Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent

Chapter 4: Why So Slow

 Chapter 4: Why So Slow

The boy didn't do anything after drawing a single underline in yellow.

'He pretended to be proud, but in the end, was it all just empty boasting?'

The moment she had that thought, the boy smiled faintly, as if he could read her mind.

His expression appeared to sneer at the pitiful spell written on the Agora board, as if silently saying, "How dare you.."

'Huh?'

Looking at him like that, Becky unconsciously opened her eyes wide.

There was not the slightest hint of displeasure in the chalk tapping on the blackboard and in the eyes busily moving back and forth.

Rather, it seemed that he felt the greatest pleasure in dealing with the opponent in front of him.

Soon his wrist moved widely and drew another underline. Despite not using any tools to assist him, the trajectory he drew was a straight line without any deviation.

Now there were two underlines. 

Looking that those lines, Flan asked in a low voice,

"Are done calculating the value of the first spell?"

Hearing those words, Becky felt like she had been hit in the back of the head.

Come to think of it, because she was fascinated by the sight, she had already forgotten the boy's words that he would only find vertices and she had to do the calculations. 

At the same time, she had her doubts. Even if he accurately identified the vertices, it still required great concentration and mana to calculate the value of each one.

'What if it was all a bluff?'

However, as soon as she quietly touched the spell, Becky's doubts melted away.

'This... the vertex must be correct.'

A magician was a being who added intuition to the path of pursuing the truth.

So even though she had just begun to calculate, she could already feel her intuition responding.

It was as if she had found the water vein she was looking for so much.

Every single part of the problem was strongly claiming that it was a core component.

Becky immediately unfolded a piece of paper in the air and began to write.

This was definitely a vertex. Her heart was beating fast at the thought that maybe she could really reach the right answer now.

"There seem to be a myriad of these spells, but if you narrow them down, there are only 64."

"64..."

'Isn't that a ridiculously big amount?'

Becky wanted to say that, but looking at him, she quietly swallowed those words.

Anyway, the derived value of the first formula was A1.

Writing that she quickly moved on to the next spell.

But it wasn't easy, either. Since it required such a long calculation, if one mistake was made in the middle, she had to start over from the beginning, and her concentration quickly bottomed out.

Still, somehow she managed to calculate three more values: A8, H1, H8.

"Ah!" Becky exclaimed. 

A1, A8, H1, and H8 were very familiar to her.

"It's a square! Eight squares horizontally and eight squares vertically! Like a chessboard!"

So there were 64 spells in total, as he had said. If it was eight squares horizontally and vertically, there would be 64 coordinates.

Becky was proud, but Flan shook his head as if she were pathetic.

"You did well to understand that far, but of course, it doesn’t end there."

"What? Then what?"

"Now we've just narrowed down the canvas size. We have to figure out the painting from now on."

"Oh...that's it..."

Becky confidently accepted the offer, but in fact, by the time she had calculated four, she was already exhausted.

'Isn't it difficult for him?'

Becky was wiping the sweat from her forehead before she knew it, but Flan calmly held his chin.

There was no sign that this process was difficult for him. He was still calm and composed.

Once again, he drew an underline.

'What should I do?'

Becky swallowed her scream inwardly and moved on to the next calculation.

The two of them were so engrossed in their respective tasks that they even forget the passage of time.

D4, D6, C3, E3, B4, F4...

Finally, Becky put down the chalk and said

"Correct!"

At that, as Flan secretly looked at her, she shouted confidently.

"This is a spade shape. It's easier to calculate if you just select the vertices and calculate them one by one."

The victory was declared, but the reaction that comes back unexpectedly was callous.

The boy tapped the blackboard with chalk.

“Did you know that now? So start calculating again.”

“I thought spades was the correct answer, but calculating more...?”

“Do it once.”

Becky grumbled in displeasure as she reluctantly tried to calculate a new spell.

Then she got stuck and hesitated.

"Hey, you."

"What?"

The response came back so confidently that the words she was going to say were cut off automatically.

'What? No matter how I think about it, it's strange.'

However, Becky felt a great sense of incongruity.

She could feel that the coordinates she had received so far were essential and reacted to her intuition.

However, the coordinates she received this time had nothing like that at all.

The spell seemed like a trap, and the location was entirely wrong.

Despite the hesitation, she eventually gathered her courage and asked.

"Did you get this one right too?"

"It's not the correct answer, but I pointed it out because I intended."

'Is he saying he got it wrong?'

Despite this, Flan confidently underlined another line.

Glancing at it, she could feel that this one was also a trap.

“As you intend? What the hell are you talking about... ?”

'Isn't the point of the problem to solve it as intended by the writer?'

But she didn't feel any sense of obligation to solve the problem as intended by the boy.

“It's not worth it to return only the correct answer, the spade picture. We're not even minions.”

