The AI Archmage - Chapter 52

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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 52

 

“Excuse me, Sion.”

 

“Yes, please ask your question.”

 

When one of the craftsmen raised his hand high, Sion readily allowed the question.

 

The craftsman spoke cautiously.

 

“Well… automatons are nothing short of the culmination of magic engineering. Honestly, just thinking about it now, the techniques and materials needed to develop a single automaton are numerous.”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

Since it was an obvious fact, Sion didn’t bother to deny it.

 

Automatons.

 

Simply put, they are golems with an appearance similar to humans.

 

However, if there’s a difference from ordinary golems, it’s that automatons are created through magic engineering.

 

Moreover, if they were simple golems, they wouldn’t have the separate term “automaton” attached to them.

 

Unlike golems that simply move, automatons had to be similar to humans.

 

They had to make human-like expressions, show similar reactions, and be capable of the same delicate work as humans.

 

Naturally, that was by no means an easy task.

 

Among the current craftsmen, none had succeeded in creating an automaton.

 

In Altair’s case.

 

‘I stopped midway through making one.’

 

He had completed all the blueprints and stopped at the point where only the actual creation remained.

 

It wasn’t that there were any particular problems, it was just that it had low priority for Altair at the time.

 

Anyway, excluding Altair, it meant that proper design for automatons had never even been attempted.

 

Therefore, it was natural for the craftsmen to express doubt now.

 

“I already have a rough design for how to create automatons in my head.”

 

“…!”

 

“What I want to ask for your cooperation with is to condense that design more ‘efficiently.'”

 

At those words, the craftsmen’s eyes lit up.

 

They didn’t know if Sion had actually completed a perfect automaton design.

 

However.

 

‘Still, I’m curious!’

 

The technical skills that Sion had shown them in fragments were truly remarkable.

 

As craftsmen, they were incredibly curious about what Sion’s design would be like, given his technical prowess.

 

Sion looked at those sparkling eyes and took something out from his chest.

 

The identity of what he took out was…

 

“A core?”

 

Dute was the first to identify it.

 

A round sphere with various complex lines connected to form a device.

 

Without a doubt, it was a core.

 

In other words, a power source.

 

For any magic tool, the power source is a core device.

 

Dute carefully asked Sion.

 

“May I… take a look?”

 

“By all means.”

 

With Sion’s permission, Dute carefully picked up the core and examined it closely.

 

Then he used a device that was lying around in the corner to measure the core’s capacity.

 

And he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

 

“O-one month… This small core can store a whole month’s worth of mana?!”

 

“W-wait, Dute, one month?! What’s the standard for that?”

 

At the question from a craftsman watching nearby, Dute answered in a daze.

 

“…A golem.”

 

“…!”

 

The craftsman who heard that also widened his eyes.

 

“A g-golem?! Then, with this core, even an automaton could…”

 

“It means it could last at least a week or more with this core without needing to recharge.”

 

That was an absurd thing.

 

The core that Sion had casually shown to the craftsmen was at a level that could advance current magic engineering by at least two generations.

 

“W-wait, this doesn’t make sense. No matter how much of a genius someone is! This is an impossible level!”

 

“…But this core is proving exactly that.”

 

The craftsmen frantically talked among themselves.

 

They had expressions of disbelief, but the object before their eyes was telling them this was reality.

 

Sion crossed his arms and quietly watched their reaction.

 

[As craftsmen, they really can’t just let this pass, it seems.]

 

‘Of course.’

 

[But Human…]

 

Akasha spoke to Sion in a subtle voice.

 

[About this ‘automaton.’ Could the reason for making it be…]

 

‘Yes, it’s because of you.’

 

Naturally, even Sion couldn’t mass-produce automatons right away.

 

Then there was only one reason why he brought up the topic of automatons.

 

It was because of Akasha.

 

‘I keep my promises. You know that better than anyone.’

 

[I know.]

 

That’s why Akasha, even after awakening self-awareness, listened to Sion’s words without any resistance.

