Overpowered Archmage Doesn’t Hide His Talent - Chapter 128:

Translator: MarcTempest

Proofreader: naturallyInconsistent

Chapter 128 – That’s right. You said that.

Scarlet stood there blankly.

Her younger self had disappeared with Flan long ago. But Scarlet was still standing in her place.

Until the gentle breeze brushed her again.

“She’s… gone…?”

She muttered in a faint voice, as if it would break.

She tried to understand the situation, but there were still too many things that felt unnatural.

She lacked too many pieces of the puzzle in her head.

At the same time.

“Ugh.”

Once again, the sensation of her head shattering like glass.

A severe headache overwhelmed Scarlet, and she touched her head with one hand.

At the same time, strange hallucinations began to unfold before her eyes.

─Remember this, Scarlet.

The old man who pleaded with her in a serious face was someone she had never seen before.

He had a miserable and wretched appearance, and no dignity at all. He held her hands tightly.

─Remember your father’s words.

─If you want to survive, burning and building a family is the only answer. Do you understand?

─Huh? If you understand, say something. Hurry up!

The hallucination ended there.

“Ha.”

Scarlet sneered with a distorted expression.

Her father was Theodore.

The ugly old man was not Theodore’s.

But even as she thought so, she couldn’t stop the anxiety from rising in one corner of her heart.

Flan, who answered that her sister was gone, and the mysterious man who called himself her father.

The speed of anxiety increased as time went by.

Scarlet soon found herself holding her head with both hands.

“Memory. Memory, gradually…”

A strange sensation.

The odd energy of the space was slowly absorbed into Scarlet’s body.

Every time that happened, the number of puzzle pieces in her head increased.

“…Is this how it works?”

Libra had built this space using 「Storage」, and the owner of this space was obviously Scarlet.

The method of regaining her memory by absorbing the space itself.

This hypothesis seemed to fit well.

However, she didn’t know how long it would take to absorb everything.

For now, it was time for her to leave the swordsmanship training ground.

The moment Scarlet took a step.

Beep─

With a severe tinnitus, her vision turned white.

◈

“Huh!”

When she came to her senses, it was a completely different space.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”

She barely caught her breath and wiped the sweat beads on her forehead with her sleeve.

Not only her forehead, but her whole body was soaked with sweat.

Her mind, which seemed to be sucked somewhere, finally returned a little. Her blurry vision also began to clear up.

Her mind was still confused, but soon she widened her eyes at the bizarre scenery that came into her sight.

“…!”

She looked down at her hand.

Her palm, and even her fingers, were small.

They were so small that the expression ‘tiny’ suited them.

And on her ring finger, there was a ring.

“I’ve shrunk.”

As she said that.

Scarlet realized that her voice was also very young.

It was clearly that of a young girl.

She slowly raised her hand and touched her face.

There was nothing on her skin, but more than anything, she felt a soft touch.

“No, did I get younger?”

She looked around first in the sudden situation.

It was the reception room of the Judith mansion.

She was alone in the space, and the identity of the girl reflected in the mirror was…

“…Assimilation.”

Young Scarlet.

She had assimilated with her body from that time.

Cough─!

She coughed with a pain that felt like her lungs were tearing.

She hastily covered her mouth with her palm, and blood was already stained on it.

“That’s right, it was like this.”

She remembered that she was sickly when she was young.

No, she could say that she was close to a corpse.

The curse of decay.

The cause was the curse.

The curse that made her cells gradually die and eventually reach a severe state of decay.

As she assembled the memories that came to her mind, the door of the reception room opened and someone came in.

There were three people in total.

They were all maids, but none of them were familiar to Scarlet.

They moved swiftly.

On the table in the reception room, there were fancy snacks and tea, and the dust in the corner was quickly hidden.

Scarlet stared quietly at the scene.

That was when it happened.

“Are they clueless or doing it on purpose?”

One of the maids started to whisper.

The maid next to her naturally continued.

“They must be doing it on purpose.”

“Of course, right? They are so shameless.”

“They were completely disowned, but they can’t stop doing stupid things, trying to cling to anything like a drowning rat.”

“I want to kick them out. Really.”

Disowned?

Scarlet perked up her ears at the intense word.

