Maria-sama ga Miteru

Chapter 49

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If life continued like this, she"d become spoiled.

 

 

 

 

 

In the cafe opening onto the hotel lobby, Eriko sighed. The ice floating in her fresh juice shifted as it melted. Water condensed on the side of the gla.s.s and made a faint sound.

 

 

 

 

 

The person she was waiting for still hadn"t arrived. She opened her diary and put a cross through yesterday"s date. At any rate, all she could do was take it one day at a time.

 

 

 

 

 

The pink sweater and matching skirt brought to the hotel had been at the request of her partner for today"s date. The fluffy collar was real rabbit fur. He liked that sort of thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Based on the time it had arrived at the hotel, he"d slipped out during his lunch break to buy it. The way it had been wrapped like a present was nice, but the receipt that had still been in the paper bag when it had been given to the front desk slipped out. While it had been purchased with a credit card, it was a startlingly expensive set of clothing.

 

 

 

 

 

But even so, just how much was their monthly salary? This evening"s hotel bill, tickets to cla.s.sical ballet and dinner, all paid for by him, and to top it all off, these clothes as a gift.

 

 

 

 

 

One of them would splurge, which would kick off an endless cycle where they all tried to outspend the previous one.

 

 

 

 

 

How many days so far had she not returned home?

 

 

 

 

 

Her sole salvation was that they were all corporate employees, so during the day she could escape to school and have an afternoon nap.

 

 

 

 

 

"Eriko-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing the man happily waving at her, Eriko fired herself up with a, "Let"s do this," and smiled broadly at him.

 

 

 

 

 

"Thanks for the clothes. You like?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rising from the chair, she c.o.c.ked her head.

 

 

 

 

 

"Very cute. Like a little bunny rabbit."

 

 

 

 

 

He nodded, satisfied.

 

 

 

 

 

"Shall we go?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

His right hand picked up the bill, while his left entwined itself with Eriko"s arm. It was something necessary so that they could enjoy their time together. It was a lie, but he was under the impression it was "fun."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day Rosa Foetida, Torii Eriko-sama, showed up at school.

 

 

 

 

 

(Which means she came to school from her relative"s house &h.e.l.lip; )

 

 

 

 

 

Like Yoshino-san, Yumi had a "that"s suspicious" look on her face as she thought this.

 

 

 

 

 

That probably meant it wasn"t something that she couldn"t get out of. Seeing Rosa Foetida walking down the corridor towards her, it was hard to believe that she"d spent the night somewhere other than her house since she looked the same as usual.

 

 

 

 

 

Her schoolbag looked light, as though it didn"t have any textbooks in it, let alone the standard overnight kit of toothbrush, towel and face cream.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida approached, waving innocently.

 

 

 

 

 

"Rosa Foetida, gokigenyou."

 

 

 

 

 

"Gokigenyou. It"s been a while. I"ve seen Yoshino-chan flitting around every so often, but - "

 

 

 

 

 

(Huh!?)

 

 

 

 

 

As Rosa Foetida ran her hand through her hair with a faraway look in her eyes, Yumi couldn"t overlook what she"d spotted on her chest.

 

 

 

 

 

(Her tie - !)

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida"s tie, famed for being the most beautiful sailor collar tie in the entire school, looked disheveled today.

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh? What?"

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing Yumi lost for words and instinctively pointing, Rosa Foetida laughed and said, "Ah, this?"

 

 

 

 

 

"It got creased in a strange place when it was ironed. To hide that, I had to shift the knot over."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh, the crease - "

 

 

 

 

 

After agreeing with this, the obvious follow-up question was, "Who ironed it?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Rosa Foetida, where did you come from today?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Where did I come from?"

 

 

 

 

 

As she said this, Rosa Foetida made a pose like a karate pract.i.tioner taking a blow. It was probably surprise. An easily understandable reaction.

 

 

 

 

 

"Actually, yesterday, I called your house. They told me you were out &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh - "

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida nodded haltingly, comprehension dawning. Apparently she"d planned to remain silent if Yumi hadn"t known she"d spent the night away from home.

