A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic - Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Peeking

Going out on the streets day after day, even with Envy as a body double, was not a sensible move.

Consequently, I stayed in the dorm that night and maintained order, keeping an eye out for any students who could have overindulged themselves in prohibited activities by patrolling the area around the dorm.

Dinner was over and it was now free time, so normally I wouldn’t have been so concerned, but I might as well make use of the time of the day. I tried to call out to the students, especially the boys if I spotted any of them wandering around the area.

“Oh, Luis.”

“Eek, T-Teacher Kanaki…”

“That’s the large public bathhouse, you know? I have informed you that the girls will be using it at this time of night, and of course you are aware of that, aren’t you?”

“…”

“…Yeah, come along with me for a bit.”

“H-Hang on, Teacher, is this a joke!?”

Since there will be more than a few students that schemed to do something like this, they will be the subject of my guidance. Luis must be frantic, too. He looked at me in disbelief.

“Even you, Teacher, are a man, you can relate to our feelings, right!? We are the same human beings!”

“Yeah, it’s not that grand of a tale. And from the way you talk, it sounds like other students are planning to pull something like this off…”

“H-Hold on a second, Teacher! All right, even for you, I will make a special effort to reveal to you the location of the peephole we found in advance, so you can overlook me!”

“No, that is okay, I am not interested.”

“Why the hell not! Are you swinging the other way!?”

“For the first time ever, I really wanted to punch a student in the face.”

It eluded me as to why anyone would peek with this much zeal. Even back when I was a student, some good-natured boys were equally passionate about it, yet it never appealed to me. Peeping in the first place itself was a crime, and I reasoned that rap*ng a female would be more expedient than peeping on her. R*pe, if uncovered, would not be forgiven with a remorseful letter, but I hoped that the students would ponder how they could do it without getting busted. Perhaps they will give it more serious thought than they typically do in class and will develop critical thinking and judgment capacities, both of which will be beneficial to them in the future. The only thing was, if the victim was one of my students, I would have to spend more time on their mental well-being, so please spare me that much trouble.

I handed Luis, who was still making an outcry, over to Günter and continued my rounds. Originally, I should be the one to convince Luis as his homeroom teacher, but unlike counseling, student guidance, which invariably centered on lecturing, often didn’t work out well. On top of that, it had the demerit of being susceptible to animosity from the students, which made it a very poor choice for me. Günter, who was the oldest person in the group, was willing to take care of all this for me. I decided to entrust him with this maturely.

Afterward, when I came across other students walking around outside, they all fled like rabbits at the sight of me. Well, by the looks of them, they probably didn’t possess that kind of spirit anyway, so I didn’t go after them. Seriously, I hoped they can internalize a little bit of Luis’ willpower.

“…Ngh?”

Having patrolled the back of the dormitory, I was about to return to the building when a strange feeling arose in me. It was as though I was being monitored.

For a moment, Shizuku’s face floated in my mind, but then an unpredictable figure sprang up.

“As expected of Teacher Kanaki. You discovered me so easily.”

“Fina… what are you doing here?”

From the way she was dressed the same as she was at dinner, she probably hasn’t even taken a bath yet. Despite it being bath time for the girls right now, I can’t even fathom why Fina would be here.

“It is surveillance. I was patrolling to monitor whether or not any insolent people were trying to peek in on Lady Karen’s bathing. Then I spotted you walking around here, and I thought you might be…”

“I see.”

So that explained why she was in hiding and monitoring the place. It fit Fina’s pattern of conduct rather well. Had I not discovered Luis first, he might have been torn to pieces by Fina.

“Most of the students who were out and about around here have been sent back to their rooms. You should go to the bathroom too.”

“…No, I have a little business I have to attend to.”

“Business?”

“Yes, I would like to request a match with you, Teacher.”

“…Ehー”

All she did when she met me was to hold a match with me.

I made a blatantly disapproving face, but Fina was already familiar with this and didn’t even bat an eye.

“I am running out of time before the finals of the SKT. Amidst all this, this social exchange event will also consume my independent training time, so to be honest, I am a bit rushed. Can you please help me out since it won’t take up that much of your time?”

“Oh… I understand.”

Indeed, that was my thought yesterday as well. At this critical time of the year before the finals, even a few days of no exercise will result in an immediate loss of fitness.

In either case, I was going to take care of the students who were going to participate in the finals. Fina’s request was one I unwillingly agreed to.

If this was the case, I probably should have invited Luis, too―

“Thank you.”

With that, Fina distanced herself a little from me.

As she was unarmed, I decided to give her a little service.

“It is preferable to make this combat as realistic as possible. You can use sorcery to strengthen your body.”

“Is that fine?”

“Yeah. Well, I will use it, too.”

It was clear from the start that Fina’s enhanced physique would quickly imperil me if I engaged her head-on without any preparation.

Fina and I both cast body enhancement sorcery on ourselves, after which she charged forward―

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Before I knew it, Fina had memorized Sprint Move.

While rubbing my side, which was hurt by the body blow that was so well-executed, I called out to Fina.

“That’s brilliant, Fina… when did you learn Sprint Move?”

“What are you talking about, didn’t you teach it to me?”

“Huh?”

To my stunned voice, Fina brushed her bangs off her forehead and continued.

“Throughout our match, you used the technique three times, so I took a hint from you and tried to replicate it. I assumed I could manage the rest as long as I grasped the principle, but there were a few inconsistencies.”

Despite saying such a thing so nonchalantly, she was after all an outstanding prodigy girl. In terms of martial arts proficiency alone, she was already one of the top five students in the school. She absorbed what I didn’t teach her, let alone what I did teach her, on her own, and kept progressively developing. I doubted that any other student would be so rewarding to teach. Indeed, she was a tremendous talent.

“…When we return to the school, I will make some corrections to your technique. Well, it’s only the minor things, though.”

“…Thank you!”

When I said that, Fina displayed an unusually effervescent smile. Even I could perceive that she was incredibly ecstatic, which sent me a tingly sensation.

―At the time, I had no way of realizing that this promise was never going to be fulfilled.