Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter3 1

Who's Suga Sei? Part 1.

It becomes difficult distinguishing the feeling of cold from the feeling of pain. Eventually you just stop feeling, altogether.

I gripped my right hand, trying to confirm the hand I was holding onto was still there. But I couldn't feel my own numbed fingertips, much less Kahori's hand.

Even if you decide to end life together at the same place at the same time, death was something you faced alone, I thought, as I lie there.

In the morning, after about three days, when Yumi called Yoshino-san, she invited her to come over. And while it may have been a bit shameless, Yumi decided to go.

It wasn't to replace Sachiko-sama or anything, but Yumi wished they could meet up by the train station so she could gather her wits while eating a fast-food hamburger. But Yoshino-san said she had to stay home until after noon.

So she bought two meat-croquette sandwiches and two types of cup salad at the neighborhood pastry store, and stepped on the bus she normally took for school. After arriving at M Station, she walked straight past the wickets and found another familiar-looking bus. But there were no Lillian students nearby today.

Maybe that was why the bus felt different, even though nothing had actually changed. The scenery outside looked fresh, too.

Yoshino-san, as promised, was waiting in front of the school.

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

Neither of them were wearing their uniforms, but they greeted each other formally out of habit, and lowered their shoulders.

Yoshino-san was wearing a black high-neck sweater, a knee-high yellow tartan-checkered plaited skirt, and black tights. Just as with the uniform, Yumi thought Yoshino-san's pale complexion matched brilliantly with black.

"Ahh. Yumi-san, you're wearing men's clothing!"

"Heheheh. Yoshino-san, you have keen sight."

Yumi was wearing a culotte skirt along with an unbleached sweater and thin, blue coat, but the sweater and coat were borrowed from her brother's closet. A sibling who wears the same size clothing as you is always good to have. Unfortunately for Yuuki, he, on the other hand, wasn't really able to borrow any clothing in return, but if the situation arose that he asked to borrow girls' clothing, Yumi was more than willing to lend him as many skirts as he might need.

When you meet in unfamiliar clothing, it feels harder coming up with something to talk about. Plus, neither of them had their hair done. Of course, in Yoshino-san's case, that was true while she was hospitalized, anyways, but it felt odd nonetheless.

After about ten minutes of walking, or maybe less, they arrived at Yoshino-san's house.

It was a large site surrounded by fencing, and the nameplates "Shimazu" and "Hasekura" were lined up side by side. There were two gates, and each one had their own stone paving leading to their buildings, but the courtyards were firmly connected.

"This isn't next-door-neighbors so much as-"

"Yup. More like living in the same apartment."

In the back was Rei-sama's father's dojo, and it was apparently connected to the Hasekura house. During the evening, the neighborhood's elementary school kids would come to learn kendo, so it would become lively.

"Come in."

Yoshino-san opened the rattling, sideways door. It wasn't locked. Aren't you being too careless? Yumi thought, but it wasn't really her business.

"Sorry for intruding-"

After entering the foyer, there was immediately a step up.

"By the way, didn't Yoshino-san have to watch over the house? Was it alright for you to come pick me up?"

Yumi asked Yoshino-san as she followed.

"No worries, there's a caretaker for the caretaker."

"What?"

When they opened the dark, brown door, there was-.

"Oh, welcome home."

Rosa Foetida en bouton making herself at home in the kotatsu.

"Re-Rei-sama!"

"Eh, what, Yumi-chan!?"

Yoshino-san seemed to have kept it a secret from both parties, so they both were stunned as they yelped out each other's name.

But, wow. Yoshino-san and Rei-sama really were close to each other. Because they could even ask each other to watch over their houses.

(Don't compare, don't compare.)

"Ah, Yumi-san. You just imagined asking Sachiko-sama to watch over your house, didn't you."

"What, how!"

"It's totally written on your face."

Yoshino-san has good instincts, so she needed to be careful. It was so easy to be tricked by that innocent smile. The one Yoshino-san had as she said, "Make yourself home," as she lifted the covers to the kotatsu. She loves mystery novels and figuring things out, so you could almost call her a girl detective.

