Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 52 - What an idiot...



Chapter 52 What an idiot…

The aftermath of the match was overwhelming, and just as troublesome.

Among the most persistent were Sephia and the other reporters, all of whom I had to send away.

Although I did agree to a one-on-one interview later… I accepted that without hesitation. I needed some time to myself.

In front of the library, I checked the list of papers I had borrowed.

『Research on the Limits and Factors of Healing Magic』

『Study on Formulas for Implementing Observation』

.

.

.

I had long been interested in healing magic, while the other papers were borrowed to explore how to manifest Inherent Abilities through magic.

Things that magic alone cannot reach.

To others, Inherent Abilities might seem like such things, but to me, they still felt like ‘unexplored and unknown magic.’

In other words, having something to research was both interesting and enjoyable.

Just then, I heard a rustling sound nearby. I turned to look.

“Ah!”

When our eyes met, there was a startled reaction. The distinctive white hair and golden eyes were now familiar.

Yusia opened her mouth.

“Sir Flan, I’ve been looking for you~”

“What for?”

Yusia smiled brightly and extended her index finger.

“First of all, I’m here to congratulate you on your victory, Sir Flan. I watched the match the whole time with my fists clenched!”

“Is there a second reason?”

She extended her middle finger as well.

“The second is that during your match, there was a sinister presence outside the arena.”

Yusia confidently patted her chest.

“It was definitely the trace of a demon or vampire. I’ll be sticking close to you until the midterm evaluations next week to protect you.”

Midterm evaluations.

Now that she mentioned it, the midterm evaluation, for which I had bet against Scarlet, the Knight of Flickering Flame, was fast approaching.

“…Yusia, what exactly were you watching with your fists clenched?”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t need anyone’s protection.”

“But this is my duty! Just think of me as air and act as usual.”

I gathered up the papers and books and stuffed them into my coat. To shake her off, I would have to return to the dormitory.

But now that I looked closer, Yusia was carrying a small bag hanging from her waist.

“What’s that?”

“A Glow-in-the-Dark Puzzle. But I won’t be using it.”

Yusia smiled brightly.

“I can distinguish between work and play. Of course, it’s a shame not to play when three people are gathered….”

“There are only two of us. What are you planning to do if you can’t even count?”

Yusia tilted her head.

“Pardon? There are three of us.”

I followed Yusia’s gaze and indeed, another figure standing nearby entered my view.

Hailey.

I hadn’t noticed her presence. Our eyes met in the air.

“….”

Hailey seemed visibly uneasy.

Usually, she would stare at me with an arrogant look, but now she couldn’t even meet my gaze.

Then, suddenly, Hailey spoke up.

“Um, Flan.”

I turned my head slightly to look at her.

I was busy enough as it was, and her hesitant attitude annoyed me.

So, before I knew it, my expression soured.

“….”

After a moment of awkward silence, Hailey shook her head.

“No, never mind…. Sorry. I’ll see you later.”

Hailey turned and left almost as if she were fleeing.

“Uh… Hailey?”

Yusia watched Hailey’s rapidly retreating back for a moment.

“Sir Flan, is something going on with Hailey?”

“It’s none of my business. Stay out of it.”

“Aha. Understood.”

Yusia didn’t question it. Since I told her to leave it alone, she simply agreed.

With that out of the way, I took out my Trivia.

Trixie, Becky, Sephia… I had received a flood of messages. It seemed I’d be busy for a while.

For every step I took, Yusia took one as well. It was as if she were a knight guarding me.

Resignedly, I spoke again.

“Yusia, do you want to keep me safe?”

“Sir Flan! Of course, I do!”

“If so… I’d like you to defeat these guys.”

I handed Yusia three papers.

“Oh! What are these?”

“Summarize the key points. You may ask me questions about anything you don’t understand.”

Yusia nodded enthusiastically, her eyes shining.

“Yes!”

I looked her straight in the eyes and added,

“Make sure to defeat them and claim victory.”

“Yes, sir!”

Her resounding response was full of earnest determination.

She was genuinely determined to tackle those papers.

“You lost, didn’t you?”

At those words, Scarlet’s hand, which had been receiving some documents, froze.

The Knight of Flickering Flame, Scarlet, quietly gazed across the room. There stood Elyse, the Leader of the Mysterious Valley.

“The whole place is buzzing. Everywhere I go, all I hear is that the Knight Department lost.”

Scarlet snatched the documents from Elyse’s hand with a sharp slap.