 

 

 

 

 

"You stayed overnight at a relative"s house, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

"A relative? Ah, a relative &h.e.l.lip; right, yeah, that"s it."

 

 

 

 

 

So inarticulate. It was like this was the first time she"d heard that the place she stayed last night was a "relative"s house," and her response was seeking to confirm that.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah. There was some business that had to be attended to. I was helping out at a relative"s house."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida offered as an explanation, as though to compensate for her earlier words.

 

 

 

 

 

"Did you have trouble sleeping? Your eyes look red."

 

 

 

 

 

"I did. It"s a tough life when you"re working. At least I can escape to school during the day. If I go to the library, I"ll probably doze off though."

 

 

 

 

 

"Escape during the day? So you"re going back tonight?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Pretty much &h.e.l.lip; Ah, right. You rang my house, didn"t you Yumi-chan? What did you want to talk to me about?"

 

 

 

 

 

" - Nothing."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi shook her head.

 

 

 

 

 

"I just wanted to ask when you were going to be back at school."

 

 

 

 

 

"Really? Well, my exams are finished, so I"ll be here most days. Although I"ll probably show up late and leave early."

 

 

 

 

 

"Is that so?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi put her hand in her skirt pocket just to check, but in the end she couldn"t hand those photographs over.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida was obviously lying.

 

 

 

 

 

At the very least, she hadn"t spent last night at a relative"s house.

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had merely caught a glimpse of it. The slip of paper attached to her collar was unquestionably from a cleaning service. Sadly, the 20-20 vision of which she was so proud had no problem resolving the symbols written there.

 

 

 

 

 

OO Hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

The logo of a famous hotel in the metropolitan area was proudly displayed.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida was most definitely the enigmatic Rosa Foetida from the photographs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What had Rosa Foetida been doing staying overnight at a hotel?

 

 

 

 

 

Based on her rabbit-like red eyes attributed to lack of sleep, it would appear as though the purpose of her stay hadn"t been rest.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Foetida"s mother had said that she was staying at a relative"s house, and why would she lie? Would it somehow be bad if people from school found out about her staying away overnight?

 

 

 

 

 

And had Rosa Foetida spent the night at the hotel by herself?

 

 

 

 

 

- The more she thought about it, the less she knew.

 

 

 

 

 

If she had handed over the photographs, then that would have been the end of it. But Yumi couldn"t simply pretend that she didn"t know anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s an example, okay."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san placed her chin on her unopened lunch box, and spoke as though bored.

 

 

 

 

 

"Using examples is fine, but you"re censoring too much Yumi-san. I can"t make heads or tails of what you"re saying."

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, really?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi c.o.c.ked her head at censoring.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes really."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san snorted.

 

 

 

 

 

"Suppose there was a high-school student, and this person was at a certain place and happened to see a high-school senior with a guy. And then another student saw the same senior at a different place, and she was with a guy at that time too, but it was a different one to the one before &h.e.l.lip; that"s what you said. And it just went on and on in that manner, so annoyingly vague."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san acted like she was tearing out her hair.

 

 

 

 

 

"Incredible. You remembered it all."

 

 

 

 

 

"As much as it pained me to do so."

 

 

 

 

 

Tap tap. This time, she was tapping her temples. So, even though she may not have understood what Yumi was asking, Yoshino-san answered, speaking in broad terms.

 

 

 

 

 

"After much effort, I think I understand what you"re trying to say Yumi-san, although this is my interpretation."

 

 

 

 

 

"In what way?"

 

 

 

 

 

"To summarize, Girl A isn"t returning home, instead going out night after night with different men. That"s what you"re saying, right? And all her partners are, without exception, rich and middle-aged."

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s pretty much it."

 

 

 

 

 

Some of them were in their twenties, so calling them all middle-aged was a bit harsh, but what Yoshino-san had said was mostly correct and she"d skillfully compressed it down. Yoshino-san definitely had a knack for putting thoughts into words.

 

 

 

 

 

"Frankly, it"s a.s.sisted dating. Maybe she"s even run away from home."

 

 

 

 

 

It was blunt, but Yoshino-san"s a.s.sertion was spoken clearly.

