Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume4 Chapter2 3

Rosa Canina? Part 3.

"Second-year wisteria class' Kanina Shizuka-sama? Oh, the chorus songstress?"

Yoshino-san immediately answered, in the second-floor conference room of the Rosa Mansion. Plus, she even groaned, "Rosa Canina because her name is Kanina," so Yumi was impressed. Tsutako-san was probably hoping for that sort of reaction from Yumi.

"Yoshino-san, do you know her well?"

"No. But she's pretty famous."

"… I see."

She could only nod. In Yumi's case, she didn't really remember anyone she didn't actually come in contact with.

"She's pretty, with long hair. She did a vocal solo of Aria during the school festival, don't you remember?"

"I was probably eating curry with Sachiko-sama."

"That's right."

Yoshino-san laughed and shut the windows. While their onee-sama were attending the election management committee's explanatory session, the two of them cleaned the room, so they kept the window open despite the cold weather.

"Shall we take a break?"

Yumi stood up without waiting for an answer and flipped the two teacups over. The electric kettle was making bubbling sounds, and hot steam escaped from the little hole. The water had just finished boiling.

"A rest."

Yoshino-san revolved her shoulders. It was right after classroom cleaning, so they'd been running around cleaning all day. But they couldn't help it, the Mansion with spider webs wasn't a proper sight. The two sisters of boutons pondered over what they could do to help their onee-sama and decided that, at the very least, they could make it so their onee-sama would be able to sit comfortable, and undertook, not quite a major cleaning, but a pretty decent amount of cleaning. They'd done most of the cleaning prior to the year's end, so this was more of the surface-area cleaning.

"Yoshino-san, would you like coffee?"

"Yes. And plenty of powdered milk, please."

"OK."

Rosa Foetida brought a collection of stick-coffee as a gift during the second-semester closing ceremony, saying she was sharing part of her New Year's gift, so the Rose Mansion drinks were currently extraordinarily rich. Yumi first placed a stick of coffee, milk, and sugar into each cup, and as per request, placed an extra milk stick into Yoshino-san's cup, and added an extra sugar stick into her own. Then, she poured boiling water into the cups. Because it was just the two of them, that was it. They wanted to limit how much washing they'd need to do, so they didn't use a spoon to mix. Plus, the process ended up mixing the coffee pretty well, anyways. Of course, it didn't need to be said that they didn't use a tray, either.

"The election management committee's explanatory session, what do they do there?"

Yumi mumbled, absent-mindedly. As they'd finished cleaning, when she sat down in her chair, it felt like all of the exhaustion crept up at once. I don't want to do anything more, was how she felt.

"When, and how they'll hold the elections, for one. How candidates should sign up. What violates the election process. I guess they explain those things?"

"Mmm."

Sounds difficult, Yumi thought.

"What do you mean, mmm, you know we're going to go through it next year?"

"What!?"

"Get a grip, Yumi-san, we're becoming bouton in April."

"Umm… that's true-"

After she nodded, she started, "Wait." There was, of course, the matter of becoming a Rose down the line, something she'd taken pains to not think about, but the situation was different now because of Rosa Canina, wasn't it?

If they lost in the election, then Rosa Chinensis next year wouldn't be Sachiko-sama. And when Kanina Shizuka-sama becomes the new Rosa Chinensis, her sister would be the bouton, so there was the possibility that Yumi's next two years would change dramatically.

"Yumi-san, you can't possibly be thinking that Sachiko-sama might lose, can you?"

On the other side of the vapor rising from the teacups, Yoshino-san looked at her, menacingly.

"Shimako-san is like that, too, but you shouldn't have that kind of passive attitude. When someone challenges you, you stand and take it. If we, the bouton's sisters, become fainthearted, there's no way our onee-sama can fight full strength."

"Oh, yes."

She'd been lectured, without realizing it. But it was true, she'd imagine for a moment she and Sachiko-sama living a normal school life. Not the upperclassman everyone admired, but just her "onee-sama." It actually sounded kind of nice.

"If you're considered the successor, you're supposed to win the election. So try losing to some independent newcomer. Yumi-san, how're you going to cheer up your onee-sama as her little sister if things came to that?"

You're right, is all she could say. So in truth, she needed onee-sama to win.

When they finished slowly sipping down their coffee, the three boutons returned to the Rose Mansion.

"Would you like a drink?"

While Yoshino-san washed the used cups, Yumi walked next to the table the boutons were sitting around and asked for their orders, like a good waitress.