The fragrant tea scent gently touched her nose.

“Shh. Just in case, lower your voice.”

“They can’t hear us. And so what if they do? They have no right to make a fuss.”

“They are pitiful, though. They were unlucky enough to get caught by the top-grade witch and lose everything.”

It was ominous.

Not the conversation, but the glances that occasionally darted at Scarlet.

‘What is this?’

…As if they were talking about Scarlet.

“But this, isn’t this a situation where Judith should be grateful to the witch?”

One of the maids said sharply.

“When I cleaned up this time, I saw that the debt was beyond imagination. If it weren’t for the witch’s raid, they would have kept hiding it shamelessly.”

“That’s true. How can they hide their debt and get engaged? That’s crazy. It’s fraud.”

Another jolt in her head, as if something broke.

The background of the story, her identity, the maids’ eyes.

Scarlet understood everything in an instant.

She was not a character of Judith.

She was not Flan’s sister.

Rather…

“…!”

Startled, Scarlet jumped up from her seat.

It was a movement that her instinct commanded, without going through her brain.

The maids also stopped their actions in surprise.

“…”

The sound seemed to vanish, and it was silent.

The maids, who were much taller than her, opened their eyes wide and looked only at Scarlet.

Their eyes were cold and contemptuous, and they awakened the fear that was engraved somewhere in Scarlet’s memory.

The memory kept flowing in.

Every time she visited the Judith’s mansion, it was like this. Without a single exception, she always received such stares.

Scarlet swallowed her dry saliva.

She felt as if the floor she was standing on was collapsing endlessly.

The maids began to focus on their work again.

“Why are they like that? They act as if it’s their story.”

“Only the young master was pitiful. But, he will break off the engagement anyway, right? It doesn’t make sense otherwise.”

Then the door of the reception room opened with a bang.

The one who appeared after opening the door was Flan, and the maids quickly coughed and bowed their heads.

“Oh, you’re here. Young master.”

Flan stared at the maids without a word.

They quickly cleared the room, feeling uneasy.

In the reception room where only the two of them were left, Flan sat down across from Scarlet.

Scarlet kept her head down and did not listen.

Even though she knew that what was in front of her was nothing but a fragment of memory, she could not figure out how to face something that looked like Flan, now that she remembered her origin.

Cough─!

She spat out blood again.

This time, the pain was so intense that she could not even cover her mouth with her hand.

“Are you okay? Why did you come here, Scarlet? I told you I would go. You know you’re not well…”

“…”

Scarlet still kept her head down.

She just tried to catch her breath, without wiping the blood that ran down her chin.

At some point, Flan’s hand appeared in her sight.

There was something on his palm. It was probably a handkerchief.

But.

“Do you need help wiping it? Or do you want me to do it for you?”

“…”

Scarlet did not even see that.

She grabbed Flan’s finger with her trembling hand.

He stiffened for a moment, surprised by her unexpected action.

“What’s wrong? Scarlet.”

“The ring…”

Scarlet looked at the ring on Flan’s little finger.

The same one as hers.

She was too young when it happened, and she had just remembered it, but her heart sank.

“You… why, why did you get engaged to me?”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you break it off? You had no family, you didn’t know when you would die, there was no reason not to. Why…”

“Are you delirious now?”

Flan pushed Scarlet’s forehead with his index finger. Then their eyes finally met in the air.

“Scarlet is Scarlet. You know that.”

She was speechless.

She forgot what she was going to say.

Scarlet looked at Flan’s face with a dumbfounded expression.

The young Flan was calm, and the grown-up Scarlet was confused.

It was a strange situation, even to herself.

◈

She began to drift in the memory space.

It was because the memory absorption had suddenly stopped at some point.

As the memories that had been rising slowly disappeared, Scarlet spent her days in the memory space, restless.

Even so, the damn curse deprived Scarlet of her physical freedom.

And so, in the room of the Judith mansion.

“Ugh─.”

She moaned in pain that seemed unbearable in her sober state, and lay on the bed, unable to move.

“It’s going to be hard to get through today.”

The maid who was changing the wet towel muttered.

The other maid who was next to her tapped her shoulder.

“Don’t say that. The person is listening.”

