Sat.u.r.day.

Just about two and a half hours after noon, there was a gift from the cooking room to the Rose Mansion.

"Second-year cherry blossom. We"re opening a curry stand for the festival, and we"d like to request a tasting."

"Wah!"

A strong, spicy scent roused her appet.i.te. They had been rehearsing for the play on the second floor, but everyone had stopped, and quickly moved the table back from the corner to the center.

"Please."

Three students wearing pink ap.r.o.n-dresses labeled "Sakuratei" took out three dishes each from a Ramen-shop delivery box and placed them on the table.

"Oops, there"s one extra."

They c.o.c.ked their heads. They had brought nine, for eight.

"Who said it was three times three?"

"Oh, oops. Rosa Gigantea had no second-year."

They were whispering to each other, but it was very audible. Yumi had already been counted, in a very matter-of-fact way.

"It"s better than too little, isn"t it? May I have the extra one, too?"

The three students from Sakuratei were relieved by Rosa Gigantea"s suggestion, and so the problem with the number of dishes was resolved. Finally, they could get to sampling the food.

"It"s a trial product, so please, be honest."

There was a bank of rice in the middle of the elliptical dish, and on either end was a different curry sauce. A red curry with ripe tomatoes, and a white curry using coconut milk as its base.

They had eaten lunch two hours earlier, but as they were hungry from rehearsal, everyone eagerly lifted their chopsticks, or spoons.

"Being able to eat two types of curry on one dish is nice. &h.e.l.lip; But, I think there might be too much sauce compared to the amount of rice?"

Was Rosa Chinensis" first impression.

"The colors, also, might be a bit bland?"

Rosa Gigantea said.

"Green is missing. Boiled broccoli, asparagus&h.e.l.lip; turnips or pickles, anything, but I think you should place something green on the dish."

"Green. Come to think of it, that"s true."

The Sakuratei students earnestly took notes.

"Maybe you should cook rice with a little less water? Personally, I prefer a bit drier rice."

Said Rosa Foetida, and Shimako-san answered, "I like rice puffed up like this." Then, they took a survey of everyone at the table, which resulted in three preferring "drier" rice, three preferring "puffy" rice and two not caring either way. Yumi raised her hand for "not caring," and she felt to a certain degree, her personality was shown in her answer.

There were some selfish comments, like Sachiko-sama"s "I don"t like coconuts, in general," but as expected of the people at the Rose Mansion, everyone was offering earnest advice for the tasting. By contrast, Yumi could only offer the unhelpful comment of, "I think it"s good," and so she felt a bit apologetic.

"We"ll head back and discuss it, then. We"ll come back later to pick up the dishes, so feel free to just leave them there."

They hurried back to the cooking room, saying they were scheduled to take a peek into the staff room, count the number of heads, and deliver food.

"Speaking of which, what time is it?"

Rosa Chinensis flipped her hand and looked at her thin, silver wrist.w.a.tch in response to Rosa Gigantea"s question. Not just Rosa Gigantea, but almost everyone glanced at a nearby clock to confirm. -Two fifty. The three first-years began cleaning up the dishes.

"Almost three. Oh, yeah."

"We need to go pick him up."

"Who shall we send?"

The Roses softly discussed among themselves.

"Um, what should we do about the extra dish?"

Yumi pointed at the dish Rosa Gigantea mentioned earlier, as she wiped the table. Perhaps Rosa Gigantea planned to eat it now, or perhaps she meant to keep it until after the rehearsal. If she was going to save it for later, it was probably prudent to move it to a different plate and stick it in the refrigerator, as cleaning the dishes for the cooking students was something she preferred to have done now.

"Perfect. Yumi-chan can we ask you to do a ch.o.r.e?"

Rosa Gigantea said.

"Eh?"

"There"s a person waiting for us by the main gate, if you could bring that person to us."

"Fine with me&h.e.l.lip;?"

Yumi wondered who it could be. The main gate meant it was not a person from within the school.

"We"ll have that person eat the curry."

"Ah."

Rosa Gigantea explained, today was the day the Hanadera student council leader was arriving to join rehearsals. They had gotten permission from the school, but a young man walking alone into a girls" school was not a good idea, so they had promised to send someone to escort him.

"Why are we treating an outsider?"

