Chapter Four: Sara’s Past

Embodying the relaxed after-school vibe, I tried to make my invitation sound as casual as possible, figuring she probably wouldn’t refuse.

“Sara, are you free after school today? Why don’t you come and have tea in my dorm room? It’ll be fun!”

I’d decided today was my lucky day, albeit based on nothing in particular. After posing the question, I also reached out to take her hand.

Instead of taking it, she kept walking, forcing me to follow. “Frightfully sorry, but I have mountains of work to do as head maid today, so I’ll have to say no. Surely you have to attend to your mistress as well. I’d suggest you go to her as quickly as possible rather than dilly-dallying here. Lately I get the feeling you’re getting so comfortable at this school that you’re slacking a bit. There’s a real danger in that. To avoid careless mistakes, you must never forget the fundamentals—that’s what I always say. Furthermore, you must always stay focused on—”

“Wait! Stop!”

Fretting, I grabbed Sara’s shoulder to hold her back. All I’d wanted to do was invite her over for tea. How had I ended up being lectured about my own failings?

Come on! I have to do what Lady Angelica asked, and either way, I want to tell her that Lady Sakura is coming. Why is this so hard?

“Would you mind hearing me out, at least?”

With a small sigh of irritation, she replied, “Certainly. Please, go ahead.”

Just you wait, Sara. Soon you won’t be sighing. You’ll be hanging on my every word.

“First of all, I have permission from Lady Himeko, so don’t worry. Also, I wouldn’t say I’m slacking at all. The Kokonoe sisters aren’t giving me a moment’s rest—it’s all study, study, study. The only place I’m slipping a tiny bit is in the classroom. It’s all good. I’m working hard as a Seraph and trying to reach the next level.”

That’s the lecture refuted. Now onto the main point.

“Anyway, I asked because I heard some really good news from Lady Angelica and Lady Himeko, and I think it’ll pique your interest. I thought it would be good to invite you over for tea and talk about it.”

One of Sara’s eyebrows started twitching. I hadn’t even brought up Lady Sakura by name, but it looked like she had an inkling.

“What’s this about?”

I chuckled furtively. “Sounds like you’re curious. To hear the rest, you’ll have to come to my room.”

When I added a wink, Sara made a face that suggested she was very reluctant indeed. Oh no. It looks like I still haven’t ensnared her after all. Time was of the essence here. It was vital to tell Sara about Lady Sakura’s arrival before the news spread beyond the small circle who knew it so far.

Time to bring out the big guns.

“Sara, listen.” I drew closer and whispered in her ear, making sure no one else could hear me. “The good news is about Lady Sakura.”

She gasped sharply and gazed at me with widened eyes. I took her hand without another word.

However, she still resisted. “I’m exceptionally curious to know more, but as I said, I have work to do. I can’t just drop it all.”

“Hmm... All right, then. I’ll help you. Kirara, you’ll help out too, right?” I turned to Kirara to get her agreement.

Kirara, who had been quietly watching my efforts, nodded and said, “Yeah, let’s do it. If we all work together, it’ll go way quicker.”

I’d decided to ask Kirara to join me partly for moral support and partly to bring us all closer together as first years. As a consequence, she would learn about Lady Sakura’s arrival too, but that meant I could recruit her to wheedle some information out of Lady Kagura.

“Very well,” Sara replied. “I accept your offer for assistance.”

At that, I gave a little silent cheer.

We set about trying to get Sara’s work done as quickly as we could. It turned out she had far more on her plate than I could’ve imagined. She had to check the classroom supplies, arrange the schedule for the room duty rotation, counsel other students and coach them in the basics, and more. If any complaints or requests came from the ladies, she had to put appropriate measures in place, check whether they were effective, and run around to give reports on the results. If there were any students who looked like they were close to getting a Seraph or Exousia contract, she had to carefully advise them.

The average student definitely couldn’t have managed all this. It was all possible because of her experience of serving Lady Sakura.

Sara could probably take credit for the fact that our class had an exceptional number of Seraphs and Exousias at this point in the school year, even excluding me and Kirara. In a typical year, students would start getting contracts from the start of the second trimester, but Sara’s work as head maid had been surprisingly effective. Actually, Sara herself had also received numerous heartfelt appeals from ladies asking for her to be their Seraph. Seeing how well she worked, that only made sense.

