"A Notice from the Yamayuri Council When watching "Maria Watches Over Us ~Printemps~" please have the room brightly lit and sit well away from the television set." "At the beginning of March, shortly before the graduation ceremony where we would say goodbye to the Lady Roses who had looked after us," "Tsutako came to me with a terrible dilemma." "What are these?" "Photographic evidence." "Rosa Foetida has been on multiple dates, each time with a different man?" "!" "The men she's been seen with range from men in their 20s to their 50s and vary in terms of type, but the one thing they have in common is that they're all rich, adult men." "Furthermore, Rosa Foetida has not been going home lately, but instead, staying at luxury hotels." "Hotels?" "Why?" "It just goes to show that when you take the easy route to get things, you still pay a certain price for it." "Price?" "What do you mean?" "At any rate, I'll leave the rest to you." "What?" "Leave the rest of what to me?" "I'm going to leave these photos in your keeping." "What?" "!" "Why me?" "!" "If it's too burdensome for you, tear them up and throw them away with your trash at home." "Good day." "Wait a minute!" "Tsutako!" "Just what do you expect me to do with these photos?" "All right!" "Eri." "Thank you for the clothes." "Do they suit me?" "You look cute." "Like a little bunny rabbit." "Shall we go?" "The maidens, who flock to Mother Maria's garden, pass through the tall gates today yet again with innocent, angelic smiles." "Their pure hearts and bodies are clad in deep-colored uniforms." "So that the pleats of their skirts are not disturbed and so that their white sailor collars are not set aflutter, it is customary here to walk slowly and with decorum." "The Private Lillian Girls' Academy, a garden of maidens." "Maria Watches Over Us Printemps" "In the morning mist, Asamoya no naka the white path goes on." "tsuzuku shiroi michi" "The birds sing." "Tori no saezuri" "We exchange greetings." "Aisatsu kawashinagara" "At times, the clouds hang low, Toki ni kumo ga tarekomete and the sun may grow dim." "hizashi kagerou tomo" "But I will walk with my chin up, Sesuji nobashite aruku for I know, watashi wa shitteru kara that above those heavy clouds..." "omoi kumo no ue wa ...is the blue sky." "aol sora" "The Yellow Rose at Full Tilt" "I'll give the photos to Rosa Foetida." "That's probably the best thing to do." "Good morning, Yumi." "It's been a while." "Rosa Foetida, good morning." "Her scarf!" "Rosa Foetida is known for having the Academy's most neatly tied scarf, and yet, it's crooked!" "Oh, this?" "I sent it out to be dry cleaned at a different place than usual and they put a crease in it at a weird spot." "I shifted the knot to hide it." "Um, where did you come from today, Rosa Foetida?" "Where...?" "From my home, as usual." "The Rosa Foetida really is staying at hotels..." "Well, see you later." "I missed my chance to give her the photos..." "So basically, Girl A is not even going back home and spending nights out on the town with different men every night." "That's what it comes down to, right?" "And she's always in the company of rich men." "Yes, hypothetically speaking, that's what it comes down to." "Hypothetically this, hypothetically that." "Your story has been censored way too much." "I need you to give me the story concisely from the start." "But I can't very well tell her this is about Rosa Foetida..." "To put it bluntly, Girl A is going on subsidized dates." "She might also have run away from home." "Those are just objective generalizations based on your info, though." "Subsidized... dates..." "The price that Tsutako was talking about..." "Just leave her alone." "She's probably doing it because she wants to." "She's the only one who's going to get hurt and have regrets." "But the person in question is Rosa Foetida and I can't exactly leave this matter alone..." "So, you see, Yoshino..." "It's still cold outside." "A teacher detained us concerning committee business, so that made us late." "I'll make tea." "My dear sister is thoroughly fastidious, not to mention, she dislikes men, so I can't go to her for advice." "If there's anyone I can talk to..." "No, not her." "Lady Rei is a straightforward sort of person, so I feel like she might directly confront Rosa Foetida." "I can't talk to Yoshino, either." "Once she gets an idea in her head, she tends to rush headlong with it, so in a sense, she might be even more dangerous than Lady Rei." "Shimako is dependable, but she's still something of a mystery, so I don't know if I can go to her for this sort of thing." "Yumi, are you listening?" "Y-Yes!" "What are you doing?" "We are talking about the send-off ceremony for the third-year students." "Pay attention." "Pardon me." "I wonder if it might just be best to talk to Rosa Chinensis." "Hey, there!" "Rosa Gigantea!" "Yumi, you've been wanting to see me, haven't you?" "Is this what you wanted me to do?" "N-No." "That's strange." "I got this feeling that you were calling for me." "Then, was it you who called me?" "Lunch!" "Lunch?" "This is Goronta." "Among the first-year students, we call him Lunch." "Do you want to try some too, Yumi?" "Dry cat food." "No, thank you." "Rosa Gigantea..." "What?" "Remember