Sachiko-sama spoke, unpleasantly, and Rosa Chinensis curtly answered.

"It would be impolite if only we are spicy."

Even Sachiko-sama had to feel sorry for the Hanadera guy, who would be surrounded by people who had just eaten curry with garlic. Either that, or she preferred not to have that image of herself, regardless of who the opponent was.

"Eight minutes left."

Rosa Foetida began counting down.

"But I don"t know how that person looks?"

"There are not a whole lot of Hanadera students waiting by the main gate. His name is Kashiwagi-san. He"s a pretty nice-looking guy, so you"ll recognize him immediately."

Yumi hurried out, spurred on by the words, seven and a half minutes left.

It took a bit over ten minutes to walk from the Rose Mansion to the main gate. How long would it take if she walked quickly?

(Ahh, shoot.)

Yumi hurried back after stepping out. She could keep her indoor shoes on if she were just traversing the courtyard, but she would need shoes to walk to the main gate. There was a barrier of fallen gingko nuts, after all, along the way.

One minute lost due to the detour to the shoe box. She would have to run.

She disturbed her plaited skirt just a tad, she let her sailor scarf overturn a tiny bit, and she paid care to not step on gingko nuts. It was exactly three o"clock when she arrived at the main gate.

(Please don"t be here, yet.)

When she stepped out of the gate, a Hanadera Inst.i.tute uniform was waiting right in front of her. Still, even though the uniform was identical to the one her brother wore, his height allowed him to look 20% more grand, a fascinating effect.

"Excuse me, are you Kashiwagi-san?"

"Ah, yes."

He lifted his head and smiled.

"Are you the person sent by the Yamayurikai? Kashiwagi Suguru, pleased to meet you."

The pitiful prince that was hated by Cinderella was a pretty good looking young man.

Kashiwagi-san is a third-year at the Hanadera Inst.i.tute. As he"d already received an early acceptance into the Hanadera University, he was able to be the student council leader despite it being this otherwise busy time period for third-year students, and he was also able to help out with other school festivals. A man of such elegant social status, is how he introduced himself on the roadside while walking with Yumi.

"I must say, unlike Lillian, it seems like Hanadera"s rather prepared for examination conditions?"

"Indeed. Thus, I was saved because the early-acceptance entries were low in number."

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

Hanadera University was extremely high level, so it supposedly only accepted up to thirty students with exceptional records from its affiliate high schools without any exam. Those that failed to grab an early acceptance would then take an exam for Hanadera University, as well as other schools, so it had an image of a school that had high examination requirements.

(That means, this person is a super elite&h.e.l.lip;!)

A slender figure, a generous mask, a well-mannered att.i.tude to other people, and a brilliant mind and leadership ability to boot. Just how could Sachiko-sama complain about a man like this?

"Ah, the Maria statue."

Kashiwagi-san stopped at the fork in the road.

"When Lillian students pa.s.s by, they always stop and put their hands together, correct?"

"You"re very knowledgeable."

"Yes. For whatever reason, in my household, men go to Hanadera, and women go to Lillian. My mother, my grandmother, my aunt, and my cousin all went to Lillian."

Whether he was just acting the part, he put together his hands and closed his eyes. Because of this, Yumi was also able to pray, in peace. Because it was such a habit, she felt bad every time she neglected to perform the rite.

"With Maria-sama watching like this, Lillian students really cannot do anything bad."

Kashiwagi-san mumbled, having opened his eyes.

"Anything bad?"

"I don"t know. Girls" schools and boys" schools have bad standards of "bad," so I can"t give a specific example."

"Shakyamuni watches over Hanadera, though, right?"

"Even so, there is no statue in clear view like this."

Hanadera Inst.i.tute was a Buddhist school.

After taking a left at the fork, there was another fork. When you took a right, the high school facilities were on your left.

"Please come in here."

She led him to the visitor entrance and took a slipper from the shoe box.

"I should have brought indoor shoes, it seems. I heard we were to rehea.r.s.e in the gymnasium, so I just brought my indoor athletics shoes."

"It"s alright."

He seemed to feel awkward wearing visitor slippers while wearing a school uniform.

"I apologize, could you wait here a moment? I"m going to change into my indoor shoes."

