Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 11: How About the Loser Apologizes While Lying Down

“Flan?”

The male student, called Louis, seemed to be recalling something.

His silver hair, which he swept back, was attractive even to another man.

“Oh, right.”

He must have remembered, as he smiled pleasantly and extended a hand toward me.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Hailey. Nice to meet you.”

Though I wasn’t keen on physical contact, I quietly accepted the handshake.

There wasn’t even a hint of malice in his smile, which was surprising.

I intended to leave quickly after the handshake, but Hailey spoke up instead.

“What happened to the thing you always carried around?”

Did I have something like that? Hailey continued speaking.

“I’m talking about the Basic Magic Book.”

“I threw it away.”

At that, Hailey let out a small laugh. Covering her mouth with her hand didn’t make her look any better.

“Did you finally give up? That’s not like you, Flan~ You always showed such perseverance.”

Without hesitation, I turned around.

I had neither the reason nor the leisure to respond to every word. A magician is someone who explains and proves themselves through magic.

“Oh, Flan! So, you were here!”

Then, another student called out my name.

From the entrance of the store, Becky, who had shouted my name, came running toward me with quick steps.

“Ah… I thought you might be here. I’m glad I found you.”

Becky, who had approached me, caught her breath. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, that… the rotation rate you mentioned earlier… Oh? You have company? Sorry.”

Becky, who was catching her breath while speaking, looked surprised when she saw Louis and Hailey.

She glanced at them briefly and then sniffed her sleeve.

“It’s nothing. What’s going on?”

“Oh, right. About the rotation rate you taught me earlier. I have something to say about that…”

But just then, Hailey interjected.

“Taught you?”

Hailey furrowed her brows as if she didn’t understand. She looked at Becky and asked.

“Who taught whom?”

“Huh? Flan taught me.”

“Flan taught someone magic?”

Hailey’s eyes widened as if she had heard something absurd. Then she squinted and looked Becky up and down.

“Who are you?”

Hailey asked me, but Becky quickly responded.

“I-I’m Becky.”

“I’m Hailey Lumian. What’s your family name?”

“Just… Becky.”

Becky, now shrinking into herself, lowered her gaze.

Hailey’s scrutinizing gaze on Becky didn’t stop. She soon noticed the Trivia in Becky’s hand.

“Oh my, that’s the same Trivia as Flan’s.”

“The same as Flan’s…? My Trivia?”

Becky’s eyes moved to my hand.

“Oh… it is.”

“Didn’t you know? That’s strange. Why did Flan choose the same one?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Becky fidgeted with her Trivia, looking troubled. Hailey openly mocked her.

“You should know. Why do you think Florian chose the same one as you? It’s not that hard to figure out.”

As Hailey alternated her gaze between Becky and me, she suddenly snickered as if she realized something.

“Well, birds of a feather flock together. Good luck, you two.”

With that, Hailey disappeared with Louis.

Becky scratched her head, seemingly confused, then suddenly remembered something and quickly turned to me.

“Oh right. Flan! About the rotation rate…”

“Handle it yourself.”

“Hey, wait…!”

Leaving Becky behind, I walked away. I needed some time alone.

◈

Time flowed like a river, but Flan still had no intention of returning home.

‘Having a place to go back to isn’t always a good thing.’

Flan thought of the female knight, Scarlet, who was likely staying at the mansion. His brow furrowed.

He had no intention of staying in a place that tried to bind him. Flan willingly abandoned the mansion’s soft bed for the cold, hard bench in a park.

『History of Magic』, 『The Awakening of Mana』. He even had enough books to serve as pillows.

He could have used magic to improve his surroundings, but he chose not to. He needed to conserve his mana until the test.

Besides, he was accustomed to hunger and cold. He had overcome such hardships before, which is why the previous world had called him a genius.

The park, cloaked in darkness, was desolate, but the area around him was not.

