Chapter Two: The Secret Weapon
Chapter Two: The Secret Weapon
The following day, Lady Kagura got in touch with the competing salons’ leaders, Lady Asuka and Lady Rosalie, and decided on the day they’d all try to win over Lady Sakura.
This was one day before the end-of-term exams were due to start, so it was agreed that it would be best to do it when they were finished, during the post-exam break.
In turn, this meant preparing for the Lady Sakura business alongside the exams, but no one seemed overly worried about that. All the Sky Salon members had good grades, and Lady Asuka and Lady Rosalie were apparently near the top of their classes too. I guess being a salon leader and having respectable grades must go hand in hand.
As for me, Himeko was helping me study every day, so I was fairly confident I’d get above-average grades. Of course, I couldn’t rest on my laurels. I’d have to find as much time to study as I could that night, same as always.
When I arrived at the Sky Salon after school, Lady Kagura was about to leave. “Well then, I’m going to visit Sakura.”
She departed with Kirara and the Kokonoe sisters in tow. I gathered that she planned to inform Lady Sakura about the three salons’ plan to formally invite her, confirm that she would be on board with it, and explain how she needed to prepare.
The remaining members were busy cleaning up the salon and arranging a private area for Lady Sakura. Naturally, these tasks fell mostly on the Seraphs, so Himeko was having a conversation with Lady Saeko, Lady Sumire, and Lady Inaho about what to serve Lady Sakura at the tea party.
Knowing them, I figured they could get their hands on the finest quality of sweets. Even so, I was a little uncomfortable. After all, Mei’s Swiss roll was possibly the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted in my entire life. If she gave that to Lady Sakura, no store-bought sweets we served could hope to compare.
Plus, if Lady Rosalie was getting advice from Lady Shion, she was not to be underestimated by any means.
Part of me wanted to impress this point upon them a little more strongly. If I’d been alone with Himeko, I’d have brought it up, but I really didn’t feel comfortable interrupting the whole group, especially with Lady Saeko there.
Is it really okay not to say anything, though? The worries built up in my mind more and more as I cleaned.
Then, of all things, Lady Saeko called out to me herself. “Hey, it looks like Misaki wants to say something. I’d love to hear her thoughts. Misaki, why don’t you come over here?”
I let out a mixture of a gasp and a whimper. “Erm, no, I don’t have any thoughts, really!”
She looked at me and snickered. “Oh my, what an amusing sound you just made. Now, just come over here.” Beckoning me with a hand, she repeated, “Over here.”
When she was being that insistent, I didn’t know what she would do if I refused. I solemnly made my way to their table. As soon as I got there, I stood by Himeko’s side. That was the safest place.
“So, what was it that you were so eager to tell us? Are you worried about something?”
Lady Saeko was an extremely perceptive person. If I tried to hide anything from her, it would only provoke her wrath. Still, rather than speaking right away, I made eye contact with Himeko.
“It’s all right,” she said. “Go ahead.”
Only once I’d gotten her permission did I begin. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll tell you what I’m so worried about.” I took a breath, then continued, “Basically, when I visited the Paradise Palace yesterday, I was treated to some food as well. What I was served there was incredibly delicious. In fact, it was probably the yummiest thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole life.”
Lady Saeko flicked out her tongue, lifting the corner of her lips into a grin. “Goodness. It sounds like they served you up something really special.”
“Yes,” I replied nervously. “At first, I thought it was something they’d ordered from outside the school, but it was actually handmade by Mei. I was so shocked. It looked just like it had been factory-made, and if someone had told me a professional pâtissier had made it, I’d have believed them. It was just so perfect!”
“I get what you’re saying.” Lady Saeko nodded; her look said she understood my point very well indeed. “Mei’s confections are often described as being second to none. We can’t compete if we serve something ordinary that comes from a store.”
“Exactly. To beat that, we’ll need something really special of our own, won’t we?”
“Hmm. If Mei’s sweets really are that amazing, I wish I could try them for myself.” Lady Saeko didn’t sound overly impressed.
Responding to that, Lady Sumire smiled gently and said, “I’ve heard the same thing. I’d love to partake too, but it is rather difficult when she’s in a different salon.”
“I’ve tried something she made,” Lady Inaho said. “It went way beyond the level of an amateur baker. But it’s so full of her love for Nekopeko”—that was her nickname for Lady Asuka—“that it would be hard to stomach if I ate it every day.”
