One night, resting at her place, Maria takes a bath, tired from fighting. While feeling lonely being all by herself, her phone rings suddenly……

Maria: ……whew, I’m as tired as I’d expect after all those continuous battles tonight.

Maria: It’s good that we were able to rein in the harm done, but……

Maria: (Also…… lately, it’s not just Shirabe and Kirika, but all the girls have been linking up well……)

Maria: (Hopefully this trend continues from here on out.)

Maria: I think I’ll have a nice bath as a favor to myself. I can make peace with that, right?

Maria: Fufu…… how interesting.

Maria: (And yet-)

Maria: ……just doing that by myself, the room feels a little too spacious, doesn’t it.

Maria: (I’d always been together with Shirabe and Kirika, as well as with Mom and Serena……)

Maria: ……I wonder if I should try and contact someone. But I don’t have any fitting errands for that, so getting in contact would-

Maria: -!? ……that was completely unexpected. Who even is this?

Chris: ……ah, it’s just me.

Maria: ……it’s pretty rare that you call me.

Chris: Hey, are you listening?

Maria: Yes, I’m listening. A call from you is quite rare.

Chris: ……hey, did your voice perk up? Did something good happen?

Maria: N, no, not at all…… anyways, what’s the matter?

Chris: ……that battle just earlier, you bandaged my scratches with your handkerchief, yeah?

Maria: Yes, I remember……

Chris: You said it was, like, alright if I didn’t return it, but I took a closer look and there’s a name embroidered on it. Is it important to you or something?

Maria: It’s something Mom sewed for me.

Chris: Wha……what!? What were you thinking, wrapping me up with that!?

Maria: Wh, what are you getting angry about? It’s normal for a handkerchief to be used, isn’t it?

Chris: Tch, good thing I called you up…… Anyways, next time we meet up, I’ll have it washed so I can return it to you, don’t forget it!

Maria: W, well…… it’s not particularly-

Chris: Well, I’m being particular! Just shut the hell up and accept it!

Chris: That’s all I’m gonna do, okay!

Maria: Wh…. what was that? She was in such a hurry.

Maria: An important handkerchief…… but used for the sake of a teammate, even Mom would forgive me. So, it’s fine……

Maria: Hmm…… another call?

Maria: Hello, who……

Kirika: It’s too muuuuuuch!

Maria: …………Kirika?

Kirika: It’s terrible, it’s too much, it’s waaaay too terrible!

Maria: ……first off, please start by telling me what you’re yelling about.

Kirika: Shirabe’s so terrible! The pudding I bought with my own money, she ate it all up!

Kirika: Even though I made sure to write my name on it before putting it in the fridge……! Even though I wrote “for an emergency”-!

Maria: (Shirabe wouldn’t……? Could it be…… no, she wouldn’t do that sort of thing without a reason.)

Maria: (Come to think of it, the other day……)

Maria: ……hey, don’t you recall having done the same thing to Shirabe?

Kirika: Huh?

Maria: Like when you ate from Shirabe’s stockpile to your heart’s content.

Kirika: …………ah.

Maria: Haa, of course…… that can’t be helped, huh.

Kirika: Y, yeah, that might be it, but-!

Kirika: Aa~a~a~h……

Maria: Are you groaning?

Maria: (So that’s why she was in that kind of mood in the battle earlier. Sheesh, it’s because these two aren’t honest with one another.)

Maria: Kirika, if you apologize, Shirabe will forgive you. And once the two of you have reconciled, next time, I’ll buy you both some tasty pudding.

Kirika: ……for real!?

Maria: Yes, for real. You’d better look forward to it.

Kirika: Shirabe-! Maria’s gonna have some pudding for us next time! So, I’m really sorry!

Maria: Kirika? Oh my…… I swear, that girl……

Maria: Well, since it seems they were able to make up, that might be good for now.

Maria: Alright, now I think I’ll take my bath.

Maria: Whew…… what a nice, hot bath.

Maria: …………of course it’s silent.

Maria: Huh? My phone’s ringing again? Who in the world could it be this-

Tsubasa: Sorry to bother you in the evening, but it’s me……

Maria: Tsubasa……?

Tsubasa: I wavered on whether I should do this tomorrow, but I received some materials from Ogawa-san regarding a Charity Live and wanted to discuss what I should do posthaste.

Maria: (I got to talk a lot with others today, didn’t I?

-it’s like all that loneliness totally vanished.)

Maria: …………fufu.

Tsubasa: ……wh, what’s with the sudden burst of laughter? Did I utter something strange?

Maria: ……no, I’m sorry. Not at all.

Maria: It’s just, staying properly connected with someone is troublesome, but I think it’s a good thing.

Tsubasa: Maria?

Maria: Fufu, sorry, just something personal.

Maria: More importantly, shall we talk about the live?

Tsubasa: Ah…… That is my plan.

Maria: I’ve gotten the same materials, too. Let’s just have a leisurely discussion.

Maria: Going to sleep now would make for an excessively disappointing evening.

New month, new year, new translated stories for you all! A nice little story of Maria being reminded of the folks in her life. Simple and heartwarming.

DMJii: children at heart. Very adorable.

No notes again this time; my gratitude as always to @carolnein, polishing dialogue and keeping everything flowing nicely!

If you liked this story and want more, check out the #sxdu-translations tag! There’s a nice amount of translated Symphogear XDU stories available, handled by myself and others.

