✤
The three of us went to the Sky Salon. By now, Lady Sakura and Sara had shown up as well, having presumably arrived while I was following Lady Angelica. As far as I could tell, Lady Saeko still wasn’t there.
Spotting Lady Sakura, Lady Angelica went over to her. All at once, the room had an international flair.
“Good day, Sakura. Are you settling in well?”
“Yes. I’m grateful for all your help. I’ve only just arrived in Japan, but every day’s been full of excitement so far.”
“Glad to hear it. I’m sure that being here will help you achieve the future you’re dreaming of.”
“Undoubtedly. Meeting everyone here has been a true stroke of good fortune.”
Listening as they spoke to one another, I joined Sara in making some tea.
“Morning, Sara.”
“Good morning, Misaki. Did you take the rubbish out?”
“Yeah. My plan was to do it before Himeko arrived.”
“Ah, I see. Terribly sorry that I wasn’t here to help you.”
“No worries! I’d have managed it even if a little more had piled up, but I wanted to deal with it in time for tomorrow’s collection. It’s quite a trek to the collection point, so I figured it was better to do it now while there wasn’t too much to carry. It wasn’t all that difficult for me to take it there on my own.”
“I see. Well, I’ll be sure to take on that duty next time.”
“Maybe it would be better if we set up a formal rotation for it. Let’s all discuss it when Kirara gets back.”
“Good idea. Then it will always be clear whose responsibility it is.”
“Exactly!”
“By the way, what shall we serve Lady Angelica?”
“I’m not sure. I was just at the café on the terrace with her and she had a cold glass of coconut water. We have AC in here, so how about some iced Darjeeling tea without any ice? We could bring ice in a separate bowl and add some if she wants it, maybe.”
“That could definitely work. I suspect my mistress will want milk, so we could bring milk and sugar, too, and adjust it at the table to suit everyone’s tastes.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We nodded to each other and set about getting it ready to serve. When we returned to the central table with the tea, the ladies hadn’t broached the main topic yet. Himeko and Lady Angelica were still telling Lady Sakura all kinds of things about the school.
After making sure everyone had tea and sweets, I sat down next to Himeko. My mistress took a sip of the Darjeeling to quench her thirst, then, still hesitating a little, started explaining the situation.
“So, the problem we’re having is about Saeko and Matsuri,” she began.
Taking a glance around, Lady Angelica replied, “Now that you mention it, I don’t see them here.”
I didn’t know where Lady Saeko was, but I had the feeling she might not come here for a little while. Matsuri, of course, was busy working at Erisu’s École Kitchen.
“You’re unlikely to see them here until the situation is resolved, I’d say.”
“It really must be something serious, in that case.”
“Yes. We don’t know what to do. It would be easier if Kagura were here, but in a way, it might be better that she’s not here.”
Fiddling with her cup in her hands, Himeko let out a small sigh.
“What on earth has happened?” Lady Angelica asked. “Before the start of vacation, they looked like a perfectly normal mistress and Seraph to me.”
“They were. It happened very recently. Let me ask you something: do you know the circumstances that led to Matsuri becoming Saeko’s Seraph?”
“I have a rough idea.”
“Good, then it’ll be fine to talk about it.” Himeko paused a moment. “As you might know, Saeko took on the debts of Matsuri’s family, and Matsuri’s work as a Seraph was to pay off those debts. However, not long after the vacation started, she fully paid off everything that was owed.”
“But that’s wonderful news. Matsuri must have worked incredibly hard.”
“She certainly did. However, this was also the cause of the problem. Because Matsuri paid it all back, Saeko decided that Matsuri couldn’t be her Seraph anymore and dissolved her contract.”
Even Lady Angelica was audibly shocked by this. “My word! Why would she do that? It definitely came from Saeko? Matsuri wasn’t the one who wanted to quit?”
“It was entirely up to Saeko.”
“But why? Surely she has no reason to do that.”
“That’s what we thought, but in Saeko’s mind, Matsuri became her Seraph purely in exchange for taking on the debt, so now that it’s repaid, there’s no reason for the arrangement to continue any further. Matsuri fulfilled her end of the bargain, so if Saeko didn’t free her from the contract, she’d look like someone who doesn’t fulfill her obligations.”
“Hmm.” Lady Angelica pressed her fingers to her forehead in thought. “She’s taking it far too seriously. Who would really be bothered by that except for her?”
Himeko took on the same pensive pose. “I thought the same thing, but I didn’t think there would be much use in saying it. She’s made up her mind pretty firmly.”
“Now that you’ve explained it, this is quite a pickle—in more ways than one.”
Falling silent, Himeko frowned, looking slightly troubled by Lady Angelica’s words.
Since I didn’t know what she meant, I decided to interject. “Erm, is this somehow a problem for more than just Matsuri and Lady Saeko?”
The student council president lifted her head and looked toward me. “Yes, it has far bigger implications.”
“It does?”
“As you know, Misaki, the ‘Seraph’ concept is unique to this school and involves entering into a special agreement called the Golden Contract. It’s a guaranteed offer from the mistress to come and work for her in the future. A student chosen for this is kept away from all other possible offers. You could say it’s a system to allow the lady to monopolize a particular maid. From the Domestic Arts students’ point of view, it’s a promise of future employment, so if they’re chosen, they’ll inevitably devote themselves to that mistress even more than before. However, if even one Seraph’s contract is dissolved, it will have a serious impact. In Matsuri’s case, there’s a more detailed explanation, but it’ll likely be seen as Matsuri working incredibly hard to meet her obligations, then being thanked with the loss of her contract. If other Seraphs come to know of this, how do you think they’ll react?”
“I see what you mean. If being a Seraph is meant to be a guarantee for the future, it would make them very uneasy to hear that it’s possible for the contract to be dissolved. Especially if they don’t know what led to it.”
“Indeed. It’s a problem that could shake the very foundations of the system. Don’t you agree, Himeko?”
“Yes,” Himeko replied uncertainly, her eyes wavering.
Only then did I realize that what Lady Angelica was saying also applied to me. I’d only become Himeko’s Seraph for one year, so in one year—no, it was closer to half a year by now—the very same thing would happen. Lady Angelica was unaware of this, but Himeko no doubt felt the weight of her accusation already.
“It would be one thing for it to happen to an Exousia, but for a student to lose their contract after being made a Seraph, there would have to be an exceptionally good reason. Otherwise it would lead to big trouble.”