With that, Yumi hurried outside. Ah, how busy. She turned around, entered from the main entrance, changed shoes, and now had to return, this time from indoors.

(Huh&h.e.l.lip;?)

She thought she saw Sachiko-sama.

(Was I seeing things? Sachiko-sama should be at the Rose Mansion still.)

That shadow vanished to the library road as Yumi watched. She thought she should chase, for a moment, but then realized there was no need for her to investigate whether that was Sachiko-sama or not, and she had a guest to attend to, anyways.

(Oh, well, I guess I"ll ask Sachiko-sama later.)

Thus, Yumi remembered her original mission and ran to the other side.

"Welcome, Kashiwagi-sama."

"Thank you for transporting yourself all this distance today."

"Ahh, please, put down your luggage here."

The Roses smiled their special smiles and welcomed the visitor.

"Thank you for the invitation. It is a wonderful mansion."

The person named Kashiwagi Suguru seemed extremely used to the situation. He was very settled down, a curious man, who was pulled into the Rose Mansion, a building that could only be called "strange" by an outsider. Then, despite being surrounded by girls of similar age, conducted himself sociably without any hint of timid-ness.

"My little brother would come home flushed and crying from this situation&h.e.l.lip;"

Having completed her important job, Yumi stood off to the side, relieved, and watched the scene.

"Oh, Yumi-chan has a little brother?"

Rosa Gigantea was unwrapping the curry dish, having stepped out of the circle and walked next to Yumi.

"Yes. At Hanadera Inst.i.tute."

"Being flushed is more normal. Being this sociable at a high school age is kind of creepy."

She was talking about Kashiwagi-san, and although they were far away and probably couldn"t be heard, Yumi still felt a pang of fear.

"Rosa Gigantea"s mouth is as sharp as the taste of coconut curry&h.e.l.lip;"

"Then it wasn"t that spicy?"

Rosa Gigantea laughed heartily.

She was searching around with her hand, so Yumi handed her the spoon, that was being guarded by a paper napkin.

"Thank you."

"It"s cooled, you"re still serving it to him?"

She asked with a whisper, and the response she got was a childish "well, duh."

"Speed is the name of the game. If we don"t make him eat, soon, Lillian students will be stuck with the label, "smell like curry." Unfortunately there is nothing quite as handy as a microwave in the Rose Mansion, anyways."

It would have been faster if she just said that. Regardless, Rosa Gigantea said, "I apologize for keeping you waiting," a decidedly uncharacteristic sort of behavior, and placed the cold curry in front of the student council leader from the neighboring school.

"Sakuratei special menu, named "Curry that"s good even when it"s cold.""

What a liar.

As she walked back, Rosa Gigantea, out of view of the customer, stuck out her tongue and laughed.

"You may have already eaten lunch, but as you are a man, I hope you could eat this, too?"

"As you will be partic.i.p.ating in the rehearsals with us, please, do fill your stomach, first."

Rosa Chinensis and Rosa Foetida both spoke in a nonchalant manner, but they very proactively recommended him to eat. As expected, even if he were to never notice, they were not so keen on having eaten curry and being near a guy who hadn"t.

"Of course. Thank you for the treat."

And as expected of a man, Kashiwagi. He said, "Itadakimasu" with full expression and began eating the two-colored curry. Even with people watching, he ate fluidly and without hesitation.

"What do you think?"

"What, do you mean?"

"What do you think of him?"

At first, she didn"t know what Rosa Gigantea meant. So she responded, "He eats like they do in the curry commercials," but that was a huge miss.

"Not that. The Hanadera student council leader, it"s your first time seeing him isn"t it?"

"Yes."

"I"m asking about your impression of him."

"Impression."

Yumi glanced at Kashiwagi-san. He was half-finished with eating. Perhaps it was his personality, but both colors were evenly diminished.

"Intellectual, sociable, and punctual. Also, he is refreshing."

Rosa Gigantea nodded, "yes yes," as she listened to Yumi.

"Objectively, how do you think of him as a guy?"

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

What in the world are you talking about, Rosa Gigantea? Was she trying to be a formal marriage mother?

"I"m not really good with that angle, so I"m asking Yumi-chan, a normal girl."

"Huh!?"

She had no idea what was going on. So she answered half-heartedly.

