The AI Archmage - Chapter 53

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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 53

 

“What kind of method did you use?”

 

Casen, who had suddenly lost a large number of talented individuals, asked with a dejected expression.

 

“No, what did you say to those children that made those stubborn fellows follow you…?”

 

“I showed them my technique.”

 

“Ah.”

 

At Sion’s answer, Casen nodded in understanding.

 

He had seen with his own eyes just how outstanding Sion’s technical skills were.

 

‘…A bracelet-sized chantless magic tool. Ha, truly absurd technical prowess.’

 

He was undoubtedly a disciple born with talent that would go down in history.

 

That’s why Master must have accepted him as a disciple.

 

“Indeed, with the disciple’s technical skills, even those children would have had no choice.”

 

Casen smiled with peace of mind.

 

Had he felt such satisfaction recently?

 

This young disciple who had suddenly appeared had a very familiar atmosphere about him.

 

He was strangely reassuring too.

 

As if he were looking at Master.

 

‘Truly a curious thing.’

 

He never would have thought he’d sense Master’s shadow in such a young man.

 

“I’ve sent our intentions to the Blue Tower. The Tower Master should have confirmed it by now.”

 

“Good.”

 

During their stay in Ate, Sion and Casen had several in-depth conversations.

 

And the Workshop Alliance and the Blue Tower decided to become good partners with each other.

 

Casen spoke to Sion with an expression full of regret.

 

“The popularization of magic engineering was Master’s dream. He passed away without being able to achieve it in the end.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I didn’t have that level of capability. But you’re different, disciple. You’re still young, your goal is firm, and you were born with the talent to achieve it.”

 

Casen’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

 

Of course, there was also a bit of wistfulness.

 

“You can do it.”

 

Casen said with his wrinkled face.

 

Sion felt sorry for such a disciple, but hid his inner feelings and nodded.

 

“You don’t need to worry.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Casen nodded at Sion’s words.

 

Silence continued between the two.

 

“And that…”

 

Casen hesitated as if he had something to say.

 

Sion chuckled softly and said.

 

“Is it about Eira?”

 

“….”

 

“If it’s about her, you don’t need to worry. I’ll take responsibility and watch over that child so she doesn’t go astray.”

 

Sion answered thus while looking at Casen.

 

His first reunion with his disciple in Sion Rostery’s body.

 

It had been almost 20 years.

 

Those 20 years had changed far too many things.

 

They had made the kind and considerate Casen lose his composure.

 

The Casen he knew would have tried to be more considerate and understanding of his daughter.

 

But Casen after Altair’s disappearance had become impatient and lacking in consideration.

 

As a result, he forced the path he had decided upon her and harbored excessive hatred toward the Council.

 

‘…Such sentimentality. Really, this isn’t like me.’

 

At such thoughts from Sion, Akasha teasingly agreed.

 

[You did originally live rather inhumanly, Human.]

 

‘Shut up.’

 

[You’re like that even when I’m telling the truth.]

 

Ignoring the grumbling Akasha, Sion fell into thought once more.

 

…He didn’t know.

 

Originally, he wasn’t the type to be delicate enough to empathize with his disciple’s feelings like this.

 

Had something changed in the process of living in Sion’s body?

 

That was unknowable.

 

But perhaps such things didn’t matter.

 

Because right now, his desire to help his disciple was strong.

 

These human relationships, especially matters concerning family, were the area he was least confident in.

 

That’s why he stepped forward into that area where he was least confident.

 

“The proper parents I know are the type who don’t force their will upon their children.”

 

“Is this a lecture?”

 

“Rather than a lecture, let’s say it’s something I’m saying as that child’s teacher.”

 

Sion looked at Casen calmly.

 

His disciple’s eyes were trembling violently.

 

And though he didn’t show it….

 

Sion himself was also unfamiliar with this kind of situation in many ways.

 

How would be the best way to speak?

 

After a moment’s consideration, he decided to use Altair’s name.

 

“I mentioned that I was with Master during his final moments.”

 

“…You did.”

 

“As Master’s death drew near, he would often recall the past.”

 

It wasn’t entirely untrue.

 

Because Altair had indeed done so.

 

“…What did he say?”

 

“I was worried.”

 

Having said that much, Sion paused for a moment to consider his next words.

