Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 6 Chapter 1
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It had just been a slight slip of the tongue.
So she had no great expectation that she would receive an OK.
Nevertheless.
"Date?"
Sachiko-samas eyes widened for an instant and she looked at Yumi (well, thats to be expected - even the one who said it was surprised) then smiled and said, "That sounds like fun."
"Eh?" Yumi was taken aback. As though the commotion in her heart was being faithfully played out on her body, she jerked backwards, almost scattering the painstakingly gathered "Surprise Chocolates" once more.
Valentines Day evening.
The treasure hunt organized by the newspaper club had finished, and a number of other things besides, until at last the two of them were alone on the second floor of the Rose Mansion.
There had been a slight accident and the chocolate box had erupted, and it was all so unexpected she wanted to close her eyes.
The problem was with what Yumi had jokingly blurted out to try and smooth things over.
Lacking anything else to say, she had said it was a game of hit or miss. How on earth did she have the nerve to smoothly say such a random thing.
As a consequence, she was asked what the prize for getting a hit was, and her own wish of "A ticket for a date together" came flying out of her mouth. Overcoming her shock, she was feeling quite pleased with herself.
Even still, Sachiko-samas reaction was a surprise. Or, rather, Yumi hadnt been expecting any reaction at all, since she had said what popped into her mind.
Instead, Sachiko was asking her questions about it.
"When?"
"Ummm."
It seemed like they really would be going on a date. If Sachiko was simply being diplomatic, she would have followed up That sounds like fun with some day.
Back to the problem.
While Yumi was overjoyed at the prospect of going on a date with Sachiko, she hadnt been planning this at all. She was just saying whatever came to mind.
"Well, how about next Sunday?"
Once more, Yumi was just going with the flow.
To the question of when, the first thing that came to her mind was the date on the tickets that were the special prize in the newspaper clubs treasure hunt. And so just like that, thank you for the help newspaper club, but Ill be taking that. You could even say it was fitting, given that it had been the newspaper clubs plan that had lit the fire of her desire to go on a date with her onee-sama.
"Sunday? Thats fine."
Sachiko-sama had not turned her down.
Thinking about it, Sachiko-sama would have blocked off that day for the date with whoever found her hidden, red card. But with the card now invalid, her schedule would have opened up.
"Where will we go?"
"... Umm, Im thinking of a couple of places."
Confusion.
"Ahh, onee-sama, if theres somewhere youd like to go...."
"Theres nowhere in particular. Wherever you want to go will be fine."
Ah, that type of answer was the most painful. If Sachiko had given something specific about where she wanted to go, it would have been easy. But as the one who brought it up, it was up to Yumi to come up with a plan. But first she had to weather the storm here somehow. If her deceit unraveled, it may not be just the date itself that comes to nothing.
"... Well, Ill come up with a list of several destinations by tomorrow."
"Oh well."
Sachiko-sama looked out the window. Yumi followed her gaze. The sun had long since set, but a light snow was falling so it was somewhat bright.
"Im looking forward to it."
Taking hold of her school coat that was hanging over a chair, Sachiko-sama smiled. "Shall we go home?"
It was already well past the time for leaving school.
After stuffing the box of chocolates into her bag, Yumi followed Sachiko-sama out of the room.
Rosa Gigantea and Shimako-san, who she had supposed were still on the lower floor, were no longer there.
Shimako realized she had left her mittens in the cla.s.sroom just as she was returning her indoor shoes to the shoe box. She hesitated for a moment over whether or not to go back for them. It was cold outside, plus she didnt really like leaving things behind.
But.
"Whats up?"
Her onee-sama greeted her, having returned from the third years shoe boxes. "Nothing" was her response, and she hurriedly closed the shoe box.
"Its cold, isnt it."
Leaving the entrance, the night air stung her exposed skin. It felt like it was snowing intermittently, but it didnt seem to be building up. She had brought a folding umbrella, but the two of them walked along without opening it. It was just too lovely, with the leaves of the bushes and the light reflecting off the thinly falling snow that seemed to act as a veil around the deserted pathway.
"Oh yeah. Shizuka gave me some chocolate bon-bons. That might warm us up a bit."
As she said this, she was rummaging around in her pockets, searching for them.
"Onee-sama, thats a bit inconsiderate."
Shimako let out a sigh.
"Why so? Ill give you some too, Shimako."
"Thats not what I was saying."