"Objectively, he"s a pretty good line to follow&h.e.l.lip;"

Still chewing away at curry, he probably couldn"t have even imagined two girls standing by the sink would be talking about this.

"- so that would mean, he pa.s.ses."

As Sachiko-sama"s partner, Rosa Gigantea said. In this play, there was an ulterior motive of trying to beat Sachiko-sama"s hate of men.

"Sachiko"s household is quite bizarre. Her grandfather and father both have many mistresses. There are people that stupidly think that"s the true nature of men, but those type of men really don"t know how women feel. So, girls like Sachiko, stuck around that sort of men, end up with an intense hatred of all men."

The concubines of the Ogasawara family men were quite famous, Rosa Gigantea whispered. People with stature and prestige had a hard time keeping that sort of thing under wraps, apparently. Of course, that means Sachiko-sama knew about her father"s relationship with women.

"I see, hating men, has a reason behind it."

"Pretty much. I mean, liking men takes so much less explaining."

So what they needed was a perfect, clean man with absolutely no c.h.i.n.ks in his armor.

If Sachiko-sama were to be in a play with such a man, she might recognize the better virtues and qualities of men, and everything would end happily. Was how they wanted to script everything.

"But, I wonder if it"ll go that well&h.e.l.lip;"

"Don"t worry. He won"t draw near Sachiko-sama too much, even by mistake."

It had nothing to do with making them a couple, or anything. The first step was simply placing a "good man" near her. It was none other than Rosa Gigantea who fired the white-plumed arrow at him, saying he was the perfect fit for the job. And, now that the plan was coming into fruition, she had decided to ask for someone else"s opinion.

"Has Sachiko-sama not met Kashiwagi-san yet?"

As she asked, Yumi suddenly realized.

Sachiko-sama was not there.

(Huh? Was she here when I came into the room? Or was she not?)

"Yumi-chan heard, right? That girl always ran away."

She didn"t go to help Hanadera Inst.i.tute with their school festival, she would not attend if they were having a meeting, and she even began complaining about wanting off the role when she found out the Hanadera student council leader was the prince.

"Speaking of which, where is Cinderella?"

With good timing, Kashiwagi-san put down his spoon and asked.

"Sachiko seemed to be discontent, and ran off to the gymnasium first."

Rosa Foetida seemed to feign curiosity, but it seemed everyone had already known.

Discontent could only have meant one thing, and that was the prince. Cinderella hated the prince, and even though the midnight bell had not yet been struck, she had fled somewhere. -Ah, the story of Cinderella was changing into something else entirely.

"I was looking forward to seeing her."

Gochisousama, and he stood up. He pulled out his script and his indoor athletics shoes from a vinyl bag. He was itching to get going.

Yumi thought about what had transpired earlier as she began cleaning the dish.

That shadow she saw outside of the guest entrance must have been Sachiko-sama.

(But, why was she there&h.e.l.lip;?)

If she continued on the path through the library, she would arrive at Maria-sama"s fork. The other two roads from that intersection were to the main gate and the auditorium, and both cases were simply longer routes to get to the first or second gymnasiums.

(Did she, return home!?)

If she, if she really did not want to even touch the hand of man, and had run away-. Yumi could not hold herself any longer, and took off.

"Yumi-chan?"

"I"m sorry, I"m going on ahead."

Yumi took her gymnasium shoes in hand and rushed down the screeching stairs by herself.

Had Sachiko-sama simply gone home, there would be no way to catch up, but she couldn"t allow herself to simply stand pat.

After entering the school facilities from the courtyard, she shuffled along quickly. When she pa.s.sed by a Sister, she put on an "I was walking the entire time" face. Being so deceptive was not something she was proud of, but finding Sachiko-sama was her first priority, and so she had no time to be receiving an unnecessary lecture.

Yumi first went to the visitors" entrance. She was sure she had seen someone like Sachiko-sama as she walked out from there. She walked out and ran down the path to the library. She took a right on Maria-sama"s intersection and went to the main gate, and even ran outside the auditorium on her way back, but she saw no sign of Sachiko-sama.

Did she really just run away-. As Yumi thought that, she walked back to the school facilities.

That proud Sachiko-sama running away with her tail between her legs was not suitable. She seemed more the type to raise hysteria and fight back.

