“Let me get this straight. You were going to be late, so you climbed over the fence, and Lady Himeko was there. You said you didn’t want to be a maid, and she made you her Seraph anyway?! I don’t understand!”
“Now you know how I feel,” I muttered.
Kirara leaned forward and gripped the front of my uniform roughly. “Are you cruising for a bruising?”
“No, I’m not! I’m not!” I frantically shook my head.
She released me and let out a weary sigh. “It really is insane, though. How can that happen when you haven’t even met her before? She hasn’t made anyone else into her Seraph so far either. In fact, she hasn’t even made anyone into an Exousia!”
Another word I’d never heard before. This time I decided to just stay quiet and let Kirara carry on ranting. It felt like a common sense approach that I’d thank myself for later.
“How the two of you met for the first time... Well, that just about makes sense. But why would she enter into the Golden Contract with someone who doesn’t even know what a Seraph is? I could understand if your family had served Lady Himeko’s for generations, so it was decided before you even came here that you’d be her Seraph. That would also have explained why she didn’t have a Seraph until now. But why would she decide based on pure happenstance like that?”
By now, Kirara had now gone from looking at the ceiling to hanging her head with her hands and knees planted on the floor. She appeared to have undergone quite a shock.
“You know,” she continued, “before coming to this school, I did all kinds of things to prepare to be a first-rate maid. I researched everything I could about the academy and the young ladies. I was determined to show everyone up and to become a Seraph before anyone else. Then this crazy nonsense happens and tears all my dreams to shreds.”
“Oh, um...”
I thought I’d try saying something to soothe her, but nothing came to mind. Besides, I was worried that whatever I said right now, Kirara would take it as some kind of jab at her.
Wow, she’s taking this so seriously. No wonder she was so annoyed about me not knowing anything.
“So, when are you going to have your debut?” she asked.
“My debut?”
“Yes. To announce to everyone that they have a new Seraph, a young lady always gathers up friends, acquaintances, and public relations staff for a special event. That’s the Seraph’s debut. Becoming a Seraph is just that special.”
“Hmm. I haven’t heard anything about that yet. Wait, now that I think about it, Himeko did say to go to the elevator hall tomorrow. She said something about a place for drinking tea on the top floor, and that she’d introduce me to everyone there.”
“Wh-What?!” Out of nowhere, Kirara took three steps back and started trembling all over. “To think you’ve been invited to go to the Sky Salon on your second day here! But I guess that’s no surprise if you’re Lady Himeko’s Seraph. It might not actually be your debut, though. It hasn’t been widely announced, so she’s probably just introducing you to her friends.”
By now I’d built up more of a tolerance to the endless swathes of new information. I wasn’t shocked by every little thing anymore. It was even starting to feel kind of nice to have Kirara there as a walking encyclopedia of the school who knew everything I didn’t.
Thankfully, she explained this one without me even having to ask. “The Sky Salon is the students’ nickname for the cafe on the top floor of the former school building. It’s the very highest point on the school grounds. It’s essentially sacred territory, where no one can enter except for a chosen few. The people who are allowed to visit the Sky Salon are known as ‘celestials.’ Naturally, Lady Himeko is one of the elite celestials who are permitted to go inside. And, since you’re her Seraph, I guess you’ll be a celestial as well.” Kirara’s eyes turned so bloodshot, I feared she might burst a blood vessel. She hatefully spat out these words through gritted teeth.
“Me? No way! No one’ll call me a grandiose name like that.”
“Of course they will! Ugh, how frustrating. Just because you were running late and you climbed over a fence, suddenly you’re a celestial. That is definitely weird, isn’t it?”
It really is. I agree with you 100%.
I couldn’t believe it, though. Did becoming a Seraph really make me so important? Just thinking about being called a lofty name like “celestial” made me feel a little dizzy.
I guess I’ll have to spend a lot of time at this Sky Salon. But then... what about my dream?!
“Anyway, now I’ve told you everything about how I became Himeko’s Seraph.”
“Yes. The story gave me a headache, but I heard you loud and clear.” Kirara was massaging her temples very hard indeed.
I knew that Kirara would have to share the results of her questioning with the rest of the class. She had made herself their representative, after all. However, if the unvarnished truth was spread around, things would definitely not go well for me. I was pretty sure it would only antagonize everyone.
It seemed that Kirara had come to the same conclusion. “I guess it’s probably better not to tell everyone the whole truth.” That came as a relief. For now, Kirara seemed to be acting as my ally. After a moment’s thought, she continued, “The best solution would probably be to pretend you and Lady Himeko had an agreement in place before you arrived here. You would need Lady Himeko to play along with that.”
“Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’ll try asking her tomorrow.”
“I don’t mind doing it. I can explain it all clearly enough.”
“Really? Thanks, Kirara!”
“In return, you have to tell me all about the young ladies at the Sky Salon. My dream of becoming a Seraph before anyone else may have been a bust, but I still have my dream of serving a wonderful lady. If anyone at the Sky Salon is looking for a Seraph, you have to tell me right away, got it?”
“Sure thing. If that’s all you need, I’m more than happy to help.”
Thanks to Kirara’s efforts, no one in my class pressed me for answers the next day. The most they said were things like, “I’m so jealous of you! I wish I had an arrangement with Lady Himeko.”
Though I did put a hand on my chest and breathe a sigh of relief, I was left with a sense of unease that even greater trouble awaited me. After all, my goal wasn’t to be a maid, but to go through school normally and get a job at a good company.
I didn’t know what Himeko was thinking or what her intentions were, but one way or another, I had to find out.