Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent
Chapter 113: Indeed, it was your flame.

Translator: MarcTempest

Proofreader: naturallyInconsistent

Chapter 113 – Indeed, it was your flame.

The next morning.

“It’s a mess.”

Yushia muttered blankly.

It was literally a disaster.

Her desk was covered with paper documents, as if a storm had swept through.

“I should have expected this…”

She blinked her golden eyes a few times. Her white hair was tangled and messy.

[ Scarlet is not a Judith. ]

Scarlet Judith, the Knight of the Flickering Flame.

She bore the name of Judith, but she did not have Judith blood in her veins.

That simple fact kept Yushia awake all night. 

She understood, but she didn’t. 

She felt something was wrong.

“Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise…”

Yushia held a glowing doll that looked like Flan in both hands. 

She gently lifted it up.

She recalled the past.

She still remembered that time when the smell of blood was thick in the air. 

She was in a desperate situation, unable to open her eyes. 

The world was covered by a dark abyss.

─Whoosh!

Then, a red flame saved Yushia. 

She had given up on living, but the flame did not let her die.

─Whoosh!

It slaughtered all the demons that threatened her, until Yushia could finally open her eyes.

─Whoosh!

She realized that as long as there was a ray of light, she could live again, no matter how dark it was.

He saved Yushia.

…She could never forget that.

Yushia quietly hugged the glowing doll.

To shine in the darkness.

Yushia still loved that.

“…Indeed, it was your flame.”

The girl whispered with her eyes closed.

Thinking of only one man.

◈

The joint conference room of the Merhen Academy.

It was currently crowded with high-ranking knights and magicians from each department, leaving no room to step.

It was also noisy, needless to say.

Buzzing─

“No, you’re wrong─” 

“You shut up!” 

“As long as you have the skills, it doesn’t matter!”

Finally, one of the knights banged the desk loudly. 

The conference room was quiet again.

“Is this information true?”

A senior knight, equivalent to a senior professor in the magic department. Conrad asked doubtfully. 

The dean of the magic department, Conette, replied with a relaxed expression.

“There was a lot of information mentioned today. Which one are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if these knights really died.”

She pointed to the list of the expedition.

Conrad, who had a striking beard, was the leader of the prestigious Cloud family.

In fact, his son Kian was also a genius who currently ran a student knight group called ‘Azure’.

“Yes. That’s what we believe.”

“…”

Conrad still looked unconvinced. 

Another regular knight next to him interjected nervously.

“Isn’t that too easy to answer? The representative is dead now…”

“Don’t interrupt. Listen, Conette. I’m also concerned about this part.”

Conrad pointed to one of the reports.

[Various elfish formulas were also found in Flan’s teleportation magic circle.]

“A mere student using elfish, is the magic department hiding something important?”

Conette chuckled.

“I saw it with my own eyes that he was fluent in many languages. Very cleverly.”

Flan had recited elfish in front of Conette.

She remembered that moment. 

It was when she started to pay attention to Flan.

“So, he has enough ability as a magician. He proved how amazing he was in the previous matches.”

Conette used the word ‘magician’ rather than ‘student’ to describe Flan. 

Conrad still looked at her with narrow eyes.

“The situation is so strange that I have to mention it.”

“Yes. It is definitely strange.”

Conette calmly accepted Conrad’s words.

Entering the dangerous areas in the Hunting competition was considered a matter of pride, and there were deaths every year, but why did they make a fuss only this year? … Isn’t that strange?

“Talk all you want. It will all be revealed soon.”

“The scores are already revealed.”

As of yesterday, the scores of the magic department, which had been motionless, soared to the sky.

It was an astonishing rise. 

Some teams’ scores that they had accumulated over time seemed a bit meaningless.

‘…I never thought I would see this spectacle.’

Looking around the crowded knights, Conette muttered her admiration silently.

Defeat, doubt, worry… The faces of the knights who had lived without considering such things were now mixed with many elements.

She remembered the years that had been ignored so naturally, and she didn’t mind the current commotion.

“So, is the dispatch to the dangerous areas still on?” sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

As Conrad opened his mouth again.

The conference room door opened wide.

“What are you arguing about?”

A stern voice that echoed the space.

A woman stood firmly between the open door.

Her hair was dark and deep like the night sky, and her golden eyes sparkled like stars below it.

“…!”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the same time.

The second princess, Aurora. 

There was no one in this place who did not recognize her face.

“Your Highness…!” 

“How dare we meet Your Highness!”

Knights sprang out from both sides of Aurora and surrounded the conference hall, each of them bowing and greeting the princess with respect.

She raised one hand to accept their salutations, then blinked once and opened her mouth.

“You have no need to quarrel with each other.”

At her leisurely remark, some of the knights spoke up with conviction.