Yumi looked down at her feet. She had dashed out in her indoor shoes.

Had she found Sachiko-sama in that state, she had no idea what she would have done.

If she forcibly brought her back, lectured her, and forced her to hold hands with a guy, would she have been satisfied?

That would be even more unsuitable. Definitely not good.

Instead of returning to the visitor"s entrance, Yumi went straight to the primary gymnasium. Scheduled for today was primarily a dance lesson for Kashiwagi-san, preferably using stage they would be using for the actual performance, for rehearsal.

There was one indoor shoe in the shoe box for the gymnasium.

"A preceding visitor&h.e.l.lip;?"

When she peeked inside in her socks, she noticed a figure.

"Sachiko-sama!?"

Yumi began running. The person sitting on the stage looked up with a miserable face.

"Ahh, Yumi."

"So you didn"t go home!?"

Why, why, why, why, was she here?

"I told everyone "I will go ahead to the gymnasium.""

- so she did. Yumi also heard that.

"I"m, an idiot."

She hated herself for coming to conclusions on her own. No one said Sachiko-sama had gone home. Yumi had simply let her imagination run berserk.

"But you were on the road to the library, weren"t you?"

"&h.e.l.lip; No."

That was a lie.

She was dubious until then, but that was clearly Sachiko-sama. She had looked away for a split second before answering, and that confirmed her suspicions.

"Okay."

Yumi didn"t ask any further. She placed her hand on the stage and jumped up, sitting down next to Sachiko-sama.

"Your skirt will become dirty."

Sachiko-sama laughed with a side glance.

"How about Sachiko-sama?"

"I just noticed."

No need to be in a hurry now, Sachiko-sama seemed to say, as she calmly remained seated, so Yumi stayed, too.

They were alone in the big gymnasium. On the day of the school festival, there would be many pipe chairs, turning this into an a.s.sembly hall.

She struggled to believe that, on the very stage she sat on, she would eventually stand and act in front of many people. Come to think of it, the entire week was fresh and intense and dizzying, and she still felt like she was just in a big dream. Thus, even though the performance was in a mere week, she struggled to realize it was a reality.

She wondered what Sachiko-sama was thinking in this empty gymnasium before Yumi arrived. And now, with Yumi by her side, what could she be thinking?

"I was there."

It was so sudden that she didn"t immediately recognize where "there" was. So she glanced at the entry to see who had come.

"I was actually there, by the library road."

"Ehh!?"

"Yumi went to pick up the Hanadera student council leader, correct? So, I went to take a look at him, first."

She secretly waited, to take a look at his face. Although she had answered "no" earlier, for whatever reason, she became willing to open herself up.

"Why did you run off to the library?"

"Because Yumi seemed to notice. I didn"t mind if it was just Yumi, but if Hanadera"s student council leader noticed, too, it would be a bit awkward."

"&h.e.l.lip; well, it would be a bit impolite."

Yumi sighed. It was a bit stingy to steal a look prior to their supposed "first meeting," but at the same time, Sachiko-sama might have needed that mental preparation, as it was clearly going to be an intense thing for her to handle-.

"What did you think, then?"

"Think. Well, nothing in particular. I just wanted to see the opponent before I was seen, that is all."

Sachiko-sama hopped down from the stage.

"Okay? I am unwilling to dance with the Hanadera student council leader, but I will not run from myself. If I run, I lose. And I hate losing more than anything else."

Awesome.

Sachiko-sama definitely needed to keep looking strong.

But, Sachiko-sama winning would mean Yumi being Cinderella, so as much as she wanted to, she couldn"t cheer on Sachiko-sama in that regard.

"Yumi."

Sachiko-sama was stretching, perhaps the burden lifted by speaking.

"I shall be your dance partner until everyone else arrives."

"Eh?"

As she processed this, Sachiko-sama pulled her off the stage, took Yumi"s right hand with her left hand, and drew in Yumi"s hip with her right hand.

"Eh, it"s alright, it"s alright."

Sachiko-sama being a practice partner was absurd. Yumi lightly refused. However.

"Even if you"re alright, I"m not. You seem to have remembered the steps, but Yumi"s dancing was not smooth and it was bothering me."

When told that, she had no choice.

One, two, three, two, two, three.