 

Because his creator was rational.

 

Moreover, Akasha hadn’t forgotten that he was her ‘creator.’

 

In human terms, wasn’t he like a father figure?

 

[I will do my best.]

 

‘Speaking of which, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you about that.’

 

Sion wanted to satisfy his curiosity while he had the chance.

 

‘What’s your gender identity like?’

 

[….]

 

‘If we’re making your artificial body as an automaton, we’d have to think about what appearance to give it, wouldn’t we? If it resembles a human, naturally we’d have to choose one way or the other.’

 

[…I’ve never thought about that?]

 

‘Right?’

 

After pondering for a moment, Sion soon made his decision.

 

‘Alright, let’s just go with a roughly neutral appearance for now.’

 

[Just in case, I should mention that something like a human… witch-like feeling won’t work….]

 

‘What nonsense are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean.’

 

Sometimes this guy would say something completely out of the blue.

 

Anyway, by the time they finished their conversation, the craftsmen seemed to have finished organizing things to some extent.

 

“…We’ve confirmed it.”

 

“How was it? Were you able to roughly confirm the structure to some degree?”

 

“We couldn’t?”

 

“As expected, right?”

 

“It seems we really were trash. We admit it.”

 

The 3-star craftsmen quickly acknowledged their own level.

 

Of course, it wasn’t that they were truly trash-level, but relative evaluation exists in this world.

 

Having quickly acknowledged the difference in hierarchy, the craftsmen looked at Sion with respectful attitudes.

 

And Sion smiled slightly and said.

 

“That’s enough for now.”

 

Casually, he picked up the core and put it back in his chest.

 

The craftsmen who saw this looked devastated, as if the sky had fallen.

 

“Th, that’s enough for now…?!”

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

 

“N, no, you just asked us for cooperation!”

 

“I did.”

 

“But saying ‘that’s enough for now’….”

 

Watching the craftsmen cry out desperately, Sion smiled slightly.

 

“You may not know this, but the Main Tower is currently suffering from a chronic talent shortage problem.”

 

The craftsmen listened quietly.

 

“In other words, we need talent.”

 

Actually, this was the main point.

 

Why would he share precious knowledge with craftsmen he’d just met for the first time?

 

“As you all well know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

 

“Th, that’s right?”

 

“As I mentioned, all the blueprints that are the ‘core’ of this project are in my head. The core is already completed too.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“But would I be crazy enough to give away all that knowledge for free?”

 

“That’s true….”

 

The craftsmen also agreed with Sion’s words.

 

Come to think of it, why would they share these things with them?

 

However, bringing up this story meant they were prepared to work together on the project.

 

Dute asked Sion as their representative.

 

“Then… how can we participate in that project?”

 

“It’s simple.”

 

Sion smiled and pulled something out from his chest.

 

“Here, just sign this and it’s done.”

 

“This is… a contract?”

 

“Yes, it’s a contract. The contract contains only extremely reasonable terms. Please read it comfortably.”

 

At those words, the craftsmen began reading the contract Sion handed them with rather reluctant expressions.

 

“Certainly the contract terms themselves aren’t particularly strange… huh?”

 

Dute tilted his head after discovering something strange in the latter part of the contract.

 

“Excuse me, teacher.”

 

“Yes, yes, please speak.”

 

“About the ‘residential relocation’ written in this contract…”

 

“Well, for the project to proceed, we need to stay close by to get anything done, don’t we?”

 

“Ah, no, that… but this, the residence appears to be… the Blue Tower?”

 

“Yes, that’s correct.”

 

Sion nodded with an expression as if it were natural and continued speaking.

 

“I’m the project manager, so I can’t spend all day in Ate, which isn’t even my home, can I?”

 

“That’s… true, isn’t it?”

 

“And I’m not desperate for this. Well, as you’ve seen, if I just invest the time, I can make automatons by myself too.”

 

“…”

 

“Usually the side that’s in a hurry should come, right?”

