Chapter Five: An Ominous Shadow

The following Monday, I reported to Lady Angelica in Himeko’s personal area at the Sky Salon.

“As far as I can tell,” I concluded, “Sara hasn’t told anyone else about Lady Sakura.”

Even though I hadn’t even informed Lady Angelica that I’d spoken to Sara, she’d arrived together with Himeko and immediately asked for an update. I wasn’t sure if she was just guessing that I’d probably taken care of it already or if her bats had acted as scouts or something, but either way, she just knew.

“Fair enough,” Lady Angelica replied. “That only deepens the mystery, I suppose. Well, Rosalie’s putting a great deal of enthusiasm into her British-style salon, so it’s not impossible that she has her own information sources in the UK, I suppose.”

Her expression said she didn’t find this explanation too convincing.

“I do have one idea, kind of,” Himeko offered. “I don’t really have any proof, and it doesn’t really explain why Rosalie was given the information, but it might help in some way.”

Her words were as vague and fuzzy as her troubled expression. It was rare for Himeko to beat around the bush like that. She had an aura that said she’d rather not talk about it, and that she didn’t want any further questions even though she was the one who had brought it up.

“I see,” Lady Angelica replied slowly. She appeared to have sensed this mood as well, and was likely debating whether to ask for more details or not.

Just then, we heard a bell over by the entrance, signaling the arrival of the elevator.

The words that followed came from Lady Kagura. “Good day.”

I could hear Kirara cheerfully rushing to meet her. “Good day, Lady Kagura!” We all found ourselves listening. “I have news, milady. The British student in our class, Sara, has been keeping quiet about the fact that she has a mistress. Don’t you think that’s incredible?”

She immediately started telling her mistress everything we’d heard from Sara. This was just as planned, so I was happy.

“Sara,” Lady Kagura replied. “That’s the girl who came here with you and Misaki, isn’t it? So she already has experience of serving someone in Britain? That explains why she’s so skilled already for a first-year student. I wonder what her mistress is like.”

“Apparently, she’s called Lady Sakura. And she’s transferring here!”

“Oh, is she Japanese? Or partly Japanese, perhaps?”

“No, I think she’s a pure-blooded Englishwoman. Although now that you mention it, her name does sound Japanese.”

“That’s quite an unusual name for a British person. Hmm, I feel as though I’ve heard it somewhere before. Ayakas!”

When she called the Kokonoe twins’ name, they replied in perfect unison, “Yes, milady?”

“Were you listening to our conversation just now?”

“We were indeed,” replied one of the sisters.

“You’d like us to investigate, I assume,” added the other.

“Precisely. The name really rings a bell.”

“This will be no trouble at all.”

“Researching an international student? We’ll be done in a flash.”

Then we heard the sisters’ footsteps approaching. I have a sinking feeling about how they plan to investigate. Surprise, surprise, they soon arrived at the entrance to our section of the salon.

“Just stopping by,” said one of them.

“We’d like to have a quick chat with Lady Himeko,” said the other.

“And Lady Angelica, if that’s all right.”

“How convenient that you’re both here! Heh heh.”

It made sense. Other than the teaching staff, the two people most likely to have information about a transfer student were the two ladies at my table. There was no need to go investigating on their own.

The ladies looked at each other.

“I don’t suppose there’s any harm in it,” Himeko said.

“No,” Lady Angelica agreed. “We don’t need to keep it a secret from them.”

After confirming this to one another, Himeko told the twins they could enter.

They both stepped inside and curtsied. Seeing them carry themselves with such refinement, it was hard to believe they were Domestic Arts students.

“We appreciate it.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Himeko.”

“Misaki, get us some chairs.”

“Yes, coming right up,” I replied. While I was dashing off to get the extra chairs, the twins called out to me as I passed.

“Get us drinks too, please!”

“Royal milk tea would be great!”

“Yes, got it,” I replied to the twins, who just didn’t know when to quit.

For starters, I focused on the chairs. Himeko and Lady Angelica were facing each other from opposite sides of the round table, so I positioned the twins across from each other as well.