It took an hour before we finally reached a stopping point. If it took this long with three of us, how late must Sara keep going every evening when she’s on her own?

“Wow, Sara. You work way too hard. I’m at least twice as worn out as I am after an evening in the Sky Salon.”

“Good job, both of you,” Sara replied without a hint of exhaustion on her face. “With your help, I managed to get it all done a tiny bit quicker.”

My mouth fell open. “A tiny bit? That’s all?”

“I did have to spend a lot of time teaching you how to do everything.”

Kirara frowned. With some reluctance, she said, “Seeing you do it all so perfectly kind of puts a dent in my confidence.”

No doubt Kirara had watched her parents and studied how to be a maid by following their lead, but that was still just in the realm of self-teaching. By contrast, Sara had worked as a real maid in the birthplace of the profession, the United Kingdom. I didn’t know how early she’d started, but there was no getting around the huge gap in their levels of experience.

“The work of a maid boils down to steady repetition of familiar tasks. Once you’ve learned how to do something once, it’s essential to improve your quality and efficiency. A little elbow grease and I reckon you’ll be a jolly good maid in no time, Kirara.”

“Oh. What about me?” I asked.

“You might do better to refresh the basics first.”

Oof. Well, I am a beginner, so that’s not too surprising. It’s just not a verdict I can be proud of as Himeko’s Seraph. I need to push forward and quickly reach a level Sara thinks is worthy.

“Right! I’ll keep at it. But for today, we’re done. As a reward for our hard work, let’s have a nice cup of tea. Okay?”

“Fine, if you insist. I’ll save the full performance evaluation for another day.”

Kirara and I froze. That doesn’t bode well. Anyway, we did what we had to do for now, so I can finally tell her about Lady Sakura.

“Yes, uhm, anyway, let’s go back to the dorm now.”

With strained smiles, we led Sara to our room.

✤

“You’re late!”

The moment we got inside—no, the moment we opened the door, we were greeted by Karen with a ladle in her hand. Akira was there next to her. The plan wasn’t just for Kirara and I to entertain her, but for the four of us to welcome her into our room together.

“I’m so sorry! We were helping Sara with her work!”

“Just hurry up. We’ve been ready for ages.” Karen brandished the ladle less than politely, then turned and headed back inside the room.

I pretended not to hear Sara’s tiny sigh and said, “Anyway, welcome to our room. I hope we can all have a lovely time together.”

Taking her hand, I brought her inside, feeling less like a maid and more like a butler.

“Thank you most kindly. I accept your invitation.”

Perhaps thinking “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” Sara obediently let me escort her to the living room. I felt like I was pretending to be someone else, but I kept that to myself.

“Today we have a guest from Britain, the land of maids, so we’re making crumpets as a special treat.”

A hot plate and tea set had already been laid out in the living room. Karen added everything that was needed to make crumpets.

Sara’s expression softened when she saw this. “Ooh, crumpets. What a delightful reminder of life back home.”

Knowing where Sara was from, Karen had immediately thought of crumpets, so I’d just left her to it. However, I didn’t really know what they were. I wasn’t even sure whether they were sweet or savory, to be honest.

“What are they, exactly?” I asked. “Are they like the British equivalent of pancakes?”

“They’re less like pancakes and more like bread,” Sara replied. “They rise using yeast rather than baking powder. Lots of little holes develop on the top, giving it a springy texture. It’s awfully tasty when you add butter or maple syrup and it all sinks in through the holes.”

“Mmm, that does sound good! Maybe I’ll try making them for Lady Himeko.”

It wouldn’t hurt to be able to make more delicious treats for her than just donuts.

“You definitely should. You can even use molds to make them into pretty shapes.”

“You can indeed!” Karen interjected. She laid a set of molds on the table with a dramatic flourish. “I have round ones, square ones, star-shaped ones, and heart-shaped ones! There’s also fruit and whipped cream, so pile on as much as you like!”

Karen had arranged a dazzling assortment of toppings on the table. This was the first time we’d held a party in our room, so the four of us had pooled our money so we could really splurge. I was grateful again for my paycheck.

