A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

“So, from where are we going to enter?”

“I did a preliminary investigation and eliminated the areas with the least amount of security, so let’s head in from there.”

Like in Japan, there was no sense in being on the lookout for surveillance cameras, but even so, there was no reason to go in head-on and uninhibitedly.

I attempted to retrieve the note I had prepared from my pocket, yet the paper wasn’t felt on my fingertips. This was strange, did I drop it somewhere?

I then remembered that I was wearing these pants the other day when I had a match with Fina. Perhaps I had dropped it at that moment since I had moved rather vigorously. It was, however, probably not all that worrying.

With no choice but to rely on my intuition to some extent, we came to a corner of the high wall surrounding the library that I had spotted in advance. Then, I immediately asked Mira to cast her magic.

“‘New Rise,’ ‘Hide,’ ‘Owl Eye,’ ‘Invisible,’ ‘Slip Throw’…”

The fan that Mira was always carrying was apparently a magical tool.

From textbook-level magic such as “Inforce” to advanced-class magic I have only known from books, a variety of grant magic was employed. She was indeed Alice’s master. A sense of omnipotence ruled her body as if she had transformed into a different person.

“I haven’t received enhancement magic in a long time, but magic is incredible after all.”

“Rather than saying magic, it’s because of Ms. Mira’s competence. Even if I cast the same magic over you, it wouldn’t overflow with this much power.”

I chuckled bitterly at Felt’s impression, and she looked at me with half-opened eyes. No, this part was true, you know.

“Among the magic I just cast, there is also the magic of passing through the walls. You can go through this wall without having to jump over it, so feel free to do so.”

“Are you for real…”

My body has become invisible, my presence has faded, and I can pass through walls at will. If such a thing were possible in Japan, anything would be conceivable.

“Well then, I am off.”

“Mmm. You can get in touch with me at any moment because my ‘Message’ is constantly open.”

With Mira seeing us off, we slipped through the wall and stepped onto the library premises. The distance between the wall and the library was about 50 meters, but thanks to the magic she performed earlier, we didn’t have to fear being identified.

Having made our way through the premises seamlessly (we didn’t even know if there were any barriers), we passed through the concrete wall and found ourselves in front of a staircase to the basement, as we had previously determined. Up to this point, things were going frighteningly smoothly. Well, it could be that all the recent incidents have been so hazardous that my nerves have become hypersensitive too. It looked like I might face a route soon about my survival…

I didn’t even have to utter a sound. With a gesture, I conveyed to Gato that he would remain here, and he nodded with a triumphant look on his face. No, if nothing happened, please be mature, okay?

Taking Felt with me, we went straight down to the second basement floor. Beyond that, of course, were no stairs, and Felt questioned me with a glance as to what we were planning to do.

Speaking of which, I never showed it to Felt in the end.

I put up a barrier on a nearby wall to weaken the presence of magic and took out a magic crystal stone.

Without hesitation, I shattered it, and the magical power inside it instantly came to the surface and stormed out, causing Felt to stare at me with a startled expression.

―”Destruction”.

The sound of saliva being swallowed could be heard next to me.

A hole the size of an oil drum was created in a split second and was so deep that even the magic-enhanced eyes could not see the depths distinctly, merely the dimly-lit floor.

“I will go first.”

After whispering this, I jumped into the hole. My feet hardly made contact with the floor, and that made me fearful slightly, but after about five seconds, I felt a hard touch on my feet.

Clunk.

“!”

Not being able to gauge the distance to the floor, my footsteps produced a louder noise than I had imagined.

I checked my surroundings, but there was no sign of anyone or any kind of trap. Relieved by it, I caught Felt as she fell on top of me. I even gave her a princess carry, but Felt’s face was looking downward and she hurriedly pushed me away from her.

Since nothing occurred even when footsteps were made, it was safe to assume that there was no such thing as a sound sensor. I spoke to Felt.

“It appears that this is the rumored forbidden book storage room.”

Even though it was called a book storage room, it reminded me more of a bank vault. The room consisted of wide white walls and floor, with nothing in the center other than a massive door. Even the central door had a gigantic vermilion magic stone set in the center as if it was glaring at us intruders who had come in unceremoniously.

“…So, do you have a strategy for this one too?”

“Eh?”

“Don’t give me that look. No matter how I look at it, there’s something in the depths of that place that you are after. But I am asking if there is a method to successfully break through that door.”

“Oh, you mean that? It’s easy.”

When I brought out two new magic crystal stones, Felt raised a panicked voice.

“W-Wait! Are you intending to destroy the entire door like you did just now!?”

“No doubt. In the first place, there is no way that you and I can open a door that looks so solid. Therefore, I will make the entire door and the barriers dissipate as well.”

“No, no, no, if you do that, they will definitely realize we are here!”

“That’s right. I left Mr. Gato on the first level because of this.”

“! Could it be that you have that initial…”

“It would have been a different story had Ms. Mira been able to lift the barrier on this door too. Well, the greatest candidate for this position is Mr. Gato, so let’s count on him to do his best to buy us some time.”

“…Are you just going to cast aside Gato?”

“No, I am not that heartless. If I can safely snatch what I am seeking, I intend to retrieve him as well and escape as planned.”

As I approached the door, the stone on the door began to glow as if to warn me.

“Well then, Ms. Felt, from this point on we are in a race against time. Our haste will ultimately lead to saving the others, so please be on your toes.”

“…I get it!”

Felt, who shouted in desperation, was my cue, and I shattered both of the magic crystal stones in my hand.