Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 218: This Tastes Bad…

Afterwards, four more matches followed.

Many wanted to deeply analyze Maiev’s victory, but it didn’t happen. This was because the other representatives from the Magic Department quickly secured their wins.

“What’s going on?”

“One, one at a time… They haven’t lost even once, right?”

As the matches progressed, interest in the Magic Department grew exponentially. Initially, the sentiment was, “How well can the Magic Department really do?” but now it had shifted to, “Could they win again?”

And now, it was Becky’s turn.

“Ah, um…”

Standing in the middle of the arena, Becky tried to focus on her opponent in front of her. The audience was quite noisy, but she could still concentrate well enough.

‘Hmm?’

The girl carefully examined her opponent standing before her.

She didn’t know his name but heard he was a fairly famous swordsman. Even in person, he exuded a strong presence. Just from the menacingly curved sword and his massive build.

“Will the Magic Department win this time too?”

“This representative seems a bit weak, though.”

“…The other representatives seemed weak too, didn’t they?”

The voices of the audience echoed in her ears. Yeah, their words were true. All the representatives except Becky had already won and returned.

So she couldn’t afford to lose either.

Bang─!

The flare exploded, signaling the start of the match. Almost simultaneously, the opponent’s curved sword came flying towards Becky like a crescent moon.

Not long ago.

The sword reminded her of when Flan first faced Ivan. But this one was of a much higher caliber. In other words, the previous Becky wouldn’t have even dared to face such a sword, let alone see it.

However.

‘I’ve changed a lot too.’

In the past, she would have been preoccupied with thoughts like, “An attack is coming. I have to dodge.” But now…

‘Now, I can see everything.’

It didn’t mean her opponent was weak. It certainly didn’t mean he was insignificant, nor did she want to belittle his efforts.

But.

There was one thing Becky could confidently say at this moment.

“…You didn’t work as hard as I did.”

What Flan had endured were training sessions that could be described as ‘hell.’ Compared to that, the current situation could be considered heavenly.

Having survived hell, Becky was standing here now. For someone who had returned from hell, the trials of heaven were light as a feather.

Swoosh─!

She spread ice like silk. Following the sword’s horizontal path, she skillfully created an ice trail, guiding the sword to naturally miss her.

Then, came her counterattack.

Whack─!

It was clean.

Right after the opponent had swung his sword with all his might, Becky summoned an ice club and struck him.

Crash─!

The opponent, hit on the back of his head, was sent flying far away.

“…!”

Becky, who had just made the attack, widened her eyes in surprise. She had expected her counterattack to land, but she hadn’t anticipated its strength.

“I… won too?”

Becky’s muttering didn’t last long, interrupted by the roaring cheers from the audience.

“Again… the Magic Department won again!”

“They won every single match in the end!”

Becky, with a dazed expression, walked out of the arena.

Cheering was always reserved for those who shone brightly, and now that she was the recipient of such applause, she couldn’t help but feel oddly emotional.

◈

In the waiting room.

Returning to the waiting room, Becky found that the other representatives had similar expressions. A mix of relief at their victories and amazement at their own strength was evident.

The silence felt awkward, so Becky spoke first.

“Did you all feel what I felt?”

“What did you feel?”

“Just… that it was much easier than expected? And one more thing, a renewed sense of how hard we worked?”

Everyone nodded quietly. They felt the same as Becky.

The next moment, all eyes turned to Flan. They had always trusted Flan, but experiencing it firsthand was overwhelming.

“….”

Flan was leisurely reading a newspaper, sipping coffee that Maiev had made for him.

Trixie quietly wiped her forehead with a glove. Becky, watching this, spoke softly.

“That’s a glove, not a handkerchief.”

“I know.”

“…?”

Becky didn’t point out Trixie’s behavior any further. It wasn’t the first time the blue-haired girl did something incomprehensible.

Trixie continued.

“I thought winning would feel good, but it’s not necessarily the case. From now on, we have to face the real Royal Knights, right?”

“That’s probably right.”

They all looked out the window. The residence of the Royal Knights, resembling a castle, came into view.

“Louis, who did you face?”