Looking at all this, a smile lit up Sara’s face. “Quite a feast!”

Such an expression was rare for her. I made sure to etch the image into my mind.

“Anyway, sit, sit,” Karen insisted. “Akira and I will cook the crumpets, so you two serve the tea, all right?”

“Got it!” I replied.

“Coming right up,” Kirara added.

Elated at how much better things were going than I’d expected, I officially declared our meager party started.

“Allow me to introduce our guest properly. This is Sara. She’s an exchange student from Britain—and our class’s head maid.”

After I spread my hands in an “over to you!” gesture, Sara took up the gauntlet. “My name is Sara. Thank you most kindly for inviting me here this evening. I never expected to have this opportunity to enjoy a tea party with you all, but I’m eager to make the most of it.”

Sara stood and delivered an impressively graceful curtsy to punctuate her introduction.

That looks so natural for her. How elegant.

Akira had apparently thought the same. “If someone told me you were in the Societal Arts program, I’d probably believe them, you know.”

“That’s purely because I seem foreign and exotic, I’m sure. Japanese people tend to have a great deal of respect for those who are different from themselves.”

“Hmm, maybe,” said Karen. “I don’t think it’s just that. It’s got to be because you’re so beautiful, too. It almost feels like a waste for someone with your good looks to be a maid. On the other hand, it must be a real status symbol for a lady to have such a gorgeous maid accompanying her...”

She began rambling quietly to herself, so I figured it was best to ignore her and carry on. “Either way, Sara’s a Domestic Arts student like us, so let’s show her a warm welcome. The night is young!” I lifted my cup high. “Cheers!”

The three other Japanese girls similarly raised their cups. “Cheers!”

Sara followed our lead, albeit a bit timidly. “Yes. Cheers.”

Just like Sara had told us, the crumpets were incredibly soft and springy. Their flavor erred on the salty side, but adding maple syrup really brought out the sweetness. I could have eaten them all day. Whipped cream and fruit made excellent accompaniments as well. Leaving aside the inevitable calorie-counting worries, they were a treat sure to delight any girl.

“Do you like them?” I asked Sara with some trepidation.

In response, she praised them without a hint of artificial flattery. “Yes, they’re marvelous. Better than any I’ve had back home, honestly.” Then, after a sip of tea, she gazed at me with a serious expression. “All that stands in the way of their true deliciousness are the worries clouding my mind. I can’t fully enjoy them until those are resolved.”

I decided to play with her a little. “Huh? Am I forgetting something?”

She paused. “Misaki, if you used the name of my mistress as part of some sort of practical joke, I can’t promise that I’ll maintain my usual mild-mannered demeanor.”

Sara tilted her head to the side. Her hair fell down and covered her face, and she exuded an unsettling aura.

“Ack! I’m kidding! I remember, okay?”

With a reassuring smile, I hurriedly put Sara’s hair back into order, making it as neat and tidy as I possibly could.

“Very well. Then I’m eager to hear the news you have about Lady Sakura.”

“Who’s Lady Sakura?” Kirara asked. She looked dubious, but I paid that no mind.

“The mistress Sara used to serve in Britain. She’s coming to Japan soon.”

This was probably the first time anyone in the room other than me and Sara had heard about it, so as I spoke, I tried to include them in the explanation as well. The three of them listened in silence, looking quite startled.

“Sara, when was it you told me Lady Sakura would be coming, exactly?”

“Late July. That’s what I’ve heard, at least.”

Which means she still doesn’t have the latest info. Here we go, then. Time to surprise her with the good news.

“Yes, that was the plan. The situation has changed, however. She’ll be arriving on a different date.”

Sara gasped. Her eyes widened and she stared at me, a mixture of fear and hope in her eyes.

That was when it hit me. My phrasing could mean there’s a delay, couldn’t it? It wouldn’t have been fun to drag it out a little longer and make her sweat, but I didn’t want to spoil the atmosphere of our tea party. No teasing. I’ll get straight to the point.

“She’s arriving earlier than planned. Lady Sakura will be in Japan on July first.”

While Sara sat there stunned, I took her hand.

“Great news, right? You’ll be reunited with your mistress soon!”

“Is this true?” she murmured. Her eyes wavered as though she couldn’t quite believe it.

