"Thanks for all your hard work."

After opening the door, Yumi-sama gave a quick wave.

"Ah."

Noriko stopped wiping the table.

"Go-gokigenyou."

Noriko was so stiff she wanted to poke fun at herself - "What are you so nervous about?"

"Gokigenyou. You"re doing a great job, as always."

Noriko"s nerves were despite the fact that they saw each other fairly often. And despite Yumi-sama not being the type of person who intimated her juniors - with all due respect.

It was probably because she and Yumi-sama were the only two people currently occupying the Rose Mansion. So she was more nervous than she had to be.

There was something she had to say before their many compatriots arrived.

So, in some respects, Noriko felt like she"d been waiting for this opportunity. Some day, when she was alone with Yumi-sama, she would ask about Touko.

"Say, there"s something I"ve got to talk to you about, Noriko-chan."

"Huh?"

Hearing Yumi-sama"s words, Noriko put herself on guard. Yumi-sama may have been surprised by this exaggerated reaction, as she quickly added:

"Well, it can wait until Shimako-san and Yoshino-san get here though &h.e.l.lip; "

"Ah, that sort of thing."

If it was that sort of thing then it was of no great importance. Noriko felt a bit disappointed by her earlier odd reaction.

"Our meetings with Mami-san from the newspaper club will probably become more frequent before too long. Naturally, we"ll be using this place a lot, so I was going to ask about what you were going to do during that time, since you said you"d be partic.i.p.ating in the treasure hunt. In my opinion, I think it"s fine for you to keep coming, except for when we"re deciding where to hide the cards. Because what happened last year was I - "

Noticing that the conversation was going completely over Noriko"s head, Yumi-sama asked:

"What"s the matter?"

"Ah, pardon me."

Watching her hastily apologizing junior, Yumi-sama smiled and sighed.

"Wha~t, you thought I wanted to talk to you about Touko-chan?"

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

She"d been completely seen though. All she could do was answer honestly.

"Well, there hasn"t really been any progress, so there"s not much to talk about."

Yumi-sama muttered. Noriko gripped the dish cloth tight and said, "Okay." Although her eyes were probably imploring Yumi-sama.

"But if there"s something you want to ask, Noriko-chan, then go ahead. Although I can"t guarantee you"ll be satisfied by my answers."

Even so, Noriko thought that was good. She might be able to catch a glimpse of the feelings Yumi-sama had in her heart towards Touko.

Why have you been leaving Touko alone?

Can I trust what you said about not abandoning Touko?

Touko losing the election - in your opinion, what the heck was the point of that?

Do you feel like you"d offer Touko your rosary again, or not?

There were plenty of things she wanted to ask. But she didn"t know where to start. And no matter which one she asked, she felt like she wouldn"t get an answer that she would be satisfied by.

But despite that, her words spilled out.

"Do you like Touko?"

"I do. I love her."

Yumi-sama answered, without a moment"s hesitation.

"Then that"s fine."

Noriko didn"t have any more questions. After a small nod, Noriko resumed her task of wiping the table.

Shimako-san, Yoshino-sama, and Mami-sama would arrive before too long, but it wasn"t as though she"d run out of time.

Yumi liked Touko.

That was the main thing, and Noriko realized it was the number one thing she wanted to ask.