Yoshino-san's room wasn't very decorated. The walls were ivory, the tables and the shelves and the window sills were all a burnt brown. And the curtains and bedcovers and kotatsu covers that were brought in were all a pale, plain color, so it didn't feel like a young girl's room. Even though bringing in some laced, or flower-patterned, things could instantly turn it into a romantic room. But because the books lined up on the shelves were like, "OO Detective Stories" or "Fencer XX," it might just be impossible to make the room seem like that of a maiden.

"I didn't know Yumi-chan was coming over."

Excuse me, said Rei-sama, and she stepped out of the room.

(Hmm. Rei-sama looks cool in jeans, too.)

Her hips were relatively high, and her legs were long. And since she already looked the part in a uniform, she totally looked like a guy like that.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, as she listened to the rhythmic steps going down the stairs, Yoshino-san whispered.

"On the last day of exams, when I went back home, Rei-chan ambushed me at the living room."

Rei-sama, like Sachiko-sama, wanted Yoshino-san to report what happened after school immediately. Well, that was expected, considering how close they are. But Yumi wondered if that becomes suffocating, but Yoshino-san replied "not entirely". –Being close came with its perks.

"I did some thinking, after that."

Yoshino-san said to Yumi, looking serious.

"Rosa Gigantea said she doesn't care, but I think we should prove Rosa Gigantea didn't author 'Forest of Thorns.'"

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that anymore?"

"But if it would help Rosa Gigantea, I think it would be permissible to investigate on our own."

"I don't understand what Yoshino-san is trying to say."

If it would help Rosa Gigantea? If that Rosa Gigantea is saying, "Let's drop it," then it wouldn't even be possible to investigate without having Rosa Gigantea finding out.

But Yoshino-san was clearly excited about it, so Yumi decided to listen, anyways.

"The newspaper club captain… I keep remembering Tsukiyama Minako-sama's words."

"Minako-sama's words? … Oh, you mean that Rosa Gigantea might be expelled? But Yoshino-san, you were the one that said that wouldn't happen."

"I thought so at the time-"

That the school wouldn't unfairly punish her, mumbled Yoshino-san. But it was also worrisome how much the school would trust Rosa Gigantea's words.

"And what if the teachers read 'Forest of Thorns' over the break? Even Rosa Gigantea herself mentioned it looked like she was the one who wrote it. Teachers who know about what happened last year might end up believing she wrote it."

"But as long as Rosa Gigantea keeps denying it…"

But Yoshino-san didn't agree.

"Maybe Rosa Gigantea would stop denying it."

"Why?"

"Because she read 'Forest of Thorns.'"

"What?"

"Because she read 'Forest of Thorns.' Rosa Gigantea might turn around and take the blame. To cover for her friend. Because the author of 'Forest of Thorns,' Suga Sei, is Kubo Shiori."

"What-!?"

Yoshino-san made a bold declaration. And it was so surprising Yumi was speechless.

"Th-then, Shiori-san is Sei, and Rosa Gigantea is Kahori?"

"No, she just wrote from the other perspective."

In that case, she would be direct witness, so she could still pass off "Forest of Thorns" as an autobiographical novel. It all fit together, they were too fixated on Sei being the protagonist of the novel!

"But is that true?"

When she leaned forward on the kotatsu and asked, Yoshino-san just giggled.

"It's just a guess."

"Oh."

"But."

If you assume the autobiographical novel label wasn't a lie, that's what you end up with.

"There're three possibilities."

"Three?"

Yumi tilted her head. There are that many?

I guess I'll explain, then, Yoshino-san laughed, so Yumi bowed her head, please.

"First, is that 'Forest of Thorns' was an autobiographical novel written by someone completely unrelated to Rosa Gigantea. That would mean everything like Suga Sei and the same gender and everything was a miraculous set of coincidence."

Not that they could definitively say such a thing could have never happened, Yoshino-san said. But with the school seeming so much like Lillian, that might be a stretch.