“Every word. Lady Angelica had official documents and everything. She had a meeting with Lady Himeko about it too.”

It looked like that finally convinced her. Silently—too overcome with emotion to form any words, no doubt—she reached out and hugged me.

“I’m so happy for you. I know you’ve been really missing her.”

So much so that she’d been wandering around at night looking for her like a sleepwalker. I gently returned her embrace and stroked her head.

Getting a chance to hug Sara is something I hadn’t expected. Kind of a side benefit!

We stayed like that for a little while, then Sara suddenly pulled herself together, retracted her arms, and stood up.

“It won’t do for me to waste time here. I must go and welcome my mistress.” Then she immediately turned and made to leave.

Ack! Maybe she hasn’t quite pulled herself together!

I grabbed her from behind to stop her running off. “Hold your horses, Sara. She hasn’t gotten here yet. There are still two weeks left.”

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I? Still, if I go to the airport, I might be able to see her already.”

“No! You won’t!”

Still keeping hold of her, I slowly dragged her back to her seat.

I wasn’t used to seeing Sara go to pieces like this. If I’d told my classmates, who only ever saw her in the guise of a perfectly composed head maid, they probably wouldn’t have even believed me.

With my hands pressing firmly on both her shoulders, I spoke to her a tiny bit more firmly. “Just sit down and take a deep breath. I know you’re excited and you want to see her right now, but you need to stay calm.”

Despite her emotional state, she seemed to be listening. She breathed in deeply, then finally stopped resisting and began acting like herself again.

“I do apologize for losing my composure.” Sara hung her head in shame.

“It’s all good. I can understand how you feel. That’s not what you want your mistress to see, though, right?”

“No, certainly not.”

I never thought I’d see the day where I was the one giving her advice. I guess Lady Sakura’s just that big of a deal to Sara.

At this point, Kirara saw her chance to jump in and ask again. “So just to be clear, you have a mistress already, and her name’s Lady Sakura? Is that right?”

“Yes. I served her for a long time in Britain.”

“I could see you had a lot of confidence as a maid, but I didn’t think you’d worked as one in the place best known for its maids. Couldn’t you have told us all?”

“I didn’t intend to keep it a secret, but in spring I recall that our classmates grew rather heated when the topic of your mistress came up, so I decided it might be wise to keep quiet.” As she spoke, she glanced my way.

Ah, right. She’s talking about when I became Himeko’s Seraph.

Kirara nodded, appearing to accept this explanation. “I can see what you mean.”

It was true; being a Seraph already on my first day had sort of felt like it put a target on my back. The fear had been real. If she’d announced she had a mistress, it could easily have turned out the same way.

“And that’s why you didn’t tell anyone about Lady Sakura.”

“Precisely.”

Well, that’s one mystery out of the way. I’m sure there’s more, though.

“I bet we all have way more things to ask you,” I told her, “but let’s keep the party going while we do that. Then you can tell us all about Lady Sakura.”

Sara nodded, her eyes gleaming. “Very well. I’ll gladly tell you all about my mistress. In fact, there’s a lot I’d like to tell you.”

Resting a hand on her chest, Sara took a deep breath, then brought her tea up to her lips. Then, with an air of remembering events that were still dear to her heart, she began. Reflecting on her memories of Lady Sakura, she told us her story. As we ate, we gave Sara our full attention.

“I suppose if I’m telling you about Lady Sakura, I ought to tell you a little about myself too. The truth is, when I was a little girl, my life involved sleeping rough in London.”

I had to ask about the unfamiliar expression. “Sleeping rough? What does that mean?”

“It means I was living on the street. I was a penniless beggar.”

I gasped. Boy, that was close. My teacup was almost up to my lips. I could have just spat tea everywhere!

“Is that true?” I asked, still recovering.

With a serious expression, she confirmed it. “Yes. I was an orphan, you see.”

“Wow, erm, that sounds pretty serious. I can’t believe it.”

I couldn’t hide my shock at her story taking this unexpected turn. Is she really comfortable telling us about this? It feels so personal.

Kirara, Karen, and Akira were also holding their breath nervously. Who could have guessed that asking about Sara’s mistress would lead to us learning she’d suffered so much in the past?

