✤
Around half of the restaurants were closed over vacation, but there were more than enough open to serve the students still at the academy. For those to be operating as usual when there was so little demand suggested they were probably being subsidized by the academy. There were other students like Matsuri who worked part time at these places over the summer, so that was probably another reason for them to stay open.
Himeko opted for a café that also served lunch.
“Let’s eat while we’re here,” she said.
Originally, we’d been planning to eat lunch at Erisu’s, but that was off the table. It seemed like Himeko wasn’t sure how to approach Matsuri for now.
When we went inside, a waitress spotted Himeko and rushed over. The girl appeared to be a Domestic Arts student working here part time, and she led us to a table with some very nervous glances at Himeko.
Around half of the tables were occupied with other people who had come here for lunch. This included mistresses who had brought their Seraphs. It occurred to me that these had to be the relatively rare cases of Societal Arts students who had Seraphs but had still decided to stay on campus. Maybe they’re trying to squeeze in as much school life as they can, since they’ll be together at home for a long time after graduation.
We sat down and ordered a light lunch of sandwiches accompanied by orange juice. Frowning slightly, Himeko brought up the matter at hand. “How was Matsuri when you spoke to her?”
“It’s tough to say. She seemed pretty upset, but after we chatted in my room for a while, she calmed down a lot. She’s gone to Erisu’s for her afternoon shift, so maybe that’ll take her mind off all this for now.”
Himeko heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I was worried she’d be in complete despair.”
“Ah, that reminds me. I want Matsuri to stay over at my place tonight. Maybe for a few days until she gets back on her feet.”
“Oh. Yes, that does make sense.”
Even if Matsuri was looking slightly better, I still didn’t feel comfortable leaving her on her own. As Himeko had said, she wasn’t in complete despair, but that could only be temporary. What if she started thinking about Lady Saeko in the middle of the night and got really upset?
Himeko reached out and put her right hand over mine. “I thought we’d be able to spend all summer together, but I suppose that was too good to be true.”
Her impish smile made my face start to flush.
“Yeah,” I replied nervously. “That was my plan too.”
She stroked my hand just gingerly enough to make it ticklish. Soon it was too much, so I slipped my hand out, put it on hers instead, and began to return the “favor.” She chuckled and fought back, starting a game of cat and mouse between her right hand and my left.
From a distance, it would have looked like we were still having a friendly chat, but our fingers were entwining and tormenting each other, trying to drive the other to give up. I didn’t get what kind of battle this was supposed to be, but Himeko looked like she was really enjoying it, so I ended up giving it my all.
Just then, the waitress approached our table with a cart. “Erm, please excuse me,” she said, her voice wavering. “I have your order.”
With a nonchalant grin, Himeko pulled her hand away. “Thank you very much.”
The waitress’s face was bright red as she placed our sandwiches and juice onto the table. “Here you go.”
This is too embarrassing for words!
Unlike Himeko’s, my face had grown burning hot. It was one thing for us to act like this in private, but being touched so playfully by Himeko in public—and being caught in the act—was something else entirely. Recently, I’d been putting extra effort into presenting myself as the perfect Seraph, but I felt like summer vacation had made me lax.
“What’s wrong, Misaki?”
“Nothing!” I lightly slapped my cheeks to pull myself together. “Let’s eat our lunch, milady!”
She started to giggle. Either I was just that entertaining or she kept remembering something really funny, because she occasionally broke out into laughter again as we were eating.
After we left the café, we confirmed our plans one last time.
“Well,” Himeko said, “I’ll leave Matsuri in your hands. In the meantime, I’ll try to work on Saeko some more.”
“All right. Hopefully I can cheer Matsuri up a little.”
“Yes. And if I have any progress, I’ll let you know right away.”
She stroked my pigtails as if reluctant to part with them, twirling the tips around her fingers. Part of me felt self-conscious and awkward, but I was just as unwilling to say goodbye to her. Still, we had important things to do. If we didn’t do something to help Matsuri and Lady Saeko, we’d never be able to relax and fully enjoy our vacation.
Then we went our separate ways. Himeko headed back to the Sky Salon, where she’d discuss it with Lady Sakura again and try to talk some sense into Lady Saeko. Meanwhile, I had to get my room ready for Matsuri’s stay before she finished her shift at the restaurant.
I guess the main thing is to make sure she has everything there that she needs. I’ll buy a new towel and toothbrush for her. She’ll need fresh underwear, but maybe she’ll bring that herself. Oh, but what if she normally stays over in Lady Saeko’s room? It’s possible that she keeps all her daily essentials there and can’t go back to get them. I’d better ask Matsuri first and then decide whether to buy some.
I also figured she might not want to eat out, so I decided I should buy ingredients to cook at home. Then, once I was done with all my shopping, I’d clean my room and burn some aromatherapy oils to create a really calming atmosphere.
All right! Now that’s a plan!
First I’d help Matsuri feel better, then we could put our heads together to figure out a plan to get her back into Lady Saeko’s service. With a clear vision in my head, I made my way to the shops.
My only real option for daily goods were the stores in the Domestic Arts dorm. The ones inside the school buildings were mostly geared toward the Societal Arts students, and to put it bluntly, those were really expensive. My paycheck was plenty for me, but it wasn’t enough to maintain a lifestyle of that level.
So, after saying goodbye to Himeko, I set off back to my own dorm. However, on the way back, I suddenly spotted someone moving in the distance.
Whoever it was was running along at high speed among the thick rows of trees. At this school, none of the ladies would ever be seen running outside unless they were part of a sports team, so at first I thought my eyes were deceiving me.
It definitely was a lady and not a maid—I could tell that from her clothes. Even at a distance, I’d never mix up the Societal Arts and Domestic Arts uniforms.
A name popped into my head. “Was that Lady Angelica?”
I didn’t have much to go on, but I was pretty sure already. Lady Angelica had a certain aura about her. Having encountered her quite a few times now, I was confident I wouldn’t mistake her for someone else.
Lady Angelica hadn’t gone home for summer vacation. Where was her home, anyway? She’s a vampire, right? Does that mean she’s from Britain or Romania—somewhere like that?
Either way, if she was running like that, there had to be a reason. Whatever it was, though, I didn’t want to know.
Yup. Nothing happened. I didn’t see a thing.
Lady Angelica seemed to really like this school, and when things went wrong, she found a way to solve them without anyone knowing. At least, that was my impression. It could very well be that this was another one of those cases. If she’d been a normal human, I’d have gone over to ask, but I couldn’t bring myself to move my feet.
If this problem hasn’t found its way to Himeko, it’s probably something too big for ordinary people to handle. It’s probably better to leave it to Lady Angelica. Plus, she’s probably too far away for me to catch up by now anyway.
Telling myself that, I carried on with my plan of going shopping and getting my room ready for Matsuri.