"What if it's someone who's enrolled at Lillian or even an alumni?"

"The more you limit the extent of things, it becomes less and less possible."

"Oh, right."

Coincidences on top of coincidences. With such a small set of people, it wasn't very likely that such a similar event could happen multiple times. It was far more likely it was based on one person.

"Second, is that Rosa Gigantea wrote it."

"But she said she didn't."

"Right. So this is removed. I also believe Rosa Gigantea. And the third."

Suga Sei and Kubo Shiori being the same person.

"I wonder if Rosa Gigantea feels the same way?"

"I don't know. Either way, she's spaced out right now, so it's a tough situation. Even if Shiori-san didn't write it, what if she got her hands on 'Forest of Thorns,' too?"

"Shiori-san would think Rosa Gigantea wrote it."

Yes. That would be tough.

But, they hadn't met ever since breaking up, and she said they shouldn't meet, so Rosa Gigantea would never be able to correct any wrong assumptions.

"So, shouldn't we unmask Suga Sei's identity? Because Rosa Gigantea is probably afraid of dealing with 'Forest of Thorns' any more than she already has."

And because exams had finished, this would be the most relatively free time they have.

And, everything came back to Yoshino-san's first statement, of how they could investigate to satisfy their own curiosity. Yoshino-san was persuasive.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Rei-sama came back, so they halted discussions.

"Is Japanese tea fine?"

Placing the tray on the floor, Rei-sama picked up the tea in both hands, placed it in front of Yumi, and said, "Here." The tea was served in a porcelain teacup complete with a top and a saucer, so it was a very genuine style.

"Rei-sama serving tea…"

"Mm? Oh, yeah, because it's like my own house."

Even Yumi didn't even think about imagining Sachiko-sama serving tea in Yumi's house.

(… Wow, and tea cakes.)

Small, delicious-looking petit cakes were piled on the pastry tray.

If she were asked if she could give this much service without any prior notice to a guest, Yumi would answer that it was doubtful. For starters, she had no idea where snacks were even stored in her own house, nor did she know where pastry trays were stored, or anything.

"Rei-sama's like an adult lady."

"Why thank you."

And the person who looked so much like a man on the outside smiled happily.

"- so I was thinking about calling them."

Suddenly, Yoshino-san picked up where she had left off.

"Calling? What are you talking about?"

Having finished serving tea, Rei-sama had begun to leave, when she heard Yoshino-san and scurried back.

"Cosmos Books, of course."

Yoshino-san said.

"Seriously!?"

"Yup. Rei-chan, you're going to help me."

Yoshino-san tilted her head forward cutely, and Rei-sama visibly took damage.

"You shouldn't be sneaking around like you're sniffing out a suspect."

But Yoshino-san was firm. And she bore down on Rei-sama.

"There's nothing wrong with worrying about Rosa Gigantea. And it's not sneaking around, we're just not telling Rosa Gigantea."

"That's called sneaking."

"Just because Rosa Gigantea doesn't want to deal with it doesn't mean we can't deal with it, does it?"

They just say what they want, just like that, these sisters. Because it felt like she was being privy to a side they don't show at school, Yumi felt elated, but she also wondered if she should interject, lest their bickering continued. That was what Yumi was pondering.

"Yoshino, are you seriously trying to unmask the identity of someone who clearly would prefer not to be known?"

"You don't need to say unmask."

"But it's true."

"It's not. Rei-chan's mean."

Oh, Yoshino-san. She threw a cushion at Rei-sama.

(Woah, woah, just because you can't win verbally doesn't mean you should turn to violence, Yoshino-san.)

Rei-sama looked used to it, as she easily caught a cushion in one hand.

"Oh settle down. Yumi-chan's here, too."

(Ehh, she's shifting the attention to me!?)

"She can watch. This is how we are, anyways."

Like she didn't like how Rei-sama was being self-conscious. Yoshino-san became out of control, like a yelping puppy.

Yumi found out for the first time, that day.

Yoshino-san was a lion at home and a mouse abroad.

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