“Here, have a seat.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“It’s nice that you took care of it so quickly, but it would have been better if you’d personally held out our chairs for us.”

I groaned. I’d had too little experience serving guests to pick up on that.

“Teehee. You’ll just have to make up for it by serving some extra delicious tea.”

“You’ve raised our expectations!”

Groaning again, I replied, “I’ll do what I can.”

Does this have to happen when Lady Angelica is right here? Well, I guess they pointed it out specifically because she’s here. Deciding this was the Kokonoe sisters being kind in their own unique way, I tried to make up for lost ground with spectacular tea, just like they’d said.

While I was heading off to handle that, the twins whipped out notebooks and started their line of questioning.

“Now, about that foreign student.”

“Could you tell us a little more about her?”

By the time I returned with the tea, it looked like they’d already heard all the key facts. They stared into the notebooks.

“Interesting, very interesting!”

“I can see why Lady Kagura was intrigued.”

When I put their tea on the table, they reached for the cups without taking their eyes off the notebooks. Was the information about Lady Sakura really all that special?

“It’s not public yet, so don’t tell anyone else, please,” Lady Angelica emphasized. “Within the Sky Salon is fine, but don’t go spreading it outside of that.”

They finally raised their heads again.

“Of course not.”

“Giving information out for free is a waste.”

“By the way, Lady Angelica, have you ever met Lady Sakura?”

“It would be ideal if we could learn a little more about her personality.”

“I can’t help you there, I’m afraid,” Lady Angelica replied with a chuckle. “But I know someone who can.”

“You mean Sara? She would know a lot since she worked for her.”

“She’d be on her guard if we started grilling her, though. I doubt she’d reveal anything too personal.”

“No, no, no. Asking Sara would be best, of course, but we have someone right here who knows plenty herself. Don’t we, Misaki?” Grinning, she turned to look at me.

The twins’ eyes gleamed. They stared at me like two snakes about to strike.

“Oh, Misaki, when did you get into the information-gathering business?”

“Has our training finally paid off?”

“Lady Angelica, did you have to sell me out like that?!”

“Well, you know, you’ve been avoiding me lately, so think of this as payback.” She stood up and prodded me in the cheek. “Anyway, I still have student council business to attend to, so I’ll be heading out. The rest is in Misaki’s capable hands!”

“No fair!” I cried.

She grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me down in the chair she had vacated. “Enjoy your evening, everyone.” To Himeko, she said, “Get in touch if there’s anything else.”

Then she made a graceful departure.

When she was gone, the Kokonoe sisters demanded details.

“Out with it, Misaki.”

“Cough up everything you know.”

I felt like I was being interrogated. All I could do was obey; I shared everything I’d heard from Sara that felt harmless enough, leaving out the details of Sara’s personal life, for example.

Afterward, they nodded, satisfied.

“My, my!”

“You had better info than expected.”

“Well done, Misaki.”

“You did a good job of squeezing it out of her.”

“That wasn’t what I was going for,” I insisted.

They started patting me on the head encouragingly, which was all well and good—but when they tried to go for my butt, I hurriedly put my hands in the way.

“Oh, but if you do that...”

“You’ll leave your chest totally unguarded!”

I gasped as their hands bore down on my breasts. I reflexively put my arms in a cross formation to cover them, but of course that meant my butt was an open target again. Deciding it was the lesser of two evils, I gave in and submitted to the butt patting, groaning in disgruntlement.

“Heehee! Don’t be so annoyed.”

“We’re going to give you a present for telling us such juicy details.”

“You are?”

“Yep!”

“Wait here a moment.”

With that, Music Ayaka stood from her chair and dashed off somewhere, then quickly returned holding several notebooks.

“These are for you. Well, not all of them. Half are for Kirara, and then you should swap.”

“Huh?”

I still didn’t get what they meant, so I took one of the notebooks and flipped through the pages. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

“What is this?!” I exclaimed, gawking at the contents.

