Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 192:

Chapter 192 …you promised to spend it with me.

Silence fell for a moment.

Even Maiev was pondering the words she had just uttered.

In her heart, there was something heavy that she could not understand with emotion or reason.

But because of that, she wanted to understand it desperately.

“…”

It was still hard to figure out what was on Plan’s mindless face.

As time passed awkwardly, Maiev finally added a word.

“You told me to be honest. I’m curious about the concept of ‘friend’ that works among humans.”

Flan continued calmly.

“I’ve never had anything like a friend. And, even if I did, I don’t know if I could treat you like a friend.”

“…”

Honest and blunt words. But Maiev realized only now that those words were even more bitter.

Maiev’s head slowly turned away. She murmured quietly without looking at Flan.

“I was just being honest.”

“Maiev, wasn’t the concept of friend something you understood better than me in the first place?”

Flan took a sip of coffee.

“You’ve been wandering around the human world, disguising yourself countless times, and you’ve had many relationships, and among them, there must have been some friendships.”

“That was just observation or acting. I want to know what sincerity is among humans.”

“In other words, you want communication with sincerity.”

“I guess so.”

Flan nodded at Maiev’s agreement.

“Then there’s no need to ask. I don’t lie to others, and I was the same when I dealt with you.”

“Except for the sincerity of treating me as a slave.”

Thanks to Flan’s calmness, my thoughts became clearer.

Indeed, Flan seemed to have never lied to me from the beginning.

Then, what I want now is….

“The sincerity of treating something precious. I’m curious about that.”

Maiev said slowly.

“Humans sometimes willingly suffer for others. Not because they were ordered, or threatened.”

“Suffer.”

“That’s the only way I can express it. Humans spend time, money, and emotions for those they call ‘precious people’ without any compensation. You know that.”

Plan nodded after a while.

“So, you want me to treat you preciously for a day.”

“Yes. I think so.”

“I’ll consider it positively.”

“You’ll consider it….”

It wasn’t a definite answer, so I wasn’t very pleased. But it would be hard to get a better answer than this. Maiev had to accept it for now.

“Rest for now, Maiev. I’m busy tonight.”

“Okay.”

Maiev turned her body and entered the flower world.

No, she was about to enter, but Flan opened his mouth again.

“Maiev. One more thing at the end.”

Maiev turned her head and looked at Flan.

“Why are you suddenly curious about this?”

“That’s….”

Maiev bit her lips a few times.

“…Because it’s my job.”

“Job.”

Flan chuckled.

“Yeah, if it’s a job, you have to do it. I’m the same.”

Flan had no idea.

That his words made Maiev more anxious.

◈

The next morning.

-You were supposed to report every 10 minutes.

-Hey, what are you doing?

-Hurry up and finish it. It’s not a hard job.

Maiev crumpled the letters and felt tired.

‘Home’, ‘kin’, do humans really feel a bond with such words?

It was only strange to me.

-I succeeded in contacting the target. The mission will be completed as soon as possible today.

I wrote a rough reply. But in fact, I couldn’t guarantee that I could finish it today.

Flan’s answer yesterday was vague.

But when Maiev left the flower world, she was surprised.

In front of the mirror in the office, Flan was neatly dressed and ready to go out.

“…”

Maiev blinked her eyes without knowing.

Neatly combed hair and tidy clothes without a wrinkle, he looked even more luxurious than usual.

Maiev just stared blankly at him.

The words “positive review” were often a euphemism for rejection among humans.

That’s why I had half-given up hope….​“Hmm.”​A moment later, I sensed that Maiev had appeared and slowly turned around. His gaze met mine.​“It’s a rather nice morning. Did you sleep well?”​A faint warmth had crept into his voice, and that slight change made my heart flutter for some reason.​And it was also awkward.

It felt so strange to be treated as a ‘precious thing’ rather than a slave, and Maiev was not prepared to deal with it.​For now, I could only answer awkwardly.​“Yes.”

“Then get ready to go out.”​Snap─​As he flicked his finger, a bunch of grooming tools flew out of thin air.

He carefully manipulated the magic to fix up Maiev’s appearance.​“I’ll trim your hair a bit.”

