Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 157:

Chapter 157 That’s what I’m trying to do.

I stepped out of the dormitory after finishing my preparations.

`The reason was obvious: I had to select the companions who would join me in collecting the dawn butterflies.

The event that competed for the dawn butterflies finally had a name. ‘Hunting Butterfly Festival’.

It was a simple and faithful name.

“Ah, junior!”

As soon as I stepped out, someone shouted in an excited voice. I turned my gaze to that direction.

A brown bob cut with uneven lengths on both sides.

A badge with ‘President’ written in large letters on her shoulder.

“This is the second time we meet like this, junior.”

She approached me.

I quietly looked at the name tag on her chest.

I couldn’t remember her name.

Emily.

That’s right, that was her name.

When the bloodsuckers attacked, I had encountered this girl in the ballroom.

“Junior, you’re also leaving for Leheln Hill, right? The second princess is organizing… what was the name? I wrote it down.”

Emily rummaged through her notebook. She had a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. She seemed to always be like this.

“Oh, right. Sujeopje!”

Emily smiled brightly after finding the information she had written down.

“It must be quite nerve-wracking, right? There are rumors that it will be a competition between knights and magicians, or that knights and magicians will form teams. There’s a lot of interest in it.”

“I’m busy. What do you want?”

“…You’re so grumpy, senior. I know you’re busy. But.”

She tore a page from her notebook and handed it to me.

I quietly accepted it, hoping that the content was worth my time.

The content was as follows:

[To Flan, who has recently caused a stir in the magic world, Merhen Academy is doing its best to allow many magic students to exchange their insights. First of all, there will be no limit to the number of students…. (continued)]

Emily quickly added more words as soon as my eyes reached the bottom line.

“Congratulations. You’re popular. Thanks to you, the academy has removed the limit on the number of students. They want you to try the orientation first and then decide.”

“Orientation, huh.”

“Actually, most of the lectures include orientation, so this is not a surprising thing.”

“So you have another reason for looking for me.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Actually…”

Emily scratched her temple with the tip of her pen.

“This orientation is happening this afternoon. Right before the Sujeopje, how’s your schedule? Can you do it?”

I was silent, and she added a few more words.

“You know, right? Orientation is something you can do lightly. If you do it, you can do it for just a minute. It doesn’t matter. So…”

“Emily.”

But I was bothered by something other than my schedule.

“Freshmen. This bothers me.”

“Freshmen? Huh?”

Emily tilted her head.

“They usually notify you of your acceptance early. That way, people who live far away can move and prepare for other things.”

I shook my head.

That was not what I wanted to ask.

“Are you saying that you’re participating in my orientation?”

“That’s right. Your lectures will start in earnest next year, so freshmen are actually the most important. Thanks to that, the schedule was a bit distorted, but…”

Emily shook her pen in front of my eyes.

“Anyway, what are you going to do? I’m not here to force you. Just tell me if you’re going to do the orientation or not.”

I nodded quietly.

It was true that I was busy, but they were freshmen who would attend my lectures next year. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse.

“I’ll do it.”

“Really? Great.”

Emily slanted her small bag and took out some miscellaneous things. Classroom keys, attendance books… things that were needed for the orientation.

“But.”

I didn’t take them.

“I don’t need a classroom.”

“…?”

Emily’s hand, which was handing over the miscellaneous things, stopped.

My gaze went to the agora board, and the president’s eyes naturally followed.

Thanks to the achievements of the magic department these days, the agora board was also very popular. It was filled with problems, as if there was no empty space.

I silently looked at it for a while.

“Let me borrow your notebook and pen for a moment.”

“Huh?”

Emily handed me the pen and notebook with a bewildered expression.

I started to write down the formulas on the agora board, and soon Emily’s notebook was filled with formulas.

The amount of problems was overwhelming, so it took quite a while, but I never found a wrong answer. After deriving only the correct answers, I closed the notebook.

Snap─!

As I entered the correct answers for each problem and flicked my finger, the agora board became clean as new.

“…!”

Emily’s eyes widened.

The expression of pity she had while watching her pen wear out completely disappeared.

“Did you solve all of that at once?”

“Yes.”

“What…”

While Emily asked that, I started writing new content on the Agora board.

Usually, I would pursue something very sophisticated and very difficult… but this time, I gave a very ordinary level of problem.

A problem that was so plain and neat that it could be called the standard.

After finishing the writing, I looked at Emily.

“I’ll replace the orientation with this problem. Only those who can solve it are qualified to take my lecture. Tell them that.”

“…”

Emily nodded three beats late.

“Okay, do that…”

“Then that’s it.”

I left Emily behind with a blank expression.

◈

The palace, the place where the most noble bloodline in the continent lives.