With the count started, she gave up and stepped back with her left foot.

"Don"t be nervous. You have to be able to dance with anyone."

Their clasped hands, the hand around her waist, all of this was too much for her, and she couldn"t concentrate. Robotically, mechanically, she felt like she was going through the steps like an a.s.sembly-line worker. Her palm was sweaty. She wondered if Sachiko-sama noticed.

"There"s no need to think. Just trust your body"s memory and leave everything to it."

Unlike Rei-sama, their heights were not that different, so it felt like their faces were close.

One, two, three, two, two, three.

"Don"t rush, smile."

Even though her partner was this bad, Sachiko-sama seemed to be having fun. It might have been forced, at first, but as she smiled along, she felt like she became less tense.

"Right. You"re doing superb."

Sachiko-sama was the one who was superb. She was performing the male steps, despite not knowing them all too well, perfectly, and her leading was incredibly skillful.

"I had no idea dancing was this fun."

When she mumbled that, Sachiko-sama narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"Indeed. I had no idea, either."

She wished they could remain dancing like this forever. At least for now, Sachiko-sama felt the same way as her, and so she allowed herself a moment of conceit.

Cinderella and the Prince"s meeting went without any further delay and chaos.

(Well, not that I expected there to be any biting upon their first meeting.)

However, even Yumi was honestly surprised when Sachiko-sama stepped forward and began greeting.

"Good day, I am Ogasawara. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"&h.e.l.lip; Good day."

Perhaps he had heard about Sachiko-sama beforehand, but Kashiwagi-san seemed to be a bit perplexed by her proactive greeting.

Ahh, but Sachiko-sama. A smile was a smile, but she was clearly forcing it. She had no need to force herself that much.

"But, boy, I wish Sachiko and Yumi-chan could have seen it. Kashiwagi-sama as the prince. We stopped by the clothing room to test the costume on him, and wow, he was hands-down the prince on a white horse!"

She felt bad for Rosa Foetida, whose eyes were sparkling and dreamy, but she was not particularly interested.

The character whose name was the t.i.tle was the protagonist for these fairy tales, so as long as the Cinderella was beautiful, is how she felt. The prince was simply a supplement, vegetables pickled in soy sauce, to use a curry a.n.a.logy, or minced j.a.panese leek. As long as he didn"t upstage the heroine, it was enough.

Plus, the prince in Cinderella doesn"t appear on a white horse. Rather, he simply sits in his castle, and most things popped up for him, an extraordinarily fortunate person.

After the dance club arrived a bit late, they decided to put together the ballroom dance scene. So they would get used to the starting positions and s.p.a.ciousness of the floor, they decided to perform the full dance on the stage.

"Kashiwagi-sama, if we may request a natural spin turn."

"Ok."

Kashiwagi-san fluidly lifted his hand from the middle of the stage.

However, a high school student who could reply "Ok" to the name of a step. Is this person truly 18-years old?

Perhaps Sachiko-sama had already relented, but she stood next to Kashiwagi-san. Called over by Rei-sama, Yumi stood on stand-by at the front edge of the stage. When the other pairs found their positions, the music began.

"Don"t look elsewhere."

When she glanced worriedly at Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama cautioned. From that quick glance, they were in the fundamental holding position. At that point, Sachiko-sama was not having any rashes or anything.

The stage seemed extremely s.p.a.cious when they were standing on it, but once the dancing began, it felt extremely confined. So they wouldn"t collide with another pair, or so they wouldn"t vanish into the sleeves of the stage, she was busy maintaining her pace, so she had no opportunity to look at another pair.

When the song finished once, orders were given from below the stage. The main pair needed to make sure they didn"t stray from the center, or the size of each step needed to be more standardized, et cetera. When they danced again after adjustments, everything fit together more cleanly. Even the people dancing could tell that much.

"Okay, one last round."

On the third dance, even Yumi began to have the chance to look at Sachiko-sama while dancing.

The confidence of being able to say "Ok" showed, as Kashiwagi-san smartly led Sachiko-sama. If their dancing was on par with one another, then Sachiko-sama could not complain-. Just as she thought that, Yumi felt something was amiss.

Sachiko-sama was not her usual self. She was dancing smoothly to the lead, but she was missing her usual brilliance. It was a bit hazy.