“You’re trimming it….”​Maiev stood still with a stiff body, letting him handle her hair.

She felt something that was not quite anxiety, but she couldn’t describe it either.​Awkwardness.​Maybe that was the name.

It was like wearing shoes that didn’t fit, uncomfortable and suffocating.​As she thought that, Maiev’s hair became noticeably smoother.

He nodded quietly.​“This should be enough to not embarrass me when I take you around. Let’s go right away.”​“Yes.”

I followed him as he took the lead. His broad back seemed unusually huge today, and I didn’t know why.​“Wait.”​“…!”​He suddenly came closer and I instinctively closed my eyes.​And then his hand tapped my shoulder.​“….”​I slowly opened my eyes.​He had no malice, only good intentions to help me dress up, and that was so awkward.​It would be fine if it was just awkward, but a different kind of nervousness from yesterday kept rising up.

My breathing was unstable and my chest felt strangely ticklish.​‘What are you doing?’​It was a task I started to figure out the name of this nervous feeling. But instead, I was getting more and more confused.

How stupid was this?

I slapped my cheeks with both hands, making a sound.​“Let’s go.”​After fixing my clothes, he walked ahead casually.​I felt pathetic for not being able to clear my mind, and I asked him out of curiosity.​“Where are we going?”

“The library.”

“The library?”

“Yes. It’s my favorite place.”​The academy’s library was not far away.​As we opened the door and entered, the crowded bookshelves greeted me. To be honest, it was not a place I liked very much.​‘Maybe I should quit.’​Maybe trying to figure out this feeling was a mistake.

I just had to do the mission I received from the void. That’s what I thought, but….​At that moment.​“Lord Flan, you’re here.”​A middle-aged woman came over. Her name tag said she was a librarian.

She smiled kindly and handed him a list.​“I’ve already set aside the books you requested.”

“That’s good.”

“Um, by the way….”

The librarian hesitated, holding back a laugh.​“What is it?”

“Oh, no offense. I was just surprised that you only requested romance novels…. It’s interesting….”

“There’s no special reason.”​“Is that so? Anyway, have a good time, both of you.”​I felt uncomfortable by the librarian’s gaze that alternated between me and Flan.​“Sit down.”​We moved to a seat in the area where conversation was allowed, and he pulled out a chair for me with his hand, not magic.

I sat down with a nervous expression.​“There may be some discrepancies between novels and reality, but they will still help you understand human emotions.”

“…Yes.”​I answered sullenly.​I couldn’t understand why he brought me to the library and made me read novels as a way of treating me as a precious thing.​But that thought was soon erased.

“Let’s start with this part.”​He opened the book in front of me, like reading a fairy tale. His gesture of turning the pages was almost dignified.​“To understand emotions, you need to experience many lives. So─”

I gazed at Flan’s side profile in awe.​He didn’t stop his clear and concise explanation, and I could easily understand what was in his expression.​‘Sincerity…?’​Sincerity.​He didn’t just bring me to the library.​It wasn’t a mundane thing like taking me to a luxurious restaurant or a scenic place.

It was an act that showed how much he valued me.

Flan was sharing that with me right now.​His promise to treat me preciously today was not a lie.​At some point, Flan looked at me in the eyes.

“Are you paying attention, Maiev?”​“Huh? Oh, that…”​I flinched and pulled my neck back like a turtle. I hadn’t realized it until now, but Flan and I were very close.

Weren’t we staring at each other intently while sitting side by side?​“I heard, I heard you. I understood.”​I quickly mumbled and straightened my back and posture. My body had been stiff for some reason.​But then.​“Ah, Flan!”

The dean of the magic department, Conet’s secretary, found Flan. She had a rather urgent expression on her face.​“You were here. Have you heard the news? The second princess has regained consciousness.”​“That’s good news.”

“It is, but the second princess asked for you as soon as she woke up. Do you have time right now?”​That’s when I felt a strange feeling in my heart. I glanced at Flan’s troubled face without knowing it.

“No.”​The words that followed came out of my mouth without me knowing.​“Today…”

I mean, I really didn’t know why I was doing this.​“…you promised to spend it with me.”​I was already murmuring that.​