 

 

 

 

 

"a.s.si - "

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi"s shout was blocked by the palm of Yoshino-san"s hand.

 

 

 

 

 

They were in the Rose Mansion. Although it was just the two of them at the moment, they never knew when someone was about to come through the biscuit door. They had to take the utmost care with dangerous words that invited misinterpretation.

 

 

 

 

 

"a.s.sisted. Dating."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi wrote the words in large print on a scratch pad made from misprinted pages. Of course she"d heard the phrase, but it wasn"t something she was personally familiar with.

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps this was what Tsutako-san"s colored gla.s.ses had indicated. If this was how she had viewed it all along, then her desire to withdraw from the matter was completely understandable.

 

 

 

 

 

"Looking at it objectively, it"s the only comprehensive explanation."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san was still unaware that it was about Rosa Foetida. To that extent, she was speaking as though it was unrelated to her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Problem: State the meaning of the following words: 1) a.s.sisted 2) Dating

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solution. 1) With help. Aid. 2) Going out. Socializing.

 

 

 

 


However, when those two words were put together, they had a particular nuance. Yumi sipped her tea. It wasn"t a very pleasant phrase.

 

 

 

 

 

"You should leave it alone. She"ll do whatever she wants anyway. That person herself will be the one who is hurt and regretful afterward."

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san was telling her to give up.

 

 

 

 

 

"But."

 

 

 

 

 

The "person herself" was Rosa Foetida. There was no way she could just leave it alone.

 

 

 

 

 

Should she tell Yoshino-san or not. As Yumi was pondering this, the three boutons came shuffling in to the room.

 

 

 

 

 

"Brr - it"s cold outside."

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama said, rubbing her hands together.

 

 

 

 

 

"One of the teachers called me about some committee matter, that"s why I"m late."

 

 

 

 

 

Shimako-san explained for Yumi, since they would have left their morning cla.s.s at about the same time.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why do they make someone who never orders from the cafeteria pick up the cla.s.s lunch orders?"

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama grumbled.

 

 

 

 

 

They may not have had the bearing of the current Roses, but the three fresh Roses looked exquisite when lined up together.

 

 

 

 

 

"Onee-sama, would you like some tea?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi hurriedly stood up, completely forgetting that she"d left her memo pad open.

 

 

 

 

 

"a.s.sisted dating?"

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama muttered, as she placed her small, split-level lunch-box on the table.

 

 

 

 

 

"What an unpleasant phrase."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, that."

 

 

 

 

 

This was bad. Now that the fastidious Sachiko-sama had seen it, would she become obstinately accusatory, or lapse into hysterics &h.e.l.lip; either way, she wouldn"t just let it go.

 

 

 

 

 

"I detest those words."

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama said coldly.

 

 

 

 

 

"That phrase is probably intended to soften the meaning, but it"s not something I can stomach. Although I don"t know who would use such words."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

 

 

 

She was primarily concerned about the misuse of words? Apparently her objection was about the phrase rather than the act itself.

 

 

 

 

 

But that was just a jab.

 

 

 

 

 

"a.s.sisted dating. Dress it up with whatever words you want, in the end it"s nothing but prost.i.tution."

 

 

 

 

 

Pr-pr-prost.i.tution. That such a word could come from Sachiko-sama"s exquisite mouth. Yumi was in such shock that her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

 

 

 

 

 

"Even affair and fling are used similarly nowadays."

 

 

 

 

 

"Instead of adultery?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rei-sama asked.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes. There"s more gravity to the original. But using a lighter phrase doesn"t lessen the act itself in any way."

 

 

 

 

 

Unaccustomed to this sort of adult conversation, the first-years could only blink in surprise and listen.

 

 

 

 

 

(But.)

 

 

 

 

 

Right. Sachiko-sama"s father had a number of mistresses.

 

 

 

 

 

She would certainly have a different impression of those words.

 

 

 

 

 

Adultery was serious. Compared to affair or fling. Someone who had been hurt by such behavior would not want it to be spoken about lightly.

