Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume3 Chapter1 4

The semester exam and the paperback. Part 4.

By the next day, the rumor had spread like influenza.

The virus had certainly spread throughout the entire class, and if this were a real case of influenza, there would no doubt have been a quarantine.

"Yumi-san, how was your test today?"

Yoshino-san asked, propping her head on her hand.

"Bad. Even though I tried to study, I couldn't get Rosa Gigantea out of my head."

"Same. And then I tried to get some sleep, but I couldn't do that either."

"… Yes."

It was past noon, when the third exam had finally ended.

The two sisters of Boutons had come to the Rose Mansion, even though they had no particular reason to be here, and with no one to see them, they sighed.

Tomorrow would be the last day of exams. So they would usually enjoy their brief respite between exams this afternoon, and also get ready for winter break, by going home and studying for their last exam. But even if they'd gone home, it would have just been a repeat of yesterday, so they'd gathered here. They couldn't study, because the Rosa Gigantea rumors wouldn't leave their minds.

"The upperclassmen aren't coming?"

"Rei-chan… I mean, onee-sama said she would come-"

The rumors were centered more around the first-years, so the second and third-year students didn't seem to pay it as much heed. After all, they were the sort to immediately gather at the Rose Mansion and think of a counter-measure.

"How about Shimako-san?"

Yoshino-san asked Yumi, lifting her head abruptly, like she had just remembered. Because, see, Shimako-san's in Yumi's class.

"By the time I left the classroom, she was gone."

"Oh."

They sighed together, again.

First-years couldn't do anything when push came to shove. They'd only been born one or two years earlier, Rosa Gigantea often said, but that one or two year difference was definitely huge. But even with another two years, she couldn't imagine herself being anything like those super-humans, so people are probably born with different dispositions.

"Mm?"

They heard the dull sounds of feet climbing the stairs. They couldn't tell, at first, but by the time it'd come close, they could hear the unique characteristic of those footsteps.

"I wonder if it's Rei-sama?"

"It could be."

For the inexperienced first-years, even despite knowing that footsteps have a unique characteristic to them, they couldn't actually tell who they belonged to.

The squeaking sound of feet crushing down on the decrepit floors stopped in front of the second-floor salon that Yumi was in, also known as the conference room.

"Is someone there?"

The person who came in through the biscuit-shaped door made her appearance with scarlet roses behind her back (at least, that's how Yumi saw it).

"O, Onee-sama!"

"Oh, Yumi. And Yoshino-chan."

Always the brilliant and cool expression. Yumi's onee-sama, a true, elegant, noble princess, Ogasawara Sachiko-sama, entered the room.

"It, it has been a while, onee-sama."

But they'd passed each other in the hallway this morning. But Sachiko-sama smiled, "Indeed," and sat down next to Yumi at the round table.

"And?"

Sachiko-sama straightened her back, intertwined her fingers above the table, and asked.

"What are you two trying to do?"

Yumi and Yoshino-san both asked, "Huh?" Speaking of which, what was Sachiko-sama doing here, too?

"I was thinking about going home, but Rei stopped me in the hallway. And she told me to go to the Rose Mansion."

"And that Rei-sama?"

"I'm not really sure, but she was caught by some first-years."

Like background music to Sachiko-sama's words, they could hear the "grush, grush" sound of someone climbing the stairs. This time it was no doubt Rei-sama.

"Sorry for being late."

Rei-sama appeared with her very-short front hair disheveled, making her forehead bare. Because there were almost no students left, she'd apparently run from the hallways.

"I wish you would be a bit more quiet."

Sachiko-sama muttered to herself, and Yoshino-san wiped Rei-sama's drenched face with a handkerchief.

"I stopped by the Milk Hall, but they don't have a whole lot of supplies right now, so they were sold out."

But Rei-sama placed a cute bear-symbol pouch on the table.

"What is that?"

Yoshino-san asked.

"A first-year gave it to me just now. Handmade snacks, apparently, let's eat it together."

Yumi was the only one that squealed, kyaa.

"I'll pour tea, then."

And she stood up quickly. To be honest, she'd been hungry for quite some time. She intended to go home right after exams, so she hadn't thought to bring any lunch.

"Making cupcakes during exam time."

Yoshino-san looked troubled.

Ah. Because Rei-sama received those cupcakes. Which meant, of course, the patissier had to be a big fan of Rei-sama. As her sœur you end up being jealous. She probably didn't want to say it, but Yoshino-san had to have been a bit hungry, too. So this had to be a dilemma.

But when they re-started the meeting after distributing tea, Yoshino-san seemed to have completely forgotten the circumstances involving the cakes, as she happily gobbled them up. It might have been because she was bothered far more about Rosa Gigantea's rumors.

"I don't actually read everything by Cosmos Books, so I can't say for sure."

Rei-sama began.

"But I haven't read anything like that, so it's probably a new release."

"When did the new books come out?"

Sachiko-sama inquired.

"Today. It's the sixteenth of every month."

"Today!?"

Yoshino-san and Yumi both stood up.

"If you intend to go to the university book store, it's futile. They were sold out."

With Rei-sama's one statement, they both sat back down. Hmm, she's reading them completely.

"They only order one copy each of Cosmos Book releases. And since apparently a high school student waited for the store to open, and bought it then, there were a number of students that dashed out between exams."

"How powerful."

Yoshino-san mumbled, exasperated. Even though she was just about to dash out, herself.

"So we have no leads?"

"But, Yumi-chan."

Rei-sama reached into her bag, like she was waiting for the chance to do so.

"Huh?"

It was a book exactly like the ones she saw at the library with Tsutako-san yesterday. –Right, Cosmos Books.

