A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

(T/N: The first-person POV in this chapter is unrelated to Kanaki. Read the T/N at the bottom page for more details.)

“―ther, please wake up. Big brother!”

“Ngh…”

Lifting my eyelids slowly, the familiar face of a young girl against the familiar ceiling of the room was revealed. In contrast to her pale skin, her cheeks were faintly flush. Her wide-open eyes reflected my somnolent countenance.

“Big brother, please wake up. You will be late for school.”

“Ngh… is it that time already?”

“Yes, the breakfast is already ready, so please get changed and head downstairs quickly.”

“Oh…”

After replying to my sister’s back as she fluttered out of the room, a wide stretch of my body was made. Looking at the clock, it turned out that I had been asleep for exactly nine hours, yet I could still catch up on my sleep. Could it be because I have been dedicating more time to kendo practice lately because of the upcoming tournament?

If I were to be tardy for school, however, not only would it be an utter disaster, but my sister would probably sermonize me. To begin with, she will keep waiting for me until I was ready. Her attendance record to date ranked her as one of the top two honor roll students at school, and I can’t break her attendance record in such a pathetic manner.

After slipping on the sleeves of the school uniform that was hanging on the wall, I went downstairs and found myself seated in the living room, surrounded by the fragrant scent of miso soup, and quickly shoveled a bowl of rice into my mouth.

My younger sister, seating opposite me, watched with dismay.

“Brother, you will get a lump in your throat if you eat too fast.”

“My throat is not that weak, I’ll be fine.”

“Seriously you… ah.”

[Here’s the following news. The police announced yesterday that the suspect, Kanaki Taiga, who was recently arrested on suspicion of murder and other crimes, is linked to about seven other disappearances in the past.]

What hooked my sister’s attention was a morning news program. The topic had just shifted, and the TV screen was occupied by the face of a mild-mannered-looking young man.

The news anchor was reporting a case in which a recently captured murderer had been found to be guilty of a number of other crimes as well.

[The cases in which the suspect Kanaki had been involved were scattered all over the country, and each of them had remained unsolved as missing person cases. This time, the hair and blood discovered in the basement of an abandoned building that the suspect had used, which was suspected to belong to the missing victim, were found. According to the suspect’s statement, he claimed that he was only performing the ritual as God instructed and that they fulfilled their duties as honored offerings to God.]

“Wow, such a lunatic really exists.”

While sipping miso soup, an impression of such feelings leaked out, and the TV picked up one after another the details of the case in which the suspect was said to have been engaged in. Most of them were rural disappearances that I had never heard of, but some of them were horrendous murders that had temporarily made waves in the public eye.

“…But is this murderer really insane?”

“Yeah?”

An enigmatic expression crossed my sister’s features, to which I tilted my head.

“From what I can see, all of the cases that this criminal has caused present little information and would have remained unsolved if he had not been apprehended this time. Such a meticulous criminal would have conveniently gone nuts defies belief…”

“Are you saying that the ‘God’ thing is just an act? In the case in Niigata, Japan, where this guy was involved, he severed the limbs of two elementary school children, a boy and a girl, and attached each to a separate person. Such cruelty, you have to be out of your mind to do something like that, right?”

“…But what if even that was what the killer had in mind? Maybe he ventured to twist it into a horrific incident so that it would be easier to judge him as insane.”

“Yeah, I can’t really tell that far, but either way, this guy’s a rogue.”

“Yes. It really is unbelievable to think that we are both human―and brother, it’s time to go…”

“Oh… wow! Is it that late already!?”

When I finished my leftover salad, I swallowed it flat and grabbed my student bag after making a minimum of a few adjustments to my appearance.

At the entrance, my sister, who had already gotten herself ready, was waiting for me.

“I know I always say this, but you could have left earlier!?”

“I can’t do that, since I have to supervise you. Come on, let’s take off!”

Both academically and athletically, my younger sister was outstanding.

Running alongside my sister, who was as adept as a member of the track and field team, I changed course halfway down a narrow alleyway.

“Brother, that way is!?”

“A shortcut I recently found!”

With my shoulders contracted, I quickly advanced along the narrow alleyway, which was bordered on both sides by high walls and was barely wide enough for a single person to pass through. The fact that footsteps can be heard from behind me indicated that my sister was following me unimpeded.

With this, it seemed that I could make it with a little time to spare. Perhaps it was because I had let my guard down with such a thought in mind that I failed to notice the glistening puddle of water at my feet.

“Oh no―Ohhhh!?”

“Brother, ahhhhh!?”

But the instant my feet landed in it, I belatedly realized that it was not a puddle at all. It turned out to be a gaping white hole.

Having my whole body fallen into it, I grasped the hand of my sister, who was screaming next to me, as I felt my internal organs floating.

Did I fall into a hole under construction? No, the hole was too deep.

As I placed my own back down while holding my sister in my arms, a strong jolt suddenly shot up my back.

“It hurts…!?”

“Brother! Are you hurt…!?”

The voice of a reluctant man could be heard above my head just as I turned to look at my sister, who was staring down at me with flushed cheeks and a worried gaze.

“Oh my, this is a rather unusual visitor.”

“!”

A wild man with a provocative smile was reflected upside down as I raised my head straight up.

“At any rate, welcome to ‘Fantagozma’. I don’t even recall calling you here, but in a manner of speaking, welcome, traveler from another world?”

——————

T/N:

Those who feel confused about the timelines, please check the title’s name on the index page from time to time as it is revealed there. In fact, Chapter 1 timeline is revealed in the title itself even though it is not stated in the chapter. This chapter is named “Interval” which means it has nothing to do with the main story in a sense. And Fantagozma is another novel by the same author. This chapter is probably something like a crossover or a special episode regarding that (Probably the MC of that novel). And also, there’s another evil MC teacher in another novel by the author where Kanaki is part of that novel too as a supporting character. This novel is probably inspired by Lesson of the Evil by Kishi Yusuke  (This is a veritable 100% evil MC work, you can watch the movie or read the manga. In fact, it’s the first evil MC that I have ever come across) as in the author’s introduction page, Lesson of the Evil and several other novels are stated there. It shares quite a bit of similarity with Lesson of the Evil. Like the line, “According to the suspect’s statement, he claimed that he was only performing the ritual as God instructed and that they fulfilled their duties as honored offerings to God” this is exactly the ending of the MC of that novel where he was exposed to the crime and feigned insanity, making up the lie.