“It’s quite all right. As I’m sure you can tell, this is nothing but a memory for me now.”

“True, from looking at you now, no one would ever guess you had a childhood like that.”

“Indeed. So don’t worry; I look back on it quite fondly, in fact.” Then she continued with the story. “When I was very small, I lived in an orphanage, but it was not an especially good place. As soon as I was old enough to have the wherewithal, I ran away and lived on my own.”

She paused a moment and picked up her cup, taking a slow sip to keep her throat from getting dry.

“A lot of people were kind enough to give me their charity, perhaps due to the rarity of seeing such a young girl begging on the streets. That meant I wasn’t reduced to scavenging through the rubbish bins. Still, a child’s body has its limits. As the seasons turned, this life wore me down more and more, and by winter I could hardly move at all. I found myself huddling beneath a tree, covered in snow, quietly wondering if my time had come.”

I leaned forward eagerly.

“And that’s when she came, right? Lady Sakura was there with an outstretched hand to rescue you from poverty.”

That had to be where this tragic tale ended, I decided. Her mistress had surely arrived like a ray of gentle spring sunshine, changing her life forever.

Sara chuckled. “Yes, indeed. As my consciousness grew dim, I suddenly noticed a girl of about my age standing in front of me. Just as you’ve guessed, that was Lady Sakura. However, without even saying a word, she immediately shook my body, rudely waking me up, then slapped me in the face as hard as she could.”

“Huh?!”

Lady Sakura sounds kind of violent.

“That got my attention in short order. All I could do was stare at this girl, wide-eyed. Then she said the following: ‘For you to be here doing this at your age must mean you’ve run away from home and chosen this path yourself, yes? For that reason, I won’t do anything. If you wish to die, that’s your choice. It’s not my place to interfere. However, if you have the will to live, come to this location of your own volition. I’m just on the lookout for a personal maid, you see. If you can’t do the job, then I’ll dismiss you, but I don’t mind taking you in for now.’ She handed me a piece of paper with an address and a simple map, then disappeared.”

“Oh. Um, she sounds kind of harsh, honestly.”

I’d expected a scene where she embraced Sara in the freezing cold, welcoming her into her bosom like the Virgin Mary.

“Yes, I suppose. She can be strict, but she’s a very kind person. I experienced such confused feelings at the time, though. As I followed the map to her home, I was frustrated and unsure whether I wanted to shout at her or cling onto her for dear life. It was a terribly long journey for my battered body, but I finally arrived. The moment I did, I lost consciousness.”

Looking at Sara, this really did seem like a precious memory to her. A smile kept appearing on her face as she recalled the details.

For us listeners, though, it was tough to know how to react, to say the least. It was impossible not to feel anxious about Sara’s well-being even knowing that she was all better now.

“When I came to, the first thing I thought was ‘Ahh, I’m being embraced by the wings of an angel. I’ve died and God has shown mercy on me. I’m being carried up to heaven.’ The truth was that I was lying in a soft bed in Lady Sakura’s room with her gentle arms around me. It was a warm, comfortable feeling, the likes of which I’d never experienced before. I flailed about a little, disoriented. It seemed like this woke up Lady Sakura as well. The first words out of her mouth were ‘You stink.’”

Sara suddenly struggled to contain her laughter and began to giggle.

The rest of us didn’t know how to respond. We all exchanged bewildered glances.

“Next, she said, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re alive, at any rate. If you’ve come here, that means you want to be my maid, correct? I’m happy to take you on board. This may seem quick, but I’ll give you your first order right now. You’ve made me dirty with all the mud clinging to your body, so come into the bath with me and clean me up. Yourself, too, of course.’ From that day forth, I became Lady Sakura’s personal maid.”

“Whew. I was worried about where this story might be going, but your first meeting with Lady Sakura did have a happy ending.”

I didn’t know how I’d have coped with things getting even more ghastly, but I was glad I’d listened to the end and learned so much about Sara’s past.

That encounter was literally the difference between life and death for her. After something as incredible as that, no wonder she was suffering from mistress deficiency syndrome.

“Lady Sakura also gave me my name.”

“Huh? You weren’t always called Sara?”

