Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 15: Is This Anonymous Again?

—

“A whole floor just for my room… Well, it’s passable.”

Flan, who had been engrossed in selecting topics for the Agora Board, was now visiting the dormitory of Merhen Academy.

Though the dormitory would officially be available for use in three days, an announcement had been made allowing students to unpack their belongings early, so Flan decided to drop by.

Meanwhile, Becky, who had met him in the hallway and was accompanying him, tilted her head in confusion.

“Hey, Flan, you’re in room 401, right? Then only that room at the very end is yours.”

“…You mean I only get one room.”

Flan muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Of course. There’s no student who gets to use an entire floor of the dormitory.”

Upon reexamining the paper he was holding, the only room listed was 401. Becky was right.

Flan furrowed his brow. Even using an entire floor might not have satisfied him, but having to live in just one room seemed unthinkable.

He wondered what the interior facilities were like. Flan decided he would definitely have to clean the doorknob later and used telekinesis to turn the door handle.

At the same time, Becky manually opened the door to room 402 next to his. Their gazes met in mid-air.

“So, you’re in the room next to mine.”

“Yup, I’m in 402.”

“Don’t cause any trouble.”

“…Suddenly?”

The conversation ended there. Flan then examined the interior of room 401.

It was a clean and spacious room, but that was it. The furniture was basic and plain, far from satisfying Flan.

However, Flan had two days to spare. He decided that using some mana today to make the room more to his liking wouldn’t be a problem.

He replaced everything—the small chair, the plain desk, the ordinary full-length mirror with a wooden frame, and so on.

Destruction, support, manipulation, creation… Flan activated magic from various schools without restriction.

The furniture broke apart, reattached, and rose up, only to be carved again. By repeatedly disassembling and reassembling them according to his will, they gradually took on the appearance of the furniture Flan had used in his previous world.

A mirror with a vintage frame, a larger desk, a chair adorned with his favorite patterns… The transformation was astounding compared to how it looked initially.

“Uh…? What the! Why is your room so much better, Flan?!”

Despite being told not to cause a commotion, Becky suddenly barged into Flan’s room, shouting.

Flan gazed at Becky silently, as if demanding an explanation. Feeling awkward, she continued.

“I’ve never had my own room before. I was curious if everyone else’s rooms were the same, but your room is particularly nice, Flan.”

Becky recalled her own dormitory room.

Excitedly, she had dragged in all sorts of belongings, but after seeing Flan’s room, her own seemed like nothing more than a cluttered mess.

What reason could there be for Flan to have a better room? Becky could only think of one possibility.

Perhaps it was because he was an exceptional student, beyond even an A-rank. Becky’s suspicions grew stronger.

“Naturally. Now, get out.”

Flan’s cold dismissal fell. But Becky’s eyes were drawn to the piece of paper in Flan’s hand.

“What’s that?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s a problem I’m going to submit to the Agora Board.”

It would be stranger if she could understand it just by looking at it. Becky swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. That wasn’t the point right now.

“…You’re submitting a problem? Again? Are you targeting Trixie?”

“I’m not specifically aiming at anyone. Anyone with the ability can solve it.”

“Then you’re doing it anonymously again?”

“Of course.”

“If you ever reveal your name, please leave mine out. I can’t handle it, seriously…”

Flan’s gaze shifted toward Becky this time.

In her hand was a stack of miscellaneous papers, among which one yellow paper stood out prominently.

“What’s that?”

“This? A club application form. You can get one too if you go to the research building.”

“A club… Is it a place to play?”

“Play? Hmm, more like a place where you enjoy learning, to be precise.”

Becky’s eyes widened as she continued to mumble to herself.

“What’s with that look? It’s like you’ve never heard of it before. When you think of the Magic Department at Merhen Academy, clubs are the first thing that comes to mind!”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Magic shines brightest when it’s freely explored. Clubs are where like-minded people gather to conduct research together.”

Becky held the club application form so Flan could see it clearly.

Summoning Club ‘Birth,’ Magic Journalism and Promotion Club ‘Witch,’ Exploration Club ‘Pinwheel’…

The form was filled with brief descriptions and names of various clubs. Becky, still excited, continued speaking.

“Look at this. There are so many clubs because there are so many students. Freshmen aren’t usually allowed to participate in club activities, but A-rank students can.”