A bitter expression formed on her face. Not only had the flavor been impressive, but she’d even been able to taste the emotions that went into making it.
“I guess there is such a thing as too much love,” Lady Saeko replied curtly. “It does sound like Mei’s skills are pretty extraordinary, but to be honest, I doubt they’re all that miraculous.”
Even after hearing the verdicts from me and Lady Inaho, she didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, she was downright dismissive.
“Huh? Why?” Somehow I just couldn’t make her understand. “You’d know if you tasted it. This is the kind of delicious treat that would win over any girl, I’m sure of it.”
She chuckled. “I can tell you’re thinking very seriously about this. Kagura will be thrilled to hear that.”
“I’m just determined for Lady Sakura to join the Sky Salon. I don’t know her very well yet, but I really want her Seraph, Sara, to join us here and work with us. That’s my number one reason.”
“Sara’s the girl you brought here not too long ago, isn’t she? So she’s become Sakura’s Seraph. All right, then. I’ll explain how I see it.” All of a sudden, Lady Saeko’s expression looked far more serious than usual. “First and foremost, Lady Kagura assembles the members here with her own personal goals in mind. You know about that, right?”
“Yes.”
“We each have a field that makes us useful. For me, it’s funding. For Sumire, it’s political connections. For Inaho, it’s the food needed for a healthy athlete. For Himeko, it’s securing human resources. You could say we’re all here as Kagura’s business partners. We all enjoy drinking tea together, but that’s not the main objective. In turn, this means that what Kagura’s offering to Sakura isn’t for her to join a salon where we’ll enjoy delicious tea and cakes together. It’s for Sakura to share in her dream—and offer her support in return.”
“So she’s not trying to reel in Lady Sakura with the sweets at all?” I replied, trying to sum up what she’d said.
Lady Saeko tilted her head. “Well, that’s how I see it, anyway. I haven’t checked with Kagura herself.”
“I see.”
“To be frank, though, it doesn’t matter what kind of tasty treats get served or how much our rivals know about Sakura. Kagura is still the front-runner by miles.”
“Oh, really?”
“I can’t say I know too much about Sakura personally, but I know she didn’t come here just for the sake of studying abroad. She’s here to help expand her family’s TV and online streaming business into the Japanese market, and in the future she might even be the one in charge of that arm of the company. If so, she’ll be eager to make a connection with Kagura as well. Kagura’s upcoming sporting goods brand will be the kind of content that really draws in the viewers, not just locally but worldwide, and it’s backed by the Mikage Group, which has many of Japan’s most important companies under its umbrella. Why wouldn’t she want to be close to Kagura?”
“Right, yeah. When you put it that way, it makes sense.”
Lady Sakura seemed like a strong-willed individual. If she was fully focused on her own future, she’d no doubt decide that joining the Sky Salon to network with Lady Kagura was the most beneficial option.
Even so, I felt like Mei’s confections were amazing enough to make up for that all on their own. We also had no idea how much information Lady Shion had actually fed to Lady Rosalie. Taking all that into account, I still didn’t think we could consider it a done deal.
“My, my. It looks like you’re still not convinced.”
Frowning, I replied, “Well, I wouldn’t say that.”
What Lady Saeko had said was totally reasonable, but I couldn’t help having some reservations anyway.
I thought she might get annoyed with me, but an amused smile appeared on her face. “Personally, I’m seventy or eighty percent certain that Kagura will snatch victory, but if you’re still worried, why don’t we go the extra mile to make sure? The only downside is that then I’d be ninety-five percent sure, and that would take a lot of the excitement out of it.”
“Do you know of something that might beat Mei’s baking?”
“Hmm? No, not at all. I haven’t tasted any of it, after all. Still, when you attend a tea party, the sweets aren’t the only thing you get to savor, right?”
I cocked my head, unsure of what she was getting at. “What do you mean?”
“This tea party is a battle of hospitality in general. Flavor alone won’t earn us the win. Here’s an idea for what else we could do.”
Then Lady Saeko pulled me closer and whispered something into my ear.
Hearing it, I couldn’t help exclaiming, “What?! Can we really do that?”
“We absolutely, positively can. It doesn’t matter if the sweets are store-bought or handmade, so trust me, this is fair game.”