“No. I didn’t know my own name. I didn’t think it really mattered if I had a name or not, but when I told that to Lady Sakura, she got slightly annoyed. ‘Ugh, don’t be ridiculous! I can’t think of anything more foolish than not knowing your own name. All right, there’s no other option. I’ll have to share my name with you. We’ll take the first and last parts of “Sakura” and make the name “Sara.” From now on, that’s what you’re called.’ It was like a rebirth for me. I had my very own name, and I started working hard for my mistress every single day.”

In a manner that suggested she’d reached the conclusion, she quietly closed her eyes and slowly finished the tea left in the bottom of her cup.

Karen brought a handkerchief to her nose and blew it loudly. Through heaving sobs, she managed, “I’m so glad you met such a wonderful mistress!”

Despite clearly being thrown off by Sara’s sad story, Kirara retained her strong sense of rivalry toward Sara and was sure to make it known. “Well, uh, I guess you’ve been through a lot. That doesn’t mean I forgive you for treating us like dirt, though!”

“It’s like you lived in a whole different world I never knew existed,” Akira murmured quietly.

Her story had come as a shock to all of us. We Domestic Arts students had each had troubles of our own, but none of it even came close to what Sara had endured.

I really wanted her to be reunited with Lady Sakura as quickly as possible, but I couldn’t do anything to speed it up. At least the date had been pushed up.

“Oh!” I said, a thought occurring to me. “Do you think Lady Sakura changed her plans because she was worried about you being lonely?”

“Preposterous. My mistress wouldn’t rearrange her schedule for my sake. I’m sure there was something more important on her mind.”

However, in contrast to these businesslike words, a happy smile appeared on her face. That was enough to tell me I probably had it right after all.

It’s so refreshing to see Sara with her guard down like that. She looks so sweet.

I decided the best way to get more of that out of her was to keep talking about Lady Sakura. “Are you sure? It must be something pretty important to change the date out of nowhere. She wasn’t supposed to arrive until the second trimester. I bet she really did want to see you again as early as she possibly could.”

“Do you think so?”

“For sure. Is she really as strict as you were saying, even now? I saw a photo of her and she looked really nice.”

“True. She certainly has a side that’s harsh on both herself and others, but she’s also a kind and considerate mistress. To me, I can honestly say that she’s akin to a goddess. She is, without a doubt, the best mistress in the world.”

Sara’s expression grew even more extraordinary. By now, she looked lost in her devotion.

This time, Kirara was the one who took the bait. “That’s a pretty bold statement. The best in the whole world?” She snorted. “Obviously, the number one is Lady Kagura. Not only did she forgive my rude behavior, but she also gave me a chance. In terms of beauty and kindness, no one can measure up to Lady Kagura!”

“My word, Kirara, I had no idea you had such a gift for comedy! I can assure you that you only feel this way because you’ve never seen Lady Sakura. When you do, you’ll be bowled over by her beauty and fall to your knees begging to be her Seraph instead.”

Sparks flew between them.

Sara always seems cool as a cucumber sandwich, but when her mistress comes up, she gets really passionate.

This wasn’t good, though. If they were busy squabbling, we’d never learn anything else about Lady Sakura.

“Calm down, you two. The best mistress is clearly Lady Himeko, so there’s no point in fighting about it. Lady Kagura is beautiful and Lady Sakura looks lovely, but the best-looking mistress of all is definitely mine!”

For a moment, they were frozen in silence. Then Sara let out a sudden chuckle, and Kirara said, “You’re a lot more vocal than you used to be, Misaki.”

They both stood up, a slightly foreboding air about them.

“It seems I’ve a need to better convey the nature of Lady Sakura’s magnificence!”

“You took the words right out of my mouth! Lady Kagura’s the ideal mistress, and I’ll make sure everyone gets that!”

“Huh?” It looked like I’d said exactly the wrong thing.

With a strained smile, Karen tapped me on the shoulder. “Misaki, you’ve joined the club too, haven’t you? You’re one of those obsessive maids now.”

Sighing, Akira said, “I’m jealous. I wish I could serve a mistress who made me feel that way.”