"I see. It was mentioning Shizukas name in front of you. But, okay. Its still true that I received some chocolates. So theres no problem with store bought bon-bons."
So come now, eat up, she urged as she offered up the small, open box she retrieved from her pocket. Inside was a neat row of five chocolate bon-bons, individually wrapped in silver paper. There was a gap about the size of a bon-bon, probably from where she had unwrapped one and tasted it in front of Shizuka-sama.
"No, what I was saying was - "
Shimako made a gesture of refusal, as she turned to look straight into Rosa Giganteas eyes.
"What I was saying was, what about Shizuka-samas feelings, onee-sama?"
"Huh?"
"If you were to share the present she gave you with me... If Shizuka-sama knew of this, how do you think she would feel?"
"Shizukas feelings?"
Rosa Gigantea stopped walking and looked down in thought, then, at length, raised her head and smiled.
"I see. Youre right. Ive learned something."
The small box of chocolate bon-bons was once again returned to her coat pocket.
If it had been an act of kindness to try them in front of the giver of the present, then it had also been an act of kindness not to eat one when her little sister was showing self-restraint.
Shimakos onee-sama, Rosa Gigantea, was sensitive, had good intuition and was a very kind person, even if she had done something a bit inconsiderate.
"Im sorry if I sounded patronizing."
"Not at all. I think Im fortunate to have such a conscientious little sister. I can be relaxed about ..."
"Please dont say it."
Graduation was the word that Shimako was afraid Rosa Gigantea would say before she interrupted.
"When onee-sama leaves, Ill definitely ..."
With her equilibrium thrown off balance, her thoughts had become scattered and Shimako was unable to finish her sentence.
"Youll be fine. Everyone loves you, Shimako. The world is a much easier place to live in than you think. When I leave, youll definitely become even stronger. So my work here is done. My leaving here wont be an ordeal for you, Shimako, but the start of a journey for both of us."
"I cant think of it like that at all."
"You will be able to think of it like that, definitely. Spring will come, summer will come... Youll be busy with your daily school life and notice that its normal that Im not there. When you start your second year, there will be new first years to take our place. When that happens, Lillians will be filled with students."
"But...!"
Onee-sama wont be among the new first years. Shimako swallowed her words. Even if she said it, there was nothing that could be done about it and she didnt want to embarra.s.s Rosa Gigantea.
Certainly, she had become good friends with her fellow first years, Yumi-san and Yoshino-san. And although they were in different grades, she had become close with her fellow boutons, Sachiko-sama and Rei-sama.
Still, none of them were Satou Sei.
And none of the new first years would be Satou Sei either.
In the whole world, the Satou Sei in front of her was the only one. There was no-one else who could take her place.
"Whats the matter? This isnt like you, Shimako."
"Im sorry."
"Theres no need to apologize. Now then, what should I do?"
Rosa Gigantea gently wiped away Shimakos tears that had been falling unnoticed before speaking.
"Should I embrace you, like during the election? If you wish, Ill give you a kiss or anything else."
"Thats enough."
Shimako shook her head.
That Rosa Gigantea had said that to her was enough.
The two of them were well matched. Therefore, they didnt get too close. Closeness, fawning over each other, would just be re-opening each others wounds.
In this way, Rosa Gigantea was Shimakos guardian. When Shimako seemed hurt, this was how Rosa Gigantea would comfort her. In looking at each other, it was as though they were looking into a mirror, and they saw their own existence.
So Shimakos wish was only that Rosa Gigantea would be by her side. If she could look at Rosa Gigantea, that was enough. She didnt want to be held close.
"Really, what should I do? You seem a bit uneasy today."
Shimako wiped away the remaining traces of her tears from her cheeks with her left hand, and put on a smile. In a slightly self-deprecating way. But Rosa Gigantea didnt laugh.
"Your gloves."
"Huh?"
"What happened to your gloves? You always wear them, right?"
"Ahh."
The time to recall had arrived.
"I seem to have left them in the cla.s.sroom. What with the treasure hunt, and the commotion in the evening."
"Hold out your hand."
"Huh?"
"The commotion was the cause? I think it must have been me."
Rosa Gigantea swiftly grasped Shimakos empty left hand and put it into her coat pocket. Not the left side pocket she had put Shizukas chocolates in, the right side one.
"Onee-sama."
"The marble cake was incredibly delicious."
