Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 43: Who did she fall for, to be like that?

Chapter 43 – Who did she fall for, to be like that?

Even when most of the students started to fall asleep, there was always one or two who couldn’t sleep.

Tricksy, the girl with the jasmine scent, was one of them.

“Sigh.”

She slammed down her glass of liquor, making a loud noise.

The alcohol made her feel a bit better.

Prettya.

This liquor, distributed by the Frits family, had a deep history and taste. Its high alcohol content was both an advantage and a disadvantage.

It was the first time she drank since she was humiliated in Agoraboard.

ㅡIncrease your charm.

She could still hear Plan’s words in her ear.

She had never heard such words before.

She had always thought of herself as flawless, and indeed, she always had all kinds of compliments following her.

Beautiful, lovely, genius… The list of praises was endless.

She never craved attention. Rather, she was annoyed by the excessive attention she received. She was that kind of girl.

“Increase your charm, huh.”

Did that mean she had no chance with Master Garchim even with this much charm? Did she need to increase it more to learn magic from him?

That was the only way she could interpret it.

Plan’s attitude was also firm, he didn’t seem to be lying.

“Ugh.”

She gulped down the strong liquor, while worrying at the same time.

Should she reveal that she was the daughter of the Frits family?

She soon shook her head.

He wouldn’t care even if she did. That must be why Plan reacted that way.

Who was Master Garchim? She sighed deeply as she continued to ponder.

“Uh…”

Her sigh woke up Hailey, who was sleeping on the next bed.

“Tricksy… What’s wrong? What’s that, are you drinking?”

“No.”

Hailey lifted her head slightly and looked at Tricksy with sleepy eyes. Then she asked bluntly.

“Are you lonely?”

“What?”

“You keep fidgeting, drinking, making weird noises…”

“Shut up.”

Tricksy dismissed the suspicion directed at her.

She couldn’t feel lonely. That was impossible for her.

“Tricksy, you’re so cold when you talk. Aren’t you scared to talk to? Anyway, go to sleep.”

Hailey muttered and closed her eyes again. Tricksy also lay down and opened her Trivia.

[ ▷ Please show me some interest ㅠㅅㅠ ] [ ▶ I’m interested in magic. ] [ ▷ I’m also interested in magic! ] [ ▷ Please teach me some magic ] [ ▷ Can we meet and learn? ]

She still didn’t get a reply.

[ ▷ Sorry for the late introduction. ] [ ▷ I’m Tricksy from the Frits family! ]

She added that just in case. But still, no reply.

“Why isn’t he replying?”

She muttered in frustration.

“What?”

Finally, Hailey couldn’t resist her curiosity and got up from the bed. Tricksy quickly covered her Trivia.

“What are you looking at?”

“Oh my, you’re waiting for a Trivia reply?”

“So what?”

“If it’s a love problem, just tell me! I’m an expert. So who’s the person you like?”

“I don’t like anyone.”

“Oh, come on~ There’s no point in hiding it now.”

Hailey smiled smugly.

“You can’t sleep and you wait for a reply, and you don’t like anyone? Isn’t that a guy?”

“It’s a guy.”

“See!”

“I just want to learn magic.”

“Look at you. Then let me ask you this.”

She seemed to have forgotten about sleep, as Hailey started to chatter excitedly.

“How often do you think about that guy in a day?”

Tricksy took a sip of Prettya and rolled her eyes.

She would never have participated in this kind of conversation normally. But maybe because of the alcohol, her lips parted.

“Almost all the time, except when I sleep.”

“Are you happy when he replies?”

“Yes.”

“That means you like him. Why do you deny it?”

“It’s different.”

Tricksy shook her head vigorously.

“We only talk about magic. He’s teaching me.”

“Do you think you can ask someone you hate to teach you magic? You can do that because you like him and he’s good at magic. I do the same with Louis.”

“Shut up.”

Tricksy drank the rest of her Pretia in frustration.

She had never experienced anything like this before. Waiting for someone, learning from someone…

She knew she couldn’t go back to the way things were. His ‘teaching’ was something she couldn’t get anywhere else.

She wanted to get closer to him, to see and learn more from him.

“Flan.”

Tricksy thought of the name of that commoner student. She muttered it without realizing it.

“Tricksy. Why are you bringing up that name all of a sudden?”

A strong reaction came from the other side. Tricksy asked back.

“Why.”

“Because I don’t like it.”

“Why not.”

“Do I have to explain everything to you?”

Hailey sighed deeply and continued.

“He cheated on the grade evaluation, he won by default because Aria brought a scroll, he got carried by you on the exploration evaluation, and he even suggested changing the criteria so he could be the representative.”

The reasons were endless. But none of them matched Tricksy’s thoughts.

Flan had enough skills to deserve an A grade.

She had seen it when she faced him in the training ground. The difficulty level that was set at that time was proof.

Aria lost by pure skill. In retrospect, Flan must have interfered with her mana crystal from the start.

