thinking it would be good to have a two-shot of Sachiko and Yumi, since there hasn't been one of those for a while. It's disconnected from the "Farewell Bouquet" but they're joined together by the herbs.

With the release of this book, the stock of "Maria-sama ga Miteru" stories that have been published in a magazine has been depleted. How to put it … right, it feels like I've submitted my homework. At any rate, I suppose we have once again reached the end.

Since we've ended so often, I suppose it's possible I may resume at some point.

Even so, a bouquet of flowers to everyone that has helped me up to now.

Thank-you very much.

Konno Oyuki.

Translator's Notes

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