how you once said that Rosa Foetida suffers hardship?" "Did I ever say such a thing?" "That she's too good at everything and the outcome is predictable, and that's why she always looks bored and unmotivated." "I did say that, but that's not a painful hardship." "It's a luxurious sort of hardship, if you will." "Eriko's the type who's always seeking out and living for stimulating experiences that will surprise her." "Stimulating experiences..." "Is something up with Eriko?" "Now would be my chance to tell her, but what should I do?" "I guess I'm going to be saying goodbye to this place soon." "A lot of things happened, but because I had Yoko and Eriko, life here wasn't all that bad." "I'll refrain from talking to any third-year students." "It's right before graduation." "I don't want to tarnish their memories of their friends." "Rosa Foetida." "Yumi." "What are you doing?" "Nothing..." "I'm troubled, because I can do nothing." "What is this sense of ennui I feel coming from her?" "If you are feeling ill, perhaps you should go to the nurse's office." "No, it's not that there's anything physically wrong with me." "I'm sorry to have worried you." "I'll go back to the classroom." "That's the wrong way!" "Rosa Foetida..." "When you think about it, it's not as if college is your only choice after graduation." "If you don't go to college, will you find a job?" "Oh, I forgot you could do that, too." "Other than college and finding a job, that leaves..." "I want to get married..." "What?" "!" "Oh, I want to be the wife of an umbrella-making ronin!" "An umbrella-making ronin?" "The poor samurai in historical dramas, who makes umbrellas on the side to make a living?" "Wouldn't that be fantastic?" "Why the wife of an umbrella-making ronin?" "I'm apparently a hypsilophodon!" "Huh?" "It's a dinosaur." "Yumi, have you ever been compared to a dinosaur?" "It was a first for me, too." "That's why it gave me the chills!" "Rosa Foetida..." "Has she completely lost it?" "!" "Rosa Foetida is getting married?" "!" "This is a scoop!" "Hypsilophodon Family" "How could a dinosaur and the wife of an umbrella-making ronin be related?" "A new man in Rosa Foetida's life." "Tsutako, let's stop doing this already." "Rosa Chinensis!" "Since you called this one "new,"" "it sounds as though there are other men in Eriko's life." "The one man that stands out from the rest is definitely most intriguing." "Rosa Foetida accepted a roasted sweet potato from this man." "A roasted sweet potato?" "In front of the elephant exhibit at the zoo." "After that, Rosa Foetida went and bought canned coffee." "Rather than a date, it seemed like they were just watching the elephants." "Eriko has a soft spot for oddballs, after all." "Soft spot for oddballs?" "Two years ago, the person Eriko chose to be her little sister was a girl who was tall and lanky like a boy." "Lady Rei..." "Eriko has a soft spot for types that she's never been around." "I see." "You see, if her degree of interest is below a certain level," "Eriko can make pretty levelheaded decisions, but once it surpasses that level, she no longer sees anything else, so it becomes troublesome." "Eriko's illness may be serious this time." "But Rosa Foetida said there was nothing physically wrong with her." "I'm talking about being lovesick." "Several days later," "Rosa Foetida's love developed in an unexpected direction because of the article published by the Lillian Ledger." "What is this?" "!" "Rei, calm down." "I can't be calm about this!" "This makes it sound as if my dear sister is dating a different man every night!" "It's rather entertaining as a piece of fiction, though." "The heroine, Yellow Rose, begins working part-time at an escort service and after being with all sorts of rich men, she's rebuked by a male teacher from her school and comes to her senses." "In time, she begins to have romantic feelings for that teacher." "Please stop, Rosa Gigantea!" "Don't worry, Rei." "Most of this is speculation made in the guise of fiction." "What do you mean by "most of this," dear sister?" "Yumi, show those photos to everyone." "Oh, all right." "Huh?" "These people are..." "It's so like Eriko, right?" "Seriously." "What are these photos?" "!" "Please explain it to us, dear sister." "Year 3, Chrysanthemum Class, Miss Eriko Torii, please come to the Non-Curricular Guidance Office immediately." "[Non-Curricular Guidance Office]" "My!" "What is this commotion about, ladies?" "We have come to speak to you regarding Miss Eriko Torii." "This is quite a crowd!" "All the men in the photographs are here!" "Rosa Foetida..." "So everyone involved got summoned?" "That's not it." "These four charged into the faculty office and made a big fuss, and that was why I was summoned." "To think they would take a school paper seriously and go to the trouble of meeting with the Academy Director..." "They're crazy." "As if we could remain silent after a story like this was printed!" "You are ever the worrywart aren't you, sir?" "Oh, Yoko and Sei..." "And you guys were worried about your sister, too?" "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "What?" "!" "Then these people are..." "My father and my elder brothers." "Then, you were going on dates every night with