Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

 Chapter 5: Young Master

"Wow. Do you live in such a nice place? You seem to have a lot of money. But well, if that's the case, why didn't you live in the dormitory?"

Even at a glance, the luxurious mansion gave the girl a sense of the immense wealth that the boy's family possessed.

Additionally, the patterns of the flaming sword were scattered throughout the mansion, making it quite upscale.

At her question, the boy asked in response.

"Dormitory?"

"Yes. The Merhen Academy's dormitory facility is unbelievably good with numerous benefits. So why didn't you choose to live there?”

“Why didn’t you choose to live there?”

In response to her question, the boy politely answers with the same questions. 

"Well, I, um... why is it?... it just turned out that way."

"It's the same with me."

"How interesting..."

She took a second and looked at her clothes. Compared to Flan's, they were too shabby.

​As she approached the front gate, Becky sighed in admiration.

It would be a lie to say that she wasn't jealous. She too wanted to live in a place like this.

​"Wow... Are all the students at Merhen Academy living like this?"

Muttering to herself, Becky looked at Flan.

The boy was still making an expression that didn't make any sense.

After bringing him all the way home, instead of a feeling of relief, his eyes were filled with unfamiliarity. It was as if he was looking at someone else's house.

'Definitely not.'

“Flan. Isn't this your house?"

​But before that boy could answer-

"Who are you?"

-A clear and firm voice hit Becky's ear.

Turning her gaze, she saw a maid with red hair.

Her perfectly cut bobbed hair seemed to represent her personality.

From her confident demeanor, she seemed like a head maid. But her appearance looked young.

…It was to the point where Becky wondered if she was the same age as her.

Anyway, it seemed like she was the head maid, as there was a golden pin on her chest for identification.

"... Who are you?"

She asked again.

​At first, it was a question directed toward an unspecified group, but this time it was solely directed toward Becky.

At that, Becky politely greeted her and said.

"Hello. Flan couldn't find his way home, so I brought him here."

“Young master Flan, couldn’t find his way home?”

There was a hint of doubt mixed in her voice. 

"Please come in, young master."

As the head maid nodded her head, another maid followed and led Flan into the mansion without a word.

Now the only ones left were Becky and the head maid.

​Becky froze in the cold atmosphere but soon realized what she was being suspected of, and began fidgeting her hands.

​Compared to those who coexist with luxury, nobility, and formality, Becky - a commoner - was somewhat petty and insignificant.

"I met him for the first time today."

"First time meeting him today..."

'Oh, was this more misleading?'

“It’s nothing... Really."

The head maid narrowed her eyes and then slightly bowed her head to take on the etiquette of a maid.

Her expression with a slight smile was as beautiful as a work of art, but not at all gentle.

In effect, it felt like an imperial decree, so Becky also hurriedly lowered her head.

"Oh, yes! Goodbye!"

Saying that Becky quickly left that place and walked towards her house.

While she was walking...

Suddenly.

“……!”

She stopped in surprise.

As if possessed, she looked back at the pattern she had seen in the mansion. 

What remained in her mind was the pattern of a flaming sword. She couldn't possibly think of it as a magician noble family.

Yes, no matter how she thought about it, it was a knight family.

Knights and magicians were beings that bite each other. They were just very antagonistic to each other.

Being born into a family of knights and wanting to become a magician was even more incomprehensible. Not to mention, his excellent magic skills were even more difficult to understand.

Thinking about that Becky muttered involuntarily.

“… What the hell is it?”

◈◈◈

The head maid Katarina had a lot of work to do.

First of all, she had to ask Flan why he didn't respond to his older sister Scarlett Judith's call.

“Where is my room?”

However, for some reason, Flan opened his mouth first and even asked an unusual question.

​He seemed very calm in the serious atmosphere of the mansion like he was just unaware of it.

"...Young Master. Have you been drinking?”

“I didn’t drink.”

​"You brought a woman to the mansion whom you met less than a day ago."

“She was just guiding me.”

Although his changed tone and attitude were irritating, it wasn't the kind of change that could be explained by drinking alone.

Katarina became curious about what had happened, but she lost the eye contact battle with him.

His gaze was really the kind that one would use to look down upon someone, causing her to unknowingly lower her head.

Katarina quietly told Flan where his room was and quickly gave instructions to some other maids.

"Has he gained something?"

Did the Young Master bring any results that could reverse the unsettling atmosphere in this mansion?

She thought while examining the data passed on through the other maids.