“That would draw Lady Sakura’s attention, I guess.”
“Of course, in this case it would be you and Kirara who hold the key to victory. Talk to each other and decide whether you can do it.”
“Okay! I’ll discuss it with her!”
Despite my vague reply, the idea was a solid one. Even if we didn’t win, I was pretty confident we’d capture Lady Sakura’s heart.
✤
“We’re back,” Lady Kagura called out as she entered.
By the time she returned to the Sky Salon, it was close to curfew. With her usual smile, she went to the central table with Kirara and the twins following close behind.
From the looks of things, everything had gone according to plan and the date of the competition had been finalized. Without even being called, all the Sky Salon members gathered around the table.
“Sorry it took so long. Sakura has quite a busy schedule right now! She’s been talking to the other salon leaders as well, you see.”
“So, at the very least, she does intend to join a salon,” Lady Saeko remarked.
“Yes, that much is clear,” Lady Kagura replied. “The timing is set for the week after exams finish. On the first day of the post-exam break, each salon will open their doors to her, then all three will throw a joint tea party. Sakura will make her choice after that.”
Lady Saeko nodded. “That’s the only timing that makes sense. Summer vacation is so soon afterward.”
“When she comes to visit us here, I’d like all of you to mingle with her and have a proper chat. Also, just so you’re aware, members of the Paradise Palace and Gloriana Guesthouse will be present too. They won’t sit down with her, but they’ll be closely observing our words and behavior to ensure we don’t violate any rules.”
“There are rules?”
“Well, none that are set in stone. We mustn’t try to bribe her, for example.”
“Fair enough,” Lady Saeko murmured, sounding convinced.
“The order in which she’ll visit each salon is as follows: the Sky Salon, then the Paradise Palace, then the Gloriana Guesthouse. The sweets at the joint tea party will be served in the same order. This is based on Sakura’s request for the highest-ranking salon to go first.”
“It sounds like she’s a big fan of keeping things fair and impartial.”
Puzzled as to how she’d reached that conclusion, I interjected, “Huh? Why?”
“It makes sense if you’ve ever watched a contest based on scoring points,” Lady Saeko said. “The first player always sets the baseline for the others. No matter how amazing their performance is, they’ll almost never get a perfect score. If they did, there’d be no room left in the scoring system if the next player turned out to be even better. Right?”
“I see, yeah.”
“Which means that with the Sky Salon first in the running order, we become the yardstick and it’ll be easier to assign points to the others.”
“That’s probably just what she was thinking,” said Lady Kagura, agreeing with Lady Saeko. “I don’t see it as a major problem, however. It might weaken her impression of the Sky Salon a tiny bit, but I don’t think she’s the kind of person to let herself be swayed by that.”
In the end, there were only three salons competing. They weren’t being graded out of a hundred, nor was there any scoring system that would be affected by rating the first salon too highly. It probably wouldn’t be an issue.
However, looking at me, Lady Saeko put on an affected tone that sounded very concerned indeed and said to Lady Kagura, “Well, I see your point when it comes to the order she visits the salons, but for the tea party, I think it could be an issue.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Think about it. The very next team going after us is the Paradise Palace, led by Mei.”
Lady Asuka may have been the salon’s leader, but Mei was undoubtedly the one who was really eager to win over Lady Sakura, so no one corrected her.
Lady Saeko continued, “I heard all about Mei’s patisserie skills from Misaki. Apparently her handmade sweets are so supremely delicious that they were beyond description. She said they’d be fit to serve to the emperor himself.”
I hadn’t said that at all, but I figured Lady Saeko was exaggerating on purpose.
“True, I’ve heard rumors like that as well.” It sounded like Lady Kagura hadn’t sampled any of Mei’s treats either.
“According to Misaki, no girl would be able to resist Mei’s creations. Sakura will be her captive without a doubt.”
“I mean, I’m sure that would be true of any normal, person, but—”
“Which is why we have a plan!” Beaming, Lady Saeko clapped her hands once; the preamble was over. “Misaki told me she’s dying to make the dish we serve Sakura.”
Lady Kagura’s crystal clear gaze shot through me. “Is that so?”
I knew it would come to this. Reluctantly, I stood up.
“Well, I think it would be nice if Kirara and I could do it together. Mostly, I just feel like we’ll make a real impression if we serve her something homemade, not something that comes from a store.”