His act of homelessness seemed almost like a form of performance art. Even the moonlight seemed to enjoy cascading down his angular face.

Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep.

“!”

A suspicious presence suddenly made itself known. Flan instinctively twisted his body.

“Eek?!”

A small scream followed. Flan looked up to find the source of the presence.

A girl was sitting on the ground, rubbing her bottom as if she had fallen.

Did she intend to sit right on top of him? Flan found it absurd.

Even at this late hour, the moonlight was bright. If she was thinking normally, she couldn’t have missed seeing him.

“What the heck~ Is that a person? That’s weird~ I didn’t feel any presence at all…”

The smell of alcohol wafted from the woman, and she wobbled as she stood. Her eyes were unfocused.

The moment Flan noticed this, he realized she wasn’t in a state to think rationally.

“Why couldn’t I sense anything? Are you an expert? Can you hide your presence that well?!”

Flan shook his head quietly. The term ‘expert’ was far too modest to describe him.

He clicked his tongue and started to move to another sleeping spot, but something followed him closely. It was the drunken girl.

Even after moving to another bench two or three times, she kept following him. Unable to bear it anymore, Flan finally spoke.

“Why are you doing this? Do you have business with a homeless man?”

But the girl pointed her finger at the book in Flan’s hand, 『History of Magic』.

“…That’s the *History of Magic*! Are you a magician?”

Flan finally took a closer look at her.

Light blue hair that reached just past her shoulders, slanted bangs, and dark blue eyes.

For a drunk, she was strangely refined. Even someone like him, sensitive to aesthetics, found her appearance beautiful.

She brought her finger even closer to Flan.

“I knew it~! You’re a magician! That’s a Merhen Academy library book!”

“So, what about it?”

“Agora Board~!”

She suddenly shrieked. For the first time in a while, Flan felt like hitting someone.

“Agora Board! You know the Agora Board, right?!”

She plopped down on the ground. Dust clung to her white skirt.

It was an awkward angle where her underwear was almost visible, so Flan sighed and looked away.

“…What’s the problem?”

“Someone solved it… Someone solved my problem…”

Flan was inwardly impressed. That this drunkard was the author of an Agora Board problem.

Meanwhile, she continued speaking with teary eyes.

“They didn’t just solve it; they completely humiliated me! How could they do that? Do they know who I am?!”

“……”

“I won’t let it slide. I absolutely won’t let it slide! Huaaang…”

Leaving the girl who had started sobbing, Flan quietly walked away.

It seemed like he wouldn’t be sleeping in this park tonight.

◈

Finally, the test day arrived.

After finding another park to catch a quick nap, Flan made sure to arrive on time at the fan-shaped, wide lecture hall.

He was sleepy, but he held back his yawns.

No matter how tired he was, he thought it was too undignified to yawn with his mouth wide open.

However, unlike him, whose only concern was his sleepiness, all the other students in the lecture hall were buzzing about a common topic.

“Did you see the Agora Board?”

“Of course I did!”

Agora Board, Agora Board, Agora Board…

“I heard the problem was set by Trixie. I immediately understood. But why didn’t anyone think it was Trixie?”

“Have you seen what’s written on the Agora Board now? It’s crazy.”

Agora Board here, Agora Board there. Just as Flan was about to feel bored.

“Hey! Flan!”

Someone poked him in the side. Turning his head, he saw Becky with wide, red eyes.

“Calculate the rotation rate yourself.”

“No! It’s not about the rotation rate! Look at this!”

Becky scooted closer to him and opened her Trivia.

There were various boards, but Becky navigated to the trending board.

She pointed to the post burning like fire at the top of the page.

[If you’re going to provoke, why not reveal your name? How about the loser apologizes while lying down? Trixie von Fritz.]

That was all the post said. Flan didn’t think much of it.

“What is this?”

Becky leaned even closer to Flan. She whispered very quietly into his ear.

“That’s what’s written on the Agora Board right now. We’re lucky we solved it anonymously! The problem setter was Trixie!”

