Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent
Chapter 87: What kind of order was that?

Chapter 87 – What kind of order was that?

“Did you like the gift, Scarlet?”

Flan asked calmly, as always.

Scarlet stared into his red eyes. 

There was no malice or hostility in them.

Gift.

Gift, he said. 

She remembered.

“Ha…”

Scarlet closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

The gift that the magic department had given her like dog food. 

She felt a surge of anger when she thought of it, but it was better that way.

Her head cooled down. 

Thanks to that, she was able to escape from the waves of emotion.

It was a tsunami that swept her away without her knowing. 

If she had stayed in that state, she would have faced a much worse situation.

Scarlet opened her mouth slowly.

“…Pick your time and place for a fight.”

There was a long pause between each word, but she spoke firmly.

“Stay in your room. I’ll call you later.”

“Scarlet.”

The moment Flan called her name again.

Whoosh─!

A tremendous heat rushed toward him.

Flan’s clothes fluttered back. 

The bouquet he was holding turned to ashes.

In the blink of an eye, Scarlet had spewed fire.

But Flan was unfazed. 

Not even a trace of burn was on his clothes.

“I won the bet with you.”

He continued.

“…Therefore, you can’t interfere with whatever I do.”

Flan used his magic.

Flowers from afar were woven neatly in his hand. 

Soon, they formed a very beautiful bouquet.

Flan walked slowly. 

Toward the tombstone.

The female knight looked at him with a puzzled expression.

She thought he had come to see Scarlet, but he wasn’t.

Flan gently placed the burnt bouquet in front of the tombstone. 

It was a graceful and restrained gesture.

“…”

Scarlet furrowed her brows and blinked a few times.

Flan’s action was unexpected, and she was momentarily flustered.

She watched him for a while.

“…Tsk.”

Soon, Scarlet left her seat with a displeased look.

◈

I returned to the mansion.

It was in a state of neglect, but I used magic to change the interior structure.

“This should be enough for now.”

The inside was as clean as a sterile room, and I arranged it to look like an office with a large desk in the center. 

I also optimized the magical environment. Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Knock knock─

“Sir, did you finish the memorial…?”

The red-haired maid, Katarina, looked at the room and froze.

She closed the door and said with a pale face.

“Sir…! You can’t use magic!”

“It’s okay now. Don’t worry about that.”

“…”

Katarina looked at me nervously. 

She couldn’t ask anything, of course.

She sighed deeply and continued.

“Yes. Did you finish the memorial safely?”

“Yes.”

The curiosity about the owner’s family, the respect for the deceased, the maid’s earnest request.

These factors led me to visit the cemetery, and I didn’t feel much.

[ Hero ] 

[ Blazing Knight ] [ Evelyn Udit ]

How strong do you have to be to have the nickname ‘hero’ in this world?

And if she was the blazing knight, why was Scarlet only a Knight of the Flickering Flame? 

That was all.

“When will you bring what I asked for?”

“Yes. I’ll bring it right now.”

The maid bowed politely and left. Outside, the social party was in full swing, but that was not my purpose.

I opened the trivia.

[Becky: Wow, what is this?] 

[Becky: Guys, can you see my message?] 

[Louis: Yeah, yeah. I can see it.]

[Becky: It’s really amazing, right?] 

[Trixie: Not really.] 

[Becky: Yeah.]

Before leaving for the mansion, I checked the trivia of the representatives, and this was the result.

Now I can monitor their status even outside the academy.

Of course, the mana consumption increases proportionally to the distance, but I can offset it with Hera’s help.

[▷ Maiev] 

[▶ I’m currently studying theory.]

“Hmm.”

It was a huge amount, so it would be enough to spend a day on theory alone.

It wouldn’t be too late to apply them from tomorrow onwards.

“But…”

[Becky: Aaah~ It’s hard.] 

[Becky: I’m tired. My body is heavy… ] 

[Trixie: Your body is probably always heavy.] 

[Becky: Hey.]

The trivia said they were studying theory, but the letters kept popping up. 

The situation was contradictory in many ways.

I immediately put pressure on Maiev.

[▷ It seems like you’re all messing with the trivia.] 

[▶ I gave them a break.] 

[▶ I’m a bit tired too.] 

[▷ Maiev, you must have been comfortable in the frame.] 

[▶ I’ll finish everything today.] 

[▶ It’s okay if you don’t let them sleep, right?]

I pointed out the important things briefly and closed the trivia. 

The maid also returned at the right time.

“Here are the books you requested.”

“Good work. You can go now.”

“Excuse me, sir.”

Katarina didn’t back away and tilted her head.

“I’m curious why you suddenly asked for the books… May I ask?”

“I’m looking for the rights I deserve.”

The answer I gave to the maid was short.

But it was exactly as I said. 

I’m looking for the rights I deserve.

‘It doesn’t matter what I do.’ 

That was the condition of the bet, so Scarlet had no right to say anything about the use of the property.

I opened the cover and looked at the contents.

[ Dross ] 

[ Knight family. Sponsored 3,000 gold coins. ]

“Hmm.”

I understood as soon as I looked at the books.

As I wanted, the sponsorship money and various income of the Udit mansion were neatly organized.

I refused the support money for the magic department for this reason. 