"Well... then what do you want to give, instead of the correct answer?"

​

At that, Flan smiled and said.

“We have to return the problem in reverse. Let the original writer solve it.”

"What happens when I solve the problem you gave me?"

"This picture would be flipped upside down. A heart."

“Upside down… No, wait... you're going to turn the picture upside down?”

"Yes."

While everyone else was contemplating the correct answer, the boy was pondering the next dimension. The 'correct answer' was already a very natural premise in the first place.

“Why are you doing that? That's wrong anyway. Others don't even know that we solved the problem.”

"That's what makes it fun."

A short reply came back. And the boy continued his work.

“Everyone else doesn’t know, and only this writer knows. The fact that someone else completely saw through to his problem.”

Becky was sure now. 

This guy was not normal.

At the same time, he was also not in his right mind.

'But... I think it'll be fun?'

However, the feeling that emerged within her was somewhat rebellious and bold.

Has she ever thought like Flan before?

When given a problem, she always thought about solving it normally and receiving praise, but she had never thought of giving it back.

He had seemed like a weak junior at first, but that impression disappeared from her mind without warning.

He points to the newly drawn line with chalk.

"The derived value is..."

"W-wait. I'm still doing it."

Spells were poured one after another toward Becky.

The newly solved spells were much more difficult.

Naturally, in order to flip the picture, they would have to solve only the tricky coordinates.

'...What kind of kid is he?'

As Becky calculated, she unknowingly stuck out her tongue.

They were the same age. Therefore, it could only be assumed that his talent was innate.

Who could make Becky so breathless with mere questions?

It was Becky who prided herself on having followed the path of a magician in her whole life.

So, when she applied for Merhen Academy, she didn't hesitate at all and passed as if it was nothing big for her.

Moreover, there were even some students who recognized her at the freshman welcome party.

'He... I don't even remember seeing him at the freshman welcome party?'

Becky glanced to the boy's side with bewildered eyes.

But the boy wasn't looking at the blackboard this time. He stared at the girl with a slightly dissatisfied expression and said.

​“Why are you so slow?”

◈◈◈

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa… "

As the moon hung in the sky, Becky finally finished the calculation and collapsed onto the ground.

As expected, the answer to the problem was shaped like a spade, and Flan had slyly flipped it over before separating the hilt and turning it into a heart shape.

The answer was written as a memo in the form of a question and pasted in a corner. The original writer of the problem would look into it.

If it goes according to plan, it would be like a big joke. 

Honestly, did enjoying it a little make her a bad person?

"Hahaha..."

Nevertheless, laughter burst out first. It was fun. That was one thing for sure.

"Do you like it?"

The boy asked.

At that question, Becky nodded her head while lying down.

She did not approach the problem purely on her own, but the sense of achievement that she got was tremendous.

"Hey. You. Um..."

Becky then finally looked at the boy's shirt. The shining student Id card under the moonlight said 'Flan.'

"Flan. Can I just call you that?"

"Do as you please. We won't be seeing each other anymore anyway."

"Why can't we meet? Aren’t you going to continue attending the academy?”

"I don't know. I've lost interest now."

The girl jumped up from the floor where she was lying. And hurriedly shook her head for a moment.

'Where has he been scouted already?'

Well, even from what she had just seen, it didn't seem strange that he received a scouting proposal.

If that was the case, there was nothing she could do.

She had wanted to be friends with him if they continued attending the academy together, but it was a shame.

She picked up the bag on the ground and handed it to the boy.

"So are we going home now?"

"Home..."

Saying that, the boy thought for a moment.

Even if Flan had fallen into another world, he still needed a place to stay. And the time was already night.

This body desperately needed rest and recovery. If there was a place to sleep, he should go and rest.

And then suddenly...

"Come to think of it, why aren't you going home?"

Looking back on his memory, girls her age usually had many restrictions.

"Me? I... I'm fine. I don't have to go in yet."

He nodded his head towards Becky, who stumbled over her response.

“Then take me with you to my home.”

◈◈◈

​

Becky shook her head.

"Why can't you go when your address is clearly written on your student ID...? I can't understand."

“Because I don’t know.”

"No, seriously. How can someone who knows all the complicated spells not know where their home is?"

Despite grumbling, Becky complied with the request.

If she felt any greed or malice in the request to be taken home, she would have refused like a sharp knife. But he really seemed to not know where his home was.

No, it wasn't just that he didn't know his home, he seemed to not know this entire area. He looked around as if everything was strange and interesting.

"How much longer?"

"We're almost there... Wait, am I really hearing this from the owner of the house? You should know better than me."

"I don't know."

"Really unbelievable... Huh."

Becky, who alternated between looking at the address and her surroundings, unknowingly shook her arm.

And she mumbled her tiny lips.

"Flan... Do you live here?"

What lay before her eyes was a very large mansion.