Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 10: Louis, This is Flan

“I’ll begin now.”

Becky closed her eyes and focused her mind.

Blue mana swirled around her cupped hands, pulling water from the corner of the lab. The water mingled with the mana, transforming into a new form.

It was a rectangular block of ice.

As Flan’s gaze quietly turned toward her, Becky spoke up on her own.

“Professor Violet seems to have a particular liking for manipulation magic. So from now on, I’ll carve the ice using manipulation.”

Still crossing her legs, Lynn added.

“Just do it as usual, Becky. Blow him away.”

Lynn’s face was full of confidence. Her smile was one of someone unconcerned with the possibility of failure.

Becky calmly regulated her breathing. Ice was the element she had worked with the most, so as long as she didn’t make any mistakes, she would be fine.

She closed her eyes and manipulated her mana.

The sharp mana made a fierce sound as it met the ice. She carved and sculpted the ice according to the image in her mind.

Finally, a single ice flower was completed.

It was a rose, a flower so famous that no one wouldn’t recognize it.

“How is it?”

Lynn asked with a confident expression, and Becky looked at Flan with a somewhat expectant look.

“Hmm.”

Throughout his life, Flan had received countless requests for advice.

From career concerns, like which discipline to major in, to requests for feedback on theoretical papers.

The requests varied, but Flan’s responses always had a significant impact.

Students decided to devote their lives to the disciplines he recommended, and scholars shed tears over a few lines of additional comments he made…

However, if there was one thing even he found difficult, it was questions about beauty.

The way each person views this value is different, so it’s hard to apply a uniform standard.

Still, even so…

“…Are you telling me this academy can award an A for something of this level?”

Flan confidently gave his assessment.

“…!”

Everyone in the lab was shocked.

The reason Flan could confidently criticize Becky’s creation was simple.

Even before discussing the standards of beauty, the manipulation itself was unrefined.

“Is it… not good?”

Becky asked. Flan quietly nodded.

“What… What’s so bad about it?”

“Everything.”

“From the beginning…?”

Becky’s mouth opened and closed in surprise. Lynn, who had been listening beside her, scoffed.

“Maybe you should try doing it again~ Anyone can say something like that. Hey, if you’re so good, why don’t you try it yourself?”

Flan found Lynn’s sneering attitude simply laughable.

His hesitation wasn’t due to fear but purely because it was bothersome.

First, it was bothersome. Second, this body couldn’t hold much mana.

It took a whole day to fully replenish the completely depleted mana.

Flan needed to prepare for the test too, so he couldn’t afford to use too much mana here.

However, Flan decided to endure the bother and watch Becky’s magic.

After all, he had promised to review it, and more than anything, Becky’s anxious appearance was so pitiful, like a mouse caught in the rain.

Flan calmly walked to stand in front of Becky.

“Will a rose do?”

“A rose? Uh… I mean…”

Becky started to speak but glanced at Lynn. However, Lynn just waved her hand with an overconfident expression.

“Don’t mind me, Becky. Do whatever you like. He’s so confident, he’ll handle anything, right?”

After hearing Lynn’s response, Becky hesitated but then spoke again.

“Columbine. Originally, I was going to make a Columbine flower.”

“Columbine, huh.”

Flan briefly recalled the appearance of the flower.

A unique form with one flower blooming on top of another, also known as the Aquilegia.

“Create the ice.”

“Are you really going to try to make a Columbine? Ah, but its shape is too complex, so I also gave up…”

“The shape of the flower isn’t the issue. Ice.”

“Ah, okay.”

Becky stretched out her hands.

Once again, mana surged, and the water in the lab gathered to form a rectangular block of ice.

“This time, try to manipulate it with the Columbine as your goal.”

It wouldn’t help Becky if Flan did everything from start to finish.

That would be nothing more than a performance.

So he planned to assist Becky while reviewing her work. This way, it would also consume much less mana.

“…Alright. I’ll start.”

Becky took a deep breath and began manipulating the flow of mana.

With a scraping sound, the ice started to be carved. Flan quietly observed from behind.

