The main reason why I didn’t want to join the student council were because of these two people. My cousin Estelle, and the second Prince of the Guillain Kingdom, Hylon Guillain.

  It didn’t take me long to figure out that the boy I saw a year ago, introducing himself with the fake name, Halo, was actually the prince. Imagine my shock when Raviel showed me his portrait for the first time.

  Quite obvious in hindsight, as not many people have platinum hair paired with gold eyes. And the attitude to boot. I remembered him to be a composed type of person, the sort to listen to you but not really. Funny as it sounds, a princely archetype if you wish.

  Hearing his voice again surprised me, for the confident tone was gone, replaced instead with impatience.

  “So what is it that you want to tell me?”

  “Did you even attend the entrance ceremony,” she said.

  “I did.”

  “Then tell me what my speech spoke about.”

  He paused for a moment. “You told told the new students to off themselves.”

  A bitter scoff reached my ears. “I shouldn’t have made that line if it meant everyone only putting their focus there. One have to wonder why they even laughed.”

  “What else were they to do—”

  “I used quite a lot of time and effort on that speech, did you know that?”

  “… No I didn’t.”

  “Right, because you don’t ask about such trivial things, do you?”

  A bell in the distance rang, marking the third class of the day.

  “Look at that. Saved by the bell. I must take my leave then, Hylon. Class is starting again after all.” Her voice began to fade. “Oh, and why don’t you miss this afternoon’s tea? I’m feeling quite tired today.”

  Footsteps crumpled on the gravel with an even gait, disappearing towards the academy. When the only sound left was the murmurs of the wind, a sigh joined to break up the monotony.

  “What good is there being a prince?” Said the prince as he too left the courtyard.

  And so, it was quiet again. Silent of heavy scoffs and sighs. Silent of what appeared to be a sour atmosphere. Silent enough for me to fall into a slumber. The hearty food and the added benefit of staying up all night silenced any thoughts of walking to class in time.

  ***

  “Did you know that in the olden days, it was quite dangerous for us to spread the words of the Buddha? Frequent beatings and insults were the norm. I heard some were even killed.”

  “Why is this tea so bitter?” I would prefer drinking plain hot water over this. There was even a whole dandelion head floating in it.

  “The established religions and authorities of that time didn’t take it well when the monks went and preached our teachings. One day, a monk by the name Punna, was taking this arduous task into a particularly uncivilized part of the land, and so he went to the Buddha to say goodbye.”

  The Buddha said to him, “Those people in that area are very uncivilized. They’re known to be very rough. What will you do if they insult you?”

  Punna replied, “If they insult me, I will say to myself, these are very good people in that they’re not hitting me.”

  And the Buddha said, “What if they hit you?”

  Punna answered, "These are very good people in that they are not stoning me.”

  And the Buddha said, “What if they stone you?”

  Punna answered, “These are very good people in that they are not stabbing me.”

  And the Buddha said, “What if they stab you?”

  Punna answered, “These are very good people in that they are not killing me.”

  And the Buddha said, “What if they kill you?”

  Punna answered, “Then, at least I did not take my own life.”

  And the Buddha said, “You are fit to go.”

  The monk then asked me, “Now, would you describe Punna as foolish or wise.”

  “He’s an idiot, and the Buddha should have stopped him if he knew it was dangerous. It was practically suicide.”

  The monk rubbed his chin. “He should have shouldn’t he?”

  “I would have stopped him.”

  “Is that right?” He smiled.

  The tea made me grimace. “Don’t we have more sugar?”

  “Why would you put sugar in broth?”

  “What?”

  “That’s bitter melon broth, it helps with digestion.” He chugged down his own cup, dandelion head and all.

  ***

  "Hello? Excuse me? Goodness, is she really sleeping out here in the open?”

  Yes I am, now go away.

  He mumbled further. “Should I wake her up? But the day is almost over, maybe I shouldn’t. Did she skip class on the first day? That’s honestly impressive. This year’s new batch of students sure is something.”

  I opened my eyes at his yapping. “What do you want.”

