“Uh, erm, nothing weird’s going on. It’s perfectly innocent.”
“Don’t worry. Lady Erisu’s very kind. When I make a mistake, she always helps out with my punishment.”
Shooting a resentful glare my way, she placed a tray down on the table.
This is nuts. Today I’m seeing a lot of sides of Mei that I’ve never seen before, and I really wish I weren’t.
“I promise you, it’s not whatever you’re thinking. She just had some crumbs around her mouth, so I cleaned them up.”
“Oh, believe me, I know that. But it’s unbearably disappointing that I couldn’t be the one to do it.”
Mei let out a sigh so heavy it was like she was expelling all the air from her lungs. She wasn’t kidding about being disappointed.
Lady Asuka clapped her hands, putting an end to this funny business. Clearly, she was used to this kind of thing by now. “All right, now stop talking nonsense and serve the tea.”
Groaning, Mei replied, “Milady, could you leave some crumbs around your mouth at some point?”
“Me? I would never do such a thing!”
I had a memory of her doing exactly that during the Salon Struggle, but I figured now wasn’t the best time to bring that up.
At her mistress’s urging, Mei reluctantly served the tea and accompanying confections. She presented us with Swiss rolls that were filled with decadent amounts of cream encircled by a drizzle of colorful fruit sauce and served on small plates with exquisite patterns.
I was impressed by the effort that had gone into the presentation. You can really make store-bought cake look like something special. The apple tea served alongside it had a wonderful aroma as well, giving it a soothing effect.
“Eat up,” Lady Asuka insisted in a cocky tone. “Don’t be shy.”
Is she proud of finding a really good store or something? If it’s not sold on campus, maybe she had to order it in specially.
“I’ll give it a try, then.”
“Me too,” Kirara said. “Thank you.”
We exchanged glances, each of us no doubt conscious of how rude it would be not to have any when it was right in front of us, and dug in.
Given how yummy it looked, my expectations had already been raised. When I put a piece in my mouth, however, I was blown away.
“This is incredible!”
The words tumbled from my lips before I could stop them. It applied as much to the quality of the sponge as it did to the richness of the cream. Obviously, no expense had been spared in the making of this Swiss roll. The store was either selling it at a loss or at a staggeringly high price to compensate. Either way, no regular store could have sold something like this.
I cut off another small piece and added some of the surrounding sauce. The fruit added new layers of depth to the flavor. I couldn’t get enough. A sip of apple tea was just what I needed to cleanse the palate as well, allowing me to enjoy the refreshing flavor again and again. The combo was incredibly well thought out.
I have to get some of this for Himeko too. Hopefully they’ll tell me what store it’s from if I ask.
As all these thoughts were running through my head, Lady Asuka interrupted with a question that blew my mind. “So, how are you enjoying Mei’s homemade Swiss roll?”
“What? Mei made this herself?”
“She did indeed!” She added a haughty laugh.
“But this has to be store-bought. Even the shape of it is absolutely perfect. There’s nothing about it that looks handmade at all.”
“Why are you so surprised? Mass-market products are often made to look like they were manufactured, but sweets are handmade as a rule. If you can’t tell, then the maker is just that skilled.”
“You must be right. I’m sure you know more about it than I do. Either way, aren’t her skills on par with the pros?”
Seeing as they were serving them at a restaurant, the desserts made by Lady Erisu’s Exousias were also far beyond the ordinary level a student would normally be capable of, but Mei’s confections were a whole different ball game.
Having regained her usual composure, Mei lowered her head elegantly. “I’m honored by your praise.”
Next to me, Lady Erisu was eagerly stuffing her face. “It’s true. Mei’s homemade goods are up to a fully professional standard.”
Was that why she’d come over to us? She wanted to make sure she got some of the Swiss roll too?
“She gives lessons to my three Exousias every now and then. It would be even better if she came and worked for me.”
“That’s not going to happen, I’m afraid,” Lady Asuka interjected. “Mei’s mine.”
The two adorable mistresses were fighting over Mei. It was really cute to watch.
I never knew Mei was such a fantastic baker, though.
Looking back, even though the dishes at Erisu’s École Kitchen tended to have some pretty eccentric flavors, the desserts were just plain delicious. It sounded like that was all down to Mei’s instruction.
“Anyway,” Lady Asuka said, “by now I’m sure you’ve realized the point I’m making.”
Despite her triumphant grin, I had no idea what she was getting at.
“No, I’m afraid not,” I replied honestly.
This made her smile even more broadly. “Listen. If a salon asks Sakura to join, she’ll obviously come and visit them. While she’s there, she’ll enjoy some tea as she soaks up the atmosphere. When she comes here, the sweets we serve will be even more delicious than this.”
It finally dawned on me. “Oh. Right.”
“She’s a teenage girl, after all. Tasty treats will steal her heart away; make no mistake. A lot of our members decided to join after sampling Mei’s baking.”
I gulped. “That’s a pretty good secret weapon.”
The way to a girl’s heart is through her stomach for sure.
“I’m glad you understand,” Lady Asuka said with a satisfied nod.
“But are you sure it’s okay that you’ve shown your hand like this?” I replied. “Now we’ll know to put in extra effort to win her over.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. In fact, that’s exactly why I made you eat some. Listen here!” She pointed at me. “We can win even while showing our hand! That will be the perfect way to get my revenge!”
Her sense of rivalry toward Lady Kagura was as fearsome as ever. We’d better not sell her short. Even with the Kokonoe sisters in Lady Kagura’s corner, we’ll be defeated if we let our guard down.
“Mei, our guests are leaving. Kindly show them to the door.” Lady Asuka’s cloying smile said she’d done everything she wanted to and was finished with us now.
“Certainly, milady.”
Mei stood and escorted us out. Her demeanor as a maid was so flawless that it seemed to give her an invisible aura of confidence.
Do we really have to compete for Lady Sakura with people like this? I think it’s going to be an uphill battle.
Mei giggled. “I’m looking forward to this. There are plenty of obstacles in my path, but that will only make it sweeter to get Lady Sakura in my grasp.”
Her smile made a shiver run down my spine.
Once we were some distance away from the Paradise Palace, Kirara let out a huge sigh and looked up at the tower that housed it. “Wow, that was a surprise. Just because they’re the second-place salon doesn’t mean they’ll be pushovers, huh?”
I found myself protesting as well. “As if we can compete with Mei!”
She had a huge advantage. If she could make treats that were even more delicious than anything you could buy, it also meant she could tailor the taste and appearance to suit the target’s preferences. I couldn’t think of any way to win against an opponent like that.
“Well, let’s just consider it a win that we’ve learned about Mei’s strength,” Kirara suggested. “We have a different mission for today, so let’s keep going with that.”
“Good point. Finding a way to beat Mei is up to Lady Kagura and the twins.”
We nodded to each other and set out for the next salon: the Gloriana Guesthouse run by Lady Rosalie.