Overpowered Archmage Doesn't Hide His Talent C.172:

Chapter 172 We have to survive on our own.

Their eyes met in the air.

Aurora parted her lips in a low voice.

“I came here in person. Do you understand what that means?”

Those who faced Aurora’s question always had to rack their brains.

It was only natural. If they gave an unsatisfactory answer, they would lose their heads in an instant.

But Flan just nodded as if it was nothing. His expression showed no fear. In front of Aurora, there was only a calm and composed man.

“…”

Aurora frowned in displeasure.

Based on their status, she had an overwhelming advantage.

Anyone of ordinary birth would have to watch her mood, as she was the princess.

But Flan was not one of them.

He was serene even when facing the princess, and confident even in this perilous place.

She would have been interested in his attitude if it was any other time, but unfortunately, Aurora was not in a generous mood.

“You understand. Then, what do you understand?”

“You must have been curious to come here yourself.”

“You tampered with the royal barrier.”

“There was no clause that forbade me from doing so.”

“You have a loose tongue. It would be easy for me to cancel the construction of the tower, or squeeze the magic department… Even if you beg for forgiveness now, it would not be enough.”

Aurora’s words were clear.

You dared to block the outside observation and made me visit here in person, so you should bow your head and ask for mercy. That was what she meant.

But Flan seemed to ponder for a moment.

Aurora waited patiently for his answer.

It must have been scary to imagine that all his achievements would crumble.

He might have been shocked.

But Flan’s answer was unexpected.

“How many butterflies do you want?”

That was all he asked.

He was not lying. He was not trying to divert the topic, or buy some time. He was genuinely wondering about the number of butterflies.

Aurora blinked in surprise.

Was that all he could think of after hearing her words?

Did he take her warning lightly, or did he not feel it because he only heard it verbally?

Either way, it was not a pleasant thing for her.

The second princess suppressed her confusion and asked.

“If I tell you the number, can you catch them?”

“It shouldn’t be hard.”

As the conversation went on as if they were walking on air, a bureaucrat approached Aurora with cautious steps. He had an urgent report to make.

“Your Highness, there is something you need to check urgently.”

“What is it?”

“The energy is unstable because of the disappearance of the barrier. It might be better to return to the palace…”

“No.”

Aurora spat out a word. Just two letters made the bureaucrat stop his speech.

He understood as soon as he heard her resolute tone.

The princess was not going to listen to anyone’s words, nor change her decision.

“All of them.”

Her gaze was fixed on Flan.

“Can you catch them all, if I ask for them?”

“Of course I can.”

“Good. I’ll give you one day. Show me what you can do. Bring me the dawn butterflies. If you fail…”

Aurora’s eyes glinted.

“…you will have to pay the price.”

Flan accepted Aurora’s warning easily. His eyes were calm as ever, and hers were burning as ever.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

The second princess quietly watched Flan’s back.

She realized that this bet was a ridiculous mistake, only after some more time had passed.

?

The second princess Aurora visited the Reheln Hill in person, the knights of the capital left, the barrier disappeared, but the butterfly festival was still going on.

My plan did not change much.

I applied my magic to the key points, so that the others could only focus on chasing the butterflies.

“Wow… they are glaring at us so hard.”

Yushia scratched her cheek and muttered.

Because of our method, the others who passed by us gave us resentful looks. But what could we do?

This was the way to realize our plan.

The girl with fluffy hair asked me with sparkling eyes.

“Sir Flan. It seems that there is no place left without our magic. What should we do now?”

Her eyes were innocent. She did not care about the others’ gazes, or have any doubts, and Yushia just trusted my plan.

“We are done.”

If we caught only one butterfly, we would have been accused of being lucky.

Fortunately, Aurora demanded me to catch them all.

I was glad to hear that. It would be a result that anyone would have to acknowledge. In other words, I did not worry at all about whether I could succeed or not.

Of course, not all of my companions were as cheerful as Yushia.