“Your Highness, but this is!”

“The representatives are each a potential asset for the empire’s future. What the magic department did to them…”

“Hmph.”

Aurora snorted quietly.

“Do you call those who can’t even break through the dangerous area of Verkel the assets of the empire?”

She blinked twice.

The first time, stars flickered in her pupils. 

The second time, a golden crescent moon appeared.

“That’s a very dull joke.”

Everyone closed their mouths.

Soon, a throne for Aurora was brought into the conference hall, and the princess continued to speak in a solemn atmosphere.

“I have sent the bureaucrats to the dangerous area.”

Everyone’s faces were filled with astonishment again. 

At the same time, they understood what Aurora meant by saying they had no need to quarrel.

The second princess nodded quietly.

“Well then, are you all ready to watch?”

◈

Early morning.

We are staying near the center of the temple.

After defeating the Azure Knights who had become shadows and demons, we hunted the monsters inside the temple all day long with our momentum.

We killed at least a hundred monsters yesterday. 

It was thanks to the three mages who learned the concept of ‘cooperation’.

“Hmm.”

I looked at the three representatives who were sound asleep. 

I was the only one awake.

We earned as many points as Celestial Blessing in a day, and we still had plenty of food in the distortion bag. So this much rest was acceptable.

I decided to check on Hera once.

[You absorbed the first one so well, it was a perfect use, master!]

Hera seemed satisfied, but I was not.

I would have to handle much greater power in the future, so I needed to master controlling the power that amplified when we gathered.

“…”

I closed my eyes and resonated with Hera.

She, who used to be a glove, floated in the air.

[Oh, do you want to try elementalization too?]

The purpose of this check was to increase the resonance with Hera and also refine the elementalization.

I had many regrets before because the conditions such as the amount of mana were not met, but now that I could absorb some of the energy around me, it was worth a try.

Sssssss.

Elementalization was changing Hera’s shape freely.

I decided to go one step further. 

I aimed to achieve the desired shape, while dispersing the visible light rays to make it look transparent.

Bang!

[Wow?!]

I succeeded surprisingly easily. 

Hera changed her appearance according to my will. 

She could be used in various ways, such as a pen, a box, and so on.

That was enough.

“Next is the destination…”

I took out the map and looked at it.

The place that had the most points, except for the shoulder pads of Death Dragon and Scarlet, and also had the ancient rune treasure.

That was this temple.

No, actually, it was more like a trap.

After examining the temple all day yesterday, I found out that this structure itself was a space created by a witch that handled shadows.

It was watching me greedily and luring us to the center of the temple.

The only reason I followed its lead was because I was confident that I could smash the trap.

But then.

“You–!”

Trixie’s angry voice echoed in the space. I was quite puzzled by her reaction.

It couldn’t be an enemy attack.

I turned my head and saw Trixie shaking Becky’s collar back and forth, who was still half asleep.

“Are you crazy? Are you crazy?”

“Hmm… Ouch, uh, ugh?”

“Handkerchief, you blew your nose on my handkerchief!”

“Uh…?”

As I watched Becky turn pale in real time, I let out a deep sigh.

Trixie was having a fit. 

And no wonder, she cherished that handkerchief with a magical effect so much.

“I couldn’t breathe in my sleep, so I grabbed whatever was in my hand… But why were you sleeping with it in the first place?”

“Is that what you want to say right now?”

“Fine. I’ll give you my handkerchief, so calm down. Okay?”

“No way!”

“…It’s the same handkerchief, isn’t it? This one is clean.”

“No!”

I hesitated for a moment, then approached Trixie.

There was no end to their fight, but the things ahead of us were too important to just watch.

I handed Trixie a fountain pen.

“Here.”

Trixie looked at me with a frown. 

Of course, I added a plausible reason.

“By the way, he asked me to give this to you as a token of gratitude for the handkerchief.”

“…”

Trixie blinked twice.

She pushed Becky’s chest and fixed her eyes on the fountain pen. Her eyes seemed to have grown a little bigger.

She looked back and forth between me and the fountain pen.

“Mr. Guidance. To me?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you give it to me now?”

“I forgot.”

“You had nothing to forget. It’s been days.”

She grumbled, but her eyes were still on the fountain pen. 

An unknown desire flickered in her blue eyes.

“Make up your mind. It’s your choice.”

I moved the fountain pen up and down. 

Trixie’s eyes followed it. 

It was the same when I moved it left and right.

“What’s there to choose? It’s mine anyway.”

Trixie snatched it and put it in her pocket. 

She seemed to have calmed down.

Around that time, Louis took all the blankets.

I said to the representatives.

“Let’s go.”

It was time to enter the center of the temple.

‘I’ll see you soon.’

Whether it was the devil, the god, or the remnant.

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