“Let me make one thing clear,” said Sara. “Lady Sakura comes from a long line of English nobility. That puts her in a class all her own. Her pedigree, her manner, her way of thinking, and her appearance—every aspect is simply perfect. And yet, such a goddess put her perfection aside and showed mercy on a wretch like me. She has the flexibility to challenge the old norms and push the boundaries. The reason she’s coming to Japan is to be involved in a business venture here, in fact. She’s already looking toward the future and acting boldly. She’s far more than just a pretty face!”

Hmm. If so, she should be able to get a good handle on this school and its unique systems.

Kirara resolutely took on the challenge. “The same applies to Lady Kagura, you know. You’re from abroad, so you wouldn’t know, but the Mikage Group is a conglomerate with operations all over the country. It’s no exaggeration to say that my mistress’s family is controlling this nation from the shadows. There probably isn’t a single person in all of Japan who hasn’t heard the name ‘Mikage.’ Now their influence has expanded internationally, and it won’t be long before their name is on everybody’s lips across the whole world.”

She went on, “But Lady Kagura isn’t going to rest on her laurels and enjoy the security of her family name. She’s going to boost the Mikage name even further. She’s setting up her own sportswear brand that’ll take the world by storm. I know I don’t need to explain the Olympic Games to you, but there’s something really special about athletes from all over the world competing together, giving it their all mentally and physically. Lady Kagura is planning to dominate the Olympics with her personal brand and the competitors she’s raised and supported. Are you getting it yet? My mistress is here to conquer the world, and she won’t settle for anything less. It’s a little more than just helping out the family business.”

With a look of ardent admiration on her face, she posed as if hugging herself.

“Most interesting,” Sara replied. “She does sound somewhat superior to other mistresses, but even that plan is merely relying on the Mikage name, is it not? I don’t see an especially big difference at all.”

Kirara snarled, as did Sara in her own way. They came face-to-face and glared at each other.

I doubted they’d have gotten this heated about themselves, but when it came to their mistresses, it was a whole different story. They each believed their own was the best so fervently that they’d never back down.

Just then, something dawned on me. Maybe against my better judgment, I interjected, “But even the most incredible mistress has to go to school somewhere. While they’re at Amanotsuka Academy, how can they or any other lady be superior to Lady Himeko, the deputy chairman of the board?”

I suddenly felt the chill of their icy gazes. Their eyes were directly on me.

“I guess this is where our friendship ends, Misaki,” Kirara said coldly.

“A mistress war can be a terrible thing,” Sara added. “There can only be one left standing.”

“Looks like we have to fight for survival.”

The two girls seemed blinded to everything else around them.

“Wait,” I said, my voice shaking. “Hold on. Maybe I spoke without thinking, but just because I think Lady Himeko’s the best doesn’t mean I think other mistresses are no big deal. I think they’re all equally amazing and worthy of respect. So please, snap out of it!”

I couldn’t even believe I’d said what I had. This school really had started messing with my mind.

“Hmph.”

“Hmph!”

With a dismissive huff, they finally did as I asked.

“All right, fine,” Kirara said.

Sara regained her usual composure. “It’s only natural for a maid to think her own mistress is the best, you know. All the more so if you have the position of Seraph.”

“Thank goodness,” I replied. “If we really would have broken off our friendship over this, I would’ve cried for sure.”

Kirara poked my forehead. “You’re always exaggerating.”

I whimpered. Nope, not exaggerating. I would’ve totally bawled my eyes out.

“I never knew pride for your mistress could go so far. Why don’t we put all that behind us and carry on with the conversation? Wait, what were we talking about again?” Putting a finger up to her chin, Karen tilted her head.

“Uh, let me see.” After a pause, I clapped my hands together. “That’s it! I wanted to know more about Lady Sakura. Based on what Sara just told us, it sounds like she’s really into trying new things, right?”

“Yes, that’s quite right. She’s capable of developing an interest in anything new and unusual. Occasionally, it can even get her into a spot of trouble.”

“Got it. So she should adapt to this school and its exclusive contract system pretty easily.”

“Indeed. In fact, it would be accurate to say that she chose the school based on that.”

“She did?”

“You all seem numb to it by now, but the idea of students dressed as maids is rather unusual in itself, is it not?” Smiling, Sara shrugged her shoulders.

“Haha, that’s true.”

No matter how widespread domestic service had become as a profession, there was still something pretty unique about a school where maids and mistresses studied in the same environment.

