Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 46: Fine. I’ll take responsibility.

Chapter 46 – Fine. I’ll take responsibility.

“Dean? What do you mean by that…?”

Brody was the only one who opened his mouth, but the faces of the other professors were not much different.

They looked incredulous at what he was saying.

But Connet’s attitude was still calm.

“Professor Brody. What is the overall public opinion right now?”

“Yes, Dean. I have prepared it.”

Brody started to unfold something in the air.

[ Ivan’s perfect narrative… ‘A sure victory’ ] [ As expected of Ivan… No deduction in his grades ] . . .

“Most of them are confident of Ivan’s victory, and the Fairy Tale Daily is spewing out articles like this all the time.”

Connet nodded his head with a relaxed expression.

“Then, this time, I’ll ask you about the opinion within the magic department. Professor Audrey.”

“It’s surprisingly tense. The influence of the poster that was posted before was so great that there are many students who want to try their best.”

After Audrey answered, Violet also gathered her courage.

“Many students were inspired by the phrase ‘Don’t be afraid of change’. And as you can see, Flan’s ability is quite outstanding…”

“But, Dean. You have to understand that this is the opinion of the students. What do they know, being young and emotional?”

Brody cut off Violet’s words.

As their eyes crossed sharply in the air, Connet opened his mouth again.

“How much time is left until the competition? You all know, right?”

“Two days. Only two days left.”

At Brody’s words, Connet slowly nodded his head.

“Yes. That’s enough to raise the stakes.”

“No… Dean?”

“Let’s talk to the Fairy Tale Daily and send out an article from the magic department. That Flan is the representative, that he is confident of victory… We’ll send out everything.”

The faces of the professors, who had been gradually relaxing, turned pale again. A professor who had been in the corner all along intervened.

“Are you saying that you will send out an article that claims the victory of the magic department? That’s too provocative.”

“It has to be provocative, so that more people will pay attention.”

Connet’s lips curled up slightly.

“Whether it’s dissatisfaction or support, all that controversy is ultimately interest, and in such a situation, if the representative student shows his skill… How interesting would that be?”

“Dean. That’s absolutely not possible!”

Brody shouted.

“There’s a price for provocation. From the perspective of the article department, the combat event? It’s just one of the many games that they pass by lightly. But after a provocative article comes out, they will grit their teeth and try to win!”

The other professors who were sitting next to him nodded their heads.

“Is that all? From the perspective of the students who wanted change, if they lose the game, they will say, ‘Well, that’s how it is. We can’t do it.’ and become more discouraged. Don’t you think we should avoid this?”

The professor in charge of ‘writing’. Professor Kellin also joined in.

“If the stakes are raised, the student will also feel a tremendous pressure. He might barely win with his outstanding ability, but how much skill will he show when he is crushed by the pressure?”

“Did you only see it with my eyes?”

Connet threw his gaze at the visual data. Just by that, various parts of the visual data were played.

The scene where Flan dismantled the magic bullet with his fingertips, and the scene where he confidently asked Elicia.

After they were played again, the weight of the conference room was even heavier.

“I confirmed that this student has the talent of a true magician.”

There was silence for a while. The first to break it was Brody.

“…Just because he dismantled one magic bullet, it’s absurd to leap to the conclusion that he can beat Ivan.”

“Hey. Professor Brody. The Dean only said that he confirmed his talent. And his talent is indeed excellent. How many freshmen can do that?”

This time, Violet bit Brody’s tail.

Brody glared at her as if he was displeased.

“Let’s say you raised the stakes with that talent. If you lose, will you take responsibility, Professor Violet?”

Responsibility.

At that word, the eyes of the other professors began to turn to Violet one by one.

When the eyes of everyone were fixed on one person, Violet gathered her courage.

“…Fine. I started this, so I’ll take responsibility.”

Violet took out a paper envelope from her bosom.

Without explaining, the other professors knew very well what it was.

“Resignation letter?”

Brody narrowed his eyes and muttered. Violet nodded quietly.

“Yes. If the magic department suffers from this, I will take all the blame.”

It might have been too late already.

The ambition that she couldn’t unfold by colluding with Sete, the atonement for the student she had doubted, the first step to becoming a true magician…

She wanted to try it this way.

“Wow, how touching. So touching.”

Brody sneered.

“Touching, sure, but Professor Violet. Don’t you think you’re too ignorant of your own topic?”

“What do you mean?”

“How can one person take the blame and make up for all the damage done to the magic department? That’s overconfidence, you fool.”

