A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

“Even so, Kanaki, I didn’t know you were acquainted with my master.”

“I only met her recently. After informing her that I had been killed thirty-seven times by you, she apologized properly to me. Aren’t your master a good one?”

Well, she was laughing to the hilt, though.

“Thirty-seven times… Wow, Kanaki, you are still fastidious as ever to remember such things. Usually, people forget the number of times they have died.”

“No, nobody usually forgets, or rather, nobody has ever experienced it.”

When Gato unusually interjected, Alice seemingly noticed Gato for the first time glanced at him astonishedly.

“Oh, Kanaki. Who is this person?”

“Wait.”

I thought my beating heart would stop.

When I fearfully looked at Gato, his lips, which could be faintly glimpsed through the hood, were pursed in a wry smile, which relieved me.

“Being Mira’s disciple, you’ve got some nerve.”

The worst-case scenario with the belligerent Gato would be that they would end up killing each other here, yet everything seemed to be well. In reality, during my initial confrontation with Gato, a knife was sent penetrating the crown of my head, so I was entirely on alert now but Alice may scoff at me for being unduly worried.

“He’s Mr. Gato, an S-rated powerhouse, ‘Warmaker’ which is something you must have heard of, Ms. Alice.”

“No, I have no idea at all.”

This woman, I will rip your vocal cords out.

Her bombshell statement that was made a second time terrified me. Mira likewise fixed a tense gaze on Gato, but it appeared that he had been savoring his beverage and had missed what Alice had just remarked. This gave Mira and me peace of mind. It felt like we were playing Pop-up Pirate. In this case, though, I might end up getting skewered all over with a real knife.

“Alice, this man is as hot-blooded as you are. Stop attempting to provoke him; I have no desire to see you two murder each other here.”

“I didn’t particularly have that intention… but if you insist, I’ll be careful… Eh, isn’t the number of tattoos he has horrendous?”

“…”

Mira, realizing that it was meaningless to say anything to Alice, shrugged her shoulders as if she could do nothing about it anymore. No, please don’t give up…

Since there was no helping it, I forcefully proceeded with the conversation and endeavored to divert the subject.

“Ahem! At any rate, what I wanted to say was that Ms. Alice would participate in this operation. With her necromancy, once preparations are in place, increasing our strength with each battle will become practical, as well as compensating for our weak point, which is our small number. By taking advantage of Ms. Mira’s barrier, we can also smoothly stall for time required for the necromancy!”

“Oh, as expected of Kanaki, who is known for his shrewdness.”

When I gave a powerful speech here and there, Alice made a teasing remark. No, could she be sincerely expressing her opinion as a compliment?

Gato was indifferent, as though his opinion had already been conveyed. The rest was down to convincing Mira, and the major forces essential to the endeavor were practically all in order.

“…It still is a no-go. To actualize your ultimate goal, you will likely confront not only the Royal Guards but also the Royal Court Magicians. The disparity in power between the two sides is too great to overcome, even with Alice’s necromancy in use.”

Mira gave it some thought, yet her answer was still “no”. Alice then unexpectedly came to the rescue.

“Oh, you are still too negative, Master! You should live a more enjoyable life, otherwise, you will end up looking as unfortunate as Kanaki.”

“Shut up! You are too optimistic!”

I was hoping for a denial of the unfortunate-looking physiognomy part.

“You are so obstinate… well then, Kanaki, why don’t you tell them about your secret!”

Alice’s words genuinely shocked me.

“Eh?”

“What’s up with your reply? Anyway, since you are Kanaki, you still hide the greatest information, don’t you? It is your way of thinking that it is more effective to keep a trump card until the very end, right, Kanaki?”

Being hit on the bull’s-eye, I was momentarily at a loss for words. While we have been acquainted with each other for a reasonably long time, Alice still seemed to see nothing and had the ability to uncover the key parts of a person’s personality. My feelings tightened once more. After all, there was no guarantee that she would stick by my side until the end.

“Eraser, do you still have a secret plan?”

