A Death Row Convict Teaches at a School of Magic
Chapter 12: Rat Extermination (1)

A sparkling spray splashed across my eyes.

“For god’s sake, can’t you do something about your class!”

Being confronted by Teacher Tupel, who vivaciously sputtered all over the place in front of me, my discomfort was veiled by a strained smile.

“Your class always, always, and always makes no progress at all because a certain student interrupts me! And it’s entirely your fault, as the homeroom teacher!”

“By ‘a certain student,’ do you mean Ortesia?”

“I-I didn’t say that!? Stop diverting the conversation!”

Upon the mention of Ortesia’s name, Tupel, who was explicitly irritated, again spat profusely.

The royal Ortesia was apparently dreading him since she hailed from a prestigious aristocratic background, but more importantly, the junior faculty member whom he was now lecturing right before his eyes should what he should be several times prudent against. Well, the decision to kill was already a definite choice though.

Instead, the issue at hand would be that woman. Disregarding Tupel, whose preaching persisted, I focused on Harley, whom I had met a week ago during a practical training session for my class.

At that time, she must have had a subtle suspicion of me. From that day on, Harley seemed to be on the move, searching for information about me even in the Garrison Corps base. But of course, a criminal record wasn’t something I had. It would have been better if she had made a mature decision and given up, but as it turned out, her next step appeared to be to pursue a series of disappearances that had been taking place in the city.

Harley’s behavior left me feeling an aversion, and I was glad that I had surreptitiously attached Envy to her, but it was also a fact that if I left things as they were, it wouldn’t be good. Fortunately, she was the sole person who still suspected a link between the cases and me, so dealing with Harley alone would present no problems.

“―Hey, are you listening to me, Kanaki!”

“Of course. Let me give a stern message to Ortesia.”

“I-I don’t mind if you tell Ortesia, but you must never bring up my name! I am only speaking about the overall atmosphere of your class to the end!”

“Obviously, I am aware of that, too.”

“H-Hmph. Very well then.”

When Tupel finally shut his mouth, I gave him an ingratiating smile and said, “Please excuse me” before leaving the staff room.

Now, things will get hectic―

■■■■■

“As I thought, you are very soothing to me.”

Counseling sessions for the day had been settled upon later that day after school, and Xeth had long since departed. Not a single person would visit the infirmary any more today.

Over at the far end of the infirmary, on a bed that was always shrouded under a curtain under the pretext of mixing medicine, a young girl was breathing serenely.

No, this way of description was not exact. Strictly speaking, it would be more precise to simply use the word “just” breathing.

Within the past month, practically all of her human functions were wiped out. Each finger and toe had been neatly removed, save for the base of her tongue, and all of these had been roasted in front of her eyes, then turned to be fed to herself.

Aside from that, her internal organs have been infested with bugs that tear through the human body, and even as this was taking place, her internal organs must have been gradually being devoured. Not to mention, her nerves have also been administered a drug that heightened their sensitivity, which no doubt has inflicted such acute agony on her that even sleep has become futile.

In spite of this, her facial expression has already ceased to display the same expression as it did in the beginning. As if a battery suddenly went out of use, she has been motionless only a few days ago. While her remaining eye was open and her chest was stirring up and down at regular intervals, her heart seemed to be the one that was ruined first. It was an unfortunate reality, but one that happened all the time. To be fair, given that she had only lasted less than a week before, she was indeed brilliant.

She has been keeping me entertained this long, having exerted so much effort. Should it be feasible, I would like to put her out of her misery right now, but her valuable life should be put to good use.

“I am sorry. I’ll have you suffer just a little bit longer.”

Removing the earrings from my ears, I imbued them with magical power. The earrings, a magical tool, emitted an odious purple radiance that encompassed the bed’s curtained border in light.

“‘Soul Eater’.”

What I invoked was superlative-class magic. In the instant of activation, the girl, who until then had not exhibited any reaction like a marionette, had stiffened up her face into a terrific visage.

“Ugh! ―Ahh… Aaaaaaaaagggggiiiiiiiiiiii!!”

An animalistic roar originated from her mouth, the likes of which has never been experienced in any torture to date.

Her reaction was only justified. The magic that has just been invoked was, as the name denoted, a magic that would devour the soul of the target. The delicate soul, which was the very embodiment of the ego, was being ripped out of her. Regardless of how drained the spirit may be under such torture, this was forbidden magic that would subject the victim to the utmost anguish in this world, as though the soul were being eaten directly out of the body.

“Fear not. I have taken the utmost soundproofing measures for this. Even with all your wailing, no one will absolutely come. Rest assured you will die of madness.”

“Oooooeeeeeeeeee!! Hiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!!”

From around the base of her legs, a black stain spread across the sheets. Drooling from her mouth, snot from her nose, tears from her eyes, and moisture from every other hole, the girl went into a frenzy. This was something that happened repeatedly when this session came up but apparently having one’s soul devoured was a considerable suffering sensation. Even if their limbs were ultimately amputated, people who were subjected to my relentless torture would not exhibit a single reaction; but, if they were administered “Soul Eater,” the majority of them would still elicit such a reaction.

Even so, this magic was the pinnacle after all.

The spectacle of a human being driven insane and dying over and over again was an experience I never got sick of. I wondered what she was thinking right now in the midst of having her soul being feasted on. Who will it be—her cherished family, a familiar companion, or a lover whom she has been infatuated with? I would pay whatever it took if a glimpse into her thoughts could be viewed right now.

“Guuuuuaaaahhhhhhhhh!!―”

“Oh, it’s over.”

The climax of “Soul Eater” always came so quickly.

This time, she really ended up as a mere lump of meat, for which I will offer a silent prayer.

Thank you so much for all the enjoyment you have given me.

Gratitude was essential for everything after all.

“…Well then, I suppose I’ll finish this quickly.”

With the prayer over, I immediately pass the magical power through the earrings that had just eaten and stored the spirit, before transferring them to the magic crystal stone with empty contents that I had prepared in advance.

When the magic crystal stone has been filled to the brim with spirit, I transferred it to the following new magic crystal stone.

This was my original blend of magic crystal stones, which was well received by Matthias. The key point of this method was that by flooding the magic crystal stone with fresh soul, a magical power boost that was dozens of times more potent than commercially available magical power could be temporarily used.

After all, the power of the soul outshone anything else―

In the end, three magic crystal stones’ worth of spirit was derived from her soul. The half-full amount was converted into the rest of my stock. The stronger the target, the more abundant the power of the spirit. Even though she was a fourth-class magician, her soul seemed to be of fairly decent quality among them.

At any rate, the preparations were in order. I will let Envy dispose of the corpse later, and I should be on my way to exterminate the rat.