On the exploration evaluation, it was more like Tricksy was carried by Flan.

Looking at it this way, she felt a new admiration for him.

And Flan had grown even more since then.

He had become the representative of the first-year combat class of the magic department.

‘He’s not a scout.’

Tricksy was quite confident in her senses.

From what she observed, Flan and Elysis didn’t even know each other. The only possibility left was…

…the teaching auction.

It was thanks to him. He had turned Flan, who was nothing but an F grade student, into a monster in a short time.

“Sigh…”

She emptied the remaining Pretia in one gulp. She clenched her fist with a strange jealousy.

Why didn’t he look at her? She could prove herself much more if he focused on Tricksy.

‘There’s no choice.’

She had to see for herself.

It was simple. She just had to check out Flan’s trivia. That would solve everything.

Tricksy was confident that her analytical skills were second to none. At least, that’s what she thought of herself.

She would analyze everything. How to contact him, what questions to ask to please Master Gareum, what to say to get a faster reply… She would figure it all out.

As she was doing so, Hailey added a remark.

“Tricksy, just ignore that guy Plan. He’s no good for you.”

“You.”

Tricksy quietly parted her lips.

“Yeah, yeah. What?”

“You’re ignorant.”

Hailey pointed at her own chin with her index finger.

“…Me? I’m ignorant? Is she drunk? Her tongue is totally twisted.”

“You don’t know anything about Plan.”

Just then, a reply came.

[ ▶ Are you serious about wanting to learn? ] [ ▷ Yes! I’ll be your disciple or whatever! ] [ ▶ It’s going to be very hard. ] [ ▷ I can handle it! ] [ ▶ Then go and beat Plan first. ]

She tilted her head naturally at the unexpected reply. Tricksy quickly moved her fingers.

[ ▷ Plan? ?ㅅ? ] [ ▶ Yes. ] [ ▷ He looks like a scout! ] [ ▶ What’s a scout? ] [ ▶ He’s just my disciple. ]

“Ah!”

The question was resolved.

Tricksy jumped up from her seat. She even let out an exclamation without realizing it.

Of course. Tricksy’s guess was roughly right. Master Gareum had raised Plan into a monster.

“Why are you screaming all of a sudden?”

Tricksy ignored Hailey completely and put on her coat first.

Who knows. Plan might still be in the storage room.

“Tricksy, you’re not going out like that, are you?”

Hailey blocked Tricksy’s way.

“You shouldn’t go out like this… Your eyes are completely glazed over.”

“Get out of the way.”

Tricksy pushed Hailey aside and stormed out.

She looked like she was out of her mind, staggering as she walked. Her tongue was twisted too.

Hailey muttered quietly.

“Who did she fall for that she’s acting like that?”

Hailey, who was retracing the conversation they had just had, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“Could it be, Plan?”

◈

“Hmm…”

At the entrance of the storage room across the tower, Becky crossed her arms with a displeased expression.

She had no choice.

There was another person who came looking for Plan besides herself. It was Louis.

“Becky. What are you here for?”

Louis asked Becky first.

“Huh? Oh, uh… What about you, Louis?”

“I wanted to get some advice from Plan. He was very impressive during the evaluation.”

“Oh, really? I, I was… uh…”

Becky scratched her cheek. She couldn’t say outright that she was worried about Yushia, who was alone with Plan.

“I wanted to play with the glow cube. I’m crazy about the glow cube.”

“The one Yushia has? That’s not a cube, it’s a puzzle.”

“Pe, puzzle? Oh. I just said it was a puzzle, didn’t I?”

“Right. Let’s go in together then.”

They entered the storage room at the same time.

Far away, they saw Plan sitting on a chair and concentrating.

The shadowy boy looked noble under the light of the storage room.

He looked like a living human being, not a sculpture in a pose of reading something.

They both stared at Plan silently for a moment.

He was elegant.

…Even though he was just fitting and matching a glow puzzle.

“Yushia, you get one puzzle piece for every memorization. How do you classify a natural mana disaster?”

“Master Plan… I don’t know that…”

“Am I not teaching you now? You won’t improve if you just fit the puzzle pieces together.”

“Master Plan… Can’t I just match them?”

“I can’t allow that.”

Yushia, who was whimpering, and Plan, who was matching the glow puzzle with a serious attitude. They looked at the somewhat absurd scene blankly for a moment.

Suddenly, Plan turned his head, feeling a presence. And when he saw the two of them, he furrowed his brows.

“…Uh, uh? What the hell!”

Yushia, who was sitting across from Plan, looked like he had met his savior.

“So many people! That’s great! Glow-in-the-dark puzzles are more fun when there are more people!”

But Plan turned his attention back to the glow-in-the-dark puzzle. Yushia did the same.

“Focus, Yushia. Disasters are often considered unpredictable phenomena, but they are not so if you understand the concept of ‘purity’.”

“Plan, sir… I don’t know anything about this… Sob.”

