A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic

[It’s a fight!]

“…Ngh?”

I was abruptly jolted out of my reverie by the yells emanating from outside.

Looking at the time, it was around 7:30 a.m.
It was right around the time when the students were about to arrive at the school.
Since today was the first day of school for the new term, it was reasonable to hear them yelling just now.
They were most likely searching for a senior or a teacher to break up a fight.

“…I am going to sleep.”

But it doesn’t suggest I should make a special endeavor to find them.

It was too much of a hassle.
When I was about to lower my eyelids again in preparation for another restful sleep, a flurry of footsteps burst into the empty classroom.

“―Teacher Kanaki! I knew you were here! What are you sleeping so peacefully!”

“Oh… Arti, is that you? Your energy is fine in the morning, but unfortunately, I’ve been up all night.
I’d appreciate a few more hours of sleep before the staff meeting begins.”

I plopped down on the desk again, apologizing, but Arti paid me no mind.

“Come on! Let’s hurry up and go! The outside is just too dangerous!”

“Um, did you hear what I said?”

And you know what, that was not a good sentence, right?

Arti, who dashed out of the classroom and ran briskly away, seemed to have no doubt that I was coming after her.
With this, I can’t refuse her.

“…Sigh, it can’t be helped.”

If I had simply stayed in bed, it would have been fine, but Arti would have subsequently reacted negatively to that.
I was a benevolent teacher, in principle.

“―So, I’m going to be gone for a bit.”

In the back corner of the infirmary, toward one of the beds with the curtains closed, I gave my word and started running after Arti, who was ahead of me.

■■■■■

I was led to the school gate by Arti.
Even though it was still early in the day and the number of students coming to school was sparse, there were plenty of students there for once.

The root of the problem was the two first-year students’ physical confrontation, which blocked the school gate.

“Take a bite out of this!”

One of the fighting students pointed his palm at his opponent.
His body gave out a faint glow, and there were multiple lights flowing across the bracelets, which were copper in color and could be seen from his sleeves.

“’Flame Blade’!”

A blade formed by flames, slightly larger than the palm of his hand, eventually emerged in his palm.

“’Thunder’!”

The other student likewise aimed his index finger at his opponent, seemingly determined to not be outdone.
Soon, the ring on his finger began to sparkle, and electricity shot out from his fingertip like a serpent’s tongue.

“Hey, hey, fighting with magic… even this year too?”

At this time of the year, fights amongst freshly enrolled first-year students were prevalent.
And every year, a fierce battle involving the use of magic broke out among them invariably.

Arti turned to face me while I was pondering the reason that private fighting employing magic was strictly prohibited.

“Look, teacher! Hurry up and stop!”

“Be sensible, please.
I am a school nurse, you know.
Treating students injured by this kind of thing is my responsibility, and preventing such injuries from happening in advance is the work of the teachers of the Department of Magic and the members of the Public Discipline Committee…”

“But Teacher Kanaki also works in education! Someone will suffer injury if nothing is done!”

“Leave it to me when that time arrives.
I will quickly and efficiently heal them.”

“That dependability is exactly the kind of thing is needed right now!”

The two simultaneously unleashed their magic as if taking Arti’s whining as a cue.

However, the magic that was let loose did not collide with each other.

All of a sudden, a girl landed at the area of the magic collision, aimed her palm at each of the two incoming spells, and intercepted them with Mana Wall magic that she had deployed.

“―Both of you, that’s enough.”

The girl in the school uniform was the one who, in a voice that was clear and distinctive of a young girl, broke up the fight with dignity.

Her appearance matched the same girl who has recently been the subject of endless rumors among the staff.

“Princess Karen Ortesia…”

The person in front of us was a princess of a country, Arti murmured in a trance.

The First Princess of Kingdom of Ortesia.
She held that title.
In addition to being intelligent like the king and possessing aesthetic beauty like the queen, she was also said to hold the greatest talent for magic.
She was a prodigy, of course, and received top honors for admission to the Selbeth School of Magic.

The saying “heaven does not grant people more than one talent” was proven wrong, and she would undoubtedly play the lead role in a novel if it were written about her.
And she has become one of the seeds of my current headache…

The princess was now glaring at the two students who had wasted her time with a harsh, chilling expression on her exquisite face.

“You are not allowed to use magic in private combat as a student of Selbeth.
―You there, by the looks of you, you must be a teacher here.
Why didn’t you put a stop to them right away?”

Eh, were you referring to me?

I was also the target of the princess’s accusations evidently.
Arti, who was standing next to me, spoke up to break the silence as I stood there scratching my head and mulling about what to do.

“U-Um! Teacher Kanaki tried to stop them, but he’s a medical magic teacher so…”

Perhaps unable to bear the sight, Arti offered a helping hand, and I inwardly raised a thumb toward her.

The likelihood of persuasion would be higher in this case if a third party spoke in place of the individual in question.

Nonetheless, such tricks proved completely ineffective with the princess at hand.

“What does it matter that you are a school nurse? Before each of you has your own area of expertise, you are all general teachers who instruct and guide your students.
I’m afraid you won’t feel secure in the event that you are hurt in the future if you can’t even settle a private fight of this mag