A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

“Oh! I can see it!”

Luis gazed transfixed at the walls of the royal capital in the distance and exclaimed. As it was the first time for him to visit the royal capital, his excitement was understandable, but Karen, who was riding in the carriage with him, slightly creased her brow.

“Luis, you’re too immodest, you should sit down.”

“Well, I mean, I’ve never laid eyes on a wall that size before! And the castle behind it is massive, too! I bet it’s even bigger than the library in Windell we went to the other day!”

“Comparing only the height, the royal palace is even taller than the Library of Magic.”

And if the site area was taken into account, the Library of Magic would only be less than one-fifth the size of the Royal Palace. If anything, the Royal Palace was as spacious as a small village in the middle of nowhere.

After watching Luis excitedly staring out of the window, Karen gave up. Even Fina urged him to at least sit down but to no avail, and Panival laughed at him. Olga, seated at the edge of the carriage, was indifferently shutting his eyes. Perhaps it was because they both descended from large aristocratic families, so this was not a very rare spectacle. Since the Andrei incident, Olga’s relationship with Karen, which was never favorable to begin with, has grown even more strained, and they have not exchanged a word even once in the carriage.

The carriage carrying this unusual combination of people was presently on its way to the royal capital. It was not for sightseeing, of course. These five were the representative students of Selbeth Academy, who would be competing in the student knight tournament that will be staged in three days’ time―

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Possibly due to the SKT in three days’ time, a long line had formed at the checkpoint set up at the gate of the castle. While Karen and Fina would normally enter and exit through the entrance restricted to royalty, they were now here as students, so had no access to that entrance. Even so, neither Karen nor Fina voiced a single complaint; on the contrary, Luis even grumbled repeatedly.

After finally passing through the checkpoint and being dropped off at a stop in the royal capital, they were greeted by Rivalz and the others, who had already arrived. Rain and the other competitors were there as well.

“You took a long time. As expected, it seems to be packed with people during this period.”

Rivalz turned to Rain after observing the area near the gate, where a long line of people was still awaiting entry.

“Is everyone here?”

“Yes, that makes all ten competitors from the Selbeth Academy.”

Rain, the leader of the Selbeth Academy, nodded, but his face was tinged with a bit of gloom. It seemed that Rivalz also realized this and patted Rain’s back vigorously.

“What? Are you still sulking, Aldar! Well, it was bad of me to apply you to participate in the finals without your permission, but I don’t have the luxury this year of letting a student as skilled as you play around!”

“Even so, I can’t dispel the doubts about your recommendation of me for leader completely without being discouraged.”

“Don’t mind the small details.”

“…”

Oh, Senior Aldar, he’s seriously pissed off.

Rain was not a very amiable senior, but still, after more than two months of working together in “Kaguya”, even Fina will start to perceive the subtle changes in his facial expressions. Despite her sympathy for Rain, Fina thought that it was not hard to figure out that Rivalz could not spare any time this year.

The attempted assassination of the Princess in June was the cause of this. Fortunately, Karen survived the assassination attempt, but the Garrisoned Corps, “Kaguya,” which was escorting her, suffered a large number of fatalities. While the majority of the victims were members of the Garrisoned Corps that guarded the main gate of Lilith Central Hospital, the members of “Kaguya” also sustained losses, which was not a small number.

In particular, all members who were directly guarding Karen’s hospital room were killed, save for Rain and Fina. They were among the most outstanding students in the school and were anticipated to participate in the finals of this year’s SKT. As a result, the delegation for the finals was primarily made up of first-year students because the other students had to fill the abruptly vacant spots.

“―Then, let me confirm the upcoming process.”

The next thing she realized, the conversation between Rivalz and Rain was over, and Rain was about to start explaining what was to follow.

“The first-year students who have just arrived are to leave their luggage at the inn, according to the instructions on the paper we distributed to them earlier. Dinner will be served at the inn’s dining hall at six o’clock. In the meantime, you are free to go about your own activities.”

“Eh, are you sure, boss!”

Luis’ eyes sparkled at once. Rain nodded at him without seeming particularly dazed as if he was accustomed to such a situation in “Kaguya”.

“Oh, as long as you’re back in time, that’s fine. However, at the very least, always be conscious of the fact that you are the student representatives of Selbeth Academy.”

“Oh! Of course, boss!”

Even Rain squinted his eyes a little but said nothing more as Luis struck a powerful victory pose. Aside from Rain, Fina was also astounded that even Rivalz did not utter a word. Perhaps this free activity was meant to be a small reward for the students who had made it through the selection rounds.

“Is there anyone who has any questions―Now then, disperse.”

“All right! Let’s hurry up and leave our luggage!”

Luis was about to head for the inn but halted in his tracks at the sight of a classmate heading in the exact opposite direction.

“Hey, Olga. The inn is this way. Where are you going?”

“…That is none of your business.”

When Olga answered in an irritated manner, Karen shot a cold glance at him.

“Let’s go, Luis. Indeed, he’s right.”

“Well then, why don’t we just take your stuff with us? Carrying that large bag around with you everywhere would be inconvenient, wouldn’t it?”

At this, as expected, even Olga revealed a slightly startled expression.

“…It’s none of your business, you softy.”

After saying this, Olga turned on his heel and left without looking back at them again.

“…Luis, you’re a curious one, aren’t you?”

“Hmm? We’re fellow classmates, shouldn’t this be normal?”

“Oh, our points of view are different. I never once considered him one of my classmates.”

While Karen cast an incredulous glance at Luis, Fina was genuinely touched by his behavior at this point. Attempting to make contact with someone who has so blatantly rejected you was not an easy feat to do. In particular, Fina thought that it might be a necessary skill for her master, who will probably be facing an increasing number of such people in the future.

“Uh, let’s just move our stuff then, shall we? Then we can go sightseeing in the city!”

Panival suggested as if to break the tense atmosphere stirred up by Karen’s comment, and Luis raised his hand in accord with a carefree look on his face. As Fina and her friends were about to leave, Rivalz called out to them.

“Oh, right. My bad, but can Ortesia and Trinity spare some time after this? Some people want to meet you guys.”

Rivalz’s voice was mingled with an uncharacteristically apologetic tone. Fina unexpectedly asked Rivalz a question, feeling convinced that the meeting might not be worth her master’s time depending on who they were meeting.

“…By the way, who is this other party…?”

“Oh, that’s… you see, Elias and Gramps Rowen want to meet you guys.”

“! The Commander of the Knights and the Chief Magician!”

“The two of them are…”

Following the sudden mention of the major names, Fina and even Karen were taken aback and shared a look.