After giving Shimakos hand, still inside her pocket a tight squeeze, Rosa Gigantea slowly walked off. Shimako too walked off, as her hand was still held inside Rosa Giganteas pocket. Although their temperature was probably the same, Rosa Giganteas hand felt very warm. And somehow Rosa Giganteas pocket felt warmer than her own, even though they were made from the same material.
As they walked along, they had a conversation about matters unrelated to graduation. Rosa Gigantea steered the conversation towards food, probably because she was hungry.
When they arrived at Maria-samas statue, Shimako made as if to stop, while Rosa Gigantea tugged on her hand, a little forcibly.
"Onee-sama?"
"Thats enough for today."
Without waiting for a response, she walked off in silence. It was as though she wanted to leave this place without even a seconds delay.
Somehow comprehending Rosa Giganteas mental state, Shimako accompanied her in silence. As a result, today was the first day she had not performed the custom of praying in front of the statue of Maria-sama.
It seemed like Shimakos uneasiness was being reflected.
When they arrived at the bus stop, outside the school gates, Rosa Gigantea let out a sigh and finally returned to normal.
"I hadnt really thought about it, because she didnt receive any other than mine."
Yoshino-san sighed.
"And how many do you think Rei-chan received?"
"... A decent catch."
"Darn right, a decent catch. Fisherman will be lining up to dance with her, with a catch this big."
It was a different kind of catch though. But pointing this out would only double Yoshino-sans grumbling, so she didnt say anything.
The Rose Mansion, on the day after all the excitement.
It was lunch time, and the boutons were having a lunch meeting with Minako-sama from the newspaper club. They stopped by to say this, then headed out to the newspaper clubs clubhouse for a review of the event.
And so, just as before, Yumi and Yoshino-san were left by themselves. On the table, Yoshino-san had an over-sized paper bag from which she pulled out box after box, all apparently full of chocolates.
"Those are all for Rei-sama?"
"Yep. Since Rei-chans so popular."
This time, she wasnt saying that fondly. But, still, Yumi refrained from pointing this out. When started, Yoshino-sans "Rei-chan material" went on and on and on.
"I thought Id at least be able to commiserate with Yumi-san, whod be in the same position as me, but what happens? Sachiko-sama doesnt accept chocolates from anyone other than Yumi-san."
"I humbly apologize. For my fastidious onee-sama."
Coming from Yumi, it was filled with love.
"Oh, is that what you call it. In that case, my onee-sama is overly kind."
"Aww, how sweet..."
"Same to you."
The pair turned to each other and bowed in thanks. Well, they had just finished eating their lunches, so it did have the proper appearance.
"So how come you have all these chocolates for Rei-sama?"
"Why indeed? Rei-chans collector gave them to me."
"Collector?"
"Like, yesterday, the boutons were busy, yeah? So itd be hard for them to deal with everyone individually. So somebody took charge of being the collector for Rei-chan. They were going to present them after the treasure hunt, but Rei-chan skipped out straight afterwards."
"Hmmm."
"So they gave them to me, because they couldnt catch her. By handing them off to me, I would undoubtedly be able to get them to Rei-chan that day."
"I see..."
Plus, Yumi thought, by using Yoshino-san as the intermediary, they didnt have to put up with her on the way home.
Even if you didnt know how scary Yoshino truly was, surely they would have some hesitation in giving chocolate to someone with a pet.i.t soeur. As for Yoshino-san, it was probably much better for her to be given a single bag with all the chocolates, rather than publicly be given them one at a time.
Still, is such a business-like approach really appropriate on this once-a-year memory making opportunity?
"Its good, dont you think?"
Yoshino unfolded the report writing paper she had brought along with her lunch, and started writing some kind of list.
"Really?"
"Yeah, its best that they can make the "I gave you chocolates" appeal to Rei-chan. Its not like shes Rosa Gigantea, no-one has huge expectations of Rei-chan."
As Yoshino-san was speaking, she was also picking up the presents one-by-one, carefully looking at the wrapping paper as though inspecting them, then jotting something down on the report writing paper, for some reason or another.
"Oh, how fortunate. Everyones name and cla.s.s is written in a visible location. The collector must have made sure of that. Even though Im her pet.i.t soeur, I still wouldnt open anything addressed to Rei-chan."
She had been grumbling, things like Oh look, someone from our cla.s.s, when something silenced her.
"Umm, Yoshino-san. What the heck are you doing?"
Yumi thought it rude to interrupt, but she had become concerned and asked.
"Huh? Oh, Im making a list. Silly Rei-chan, on White Day shell give return gifts to all of them." As she continued her task, Yoshino-san sighed once more.
