That kind of smile always meant she was up to no good, which put me on high alert. “Huh? What do you mean?”
“When she gets here, stick your foot out to trip her up.”
“What? I can’t do that!” This was a crazy idea to suggest out of nowhere.
“I’m not saying you should make her fall flat on her face and hurt herself. It can be more subtle, just to make her stumble a little.”
“No, I really can’t!”
“Are you sure? That’s a shame.” She sighed in disappointment.
Her finding ways to bully Matsuri was nothing new, but I wouldn’t have expected this. It could have resulted in injury or damage to the restaurant. There’d probably have been a mess to clean up.
With no idea of what Lady Saeko had been planning, Matsuri returned. “Thank you for waiting!” Placing our orders on the table, she added, “Is this everything?”
“Yes, thank you,” the mistress replied. “Matsuri, be sure to work hard. Don’t do anything to cause trouble for the restaurant.”
The Seraph nodded cheerfully at this encouragement. “I’ll do my very best, milady.”
Lady Saeko’s whole tone was changing back and forth so rapidly that I had no idea what was going on in her head. How did she really feel about all this?
“Anyway, let’s dig in,” she said.
There’s definitely something going on here, but I don’t know what it is.
It had been worth getting Matsuri’s recommendation. The dessert and drink were both absolutely delicious. As we ate, the restaurant steadily got busier and busier. I could tell that by now, Erisu’s was a pretty popular place. Both Matsuri and Hanaka were rushing from table to table to serve everyone. Thinking about it, I hadn’t seen Yukina or Mizuki at all so far, but I figured they both had to be in the kitchen.
Just as we were finishing up, the owner herself, Erisu Kumashiro, came over and offered a delicate curtsy. As always, she looked as pretty as a doll. “Oh, I didn’t expect to see all of you here! Misaki comes here all the time, but it’s lovely to see a few more unusual faces. Good day, and welcome to Erisu’s École Kitchen.”
“Good day, Lady Erisu,” Lady Saeko replied. “Since my Seraph is working for you starting today, I thought I’d come and see how she was getting along.”
“Ah, I see. To be honest, she’s already doing a better job than my own Exousias. I think she can probably teach them a thing or two.”
“Don’t be silly. If she makes any blunders, you shouldn’t hesitate to give her the discipline she deserves!”
Lady Erisu heaved a sigh of mild discomfort before saying, “I’ll leave that up to you.”
Although she could be strict with her Exousias, she definitely didn’t practice the kind of physical punishment Lady Saeko was a fan of.
“And you’re Sakura, aren’t you? It’s lovely to have a chance to speak to you at last. I’m a member of the Paradise Palace, but my restaurant isn’t part of the salon, and Misaki and Himeko are actually regular customers. So, if you like it, you can come whenever you want without worrying that you’re breaking some unwritten rule. I’d be thrilled to see you here! The staff are still learning, of course, so sometimes the flavors don’t match up to other restaurants—although that might be a matter of personal taste.”
“Good day, Lady Erisu. Thank you for letting us use your restaurant for my sake the other day. I’m sad that I can’t join you at your salon, but I felt a great kinship with the Paradise Palace members, and the dish I ordered today was absolutely delicious as well. I’ve hardly been anywhere else on campus yet, but your restaurant has a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. I’m certain I’ll be coming here again.”
I was pretty sure Lady Sakura was sharing her true feelings here. She’d eaten the mango pudding and drunk the tropical juice with great gusto.
“I’m so happy to hear you say that! And this must be your Seraph, Sara.” Lady Erisu turned to her and smiled. “Feel free to come here on your own too, of course!”
“Thank you most kindly. I’ll be sure to do so.”
Next, Lady Erisu looked toward me. “I see you’re here without Himeko today.”
“Yes, my mistress is in a meeting right now.”
“I see. She has it rough even when we’re all on vacation.” She let out an absentminded sigh.
“By the way,” I said, “I don’t think I’ve seen Yukina or Mizuki today. Are they busy in the kitchen?”
“Mizuki’s toiling away in there, but Yukina’s not here at the moment.”
“She isn’t?”
“She’s gone to train at a restaurant run by my family. I’m planning to send all three of them, one after another, and promote them all to Seraphs if they make it through unscathed.”
I let out a small yelp. “After all this time!”
“Yep, I’m finally doing it. You helped them out a lot, you know. If they do become Seraphs, I’ll be sure to send them your way to say thank you.”
“What? But I hardly did anything! It’s all because of their hard work.”
“They were working hard, I’ll grant, but they were going in the wrong direction.”
I replied with an awkward laugh.
“It’s all fine now, though. Anyway, that’s why I needed Matsuri to step in.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
So Yukina, Mizuki, and Hanaka were finally going to be Seraphs. “Finally” was the word; they were clearly good enough for it. I’d thought that all along.
“I’ll leave you alone now. Enjoy the rest of your time here!”
“Thank you very much.”
Was I imagining the spring in Lady Erisu’s step as she walked away? She’d no doubt been eagerly awaiting this day as well. As someone who knew all the intimate details of the situation, I found myself breathing a big sigh of relief.
As she lifted the last of her cheesecake to her mouth, Lady Saeko murmured, “Yukina’s a third-year student, isn’t she? I wonder what will happen to this place after she graduates.”
After eating it, she continued, “Maybe Erisu will take on some other hired help. The real question is what happens after she graduates and only the building is left. Maybe someone will buy it up? It would be a waste otherwise. Hmm, maybe I can cajole Matsuri into buying it. What do you think, Misaki? Should I make Matsuri buy this nice place?”
“Huh? There’s no way she can do that, surely? Besides, Matsuri’s a third year. She’ll graduate before Lady Erisu does.”
“Good point. Hmph, what am I going to do then?”
Those last muttered words didn’t sound like they were directed at me.
I’d never seen Lady Saeko behave like this before. She was saying some really weird things. Was something going on?