  He let out yelp as he flew up from his bent position, glasses nearly falling off his face. The lenses weren’t as round as Phila’s, although you couldn't really call them sharp either. Something in between.

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  A tan ponytail laid limp down from his shoulder and contrasted with his otherwise eyebrow-reaching bangs in a middle-part. The tie on his uniform indicated that he was a third-year, the same as the prince.

  “My apologies for waking you up, but you haven’t had the chance to see his Highness around here have you?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why should I tell you, are you going to assassinate him?”

  His eyes blew up. “No! I’m his friend!”

  “Sorry, that was meant as a joke.” I sat up from the crumpled grass, dusting off the few strands that clung to me. “Could you tell me the time?”

  “Third period just ended, didn’t you hear the bell?” He took out his pocket watch to show me the exact time.

  It’s silver metal casing adorned with a family crest rustled some of my memories addled by drowsiness. A perched hawk, used only by a specific Ducal House. With knees bent, he reached out his right hand, palm side up.

  He held a gentle smile. “I’m Walter Johnstone, do you need assistance getting up?” This guy here was the prime minister’s son?

  The sunlight filtered through his hair as it caressed his face, highlighting his smooth eyebrows that looked to enjoy life. It was a similar scene to when I first met the prince. Being loved by the sun was a requirement to be a high-ranking noble it seems.

  I accepted his hand with my left, and was promptly weightless for a moment as he lifted me to my feet.

  “Thank you, I’m Esther, Esther Nikodemus.”

  “Nikodemus?”

  I pointed to the side. “The prince went that way, however it was a while ago so I don’t know if it is all that helpful.”

  He smacked his hands. “That’s great actually! Even a minor detail is more than I need. I can’t believe he already started with this on the first day. Don’t you think that the prince himself should set an exemplary image to motivate the other students? Why doesn’t he get that he is a role model for so many of them?”

  I blinked.

  “And then he goes and disappears so suddenly like the wind, giving me the job of finding him. Why is it even my responsibility to find him anyway? I have other things to do, you know?”

  “Right.”

  He started counting his fingers. “Between studying, assignments, and the student council…” He closed his sad eyes at the sky. “My precious free time…”

  This was a good stopping point, right? “Thank you for waking me up Walter, but I think it’d be best if I went to class now.” I gave him a curtsy.

  “Ah, I must have unwittingly taken up your time, let me apologize.” And he gave me a graceful bow in return.

  He reminded me of Phila somewhat. Quite scatterbrained for being the future prime minister. Although to his credit, Phila was how to put it… She had more air in her head?

  I wonder what she would say when I met with her again. ‘Esther, you’re late!’, or ‘Where have you been!’, maybe even a ‘Oh my gosh, did you skip class on the first day?’

  Walter stared at me, at my gloves specifically. I asked him before he got the chance. “It’s all right. If you don’t mind, would you do me favor and tell me where classroom A is?”

  “Of course, it’s beside the cafeteria.” He began to twist and turn his hands to show me the way. “And after a left turn, the door should be right in the middle of the hallway.” I stared at his hands finally taking a rest.

  He chuckled. “Would you like me to show you the way?”

  Walter became my personal guide as I followed after him. He was a proper one too, giving me tidbits about this and that as we passed them. And before I knew it, we arrived at the classroom door and he gave me a farewell.

  "Oh my gosh, Esther! You’re so late! Did you really skip class on the first day? Where have you been?”

  I sat down beside her. “I took a nap.”

  “I didn’t take you to be the sort of person to play hooky, Esther,” said Eric.

  “Yeah, one would normally think that someone like you would be that type,” she said.

  Lucas added, “I get that feeling too…”

  “Phila, Lucas, what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!” They seemed to have gotten awfully close the short while I was gone.

  The fourth and last class for today was theology. According to what the headmaster said, this subject was the sole reason for my having to share a room with someone.

  Goddesses and Churches, I didn’t really care for them all that much and found it tedious to study. Scriptures filled with esoteric stories, and debates that never ended in an answer, it was much like how it was back at the temple in my previous life.