The notebook was filled with personal data on the young ladies of the academy—their names, dates of birth, hobbies, special skills, favorite and least favorite things, and so on. The whole thing was full, with each lady having roughly a two-page spread to herself.

It was an unbelievable amount of information. Does this cover every Societal Arts student in the whole school?

“Researching it all for yourself would have been best, of course.”

“But you and Kirara are working hard, so we thought we’d help you out.”

“What? I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this.”

It didn’t feel right at all. Terms I’d never really thought about before like “information breach” and “data protection law” flashed into my mind.

“But it’ll be so handy.”

“You might wind up in trouble without it.”

Their tone was like they were telling a ghost story, which only exacerbated my anxiety.

“How? What do you mean?”

“Let’s say Lady Himeko invites a guest over.”

“You’ll have to be thoroughly prepared to welcome them, won’t you?”

I stared back, suddenly afraid they might be right.

“That’s going to be tough if you don’t know what they like.”

“Imagine serving them something they hated! What a disaster.”

“You’d make Lady Himeko look like a terrible host.”

“In the worst-case scenario, you might even ruin her relationship with the guest.”

Groaning, I replied, “That could happen, yeah.” It was far too believable. I could just picture it.

“We’re not telling you to use it for evil.”

“Although you could also study up on everyone’s weak points.”

“If you work it to your advantage, it’ll be a lifesaver.”

“Depending on how you use it, the information in this book could be worth more than gold.”

I let out a whimper.

“Either way, if you don’t start memorizing the ladies’ details, we’ll have to keep going with our lunchtime training forever.”

“If you’d rather gather all the information on your own instead, be our guest!”

“Fine, all right. I get it.”

It sounded like I didn’t have a choice, so I reluctantly took the notebooks crammed full of sensitive personal data.

Himeko raised no objection either. “I think this’ll be a big help for you, Misaki. You should make good use of them for your future.”

For my future? Does she mean it could help me with finding a job?

Applying to companies with a connection to the ladies of Amanotsuka Academy was likely to make things at least a little easier. Even if not, asking Himeko to point me out to relevant ladies and making sure they remembered my face could be beneficial in other ways.

In any case, it occurred to me that losing any of these notebooks would be a catastrophe. As I took them into my hands, I felt like I was taking on an immense amount of responsibility as well.

✤

After receiving the Kokonoe sisters’ notebooks crammed full of personal information, I started looking through them whenever I had a free moment. Kirara did the same, and we often ended up treating it like an English vocabulary study session. We’d open it up and repeat the contents aloud to try and drum it into our heads.

After a few days of that, something unexpected happened. Just before class started after lunch, Sara spoke to us of her own accord.

“Misaki, Kirara, can I borrow you for a second?”

Being interrupted while I was trying to memorize a page of info made me respond with kind of a weird noise. “Bwuh?”

“There’s something I’d like to ask you,” she added.

“What is it?” Kirara replied, closing her notebook.

“I don’t think either of you would have done it. I don’t believe you even know her. Still, I have to ask.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Kirara, moving into the corner of the classroom. Presumably, she figured this might be a conversation best not overheard. “It’s not like you to be so vague. You normally make yourself very clear.”

I followed Kirara into the corner, as did Sara. There she finally came out with it. “Did either of you tell anyone about Lady Sakura?”

“Well, I did tell Lady Kagura,” Kirara answered honestly.

This didn’t appear to faze Sara at all, however. “I wouldn’t say that’s a problem. In fact, it’s not inherently a problem for others to know about Lady Sakura, but I’m quite puzzled that I was asked about her by someone with whom I am not acquainted whatsoever.”

“Really? Someone you don’t even know?” I asked.

She nodded. “I believe her name is Risa Tsuyuki. No, that’s not quite right. Sari Tsuyuki.”

“Lady Rosalie?”

“You know her, Misaki?”

“I do, but it’s not me she heard it from.”

Sara raised her eyebrows.

“Actually, Lady Rosalie knew about Lady Sakura’s arrival before I did.”

She looked perplexed. “Oh?”

