The AI Archmage - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Archmage Episode 39

 

For several days, Sion focused on recuperating to stabilize his body.

 

However, even by the time Sion’s body had recovered to some extent, Akasha had not recovered.

 

It seemed that Akasha’s recovery would take a little more time.

 

After all, such an enormous burden had been placed on Akasha.

 

Having fully recovered his condition, Sion once again had a private meeting with Cornelia.

 

“Now then, sister.”

 

Sion looked at Cornelia with a relaxed expression and spoke.

 

“For several days, you’ve had enough time to examine the Tower. How is it?”

 

“…”

 

Cornelia did not answer that question immediately.

 

And after a long silence, she opened her mouth with a strained expression.

 

“…I’ll admit it. The Blue Tower had the potential we should have invested in all this time.”

 

“Of course it would.”

 

Sion nodded as if it were natural.

 

“And I also confirmed that you were at the center of that change.”

 

“That’s also true.”

 

Cornelia looked at Sion, who nodded calmly, then hesitantly opened her mouth.

 

“Perhaps even when you were in the family, your talent was…”

 

“Who knows.”

 

Sion did not give a clear answer.

 

While doing so, he pondered how he could make more useful use of Cornelia.

 

Then he soon realized one fact.

 

‘I don’t particularly have any feelings about Cornelia herself.’

 

If it had been Sion Rostery here, there might have been a possibility of hating her to death.

 

But he was not that Sion Rostery.

 

He didn’t particularly hate Rostery or Cornelia.

 

He would simply use them if he could use them.

 

In that regard, the setting that he harbored hatred toward the family and Cornelia was useful to exploit.

 

How should he put it.

 

‘Should I say it has plausibility.’

 

In terms of a story, it would feel like that.

 

And that becomes a kind of debt from Rostery’s perspective.

 

Rostery reveres value.

 

If there is value, past relationships don’t matter at all.

 

“I don’t particularly intend to receive the family’s support. After all, there’s no problem living on my own without it.”

 

“…”

 

“Wouldn’t that be more comfortable for you too, sister? After all, considering what you’ve done to me until now, you wouldn’t want our relationship to improve.”

 

“That’s…”

 

At those words, Cornelia couldn’t give a proper answer.

 

Sion looked at her for a moment and thought.

 

‘What should I do now.’

 

For now, he had made it clear that he definitely had no favorable feelings toward Rostery.

 

Moreover, he had also made her understand that his feelings toward Cornelia were rock bottom.

 

What was important here was how Cornelia would respond.

 

Depending on that, he could decide how to treat her.

 

“…I know.”

 

Cornelia’s mouth opened with difficulty.

 

“It’s natural that you hate me. It’s natural that you hate the Main House too.”

 

“You understand well.”

 

“…You must have known what kind of person I was long ago and have been hiding yourself. Because you couldn’t trust me. Right?”

 

At those words, Sion slightly raised his eyebrows.

 

‘Ah, that kind of setting?’

 

He hadn’t particularly set up such specific details, but Cornelia was creating them herself.

 

Since even the person he needed to manipulate was accepting it like this, his work became much easier.

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

Therefore, Sion decided to go with this flow.

 

He declared to her with an expression full of contempt.

 

“I dislike Rostery, you see.”

 

He didn’t particularly dislike it, but he had to say so because it was advantageous to him.

 

“…!”

 

The worry on Cornelia’s face deepened even more.

 

Sion chuckled and continued speaking.

 

“If it’s truly such a family that judges value so well, then why couldn’t they notice my talent?”

 

In fact, there hadn’t been any talent.

 

From that perspective, everything Sion was saying now was full of contradictions.

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

Creating this setting would be more convenient for explaining things about himself in the future.

 

‘If I try to explain things as they are, eventually talk of forbidden arts and Dark Magic will come up.’

 

No matter how he thought about it, saying he had mastered not only magic but also Magic Engineering knowledge in just a few days might cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

 

“That’s…”

 

“Moreover, I thought it was truly terrible. A family where it’s natural to be treated as less than human just because you lack talent.”

 

Sion spoke with a sneer.

 

“The choice is mine, so why would I work for such a family.”

 

“…With your talent, it would have been possible to receive the successor position of the Main House.”

 

“I told you. I disliked it.”

 

Sion answered immediately as if he was truly immersed in the role.

 

“And knowing what I’d have to do to become that successor, is there any reason to do it?”

 

“…!”

 

At those words, Cornelia’s eyes wavered.

 

Sion was sincere.

 

Moreover, he had paid no attention to the family heir position that she so desperately desired.

 

Because he had talent.

 

Because he had enough confidence in himself to not be bound by the family.

 

But what about her?

 

Everything started from a misunderstanding, and she believed it to be the truth.

 

…No, that’s not right.

 

‘She’ chose to believe it.

 

Because it was more convenient that way.

 

From the beginning, she never thought to learn more about Sion for his sake.

 

Even before that incident, she had judged that Sion had no talent and didn’t pay much attention to him.

 

She opened her mouth with a complicated expression.

 

“Apologizing to you now wouldn’t be of any use, would it.”

 

“You understand well.”

 

Sion roughly understood as he observed Cornelia’s attitude.

 

‘Good.’

 

It seemed she would move according to Sion’s intentions.

 

She had discovered ‘value’ in Sion.

 

Whether Cornelia had truly reformed through self-reflection or not wasn’t important.

 

If he could understand Rostery’s direction through Cornelia, that would be enough.

 

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll exclude Rostery out of personal feelings. There’s money that Rostery has supported the Main Tower with so far, and there are debts too.”

 

“After checking, it was confirmed that the Blue Tower’s current capabilities can repay that immediately.”

 

“I was planning to repay that anyway. All of it, starting today.”

