The World in A Picture

　On the map I come to the location of the venue

 I doubt my eyes.

　There was only a brick wall with a painting on it. The painting depicts a castle with a white snow field in the background.

“It’s here.. but there’s no test site anywhere…”

　Did I make a mistake in the location?

　It can’t be helped, let’s show the map to the people in the city. When I thought so and had gone to turn back,

“Hey, it should have been in my bag!”

　I heard a voice. The voice of a woman.

　The strange thing is where did the voice come from? The picture it seems.

“What does this mean..?”

　I search the picture for clues. Then, in front of the castle gate depicted in the picture, I see two figures.

　The figures are pitch black and cannot be seen.

“Even if you say so… If you don’t have an admission ticket, you can’t take the exam …”

　I heard it again. No doubt. I heard it from the picture!

“What the hell is that–“

　I reach for the picture. When my right hand hit the picture, the weight disappeared from my body.

“What ?”

 My body was sucked into the picture.

　When I opened my eyelids, closed from fear, I saw the same castle in front of me as the one depicted in the picture.

　Looking back, there is also a brick wall and a picture pasted on the wall. However, unlike the previous one, the picture depicts a garbage dump on the outskirts of the city.

　The garbage dump that was behind me a while ago.

“Magic… It seems that it’s a two way portal.”

　Look at the castle..

　The huge snow-colored castle was a fantastic beauty. It was my first experience to be overwhelmed by a building.

　This is the test site … As expected, it is out of the ordinary from anything I would expect.

　I find two people arguing in front of the gate.

　One is an adult female wearing a cloak. Probably an examiner at the Magic Academy. For some reason, she has a mouse on her head.

　The other is a girl. There is no doubt that is them. Himari Lanfer, who just hit me.

“Excuse me.”

　I interrupted the conversation. Himari glared at me,

“Hey! I’m talking now! Don’t go thinking you are better than me, the servant who just bumped into..”

　You are the one who collided first.

I guess she didn’t fall for my over dignified trick.

“This is a lost item, is it yours?”

　Himari looked at the admission ticket and shouted, “What!?”

“My admission ticket!? I dropped it because I hit you a while ago! Return it!”

　Himari grabbed the admission ticket and envelope from my hand.

“This is okay, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah. You can enter.”

　Without any words of gratitude, Himari entered the castle. The examiner sends a sympathetic gaze to me.

“Are you also an examinee?”

　Shake your head.

“No. I just came to deliver the lost item.”

“That’s right? But you’re a magician, right? This is a barrier that people who can’t use magic can’t enter.”

　Barrier 

Is this isolated space called a barrier?

“I can only use one magic, I’m not a magician.”

　There is a secret technique that has been passed down to the executioners of the Sanson family for generations. It can be called magic, but that doesn’t mean I’m a magician.

“If you can use magic, you’re a magician. Either way, it looks like you’re not an examinee.”

　The examiner snorted.

“Wow, it’s cold… Why do they bother with…?”

　The female examiner moved the mouse on her head to the palm of her hand.

“[Tear Kreis Schaff]”

　When the female examiner lined up words that seemed to be spells, a flash of light ran around the mouse. My pupil was stimulated by a flash of light, and when I blinked, the mouse changed and a sheep wearing a moco-moco coat was in front of me. The woman is hugging the sheep, trying to absorb the warmth.

[TL Note: Moco-Moco coat.]

“Hey, the mouse has become a sheep …!”

“It’s warm!”

　This is also magic. Is it magic that turns an animal into another animal? I’m going to go crazy if I stay in this odd place any longer.

“Be careful when you go home. It’s cold today.”　The examiner says with a smile.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

 I twist on my heels and try to go back the way I came.

　Then..

“Huh?”

　My field of vision became pure white.

　My whole face is cold, but the rest of my head starts to burn up.

“Are you okay..?”

　My knees begin to weaken.

　That’s strange. I can’t move, it seems.

I suppose this is the end.

Oh well…

　 It’s time to go… the blackness starts to set in..it’s pitch black–

　◆

　When I woke up, there was a white ceiling.

　The feeling of warmth and softness made me realize I was probably on a bed.

“You woke up.”

　I heard a sexy-sounding older woman’s voice.

　When I turned to the voice, in the place of my expectations was a woman in a white coat.

　A little woman who is the exact opposite of her voice. She is a short stature baby-faced woman who I wondered should I refer to as a girl or simply little girl.

　Her face is well worn and there are dark circles around their eyes.

　She walks up, each step having arrogance shown through.

“You can get up already? I mean, get up. You are a hindrance. To an outsider, having to offer bed space, how ridiculous! Do you understand what I mean? Can you get up now? “

　I probably fell on the snow and was taken to the medical office by the examiner.

　I’m not an examinee, so I’m an outsider. Even so, I would’ve preferred something a bit more gentle.

　She puts her hand in the pocket of her lab coat and sighs.

“What a joke. Take it easy until the fever goes down.”

“Who are you..?”

“I’m the nurse at Yunferno Darts.”

　I get out of bed and put on a coat hanging on the wall.

“Are you sick still?”

Yes. I still had a fever.

“Oh no. It’s okay. I think I’ve lost my fever.”

I pick up the sword wrapped in a bandage and slung it over my right shoulder.

“That’s not true. It was a very high fever until a while ago …”

　The nurse sees my what I assume is a sickly face.

　The nurse pulls a wooden chair towards her, forcing me to sit down and rests her hand on my forehead.

“It’s really not too feverish, I suppose I was wrong.”

　Even if I caught a cold, my master didn’t take me to a hospital. So I had to cure it myself. Pretty proud of my natural resilience.

“Thank you for your help. Excuse me.”

“Yeah. I think it’s okay if it’s in that condition, but it’s strange. It was really hot until a while ago.”

　I got out of the medical office so that I wouldn’t bother the nurse anymore.

　There are two wide passages, right and left. I don’t know which is the way to the exit.

　I return to the medical office.

“Excuse me, which is the exit, right or left?”

“Exit? Oh, go right–“

　The nurse laughs, seemingly correcting herself.

“I mean left. Go straight to the left and turn right at the end.”

　She starts laughing, implications embedded in it.

　It was a way of laughing with implications.

“Understood. Thank you very much”