“Yes, it’s kind of a mystery, but apparently she knows all about Lady Sakura and wants to invite her to join her salon.”

“Hmm.” Sara put a finger to her chin and pondered.

“Did something happen between you and Lady Rosalie?”

“Well, she’s asked me to have tea with her.”

“She did?”

“Yes.”

Targeting the lieutenant first to get closer to the general? Sneaky.

This meant Lady Rosalie knew about more than just Lady Sakura herself, though. She also knew that Sara had served her in Britain. She was very well informed indeed.

“Are you going to take her up on the offer?”

Sara appeared lost for a moment, as if this was proving to be a tough decision. “I suppose so, yes. When she spoke to me, Lady Sari—Lady Rosalie—was awfully polite. Her tone was that of inviting an honored guest to visit her. Of course, it’s clear that she hopes to use me to make a good impression on Lady Sakura, but I’m discerning enough to tell that she didn’t have ill intentions beyond that. There was no deception afoot, and her invitation was a serious one.”

“Right, I see.”

“That’s why I’m so unsure as to what to do. It seems reasonable to accept her invitation, but I can’t imagine where she obtained the information about Lady Sakura.”

“Wow, yeah,” I replied, pondering the matter. “I can see your point.”

On the plus side, her intentions were clear as day. There wasn’t some hidden motive that could get Sara involved in some complicated mess.

“Hold it right there!” Kirara demanded, dispelling the downcast atmosphere. “I might as well say this now. Lady Kagura is planning to officially ask Lady Sakura to join the Sky Salon. Putting my personal opinion aside, if that’s what my mistress decides, I can’t carry water for the other team. I realize this is no more than my own personal request, but I’ll say it here and now: don’t go and have tea with Lady Rosalie.”

Wow, impressive. Inside, she had to be fiercely opposed to Sara and her mistress joining us, but she was able to put a lid on her own feelings and fight for what Lady Kagura wanted.

“Oh dear,” Sara murmured with a troubled expression. “It’s a great honor to be invited to join two different salons, but if Lady Sakura herself isn’t here, I mustn’t do anything to suggest I’m answering on her behalf. There is something a tad questionable about Lady Rosalie and how she got her information, but I don’t think she’s a bad person. As for the Sky Salon, I’ve experienced its splendor for myself, so on that front I’ve gathered quite some knowledge already.” She sighed heavily. “What should I do?”

In contrast to her usual confidence, Sara now looked as lost as a bedraggled kitten in the rain. Even someone as collected as her still needed her mistress by her side.

“Well, maybe it’s okay to put it on hold. Like you said, Lady Sakura’s not here yet, so it’s better for you not to give a firm answer. Lady Kagura can’t make a move until your mistress is actually here anyway, right?”

“True,” Kirara interjected. “Lady Kagura’s also aware that there are other salons trying to nab Lady Sakura, but she’s not the kind of person to sneakily get a head start on her opponents. For now, I think she’s at the stage of figuring out a plan to get her once she arrives.”

There was pride in Kirara’s tone. She clearly liked her mistress’s sportsmanlike attitude. No underhanded trickery.

“You raise some valid points. I suppose I shall refuse Lady Rosalie for the time being. I’ll tell her it would be lovely if she extended the invitation again after my mistress’s arrival.”

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.

Sara turned to Kirara. “That being said, if Lady Sakura does join the Sky Salon, then that means I, in turn, would join you there as well. Are you certain you’d be able to accept this?”

It obviously hadn’t escaped Sara’s notice that Kirara had such a burning sense of rivalry with her. Would Kirara really be able to deal with it? It was a reasonable question.

“Heh.” Kirara smirked. “Naturally, it’d be annoying seeing your face every day, but if you did join, I’d be the more senior, experienced maid at the Sky Salon. Whether you liked it or not, you’d have to listen to me when I told you about how things work in the salon, what goes where, and how all the cleaning and tidying should be done. Don’t worry, though! I’d educate you very well indeed. Heheh.”

Wow, Kirara’s enjoying this idea far too much.