This place is a world of its own.

The garden changes seasons every six hours by dividing the 24 hours of the day into four, and the east, west, south, and north of the palace copied the impressive architectural styles of each continent.

Therefore, Aurora’s words, ‘You can experience the world without going outside.’ were not a lie.

In one of the brilliant spaces, the second princess’s inner chamber, the second princess Aurora was talking with her guard knight Ban.

“Your Highness, there is something strange in the list of the reception ceremony.”

“Something strange, you say?”

Aurora, who was sitting on the throne, answered with her chin propped up.

“It shouldn’t be. It’s something that I personally organized.”

“It would be better if you check it yourself. I have already sorted out the reports that came in.”

Aurora nodded lightly, and Ban carefully handed over the information that had been compiled several times.

After looking over the information, Aurora burst into laughter.

“It’s definitely strange. But it’s also interesting.”

The princess’s eyes stayed on the list of a specific group.

It was the group of Elpis, the daughter of the Cloud family. Ban nodded as if he guessed.

“Didn’t the reception ceremony recruit participants publicly instead of targeting only academy students?”

“That’s right.”

“Elpis’s group members are somewhat unusual. On paper, they are all students with no problems, but when I asked the actual students, they all said they didn’t know who they were.”

“That’s right. That’s the point.”

Aurora laughed as if she was amused.

“Ban, is this them looking down on me? Or is there another reason? What do you think?”

“I also investigated that part.”

Ban bowed his head lightly and continued.

“The son of the Cloud family’s lord died in the conquest. Perhaps, it’s a grudge against Flan.”

“Death, what a weakling. Anyway, what should I do? Tell me your opinion.”

Ban calmly began to answer.

“Please order a thorough investigation. If the documents are forged, they should be punished accordingly…”

“Wrong.”

Aurora cut off Ban’s words and looked over the data again from beginning to end.

“…”

And then, she closed her eyes and concentrated for about three minutes.

And after a while, she opened her eyes as if she had made a decision.

“Just leave it alone. That’s right.”

“Yes?”

Ban answered with a bewildered face.

“If the documents are forged, there will surely be trouble. It’s an event that you personally organized, Your Highness…”

“Ban.”

But Aurora just called the name of the guard knight.

“Yes. Your Highness.”

“Those who claim to be the first will embrace resentment for their whole lives. This is just the beginning, and if Flan is a guy who would die with just this, it would be better for him to die, wouldn’t it?”

“…”

“Isn’t that a hard word?”

Aurora straightened her posture. The second princess finally sat on the throne properly.

“Let me ask you this. If this guy wins and I personally escort him to the tower, and he gets hurt then, how ridiculous would I be?”

She looked at Ban with a terrifying gaze.

“…How much would my authority be trampled on?”

“I understand. Your Highness.”

Ban had no choice but to bow his head.

Aurora snorted. At the same time, her posture, which had been straightened, relaxed again.

“By the way, hasn’t Flan chosen his teammates yet?”

“Yes. I guess he won’t decide until right before the selection ceremony.”

“What, that’s typical of him. That’s just like him.”

Ban handed me a few more sheets of paper.

“Here’s a list of those who claimed to be Flan’s allies. Would you like to take a look at this too?”

“Would you like to. Would you like to… Can’t you summarize it yourself? Huh?”

“…Your Highness, I’m a guard knight.”

Ban answered with a pout, and Aurora burst into a snicker. Teasing her guard knight was still a fun hobby for her.

Aurora’s eyes suddenly stopped at one place. She couldn’t help but stare at the name that caught her attention.

“That’s interesting. He’s on the list.”

Aurora’s eyes sparkled like crescent moons.

“I had an interesting idea.”

Whenever Aurora said she had an interesting idea, Ban felt a chill down his spine. He was afraid to hear what she would say next, so he just looked at her.

“Assign him to be Flan’s ally.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s an order. Wouldn’t that be more fun?”

“Your Highness, that’s against the rules.”

Ban tried to stop Aurora.

“He’s a renowned knight. The selection ceremony only targets students, it’s clearly stated…”

“Then we have to change the rules altogether.”

Aurora smiled wickedly.

“We’ll extend the recruitment period by three days. We’ll get rid of the criterion that only students can apply. That way, all the problems will be solved at once.”

She had a point.

It would solve both the problem of having a famous knight join Flan’s team and the problem of those with unknown motives trying to sneak in.

But Ban still looked worried.

“But Your Highness, the stakes will be much higher.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do. Don’t you get it? The bigger the stakes, the more fun it is.”

Aurora rubbed Flan’s name with the tip of her index finger, then moved on to another name.

Scarlet Udit.

Flan’s sister.