Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 32 What do you expect me to do?

The fairies generally don’t sleep, so the Magic Department’s shop is accessible even late at night.

The shop handles a wide variety of items, and of course, perfume is among them.

Becky carefully handed me a scent strip.

“Hey, Flan. How about this one?”

The scent wasn’t too strong, just right. A simple sandalwood fragrance. I gave a slight nod to indicate approval.

Becky seemed more cautious than ever while choosing a perfume. This time, she brought another scent strip to her nose.

“This one… Is it rose? It feels a bit mature, so I’m not sure. I’ll pass.”

Becky spent a long time sampling different scents, then suddenly asked me,

“Flan. Say something. Which one’s better?”

“Rose.”

Even if the body changes, preferences don’t seem to. If I had to choose, I preferred the rose scent.

“Oh… really?”

Becky scratched her cheek with an awkward expression and put down the scent strips.

“Hmm, rose… It’s the cheapest one. I wasn’t even checking the prices while sampling. I’ll just buy the cheap one. Need to consider the cost…”

Then she suddenly purchased three bottles of rose perfume.

I wasn’t sure what caused the change of heart, but I was relieved the purchase was quicker than expected.

On the way back to the dormitory, Becky handed me her Trivia.

“Code. We were supposed to exchange.”

“Right.”

I put it in my pocket. I can’t stand walking with my nose buried in Trivia.

By the time we reached the dormitory, Becky asked me,

“Right. Hey, Flan. Have you thought about joining a club?”

Now that she mentioned it, ‘clubs’ were indeed another issue I needed to consider.

It’s obvious that Violet didn’t give us a full week of free time for no reason.

The professor emphasized that club activities were practically a privilege and strongly insisted that we join a club within the week.

For first-year students, only those with an A grade can participate in club activities, so calling it a privilege wasn’t wrong. It’s also the rule.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“The professor said club attendance and activity reports will all count toward our grades. Shouldn’t you decide soon?”

That’s right. Since it’s directly tied to our grades, it’s not something to be taken lightly.

Even starting a new club isn’t allowed. I found out that you need to be a third-year student to create a club.

“Well… I’m not trying to push you, but the club I’m planning to join has a good reputation. The ice element isn’t as pretty as it seems…”

Becky tapped the ground with her toe.

I still didn’t understand why Violet was so insistent on club activities.

I wasn’t interested in any club, to begin with. And if I can’t start one myself, even less so.

…Perhaps, the best option is to join a club with someone I can easily manage.

“Becky.”

I called her name softly. Becky looked up at me with wide eyes.

“The club you’re joining. Make sure to add my name to the list.”

“Huh, really?! You’re joining too, Flan?”

Becky’s face lit up with a smile. I turned my back on her, who seemed unusually happy.

The 30 minutes I had decided to spend with her were up.

“Hey, Flan! It’s tomorrow! You have to attend the club meeting! Got it?”

I heard Becky shouting from behind me.

◈

The next day.

I visited the café on the first floor of the Academy’s Magic Tower early in the morning.

I wasn’t interested in coffee. I had business with the Trivia I placed on the table.

Initially, I planned to modify it for ‘location tracking,’ but it would be wiser to adjust it to my current situation.

This world has many variables. The recent exploration assessment is an example of that.

It’s better to create conditions that can eliminate such variables. Being able to prepare for tomorrow is essential to prove many things.

So, what can I use to deal with unexpected variables? The answer was obvious.

‘Artifacts.’

Artifacts, mysterious substances that naturally occur when mana intertwines across the continent.

Even now, new artifacts are constantly being regenerated within the continent.

Depending on their performance, artifacts are graded from trash to relics (聖物).

Artifacts would protect me from all sorts of variables.

The most common way would be to purchase artifacts at an auction… but I currently lack the funds.

Maybe I’ll check out an auction one day, but not this time. I’ll just modify the Trivia to find one myself.

Buzz—

Confidently, I placed my palm on the Trivia. Mana immediately responded.

I could feel the mana line connecting the Magic Tower and Trivia. After linking the branches of mana, I traced them back in reverse.

The surging mana rushed back like a wave.

Now comes the important part.

I visualized the formula for interference in my mind and focused all my attention on the ‘characters.’ The goal was to modify the Trivia to select only specific characters.

It’s possible because Trivia uses mana to imprint characters.

As long as mana with a certain circuit exists, it’s a magician’s role and duty to read it.

I concentrated, fusing the mana flowing up my spine with my consciousness. The pulsating mana began circulating rapidly from the crown of my head to my fingertips.

