Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 191:

Chapter 191 Just for one day. “…”

Flan just stared at Maiev silently.

What answer would the man give?

It was not easy to guess his intentions from his expressionless face.

Even for herself, who was skilled at disguise, reading Flan’s face was a difficult task.

He finally uttered a word.

“Be specific when you speak.”

“Here.”

“Here?”

She knew it was a bit of a stretch.

After all, she had been shouting for freedom and trying to assassinate Flan all the time she was by her side.

But she had no other choice.

If Flan had been a normal human male, she would have unhesitatingly seduced him with her beauty, but she understood that such an act would not work on him at all.

It would be better to be honest like this.

“You mean, you want to stay here…”

Flan repeated Maiev’s words.

The silence was getting longer and harder to bear for Maiev.

In the end, he averted his eyes with an awkward face.

“If you don’t agree, I can’t help it. It’s okay.”

“Do as you please.”

“What?”

“That’s what I mean. Do whatever you want.”

She somehow managed to get his consent. Maiev, who realized the situation a beat late, fumbled with the document bag in her hand.

“Oh, of course, I don’t mean to stay here without paying. I can do some work related to the academy…”

“It’s fine.”

The answer came back quickly.

Maiev’s hand stopped abruptly.

“You are not a slave. I don’t intend to ask you for any work-related help anymore.”

His words were calm, but Maiev felt uneasy for some reason.

There was nothing wrong with what Flan had said.

Come to think of it, it was strange.

Flan had allowed her to stay here without paying anything.

He should have been satisfied with the situation, but she felt a bit anxious.

How could she ease this anxiety?

Maybe he would feel better if she asked him a question.

Eventually, Maiev blinked and asked.

“You don’t ask me why I want to stay here.”

“Hmm.”

“And you don’t ask for anything in return.”

Flan nodded quietly.

“You’re right. You came back without notice, and you made an unreasonable request.”

“Yes. But why…”

“Because it’s none of my business.”

His voice was as indifferent as ever. But why did it feel colder than usual?

“You don’t need to worry about anything either. If you need to stay here, just keep quiet and leave when you’re done.”

She got another positive answer, but she felt a pang in her chest.

There was no emotion in Flan’s words or actions.

It was different when he was a slave.

He sometimes mocked her pathetic assassination attempts, and scolded her when she failed to do her work properly. Why did she think that was better?

‘Don’t think about useless things.’

She was born as a vampire and became a human’s slave.

That was shameful enough.

And now she was on a life-threatening mission.

She tried to calm her complicated feelings and opened her mouth.

“Okay. Then…”

“Hey, Flan!”

Maiev’s words were cut off by someone calling Flan.

He turned his head to see who it was, and saw a girl with red hair.

Her name tag said Becky.

“Can you look at this?”

She handed him a heavy document bag, whining.

He wondered how much data she had in there, as her slender arm was trembling.

“I’m confident I can pass this time!”

“Hmm.”

“I summarized the academy schedule, the things to do, and the papers I left for you. I did my best, so I’m sure you’ll like it…!”

Flan took the bag from her.

“I told you to get enough sleep.”

“I slept enough! Besides, if I pass this, I’ll have some free time… Do you want to go out with me? If I pass, that is!”

“Well, sure.”

Anyone would think she was his pet. Maiev quietly watched her.

She sparkled her eyes, longing for Flan’s praise. She stayed up all night to spend some time with him.

She felt pathetic watching her.

Yes, it was pathetic.

Flan patted her head.

“Good job, Becky.”

Flan’s sincere praise and faint smile.

Seeing that, my heart became restless again.

I couldn’t even name this restless emotion, so I just turned my head to the side.

◈

That night.

Inside the World of Painting, my residence.

-You got a mission from the princess, right?

-Just fail. I’ll tear you to pieces.

-Just throw your soul to the Vampire Hound. A heavy time, I’ll give you the pain of being bitten forever.

“…”

I sighed and folded the letter.

After it was known that I received a mission from the princess, the contacts from the officers were full of threats.

-Don’t worry about it.

I thought I would handle it myself. My life and my sister’s life were at stake.

I wrote a short answer and left the World of Painting. I checked the clock and it was time for Flan to finish his dinner and return to the dormitory.

“…”

How long have I been Flan’s slave?

It wasn’t long, I’m sure.

It was a strange feeling that my seat next to Flan’s desk was gone.

I made coffee as usual.

This time, it was just ordinary coffee without poison. But Flan’s reaction was calm when he returned shortly.

“Coffee?”

“Yes. There’s no poison in it…”

“I don’t need it.”

I stiffened again.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Wrong?”

“Yes. Coffee is fine, isn’t it?”

I couldn’t help but blurt out my frustration. I didn’t know what I was feeling, or why I was frustrated.

Did Flan hate me? Push me away? I couldn’t understand why I cared about these things. This was not like me at all.

Flan casually sipped his coffee.

“I told you. You’re not my slave.”

He flicked his finger.

The ingredients flew from afar and combined in the air to become coffee.

Even though he used the same ingredients, his coffee was much more fragrant than mine.

Flan used his telekinesis to pour coffee into two cups. He put one in front of him and gave one to me.

“Drink it. This is better.”

“…”

Flan looked at me indifferently.

I was treated better than before, but his kindness had no emotion in it.

I finally changed the subject.

“Look at this.”

I raised a piece of paper on his desk.

He never gave me any work, but I needed to increase the contact points to complete the mission.

And one more thing.

I wanted to find out the name of the restless emotion I had. I had to.

“Did you check? The academy will be empty soon.”

“The vacation is near.”

“It’s not just because of the vacation. The knights are leaving for the expedition, and the magicians of the magic department are getting a study tour from the royal palace.”

“Expedition?”

Flan looked at me.

“Yes. It’s called an expedition, but it’s not really going to war. They gain experience by fighting monsters in dangerous areas like Verkel.”

“I’ve heard of it. Wasn’t it six months later?”

“It seems that they rushed it because a magician won the Sword Master Tournament twice in a row. The training intensity also increased so much that it was incomparable to before.”

Then Flan chuckled.

“Then I did a good thing for the knights.”

He rubbed his chin and continued.

“The knights are leaving the academy, and some are going home for the vacation… What do you mean by the study tour of the magic department?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. To compensate for the gap, the royal palace guaranteed a study tour of the Great Forest during the vacation.”

“How many people do you think will participate?”

“No one will miss it.”

“Indeed, I think so too. There won’t be many people left in the academy. But…”

Flan nodded and said.

“What do you want by organizing these things? I didn’t ask you to do anything.”

“That’s…”

“Rather, if you have something you want, just tell me honestly.”

Flan and Maiev’s eyes met. His words, telling her to be honest about what she wanted, made her feel uneasy for some reason.

“What if I tell you the truth?”

“I’ll consider it and compromise. I don’t like favors without a price.”

“Consider…”

Maiev suddenly remembered the face of Becky, whom she had seen earlier.

Flan had praised her sincerely, placing his hand on her head.

Becky’s face had a mix of sadness and joy.

Maiev was puzzled.

What had made the girl so anxious and then so happy?

Was her own anxiety the same?

Her curiosity ignited like a flame and soon spread like a wildfire.

Well, this was part of her mission anyway.

“Then let’s do this. I’ll help you with various tasks like before. But in return…”

Her curiosity overpowered her reason.

The words slipped out of her mouth.

“Tomorrow, just for one day…”

Maiev swallowed her dry saliva nervously.

She emptied the coffee in her teacup in one gulp and finally finished her sentence.

“Can you treat me like a friend?”

Still, Maiev wondered what the name of this anxiety was.