Maria-sama ga Miteru Volume 7 Prologue

"Gokigenyou."

"Gokigenyou."

The clear morning greeting travels through the serene, blue sky.

Today, once again, the maidens that gather in the Virgin Mary's garden smile purely to one another as they pa.s.s under the tall gateway.

Wrapping their innocent bodies and souls is a deep-colored school uniform.

Walking slowly so as to not disturb the pleats in their skirts, so as to not toss their white sailor scarves into disarray... such is the standard of modesty here. Running here because one is in danger of missing cla.s.s, for instance, is too undignified a sight for students to wish upon themselves.

Lillian Private Academy for Women.

Founded in Meiji 34, this academy was originally intended for the young women of n.o.bility, and is now a Catholic academy of prestigious tradition. Placed in downtown Tokyo, where you can still see traces of Musas.h.i.+ Field's greenery, it is protected by G.o.d, a garden where maidens can receive tutelage from pre-school to university.

Time pa.s.ses, and even now, in Heisei, three era-names past Meiji, it is a valuable academy, where nurtured ladies raised in greenhouses are s.h.i.+pped out in carefully packaged boxes after 18 years of schooling - an arrangement that continues to survive.

In early March, not long before the graduation ceremony, she ran into Rosa Gigantea in the hallway and Rosa Gigantea suddenly asked:

What did they mean with the "swiftly" part of "think back swiftly?"

It was a lyric from the graduation song, Aogeba Totos.h.i.+.

Having been asked that without any kind of preface, she was hard pressed to answer. No, even if there had been a preface, she probably wouldn't have been able to answer. Because for all the times she'd sung that song, she'd never thought about the meaning of its lyrics.

On top of that, Rosa Gigantea had informed her that it was "swiftly." Looking over the lyrics sheet, she realized this was correct, and was surprised by it.

If she had been asked, "So, what did you think it was?" then she would have answered equivocally, "I thought it was "sweetly.""

However that was the extent of the conversation.

But for some reason it stuck in her mind.

Think back swiftly, rather than that

Think back sweetly, seemed somehow better.

Looking back, at sweetness, if that was how she thought of her school days, wouldn't that be really happy?