There was a girl who had questions and worries about the future.

It was Trixie.

“We ended up driving away all the butterflies.”

“It’s just part of setting the trap.”

Trixie bit her lips and swallowed the words she was about to say. She opened her mouth again after some more time had passed.

“I wonder if you are confusing driving away and catching. Well, you must have a plan. I still don’t understand it, though.”

She seemed to have lost some of her stubbornness, but her grumbling increased. I suddenly thought of something and asked Trixie.

“Trixie.”

“What?”

“Didn’t you work the hardest for that?”

“…”

It was a casual remark, without any intention. But it was true that Trixie was the most diligent in participating in the magic painting.

No, that was not all. She performed efficiently and faithfully whatever rules of conduct I gave her.

“That’s, well…”

Trixie looked at me with her navy blue eyes. But she was the first to avoid eye contact, so I was somewhat puzzled.

“Why can’t you finish your sentence?”

“I trust you. Why do you have to ask?”

Her cheeks turned slightly red. But her eyes still did not meet mine. That was the end of the short and strange conversation.

Or so I thought.

Suddenly, Trixie asked with a flare.

“But you. Why don’t you have any impression?”

“Impression?”

“Yeah, impression. Don’t you have to have some reaction? It was soft, warm, or at least how many times it was…”

Trixie trailed off and bit her lips with the tip of her index finger. I thought I understood what she meant. She probably wanted me to share my feelings about the kiss.

“Do you really want to hear?”

I asked lightly.

“If you want to hear, I’ll tell you.”

“Uh…”

Trixie’s face turned even redder. She was about to say something with her lips twitching, when.

Flick-.

Flick-.

“…”

For a moment, the color of the world disappeared and reappeared.

I calmly looked around. But the energy that had turned the world black and white for an instant had already vanished.

The important thing was that there was a moment. In other words, what I felt was not an illusion.

The world had actually turned colorless for a while.

What snapped me out of my thoughts was a rough voice.

“Hey, you guys.”

The elf mages looked at me with angry eyes.

There were three of them.

As expected, there was no knight.

“I was going to let it go, but what are you thinking, chasing away all the butterflies? Do you want to keep doing this?”

Their sharp ears twitched and moved.

The elves’ emotions were clearly read by their bodily changes.

They were a proud and arrogant race, even in the previous world.

I asked one thing first.

“Didn’t you guys feel it just now?”

“Your magic? It was so strong that we couldn’t miss it.”

They stepped on a false leg, and I was sure. The moment the world turned colorless, it was a skill that even the elves with sensitive senses could not perceive.

“Anyway, stop chasing away the butterflies.”

But then it happened.

“Keep doing that… doing that… doing that…”

The elf’s eyes slowly rolled up and then flipped over.

The sight of only the whites showing was not normal.

She scratched her face with her nails and muttered. Her grip was strong enough to peel off the flesh, but she didn’t seem to care.

“Huh? Why am I saying the same thing… same thing… same thing…”

As she muttered, it happened.

Flick-.

The world turned colorless again.

At the same time, with a loud noise, the elf’s body was torn apart. A bloodthirsty beast that resembled a hunting dog howled and showed off its presence.

The elf’s flesh was torn to pieces and scattered around.

“What the hell!”

“Vampire, Vampire Hound?”

The hunting dog that came out of the elf’s body started to attack the people around indiscriminately, and explosions began to occur all over the hill.

Bang- Bang-!

In the midst of the chaos, I just spread a shield.

Yushia, Trixie, and Scarlet were fortunately fine. But they all looked at me with eyes that craved answers.

“Surprisingly, the dawn butterflies prefer red mana. So, the Vampire Hound have an easy time collecting them.”

I said calmly.

“But the butterflies are safe. I chased them all away.”

Trixie asked cautiously.

“Then the butterflies are safe, but what about us?”

“We have to survive on our own.”

It was a simple fact.

Trixie widened her eyes as she understood my words a beat late.

“No, what…”