She’d presumably had Sara on her mind a lot since Lady Kagura decided she was planning to ask Lady Sakura to join. This must have been the only way she’d figured out that she could accept the situation—by being top dog.

“My goodness. Well, should that come to pass, I shall simply ask Misaki to teach me everything instead.”

“Too bad for you,” Kirara shot back. “Lady Kagura’s the head of the salon, and I’m her Seraph. It’d obviously be my job to show you the ropes. Sure, Misaki may be Lady Himeko’s Seraph, but without my mistress’s permission, she can’t do anything in the salon that goes against my mistress’s wishes.”

“I could ask her other two Seraphs, in that case.”

She must mean the Kokonoe twins. I don’t know, though.

“Wrong again. They wouldn’t want to lower themselves to dealing with such a trivial task. They’d tell me to handle it for sure.”

Yup. That’s exactly how it would go.

Sara gritted her teeth. For the first time, she looked like she might be regretting that this looked like a very real possibility.

“Oh no, I’ve got you there, haven’t I? Now I really hope you join—and the sooner, the better! If you do, I’ll give you an education you’ll never forget. Ohohohoho!”

Laughing in a boisterous yet refined manner, Kirara returned to her seat. When did she get so much like the Kokonoe sisters?

“Misaki, if it does come to that, could I please ask you to quietly teach me all the different bits and bobs in as speedy a manner as you can muster?”

Her tone was quite insistent. With a strained smile, I gave a noncommittal reply. “Let’s see. Maybe it won’t come to that.”

It didn’t look like the discord between those two would be ending anytime soon.

✤

When I got into the bath, the day’s stresses and strains started to melt away.

Since getting those notebooks from the Kokonoe sisters, my brain had been working overtime. Having a moment to fully relax was indescribably lovely.

I dearly wished I could forget all about my work as a maid, but of course that was too much to ask for. I had to report to Himeko about what I’d learned. Once we’d finished scrubbing each other’s bodies, she sank into the tub to soak, and I did the same.

“Lady Rosalie seems really determined to get Lady Sakura, don’t you think?”

As we faced each other in the spacious bathtub, our legs brushed, sending a thrill through me. Her naked body was exceptionally appealing even to me, a fellow girl, and it was right there in front of my face. I didn’t quite know where to look.

“Did something happen?”

While asking this, she poked my feet with her toes. I retaliated as I recalled what Sara had said.

“She approached Sara and invited her to have tea. The weird part is how she knows about the connection between Sara and Lady Sakura in the first place.”

“That is quite strange. Nothing about Sara was included in Sakura’s student profile, so she shouldn’t have known they were connected. Not through any normal channels.”

“Yeah. Sara didn’t tell her about it herself, and I didn’t either. How does she know? She must have a really intricate intelligence network or something.”

“That’s possible. I can think of one way she might have found out, though. Sort of.”

“There is?”

“It’s true that Sakura’s profile says nothing about Sara and vice versa. But if you got a chance to look at both profiles in detail, it would jump out that they’re both from Britain. Then you might figure out that they have a connection.”

“Right, yeah.”

“Normal students don’t get to see that information for obvious reasons. The only ones who can are the teaching staff and a few students in particular.”

“Like you and Lady Angelica.” I couldn’t think of any other students who’d be in a position to look at all that personal data.

“Exactly. Both of us are allowed. There is one other person too, though.”

“Is this what you were about to mention in the Sky Salon the other day?”

“Yes.”

In the end, the Kokonoe sisters had barged in, so the topic had been dropped.

“Well? Who is it?”

Himeko fell silent for a few moments. After steeling her resolve, she told me, “It’s Shion Tsukuyomi—the girl who’s like a sister to me. She could get hold of any information she wanted.”

“Really? How?”

“The Tsukuyomi family is involved with the school’s administration. She doesn’t have direct access, but if she wanted to, she’d find a way to get her hands on it.”

“Still, that doesn’t explain why she’d want to tell Lady Rosalie about any of this.”

“Exactly. I just can’t wrap my head around it. That’s probably why it hasn’t occurred to Lady Angelica as a possible explanation.”