“I don’t remember his name. He was from a famous family but was an illegitimate child. He certainly inherited their bloodline; he wielded his sword incredibly well.”

“But you won in the end.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Becky, Trixie, Maiev—all of them had faced formidable opponents. The reason they were able to overcome such adversaries without much trouble was, of course…

Flan. There was no other reason.

Becky shrugged.

“It really makes me realize how tough our training was. We almost died in the World of Flowers…”

“Is it okay to talk about it now? The training where we held our breath and gathered mana… I fainted so many times.”

“It’s a miracle we survived without suffocating…”

Though they spoke with a tone of complaint, their words were filled with admiration for Flan. Thanks to him, they had reached this level and were achieving such results.

“We really have no choice but to believe now.”

The murmuring voice belonged to Maiev. The representatives all turned to look at her.

“Thanks to Flan, we have definitely become stronger than before, and we will continue to grow stronger. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh…”

“Though we don’t know our limits, we will continue to grow stronger. I think we can handle the Royal Knights now.”

To think they could now face the Royal Knights.

If someone had said this before, they would have been startled and looked around in surprise. But this time, all the representatives just glanced at each other.

They weren’t worried about how to say such words. Instead, they were looking to see if everyone shared the same thoughts.

As they were exchanging glances, it happened.

Bang─!

The waiting room door burst open with a loud noise.

◈

“…Phew!”

It was none other than Violet who stormed into the waiting room. She caught her breath while checking the representatives’ faces.

Violet suddenly noticed her reflection in the waiting room mirror. Her shoulders were trembling with excitement, and she couldn’t help but smile.

She was as happy as a child.

“…Professor Violet?”

“Professor?”

The representatives recognized her. Only then did Violet take a deep breath and fully enter the waiting room.

“First, take these.”

Violet half-turned her body. Through the still-open waiting room door, people began to file in.

None of them entered empty-handed. Some carried obvious treasures, while beautifully wrapped baskets exuded the smell of delicious ingredients.

Flan asked quietly.

“…What is this?”

“They say they’re here to support us, but you could consider it sponsorship.”

“Sponsorship?”

“Yes. Even the Magic Department is receiving such things now.”

Violet continued excitedly.

“People’s interest in the Magic Department isn’t just about cheering anymore. They are starting to use material things to show their sincerity!”

Flan narrowed his brows slightly.

“We don’t need any of it.”

“The Magic Tower isn’t even completed yet, and we need a lot of funds to research Ancient Runes, right? So this is fine. No, it’s necessary!”

Violet began to pile up various items in the waiting room.

“These are nutritional supplements that are good for your body… There are a few potions too. You can use the rest as you like… Ah, most importantly.”

Violet lifted a basket.

“We haven’t been able to take care of your meals properly… Fortunately, this is here. You need to eat well.”

“Wow!”

“Smells so good.”

Trixie, who always carried her own salad, showed no reaction, but Louis and Becky immediately rushed to the basket to enjoy the delicious food.

“…”

However, Maiev’s expression wasn’t good.

Maiev’s expertise wasn’t limited to coffee. The Magic Department’s meals had indeed been lacking, so Maiev had prepared sandwiches for today.

She quietly hid her basket in the corner. Even she thought the sandwiches in the gifted basket looked tastier.

But then.

“Are you going to eat all that by yourself?”

“Uh.”

A long hand reached out and grabbed a sandwich from the basket. The owner of the hand was Flan, and Maiev looked at him in surprise.

“Ah, that’s not very tasty…”

“It’s decent enough.”

“Really?”

Maiev’s eyes widened at Flan’s words.

“There’s no poison in the sandwich.”

“Oh, um…”

Maiev was at a loss for how to respond. She hadn’t expected this situation or reaction. After a brief hesitation, she spoke again.

“Why don’t you eat that one instead… Oof.”

But Maiev couldn’t finish her sentence.

Flan used telekinesis to bring a sandwich to her mouth. As she chewed on the sandwich that filled her mouth, Maiev’s eyes asked a question.

“Eat well. You’ll be busy.”

“…”

Maiev quietly nodded.

Her cheeks were much redder than before.

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