The data with the seal of Merhen Academy was densely packed with subjects such as element, summoning, destruction, assistance, manipulation, transmutation, and ranks.

[ F ]

That was the rank given to Flan by Merhen Academy.

F was the rank received by students at the bottom of the list. In fact, it meant that he just barely managed to pass the academy requirement.

“With just this, what kind of confidence is that?”

Soon after, she crumpled it up and threw it into the trash bin hastily. If the owner saw it with her own eyes, it was obvious that the whole mansion would go wild.

“… It will be very difficult from now on.”

The Judith family was just calm before the storm.

◈◈◈

“It’s all right.”

First, Flan lay down on the bed, exhausted. His body felt light and cushioned, but his mind did not.

At least now, his thoughts were clear, which was somewhat fortunate.

What he was experiencing now was an undeniable reality. And from now on, he would have to live with this body.

He didn't understand it, but he accepted it now.

'So what am I going to do now?'

"I should do what I want."

There might be sudden occurrences of any phenomenon again someday, but he had decided not to be afraid. Even if he was afraid, he couldn't back down.

'Yes, so I should do what I want.' Suddenly, he stood in front of the mirror.

​If he had just been born again, he would have followed what he wanted purely, but he was no different than someone who had taken over someone else body, so curiosity began to grow.

'What did this guy want to do?'

It had been a long time since he had been thinking about his career path. 

Kaplan always knew exactly what he wanted and what he needed to do to get it.

Observation and analysis were one of the fields he was very good at. Eventually, he started looking at things in the room.

Armor, swords, etc. were hanging in dusty places in a fairly large room.

'The family crest was also a flaming sword.'

Apparently, this boy was born into a knight's family and naturally took on the destiny of a knight.

“Poor thing.”

But again, the study was full of books related to magic, and there was no accumulation of dust on them. 

At that moment, the corner of his mouth moved slightly.

The forced life of a knight... and the path of a magician which the old owner of this body wanted to walk... 

It was the collision and rebellion between fate and desire.

Kaplan didn't know anything else, but this kind of rebellion was welcome.

He became a little more curious.

As he took out the magic books that the boy had read one by one and laid them on the floor, he strangely ended up holding a thin notebook in his hand.

It was a thin diary...

He didn't have the hobby of stealing other people's memories, but among the tattered books, this one stood out stiffly and naturally aroused his curiosity.

He turned the first page.

There was only one line written.

---I want to become a great magician. Please...

As soon as the words were imprinted on his retina, Kaplan burst out laughing.

“A great magician.” 

In fact, if the boy had dreamed of becoming a swordsman, Kaplan would not have been able to make that wish come true. Because he had no interest in swords.

But what kind of coincidence was this?

The boy had goals quite in line with him.

"Once again, with this body, let's become a great mage...  The Archmage..."

There were so many things he had to do to become a great magician. There was a lot to prove and it would take a long time.

Nonetheless, it was intriguing.

Kaplan had said that it would be fun if the time ever came when he had to prove himself again to an unknown opponent at Mage Tower.

'Yes, it would be fun...'

“How hard must you have tried to rebel?”

He reached for the books of magic that the boy seemed to have studied hard for.

If it was something Kaplan knew, it would be fun because it would be familiar, and if there would something else in this world, it would be fun because he would learn something new.

He had always lived like that. There was no need to be anxious since he had become very young.

-Tap

He snapped his fingers and five books floated in the air.

He made a pillow out of his fist and comfortably examined them simultaneously.

As he read, he added his own comments on the spaces marked with stars by the boy.

The sound of turning pages filled the room, and magical knowledge inundated his mind like waves.

“This is it.”

This was his amusement.

◈◈◈

It was around the time when the sun was just beginning to rise.

Flan was still reading the books.

Although it was a house that he found while tired, the basic books he read again after a long time were quite enjoyable.

To be precise, it was enjoyable to examine the traces of the boy who had been struggling with basic books.

It was to the extent that he could read them even in the bathtub while taking a bath.

In addition, books related to this world were also very interesting.

​Indeed, in terms of magic, the essence of this world was almost the same as his old world, but culture, trends, and so on seemed quite different from his original world.

​Still, the most interesting thing was:

'The relationship between the magician and the knight is a mess in this world too.'

Even if the world changed, the relationship between knights and magicians was still bad. The path they walked was just too different.

As Flan was reading through his books, the sun had slowly risen. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Young master."