I synchronized the mana wavelength of the Trivia with my own. Simultaneously, my vision flickered, and I entered a world of pure white.

Ssshhhh—

A tidal wave of blackened characters surged toward me.

From that, I would select only the words I needed.

I engraved a spell of words into the root of the Trivia system. Breaking through the tide, I selected only characters related to ‘hiding,’ ‘concealing,’ and ‘secrecy.’

The reason is simple.

Those who know about high-level artifacts would never directly mention them. Nor would they store them openly.

They would hide them, hide them again, and continue hiding them. It’s the same in every world.

There wouldn’t be any errors in modifying the Trivia. I personally calculated it, so I guarantee it.

No hesitation. I poured all my mana into it at once.

———!

For a brief moment, the weight within the café shifted drastically.

I unknowingly gripped the cover of the Trivia. I squeezed it so hard that the blood drained from my hand.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

The Trivia now revealed a completely different world.

[＊I hid my report card. If my parents find out, I’m dead.]

[＊How can you just memorize the formula? You need to understand the hidden meaning.]

[＊Stop hiding it and tell me. Did you sleep with her?]

…

I smiled in satisfaction.

I hadn’t considered failure, and of course, I succeeded.

From now on, any conversation within the Trivia that involves hiding something will be visible to me.

What’s left is to find the pearl amidst this flood of information. I quickly scanned the entries.

[＊Oppa, are you hiding something from me?]

Even after racking my brain, all I saw were trivial conversations.

I diligently reviewed the lists but found no significant results.

In my previous world, I could dig up a ton of information like this, but it seems different here.

Just as I was about to close the Trivia.

[＊What did you do with the stolen item? Did you hide it properly?]

One conversation caught my attention. A stolen item— I immediately examined it in detail.

[＊I hid it at the bottom of Tir Lake. Even if someone finds it, they can’t retrieve it.]

Since the word ‘hide’ had to be used, I couldn’t see every conversation.

[＊Just in case, check again if it’s hidden properly. It’s not a toy. If it slips up, we’re all dead.]

But just this little peek was enough to spark my interest.

An item dangerous enough to kill us all. Sounds interesting.

If it were an artifact with a rightful owner, I wouldn’t touch it. But from the conversation, it was clear they had stolen it.

I’ll know what it is once I check it out myself. For now, I set Tir Lake as my next destination.

With my destination set, I was about to close the Trivia when I noticed a pile of unread messages.

[ ▶ I’m sorry ]

[ ▶ Are you mad…? ]

[ ▶ I was wrong ㅠㅅㅠ ]

[ ▶ Please reply…. ]

[ ▶ I can’t do anything without your response…. ]

[ ▶ I’ll give you 10 gold coins for each reply! ]

[ ▶ 20 coins! ]

…

Tsk, I clicked my tongue and closed the Trivia.

I’m not a prostitute, and I have no intention of making money by indulging in trivial conversations.

In an hour, I have to attend a meeting of the Ice Element research club, ‘Frozen.’ I plan to spend the free time in between reading a book in the library.

There’s a book I’ve already set my sights on. *‘Alchemy, Harmony, Explosion.’*

I was about to get up after organizing my thoughts.

“Ah~ Fancy meeting you here! You’re Student Flan, right?”

An unknown woman sat across from me.

She had long, orange hair down to her waist and freckles. She oddly resembled Violet with a mischievous air.

The only thing certain was that this was our first meeting. Before I could even ask who she was, she placed a business card on the table.

[Sephia Whisper. Head of the Magic Department, Merhen Daily.]

I alternated my gaze between the business card and Sephia.

I wasn’t surprised that she was a reporter, but it was curious that she was the department head

. From her appearance, she looked like a rookie reporter.

“About the recent exploration assessment. You were the last one standing in the Magic Labyrinth, right? If you don’t mind, I’d like to chat for a bit~”

It wasn’t something she needed to ask me about.

“It would be better if you talked to another student.”

“I’ve already been to all of them! Hailey said she couldn’t remember, and Becky told me to talk to you!”

“I don’t remember either.”

As I was about to stand up, she hurriedly grabbed me. I dodged as she reached for my hand.

“Oh… You’re really quick! No, wait! Talking to me could be very beneficial for you!”

She glanced around and then leaned in to whisper cautiously into my ear.

“…Besides, I know you’re from the Judith family.”

I nodded.

So, she knew I was from Judith.

I calmly asked Sephia,

“What do you expect me to do?”