Plan continued to explain to Yushia, but he suddenly noticed that two pairs of eyes were still on him. He made a face.

“…Do you have something to say to me?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Louis answered on behalf of them.

“I want to hear some magical advice from you, and Becky wanted to do the glow-in-the-dark puzzle with you.”

“No way. When did I? I hate glow-in-the-dark puzzles.”

Becky shook her head hastily.

Plan sighed deeply.

He used his telekinesis, and the puzzle pieces started to move delicately. Soon, a perfect picture was completed.

After finishing the cleanup, Plan opened his lips.

“Yushia and Becky, you two do the glow-in-the-dark puzzle. You’re at the same level.”

He didn’t know if it was a compliment or not. Becky scratched his head.

“And Louis, you want some advice?”

“Yeah. You used interference magic in the evaluation, right? Can you teach me some of that?”

“Next time. This is not a place where you can use magic bullets.”

But Louis whispered.

“Oh, Plan. If it’s a space problem, we can use it too.”

“Space?”

“Yeah. The device we used when we took the evaluation, there’s the same one in the training room inside the magic tower. It’s okay to show me for a very short time.”

Plan hesitated for a moment.

“It’s just a short time, as you said.”

“Yeah. I’d appreciate it if you could show me that much.”

And he finally nodded and agreed.

He enjoyed crafting magicians. And Louis was a gemstone worth polishing.

His skills, and his attitude. Everything.

Plan left the storage building, and two female students followed him.

Plan asked Becky and Yushia.

“…Are you following me?”

“Yes!”

Only Yushia answered loudly, and Becky quietly avoided Plan’s eyes.

“Well… I mean, Yushia is following you, so I can’t help it. I have to follow Yushia if I want to do the glow-in-the-dark puzzle.”

And at that moment.

Whoosh-

Something tried to grab Plan.

No, it was a strange movement that he couldn’t tell if it was trying to hug him or hold him.

It was Trixie. This time, instead of jasmine scent, alcohol smell wafted.

“Uh… Ah.”

Here is the edited text:

Yushia’s face lit up as he saw me sitting across from him. He looked like he had just been saved from a disaster.

“Wow, look at all these people! This is awesome! Glow-in-the-dark puzzles are way more fun with a crowd!”

I ignored his enthusiasm and focused on the puzzle in front of me. Yushia soon followed suit.

“Pay attention, Yushia. You may think disasters are unpredictable, but they’re not if you understand the concept of ‘purity’.”

“Plan, sir… I don’t get any of this… Waaah.”

I was trying to explain to Yushia, but I realized that two other pairs of eyes were still staring at me. I frowned.

“…Do you have something you want to tell me?”

“Yes. We do.”

Louis spoke for both of them.

“I want to learn some magic from you, and Becky wanted to join you for the glow-in-the-dark puzzle.”

“That’s not true. When did I ever? I hate glow-in-the-dark puzzles.”

Becky denied it quickly.

I sighed deeply.

I used my telekinesis to move the puzzle pieces with precision. In no time, I completed a flawless picture.

After tidying up, I said to them.

“Yushia and Becky, you two can play with the glow-in-the-dark puzzle. You’re on the same level.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. Becky rubbed his head.

“And Louis, you want some advice?”

“Yes. You used interference magic in the evaluation, right? Can you show me how to do that?”

“Some other time. This is not a place where you can use magic bullets.”

But Louis said quietly.

“Actually, Plan. We can use them here.”

“Here?”

“Yes. Remember the device we used for the evaluation? There’s one in the training room inside the magic tower. You can show me for a little bit, right?”

I thought about it for a moment.

“It would be very brief, you know.”

“That’s fine. I’d be grateful if you could show me that much.”

I finally agreed and nodded.

I enjoyed teaching magic to others. And Louis was a promising student.

He had the skills and the attitude. Everything.

I left the storage building, followed by two girls.

I asked Becky and Yushia.

“…Are you following me?”

“Yes!”

Yushia answered cheerfully, while Becky looked away from me.

“Um… Well, Yushia is following you, so I have no choice. I need to follow Yushia if I want to do the glow-in-the-dark puzzle.”

And then, suddenly.

Whoosh-

Something tried to grab me.

No, it was more like a clumsy attempt to hug me or hold me.

It was Trixie. She smelled like alcohol instead of jasmine.

“Uh… Ah.”

She stumbled and fell on her butt after failing to grab Flan.

“Tricksy, are you crazy?”

Flan asked, narrowing his eyes.

Tricksy got up from her seat, staggering. She tried to grab Flan again.

But Flan dodged once more, so she chased him and grabbed his collar. Then she slammed her forehead on his chest.

“Yaaah…”

She screamed and shouted.

“How could you… hide something so important from me!”

“…?”

Flan opened his eyes slightly. The other three tilted their heads in the same direction.

“Right now. Right nooow! Show me the trivia! Hurry up!”