Elyse shook her hand in the air as if to shake off the irritation.

“Did my comment bother you?”

“That’s for you to figure out. But dealing with the consequences is your job.”

“So it did bother you.”

Elyse stretched her body.

“Those damn demons, they’re so annoying~ Suddenly showing up out of nowhere, I even had to skip watching the match to chase them, and then there was an upset in the very match I missed.”

“You’ve already watched the match via visual recording, haven’t you?”

Scarlet’s red eyes locked onto Elyse’s. Those eyes still flickered calmly.

“Oh, you noticed? As expected of the Knight of Flickering Flame.”

“I’ve received the documents. Now leave. No, get lost.”

“Nope.”

Elyse subtly moved closer to Scarlet.

“Delivering the list of knight cadets we’ve selected is part of my job, but so is listening to your thoughts.”

“What thoughts?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m curious to hear what you thought of the match, Lady Scarlet.”

Scarlet rolled her eyes slightly, as if barely holding back her anger.

After a moment, she spoke.

“I should hear your thoughts first, Elyse.”

“My thoughts…? Sure, why not. But only if you promise to share yours afterward.”

Elyse nodded and continued.

“Shall I start by praising Yvonne? Her swordsmanship was clean and precise. She even displayed the awakening of her Inherent Ability.”

Yvonne was still on the scouting list for the Mysterious Valley.

Her skills were by no means lacking. However…

“…But she lost. To Flan.”

Elyse scratched the back of her head.

Flan’s skills, which she had confirmed through the visual recording, far exceeded Elyse’s expectations.

When it came to expressing it, she wasn’t sure where to start.

“It’s infuriating.”

Scarlet muttered, her expression twisted with frustration.

“You seem upset. Is it because Yvonne lost? But that can’t be all.”

“A loss is a loss. I don’t intend to contest the result.”

“Then what exactly is bothering you…? I’m not a mind reader, you know. Oh, by the way, is it okay if I smoke here?”

Elyse pulled out a cigarette from her pocket.

But before she could light it, Scarlet snatched it away and placed it in her own mouth.

Just by inhaling, Scarlet ignited the cigarette.

“…What’s this? You’re smoking?”

“Got a problem?”

“Nope. Just tell me what exactly is bothering you.”

“First of all, the fact that a knight let go of their sword.”

Scarlet recalled the final moments of the match. Yvonne, perhaps overwhelmed, had dropped her sword.

If it had been her, she would never have done that.

She would have kept cutting, cutting, and cutting again… And if she couldn’t cut anymore, she would have cut down her own weakness.

“Honestly, though, it’s understandable why she let it go, right?”

At Elyse’s words, Scarlet bit through the cigarette.

“Flan replicated Yvonne’s swordsmanship exactly. Imagine how shocked she must have been.”

“That’s another reason why it’s infuriating.”

Even as she spoke, Elyse clicked her tongue in amazement.

“Magicians have spent a long time devising strategies to defeat knights in battle. How many can you think of off the top of your head? Let’s see…”

Elyse looked up at the ceiling.

“First off, magicians are at an absolute disadvantage in close combat.”

For magicians, maintaining distance through magic is essential.

That their attacks come from a distance is an obvious point.

“That’s right.”

Elyse chuckled incredulously.

“But Flan didn’t use any of the traditional strategies in this battle, did he?”

“He didn’t use traditional strategies….”

Scarlet nodded quietly at Elyse’s words.

The cigarette had already burned black from the intense heat.

Breaking the ground beneath the opponent’s feet to prevent them from standing, showing them illusions to make them cut the wrong target, using summoned creatures to buy time for casting…

Flan hadn’t used any of the typical tactics associated with magicians in this battle.

“Replicating the opponent’s swordsmanship and fighting them with it… There are very few cases like this.”

Cases were rare for a reason.

Even setting aside practical issues, replicating an opponent exactly is something only high-ranking magicians can attempt.

Scarlet’s expression grew more serious as she listened.

Scarlet asked cautiously.

“That was likely the first time he saw Yvonne’s swordsmanship, so you’re

saying he replicated it on the spot?”

“Uh? Yeah? He’s a commoner magician.”

A commoner magician.

That phrase carried a lot of meaning.

Magicians are constantly troubled by financial issues, and for a commoner magician, the experiences they can have are naturally limited.

It’s unlikely he had many opportunities to observe someone else’s swordsmanship.

“It means his understanding and observational skills are extraordinary.”

