A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

“…”

Everything was beyond my grasp.

I unconsciously reached into my pocket, but I hadn’t smoked a cigarette in several years.

Not surprisingly, the familiar pack of cigarettes was absent from my pocket, so with a sigh slipping out of my mouth, the conversation resumed.

“…In any case, why don’t I first hear from you about why you want me to train you? It grieves me to admit even to myself, Fina, but if I were to teach you magic, I would probably run out of things to share with you in less than a day since my level of expertise as a magician isn’t all that different from yours.”

“Your self-esteem is as low as ever, Teacher. It is fine not to be overconfident, but undue modesty can lead to self-abasing and eventually to self-sabotage.”

“I can’t believe you are really a sixteen-year-old… This is the first time a student has made that remark to me.”

With an empty laugh at the advice that was out of all proportion for a sixteen-year-old, I urged Fina to continue.

“With the guidance of Lady Karen and my education at the school, I can say unequivocally that I have been granted a more than appropriate environment for learning about magic. However, now that two months have passed following my enrollment in the school, I still believe that what I lack is the experience in actual combat.”

Listening to Fina’s story, mixed emotions welled up in my heart.

Indeed, what Fina said was on point. Being able to analyze oneself so precisely and objectively as a first-year student was, after all, the fruit of exceptional intellect. As a homeroom teacher, her ability made me incredibly ecstatic, but it was equally true that it left me with a sense of malaise because I knew exactly what Fina’s next words would be.

“The other day, Teacher Kanaki, gave me a brief training in martial arts along with Lady Karen. Even though the training was relatively short, your guidance brought a great impact on me even in that one aspect alone. Your attention to detail, the rate at which you grasped the issues, and your own skill. More than anything, you presented us with unique concepts that had never been introduced to us by any of our previous instructors.”

“No, that much is something that Instructor Rivalz and others have already learned.”

“But still! I was touched by all of your teaching methods, and a thought struck me. If I want to rise to the next level and excel in the student knight tournament next month, I have no alternative but to seek guidance from you, Teacher Kanaki!”

“F-Fina. Relax…”

Pounding on the table, Fina leaned forward and peered into my pair of eyes. It was not often that she would act so passionately. Or rather, never before had I caught sight of her like this outside of a Karen-related context.

Did the gardenia scent emanating from her match that of Karen’s?

I managed to shift my escaping thoughts and thought of a way to break the deadlock.

In the first place, refusing this offer would be senseless for me to do so, given that it would simply be an event to solidify my rapport with Fina. Accepting this proposition was a major leap of progress in itself—considering that at the start of the new semester I wasn’t even permitted to talk with her—and on top of that, it would further cement her faith in me. That would be a dream come true, and a development that would bring excitement to my own throat.

It remained to be seen, nonetheless, if instructing her in the martial arts she desired would conflict with my “sideline and hobby”. As for my sideline, my identity was strictly under wraps. To this end, I have painstakingly mastered advanced-class magic, meticulously prepared, chosen an inconspicuous place to execute my work, and carried out the work in less than three minutes. The recent attack from Rain Aldar was a rather unique incident, one of the best or worst cases in my criminal business. Unless such elaborate preparations were undertaken, small fry like myself could have easily been apprehended.

Martial art was a piece of intelligence that had the potential to expose my true identity, “Eraser”. Fortunately, the only person in the Security Force who was aware of my martial arts was Aldar, and even he hadn’t revealed half of what was in his hands. Xenia would probably shrug it off as overthinking, but I was not as daring as she was. Destroy the possibilities that can be eliminated. That was my motto.

“So, Teacher, what do you think…?”

Fina’s reaction to my reluctance to speak was one of dread.

Explicitly keeping my mouth shut would only unsettle her. For now, I will take the time to come up with a better excuse.

“Fina, I appreciate your high regard for me, but at the end of the day that was a physical battle that involved no magic. The sensations of exercising magical power and without exercising magical power are different, and I don’t expect myself to be of much assistance.”

“That is true, but even if there is no magical power, the body definitely memorizes what it has been trained to do. That will be no doubt beneficial to me after I graduate from here, as it will be to the ‘SKT’.”

The student knight competition was known by its acronym “SKT,” and Fina countered my dismissive remark with a fair amount of promptitude. Well, I concurred with what Fina mentioned, so I was going to approach it from another point of view.

“But that kind of thing wouldn’t be very well-received by someone with whom you have formed a mentor-apprentice relationship with a magician. Would you like to bring this subject up with Karen? I don’t suppose it would reflect favorably on her if you, as her apprentice, are constantly under my guidance.”

“I… haven’t spoken to her about that yet.”

An unexpected aperture had been uncovered.

I was about to go on the offensive to pry that hole apart when Fina made an unpredictable counterattack.

“But if you are willing to instruct me, I will definitely try to persuade her! But more than that, are you really so unwilling to teach me, Teacher!”

“T-That’s…”

Being told that straight out of the box would put me in a vulnerable spot too. After all, the girl I was aiming for was requesting me to go to such lengths. How can my conscience, which was present at the level of a minute particle, not be affected? Well, to begin with, the emotion I call my conscience was comprised of a total ulterior motive as well.

“…I understand.”

After struggling over it many times, I was the one who finally yielded. I was still apprehensive, though, about demonstrating my own martial art. Had she not joined “Kaguya,” the story would have been different, but since she was a member, the possibility of encountering her as an adversary in the future could not be ruled out. Therefore, I set some conditions, and if Fina accepted them, I would mentor her.

“However, there are some conditions. First, I will only provide verbal guidance. Even I have my own reasons. I can’t teach you directly through kumite, as I did the other day. And one more thing. I have been occupied with various commitments. I will be training you during my apprentices’ training sessions. At that time, I won’t be able to teach you alone, but if you agree to these two conditions, I’ll be glad to help you, Fina.”

A mentor-apprentice relationship between magicians can be established relatively easily with the agreement of both parties. Even though certain elite magicians with first-class qualifications may produce a certificate to prove their mentor-apprentice relationship, most other magicians formed a relatively loose relationship based on verbal promises. Even in the academy, a fair number of students and teachers shared a mentor-apprentice relationship, including myself, who presently had three students as apprentices.

“…I get it. It is certainly not my intention to impose only my convenience on you and to detain you for a long period of time. In exchange, please be strict with me when you teach me.”

Are you a masochist, the thought flashed through my mind before dispersing it.

“…All right. You are welcome to join the practice session with my apprentices tomorrow after school. You do not have to be dressed in the school’s gym uniform. The place is―”

After informing her of tomorrow’s schedule, Fina bowed and left the room.

Now that I was alone myself, I leaned back in the chair with a muttering to myself as I gazed out at the sky tinged by the setting sun.

“Things have gotten to be complicated huh…”

―However, it never dawned on me at the time that I would be entangled in something incomparably messier than this that night.