“You certainly sound confident.” Lady Kagura’s stare remained fixed on me and grew even more intense.
I gulped. “Yeah. I suppose I am.”
The confection Lady Saeko had suggested was something very specific indeed. If we could make that, we’d beat what Mei made—albeit not in the most obvious way. Even if I still didn’t know Lady Sakura that well, I couldn’t imagine how she’d come away from it with a negative impression.
“Understood. In that case, I’ll leave that part up to you. Kirara, work with Misaki.”
“Yes, milady.”
She didn’t even know what we were making yet, and she looked confused, but she agreed nonetheless.
Having said that, if she’s willing to leave such a big part of the competition to me at the drop of a hat, it must be like Lady Saeko said. Lady Kagura thinks the tea party is just a footnote; she’ll already have persuaded Lady Sakura to join before that point.
“Tee hee,” Lady Saeko giggled. “Incidentally, I have a favor to ask you, Kagura.”
“Certainly. Go ahead.”
“During the tea party, I’d like everyone to get a chance to sample Mei’s dish.”
Lady Kagura paused for a moment. “Very well. I’ll ask everyone to adjust their plans so that all three sweets, not just Mei’s, are made in sufficient portions for everyone to try some.”
“Thank you!”
Lady Saeko was apparently just that eager to give Mei’s fabled goods a try.
✤
Since today was our last chance to study before the exams started, I wasn’t going to Himeko’s place for once. Instead, I was walking straight back to my own dorm with Kirara.
This gave her a chance to ask her burning question. “Well? What is it you’re so excited to make?”
“Good question. I’m not sure yet.”
“What? Why did you act all confident if you haven’t even decided? Besides, what you said in the Sky Salon really made it sound like you already knew.”
“Oh, I know what I’m making. I just don’t know what it is yet.”
“Huh? You’re not making sense, Misaki.” She lightly bumped my shoulder with hers.
“I should have a better idea tomorrow,” I replied vaguely. “I think it’ll be okay.”
“Come on! I still don’t have a clue what you’re talking about!”
She kept looming closer and closer and closer, and as I inched back, I ended up being pushed off the main path. At this rate, the two of us would be running away into the woods together, so I forced her back and decided to explain the concept to her.
“Listen. Here’s what I’m planning to make.”
I didn’t think anyone was eavesdropping, but I whispered it softly into her ear just in case.
When I finished, Kirara exclaimed, “Really?!” Then she pondered a moment. “Hmm. I can see why it would work. We should be able to get the ingredients as long as none of them are too obscure, and I don’t think it would be beyond our capabilities. Are you sure it’s allowed, though? It feels like we’re kind of pushing it.”
“Lady Saeko said it would be absolutely fine. Besides, it’ll be you and I who do the actual preparation.”
“Fair enough.”
It didn’t take much to persuade Kirara in this case. One of the Sky Salon’s senior members had said it, after all.
“Oh, I just had another idea,” Kirara said suddenly.
“You did?”
“Why don’t we ask Mei to make it? It’ll be the best version ever.”
I blinked. “I’m sure it would, but we definitely can’t do that. We’d be revealing our hand to the enemy.”
Kirara chuckled in response to my chiding tone. “I know, I know. Still, if we get a chance later on, we should definitely ask her.”
Still laughing, she ran on ahead.
“Yeah, I suppose!”
I chased after her, thinking about how I would’ve liked—no, absolutely loved to try Mei’s version.
✤
My exams didn’t go overly well or overly badly. If I had to decide, I’d say I had a good feeling about them overall, which was all thanks to Himeko.
That applied to all the normal subjects I would’ve taken at a regular school, anyway. I was on my own for the maid-specific subjects exclusive to the Domestic Arts program. Himeko couldn’t help me with those, so I was really being tested on my own abilities.
Having said that, Kirara and I, along with our roommates, had prepared really well for these tests, so there weren’t too many answers I got stuck on.
“Whew!”
After the third day of exams was over, I heaved a huge sigh of relief. I felt like I was lifting my head out from underwater.
Next to me, Kirara did the same. “They’re finally over. Do you think you’ll get good scores?”
“Passable ones, I guess. I doubt I failed anything. How about you?”
“I think I’ll get grades worthy of Lady Kagura’s Seraph.”
She sounded pretty confident. She even smirked and let out a small chuckle.