  After regaling me a sometimes short, sometimes long story, the monk would always ask if I understood. And each time I would reply, “I don’t”. He would then look at my face and smile, not even bothering to explain it to me as he went to start another story that had no relation to the previous one.

  Still, with the amount of nonsensical stories hammered into my head, I did try to come up with answers. Answers to which Raviel and the headmaster found impressive. Maybe I had started to understand after all. But that was then. Now, a man wearing priestly robes entered and took the podium.

  “Have you all witnessed a miracle? You may think that they aren’t created anymore, that the Goddess has left us be to do whatever we want. But the truth of the matter is, she has not been required to show herself that often in these peaceful times. Open up on page three, there you will see the first account of a miracle the Goddess showed us.

  He read a passage from the book that detailed the miracle that ended the Great War. A holy light from the heavens. “On that day, night did not come.”

  “But father, how can we be sure that what’s being described is a miracle and not some natural phenomenon? Couldn’t it have been a shooting star or some kind of magic?” It was the blue-haired boy again.

  “You bring up a fair point. But consider this. Have something like this happened again even after five centuries? Magic was still in it’s infancy and even if it was a shooting star, it would not be able to blind all the soldiers for that long.”

  Eric turned to me and whispered something. “Hey Esther, isn’t that the priest from our hometown?” Was he? I don’t recall seeing his face before.

  “All miracles have a common point, a proof for being a miracle you could say. Would you know what that is?” He asked the same boy.

  “That it’s not been documented before? Yes, a one-of-kind event.”

  “You’re half-right, Siegfried. The correct answer is that they all did something deemed impossible.” He smiled behind the podium. “In fact, I personally witnessed a miracle two years ago, please turn to page seven.”

  Scanning the page, my eyes went wide. The details were different but I knew who this page described.

  “A young and sick girl, with no pulse, no breath, and no heartbeat, she was laying dead in her bed. And I, despite being a person of the cloth, wallowed in doubt in that moment. Why did this girl not get any better even with all that medicine? Why was she deemed to die? Did the Goddess ignore us?”

  He gripped the podium and looked us over. “Did the Goddess even exist?”

  The blasphemous words made half the class gasp. “Yet, five minutes after I declared to the mother that her child was dead, the girl opened up her eyes again. The darkness that had been taking hold of my heart vanished immediately, and the sight… The incredible sight still lingers in my mind to this day. An overjoyed mother holding her revived child, how could that be nothing but a proof of a miracle?”

  “But father, why didn’t you use healing magic? The book even says that was the purpose of your visit to their house.”

  With his hands behind his back, he paced to the side of the podium. “Despite the commonly held belief that healing magic can cure all, it is unfortunately not so. A short reprieve for the terminal ill or the dying perhaps, but not a real cure. More tragically, healing magic had no effect on this girl.”

  “What? No effect?” He paused. “So she was one of the witches then?” My eyes twitched at the jeers his comment had started.

  “Siegfried, there have been no evidence that witches truly exist. Only hearsay or fairy tales meant to scare unruly children. Blessed by the Goddess herself, the girl in the illustration was undoubtedly a human same as us. Save for her illness and unfortunate condition.”

  “In other words, you’re saying there’s a person going around living their whole life without the aid of healing magic?”

  Eric turned to me. “Hey, you okay?”

  He shut up immediately upon seeing my face.

  “Now that we have mentioned healing magic, that brings us to the second part of the lesson. Would you all like to see it in action yourselves?”

  Excited and noisy chatter filled the classroom. They were acting as if they had never seen such a ridiculous act before, as if healing magic was the most important thing in the world.

  “That said, please give a warm welcome to your second-year senior that volunteered to help in this lesson. You may have even heard of her exploits.”

  The door opened and a girl brandishing white hair entered with a soft bounce of her shoes. Her uniform looked to be brand new, hanging to her figure with an expertise only found in the best tailors. She looked up at us, with eyes that were even more clear and blue than before.

  “Hello everyone. I’m Lavenza Himmelen. Nice to meet you!”

  “Oh my gosh, it’s the Saintess!” Phila exclaimed.

  The saintess. Marquess Himmelen’s daughter. And the girl I met a year ago.