It seems that on Valentines Day last year, despite only being a first year, Rei-sama received a number of chocolates. Because it was Rei-sama, she gladly accepted them. Then, on White Day, she made a batch of cookies and candies, and went around and gave them to the people she had received gifts from. So those who were jealous about missing out last year had joined in this year, and so the decent catch.
Apparently Yoshino-san wasnt depressed about Rei-samas popularity, so much as fed up with both the effort of making the list of the stack of chocolate, and thinking about Rei-chan conscientiously making sweets in one months time. It was rough on the pet.i.t soeur who had to follow such a broad minded onee-sama like Rei-sama.
Thinking she should do something to help, Yumi lined up the scattered presents on the table so that the names where visible when, suddenly.
"Uwaaah."
Yoshino-san cried out.
"What is it?" When Yumi hastily looked up, Yoshino-san remained frozen, looking at the package she held in her hand.
"I saw an unpleasant name."
Yumi asked, "Which one?" and came over beside her to take a look.
"Tanuma Chisato?"
Who was she?
At times like this, Yumi was cursed with insufficient personal information. Shed heard that name somewhere before. Probably a first year, but she couldnt distinctly remember a face.
"So for Yumi-san, you dont mind who the other person is."
" - Which means for Yoshino-san, shes an undesirable partner... Ahh!"
"Youve got it. Shes Rei-chans partner for the date."
Her memories of yesterday came back - Yoshino-san clicking her tongue, grinding her teeth, stamping her feet on the floor and even raising her voice a little. At any rate, it had been very easy to see the chagrin written all over her face.
Yoshino-san had almost made it to the end-game, but had not been able to find Rei-samas hidden card. In a come from behind victory it went to Tanuma Chisato-sans group. That by itself was vexing, but what made it twice as bad was that they were the girls that had been shadowing Yoshino-san along the way.
Really, she looked like she wanted to rip that present apart, or spit on it, but at sixteen her judgment told her that she couldnt do that.
"Well then."
Having let her feelings out, Yoshino-san matter-of-factly jotted down her rivals name and returned the present to the paper bag.
"What is it?"
Yoshino-san asked, noticing Yumis gaze.
"You seem to be handling this quite well."
"Well, of course. Its not good for your health to store up bad feelings. And if you spit it out, you cant change that youll have to suck it up a second time... Especially now, no matter how I think about it, its unjustified resentment. And thats not a good thing to carry around."
"Incredible. I understand."
"Well yeah, weve been hanging around each other for a while."
But dont get me wrong, Im not concerned about whether other people can see this, Yoshino-san said. Hearing this, Yumi was a bit gladdened. Because she heard it as I can confide in you.
She didnt take pleasure in finding fault with other people, but remembering the words that Rosa Chinensis once spoke, "Friends are there to take up such unpleasant duties," she thought that perhaps this was what she meant. Of course, there was a friendship between them, so this was excusable.
"Yoshino-san"
"What?"
"Lets be good friends forever."
Letting out a giggle as she tried to cope with the surprise attack, Yoshino-san went a bit red in the face and said, seemingly a bit angrily.
"Wh... What are you thinking, saying that, Yumi-san?"
Averting her gaze with all her might, Yumi focused on the table. As for Yoshino-san, she forced herself to resume drawing up her list.
"You dont have to feel shy."
"Its not shyness."
Yoshino-san raised her head and retaliated with a glare.
"Well then, why dont you respond? I like you, Yoshino-san, so I want to be good friends with you, like the Roses.... Or do you dislike me?"
When Yumi asked this, Yoshino-sans guarded expression loosened, but she took on a serious look.
"... I dont dislike you, okay."
"Then, you like me?"
"Yumi-san, how is it that you can say these things and not be embara.s.sed."
"Its not something I could say in front of Sachiko-sama."
"Ehh, I could say this as much as I want to Rei-chan. I could say anything to her."
For both of them, it changed. What they could say when facing their soeur. Once more, the two of them burst into laughter simultaneously. The style may be different, but again they matched quite well.
Yoshino-san stood up and held out her hand.
"I look forward to working with you."
Yumi also stood up and held out her hand.
"Likewise."
In the air above the chocolates that were spread out over the table, the two right hands were tightly joined.
They may be a way off from an adult friendship like the Roses, but at least they had a target, so they should be able to build a good friendship. If the occupants of the Rose Mansion remained as they were, her second and third years would also be spent a.s.sociating with Yoshino-san.
