It was incredible timing, really. As I was staring at both the Saintess and Gin, a young man spotted Nari. He was her childhood friend: Ikki Brandt. According to the novel, he had a crush on her, and was known for having an extrovert and aloof personality. He came rushing to see his crush, and didn’t really pay attention to his surroundings. He tripped somehow, and the tray with food he was carrying landed on the Saintess's face. It was certainly a sight to behold.

Bits of rice covered Ishtar’s face, and a piece of steak gracefully landed on my glass of orange juice.

Ari immediately burst out laughing, enjoying the fact that no one could see them. I tried holding it in, but couldn’t. Nari looked as if she was going to pass out at any minute and Ikki didn’t know if he should apologise or tremble in fear. The Saintess’s face was red with anger and the only calm person was Gin.

Suddenly, the air felt cold. As I looked around I saw shadows coming from the ground, just beneath where the Saintess was. They looked like tentacles and I couldn’t help but freeze in fear. That woman was called a saint because she was the only person in the Empire, perhaps in the world, who could handle both light and dark magic. Dark magic was extremely rare, but even rarer was a person who could handle two different elements at the same time. The last person who was known to be able to perform as such had lived over 500 years ago. It had been a woman, and she also received the title of Saintess at the time.

I was reminded of this world’s lore. The death of Lux and Noctem, the gods of creation, had given birth to everything that existed: first the Spirit Kings, like Ari, then other spiritual beings, such as fairies and gnomes, and, at last, the physical existence of this planet. The Saintess was special because she was thought to be the closest person to these ancient gods. That being said, Ishtar could get away with almost anything, including murder.

The shadowy tentacles reached for Ikki. I was positive Ishtar would not dare to kill a student so openly, even if she could probably avoid being punished for it. Even so, my heart froze at the mere possibility of it happening, and I urged myself to take action.

However, before I could even think of anything, a light and warm feeling surrounded us. I suddenly felt calm and comforted. Somehow, I even forgot about the gruesome scene that was about to take place in front of my eyes. The silver-haired man looked relieved.

‘My dear, leave him be. It was an honest mistake’, Gin said.

He then put his hand on Ishtar’s shoulder and smiled at her. She definitely looked calmer than before, even if she was still pouting a bit.

Ikki must have come to his senses, because he suddenly got on his knees and started begging for forgiveness. The situation must have shocked him a great deal, because his words did not make much sense.

Ishtar raised her hand, as if commanding him to stop babbling. The boy’s red eyes froze in fear. What happened next, however, was ever so confusing (or amusing, as Ari would later point out).

The Saintess smiled shamelessly. It was a sweet and naive smile that said she forgave Ikki for his honest mistake. She put his hand on his cheek and caressed it.

‘I'm okay, don’t worry about it’, Ishtar said.

I was stunned. Such back acting! Like people were not able to see her casting her magic earlier! I wanted to say something, to call her a hypocrite, anything! But Ari kindly reminded me that letting Ishtar go was the best outcome we could all hope for.

A young lady quietly approached our group. She had long light blue hair and her eyes were the colour of the ocean. I recognised her immediately. She was Sasha Aquino, the young princess of the Aquino family, who would soon start fighting her older brother for the title of Duke. In the novel, she was one of Ishtar’s most devoted followers. Or friends, as the author put it.

Lady Aquino looked at Ikki with anger, but it was only for a second. She quickly lifted her hand and used her magic to dry Ishtar’s clothes. The Aquinos specialised in water magic, and all of them had this beautiful mass of blue hair over their heads.

Once the drying was done, the trio took their leave. I felt I could breathe again, but Ikki was the most relieved out of all of us. He looked as if he was about to cry in Nari’s arms.

With those horrible people finally gone, we were left with stares coming from all the corners of the cafeteria.

‘What a way to start the year’, Ari remarked.