“Who is that?”

“What? You don’t know Trixie?”

Becky looked shocked and glanced around.

Then, as if she had found something, she urgently tapped Flan’s arm.

“Hey, hey, Flan. Look over there. Over there.”

Following Becky’s gaze, Flan turned his head and saw a familiar figure

.

Blue hair like the sea, slanted bangs, deep dark blue eyes.

Flan saw a bit of himself in the girl.

Her head held high, as if she would never bow, and a posture full of self-assurance.

…No matter how he looked at it, she was the girl from the park last night. The one who was drunk and making a scene.

“Whatever you do, don’t get on Trixie’s bad side…! Let’s take the secret of solving the Agora Board problem to our graves! Okay?”

“Is she that impressive?”

Flan couldn’t understand. Why should he avoid getting on her bad side? Oh, because she causes trouble when she’s drunk?

“Hey, do you even hear yourself? Her family name is Fritz!”

Just as Becky started to get worked up.

“Everyone, attention.”

Suddenly, Professor Violet’s voice echoed, and the surroundings began to change.

The fan-shaped lecture hall quickly vanished.

The flow of mana surged like a rapid current. The freshmen’s vision turned white all at once.

“!”

When their vision cleared, they found themselves in a vast green meadow.

The ground was covered in green grass, and the sky was blue—nothing else. Just a vast expanse.

While the freshmen were busy expressing their amazement, Flan quietly analyzed the magic.

‘A large-scale illusion spell, huh.’

It’s not easy to cast an illusion on multiple people at once. He nodded, impressed.

In the center of the meadow, Professor Violet sat at a long, rectangular desk.

Next to the desk was a cauldron, though its purpose was unclear.

Professor Violet’s dark circles had deepened, and she spoke with her eyes half-closed.

“Is everyone here?”

The freshmen responded loudly in unison.

“If anyone talks about unrelated topics during the test, I’ll deduct points without hesitation.”

Once again, the freshmen responded loudly, but Violet waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t answer out loud. It hurts my ears. Just understand.”

The freshmen clamped their mouths shut. For Flan, who hadn’t been answering in the first place, this was welcome news.

Violet stood up and continued speaking.

“Test. We have to take the test today.”

There wasn’t much shock among the freshmen. Thanks to the Trivia, everyone had prepared in their own way.

But Violet wasn’t done talking.

“…Normally, I would have asked you to demonstrate the magic you’re most confident in. But I saw something very unpleasant.”

Violet used telekinesis to float a piece of paper in the air.

“I received a very unpleasant report. They say Violet’s first test is always the same.”

The freshmen all gasped. Whoever reported this, they wanted to grab them by the collar.

“Today’s test will be different. I’ll demonstrate a magic spell, and you’ll all try to replicate it.”

The students’ jaws dropped. It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck out of nowhere.

“We have to replicate the spell she demonstrates…?”

“What kind of jerk would report something like this?”

“…From today on, I have no respect for my seniors.”

A single complaint quickly spread into a flurry of grumbling.

Violet slapped the desk with her palm, making a loud sound.

“What did you hear? I said no unnecessary noise, or I’ll deduct points.”

She propped her chin on her hand and continued.

“Three professors will be watching. You can rest assured that I won’t grade based on my mood.”

As soon as Violet said that, two more chairs appeared next to Audrey.

Two additional professors materialized and naturally took their seats.

One was Audrey, dressed in a sharp suit, and the other was a male professor with a mischievous expression.

“We’ll determine the order by drawing lots. No one would dare chat during the test, right?”

Violet snapped her fingers, and the cauldron began to bubble.

With a pop, it spat out a frog.

Violet caught the frog in her hand, and it spat out a card.

She held the card in her other hand, her expression turning subtle.

The students watching held their breath.

The test itself was important, but in situations like this, who went first was always significant.

“The first one is… Hailey Lumian.”