Both of us fell quiet. Lady Shion’s name was one I definitely hadn’t expected to hear. I wondered why she’d do something like this, but I knew it was pointless to wonder if even Himeko had no idea.

I was the one to break the silence. “Well, you don’t have proof the leak came from Lady Shion, right?”

“No, it’s just a guess on my part.”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“I’m sure she would just feign ignorance. If she’s using Rosalie to her own ends rather than acting herself, I don’t think she’ll show her cards until the results come to fruition.”

“Oh. Fair enough.” Lady Shion sure was an enigmatic person.

“By the way,” Himeko asked, “is Sara going to take Rosalie up on her offer? Will she go for tea with her?”

“No. She came to Kirara and me for advice, and after we all discussed it, she decided not to go.”

“That might be for the best. Her going could have gained us some information, but she might have ended up caught in a trap somehow.”

Then she said, “Come here,” and pulled me toward her. Waves rippled across the water’s surface, with Himeko’s breasts swaying along with them. I rested against her and she embraced me from behind, holding me tightly. It seemed like she was nervous, so to reassure her, I grasped her arms firmly in return.

“No use worrying about it, I suppose,” she said at last. “If the information really did come from Shion, the earliest she’ll tell us is probably after Sakura joins a salon. We’ll have to ask her then.”

“Sounds sensible.”

As I replied, I leaned back against Himeko, acting every bit the adoring servant. My behavior made her chuckle softly.

Since I’d switched off work mode, Himeko also seemed to decide to let that be the end of that topic. The tension left her, and her hands—even as her arms still held me—started to wander. As they brushed the side of my body, I jumped.

“Hey! That tickles!”

“I’m just checking if you’ve gained any weight. You’ve been eating so many sweets lately. I’m worried about you.”

Her demonic hands continued to mercilessly torment my body.

“I haven’t. I’m working so hard, the calories just fall off.”

I was arching my back in a futile effort to avoid her hands, but otherwise I let her have her way. I figure helping my mistress relax is all part of a maid’s job. Right?

“You know, I’ve never really seen you do any exercise,” I pointed out. “Aren’t you worried about your own figure?”

“Oh, not at all. I don’t eat that much, so I can’t have gained any weight.”

“You sure about that? I’ll give you a good feel to make sure!”

“Heh, be my guest. I don’t mind.”

Hot water splashed everywhere as our voices echoed throughout the bathroom. If anyone had been watching, they surely would have warned us it was thoroughly improper, but I didn’t see a problem with it. This was just how comfortable Himeko and I had gotten with each other’s naked bodies. Even as I grew very slightly lightheaded, our game of offense and defense in the bath carried on.

This is kind of a workout in itself, I guess!

✤

After Sara refused Lady Rosalie’s invitation, nothing much happened for a few days. Lady Rosalie hadn’t given up on winning over Lady Sakura, of course, but she didn’t keep trying to hurry things along by going for Sara. From what I heard, she’d told Sara, “I had been hoping to hear a little more about Sakura from you before her arrival, but that’s all right. I understand why you’re cautious. I genuinely want her to join my salon, though, so I’ll invite both of you for tea after she gets here. I do hope to see you then!”

There was no bad blood on Sara’s side. She had replied, “When my mistress is here, I’m quite certain we’ll be glad to accept. I’ll make sure to inform her about it.”

It was still unclear how or why Lady Shion was using Lady Rosalie, or if that was even the case to begin with, but one way or another, it did appear to be a serious effort on Lady Rosalie’s part. There was no doubt on that front, so there was no reason to disparage her. I was sure that if Lady Sakura did go for her salon, she’d have a great time.

Shortly after that, though, Lady Kagura officially announced to the Sky Salon members that she was making plans to invite Lady Sakura to join, so I couldn’t let Lady Rosalie steal her away. I had to give it my all and do what I could to make sure she picked the Sky Salon instead.