“And if he had actually wielded a sword himself?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking.”

Scarlet’s crimson eyes were sharp as she stared at Elyse.

Elyse met her gaze for about three seconds, then suddenly shrugged.

“You’re saying something so absurd that I almost forgot myself. We’re talking about Flan, right? Aren’t we?”

“Correct.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. It just doesn’t.”

Elyse shook her head.

“If he summoned a golem based on his own swordsmanship?”

Elyse twirled her finger by her temple.

“Then it would mean he has swordsmanship skills at Yvonne’s level. Does that make sense? For a magician?”

“Right. It doesn’t.”

Scarlet nodded.

But still, neither explanation made sense.

The idea that Flan had swordsmanship skills on par with Yvonne, as Elyse said, was absurd, but the notion that he was uniquely talented in magic was also hard to accept.

Elyse clicked her tongue regretfully.

“We should have scouted Flan back then…. That was really the time when he was most undervalued.”

After murmuring to herself for a while, Elyse suddenly looked at Scarlet and chuckled.

“The Knight Department must be busy now. What will you do if the Magic Department says they want to participate in the Subjugation event?”

“Subjugation. Subjugation, huh.”

Scarlet muttered.

Unlike one-on-one battles, the Subjugation event involves teams of four.

Magicians, being individualistic, aren’t well-suited to team dynamics, and the Subjugation event has always been the domain of knights.

“…Let them participate. I’ll crush them thoroughly.”

Scarlet clenched her fists tightly.

Her clenched fists trembled, as if she would crush everything she touched.

“It’s just a figure of speech. The Magic Department wouldn’t be crazy enough to do that. Surely not.”

Elyse chuckled for a while, then suddenly furrowed her brow.

“No, wait. If it’s Flan… he might just say he’ll do it.”

“Then he’d be crazy, plain and simple.”

“He has more confidence in himself than you can imagine. Don’t you remember what he said in his victory speech?”

How could she forget?

For a magician to defeat a knight, that’s just how it is.

Flan’s voice as he said those words still echoed vividly in her ears. Scarlet clenched her fists without realizing it.

“…Being arrogant is what magicians do best.”

“But no one says you’re arrogant, Lady Scarlet.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?”

With a meaningful smile, Elyse examined Scarlet carefully.

“There’s something about you and Flan that’s strangely similar. Whether he’ll remain an arrogant fool or become an exceptional magician, I want to keep watching.”

“Elyse.”

Scarlet called out Elyse’s name with a chilling tone, leaning in close.

Close enough for their breaths to mingle. Scarlet’s face was utterly serious.

“…Will you still say that after your body’s been cut into ten pieces?”

“Why are you like this? It wasn’t even that offensive.”

Sweat began to bead on Elyse’s face.

It wasn’t the kind of sweat caused by tension or fear; rather, it was because Scarlet was literally radiating heat.

Then, as if suddenly recalling something, Elyse checked her watch and furrowed her brow.

“Ah, there they are again….”

The two women finally distanced themselves.

Scarlet sighed deeply and asked.

“Is it demons again?”

“Who knows? We’ll have to see if it’s demons or vampires. There’s been an increase in them lately.”

“Why are they acting up, whether they’re demons or vampires?”

“It’s probably vampires. There’s a story going around lately.”

With a slightly playful smile, Elyse asked Scarlet.

“It’s pretty high-level information, but shall I tell you?”

“If it turns out to be nothing… I’m going to be angry.”

“Oh, come on. You’re really touchy today.”

Elyse clicked her tongue.

“There’s apparently a high-ranking vampire involved. They’re after an artifact that’s particularly caught their eye.”

“And?”

“And~ it seems the person who took it is nearby. Actually, I’m not sure. Maybe they just touched it, maybe they stole it, maybe they’re a student, a professor, or just someone living nearby, or maybe a devil….”

Ha, Scarlet snorted in disbelief.

“What an idiot… Sounds like the work of a low-level demon.”

“Probably. Anyway, I should go check it out. It was fun chatting with you.”

With a nod from Scarlet, Elyse disappeared.

In silence, Scarlet pulled out a letter from her coat.

[To Lady Scarlet,

The head of the Judith family requests the pleasure of your company for lunch.

Please visit with the young master.]

The date indicated was next week.

Coincidentally, it was right after Flan’s midterm evaluation.

“….”

Normally, she would have torn it to pieces.

She would have done so without hesitation.

“I’ll just have to see for myself.”

But this time, she didn’t.

 


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