I just need to use the gold coins I earned with my own ability.

In the case of magicians, they can carry up to intermediate artifacts in the extermination competition. I’m going to provide the artifacts for the representatives with this fund.

“I don’t need the money of the knights.”

First, I made a rough cut.

I boldly excluded the gold coins that Scarlet had earned by doing missions, or the sponsorship money from the knight families.

But in the meantime, I tilted my head.

[ Isolde ] [ Sponsored 1,000 gold coins to Flan Udit. ]

Isolde. 

This person sponsored not the Udit family, but the original owner of the body.

The sponsored gold coins were about a thousand at a time.

It wasn’t a large amount compared to other sponsorships, but she was steadily sponsoring in the same way almost every month.

But there was no information that should have been attached to Isolde. 

Knight, magician, noble, royal official… All of that.

“Katarina.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Where is all my money?”

I asked.

“Yes?”

“Her name is Isolde. She has been sponsoring me almost every month.”

At that, Katarina shuddered. Her nervousness was evident.

“Yes… yes?”

“Why are you so flustered?”

“Uh…”

“It’s okay. Just tell me the truth.”

“Um… well, Isolde is a witch… and everyone is wary of Miss Scarlet…”

Isolde’s identity was a witch. 

My curiosity grew.

In the previous world, ‘witch’ was a very professional and systematic occupation.

They were magicians who provided magic according to free contracts, without belonging to any specific group. 

I wondered what the witches of this world looked like.

I asked further.

“Then, what did you do with the gold coins you received from her?”

“Oh, that… I don’t really…”

Katarina trailed off. 

That was an answer in itself.

“I see.”

I could always get the gold coins back anyway. But I was still puzzled by what kind of connection there was between a knight’s son and a witch.

“Does the auction start at night?”

“Yes. My lord, but surely…”

Katarina continued cautiously.

“Are you planning to visit the auction house?”

“I have no reason not to.”

Chief maid was about to add a few more words of concern.

Knock knock─

“Chief maid, you need to come out for a moment!”

Someone knocked on the door urgently. Katarina hurriedly went outside.

I had no interest in eavesdropping, but thanks to the ‘optimization’ of the room, I could hear the whispers touching the door.

“Has this ever happened before?”

“It’s been almost ten years. What on earth was she thinking, visiting the mansion…?”

“What should we do? She said she would leave quietly if she could just see the lord for a moment.”

“Are you crazy? Letting a witch into the mansion? Miss Scarlet is wide awake…”

Witch.

Just by hearing two words, I could guess who the main character of the story was.

I opened the door and stepped out.

“…”

The maids froze at once.

The next moment, they moved quickly to block my way. 

Their faces were pale.

“My, my lord?” 

“My lord!”

Katarina opened her mouth, sweating profusely.

“Sir, we’re almost done. You just need to stay in your room a little longer.”

“What for?”

“The social gathering is about to end. You have been ordered to join the lord for dinner afterwards.”

“Ordered? By whom?”

“Miss Scarlet’s order.”

“Such a ridiculous order.”

I snorted.

I had some work to do in my room, but the maids seemed to think I was obediently following the order.

“…Isolde, where is that woman now?”

I was curious about that witch.

It was only natural. 

How could a man born in a knight family have any connection with a witch?

“…”

There was no answer. 

I would probably run into her if I wandered around the social hall. I took a step.

“Sir! No, you can’t! Sir!”

The maids tried to block my way in a hurry.

I used my magic to hang their clothes in the air.

“Sir!”

Katarina’s scream was urgent. But she was just flailing like a clothes hanger.

I left them behind and entered the social hall.

Bright lights, a spacious area with many people.

Having seen only the academy’s people lately, their elaborate appearances seemed especially dazzling.

“The mansion has improved even more~” 

“Finance minister, what a pleasure to see you here.” 

“The hunting competition of the black demon emperor is about to begin.”

Conversations were busy everywhere.

But among the crowd, there was one who stood out.

The knight of the flickering flame, Scarlet.

She was the only one who wore her armor in the social hall. But her slender body was more graceful than any adornment.

“…”

Scarlet stiffened her face as soon as she saw me. But she couldn’t come to me.

“You wear armor, yet you shine so brightly.” 

“Udit is indeed a splendid knight family.”

Many people had surrounded her like a fence. 

I didn’t bother to go there either.

Isolde, finding her was my goal.

“…!”

On the other hand, the people who saw me widened their eyes. 

They stopped their conversations and froze.

The social hall became quieter as I moved. 

The voices faded, and the eyes turned to me.

“Just go back, please…” 

“I’ll just see what I need to see. Cough…!”

In that silence, I finally found Isolde.

The mana that sprang out in all directions without being gathered, the pale white face and the black hair that reached her waist.

She was probably the witch Isolde.

I tried to approach her.

But then.

“Flan.”

A very small voice that only I could hear, someone suddenly blocked my way.

Red short hair and golden eyes that strangely glowed. 

She was a beautiful woman.

“Why don’t you just go back to your room.”

She smiled at me and then turned her head to check Scarlet’s expression.

I knew her name.

Exactly as I saw it in the academy’s newspaper.

“…Janet.”

Janet Franz.

She was the leader of the ‘Celestial Blessing’.

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