 

“…As expected, you already had the capability to repay everything.”

 

“That’s how it turned out.”

 

At those words, Cornelia’s expression became complicated.

 

If all the debts were repaid, Rostery’s justification for interfering with the Blue Tower would greatly diminish.

 

The pretext of support funds would remain, but that alone wouldn’t be enough justification for active interference.

 

‘There’s still a possibility that Rostery might cause trouble using the remaining debts.’

 

Sion judged that they wouldn’t do that.

 

Even if that family lacked humanity, they weren’t the type to make such foolish decisions.

 

Of course, that didn’t mean Sion trusted Rostery.

 

He had merely calculated that they would make rational choices.

 

And there was no human sentiment in that judgment.

 

“Then does the Blue Tower intend to cut ties with the Main House? Repaying all the debts means…”

 

“As I said, I’ll approach it business-wise. Rather, that’s precisely why I don’t intend to leave ‘unnecessary elements’ like debt behind.”

 

“So you mean you intend to continue the relationship with the Main House, though it will be different from before.”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

Naturally, Cornelia was speaking while recognizing Sion as the representative of this Blue Tower.

 

And it wasn’t wrong either.

 

Very naturally, Sion had become such an existence at the Blue Tower.

 

Cornelia thought to herself.

 

‘Cutting off relations like this would definitely be a bad move.’

 

Sion’s talent is real.

 

As Rostery’s representative, she had a duty to make the most efficient decisions for the family.

 

If the Blue Tower was already prepared to repay their debt and couldn’t be pressured with that, there was only one option.

 

“Tell me what the Blue Tower wants. I’ll report it to the Main House and handle things in a way that benefits both sides as much as possible.”

 

“What we want… that’s something Rostery needs to figure out.”

 

“…!”

 

“We’re not desperate anymore. To be frank, if there’s no reasonable justification, cutting ties with Rostery wouldn’t be a problem for us.”

 

Generally speaking, Sion’s hardline attitude was extremely risky.

 

Disrespecting a great noble family like the Marquis Rostery Family was tantamount to suicide.

 

But…

 

‘They’ve shown too much.’

 

The value of the magic tools in the documents the Blue Tower had presented to her was too remarkable.

 

Moreover, when it came to using force for pressure, Sion’s existence was concerning.

 

Even for the Marquis Rostery Family, pressuring the Blue Tower without a clear justification wouldn’t be easy.

 

Furthermore, with the 9th Circle Magic Restoration he had demonstrated today, Sion’s current magical prowess could not be ignored either.

 

Unless she intended to fight Sion to the death, taking a hostile attitude here would not be wise.

 

Given the circumstances, Cornelia had no choice but to back down.

 

“…Fine. We’ll look into it on our side.”

 

“Good.”

 

With those words, Sion rose from his seat.

 

It was an order to leave and return home.

 

As the Eldest Daughter of Rostery, Cornelia had never received such rude treatment.

 

But this wasn’t a situation where she could protest about it.

 

“…I’ll come again next time.”

 

“If you bring something worthwhile, I’d have no reason to refuse.”

 

Once, the two had been family.

 

But now, such things no longer mattered.

 

Just as Cornelia was about to open the door and leave, Sion spoke as if something had suddenly occurred to him.

 

“Oh, and sister.”

 

Sion’s question reached Cornelia as she stood frozen with her hand on the door handle.

 

“By any chance, have you been experiencing pain around your heart area lately?”

 

“My… heart? No, that’s…”

 

“Heart? That’s…”

 

Cornelia looked puzzled and hesitated to speak.

 

“I see. Then have a safe trip back.”

 

Sion offered his farewell while thinking to himself.

 

‘It seems to be fine for now.’

 

* * *

 

“Mr. Sion.”

 

After the conversation with Cornelia ended, Lumia entered the room and asked.

 

“Have you finished the discussion?”

 

“Yes, she’ll handle things well on her own. Just in case, I’ve made other preparations too.”

 

“I see. That’s a relief.”

 

Lumia nodded and accepted Sion’s words.

 

“There won’t be… any problems, right?”

 

“Yes, that’s certain. Even if they cut off support, we have accumulated money now, so there won’t be any major problems.”

 

“Phew…”

 

Only then did Lumia let out a sigh of relief.

 

After Sion became an instructor and actively took action, the Blue Tower’s situation improved rapidly.

 

How could she not believe in him?

 

“Then now that we’ve overcome the big problem, shall we relax and rest a bit?”

 

Lumia said with a cheerful laugh.

 

But Sion spoke with a stern, solemn, serious expression.

 

“What kind of nonsense is that.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

“Is this really a situation where we can relax and rest? We’ve only put out the urgent fire, but it wouldn’t be strange if we collapsed again at any time.”

 

That’s right.

 

This is definitely not a situation to feel secure.

 

Sion’s stern, solemn, serious voice continued.

 

“Now it’s time to find new partners. We need to establish solid relationships at times like this.”

 

“Partners, you mean…”

 

But Lumia’s expression quickly darkened.

 

“But as you know, Mr. Sion, the Main Tower is marked by the Magic Council. Would there really be any Magic Tower willing to ignore them and become partners with us?”

 

“It’s fine. The ‘partner’ I want this time isn’t a Magic Tower. They probably don’t have a good relationship with the Council anyway.”

 

“…What? Is there such a place?”

 

Lumia looked at Sion with wide eyes.

 

Not a Magic Tower, and not on good terms with the Council either.

 

Moreover, was there really such a well-off ‘partner’ that could somehow manage without particularly worrying about the Council’s opinion?

 

Nothing came to mind immediately.

 

Sion immediately resolved Lumia’s question.

 

“The Continental Workshop Alliance.”

 

“…Ah!”

 

Only then did Lumia seem to realize, as she suddenly raised her head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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