"Now that weve confirmed our friendship, can I ask you a question?"
Yumi said, as they were still shaking hands.
"What?"
"Its about the date."
"Whats with that."
Yoshino-san started with a dubious expression, then muttered, fed up with it.
"I dont want to remember such an unpleasant thing."
"And? Can you tell me?"
In the break between fifth and sixth period, Tsutako-san had her gla.s.ses and her camera lined up upon her desk, and was using a special cloth to clean them both.
"Ill answer your questions, but it wont be very helpful."
"Maybe so. Why do you think that?"
"Yumi-san, why is it that you always make a mistake in choosing your research partner?"
"Ehh."
"Not Ehh. Yoshino-san and Rei-sama are like real sisters, right?"
"Real sisters."
People that were born to the same parents and live together, shes trying to say. Certainly, the two of them are cousins so theyre blood related, and they live as neighbors on the same premises so they are quite close.
"Look up date in a dictionary, and what will you find? Well, there will be meanings like a day in a year, or determining the age of something, but the nuance closest to what were using is a promise to meet."
Tsutako-san wasnt wearing her gla.s.ses, so she had an unfamiliar face. On top of that, her eyes were narrowed, so it felt like she was talking to a different person.
"... date."
d a t e.
To confirm this, she took her j.a.panese-English dictionary out of her desk and looked up date. Certainly, a promise to meet was there. Incidentally, tryst was alongside it.
Tryst.
Now she needed her regular dictionary.
Yumi was going to get her dictionary, but Tsutako-san lent Yumi hers. The words of the editor were When people who are in love with each other secretly meet." This was close to one of Tsutako-sans favorite words, rendezvous, but unfortunately there wasnt a j.a.panese-French dictionary nearby so she gave up at that point.
"Do you understand?"
Having finished wiping her gla.s.ses, Tsutako-san smiled with her normal face.
"A date is, essentially, a prearranged time that people will go out. Yumi-san, when you go out with your mother, do you say thats a date? You dont call it that, right?"
"Ahh, I get it. And Yoshino-san and Rei-sama are like family."
"Exactly. And theyre on such intimate terms that they almost certainly do go out together. And sometimes theyd make plans to meet up outside, but theyre inoculated to it, so they cant offer any advice to Yumi-san whos got the jitters about her first outing with just the two of us."
"I see."
Certainly, Yoshino-san had replied with an extremely displeased att.i.tude, and the reason the contents of the reply were of no use to her fitted with what had just been said.
When she asked "What should I do?" the response was "Well, that depends on where you go." To the question of "So where should I go?" the counterattack was "First, whats your objective for going out?" In Yoshino-sans case, they didnt need to go out to meet each other, so there was no cause to worry about where they should go.
After the first Valentines Day was the first date.
But Yoshino-sans first with Rei-sama was most likely completed a long time ago, so asking her for advice had been a mistake from the outset.
"Id like to do a dry-run beforehand, but the real thing is next Sunday so I wont have time."
Tsutako-san offered up some kind words, but despite what she said, Yumi was running out of time.
"By the way, Yumi-san, what experience do you have with dates up until now. How about you use that as a frame of reference."
The flash didnt go off, but the shutter clicked.
You usually asked someone before taking their picture, but Tsutako-san didnt play by the rules.
"I guess you could call that shrine visit with Rosa Gigantea a date."
"Ahh, that. I would have loved to have taken hidden camera photos of it. Why wouldnt you say that was a date?"
"I havent called it that until now."
There must be some dreadful word you call someone who can say hidden camera photos so boldly. She would never be able to relax and enjoy a shrine visit now, instead wondering where a camera might be set up.
"Ive got it. Ill tell you the course for the best date ever."
Tsutako-san returned her camera to the desk, and clapped her hands as though she had just been struck by a brilliant idea.
"... I get it too. You plan to lie in wait on this course and secretly take photos of us, right?"
"Hahaha."
It seems like Yumis inference was right on the mark.
"Its not something to laugh about. Give me a break."
The sixth period would be starting soon, so Yumi turned to go back to her own seat. Thats when Tsutako-san grabbed her by the wrist and told her to stop.
"Ahh, wait up."
"What, youve had another brilliant idea?"
"Someone else. It wouldnt hurt you to ask them."
When she heard this, Yumi retraced her steps. Tsutako-san would tell her who would be a suitable advisor on this matter. After Tsutako-san said lend me your ears, Yumi brought her ear close to Tsutako-sans mouth.