 

 

 

 

 

But since the far more serious word "prost.i.tution" had been used, there was no way she could broach the topic of Rosa Foetida.

 

 

 

 

 

"By the way, what were you doing with this?"

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama asked, holding the memo pad in front of Yumi"s face.

 

 

 

 

 

"Nothing. I wrote it as a prank while we were chatting."

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lame excuse, and Yumi thought as much, but it was all she could do. If asked, "What were you chatting about?" then she"d be struck out.

 

 

 

 

 

But Sachiko-sama didn"t inquire as to that.

 

 

 

 

 

"Really?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yes. Never would I do that sort of thing."

 

 

 

 

 

Her mind in chaos, jumbled words spilled out of her mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

"Obviously."

 

 

 

 

 

Smiling wryly, Sachiko-sama gently flicked Yumi"s forehead with her index finger.

 

 

 

 

 

As though to say, "Who could possibly think that you would be involved in that?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi was overjoyed that her onee-sama had that much faith in her, but she also felt a sense of regret growing in her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

Was this something that she"d have to hide from her onee-sama too?

 

 

 

 

 

But perhaps that kind of conversation wasn"t suited to Sachiko-sama after all. Particularly conversations that related to coupling. Sachiko-sama was fastidious to the core, and on top of that she hated men.

 

 

 

 

 

(At any rate, what to do?)

 

 

 

 

 

Yoshino-san had told her to leave it alone. But if she left if alone, and the school newspaper ran a story about it, it would be a major incident. Right on the eve of graduation, everything surrounding Rosa Foetida would be thrown into turmoil.

 

 

 

 

 

But having said that, Yumi wasn"t powerful enough to speak directly to the newspaper club. If she tried that, the newspaper club would undoubtedly devour her whole and make a funny article about it.

 

 

 

 

 

(Who could I talk it over with?)

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi glanced at the other chairs around the table.

 

 

 

 

 

(Rei-sama.)

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi shook her head, no.

 

 

 

 

 

Her direct character would spell disaster, she probably wouldn"t be able to keep herself from lunging straight at Rosa Foetida.

 

 

 

 

 

(So that means Yoshino-san"s out too.)

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever she said to Yoshino-san would be transmitted more-or-less directly to Rei-sama. Besides, when she set her mind to something, Yoshino-san rushed recklessly ahead, so in that sense she was probably even more dangerous than Rei-sama. The incident would get blown even further out of proportion.

 

 

 

 

 

(Shimako-san.)

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi rejected the idea as soon as she thought it. Shimako-san seemed to be reliable, but there was a lot about her that was still a mystery. Yumi couldn"t tell how she would handle such a conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

(In that case, I suppose it will have to be Rosa Chinensis.)

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the entire high-school, she was the one who seemed most adult. But Rosa Foetida was her friend, so it might be a huge shock if Yumi didn"t approach it carefully.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi, are you listening?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Ah, yes."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi stood up in a daze, as though she"d just been called to answer a question in cla.s.s.

 

 

 

 

 

"What are you doing?"

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama muttered in shock.

 

 

 

 

 

"&h.e.l.lip; Sorry."

 

 

 

 

 

No matter how much time pa.s.sed, she was still the immature younger sister.

 

 

 

 

 

"We"re discussing the third-years" farewell party. Pay attention."

 

 

 

 

 

Sachiko-sama"s eyes indicated she should sit down, and Yumi did so despondently. Even so, Sachiko-sama sighed.

 

 

 

 

 

"It really is like Rosa Gigantea said. Your expression never stays still."

 

 

 

 

 

At that moment, the face of the old lecher / girls-school student floated through her mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Yoohoo."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea, Satou Sei-sama, always appeared in front of Yumi with a brightness that seemed to blow away her shadowy past.

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; Gokigenyou."

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh, my, when you say it like that you don"t sound very perky, Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

"That"s not true, but."

 

 

 

 

 

She wasn"t full of energy, but she wasn"t depressed either. She wasn"t usually one to engage in deep thinking, so she had to take things at her own pace, not Rosa Gigantea"s.