"Do you want to drink bitter Japanese tea?"

Sachiko-sama asked the other two.

"Sounds good."

Answered Rei-sama. Shimako-san said she didn't care. The three of them looked tired.

"Bitter Japanese tea."

When Yumi repeated the order, Rei-sama added, "Cups are fine."

"I didn't think Rosa Canina was going to be lady Kanina Shizuka."

They had probably walked through the school hallways, the stairs, and other such places without saying a word. After seating themselves on familiar chairs and ordering drinks, the boutons relaxed themselves and began discussing. While they poured bitter tea, Yumi and Yoshino-san pointed their listening antennae in their direction.

"I don't really know, but she was the one who sang Aria at the school festival, correct? She looks very different from then."

Yumi thought, "Hmm, hmm, so that person did an image-change over the winter," when she heard Shimako-san's words. However, she also realized that the Aria songstress was famous indeed.

"Cutting her hair short during the winter of her second year, is just like Rosa Gigantea. Like she's carrying on a tradition."

"You don't say!"

She wasn't Sachiko-sama, but even Yumi thought, "You don't say!" Because if someone looks up to Rosa Gigantea that much, then they would be an adherent to Rosa Gigantea, and then you would assume that sort of person wouldn't issue a proclamation of war to the Yamayurikai staff. People cut their hair all the time, even without any reason.

"Come to think of it, didn't Kanina Shizuka-san's name come up as a potential sister for Rosa Gigantea, way back then?"

"Yes, there was such a rumor."

As the two second-years conversed, the three first-years simultaneously went, "What!?" It'd happened at least a year ago, so of course, it was their first time hearing this.

"Is that true?"

Yoshino-san didn't even wait to place the teacups in front of each person, instead rushing toward the table with the tray.

"Just a rumor, Yoshino-chan. After all, it didn't turn out that way, did it?"

Sachiko-sama and the other two took their cups off the tray.

"Yup, yup, it was just the Lillian Kawaraban running off with a story again."

"… Oh, was that all?"

Of course, Rosa Gigantea en bouton, Shimako-san, sat there in the midst of them, so that was proof enough. The newspaper club apparently took a poll on who was likely to become Rosa Gigantea's sister.

Yumi and Yoshino-san took their own cups and sat next to their respective onee-sama. The green color of the Japanese tea looked exceptionally bitter, so in Yumi's case, she diluted it with water from the pot. The others, however, sipped it deliciously.

"She looked a bit like Shiori-san."

Everyone was quieted by Sachiko-sama's sighing comment. Everyone knew about Rosa Gigantea and her heart-breaking split with her friend.

"Shiori-san aside, she stood out since middle school, so I actually even assumed she would be a Rose Mansion resident at some point."

Because she was a traditionally beautiful person, and there was no one that wouldn't be intoxicated by her singing voice. –Rei-sama explained, about Kanina Shizuka-sama. However, the current Rosa Foetida's preference was "rare goods," so the handsome youth who was invincible with a shinai, Rei-sama, ended up becoming her little sister.

"Had Shiori-san not been here, would Rosa Gigantea have asked Kanina Shizuka-sama to be her sister?"

When Yumi asked, Sachiko-sama pondered, "I wonder."

"Before she met Shiori-san, Rosa Gigantea didn't make contact with other people. Plus, she became the Rosa Gigantea of now solely because she met Shiori-san."

"Ah… I see."

Anyways, Rosa Canina, or Kanina Shizuka-sama had also come to the election management committee's explanatory session.

The deadline for registering candidacy was some time later, but they explained the process leading up to the election today. Anyone could participate. The school made numerous broadcasts for people intending to announce candidacy during classroom breaks, so today was supposed to be the first time the candidates would see each other.

"There were a number of wisteria class students following her around. Rosa Canina, Rosa Canina. It was not a pleasant sight to behold."

"But, she is alone."

Hearing Sachiko-sama, Shimako-san replied.

"I understand. But, it's discomforting, that's all."

She likes what she likes, she hates what she hates. –Very like Sachiko-sama.

But does that mean Kanina Shizuka-sama is fascinating enough to have her own contingency of supporters? Yumi still couldn't consent to that knowledge. Maybe she was still dragging the concept of the "black rose" along.

(Discomforting.)

She poured hot water into a small teapot and added seconds to everyone's cup as she thought. If Sachiko-sama was discomforted, then she was discomforted, too.

As Sachiko-sama's sister, she couldn't forgive anyone who would strain onee-sama's beautiful face.

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