✤

Then came July 1st. A clear, blue sky stretched above us without a single cloud. The summer sun’s rays were scorching hot on our skin, but we stood by the school’s front gate without moving an inch.

“She should be here soon, right?” I asked.

“Yes, it shouldn’t be much longer,” Sara replied, looking straight ahead. “I calculated the time it should take from the airport numerous times just to be sure.”

“What if there’s a traffic jam?” Kirara said, attempting to throw cold water on her certainty.

Sara took it in her stride, however. “I included that as a factor.”

There had been no way Sara would wait in her room, of course. She’d woken up bright and early to wait by the gate like a faithful puppy. Kirara and I had decided to join her.

We were purely there as her friends, wanting to meet our friend’s mistress. We didn’t have any plans to start giving her a Sky Salon sales pitch. It was up to Lady Kagura to make the first move, so there was no way we could do anything to spoil her carefully laid plans. To be honest, it wasn’t ideal for us to be there saying hello the second she arrived, but our overeager desire to be the first ones to see Sara’s mistress had won out.

Himeko and Lady Kagura hadn’t told us not to either. In fact, Himeko had said she’d be waiting inside the building ready to show Lady Sakura around. Normally that would have been Lady Angelica’s responsibility, but Himeko had taken the job off her hands.

Suddenly, Sara straightened up. “I can hear a car drawing nearer. It must be my mistress.”

Amanotsuka Academy was at the top of a small hill and surrounded by a tall fence, so the earliest we’d be able to see the car was when it approached the area in front of the gate. That was why all she had to go on was the sound.

She was certain, though. “It’s definitely her. There wouldn’t be external businesspeople arriving at this time on a weekend. There should be no cars driving around this close to the school unless they strayed here by accident or had some very specific reason.”

“Fair enough,” I replied.

It sounded like she’d accounted for absolutely everything in her calculations. Through the fence, I could hear the sound of the car approaching. Then a taxi slowly drove into the turning area in front.

“You were right!” Kirara said, looking quite pleased. Even she was excited to meet Lady Sakura.

The taxi quietly pulled up to the entrance and stopped. My view of the back seat was obscured by the bright glare of the sun, but I was pretty sure I could see a young lady inside.

Sara ran over, recognizing her mistress instantly. “Lady Sakura!”

So much for waiting with dignified poise!

“Sara, wait!” I followed after her, a strained smile on my face. Kirara came with me.

Breathlessly, Sara called her mistress’s name again. “Lady Sakura!”

At the same moment, the car door opened and the girl inside got out. “Honestly, such disgraceful behavior!” she said in perfectly fluent Japanese.

Wait, is she Japanese?

But this thought that flashed into my mind was quickly dispelled. Looking at her, she was clearly different from Himeko, the very picture of Japanese beauty. I could tell right away that she was a Western beauty, dressed in a gown that would have been perfectly suited for a high-class ball. She was the epitome of a fairy-tale princess.

As we’d seen in her profile, she was a little on the short side, but she came across as more mature in person. She exuded the aura of natural-born nobility.

Her blue eyes that were as clear as the ocean took in Sara first of all, then shifted to us, glimmering with curiosity. Her long, narrow, blonde pigtails were tied with pink ribbons, only enhancing how sweet and adorable she looked.

The skin on her slender arms and legs was pale and perfectly clear. I was sure it would be soft and smooth to the touch.

She was beautiful, adorable, and noble. Those were the words that seemed to sum her up. I could see why Sara had ended up suffering from mistress deficiency syndrome. With a mistress as exquisite as this, even being apart from her for a day would have to be painful.

She turned back to Sara. “How have you been?”

“Eagerly awaiting your arrival, milady.” She reached out and pulled her mistress in for a tight hug.

“Honestly, you never listen to me!” Lady Sakura chided, but she didn’t try to draw away. Clearly, she knew how much Sara had missed her. She stroked Sara’s back. “There, there.”

This continued for what felt like five whole minutes.

“Surely that’s enough now,” Lady Sakura said at last, lightly tapping Sara on the hip.

