Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 27: I Want to Learn More~ Waah ㅎㅅㅎ

I scanned the situation, feeling a sense of bewilderment.

A clean cotton scent tickled my nose.

It was literally something like an angel. A white-haired girl, who brightened up the surroundings, was in my arms.

I immediately pushed her away. If someone saw us, they might mistake it for a reunion of old lovers.

She seemed to be very interested in me. She looked over my uniform, her eyes wide open.

“Sir Flan, are you also from the Magic Department?”

I nodded roughly. Her small mouth opened.

“Oh… Ah, that! Uh…!”

However, she just kept moving her lips without successfully uttering a word. Fearing she might bite her tongue, I added a word.

“Calmly.”

“Ah, yes! Th-Thank you!”

She took a deep breath, then clenched her fists and spoke again.

“Sir Flan! Is what you said true? Why did you put down the sword?”

Three questions flew at me in an instant.

It seemed that the owner of this body knew her from before, but she was the first person to approach me so kindly.

The academy uniform she wore was from the Magic Department. The name tag only had three letters: Yusia.

“A commoner, perhaps.”

Although the girl looked flawless and noble, it seemed right to assume she was a commoner, given she had no family name.

Yusia grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me why! I was just excited to see you~ I’m also a student in the Magic Department now!”

“A student in the Magic Department?”

“Yes. I transferred, so for now, that’s what I am!”

I remembered when Professor Violet had taken Professor Leonard aside to talk about a transfer student.

That transfer student seemed to be the girl in front of me.

“Sir Flan! Shall we have a separate place to talk? I’m sorry to keep you standing like this!”

“I’m busy.”

“Oh~ Then, let’s just say hello for today. By the way, do you remember the past?”

Yusia, with her golden eyes still sparkling, looked at me. I wondered why she was showing me such pure goodwill.

However, I couldn’t just tell her what had happened to me and the circumstances of this body, so I changed the topic.

“I don’t remember well.”

“…Ah, oh!”

Yusia looked startled and lifted her head.

Our eyes met. Her golden eyes, shining like mirrors, reflected my image.

I thought she would sulk, feeling resentment and disappointment at my having forgotten something important.

“Sir Flan!”

Suddenly, she hugged me again.

“I’m sorry! You were severely injured because of me… It’s all my fault! I’ll do everything I can to help you regain your memory!”

She looked at me with eyes even brighter than before.

Maybe she had received great kindness from the original owner of this body in the past. I calmly asked her again.

“…Help me?”

“Yes! I will assist you!”

Yusia confidently pounded her chest with her fist. Her substantial chest made a thumping sound each time it collided with her fist.

“Besides, I transferred to the Magic Department because of rumors that there’s a family that made a pact with demonic beasts! From now on, I will protect you, Sir Flan!”

“Quiet.”

“Mmff?!”

Without thinking, I pressed Yusia’s lips with my index finger right after hearing that. I scanned our surroundings.

Even someone as clueless as me knew that these were not things to be said in public.

Fortunately, the area was quiet. I asked with a somewhat serious expression.

“Demonic beasts?”

“Yes. The demonic beasts that rampaged 10 years ago. They say there’s a family that has made a contract with them, using their souls as intermediaries…”

I realized then that Yusia was not a commoner. This was not something a mere commoner would concern themselves with.

She must have hidden her identity during the transfer process. At the very least, she was a noble, perhaps even higher.

I subtly tried to coax more information out of her.

“This isn’t something you should talk about lightly. You have to consider your position.”

But Yusia, with her jewel-like eyes sparkling, only tightened her embrace around me.

“Oh~ It’s fine! I have no interest in the imperial succession. I’ve been bedridden for ten years anyway, so I believe my sisters will take care of things.”

The more I listened to her, the more I found myself deep in thought.

The imperial succession? She was practically admitting to being a princess. Yusia continued speaking with her bright demeanor.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m talking to anyone else but Sir Flan! I can do anything for you, Sir Flan!”

“Later, we’ll talk in detail, just the two of us.”

“Great~ Just the two of us with Sir Flan! I like that!”

Then it happened.

Thunk, something fell nearby. It was right next to me and Yusia.

“Oh… Ah.”

What had fallen to the ground was Becky’s Trivia.

The red-haired girl looked extremely flustered. Her trembling hands were proof of that.

After pushing Yusia away, I quickly glanced at Becky’s Trivia, which had fallen and opened on the ground.

The pages were filled with the formula for magic missiles, each following a different circuit. I immediately understood why Becky had come to find me.

She must have wanted to discuss the non-attribute magic I used during the practical evaluation.

Yusia broke the awkward silence.

“Who is this? Ah, are you Sir Flan’s friend?”

“Sir Flan…?”

Becky murmured the title as she looked at me. Truthfully, there wasn’t much I could say in response either.

“If you are Sir Flan’s friend, I’m glad to meet you too! Nice to meet you!”

“Oh… No, um, it’s just…”

Becky stuttered like a broken machine and quickly picked up her fallen Trivia.

“I’m so-sorry for disturbing you.”

After an abrupt ninety-degree bow, Becky quickly left without another word.

