Her sapphire-blue eyes were staring at me, but not disapprovingly. Instead, they held a glint of curiosity, as if she had happened upon something highly interesting.
The ribbon on her chest had a red, jewel-like object embedded at the center of it, just as pretty as her eyes. It decorated her chest triumphantly.
Was this sense of refinement something all the older students would have, or was it unique to this girl because of her upbringing?
What intrigued me even more, though, was the color of her uniform.
The uniform I wore was black except for the cuffs and lapels, whereas hers was—in stark contrast—based entirely around the color white. The ribbon was also very different from my simple string tie. The frilly design was so elegant, it gave me an urge to ask what sort of noble family she was from.
I wondered if I was even at the right school. Without thinking, I asked for confirmation. “Um, this is definitely Amanotsuka Academy for Girls, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Little Miss Thief, you’re in the right place.” The girl in the white uniform gently put her right hand up to her lips and chuckled.
“Oh, no, I’m not a thief. I just climbed over the fence because I was going to be late otherwise.”
“Really now? Either way, you picked a very strange entry point. Did you deliberately walk all the way over here?”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean, you must have taken the bus here, right? In which case, you’d have to have purposely walked all the way around here from the bus stop for some reason.”
Yes, well, that does sound like a sensible conclusion. And yet... “No, I didn’t have the money to ride the bus, so I ran here.”
“You ran?!” the girl blurted, clearly appalled.
Quite honestly, the current contents of my wallet were a little embarrassing. Due to various life circumstances, I was flat broke. If someone had told me to jump up and down on the spot, it wouldn’t have even made a clinking sound.
Timidly, I added, “I did think it would be a little closer, though.”
I definitely should have come and checked it out in advance. Only, my financial situation hadn’t even allowed for that, and I’d been far too busy. Incidentally, I had taken the entrance exam in my own district, so this was the first time I had ever actually come to the academy.
“It sounds like you’ve been through the wringer, and I understand that, but... if you’re talking about the bus from the station, students can ride it for free.”
“What? Really?”
Now that she mentioned it, I had seen quite a few girls waiting at the bus stop in the same uniform as me, and I didn’t recall seeing anyone else lining up with them. Darn it! Why didn’t I look more carefully?
“Also, whatever your reason, climbing over a fence is not exactly praiseworthy behavior.”
Yes, I can understand that. I accept it 100%. “Well, I was just so caught up in how late I was, and how I wasn’t going to make it, that—wait, now I really don’t have any time left. Do you mind if I go?”
This wasn’t the time to be chatting. Even as I stood there, time was ticking away.
“If you want to go, that’s fine with me.” The girl in the white uniform rolled up her sleeve a little way and looked down at her watch. “Although you’re out of time.”
What? Is it 8:30 already? I opened my mouth and said, “That’s—”
But before I could add the words “not fair,” I was interrupted by the loud ringing of a bell, signaling that my time was up.
Ding, dong! Ding, dong!
It was not an electronic sound, but that of a real bell. Looking at the clock tower, I could see the golden bell swaying violently within. It was an immensely powerful noise, but pleasant to listen to nonetheless.
At that moment, however, it was the very last thing I wanted to hear.
“How unfortunate. Getting expelled without even managing to attend the entrance ceremony. As far as I can recall, you’d be the very first case.”
“Excuse me? Did you just say ‘expelled’?”
“Yes, that’s what I said. After all, if a student is late for the entrance ceremony, obviously that would be taken as a lack of interest in joining the school, right?”
“But that’s—isn’t it going a little too far to expel someone just for being a few minutes late? At most, I’d expect to get a stern lecture, and for the teachers to keep an eye on me for a while.”
“That might be how things work at a normal school, but this is not a normal school. Besides, aren’t you in the Domestic Arts program? How could you not know that?”
“It’s news to me! Domestic Arts or not, why am I supposed to know about it?”
Outrageous! This is simply outrageous! Admittedly, it was my own fault for being late, but how did that justify being expelled?
“You really don’t know, do you? Tell me, why did you even come here?”
“Why? Well, to study.” I’m a student. What else would I be here for?
“To study? Just... study normally?”
“Of course!” I insisted. “I want to study as hard as I can and get into a good college.”
In response, the girl in the white uniform cocked her head to the side and stared at me as if she were looking at a rare creature. “Hmm. You really don’t know what kind of place this is, do you? How unusual. I never imagined I might find someone like you here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?
“This school is—”
Just then, she closed her mouth and took a brief glance behind her. When I looked in the same direction, I could see someone in the distance, running toward us in a flustered state.
It looked like a teacher. She couldn’t have come to look for me, could she?
“How about this,” said the girl. “I’ll help you, if you’re interested.”
“Huh?”
“That teacher running over to us is in charge of discipline. There’s a sensor at the top of the fence for security purposes. She must be running over because she got an alert about someone tripping the sensor. If she catches you, it won’t even matter that you’re late—you’ll be expelled regardless. They would never let someone into the school who was caught doing anything as improper as climbing over a fence.”
“What?!”
Ugh. I should have known. In this day and age, security devices like that were common enough. For a grand-looking place like this, it would be all the more important.
“So let’s do a deal. If you answer in a way that satisfies me, I’ll get you out of this mess.”
“Huh?” I could still hardly follow what she meant.
“There’s no time, so I’ll get straight to my questions. First of all... yes, that’s it. The reason you came to this school. It was just to study normally, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” I replied hesitantly. Despite my confusion, I had no choice but to put my trust in this girl.
“Not to become a maid?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” A maid? I’m a student; why would I want to be a maid? It was such an unexpected question that I struggled to answer.
As if to call attention to the big question mark above my head, she pressed, “You passed the exam for the Domestic Arts program and came to this school, but you don’t want to be a maid?”
“Look, I really don’t know what you’re getting at, but I have no intention of becoming a maid.”
“I see.” She nodded as though she was happy with my answer. “And it’s clear that you don’t know who I am. Right?”
“Huh? I mean, I only just met you.” I looked at her, wondering if she was famous. “Are you some kind of celebrity?”
For someone as beautiful as her, it seemed well within the realm of possibility. Unfortunately I was not very well informed about that kind of thing. Even if she told me her name, I probably wouldn’t have known who she was.
“No, no, no.” She chuckled again. “Very well, though. I’ll help you.”
Regardless of everything else, that seemed like a plus. I still had no idea what she meant about maids, or why I would know who she was, but things were turning out all right.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
After a moment’s hesitation, I replied, “Misaki Hotaru.”
“I see! What a nice name.” She put her hands on her chest and grinned broadly. “Well then, Misaki... you’re going to be my Seraph.”
“Your what?”
What in the world is a Seraph? No matter how lovely her smile was, I had absolutely no clue what she meant. Can someone please come and explain all this?
“No time for that. You can ask your classmates about the details. I expect everyone but you should be pretty familiar with the concept.”
“Oh.” I’m starting to think I might have ended up somewhere really weird...
“For now, just put this on.” She held out a golden badge bearing the school’s emblem: a crown surrounded by feathers. “This connects you to me, Misaki. It’s proof that you are a Seraph.”
This thing proves I’m a Seraph?
The regular school badge was bronze-colored and looked very plain. In comparison, this golden badge came across as something far more special.
“Um, by the way,” I asked as I switched out my school badge for this new one, “could I ask your name, maybe?”
It felt rude to keep thinking of her as “the girl in the white uniform” when I was asking for her help.
She began, “My name is—”