A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic - Chapter 77
In the clear, scorching, sunny weather that beat down on my skin, I descended the carriage.
I twisted my hips while stretching wide. Having a prolonged carriage journey, my body was squealing and my buttocks tingled and ached. Around me, the other students shared similar feelings.
From what Hansa informed me, horse-drawn carriages were apparently major transportation in this world, but only in the Republic of Chronos, his home country, were automobiles exceptionally prevalent. By all means, I would hope that they would export them to this country as well, but unfortunately, the day when cars can be driven in the Kingdom of Ortesia, where roads have not yet been thoroughly developed, was still a long way off.
“All right, let’s start with the students who got off the carriages and line up in that orderー! Move to the side of the road to avoid being a hindranceー!”
Movement was challenging with over 150 pupils, but not as difficult as it was in Japan. Günter, Murrue and Ursula also led the students of their own class one after another to get in line. High school-aged students were always showing a keen curiosity for anything and everything. While chattering with their peers, they moved at a leisurely pace, so it was not easy for them to form a line.
“Come on, everyone, let’s hurry up and line up.”
Had Karen had called out to them, though, it would be another story.
Karen’s voice was all that was required to speedily restore order and organize my class, which did so more swiftly than any of the other classes thanks to her terrific leadership skill. This truly begged the question of my necessity.
After three minutes of delay, the other classes finally finished lining up. Ursula’s Class 4 was the slowest, but surprisingly, Murrue’s class was the second fastest to line up, following her voice.
“Well then, everyone, we’re off to the Academen’s dormitory.”
Günter then delivered a light talk about the precautions to be taken for the journey, and we began to move into motion.
On entrance into the city of Windell, the students who had been sheltered from the world cheered one by one, scanning their surroundings and exchanging jubilant shouts with the students next to them.
Windell was indeed a more flourishing city than Seal, to the extent that I could understand the amazement of the pupils. After all, the presence of the Royal Library of Magic undoubtedly had something of a bearing on the influx of visitors who flocked to the city. All the streets were paved with bricks, and the width of the streets was overall broader than in Seal. In the center of the city, a vast plaza with a massive fountain spurted out when the bell struck at noon, eliciting the wildest cheers from the students. Among them was the sound of Murrue’s booming voice, which the group feigned ignorance of.
Even though the rumored Library of Magic did not cross our path, I had a chance of viewing it from afar on the way there. Its exterior, as I observed, was unquestionably grand. Lilith Central Hospital, the tallest structure in Seal, was a five-story building, but the Library of Magic was double that height, about ten stories tall. And above all, it was constructed of concrete, which was a wonder to me. In this country, too, concrete construction technology was available, but since it was made with magic, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive, so most of the materials used in Seal were bricks. And all I could do was chuckle halfheartedly when I learned that the Library of Magic had likewise been extended underground.
Now, while all this was in progress, we arrived at our destination, the Academen, a school of magic. On our arrival, we were warmly welcomed by all the first-year students over there, which left some of the students impressed.
At each of the destinations, a school of magic, the exchange event exclusively comprised first-year students every year. Since they were rushing to get ready for the SKT competition at this time of year, upperclassmen were busiest at this time. The exchange event, nonetheless, utterly backfired for Selbeth this year due to the exceptionally large percentage of first-year students competing.
Once the students settled their luggage into their dormitories, a brief send-off session was held. A representative from each school would give a speech, so Yehudi Blanc from Academen and Karen Ortesia from Selbeth naturally went forward to represent their respective institutions.
Blanc, on the other hand, was a bit less conversant with the newcomer’s greeting while Karen, as always, delivered an unimpeachable reception that could have been a speech of some type. As a teacher, I found Blanc’s greeting more endearing and much more appealing than Karen’s.
The day was designated for rest and leisure after the send-off session in respect of the Selbeth side pupils who had come to a long distance, but they were a bunch of curiosity seekers. They promptly and actively engaged in chatting with the Academen students and seemed to have already warmed up to each other. Excluding travel days, they would only be in the city for about two days. As if to conserve time, the students were proactively interacting with the other students.
We, teachers, were supposed to be overseeing them, but in reality, it was a break time with nothing in particular to tend to. Ursula, for instance, had already retired to her room and started to take a nap. Right when I was considering taking a nap to be ready for the night, there was a move that I had been waiting for at an unexpected time.
It was in a tree-covered area behind the dormitory. How did they discover such a perfect location in such a short period of time?
