At this point I couldn’t just ignore her, so I gave a slight bow—but suddenly, her expression changed from dubious to astonished. Even though she’d already been looking at me, her eyes turned into saucers, as if I’d done something to shock her. She stared at me fixedly.
What? Is there something on my face?
I couldn’t think what would make her look at me like that. I knew my uniform didn’t look sloppy. I’d taken care to wipe all the dust off after climbing over the fence. Nothing had gotten torn, either, as far as I could tell.
Nope. Everything’s normal.
But as soon as I thought that, I realized what wasn’t normal.
As if to confirm my suspicions, when I looked carefully, I could see that her gaze was focused on one particular spot. She was staring at it so hard, it felt like she might bore a hole in my body.
There was no denying it—she was looking at the golden badge.
So it really is more than just a normal school badge. Ugh, this might end up being kind of annoying. I wish I could hide it.
I tried readjusting my angle a bit to make it less visible to the other student, but it was too late.
“A Seraph?” the girl murmured—and those two words were enough to set other voices rustling, like a ripple spreading across the surface of once-still water. One after another, the students all turned and looked at each other, saying things like “What?” and “A Seraph?”
Eek! This is not good at all.
The crowd grew louder and louder, until this hall, which had previously been silent except for the gentle melodies of the violin and pipe organ, was a state of disorder. Students looked at me, whispering all sorts of things, their gazes filled with a mixture of curiosity and jealousy.
And yet, weirdly enough, the only ones who reacted that way were the students in black uniforms—the Domestic Arts students. A few of the ones in white uniforms, who were in the Societal Arts program, gave me inquisitive glances, but none of them started chattering.
Did that mean it was only something special to the Domestic Arts students?
Just as my face started twitching, Himeko returned, wearing a totally nonchalant expression. “Goodness, what a commotion. I wonder what happened?”
It’s your fault. All of this is your fault, Himeko.
But when I opened my mouth, ready to grumble at her, the crowd erupted in a way that made their whispering up to that point feel like nothing. The students broke into high-pitched screams.
“Lady Himeko!”
“It’s Lady Himeko!”
“Aaaaah!”
“Oh dear,” she said. “This might be because of me.”
Why was she being treated like a celebrity? It seemed crazy to think she was famous enough that even the new students knew who she was.
“There’s no ‘might’ about it,” I snapped. “Obviously it’s because of you. Even before that, everyone had a big reaction to this badge, too. What in the world’s going on?”
“How annoying,” replied Himeko, although she looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. “Anyway, you should get to your seat for now. Class two, seat number... well, there’s only one free seat, so that one.”
“Got it.” When Himeko put an arm around my shoulders and began pulling me along with her, I added, “Now that I know where I’m going, I can get there on my own.”
Goodness, the stares. All the stares were digging into me so hard that it hurt.
The screaming of Himeko’s name did not die down. Instead, voices filled with envy started filling the air as well.
“Who is that girl?”
“How does she know Lady Himeko?”
“Aaaaah!”
This is scary! I hope it doesn’t mean I’m going to be bullied! It felt like my late arrival might have completely rewritten my destiny.
Himeko appeared to be unmoved, as though she was used to this kind of thing. “Here, this is your seat.” Then, after sitting me down, she turned around and clapped her hands twice. “Everyone be quiet, please. The ceremony is about to start.”
That alone was enough to make the clamorous students fall silent.
Wow.
Those girls had been making so much noise, but they’d immediately listened to her, even though she wasn’t a teacher, but another student.
Who on earth was she?
After showing a charming face to all the girls nearby, Himeko flashed a devilish smile only at me. “Anyway, see you later, Misaki.”
Then, she walked toward the stage—and up onto it.
Huh? Why is she on the stage?
She went straight to one of the luxurious chairs positioned on either side and sat down with a perfectly composed expression.
Aren’t those seats meant for speakers and special guests? I had an urge to poke fun at her for being such a scatterbrain, but then it hit me.
Oh, I get it! Himeko must be the president of the student council!
If so, her picture would have been included in the school’s brochure, which was probably why the new students had recognized her. It would also make sense for her to be sitting on the stage, since of course the ceremony would include a speech from the student council president. It also matched up with her earlier show of leadership.
Perhaps this meant “Seraph” was some kind of jargon related to the student council, and the golden badge was proof that you were part of it. I still didn’t understand all that business about maids, but maybe she was just making sure I had enough free time to join the council?
Yes, it all makes sense.
Still, forcing me to join with no warning wasn’t exactly appreciated. I glared at her, but when she noticed, all she did was wave back at me.
As I scowled, deep creases appearing on my forehead, I heard a voice from the girl sitting next to me. “Is Lady Himeko an acquaintance of yours?”
I turned to look at her. “Huh?”
Her ponytail was secured with a star hair tie, and she had a slightly intense look in her eye. A lock of her bangs was also clipped to the side with a barrette that had stars on it.
I guess she really likes stars.
She’d phrased her question politely, but I had a feeling her words had a little bite to them. It was like she was harboring some sort of jealousy or distrust toward me, but she was doing her utmost not to let it show. Maybe she thought it would be unwise to say anything too negative if I really did know Himeko.
“Oh, well, I wouldn’t go that far,” I replied vaguely.
“Really? Then why do you have that badge? Did you not get it from Lady Himeko? If you did get it from her, you must have become her Seraph before the entrance ceremony. Does that mean it was all arranged in advance? Not to mention that you arrived after everyone else and didn’t get told off for it. Was that because Lady Himeko put in a good word for you? What’s going on here? If Lady Himeko would help you despite not even knowing you, then who are you?”
“I, uh...”
As soon as she found out I didn’t have a close relationship with Himeko, she had begun rattling off an endless stream of questions, as if she was fiercely determined to press me for information.
Why did Himeko help me? That’s exactly what I want to know!
I couldn’t answer a question if I didn’t know the answer myself. I thought about making something up to get her off my case, but if she was sitting here, that presumably meant she was in my class. If I said anything too outlandish, she’d find out later, and that would only lead to trouble for me.
I looked around in the hope that someone might come to my rescue, but no such luck. Quite the opposite, in fact. Although everyone was looking straight ahead, I could tell that they were desperately straining to listen to every word I said. Are they really that interested? Every single one of them?
“Well,” I began uncertainly, “if I started from the beginning, it would take a while, so maybe I can tell you later? The ceremony’s about to start, right? Won’t we get into trouble if we talk among ourselves?”
There. My most deadly weapon: the delaying tactic.
Not that it was especially deadly in the grand scheme of things. What it boiled down to was that I didn’t really understand all this myself, so how could I explain it? Buying some time was the only option.
Besides, this girl seemed a little agitated. Even if I told her exactly what had happened, I wasn’t sure she’d believe me. “I was going to be late, so I climbed over a fence, and Himeko was there. When I told her I didn’t want to be a maid, she gave me a golden badge.” Yes, clear as mud.
Before trying to explain it, I had to get the story straight and at least understand what a Seraph was. And, if it really did mean that I’d been selected to join the student council, I had to find out what my position was going to be. Being forced into something like that was kind of awkward. I still wanted to turn it down if I could.
“All right,” said the girl at last. “But after this, I’m making you tell me everything. Actually, I... No, never mind.”
She seemed satisfied for now and ceased her interrogation, but I was painfully aware that she still really wanted to know.
As if to make up for it, she said, “Could I at least ask your name?” She faced forward and spoke quietly enough that only I could hear her.