 

 

 

 

 

As she walked along the first-floor corridor, she hadn"t expected a "Yoohoo" to come rushing up to her from the courtyard. Yoohoo. She wasn"t a mountain climber.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yumi-chan, are you off to the Rose Mansion?"

 

 

 

 

 

"No. Everyone has things to do after school today."

 

 

 

 

 

So she"d been heading straight to the entrance, intending to go home.

 

 

 

 

 

"Things?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Rei-sama has club activities, Shimako-san has a committee meeting and Yoshino-san has her regular doctor"s visit."

 

 

 

 

 

"Hoho. And Sachiko?"

 

 

 

 

 

"She said that that suited her fine, and she"d go home. Things have been busy for her at home recently."

 

 

 

 

 

Then Rosa Gigantea said, "Hmm," and struck a thoughtful pose, before slowly hugging Yumi tightly.

 

 

 

 

 

"Wh-what are you doing?"

 

 

 

 

 

"There, there. You were lonely, Yumi-chan. That"s why you weren"t happy, right? It"s okay, just think of me as Sachiko, and act as pampered as you like. I"ll sacrifice my body, don"t worry. As long as it means hugging your soft frame."

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; You"ve got it wrong."

 

 

 

 

 

A misunderstanding taken to extremes. Sure, she was feeling a bit lonely since her usual after-school tea-party had been suspended because three of the members had other things to do. But that by itself wasn"t enough to make her despondent.

 

 

 

 

 

If Yumi did appear withdrawn, then it was undoubtedly due to her pondering the question of what to do about Rosa Foetida.

 

 

 

 

 

However, Rosa Gigantea continued her misunderstanding.

 

 

 

 

 

"You missed me, didn"t you Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh!?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Tell me."

 

 

 

 

 

"I"ll tell you that you"re completely wrong."

 

 

 

 

 

She squirmed and struggled, then forced herself to take a breather.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea"s body was warm, and it felt good the way her height and weight seemed to fit Yumi"s body perfectly, which made Yumi realize she"d carelessly fallen for Rosa Gigantea"s trick. Danger, danger.

 

 

 

 

 

"Isn"t that odd. It felt like Yumi-chan was calling to me &h.e.l.lip; "

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea took a hand off Yumi, using it to scratch the top of her shoulder length hair as she c.o.c.ked her head in confusion.

 

 

 

 

 

Did Rosa Gigantea have ESP too?

 

 

 

 

 

"You didn"t call to me? Strange. A ma.s.sive Yumi-chan wave hit me just before."

 

 

 

 

 

"Just before? When?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Let"s see, about three minutes ago, or thereabouts."

 

 

 

 

 

"You must have been imagining things."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi had briefly thought about asking Rosa Gigantea for advice when her name was brought up in conversation. But that was at lunchtime. And only once.

 

 

 

 

 

"Then was it you that called to me?"

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea asked, looking down. There was a blackish stray cat that had arrived unannounced some time earlier. It rubbed up against Rosa Gigantea"s leg, meowing softly.

 

 

 

 

 

"Lunch!"

 

 

 

 

 

"Lunch? This is Goronta."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea picked up Lunch, holding her up against her cheek.

 

 

 

 

 

"The first-years all call her Lunch. Because she always appears when it"s lunch time."

 

 

 

 

 

"I see. Now that you mention it, I think Rei"s grade calls her Merry-san."

 

 

 

 

 

"Lunch" to the first-years.

 

 

 

 

 

"Merry-san" to the second-years.

 

 

 

 

 

"Goronta" to the third-years.

 

 

 

 

 

- Everyone had their own name for her.

 

 

 

 

 

"Goronta"s a bit of a rude name for a female, though."

 

 

 

 

 

She was joking about it now, but Rosa Gigantea was equally guilty since that"s what she"d called the cat up until now.

 

 

 

 

 

Was the cat aware that it had a number of different names, or not? Lunch purred happily as Rosa Gigantea cuddled her. This was the first time Yumi had seen Lunch be friendly with a person. Even when they"d throw her mouthfuls of sausage from their lunches, she wouldn"t come within a metre of anyone to eat.