members of your family?" "Yes." "I had declined to while I was studying for my college exams, but once my acceptance was announced, all the men in my family were vying to monopolize my time, so I haven't even had time to go home." "The men of the Torii family have always utterly adored Eriko, who is the youngest." "To think my fanatical brothers and doting father..." "It's beyond embarrassing." "By the way, Director, it says here that Eriko is romantically involved with an Academy teacher." "Is this school paper article true?" "It is not." "That was fiction." "Because I was unable to corroborate the rumors that Rosa Foetida was going on dates with various men." "And yet, you wanted to make an article of it, didn't you?" "And an article that would kindle people's interest, to boot." "Then, nothing written here is true?" "There's no teacher that you're in love with, right?" "There is someone I love, at least." "What?" "!" "What?" "!" "Who the hell is it that duped Eri?" "!" "I haven't been duped." "Where is this man?" "!" "The zoo." "It's someone who works at the zoo?" "No." "He goes to see the elephants when he has time off work." "Because he likes to look at large animals." "And this person's occupation is probably fixing umbrellas." "The umbrella-making ronin!" "Why..." "That is because I saw 4 of the 5 men you've been with arrive at the school, and I thought it would be a pity if the last man were to be left out." "Tsutako!" "I thought I might run into him if I went to the zoo, and what do you know?" "May I ask what your name is?" "Uh, pardon my late introduction." "I teach science at the neighboring Hanadera Academy's high school." "My name is Yamanobe." "Why..." "Why you!" "How dare you do this to our Eriko!" "If you behave rudely towards him," "I will not forgive you." "Um, why exactly was I summoned here?" "Yamanobe, please marry me." "T-This is Lillian's Non-Curricular Guidance Office!" "To think a student would propose marriage to a man!" "This is unprecedented." "Which would you bet on?" "It probably won't be much of a bet." "I refuse." "Why?" "!" "Is it because of our 10-year age difference?" "Is it because you spend all the money you earn as a teacher on dinosaur fossil digs and you have no savings?" "So that's what the dinosaur-loving umbrella-making ronin was about." "Those are all valid, but the greatest reason is that I do not love you." "No, let me put that differently." "Not once have I considered you to be a possible romantic interest." "I mean, what do you expect?" "Since we first met by accident at the zoo, we have still only seen each other three times, including today." "Even in terms of total hours, it can't be more than 3 hours." "Excuse me." "We have spent at least three and a half hours together." "Though, it might have seemed short to you, because you spent a lot of time looking at the elephants." "Do you have the day off today?" "Yes, on days when I don't have class," "I sometimes come to the zoo like this." "To see the elephants?" "Why do you ask?" "Because you were watching them so intently." "Yes." "I like large animals." "Large?" "Then, like whales, too?" "The truth is, I want to see dinosaurs." "Looking at elephants, I imagine that stegosauruses were probably about the same size, for example." "What about me?" "What?" "Does any dinosaur come to mind when you look at me?" "Let me think..." "A hypsilophodon, maybe." "A stegoceras might be a little too big, I think." "I understand." "I'm glad." "So you understand." "But I am not satisfied." "What?" "I wanted to know more about you, so I was continually asking you all sorts of questions, but I realize now that I was being too unilateral." "From now on, please come to know me, even if it's just little by little." "You will come to know more about me and I will come to know even more about you." "And having done that, if we come to love one another, please marry me then." "That would be fine, then." "I am in agreement." "That would not be fine!" "I do not approve!" "If you object too much, you will eventually have a daughter who keeps her relationships a secret." "That would be bad..." "Mr. Yamanobe is certain to conduct a restrained courtship." "Mr. Yamanobe, I think you had better agree to this." "She's the type of girl who will only chase you if you run, and her nickname is "Snapping Turtle Eriko."" "A-All right." "If you would be fine with just being friends." "The school paper is apparently publishing an extra edition to apologize for the "Yellow Rose" commotion and revise the story." "That sounds fine." "Oh." "Goronta." "So you call him Goronta, too." "But that's what Sei calls him." "Come here, Goronta." "He must have found something nice." "Whenever she finds something that catches her fancy," "Rosa Foetida runs headlong after it, and I thought that made her a little like the cat." "Bonjour, Yoshino." "Hello, Yoshino." "Bonjour, Yumi." "Hello, Yumi." "Comment allez-vous?" "How are you?" "Je vais bien, merci." "I am well, thank you." "Au revoir." "Good-bye." "At Lillian, both "bonjour" and "au revoir" are "gokigenyou."" "Next time on "Maria Watches Over Us,"" ""Most Dreadfully Busy Days."" "In old Japanese, the "most" would be translated as "extremely" or " utterly.""