“Don’t you think she knows it well? The great magicians failed to help her, the divine power didn’t work, and the witches only offered ridiculous solutions…”

Squeak─!

She wrung out the wet towel with a sound.

“We did our best, didn’t we? We’ve been nursing that scammer for days, staying up all night.”

Damn it.

She wanted to curse, but she didn’t even have the strength to lick her lips.

As the maid said, Scarlet knew her condition well.

Today.

Today was too long.

She would stop breathing soon.

For sure.

She wanted to hold on for a second longer.

The memories that flowed in every second, the emotions that revived every second. She wanted to finish the reading while feeling them a little more.

‘I can’t remember…’

She had survived this time and became the Knight of the Flickering Flame.

How did she overcome such a terrible curse and survive?

…She couldn’t remember.

Then the door opened with a bang.

“Move aside for a moment. Don’t let anyone in.”

She heard Flan’s voice in her ear. At the same time, she heard the maids leaving the room.

She turned her head slightly and saw Flan looking at her intently.

“…”

He didn’t say anything.

He just stayed close to Scarlet, who was writhing in pain.

“…Why.”

“…”

She faced Flan’s face. He was smiling at her.

“Even without any special abilities.”

The world was fading away.

Scarlet tried to look at Flan’s face.

In her whitening vision, his face was strangely clear.

His smile, his voice, his expression. Scarlet had forgotten everything. At the same time, she realized that she had never given him such a face.

“You know, right? I’m always Flan.”

“…”

Scarlet lost her words.

She also forgot what she wanted to say.

All the memories came back to her.

She bit her lower lip until it bled, barely holding back the surge of emotions that came like waves.

“So that’s… how it was…”

No, she couldn’t hold it back. Her body started to tremble violently.

Her voice was thin as if it would break at any moment.

“That’s how it was…”

The more she held back, the stronger the surge of emotions became, until it reached the size of an unstoppable tidal wave.

“With that face, with that voice.”

Something hot ran down her cheeks.

“You said that to me…”

Flan wrapped his hand around Scarlet’s hand.

The girl looked at the boy quietly. Inside Scarlet’s body, a warm flame began to fill up.

“Goodbye, Scarlet.”

With Flan’s short farewell.

Swoosh─

The “reading” came to an end.

“Ugh─!”

After finishing the reading and jumping out of the portrait, Scarlet vomited a mouthful of blood.

“Uh, ugh.”

She couldn’t easily tell the difference between reality and fantasy.

She had exhausted too much of her mental energy.

“Hoo, hoo…”

Scarlet staggered and leaned against the wall.

The physical fatigue was exhausting, but the mental shock she received was incomparable.

“That was dangerous.”

Libra’s feather murmured.

“Wandering in the memories forever. You would have been trapped there if you came out a little later.”

Scarlet still didn’t lift her head.

She had too many questions left.

Why had she never doubted that she was the daughter of Judith?

Why had she forgotten Flan’s existence?

…Why had she hated him so much?

“Will you give it back?”

Libra’s double reached out a hand.

“That’s enough for the reading. No, it’s impossible to go any further. The main body warned me several times that you could lose your life if you push yourself.”

“Yeah.”

Scarlet nodded.

She slowly lifted the sword.

But.

“Even if I die…”

She didn’t lift it to give it back.

“I need to know the truth.”

The moment she muttered that, in the blink of an eye, the blade pierced deep into Flan’s portrait.

“…!”

Libra’s double widened her eyes.

“You can’t! You could lose your life, I told you…”

She couldn’t finish her words.

Scarlet was sucked into Flan’s portrait again.

Her bones crumbled and her nerves felt like they were cut off.

It was more painful than death, but she clenched her teeth and endured it.

And finally.

─The combustion was successfully transplanted.

Libra’s calm voice.

The time was early dawn.

The place was Judith’s mansion.

─But most of the power is being used to counteract the curse. Scarlet’s flame will only remain a mere spark.

No matter what I say, he doesn’t answer.

I had no strength left to ask Scarlet anything.

I closed my eyes and gasped for air, focusing only on enduring the pain for a few minutes.

Finally, I heard Flan’s voice.

“This is the only way, really.”

His voice was firm.

He sounded like he had made up his mind.