The song ended.

Sachiko-sama quickly separated herself from Kashiwagi-san and ran toward Yumi, as if escaping.

"Sachiko."

Rei-sama, by Yumi"s side, grabbed Sachiko-sama"s arm as she pa.s.sed.

"I know you don"t like it, but how about smiling a bit? You"ll have a negative effect on the audience like that."

"I am not a hostess. I will smile during the actual performance."

Yumi chased after Sachiko-sama, who had run outside after that declaration. Rei-sama tapped Yumi"s back, as if saying, "best regards."

Sachiko-sama was leaning against the gymnasium"s outer wall and looking up at the sky.

"They said they would begin rehearsal in fifteen minutes."

When Yumi spoke, Sachiko-sama looked at her. She seemed healthier than Yumi expected. She seemed to be in a distressed state, so Yumi thought Sachiko-sama may have run outside to vomit.

"What a hard schedule."

"Because Kashiwagi-san can"t make it very often, they want to run through the entire play, said Rosa Chinensis."

"I see."

As she didn"t seem to be implying that Yumi was a bother, she, too, leaned against the wall. When she looked up, she noticed one cloud had torn off from the rest and was leisurely floating.

"Don"t worry. It was getting claustrophobic, so I stepped out for fresh air."

"Yes."

On the grounds, the track team was having a marathon on the running track. Maybe it was from the tennis court, but the sound of b.a.l.l.s being smacked echoed around.

"Maria-sama"s soul."

Sachiko-sama said, as she stared at the blue sky.

"Yes it is."

Yumi answered, also looking at the sky.

"Oh, no. Not the sky. Here."

Even though she said it wasn"t the sky, Sachiko-sama was pointing up. Then, she c.o.c.ked her head and asked, "Can"t you hear?", so Yumi silently focused on hearing. Then-.

"Ah!"

"Understand?"

It was barely audible, but she could hear music from somewhere from the school. There were no lyrics, but an accordion or piano was nostalgically playing "Maria-sama"s Soul"

"I did not think I would run into this piece again from a high school site."

Sachiko-sama softly laughed, and lifted herself from the gymnasium"s outside wall.

Come to think of it, Sachiko-sama had also attended Lillian since infant school, so she would have been made to sing the song, too.

Sachiko-sama checked the time and reluctantly walked to the entrance. It was almost fifteen minutes. Sachiko-sama sc.r.a.ped her shoes on the gymnasium foyer"s matt, before mumbling.

"Even so, I wonder why it"s a sapphire."

"Eh?"

"Do you not feel it incompatible?"

Sachiko-sama giggled, and left Yumi, who stood stunned.

"&h.e.l.lip; Sachiko-sama."

If only she had waited just a bit, she thought. At least, so that Yumi could reply.

But Sachiko-sama never looked back, joining the others who awaited in the gymnasium.

In the end, Sachiko-sama"s discontented att.i.tude was not resolved through the whole rehearsal. Even after switching roles with Yumi, it remained the case, and despite the perfect speaking of lines, her displeasure was extremely obvious.

In the case of Yumi, she was nearly perfect as Sister B, but she messed up her lines at least ten times as Cinderella, and she stepped on the prince"s foot twice.

"It"s better to have a hurting foot than be shot a sour look all the time."

Kashiwagi-san kindly consoled her, but in truth, he probably would have preferred neither to have been the case.

He was forced to eat curry, then made to wear the costume, then concentrated on the dance practice, then ran through a rehearsal two times over, and even he was unable to hide his exhaustion. Even so, he smiled and walked through the gate, saying "until next week," an incredible person.

The three first-years sent Kashiwagi-san off and returned to the Rose Mansion, where Sachiko-sama"s tense aura had vanished.

"Thank you for your hard work. The tea has just finished."

Sachiko-sama"s tea was very dense and bitter. Everyone reached for the sugar and powdered milk after one sip, but not one person complained about the taste.

Yumi drank it without adding anything. Because it was how Sachiko-sama drank it.

What was Sachiko-sama thinking, as she drank this bitter tea.

She felt bad for the Roses, but she thought the plan for Sachiko-sama to conquer her dislike of men would fizzle.

The bad atmosphere during the rehearsal and this bitter tea made Yumi think that way.