Becky’s confident movements swiftly sculpted the ice, but soon, hesitation filled her actions.

Becky muttered as she focused on the ice.

“So, Columbine always gets stuck at this point. The petal part is just too difficult to describe.”

Flan shook his head. The problem wasn’t the description.

Becky’s manipulation was too hasty. Her mana was rotating about 23 times per second.

Of course, the cutting power of mana rotating 23 times per second was impressive.

But using such a high rotation speed without the necessary skill was like barely clinging onto a runaway horse.

In manipulation, the most important thing is precision. Speed is secondary.

Meanwhile, Becky grew more anxious as no response came from behind her.

She slowly turned her head and asked,

“Flan? Why aren’t you saying… Uh, huh?”

She tried to ask while turning around but couldn’t finish.

Suddenly, Flan’s scent wafted to her nose, and before she knew it, Flan’s hand was resting on the back of her hand.

Becky couldn’t help but be startled. It was almost as if he was embracing her from behind.

“Hey, hey! What… What are you doing?!”

“I can’t help it. I don’t particularly want to do this either.”

There wasn’t a trace of falsehood in Flan’s words.

In truth, this position was simply optimal for assisting someone’s magic while minimizing mana consumption.

“I’ll assist you. Remember this sensation.”

“What? What sensation? What am I supposed to remember?”

Instead of answering, Flan calmly lowered her rotation speed. 14 rotations per second would be enough.

“The key is the rotation speed.”

This kind of sensation couldn’t be conveyed through words.

It had to be explained through magic and understood through magic.

That was the reason Flan called this act a ‘review.’

He would assess Becky’s magic. How she progressed from there was entirely up to her.

“Hey! Fl… Flan…! Uh…?”

Becky, whose face had turned bright red, was about to shout something, but her mouth fell silent.

She had no choice.

The ice in front of her hand was gradually taking on the near-perfect form of a Columbine flower.

Lynn and Tir also unknowingly swallowed their saliva as they watched the situation.

“Once you understand it, the rest is easy. Like this…”

But Flan’s explanation was cut short. With a small cracking sound, the flower broke.

It didn’t just stop at breaking. With a popping sound, it shattered and scattered in all directions.

“…”

Flan stepped away from Becky, and a moment of silence fell.

“Pfft.”

The one who broke the silence was Lynn’s laughter.

“Pfft, pfft, hahaha…!”

Lynn couldn’t hold back her laughter.

The ice had shattered into pieces and scattered everywhere. No matter how you looked at it, it was a complete failure.

Lynn wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke.

“Really, as expected. Is this what you call assisting, destroying perfectly fine ice?”

She subtly brushed off the ice fragments that had landed on her academy uniform with her fingers.

“Hey, this is what you call ‘not good.’ Got it? What’s with the pretentiousness… You should focus on your test tomorrow instead.”

Regardless, Flan turned his back on them.

He had fulfilled his promise to Becky, so there was no reason to stay in this room any longer. Whether she found the answer or not was now Becky’s responsibility.

Flan retraced his steps to where Becky had pointed out the location of the store. Without hesitation, he headed there.

“Get lost. Don’t ever come back!”

Lynn shouted at the lab door after Flan left.

After shouting until her anger subsided, Lynn put her arm around Becky’s shoulder.

“Becky, just ignore people like that. They’re just showing off because of their looks. Almost all guys are like that. Let’s check what grade he gets after the test tomorrow.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering? Becky?”

“Oh.”

Only then did Becky raise her head. Lynn chuckled softly.

“What’s wrong? Are you still out of it? Were you interested in him too?”

“N-No, not at all. That’s not it.”

Becky’s face was still red. Her gaze returned to her hand.

“The key is the rotation speed…”

She quietly repeated Flan’s words.

That elusive feeling. Lynn kept muttering busily beside her, but none of it reached Becky’s ears.

‘Flan didn’t make a single mistake.’

In fact, it was Becky’s mistake that shattered the ice.

◈

The Magic Department’s store was much larger than I had expected.