She walked away briskly, her back looking rather pitiful. She seemed unusually small, almost forlorn.

Watching her, I thought quietly.

The formula shouldn’t be drawn like that.

◈

Technically labeled a ‘Dungeon,’ Merhen Academy does not recklessly send students into unknown dungeons full of various dangers.

To ensure more effective training, Merhen Academy possesses a vast array of facilities, including those that excellently replicate dungeons.

The ‘Magic Labyrinth’ is the name of the academy facility where we would carry out today’s exploration task.

We were currently gathered at the entrance of the Magic Labyrinth, where a large, black door was embedded in the ground.

So, we’re going underground? The ominous energy emanating from it made it hard to believe that this was an artificial structure.

“What do we do… Now that we’re about to go in, I’m scared.”

“The demonic beasts are all artificially created, right? Don’t be scared.”

“Did you bring all the scrolls?”

The students around me seemed quite uneasy as well. It was clear that fear outweighed excitement.

However, there was a topic more compelling than their fear.

“Did you see the Agora Board?”

“Of course I did. Hey, who hasn’t seen it?”

“I didn’t think Trixie would lose… She actually solved it.”

“I envy Trixie’s group. How reassuring would it be to have her in your group?”

Last night, on the final day of the deadline that Trixie had set for the bet, she had managed to solve the problem.

[ ▶ Thanks to you, I solved it! ]

[ ▶ I want to learn more~ Waah ㅎㅅㅎ ]

Since last night, Trivia has been flooded with messages. It’s also now confirmed that Trixie was the client.

I glanced over at Trixie for no reason.

Her eyes were colder than ever, her face expressionless. She looked like a lone wolf wandering on a frozen landscape.

Seeing her made the way she spoke in Trivia even more jarring. I couldn’t tell which one was her true self.

[ ▶ I’ll make sure to send you the book you requested! ]

As payment for the teaching, I had asked for the book ‘How Healing Magic Became Controversial.’

Since she agreed, I was finally going to get my hands on the magical book I’d been wanting for a while. My heart felt content already.

“There aren’t any absences, right?”

Then, Violet appeared.

As she started scanning the students, yawning, the murmuring among the students quickly died down.

“As planned, we’ll conduct the exploration evaluation today. There are 15 groups in total, but only 10 checkpoints. Everyone knows that, right?”

Partway through her explanation, Violet pressed down on her eyelids with her fingers. She seemed very tired.

“As I mentioned, you can only bring mid-level scrolls at most, so gather with your groups first.”

Since I didn’t move, Trixie and Martin had to come over to me.

“I saw you solve the Agora Board problem. You’re amazing~ My friends and I talked about you all day yesterday.”

Martin chattered non-stop, but Trixie’s gaze was fixed on me. Her stare, slightly different than usual, landed on me.

“Alright, get ready to enter in order.”

Violet used telekinesis to open the door, revealing stairs leading underground.

The walls on either side were illuminated by torches, closely resembling the dungeon layouts from the previous world. It was a somewhat welcome sight.

As we descended, we encountered no less than 15 different paths.

Each group separated into the passage assigned to them, and our group headed toward the one marked ’11.’

Without a hint of hesitation, I started down the stairs, followed by

Trixie and Martin.

To be precise, Trixie was following me, and Martin was tagging along behind her.

“The problem you solved on the Agora Board is really making waves. There are already rumors that some guilds want to recruit you.”

“No.”

“Right, do you have any plans for meals? The exploration evaluation is quite active, so you’ll probably be hungry after. Want to eat together?”

“No.”

“Eating just the two of us feels a bit much? Should I invite some of my friends too? They’re all sociable.”

Trixie let out a frustrated sigh and turned around. Naturally, I had to stop as well, given that I was responsible for these two.

“You.”

Her eyes, sharp and cold as frost, caused Martin to visibly falter.

“Huh? What?”

Woosh, a blue flame flared up on Trixie’s palm.

Though it was intensely hot, the flame still managed to appear chilling, much like its owner.

“Just… leave.”

“……”

Martin likely considered Trixie von Fritz the strongest in Group 11.

Unwilling to risk facing Trixie’s blue flames, Martin shut his mouth shortly thereafter.

With Martin no longer speaking, we were left in silence. At last, we could walk in peace.

The passage was much longer than I had anticipated. Suddenly, Trixie sidled up close to me.

If I recall, the crest of the Fritz family was jasmine. As she drew nearer, the scent of jasmine tickled my nose.

“Ahem.”

Now walking beside me, Trixie cleared her throat.

She then spoke in a voice only I could hear.

“You.”

The cold tone in her voice gave me a strong sense of discomfort. The reason wasn’t hard to find.

The way she addressed me had changed from ‘you’ to a more formal ‘you’.

What kind of change of heart had she gone through? Before I could even begin to guess, Trixie continued.

“…You’re a Scouter. Aren’t you?”

A Scouter.

I repeated the word Scouter in my head about three times.

I let out a deep sigh. Scouters are guild operatives disguised as students, aren’t they?

“No.”

“I already know.”

No, you know nothing at all.