The club Becky had marked was ‘Frozen,’ an Ice Element Exploration Club. As she chattered away excitedly, Becky suddenly asked Flan.

“Hey, Flan. Aren’t you interested in clubs? If you’re into Ice Elements, you could join me…”

“I’m not interested.”

While Flan agreed that magic shines brightest when freely explored, clubs seemed somewhat childish to him. He might consider it if it felt more like mentoring a few disciples.

“Oh, uh, okay.”

The quick response was chilly.

Becky, feeling awkward, scratched her head and then showed Flan a blue paper.

“By the way, have you seen this? They released the outline for the upcoming exploration assignment.”

“Not yet.”

“…Aren’t you being too laid-back? Professor Violet is in charge, and she’s terrifying.”

Flan accepted the paper Becky handed him and examined the outline of the upcoming exploration assignment.

[ Exploration Assignment Outline ]

▶ Aims to foster students’ adventurous spirit and crisis management skills. Teams will be formed to explore a designated dungeon, and their results will be compared.

▶ Team members: 3 per team.

▶ Special notes: Open Scroll.

“A dungeon…”

Flan narrowed his eyes.

Dungeons had existed in his previous world too—otherworldly spaces filled with various monsters and distorted mana flows.

If the dungeon described in the outline was similar to those in his previous world, or even just similar, it would be somewhat problematic for Flan.

[ Aims to foster crisis management skills. ]

The key point was the content of the outline. Since it required quick responses to various crises, it would demand a lot of mana.

Seeing Flan’s expression, Becky cautiously spoke up.

“This is serious, right? Exploration assignments are usually for upperclassmen, but Professor Violet decided to have us do it. She’s completely unpredictable!”

Flan continued to carefully examine the outline before asking.

“What is ‘Open Scroll’?”

“Oh, that. It means you can bring magic scrolls with you. It’s like an open-book test in written exams.”

“…We can bring scrolls?”

“Yeah, maybe they added that condition because we’re freshmen. It probably means they really want to evaluate our crisis management skills.”

Flan stroked his chin thoughtfully.

And then, suddenly, he burst out laughing.

“What? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

“Don’t worry about it. You should leave now.”

Becky hadn’t expected an answer anyway. As she was about to leave Flan’s room, she suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask.

“Hey, Flan.”

Becky hesitated, finding it hard to speak, but she had wanted to ask this for a while, so she gathered her courage.

“If I come across a magic I don’t understand, can I ask you about it?”

“If I have the time, I’ll teach you.”

“Thanks.”

The quick response was chilly again, but fortunately, the content was positive. Becky hurriedly left room 401.

Back in her own room, Becky suddenly felt the urge to clean. After seeing Flan’s room, her own felt incredibly shabby.

As she scrubbed her already clean desk with a cloth, she mulled over Flan’s words.

“If I have the time, I’ll teach you…”

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

What kind of magic would she ask about in the future? Even Becky herself didn’t know yet.

It could be something that puzzled her during a lecture, or perhaps a challenging question that appeared on the Agora Board someday.

Yet he acted as if he could teach her, as long as he had time, no matter what it was.

“…What is he, really?”

Becky pondered for a moment, then went back to cleaning her desk.

◈

The quality of the evening meal provided at Merhen Academy’s dining hall was excellent. At least, that’s how Aria Fontaine felt.

Having achieved an A-rank, she now got free meals at every sitting. Additionally, she was awarded a scholarship, which surely made the Fontaine family proud of her.

After piling a large helping of delicious salad onto her tray, she moved forward.

“Aria!”

From a nearby table, a girl with bright blonde hair raised her hand high. It was Hailey Lumian.

A noble’s daughter. A-rank. The two had much in common and quickly became close friends.

Although Hailey was already sitting with many other female students, the seat opposite her was vacant. Aria naturally took that spot.

She noticed that in the far corner, Trixie was sitting alone, quietly

eating.

Her presence was cold and serene, like a frozen lake in winter. With her elegant blue features, Trixie had been surrounded by other students during the freshman orientation.

However, that circle couldn’t withstand her cold demeanor and had all eventually drifted away. Now, no one dared to approach Trixie.

Hailey beamed a bright smile at Aria.

“Hey, Aria! What kept you?”

“I unpacked at the dorm and spent the rest of my time studying Trivia. We’re getting assigned to exploration teams in two days, so I was trying to find any useful information.”