With one big source of stress out of the way, it was time to focus on the effort to lure in Lady Sakura. Our task now was making the sweet dish that we would serve to her at the tea party. The exact details of what we’d be making had become clear on the first day of exams; we’d then made the necessary arrangements over the following two days and were ready for a trial bake today now that we were free.
“Okay, Misaki. Let’s get going.” Kirara stood up, ready to crack the whip.
“Yeah!”
As I rose from my seat, I looked over at Sara. She was looking back at the same moment, so our gazes met.
“Sara,” I said, “we’re getting Lady Sakura to join the Sky Salon for sure, so look forward to it!”
“Indeed. I’ll simply obey my mistress’s decision, whatever it may be, but I wish you jolly good luck nonetheless.”
Although her words came off a bit cold, there was a kind smile in her eyes.
✤
To make our dessert, we’d arranged to borrow Erisu’s École Kitchen. On one hand, this was technically the enemy’s territory since the owner was a Paradise Palace member. On the other, since we had to make enough of our confection to serve everyone at the tea party, the Sky Salon’s kitchenette would never have been up to the task.
Most importantly, Lady Erisu had also agreed not to tell Lady Asuka what we were making. She said this was her repayment to me for all the help I’d given her in getting her restaurant back on its feet.
Because of the exams, school had ended pretty early, so we got to Erisu’s École Kitchen before it opened. They no doubt had a bunch of preparation to do before opening, but we were grateful to at least be able to borrow their kitchen until they started with that.
“Hello,” I said as we entered.
Someone came to greet us—unexpectedly enough, it was Erisu herself. “Welcome!”
“You’re here early, Lady Erisu.”
She met my surprise with a faux-innocent smile, like a child who’d successfully pulled off a prank. “Our exams are at the same time, but the Societal Arts school building is closer to here, so I was able to get here first.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yukina, Hanaka, Mizuki! Misaki and Kirara are here. Can you show them how to use the kitchen?”
“Yes, milady!”
“Will do!”
“Leave it to us!”
Now that the restaurant was thriving, all three of them wore confident smiles. They even sounded more relaxed.
“Follow me, please,” said Hanaka, leading the way. “The first step is disinfecting the surfaces!”
Step by step, we learned the ropes and devoted ourselves to making our confection.
The thing we were making wasn’t overly complicated as such, so it didn’t give us any major difficulties. Of course, we wanted it to be as delicious as possible. Measuring out all the ingredients properly was essential, and that part was kind of difficult. In fact, given how many we had to make, figuring out how much we needed of everything was the first hurdle.
Once we’d gotten past that, the next step was making enough for the people around us so we could do a trial run.
“Thank you for waiting!” I announced as I served the dish to Lady Erisu and her Exousias, who were all seated at a table.
Seeing it, Lady Erisu looked a little bewildered. “I thought the presentation would be a bit more spectacular. It looks kind of ordinary.”
“Hmm, yeah,” I agreed. This was the unavoidable reality. “I guess it is pretty plain.”
“Well, maybe the taste makes up for it.” Without another word, she silently ate a few mouthfuls. Then she murmured, “No, it tastes pretty normal as well.”
The other three followed up with their impressions.
“It’s fairly tasty, right?”
“Yeah. It’s the kind of thing that’s complicated because it’s so simple.”
“It’ll be an uphill struggle to beat Mei’s goods with this, though.”
Their feedback was pretty muted, which was no big surprise. They’d eaten sweets made by Mei countless times, and there was absolutely no way anything Kirara and I had made could measure up.
“Don’t worry, we’re well aware of that. We’re not aiming to beat Mei in terms of taste. This is the dish—it is what it is, basically—so as long as it’s not actually unpleasant to eat, it should be fine.”
All three of them expressed some doubts.
“Really? This is the final version?”
“Are you sure it’ll be okay?”
“It feels like there’s something we’re missing.”
I knew we’d get comments like this. The awkward part was that we’d only ever read the recipe; we hadn’t eaten the real thing. We couldn’t be totally sure that it was supposed to taste like this.
We’d considered seeking out the real thing, but in the end, we’d decided it was better for us to bake it ourselves. That would make it all the more special.
We weren’t aiming to steal victory with the most delicious entry imaginable. That didn’t mean we couldn’t compete, however. With this, we could go toe-to-toe with Mei.