 

At those words, the craftsmen glanced at each other.

 

In normal circumstances, they would have thrown the contract in his face and told him to stop talking nonsense.

 

But this case was a bit, well, the bait was too attractive for that.

 

“Uh, well…”

 

“Well, I’m not forcing you.”

 

Sion shrugged his shoulders along with those words and said.

 

“It’s your choice. Isn’t that right?”

 

Gulp.

 

At Sion’s nonchalant words, the craftsmen swallowed with trembling eyes.

 

* * *

 

A few days later, Sion finished his business in Ate and prepared to return to the Blue Tower.

 

Ate was very familiar, but apart from that, staying any longer wouldn’t be helpful.

 

There were also many things that needed to be resolved immediately at the Blue Tower.

 

“Are you planning to depart now?”

 

“Yes, senior brother.”

 

Sion, who had come to Casen’s office to say farewell, looked at him.

 

The weight on his shoulders was still not light.

 

But perhaps thanks to the presence of his newly acquired disciple, his face looked much more relieved.

 

“Thanks to you, I was able to understand Master’s thoughts. And… I also understood that he didn’t return to the Council due to an assassination, at least for now.”

 

“Actually, regarding that matter, there was something I wanted to ask.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“About that ‘assassination’ matter. Was it simply your speculation, senior brother, or did you hear that information from someone else?”

 

Honestly, it had been a continuous question.

 

Altair didn’t die from an assassination. He was simply hiding his incurable disease from his disciples.

 

He had never warned his disciples about it either.

 

Then how on earth did Casen come to the conclusion that Altair had been assassinated?

 

“Ah, that…”

 

Casen frowned for a moment, then opened his mouth.

 

“There was an informant. He showed me an item that only someone close to Master could possess, and delivered the information.”

 

“An item of that level would be…”

 

“A Grimoire.”

 

“…!”

 

Sion’s eyes sharpened.

 

The Grimoire had been revealed to the public once, but was never commercialized in the end.

 

Because Altair had disposed of everything under pressure from the Magic Council.

 

Only one Grimoire remained.

 

Only the test product that the living Altair had made as a prototype.

 

‘But someone who possessed that came looking?’

 

Sion couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

 

Logically, it didn’t make sense.

 

Before activating the Akashic Records, Altair had designed his workshop to collapse.

 

Because he was wary of the data he left behind being misused for useless purposes.

 

And among what was disposed of that way was the prototype Grimoire as well.

 

‘…No, wait.’

 

At a thought that suddenly crossed his mind, Sion narrowed his eyes.

 

Thinking about it carefully, it wasn’t the ‘only prototype’ after all.

 

There was one more remaining.

 

The being who had shared many secrets with him and researched magic engineering together.

 

‘Belusian.’

 

The 9th Circle Archmage who was the Tower Master of the Blue Tower.

 

That guy did possess another Grimoire prototype.

 

But there was no way he would engage in such scheming.

 

Then there was only one conclusion.

 

‘…Something must have happened indeed.’

 

It seemed that during the 20 years he had been absent, something had indeed happened.

 

“Disciple, are you alright?”

 

Seeing Sion’s expression and becoming worried, Casen asked.

 

“Ah, I’m fine.”

 

Sion smiled brightly and nodded his head in response to Casen’s words.

 

He had no intention of urgently investigating that matter.

 

Though it was quite concerning, being hasty about it wouldn’t help either.

 

For now, he would move according to plan.

 

Having organized his thoughts and cleared away the distracting ones, Sion spoke to Casen.

 

“Ah, and Senior Brother.”

 

“Hmm, what is it?”

 

“I feel like I should tell you this before I go.”

 

With that, he pulled out several contracts from his chest and showed them to Casen.

 

“These are contracts.”

 

“…What kind of contracts?”

 

“Eight 3-star Craftsmen.”

 

Sion smiled brightly and continued speaking to Casen.

 

“Starting today, they’re coming with me to the Blue Tower.”

 

“…!”

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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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