“Ah, right. Everyone keeps saying how important it is to be on a good team. I’m praying for a good match.”

“It’d be great if we ended up on the same team, Hailey.”

“Oh my, you.”

Hailey giggled, clearly not opposed to the idea.

“But Aria, did you know this assignment allows open scrolls?”

“Yeah, I saw. But honestly, what’s the point of using scrolls to cast high-level spells? Even if we can use them, how much could we really do with them? They’re mostly spells we’re unfamiliar with.”

“Exactly. Exploration assignments are usually for upperclassmen, so why are we doing one…?”

“Hailey, you say that, but I bet you’ll do just fine. I know you.”

“No, no, I’m really not.”

Hailey flashed a warm smile.

They continued chatting about which students had received A-ranks, who would make good teammates, and so on.

Then, as if something had just occurred to her, Aria spoke up.

“…I really hope I don’t end up on the same team as Flan.”

At that, Hailey’s eyes sparkled.

“Oh my, Aria, you don’t like Flan either?”

“Who would? His attitude is arrogant, and he suspiciously retook the exam to get an A-rank.”

Hailey blinked at that.

Flan’s attitude was arrogant? Growing up, he had always treated everyone kindly. At least, that’s what Hailey knew.

“True, Professor said there was no cheating involved, but it’s still odd that a student who enrolled as an F-rank suddenly became an A-rank.”

Aria’s eyes widened.

“F-rank? F-rank? Flan enrolled as an F-rank?”

“Yeah. You didn’t know?”

“Not at all. By the way, didn’t Flan confess to you, Hailey? How did that turn out?”

The topic was sensitive, and the other girls began to discreetly watch Hailey’s reaction, but she answered without hesitation.

“Well… I wasn’t really interested, so I turned him down. If I ever date, I want it to be with a guy who’s good at magic.”

“Of course. But still, for a commoner to be that presumptuous. He should be sticking to his own kind, like that commoner girl. Don’t you think?”

The other girls burst into laughter at Aria’s words.

Only Hailey tilted her head in confusion.

“Flan… is a commoner?”

“Yeah, Flan’s a commoner.”

Hailey’s words made Aria nod as she continued chatting with the other girls, laughing.

“For a commoner, he had the nerve to look me in the eye and talk back. He’s completely out of his mind.”

“Why do you think Flan’s a commoner?”

“Because he doesn’t have a family name, of course. Why, Hailey?”

They all turned to look at her, their eyes full of innocent curiosity. Hailey forced an awkward smile.

“Oh… Ah, right. Yes, you’re right.”

But deep down, she couldn’t shake the doubt.

Could Flan be hiding his true identity? But why?

The name Judith carries weight. Just revealing it would prevent anyone from openly disrespecting him.

“Oh? I got it!”

Suddenly, Aria, who had been eating with her fork, froze.

“Hailey, do you think Flan still likes you?”

“What?”

“Think about it. Maybe he’s still into you, so he pushed himself to get an A-rank by any means necessary, just to win you back.”

“No way… Oh, really?”

But just then, one of the other girls, who had finished eating and was fiddling with her Trivia, suddenly exclaimed.

“Hey, a new problem just got posted on the Agora Board!”

Everyone’s hands froze mid-meal. As if on cue, they all opened the trending topics page on Trivia.

The girl was right. At the very top was a post with a newly submitted problem from the Agora Board.

“This is crazy. Look at the difficulty.”

“I can’t figure it out at all.”

Exclamations of amazement erupted from the students as they examined the problem. At first glance, it was clearly beyond the reach of freshmen like them.

“But I can tell the category. It’s about elemental manipulation.”

“Looks like harmony to me.”

“Isn’t it illusion magic?”

“…We’re all A-ranks, and we can’t even agree.”

They all shook their heads and closed Trivia. Seeing such a problem during dinner made them feel like they might lose their appetite.

“I feel queasy now.”

“How can someone be so different? We’re all magicians, but this feels like a huge gap.”

That’s when Aria noticed something else about the problem.

“Come to think of it, this one is anonymous too, right?”

Anonymous. That’s true.

All the girls turned their heads in unison. Their gazes focused on Trixie, who sat alone at a corner table.

Trixie’s expression was grim. She was scribbling something on her plate with her fork, as if it were a pen.

She kept scribbling.

And scribbling some more, occasionally sighing.

Until suddenly—

Bang!

She slammed her fist on the table.