“So you’ll become Lady Sakura’s Seraph when she gets here, right?” As Kirara spoke, she crammed a bite-size donut into her mouth.

“Most likely, yes.”

“Shame. That’ll be one less thing I can lord over you.”

“Interesting. Is there anything else on the list other than your Seraph contract?” Sara threw this out there with an earnest expression.

Kirara snarled back at her, exasperated. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Sensing that the atmosphere was getting heated again, I frantically tried to calm them down. “Come on!”

Those two really were like oil and water, although I couldn’t have said which was one and which was the other.

“I’m joking,” Sara replied with a smirk.

Now that was unexpected. Did Sara really make a joke? That’s very unusual for her. If she was comfortable doing that, though, maybe the ice was well and truly broken.

Happy about this, I moved a little closer to Sara and said, “If she knows about how the school works, does that mean she also knows about the salons?”

“Good question. I suspect she might not, since they’re not officially run by the school itself.”

“That’ll be something new for her to discover when she gets here, then. I think she’ll be getting some invitations to join salons, so I wonder which one she’ll choose. Or maybe she’s the type of person to set up her own instead.”

“That could very well be. Knowing my mistress’s character, I can imagine she’d find the thought of founding her own salon to be most thrilling. However, she might wish to experience membership of an existing one first.”

In which case, maybe she’d actually enjoy having the salons fight over her.

“So, let’s say hypothetically that Lady Kagura invited her to join the Sky Salon—”

“Hold it, Misaki!” Kirara grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. “You don’t seriously think Lady Kagura will ask Lady Sakura to join, do you?”

Even though she was whispering right in my ear, I was sure everyone else could still hear her.

“I’m just saying it’s possible. If she does, though, that means we can hang out with Sara after school.”

“Blegh!” My suggestion, intended as a pleasant one, was clearly repellent to Kirara. “I don’t want to deal with Sara constantly complaining about everything I’m doing wrong after class too!”

“I don’t complain, I merely state the truth. The fact that you take it so personally is another point where you have much to learn.”

“Ugh, there you go complaining again!” Kirara started gnashing her teeth.

“Putting my own opinions aside, the Sky Salon is a fine place indeed. I find it likely that Lady Sakura would be taken with it.”

“Really? In that case, even if Lady Kagura doesn’t invite her, maybe I should ask Lady Himeko to bring her in to take a look.” I turned to Kirara. “You wouldn’t mind that, would you?”

She reluctantly shook her head. “If Lady Himeko brought her, I wouldn’t be in any position to object.”

This is working out pretty well. If I can lay the groundwork, there’s a good chance Lady Sakura will join the Sky Salon. Are we cheating by getting in there early? It’s not exactly a level playing field. Maybe we shouldn’t be taking advantage of that.

“You know, the truth is that there might be other salons looking to recruit Lady Sakura too.”

Instead of thinking too deeply about what to do, I just went ahead and said it. The Sky Salon itself was probably enough of a selling point, so there wasn’t much point in worrying about it.

“Is that so?” Sara asked.

“Yeah. Well, it’s not certain or anything, so I couldn’t name names; it was just Lady Himeko’s prediction. She wanted me to make sure you knew there might be other salons gunning for her.”

“Thank you. That’s something to look forward to. I believe Lady Sakura will enjoy it even more as a surprise, so I’ll keep it a secret as well.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s for the best. It’s not like we can try to sell her on the different salons when she’s not even here yet.”

With an enthralled expression, Karen put her hands on her cheeks and said, “Listening to all this, I can’t wait to meet Lady Sakura. She must be something special if you’re so devoted to her, Sara. I bet she’s gorgeous too.”

“I hope we’ll get to meet her,” Akira added, similarly deep in thought about the upcoming arrival.

“I’d be delighted to show off my wonderful mistress to you all, so I’ll ask her if she’d throw a tea party. Not only is she sweet and lovely, but she’s small enough to fit in my arms.”

Next to me, Kirara stifled a gasp. Then she murmured, “I think I have an idea of one other salon that’ll want to recruit Lady Sakura.”

Without even a word out of me, it sounded like she’d already thought of Lady Asuka, Mei, and the Paradise Palace.