Flan was still in the bathtub, and it was too cumbersome to open the bathroom door and then the room door, so he didn't move.

"Young master?"

After a while, the sound of the door opening was heard. The door seemed to have opened on its own.

"It's breakfast time, where did you go? Young Master... Young Master!"

The loud noise was quite annoying. And because of that Flan opened the bathroom door with a mental urge.

“How about breakfast, Young master…”

Katarina, who came in with a calm expression, froze. 

She quickly turned her head around.

"I'm here."

"Oh, yes. Ahh...in the bathroom. Ah, yes. I have something to tell you. Yes, it's because of breakfast. Yes..."

Katarina's face turned slightly red, though not too noticeable. She had been working all her life, so she was not yet immune to the sight of a man's naked body.

"Don't worry about it."

How could she not worry? Flan's body in the bathtub was something that the maid didn't dare to look at.

She continued speaking with her head turned.

"Anyway… Breakfast is ready. Miss Scarlett returned last night. so you will be eating with her.”

“Hmm...”

Flan rested his chin on the bathtub for a moment and pondered.

Eating among the knights was quite suffocating. He wondered if he should ask her to bring food to his room.

Katarina glanced at the boy who was in agony.

The atmosphere was very different from usual.

The overflowing dignity and elegance were somehow visible in the boy in front of her. It was a difference that couldn't be explained simply by getting older or more mature.

It was as if he had become a different person.

Anyway, she looked back inside the room, rolling her eyes once again.

Her movements were sharp. It was only natural since it was Katarina's role to anticipate and address any potential problems that the "superiors" of the mansion might have.

Soon, the maid's gaze fell on the magic books piled up on the floor.

"Young master, have you been reading magic books all night?"

"Yes."

"Magic books..."

She pursed her lips with a subtle expression.

“May I, the head maid, dare to speak out of turn?”

"Go ahead."

"You were classified as the lowest-ranking student in the Academy."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Would you like to pick up a sword again? Even if the young lady doesn't come to help you now, she may at least treat you like a younger brother or even like a human."

Flan snorted and got up from the bathtub. And he stepped out of the bathroom.

"Not required."

Disregarding, insults, hatred, etc were already familiar to him because he had experienced them once.

The biggest realization he had through experience was that he didn't have to worry about anyone else.

“Eh... Young master."

Meanwhile, Katarina urgently covered her face with both hands.

But soon she peeked through her fingers and watched Flan wiping the water off and getting dressed.

It was absolutely not because she liked him or because she wanted to satisfy her selfish desires. She was just curious.

'What has changed?'

It was the body of the Flan she knew. His tall, thin body had not thickened in the slightest on the sides.

Although he was born into a knight's family with a wide bone structure, the important thing was that he hadn't grown much since then.

​But he was clearly different today.

His usually weak and cowardly appearance was completely gone, and his body looked unusually large.

"I'll go now."

Katarina, who was about to leave the room as if possessed by a low order, suddenly remembered what she was going to say. She almost forgot and almost left without realizing it.

"If you don't come, I'll have to take you out."

Flan was wearing his pants on, but his upper body was still naked.

Flan tried to push Katarina away, but she held onto his hand. She still had her head turned far away.

"...Young Master! In society, you are referred to as a disgrace to the Judith family."

With her eyes tightly shut, she continued to speak. No matter what the situation was, she had to fulfill her duty.

“If you continue to use magic like this, your family won't just sit idly by. You may no longer be Judith's man.”

"Why are you bringing this up?"

"Well, because I'm worried. After all, I've been by your side since I was young."

"I see."

Flan shook his head. Again, this is not a nod of agreement.

Rather, he raised his chin. It was not Flan's rebellion, but Kaplan's own rebellious spirit that was burning.

"Hey. How much prestige does this family have with the sword?”

“… …Yes?"

Embarrassment spread across Katarina's face.

“If this family is one that proves its worth with a sword, then it's better to work even harder from now on. Tell everyone that."

"What are you talking about?"

She looked around to see if anyone else was listening.

However, Flan only smiled as usual.

"At some point, you might wake up and find yourself in a magic family."

After saying that and laughing, Flan headed to breakfast.

"Y-young… Young master! Miss Scarlett will be joining you for breakfast this morning! You must not say such things during the meal!"

Katarina's voice could be heard from behind.

Of course, Flan didn't care

“Shall we go?”

There was a lot to prove.

In other words, yes.

Now this was enjoyable.