 

 

 

 

 

"You see, this is because she trusts me. That"s why she"s so friendly."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea tickled Lunch"s forehead.

 

 

 

 

 

"It was last year during the spring, no, early summer. Goronta was just a kitten and she was attacked by crows behind the school building."

 

 

 

 

 

"By crows."

 

 

 

 

 

"She was just a kitten, so she was soft and tasty looking. Split amongst the crows, they"d have a decent meal."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea gently rocked the former kitten whose body had obviously grown quite a bit since then.

 

 

 

 

 

"I watched a lot of nature doc.u.mentaries, so I thought that I shouldn"t interfere with the laws of the wild."

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh, the laws of the wild?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Survival of the fittest. The strong carnivores eat the weak herbivores, that sort of thing. That"s the way it"s been since forever. There"s nothing wrong with it per se. So for a human to enter their world and disrupt that system would be against the rules. Because it would change their ecosystem for the worse."

 

 

 

 

 

"I kind of understand, but I kind of don"t."

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s the same as how someone who uses a time machine to go back in time mustn"t interfere with the past."

 

 

 

 

 

"Because they"ll change the future."

 

 

 

 

 

"Exactly."

 

 

 

 

 

"But you helped her, right?"

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi asked. Since that was why Lunch was here now.

 

 

 

 

 

"Pretty much."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea shrugged.

 

 

 

 

 

"Why"d I do it? Ask Urashima Tarou, although it probably isn"t as good a story."

 

 

 

 

 

Once more she was saying incomprehensible things.

 

 

 

 

 

"Unlike TV, the reality was right there, I could just reach out and touch it."

 

 

 

 

 

In other words, she"d chased away the crows before she had time to think about it.

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea said she"d searched for the mother cat, but not found her nearby. The kitten had finished weaning, so someone might have decided that Lillian"s Girls Academy looked like a good spot and abandoned her there. That kind of thing was fairly common.

 

 

 

 

 

It looked like Rosa Gigantea had taken the kitten to the school courtyard and fed it milk. Apparently deciding that it was safer being fussed over by high-school girls than with the crows behind the school buildings. At the very least, the high-school didn"t have a shamisen club[1], and there were no rumors of any students habitually eating kittens.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, Lunch, or Goronta, or Merry-san, was befriended and raised by the high-school students. Of course, Rosa Gigantea probably cared for her most of all. She probably hid tinned cat food in her school bag when she came to school during the summer and winter vacations.

 

 

 

 

 

"But, you know. Shimako, she said that rescuing the cat wasn"t kindness but cruelty."

 

 

 

 

 

"Shimako-san did?"

 

 

 

 

 

"And I did it time and again. Rescuing her, feeding her, showing her kindness. But someday I"d leave this place. Shimako told me to think about what would happen after I graduated. Well, she had a point."

 

 

 

 

 

But there were plenty of other students that showed that cat affection too. Indeed, Rosa Gigantea had said so. The many names were proof of that.

 

 

 

 

 

"I would have liked to take her home and care for her, but when Goronta, ah, at that time she was just called "cat," when she heard, she said that she"d rather stay at school."

 

 

 

 

 

There was lots of greenery, and she had her freedom. There were plenty of small creatures about, so even without sc.r.a.ps from the high-school students she should be able to survive by hunting.

 

 

 

 

 

"Cats can talk?"

 

 

 

 

 

"This one"s special. That"s why she remembers me, like a dog."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea said, "Right?" as she stroked Lunch"s cheeks and set her down on the ground again. Then she put her hand into her pocket, fished out something that looked like a biscuit and set it down in front of Lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s dried cat food. If you want, I"ll give you one too Yumi-chan."

 

 

 

 

 

"No thanks, I"m fine."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi politely declined Rosa Gigantea"s offer. Did she really look that greedy?

 

 

 

 

 

"And Shimako-san, I think if she saw an injured kitten, she"d save it."

 

 

 

 

 

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch. The sound of Lunch happily eating the dried food echoed satisfyingly through the corridor.

 

 

 

 

 

"Yeah."

 

 

 

 

 

The two humans squatted down to watch the cat eat.

