Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 135:

Translator: MarcTempest

Proofreader: naturallyInconsistent

[*Flan]

[▷Hey, Flan!]

[▶What is it?]

The reply came sooner than expected.

Becky composed herself and sent a message back. 

She didn’t know what to say now that the reply came so quickly.

[▷Nothing much, just wanted to let you know that Trixie and I arrived safely at the Witch’s Forest. Thanks for the pretty clothes, I’ll pick a lot of them.]

The exchange was enjoyable in its own way. Becky suddenly felt brave and asked something else.

[▷Do you like black or white, Flan?]

[▶Can’t you even choose one dress by yourself?]

She tried to ask indirectly, but she hit the nail on the head. She had nothing to say in return.

Just when she felt a bit hopeless, another message came.

[▶Go with white.]

[▷Oh, thank you!]

As Becky reflexively reached for the white dress on the hanger, she felt a warm and soft touch.

“Huh?”

Trixie had stretched her hand to the same hanger as her. Trixie’s eyes moved to the trivia in Becky’s other hand.

“…”

Becky hugged the trivia without a word. She decided not to show it to Trixie for now.

You didn’t show it either.

“Ha.”

Trixie snorted. Her expression seemed to say ‘how dare you’.

Of course, the dress became Trixie’s due to the difference in strength. But the real problem came after that.

Necklace, ring, earrings…

They overlapped.

They overlapped.

They overlapped again.

In every area, their hands overlapped every time. Some things became Trixie’s and some things became Becky’s.

“Why are you interfering? Just go with something cheap.”

“No way!”

Now there was only one thing left. Underwear.

[▷Hey, Flan. What about the underwear…]

Becky was engrossed in Trivia’s message, and Trixie was busy tapping Trivia as well.

Before long, there was no sound of speech, only the sound of fingers brushing the ground.

…The two girls were now more serious than ever.

◈

The ballroom at dusk.

The ballroom was hastily set up, but it was very splendid. 

Thanks to Laura, the court mage who managed the palace garden, it was possible.

The instruments that moved by magic emitted soothing melodies, and the people enjoyed the ball in their own way. 

The atmosphere was perfect.

On one side, the investors gathered and exchanged conversations and champagne about their assets.

“How much are you planning to invest?”

“I didn’t have much intention to do so at first… But when I came here, I got greedy.”

“It must be because the royal family hosted it. No, they said they would push it from the royal family. It’s harder to hold back on investing.”

“They said the tower design was verified by the palace. Laura approved it.”

The investors’ eyes widened at someone’s words.

“Laura? The one who made the palace garden?”

“Yes! That’s right! There’s a rumor that she couldn’t even refute and turned red…”

And as they watched such adults’ conversations, Louis and Martin stood side by side in the distance.

“It’s amazing the more I think about it. A ball at the magic department. Did you ever imagine it?”

The owner of this voice was Martin.

Louis was having a chat with Martin for the first time in a long time. Of course, it was more like Martin was talking one-sidedly.

“I couldn’t imagine it. I don’t need to point out one thing. Martin, I couldn’t imagine any of it.”

“Right? Well then, who should I flirt with today… I want to play with an older woman today…”

Martin flicked his hair up as he spoke. Louis just sipped his drink as he looked at his smug expression.

“Martin is always the same. Only thinking about women.”

“I’d rather ask you. Why are you not interested in women at all?”

“Get rid of that look of wonder. Flan is not interested in women either, right?”

“People like Flan end up dating and marrying different women, and even having kids in the end. They live their lives doing whatever they want, damn it.”

“I know, I know. Martin, you’re right.”

It was such a frivolous remark, but Louis smiled and defused the situation. 

They clinked their champagne glasses loudly.

This ‘Advent Festival’ was aimed at attracting more interest from outsiders to the magic department through the celebration, and then connecting that interest to the tower construction.

And the result was quite successful, even in Louis’s eyes.

“At this rate, we’ll really build a new tower…”

He looked forward to the changes that would happen in the future. It was then that Louis had a smile and a buzz on his face.

“Hey, Louis.”

Martin tapped Louis’s shoulder urgently. Louis answered without turning his head.

“What’s up?”

“I, I…”

“Yeah. Go ahead. Just don’t bother the girls too much.”

“That’s not it. I. My, my, body…”

There was a thud from the side.

“…!”

Louis finally turned his head. Martin had fallen to the floor with a pale face.

When he carried Martin and hurried down to the first floor of the ballroom, Louis was even more shocked.

“What the hell…”

Outsiders, investors, students… People were falling down like scarecrows one by one.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“My stomach hurts…”

Their faces were also as pale as Martin’s.

That wasn’t all. 

The ballroom was covered with a thick purple barrier, completely separating the inside and the outside.

“Hey, can you hear me? Hey─!”

He shouted at the figure of a person outside the barrier, but the sound didn’t reach. It was a torture of hope.

‘Am I fine because of Flan’s magic…?’

There were a few more people who were still in good condition like Louis. 

The fallen ones and the terrified ones were mixed up, and the inside was chaotic.

“Are we trapped here? What the hell is going on!”

“Let me out, let me out!”

Amid the discordant noise, there was a clear voice.

“Stop making a fuss.”

A voice without any agitation. Everyone’s heads naturally turned in that direction.

“…”

Flan.

He was still relaxed.

With his eyes closed, he was only focused on the melody of the instruments playing by magic.

He seemed to be in a different ballroom than anyone else.

Soon, he slowly opened his eyelids.

The fallen ones, the thick purple barrier, the full of dark magic energy, the frightened ones….

The scenery that was reflected in his red eyes was nothing but those things, but he quietly sipped his champagne.

And his short impression was.

“…Still better than Maiev, I guess.”

That was all he said.

“It’s very toxic. It has a sharp and exquisite taste.”

His words shocked everyone. A female student trembled and asked Flan.

She also had a champagne glass in her hand.

“Poison…? Just now. Did you say poison…?”

Flan nodded calmly.

“Don’t worry. You only ingested a deadly poison, that’s all.”

His words made the female student’s face even paler. In an instant, many people crowded around Flan. 

They were the ones who drank the champagne.

“Poison? I already drank it, what do I do?” “Am I going to die? Is it a fatal poison?” “Tell me the way! What’s going to happen to us now?”

Flan loosened his grip on the glass.

The glass fell powerlessly and shattered loudly, scattering fragments. The sound silenced the room.

“First, you’ll see hallucinations. After a while, your body will slowly melt away. In the end, only your eyes will remain and roll on the floor.”

Flan’s mouth did not utter a single hopeful word, but no one dared to question him.

It was because his eyes were too serene.

“But you’re lucky.”

Flan did not command anyone, he just quietly raised his mana.

Everyone silently watched what he was doing. He did not hesitate at all, and soon they all stopped feeling nauseous.

As if this situation was also part of the festival plan.

“Fortunately, I was here.”

He said that and nothing more.