"Shimako-san."
"Heh?"
"Try to ask her. Shes also having her first date on Sunday."
"Ah....!"
She had completely forgotten.
Shimako-san would somehow have to go on a date with her rival for Rosa Gigantea, Kanina Shizuka-sama.
Of course it would be her first date.
Moreover, the newspaper club would be sweating on their plans.
It would be a good idea to ask her, so Yumi gave a huge nod just as the bell for sixth period rang.
"You say that, but."
As soon as Shimako-san heard her situation, she had a face that said "I wont be able to live up to your expectations."
Sixth period cla.s.s, home room, and then cleaning - a fair wait before she could at last ask her question. Yumi had caught Shimako-san in the corridor on the way to the Rose Mansion and dragged her to a staircase landing.
"Even though were the prize for the dates, it doesnt mean that we decide on the course for the date. The prize winner and the boutons will discuss this, and then decide on where to go."
As though the exhaustion of yesterday was still with her, Shimako-san had a listless air about her.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Its not something were taking lightly, but its causing all kinds of difficulties."
She surrept.i.tiously sighed. Shimako-sans exhaustion probably wasnt solely because of past events but also mixed with mental fatigue from thinking about what they had just been discussing.
The head of the newspaper club, Tsukiyama Minako-sama wasnt an ordinary person, after all.
She wasnt satisfied with getting just a single special edition out of her ma.s.sively hyped Valentines Day plan. Since she had been willing to go as far as to invest spare money from their budget into this plan, it was only natural that she would seek some kind of equivalent repayment.
"Perhaps its harder on the winners than on us. They have to do a report on the date."
"Ehhhh."
Submitting a report. Will they really be able to enjoy their much antic.i.p.ated date while carrying such a heavy burden? She thought that if she had found the red card, she would be able to enjoy the date to her hearts content, but it seems like the prize is quite a ch.o.r.e. Especially for someone like Yumi, who dreaded report writing, she thought it was just as well she had missed the card at that time.
"Minako-samas reasoning is that, its regrettable, but its the duty of the winner to share with those partic.i.p.ants whom victory eluded.... Although I think thats just a front."
"And her real reason would be? Does she intend to use this event for every issue?"
"I think it may just be that. Although I do find it unpleasant that the date will be offered up to the students in such a mercenary manner. The conditions imposed were that the boutons will account for the total money spent and the prize winner would submit a report about the day. For the time being, this is because the dates expenses will be covered by the newspaper clubs budget."
"Expenses...? Uwaa!?"
Yumi suddenly cried out. They were on a landing, so her voice echoed up and down the stairway.
"Whats the matter?"
Uwaa, uwaa, uwaa, uwaa.....As her voice echoed, Yumi squatted down.
"What an idiot."
"Eh?"
Having no idea what was going on, Shimako-san also squatted down and looked into Yumis eyes.
"Until now, that hadnt even occurred to me."
"That?"
The dates expenses. Initially she had been provoked by the treasure hunts prize of a half-day date into inviting Sachiko-sama to a date, but she hadnt actually obtained the privilege of being the true winner. In short, this was a private and independent event, so she was in charge of everything related to it.
Where to go, the dates expenses, and so on.
As the one who did the asking out, should she pay for everything or should they split the expenses? About how much would be necessary? Where should she raise the money from?
"Ahh, geeze."
Her head felt like it would crack just from thinking about it.
At any rate, this kind of conversation about money could spoil the romantic mood, so she wanted to try to avoid it. Especially while there was this kind of distance between her and Sachiko-sama.
"By the way, the dates expenses, about how much will they be?"
Having come this far, she had no choice but to ask this. Having picked out the only part that could serve as a reference, she could come up with a plan. At any rate, this was data that she was lacking.
"Its 3000 yen."
"3000 yen?"
Thats 3 Natsume-sans.
"Thats per group, not per person?"
"Yeah."
Shimako-san stretched her back and nodded.
3000 yen.
Since she had never been on a real date, Yumi had no idea whether that was a lot or a little.
"At the very least, you cant go to Disneyland with that much money."
"And if you see a movie, theres not enough for lunch."
For Shimako-san, it seems that a date = a movie. But thats definitely the sort of image you would get when you heard the phrase first date. And afterwards to a cafe. Due to the budget, she would have to pa.s.s on the amus.e.m.e.nt park this time.
However. She didn