"But, Rei. You said they were sold out?"

Sachiko-sama elegantly tilted her head to the side.

"So I bought a different book that was released today."

"Gosh, Rei-chan, you did your own shopping instead?"

Yoshino-san was so exasperated she forgot "onee-sama" and polite speech.

"No. Well, I'm going to read it later, but…"

Rei-sama found the leaflet tucked inside the book.

"'Cosmos News'?"

Is how the title, in elaborate decorative font, read on what would count as the front cover of the quad-folded leaflet. Rei-sama nodded, "Yup."

That was a "news" leaflet detailing new publications, quick notes by authors, and other such introductions.

"After all, how do you think people find books without knowing their titles?"

"I don't know…"

Well, she said that, but it wasn't actually a question.

"And that's where 'Cosmos News' comes in."

Rei-sama kept talking, engrossed, but without any offense, Yumi still only saw a handsome man. She would definitely be so stylish in a Hanadera uniform, but given that she loved shoujo novels this much, it definitely would feel a bit weird.

"The new publications summaries, see, there're only a few, but they are listed."

"Ah, that's true."

Everyone looked at where she pointed.

 - "Forest of Thorns" by Suga Sei –
   Were those months spent at school an illusion-?
   Sei shut everything inside the forest of thorns that was her soul.
   The anticipated new novelist, a shocking autobiographical tale!

"So that's why."

Sachiko-sama whispered. But Yumi had no idea "why." Why would that link to Rosa Gigantea?

"Yumi. Say Rosa Gigantea's name."

Sachiko-sama suddenly posed a question.

"Umm… I think it was Satou-, Satou Sei."

"Right."

Safe. If she couldn't say the Roses' names, Sachiko-sama might go beyond just scolding her.

Right, Rosa Gigantea's name is Satou Sei. For such a flamboyant exterior, her name was actually relatively mundane, so it didn't really stick.

"Ah, Sei is the same."

She noticed that much, but "so what?" she thought. Even if they sounded the same, they were written differently.

Yoshino-san, next to her, didn't seem to understand either, mumbling "Suga Sei" and "Satou Sei" over and over again-.

"Shuga Sei!"

Yoshino-san suddenly shouted, a rarity, along with her sudden understanding.

"I get it. Suga must be Sugar. Sugar, Yumi-san what is sugar?"

Yoshino-san is completely excited.

"Sugar? Would be satou… oh, Satou!?"

So, Suga Sei equals Satou Sei. It was a bit of a rough guess, but it might actually be a good deduction. Suga, Shuga, Sugar, and then Satou.

"But that's not enough to conclude that Rosa Gigantea wrote the novel."

"Right, it's still a stretch. So I wonder if the rumors only began because of that leaflet?"

In stark contrast to the excitable first-years, Sachiko-sama calmly and collectedly kept thinking.

"By which you mean?"

In an effort to at least give appearance, Yumi asked, setting the muscles in her face.

"I haven't read it, so I can't say for sure. … But if the contents of the novel were extremely similar to Rosa Gigantea's past. Then that would be a good way to deduce Rosa Gigantea is Suga Sei."

"Um, but, it was released today, was it not? Then it would be weird my classmates were whispering about it since three or four days ago?"

If it wasn't released yet, they wouldn't know about its contents. And the first-years wouldn't know about Rosa Gigantea's incident last year, either.

"But there's a way to grab these books before the release date."

Rei-sama folded her arms and confidently said.

"Go to the big bookstore around Kanda. They sell books and comics three or four days before the release dates."

"Kanda, you mean Kanda, with the used bookstores?"

"Yes. It's pretty famous."

If that were true, people living in mountainous regions or on small islands had reason to be annoyed. Tokyo is useful… although a person living in Tokyo really shouldn't be admiring that.

"Then, Katsura-san and others bought 'Forest of Thorns' at Kanda or some store like that, and already read it?"

"I don't know who Katsura-san is, but that's probably what happened, I would think? Even if they can't talk about it outright, I'm sure some upperclassmen talked about what happened. Yumi-san, too, if you had a sister two or three years above you, you might have found out about it, you know?"

"But Rei-chan never told me."

Yoshino-san interrupted, somewhat cross.

"I'm only one year ahead of you, I don't really know much, either. I specifically said two or three years, didn't I?"

Umm. You two, I don't think this is the time to be having a lover's quarrel.

While exasperated, Yumi felt a bit envious. After all, there was no way she could act cross to Sachiko-sama.

When she glanced at Sachiko-sama, by chance their eyes met. Yumi immediately became embarrassed, like she was a child that got caught peeping.

"But, it's the middle of exams. It's amazing they'd actually go to Kanda to buy the book, and then even read it."

Yoshino-san smiled, "They must be confident," but that felt a bit wrong. Katsura-san's actions weren't so much confidence but rather-. "Evasion, isn't it?"

Rei-sama harshly said what Yumi was thinking. "Evasion?"

Sachiko-sama cocked her head to the side, like she just heard something fascinating. It was unthinkable that someone like Sachiko-sama wouldn't know what "evasion" meant, but Yumi explained, anyways, to keep the conversation moving.

"Evasion, umm. Is a phenomenon when there's something you need to be doing, but you run away by doing something else."

Sachiko-sama responded with an "of course I know that much" look. Rei-sama came in to help.

"These cupcakes are an example. I do it sometimes, too, by knitting."

"What I don't understand is what 'what you need to be doing' is."

"Wait, what-"

That's studying for exams, of course. Excluding Sachiko-sama, the three looked at each other.

(Sachiko-sama, you… do you…)

Yumi's premonition came true.

It wasn't even a joke, Sachiko-sama truly, honestly never studied for exams.

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