“…Yes. The truth is, it will take some time, but I have a plan that I am intending to test. Should it succeed, I can bring one of the five most powerful people in this country to our side.”

“…Heh.”

Gato, whose silence had been impenetrable, finally uttered a sound. His eyes were probing at me.

“One of the five best in the country huh… Is that guy stronger than me?”

After a short hesitation, I decided to tell the truth.

“…Yes. They are by far the most formidable of all the SS-rated wanted people, if you include the four of us and Ms. Felt.”

I was prepared to be killed, but the next moment, Gato suddenly burst out laughing.

“Ha, to think you would say to that extent! I wish you would do whatever it takes to get them to join me and go to war with me once!”

“I mean, who’s this Felt guy? A woman?”

The first was Gato, who was laughing broadly and chomping down on the meat on the bone, and the second was Alice, who was biting at a different spot in the first place. I waited for Mira, the last one, to answer.

“…That wanted person, what exactly are the odds that they can be recruited?”

“It depends on Ms. Alice, but I am sure we will succeed.”

“Eh? It’s up to me?” Alice, who had been optimistic and trying to reach out her hand, said in surprise.

Well, the only thing I had her do right now was to gather materials to create magic crystal stones with Soul Eater. However, she must be extremely surprised once the details of this story were told to her.

“When it comes to asking Alice for help, are we talking about that side of things…? That formidable person, do we even know their name?”

“Yes, I believe you guys do. But the details have to be kept under wraps. I will share the details with you when Ms. Mira and company have officially decided to take on this matter.”

“…Hmm.”

Rustling Rustling. Snap.

Mira was deep in contemplation while closing and opening her fan in front of her chest. Her emerald green eyes staring at the wine in her glass were as if she was anticipating the future that lay ahead of her.

As Mira earnestly pondered, Alice and Gato did not make a commotion either. They seemed to have a deep trust in Mira.

Rustling Rustling… Snap.

It would appear that the answer was obtained. Eventually, Mira lifted her head and fixed her gaze straight into my eyes. I likewise looked back at her with as much sincerity as possible.

“I have heard about your situation. Your desire to save your student’s life is extremely self-serving… but I can relate to that in more than a few ways. It is simply suffering the consequences of one’s own actions, but my student was also on death row until recently.”

Mira cast a glance at Alice. Even Alice looked as if she was in a bad mood.

“I owe you a debt for rescuing her from that. Furthermore, Alice almost killed you… no, in fact, she killed you many times. You may harbor a grudge, yet you suppressed it and saved Alice for the sake of your student. That is something not easy to do, isn’t it? For that, I hold you in high esteem, and now the question is whether this story is viable in the real world.”

“…So, what is your answer?”

When I timidly asked, Mira quietly shook her head.

“No… in the first place, you are withholding too much information despite asking for help from us… But that’s fine. All these things are for the success of this operation, and I have a feeling that you can fulfill them. I, Mira Frymer and Gato, swear to cooperate with you in this mission.”

“…Thank you!”

Stifling a shiver of joy, I bowed my head deeply on the spot. “It’s too early to be happy. Things are going to be tough from now on,” Mira said to me overhead, but my heart was overflowing with pure gratitude.

―Mira and Gato will likely meet their deaths in this battle.

I wouldn’t murder them needlessly, of course; that would be outrageous. Before being valuable friends, they were significant major forces. Mira and the others, however, still downplayed the dangers associated with this operation to the degree that they were certain that this mission would only not be completed safely.

I did, though, now had a clear understanding of their commitment. With this, I can now begin full-scale preparations for the mission’s conclusion.

“All right, then, let’s have a rally today! Let’s drink till morning!”

“Me too!”

When I looked up, I found Gato already starting to open a new bottle and Alice reaching for a glass for herself. Mira was smiling bitterly as if to say, “Good grief,” but she didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping them.

Even I liked drinking. Besides, alcohol can draw people closer to each other. In Japan, it has been proven that steady communication will eventually lead to winning a great deal of trust.

On that day, I ended up drinking in the bar until the sun was really up and right overhead. To my surprise, it was Mira who drank the most, surpassing me.