Inside, it was already crowded with numerous students wandering around. But their attention was solely on the goods.

Various items were neatly arranged. Some looked unfamiliar at first glance, while others were more familiar.

“Welcome~”

Suddenly, a voice sounded right next to my ear, which instantly irritated me

. Of course, I didn’t show it outwardly.

Upon closer inspection, something was flying around my head.

A small female figure with four wings. It was a fairy.

“Oh, nice to meet you.”

“‘Nice to meet you~?’ That’s informal~”

The fairy in front of me tilted her head. I corrected myself.

“Nice to meet you.”

“That’s better~”

The fairy was something I had only seen a few times in ancient magic research materials, so this was my first time seeing one in person.

“So, what brings you here, student~? I don’t recognize your face~”

The greenish fairy continued speaking energetically.

“Do you need magic scrolls? Or perhaps potions? Ah~ We also handle wands and staffs, of course.”

Although she seemed to be flying freely without any protection, a closer look revealed a circular barrier surrounding her body.

I couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity.

What would happen if I fixed that barrier in place? Would the fairy also be immobilized?

Before I realized it, my hand was already moving.

“If you need anything, just say… Ugh?!”

She made a small sound as she stuck in the air like an insect being pinned down.

“W-What’s going on?! Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

The fairy struggled with all her might.

Only then did I realize what I had done and hurriedly released the pinning. I quickly hid my hands behind my back.

‘If you fix the barrier, the fairy also gets fixed in place.’

Curiosity satisfied. Now I just needed to buy what I came for.

There were many items to choose from, but I already had a clear priority in mind.

“Ugh, what was that just now…”

“I’m looking for a Trivia.”

The fairy, who had been clenching and unclenching her fists, suddenly raised her head and stuck her face toward mine.

“So~, that’s informal~.”

It was only then that I realized I had spoken informally again. It was still hard to get used to addressing others respectfully.

Ahem, I cleared my throat and spoke again.

“I’m looking for a Trivia.”

“Alright, alright~ Oh my, looking for a Trivia? Come this way!”

The fairy eagerly flapped her wings and led me further into the store.

“What kind of cover are you thinking of~? The most popular one lately is the mahogany cover, but male students tend to prefer something simpler. Leather, perhaps?”

“What about the price?”

It had been so long since I had considered the cost of something while shopping that I was surprised at myself for asking.

“Ah~ If you’re from a noble family, it shouldn’t be too much of a burden. There are discounts based on your rank too~”

“I’m not a noble, and my rank is F.”

“Hmm?”

The fairy, who had been flying ahead, suddenly stopped mid-flight. She scratched her nose with a troubled expression.

“Your rank is… F? You don’t look like it at all…”

Her kind attitude vanished completely, and the fairy brought out a black paper-covered Trivia with a flat expression.

It looked oddly familiar, and I realized it was the same as Becky’s.

“15 Nekel.”

“Alright.”

Scarlet had given me 20 Nekel as pocket money, so I had just about emptied my wallet.

My business was done. I was about to leave the store without hesitation.

“!”

Suddenly, I bumped into someone, causing me to drop the Trivia.

The sensation of colliding with someone was unfamiliar. In my previous world, I always had a barrier up, so this was new.

“You should watch where you’re going. Are you okay?”

The male student I bumped into was incredibly handsome. Extremely tall, with impossibly broad shoulders.

If my body was just at the beginning stage, his was nearly fully developed. He had the physique of someone who wouldn’t be out of place as a knight.

“Thanks.”

I nodded briefly and took the notebook from him.

“Oh my, isn’t that Flan?”

A girl suddenly interrupted. Her blonde hair and blue eyes looked somewhat familiar.

When she saw the Trivia in my hand, she let out a small laugh.

“First it was basic magic, and now it’s a Trivia? You bought the cheapest one, didn’t you?”

Seeing the name “Hailey” on her name tag confirmed my memory.

Hailey nudged the male student’s arm and spoke.

“No response. Louis, this is Flan. The one I told you about last time.”

Hailey was the first person I had encountered after falling into this world.