But then.

“I guess I’ll have to do this.”

Connet opened his mouth. His voice was cold and drew everyone’s attention.

“Connet Avery. I, the dean of the magic department, will take the responsibility myself.”

“…!”

The whole conference room was silent and stirred.

Everyone was shocked, but there was no trace of mischief on Connet’s face.

“The meeting is over. Everyone, please remember that and leave.”

◈

Today, with only one day left until the tournament, I spend all day at the training ground.

As usual, I completed the amount of training I had planned in advance.

I brushed back my wet hair. I was already soaked in sweat as I looked at myself in the mirror.

But the cleanup was easy with a flick of my finger.

Thud.

The moisture on the surface of my skin gathered into one and flew straight to the trash can. This was a simultaneous use of elemental reaction and psychokinesis.

Maybe it was because I pushed myself to the limit every training, but now the effect was quite clear.

The muscle contours of my body were now more noticeable even to myself. The total amount of mana also became more practical.

Now that Hera was getting used to me, if I started to use artifacts as well, I would soon achieve a great feat.

As I finished my training, I picked up a few newspapers from the Merhen Daily.

[ Tournament, stand up and face it bravely. ] *Interview with Connet, the dean of the magic department *Connet announced at the meeting that he “will not lose to the knight department”…

[ The representative of the first-year combat event of the magic department is Plan ] . . .

“They say even a worm can roll.”

I muttered quietly as I folded the newspaper.

These articles had been pouring out for only a day, but the reaction within the magic department was very hot.

The trivia board that became a place of debate was proof of that.

[ They made a declaration of war, but the representative is a commoner student…. Is there such a disgrace? ] [ The knight department is already mocking all day ] [ It’s better to try something anyway ] [ Is this the representative student’s opinion reflected? I wonder if they’re trying to screw the student on purpose ]

The magic department used to be quiet as a mouse whenever the tournament was approaching.

But now, there were more people who were interested in the tournament, and even students who were passionate about it all day.

The worry of the damage spreading to the whole magic department, the courage to try anyway, the hope for something to change….

All of that mixed up in confusion was a good sign for me.

“…It’s going to get busy.”

It’s a proposition that doubt turns into certainty, and I’m going to prove it this time.

When the game is over, everyone will be convinced.

With that in mind, I left the training ground.

“Ah. I finally found you.”

A confident and cheerful voice came from behind me.

Soon, someone blocked my way. It was Elysis, the leader of the Mystic Valley.

“Do you know me?”

Instead of answering, I looked at her blankly.

I did. I usually remembered people I had seen once.

“What do you want?”

“I have something for you.”

She handed me a business card.

The card had a jewel-like blue coating, and it was clearly not ordinary.

[ ‘Mystic Valley’ Leader Elysis ]

Elysis opened her mouth with a smug expression.

“I’d like to see you privately sometime. Is that okay?”

I looked into Elysis’s eyes. Her purple eyes were calm and mysterious.

“I refuse.”

“Isn’t it partly business? I have some things to talk about the Mystic Valley… Huh?”

I had done some research on the Mystic Valley, and I also knew that they were a pretty impressive group in this world.

But.

I was bothered by the fact that Elysis had disabled the safety device on the day of the evaluation.

“Why don’t you listen before you refuse? Other kids dream of this situation every day.”

Elysis frowned.

This woman would try to test me whenever she got curious.

I had no intention of becoming a passive toy. Proof only mattered when I found what I wanted.

More than anything…

‘I’ll make it myself.’

I wasn’t interested in joining the top guild. It would be a different story if I could create and grow one myself.

Elysis spoke again.

“Flan, you probably know this yourself, but… your talent is quite remarkable.”

Her expression became a bit serious as she continued.

“Then let me ask you this, how many times do you think I’ve seen geniuses fall into the abyss?”

“How many times have you seen it?”

I doubted she had seen more than me.

It might be a glorious moment for someone else, but it was just a cheeky situation for me.

“I’ve seen it countless times. Just take it for now. You need a proper mentor, you know.”

“I don’t need it.”

I pushed the card back to her. Elysis’s eyes narrowed.

“Huh… Is that so? I’ll watch the game tomorrow carefully.”

Elysis took her card back with a slightly angry expression.

“If you lose… you’ll regret it. This is probably the moment when your value is the highest.”

“What?”

I walked past Elysis.

I didn’t care if she was flustered or annoyed. I smiled without realizing it.

“…This is the cheapest I’ll ever be.”