The day after Lady Sakura arrived, there was a moment of panic in our classroom. During homeroom, Sara raised her hand as soon as we’d finished exchanging good mornings with the teacher, then declared that she was now a Seraph and therefore vacating her position as head maid.
Unlike other prestigious roles at the school, being head maid didn’t come with any fixed term of office. She was generally chosen from students who weren’t Seraphs yet, so if a class’s current head maid did get a contract, that would usually be the cue to choose someone else. Doing both at once wasn’t really practical, but of course they wanted only the most exceptional students to have the “head” moniker. That was apparently how the system had ended up this way.
This meant that there was nothing wrong with Sara’s declaration in and of itself. However, she was so good in the role that it was alarming for her to quit out of nowhere. Small shrieks rose up from our classmates. Not to be outdone, Ms. Hiyori practically screamed.
I had never seen an expression like that on our homeroom teacher’s face before. Her eyes widened and her mouth flapped open and closed like that of a goldfish.
“Sara,” she said, her voice a bundle of nerves, “this seems awfully sudden. I know you’ve been turning down one proposal after another from ladies asking you to be their Seraph, so why the sudden change of heart? Not that I’m bothered by you becoming a Seraph, of course! It’s good news.”
Apparently unable to form any more words, Ms. Hiyori put her hands together. It looked like she was praying. Is it really that big of a shock that Sara’s quitting as head maid—or that she’s become a Seraph?
Looking slightly apologetic, Sara replied in a firm tone, “The truth is, my mistress, Lady Sakura, joined the school yesterday, and we immediately entered into the Golden Contract.”
“Sakura? Oh yes, I did hear about a new student arriving from abroad. Were the two of you already acquainted?”
“You could say that. I actually served her for a long time in Britain, so we’re very well acquainted indeed.” She grinned.
Ms. Hiyori hung her head, crestfallen. She appeared to have realized there was nothing she could do about it. “Oh, I see. I didn’t realize you already had a mistress before you even came here. That explains why your knowledge and skills as a maid are superlative. Oh, erm, I’m happy to hear that you’ve become a Seraph, of course! I knew it was only a matter of time anyway.”
She went on, “Quite a few students in this class have already become Seraphs thanks to you, and just as many have become Exousias. It’s been years since a first-year class has achieved such a feat. First years are still in the middle of learning everything they need to know to be a maid, so you’d normally expect exclusive contracts to come later. Your advice and support is what made all the difference. It has allowed everyone to learn surprisingly quickly and forge excellent ties to the Societal Arts students. Since you were the unsung hero behind all that, I knew it wouldn’t be long before you became a Seraph yourself. The day has finally come, that’s all.”
Ms. Hiyori’s acceptance seemed to be growing as she spoke. When she raised her head, her face still showed some trepidation but was far more resolute.
“As a result,” she added, “my own evaluation for the first term was surprisingly positive, and I can expect a proportionally large summer bonus.”
Right, I see. Just like we get paid more if we become Seraphs, the teachers’ pay goes up based on that as well.
“So I really can’t thank you enough, Sara. Still, I don’t suppose there’s any chance I could ask you to stay on until, erm, at least the end of this trimester? I’m not asking because of my own evaluation or anything like that—it’s just that a lot of students are really eager to get a contract before the summer break. That’s very important for the girls in both programs because it’s a long break, and arranging a contract before that means the maid can visit the mistress’s family and stay with her.”
“A lot of Societal Arts students want to show their future employee the house where they’ll be working,” she continued, “and introduce them to their families. However, if the vacation starts without them forming a contract, there’s a possibility the mistress might rethink the matter and decide it’s too soon to rush into one. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but it is important to hold on to that initial inspiration and momentum, you know?”
Then Ms. Hiyori doubled down on her entreaty. “I’d really like it if you could help with that final push, Sara. After everything you’ve done to support this class as head maid, I don’t think anyone could do it but you. A new head maid would have to start from scratch, learning about everyone’s individual problems and concerns, and they’d never manage that before the break. It’s only a month—no, more like three weeks. Could you think of it as one last job to take care of?”
She stared at Sara with an imploring gaze, looking as sweet as a baby animal.
Apparently deciding that it wasn’t right to refuse her teacher’s plea, Sara replied, “Well, I suppose it might be for the best. I’ll grant that there are a lot of girls on the verge of receiving that all-important contract, and passing the torch in the midst of that might have dire consequences. I doubt Lady Sakura would tell me not to. Furthermore, I have friends who I’m certain will be willing to assist, so I don’t foresee any problems in this final stretch.”
After saying that, Sara turned to glance at Kirara and me. Her friends who’d be willing to assist—does she mean us? If she’s willing to come to us to ask for help, that’s quite a change in her mindset! She genuinely sees us as her friends now.
I showed my assent with a thumbs-up. Kirara nodded, however reluctantly. She had to at least get along with Sara on the surface, since we were trying to get Lady Sakura to join the Sky Salon.
“Fantastic,” Ms. Hiyori replied. “Now my evaluation won’t suffer at all. Oh no! I mean, my number one priority is for all of you to find wonderful mistresses, of course! But I do have a life of my own, so it’s hardly a bad thing for me to benefit from all of your good news, is it now? Yes, that’s how you should all look at it.”
She flashed an innocent grin. This kind of openness was probably the reason Ms. Hiyori was so beloved. Everyone in the class nodded in agreement with looks that said, Sure, if you say so.