Running out of my room, I told the students what I had spotted before heading to my destination, and with their approval, I immediately proceeded to the back of the dormitory.
My footsteps were silent, and when I slowly peeked in, sure enough, there were Andrei, Olga, and their followers, Kili and Lubedo.
Olga and the others were positioned around Andrei, and through the gap in the back, I could make out Andrei handing something to them.
I was right, it turns out to be bullying.
“―Hey, what are you doing here?”
“!”
When I called out in the most upbeat manner I could, Olga and company glared at me in wariness.
“Now is your leisure time, but please stay within our sight as much as possible. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, we won’t be able to tell―Olga, what did you just hide?”
“…Nothing really.”
Olga reacted bluntly, so I went up to him and tried to take something from his hip pocket.
A sharp backfist grazed the tip of my nose at that moment.
“…Don’t touch me.”
Having said that, he left the place with his two followers. The only one left was Andrei, who wouldn’t lock eyes with me.
Had the backfist also hit me, I could have turned the assault into a story, but oh well, I guess it is enough.
“Are you okay?”
Not daring to mention such a thing, I directed a smile at Andrei, but his face remained sunken.
His expression was like that of a child waiting to be reprimanded, so I spoke softly to him as if to reason with him.
“I am not particularly going to dig into what happened, Andrei, nor am I going to lash out at you. However, please note that I am on your side. From now on, I will keep an eye on them, and if you want, I can discipline Olga and the others right now.”
“…That’s!”
“I understand, it’s all right.”
The first time Andrei’s eyes intersected with mine, I nodded smiling.
Needless to say, it was my signature reassuring smile―
“If I do that, there is no telling what Olga and his friends will do to you when they are out of my sight. But fortunately, you are not by yourself. Not only me but there must be others on your side, right?”
“Oh…”
I turned my thumb behind me, revealing Luis, Fina, and even Karen.
“Andrei, you are being distant with us. Aren’t we friends from ‘Kaguya’?”
“For once, I concur with Luis. Even though I haven’t known you as long as Luis and the others, we have worked together often and you have always had my back. In times like this, it is only fitting that I would help you out, Andrei.”
“Olga and the others are being immature. I guess they are just aristocrats after all…”
Karen shot a glance in the direction where Olga and his group had left off.
“Andrei, you are one to speak too. Why didn’t you consult us?”
Andrei’s eyes were penetrated by a chilly look.
“I-I am sorry!”
“Forget it… Well, that’s okay. You are, nevertheless, to report anything to me from now on. At that time, even if you disagree, I will vehemently attempt to remedy the situation.”
“Lady Karen, I think that would be rough for Andrei to say, too…”
“Oh, it’s so much preferable than having the news of bullying in my class propagate around the public once I ascend to the throne. Apart from that, now that I have said I will help, I will do it in the name of Ortesia for Andrei’s peace of mind. Therefore, you should simply be happy, Andrei.”
“Y-Yes!”
“As expected of the next ruler of Ortesia. What you said is ludicrous…”
Luis exhaled, after which I turned to face Andrei squarely once more.
“I apologize for calling them without warning. But I wanted to prove to you that there are allies on your side. So please don’t hold it all in yourself, and share it with the people around you. As for Olga and his group, I will deal with them to the extent that they don’t create inconvenience for you, so rest assured.”
“…Yes!”
At last, Andrei’s expression collapsed.
I led Andrei and the rest of the group toward the dormitory, feeling a sense of relief wash over me, and when no one was there, I went back and retrieved “that”.
I knew attaching it to Andrei was a wise move.
What I retrieved from the bushes was a fragment of Envy. The slime-like fragment was already half-withered and seemed to be on the verge of exhausting its magical power.
Envy had been planted on Andrei’s body, and it worked exactly as I had hoped, quickly bringing me to the scene of the bullying. This not only solved the bullying issue in the class but also equipped me with the materials to extort Olga and the other students when the occasion called for it.
After all, they hailed from a moderately prominent aristocratic family. Even this level of material for extortion, should it be publicized to the society, would be detrimental to their family, and above all, it would draw the attention of Karen Ortesia, who loathed aristocrats. Instigating a murder would be difficult, but there was a fair chance that they would follow through on a minor crime. From my viewpoint, this would certainly not be a move that I would like to employ.
In any case, this resolved the majority of the issues in my class. Now I can devote my efforts to the true purpose of my visit to this city.
With a humming tune, I departed from the place.
