Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume26 Chapter5 3

The Blank Map's Valley. Part 3

Touko had arrived in front of the social studies prep room.

She checked the map, just in case. It was inside the treasure hunt area.

The door wasn't locked. Touko didn't know if anyone was already in there, but she opened the door without knocking anyway.

The room was not particularly large. Despite the poor light it was plain to see that no one else was inside.

The light switch was right by the door. She didn't have to look for it, it was right in the spot she expected when she reached out her hand. Touko walked to the center of the now bright room.

Standing right in the middle, she surveyed the room. This place stored the various teaching aids used in the different social studies classes — Japanese History, World History, geography, civics, and economics.

Her gaze was immediately attracted to a large globe. It didn't look to be all that new, as it had stickers with hand-written names attached to some countries that had recently changed name. There was also rolled-up wall scrolls and old textbooks.

Touko let her gaze pass over these as she slowly walked forward, before coming to a stop in front of a set of shelves enclosed by a glass door.

There was a stack of thin booklets of varying sizes next to the atlases. It was hard to make out the lettering along their spines because they were so thin, but if she strained she could see they all had the same words written on them:

– Blank Maps

She opened the glass door and took out one of those books.

In a sense, these were forms, but none of them were filled out. They may have been made long ago, and some of the pages had brown stains, but they were all brand new as they rested here.

Touko took the next book off the shelf. After flipping through all the pages, she moved on to the next one.

Her heart was thumping. Her hope of finding the card in there was fighting with her uncertainty about what to do if it wasn't.

She ordered herself to calm down, but her fingers kept flipping through the pages of their own accord. Instead of slowing down, they sped up.

"I hate to break it to you, but it's not in here."

These words reached her just as she finished flipping through the last book.

"So it seems."

Touko returned the books to the cupboard, closed the door, and turned around. She'd known it was Noriko standing there from the first word she spoke.

"What's with the blank maps?"

Noriko asked. From Noriko's position, she'd only be able to see Touko's back, so the blank maps must have been a good guess. It didn't seem like she had a good understanding of where everything was in here because there was something special stored here.

It wasn't here. Since Noriko had said that, it was pretty certain that the red card was hidden in a different location.

So why had Noriko appeared? It was hard to imagine her tailing Touko here from the classroom. By all rights, she should be in the Rose Mansion.

"Was there something between you and Yumi-sama related to blank maps?"

Noriko questioned her again.

"—"

Touko didn't mind if Noriko knew about this, but she didn't know how to explain it.

Noriko may have interpreted her silence as a desire to not discuss this, as she changed tack with her next question.

"Do you think Yumi-sama hid her card where she did because she wanted you to find it? Is that why you're here?"

That was exactly right. As expected of Noriko. Even though she didn't know the significance of the blank maps, she'd deduced the reason that Touko had come to the social studies prep room.

"Are you here to laugh at my conceit?"

Touko fired back and Noriko looked completely serious as she denied this.

"Not at all. If you think that Yumi-sama hid her card here so that you could find it, then there's something I have to tell you."

"What—"

"You're taking Yumi-sama far too lightly."

Those words pierced Touko's heart. Sachiko-onee-sama had said something similar the other day, so maybe it was just that she couldn't block it out any more.

She'd been acting high and mighty, looking down on Yumi-sama.

"Yumi-sama cherishes you, but she's not the sort of person to hide her card somewhere where only you could find it."

She was Rosa Chinensis en bouton; she would soon be Rosa Chinensis — Noriko's eyes were saying this.

"I get it, truly. You're here in this small room because you're searching for Yumi-sama. But no matter how you look, Yumi-sama isn't in here. Yumi-sama's bigger than you imagine. So big that she can't fit in this room. That's why you can't see her, Touko."

Noriko sniffled.

"You don't understand Yumi-sama's heart."

Noriko might have been crying. But why would she be crying?

"You like Yumi-sama, right Touko? She's the only one you rely on. Why can't you trust your own instincts? You have to face her head on."

Noriko grabbed Touko's hands and squeezed them tight, like Touko had done in the courtyard after school last Saturday.

"Back then, I thought you wanted to escape from this situation. Was I wrong?"

"—"

"But if you keep yourself hidden away in this small room, you won't reach Yumi-sama's heart. If you remain how you are, you're never going to find Yumi-sama's card."

Noriko freed her hands from Touko's and wiped the back of her hand in a line across her own cheek. Then, apparently satisfied with what she'd conveyed, she walked off towards the door.

Noriko looked like she was going to leave it at that, so Touko called out to her friend's back.

"Aren't you just saying what you want to say?"

Then Noriko stopped, turned around, and said:

"I'm your friend, so I'd have to say something even if I didn't want to."

After Noriko had left, Touko looked up at the ceiling and let out a sigh.

"Good grief."

Only Noriko and her meddling could have left her feeling unsatisfied about staying in this room. Smiling slightly to herself, Touko left the social studies prep room.

There was no point stopping here, since no one she cared about what was in the room.

(What should I do when I leave?)

She'd made up her mind.

She'd go and see her.