Sara still looked reluctant to let her go, but she finally did so. Smiling, she replied, “My supply of Lady Sakura had run completely dry. I needed it to be refilled.”

“Don’t be daft.” Lady Sakura took her faithful servant’s hand and turned her gaze on Kirara and me again. “Good day. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you friends of Sara’s?”

With her free hand, she grasped her skirt, delivering a curtsy so graceful that she looked like a magical fairy. Struck by the full force of her smile, my heart skipped a beat.

“Good day,” I replied, my voice suddenly shrill and uneven.

Kirara was just about able to keep it together, but her eyes were fixed directly on Lady Sakura. “Good day.”

“And, erm, you’re right,” I told Lady Sakura. “We’re Sara’s classmates and friends. We were aware that your arrival was scheduled for today, so we took it upon ourselves to accompany her in the hope of making your acquaintance at the earliest possible opportunity.”

My phrasing was getting uncomfortably formal and convoluted, but that was just how nervous I was.

Kirara added, “We didn’t want to get in the way, but Sara insisted she wanted you to meet us, so came with her to wait.”

“I don’t recall saying any such thing,” Sara immediately countered.

“I’m kidding,” Kirara replied, wearing a smile that held no malice. Seeing how joyful Sara was at being reunited with her mistress, even Kirara wasn’t about to pick a fight. She knew the bliss of being beside one’s mistress very well.

“My, my, I’m surprised to see that Sara has made friends she can share jokes with. She’s always been practically glued to me. She even used to try coming with me when I went to the bathroom. It seems like having her come here before me paid off.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t disclose such private details, milady.” Sara’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment at this interesting revelation.

“You can’t blame me for being worried. I didn’t know how you’d cope on your own. It’s fantastic that you’ve gotten to know people. Now, hurry up and introduce us.”

Some dissatisfaction still lingered on Sara’s face, but after a moment she said, “Very well. These are, well, yes, I suppose I would call them my friends. These are my friends, Misaki and Kirara. They’re both in my class, and they’re in the service of frightfully esteemed mistresses.”

“How marvelous. I hope you’ll both introduce me to your mistresses too.”

“Absolutely,” I replied. I glanced toward the school buildings. “You’ll meet mine right after this, actually.”

“Oh?”

“She’s waiting inside, ready to give you a tour of the school.”

“I see. I certainly shouldn’t keep her waiting. Hopefully it’s all right if we chat a little more while we’re walking.”

“It’ll be no problem at all, I’m sure.”

“Milady, is this all your luggage?”

I hadn’t even noticed her doing it, but Sara had already managed to get all of Lady Sakura’s baggage out of the taxi. She really doesn’t miss a single detail.

“Yes, that’s all for now. The rest should be delivered today. All the essentials are in there, though, so it’s fine.”

“Then why don’t we set off?” Since it was my mistress waiting inside, I took it upon myself to lead the way, trying to be as polite and graceful as possible. I wanted her to get a good first impression of Amanotsuka Academy and of us.

Lady Sakura let out an amused chuckle that I hoped wasn’t a reaction to this slightly forced attempt. “I know it shouldn’t come as a surprise, since I was familiar with how the school worked when I entered Sara into the Domestic Arts program, but it’s still a little strange to see students actually wearing maid uniforms.”

“Do you think so?” I replied awkwardly. I was so used to it now that I didn’t really think about it, but it was unusual to have a school where ladies and maids studied on the same campus.

“Yes, but I’m really excited. I have a feeling I’ll get something out of it that a normal school wouldn’t give me. Sara—and Misaki and Kirara too—I hope you’ll tell me everything there is to know about this place. I want to dive headfirst into my new life here and enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Jolly good,” Sara replied.

“We’ll tell you everything we can,” I added.

“This school has a lot of unique systems,” Kirara said, “so I definitely recommend you start getting some firsthand experience with them.”

“I can’t wait.”

The eagerness was clear in Lady Sakura’s voice as she looked up at the castle-like building towering above her.

On a dazzlingly sunny day in early summer, this new lady made her debut at Amanotsuka Academy for Girls.