 

 

 

 

 

"But unlike this guy, she"s a wolf, after all. Being in a new pack is scary."

 

 

 

 

 

"A wolf?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep. She may keep to herself, but I think she really wants to be with friends."

 

 

 

 

 

"Why"s that?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Because wolves are pack animals."

 

 

 

 

 

Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; I"m not sure I understand, but I don"t know that we"re right for her."

 

 

 

 

 

"Of course you are. Maybe even the best of all."

 

 

 

 

 

In response to Yumi"s question, Rosa Gigantea pressed her right index finger and thumb together, making the OK sign.

 

 

 

 

 

"You joined the pack relatively easily, Yumi-chan, so you may not understand Shimako"s feelings."

 

 

 

 

 

"Easily?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Yep. Easily."

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi"s mind whispered, "What about all my worrying?" Her concerns about whether or not she was worthy to be the pet.i.t soeur of such a beautiful, smart, and princess-like onee-sama. Even now, she worried about it from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

"I think you might feel inferior about your brains or your looks, but there"s a more fundamental question that you don"t worry about at all."

 

 

 

 

 

"A more fundamental question?"

 

 

 

 

 

"When you go about your daily life, are you constantly conscious of the fact that you"re a human, or a female?"

 

 

 

 

 

"No, not really."

 

 

 

 

 

It was an unexpected question, and Yumi put herself on guard. Even if she didn"t verify every little thing, she"d established it once, and her personal data wasn"t just going to change so easily. She thought it would be normal to forget about it.

 

 

 

 

 

"Because you"re a j.a.panese national living in j.a.pan, and a girl attending a girls school. Being conscious of it would be harder."

 

 

 

 

 

"Okay."

 

 

 

 

 

Even when she met someone for the first time, her self introduction didn"t usually include nationality and s.e.x.

 

 

 

 

 

"But what if you were thrust into an English boys school?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Huh? English?"

 

 

 

 

 

"It"s just an example. Canadian or French works too."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea smiled.

 

 

 

 

 

"I guess I"d feel really uncomfortable &h.e.l.lip; burdened by the knowledge that I was different to all the other students &h.e.l.lip; on edge."

 

 

 

 

 

"That. That"s how Shimako is now."

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, Rosa Gigantea wasn"t saying that Shimako-san was an English boy. Yumi knew that much. But beyond that, she didn"t really understand.

 

 

 

 

 

"Returning to our conversation. Basically, Shimako"s concerned that she"s a wolf, and she can"t let a cat into her pack."

 

 

 

 

 

"Ahh - "

 

 

 

 

 

Yumi instinctively nodded. She didn"t understand the fine details, but she knew the broad strokes of what Rosa Gigantea wanted to say.

 

 

 

 

 

"Oh? You figured something out?"

 

 

 

 

 

"A while ago there was a conversation about being free to go anywhere, at any time, that sort of thing."

 

 

 

 

 

" &h.e.l.lip; Really?"

 

 

 

 

 

"And you, Rosa Gigantea."

 

 

 

 

 

"I?"

 

 

 

 

 

"You said that you couldn"t save Shimako-san by yourself."

 

 

 

 

 

"I see."

 

 

 

 

 

"Will we be able to save her?"

 

 

 

 

 

"Maybe. I don"t know. However."

 

 

 

 

 

Rosa Gigantea continued to talk as she patted Lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

"I was hurt here at Lillian"s, but I was also saved here. Gentle, fragile children gather here, and one way or another, by the time they graduate they all come to love it. That"s why I believe. Because it has a healing power that"s stronger than they might think, and friends, well, they"re a pretty effective medicine too."

 

 

 

 

 

Along Lunch"s back, there were spots where fur wouldn"t grow. They were traces of where the crows had attacked her. The wounds had healed. Even Lunch had probably completely forgotten about the injuries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Be that as it may.

 

 

 

 

 

With all the talk about Lunch and Shimako-san, Yumi had completely forgotten the crucial topic of Rosa Foetida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The shamisen is a traditional j.a.panese instrument that can use cat skin in its construction:
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