When I told Himeko about this, she cocked her head. “Saeko’s acting weird, you say?”
“She really is.”
After we left Erisu’s École Kitchen, Lady Saeko had headed off on her own, saying she wanted to go back to her dorm room. Sara and Lady Sakura had exchanged glances and agreed to go back to the Sky Salon for now, where we’d chatted for a little while. It wasn’t long before Himeko arrived after her meeting.
The salon’s newest member and her Seraph changed their plans—their campus exploration adventure could wait until the afternoon. First, it looked like they wanted to join us in trying to figure out the mystery of Lady Saeko’s strange behavior.
The four of us sat down in Himeko’s personal space. After I’d explained everything we’d seen at Erisu’s, Himeko seemed to have no more idea than I did.
“Hmm,” she mused. “If she was trying to make you interfere with Matsuri’s work, could it be that she doesn’t like the fact that her Seraph is working there?”
“That’s not the impression I got. When she saw Matsuri at Erisu’s, it was more like she was worried about her, or proud of her. To be honest, I didn’t get the sense that she didn’t like it.”
“Huh.”
Silence fell for a moment. It was broken by Lady Sakura, who offered, “I couldn’t tell you the reason, but my guess is that she’s trying to do something to Matsuri—and I think I know what.”
“Really? What is it?”
“Most likely, she wants to make her Seraph assume some additional liability.”
After mentally piecing together what this meant, I rephrased it for my own benefit. “Erm, make her take on debt, you mean? I know that Matsuri is in debt to Lady Saeko, but she’s been working so hard to pay it back. Why would her mistress want her to take on even more? Would it just be to earn more interest from her?”
That would definitely work as a benefit for Lady Saeko, but I’d never seen her as someone fixated on money above all else. Rather than someone who’d fuss over getting the most interest she possibly could, she was the kind of person who would support Lady Kagura’s business. In other words, she was the kind of person who was more likely to invest her money; the risks were great, but so were the rewards.
“Wait, I think I know what’s going on.” Himeko appeared to have realized something. “What if she’s trying to prevent Matsuri from fully paying off her debt?”
“Huh? But she’s put in so much work!”
“Yes, but Saeko might not want her to finish returning the money.”
“Why not?”
“Saeko took on all the debt owed by Matsuri’s family and made Matsuri into her Seraph as a kind of security on the loan. That means that if the debt is repaid, Matsuri won’t be able to continue working as her Seraph. It could be that Saeko is talking like this because she doesn’t want to let Matsuri go.”
“Oh, right!”
That did fit with how she’d been acting.
“But surely she could just tell Matsuri, ‘Thanks for all your help so far. From now on, you can stay or go; it’s up to you’? Lady Saeko clearly likes Matsuri a lot, and Matsuri... Well, actually she’s always quaking in fear. She seems to get some pretty harsh punishments too. The reason she’s doing extra work on the side is probably so she can pay off the debt quicker and get away.”
The more I said, the less and less likely it felt that their master-servant relationship could carry on just like it was after the debt was repaid.
Suddenly, the situation made me feel uneasy. Could we really just let their Seraph contract evaporate? If something like that happened while Lady Kagura was away, couldn’t it screw up her future plans somehow?
“What are we going to do?” I asked nervously.
“I don’t think it’s up to us to do anything,” Himeko replied. “It’s between the two of them, and it’s a question of money, which is a sensitive topic at the best of times. We probably shouldn’t butt in, right? Not to mention that if I say anything, Matsuri will practically take it as a command. If things go sour after that, I can’t be the one responsible.”
She closed her eyes and quietly took a sip of tea.
The Domestic Arts students did tend to treat anything the Societal Arts students said as words handed down from on high. For that reason, the Societal Arts students had to be extra careful with whatever they said to anyone in the other program. Also, in cases where students who were already Seraphs or Exousias started getting more acquainted with other Societal Arts students, there was a chance of their own mistress warning the other lady not to step on her turf by ordering her servant around.
What I’d recently learned was that the Societal Arts students acted as though they were overwhelmingly powerful, but this wasn’t really the case. What they generally valued above all else was keeping up appearances.
Lady Sakura interjected with a very practical suggestion. “Either way, if we’re worried, perhaps we should ask Matsuri how she really feels at this stage? If she doesn’t want to leave Saeko anyway, there’s no need to take any action. Saeko’s worries will be completely unfounded.”
“True,” I replied. “That’ll probably give us a clearer picture than asking Lady Saeko. What do we do if she says she does want to stop being a Seraph, though?”
“Hmm,” Himeko said, just as pensively as before. “It would be far from ideal, but there would still be nothing for us to do.”
It sounded like if it came to that, it would be a matter for them to resolve on their own. It wouldn’t be up to third parties like us to interfere.
But it won’t come to that, right? Surely Matsuri will want to keep serving Lady Saeko.
As it turned out, the answer that awaited us proved me both right and wrong.