Beep─

Meanwhile, the ringing in my ears grew louder.

My head felt like it was burning up, and Scarlet’s mind was also getting blurry.

In the midst of that, Scarlet realized something.

“Way… method…?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t know, but I asked out of disbelief.

The reason why Scarlet could be a Knight of the Flickering Flame. If that reason matched the guess that she had come up with…

“That’s right. Scarlet.”

As if confirming Scarlet’s thought, Flan nodded slowly.

“I’ll give you my blaze. There’s no other way.”

Blaze.

Was this how he came to control fire?

As soon as I heard that, my heart thumped and my legs trembled.

My eyes shook like there was an earthquake.

“You got it? Leave it to me.”

At Flan’s words, Scarlet shook her head like it was broken.

Even if her body didn’t move well, she somehow shook it.

“No, no. No way. That can’t be…”

“Why?”

Flan asked.

Scarlet couldn’t give a clear answer.

She couldn’t understand her own thoughts, let alone express them.

Every breath felt like the last one.

The boy watched Scarlet closely.

And then he nodded.

As if he understood all of her thoughts.

“I see.”

Beep beep beep beep─

But the curse didn’t allow their conversation to continue.

A deafening ringing sounded in my ears.

Beep beep beep beep─

Even though I felt like I was losing consciousness, I looked at Flan’s face.

Flan smiled as if to reassure me.

“…”

In an instant.

The world slowed down as if a carousel passed by.

At the same time, I was afraid.

Even if he was just a fragment of my memory, I wanted to talk to him more.

I had many questions and I wanted to confirm them all.

Even if I regained my memory, if I finished reading this, I would never have a chance to talk to Flan again.

“It’s okay. Scarlet.”

“…!”

He called my name in a warm tone, and put his palm on my head.

As expected, Flan had ignited Scarlet with his flame.

Why did Flan make such a choice? Scarlet had no strength to shake her head.

And this ordeal was not over yet.

─I also tampered with your memory. Flan, are you satisfied with this?

Libra’s voice, asking him that, was tinged with a bit of panic.

Theodore nodded quietly.

─We can’t let the flame leak out of Judith. Scarlet has no relatives left anyway, and it’s best for both of us to let her live as Judith’s daughter.

─I’m not asking you, I’m asking Flan.

Libra and Theodore’s gazes turned to Flan. Scarlet also waited for his answer.

Flan didn’t open his mouth.

His whole body was covered with bandages.

He looked like a mess, with bloodstains everywhere.

Libra’s face became more serious.

─You’ve been living as her fiancé and calling her sister from now on. Do you have no regrets?

Scarlet leaned against the wall, swaying.

She thought she was ready to face anything.

She was wrong.

Her heart pounded and her mouth was dry. Her head felt like it was going to explode, and cold sweat soaked her body.

─Of course, there are things I regret.

Flan’s one sentence.

Scarlet swallowed her saliva.

She tasted bitter blood in her mouth, even in her pain.

─I regret holding a sword.

─Why is that?

The voice that asked was Evelyn Judith. Scarlet’s mother… no, just a Knight of the Flame.

─I realized that a sword is not something that exists to protect something.

Flan looked down at his palm quietly.

─In the end, it was my innate ability that saved Scarlet. Not my swordsmanship. As a knight, all I could do was cut down Scarlet’s enemies.

─You realized that.

Evelyn nodded.

She looked very pleased.

─From now on, I want to do something that can truly protect what’s precious to me. Something close to a miracle.

─A proof of protecting something precious, huh? Good. And that method was magic, it seems.

Magic.

Magic?

Evelyn looked at the notebook on his desk.

Scarlet’s expression became even more blank as she looked at Evelyn.

What was she hearing, and was she allowed to hear it? She even started to have such thoughts.

“The method, magic…?”

The moment Scarlet muttered that.

─Yeah. I’ll cheer for you, Flan.

Evelyn patted his shoulder.

─Make it happen, and protect Scarlet for sure.

“…?”

Scarlet tilted her head.

She couldn’t understand the situation at all, and her face twisted naturally.

But her eyes rolled instinctively.

And in her sight, there was the boy’s diary.

─I want to be a great mage.

That’s what was written in the boy’s diary.