 

It was truly difficult.

 

But soon he organized his thoughts and opened his mouth.

 

“He hoped that you, senior brother, would not become like him.”

 

“Like… Master?”

 

Casen’s eyes trembled.

 

He wondered if this was right. What if he spoke carelessly and ended up ruining his disciple instead?

 

But one of Altair’s strengths was being shameless.

 

And this time too, he decided to act somewhat shamelessly.

 

“Master was inexperienced in relationships with disciples. And Master’s criteria for choosing disciples wasn’t something like affection.”

 

“…Talent.”

 

“Yes, that’s how Master was.”

 

Altair was like that.

 

Good or bad aside, Altair wasn’t particularly skilled at human relationships.

 

So he compensated for his lacking human relationships with natural talent.

 

“But only at the end did Master realize. That he had never once given his disciples what they had so desperately wanted.”

 

“That’s…!”

 

“Master worried that his disciples might inherit that aspect of himself.”

 

At those words, Casen’s expression crumbled for the first time.

 

“Ah…”

 

“Disciples resemble their masters. Master’s worry was never excessive.”

 

At those words, Casen grimaced.

 

“From what I can see, senior brother is not a good father.”

 

“…”

 

“But you could become a good father. Because senior brother has an opportunity.”

 

What circumstances led Casen to force the craftsman’s path on Eira wasn’t particularly important.

 

What mattered was that Casen was inexperienced as a father, and the opportunity to turn that around still existed.

 

At least the Eira that Sion had seen might resent her father, but she didn’t hate him.

 

“I don’t know. Whether there will be an opportunity…”

 

“It’s fine. If there isn’t one, we can create it.”

 

“Create one?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Sion spoke with conviction.

 

“Making the impossible happen is my specialty, after all.”

 

“…Haha.”

 

Casen stared blankly at Sion, then let out a hollow laugh.

 

“How strange. Why… do I keep seeing Master in a disciple who’s much younger than me?”

 

“Because I’ve watched him closely. Perhaps I’ve come to resemble him without realizing it.”

 

“…Perhaps so.”

 

Casen nodded his head heavily.

 

This much conversation was sufficient.

 

All the necessary words had been conveyed.

 

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

 

Sion rose from his seat.

 

Just as he was about to leave the room, Casen spoke.

 

“Ah, one last thing.”

 

Casen opened his mouth toward Sion, who had stopped in place.

 

“We have never resented Master. Not even once.”

 

“….”

 

For a moment, Sion hesitated.

 

Then he nodded with a faint smile.

 

As Altair, he had believed so.

 

* * *

 

Eira was feeling rather troubled today.

 

It wasn’t for any other reason.

 

“…Why are you following us, mister?”

 

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

 

On the way back to the Blue Tower.

 

She was riding in a carriage.

 

Not just any ordinary carriage, but a ‘Self-Moving Carriage’ independently developed by Ate.

 

Up to this point, it was fine.

 

The problem was the people accompanying them in that carriage.

 

Eira looked around with sunken eyes.

 

There weren’t just one unexpected companion, but a whopping eight more people.

 

The Craftsman, who was subtly avoiding Eira’s gaze with an extremely uncomfortable expression.

 

And Eira turned her gaze toward Sion, following the realization she had learned through her experiences so far.

 

“What is this, Teacher?”

 

“What do you mean what. These are precious personnel who will be moving into the Main Tower starting today.”

 

“…Does the Tower Master know?”

 

“He’ll find out when we arrive, won’t he?”

 

“….”

 

Watching Sion answer nonchalantly, Eira squeezed her eyes shut.

 

She had realized recently that she shouldn’t expect common sense from this person.

 

If she expected him to move according to normal thinking, she would inevitably be betrayed.

 

“But wait, mister.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“You hate mages, don’t you? Even when you first met Teacher, you said all sorts of things just because he was a mage.”

 

“Th, that’s right.”

 

“But why are you suddenly going to the Blue Tower with Teacher? And all the other uncles are similar people too.”

 

She suddenly thought that she’d been showing her emotions quite a lot lately, but she continued speaking without paying attention to that.

 

“Don’t call me young lady or anything like that when we get to the Tower.”

 

“Ahem….”

 

“Please. Really.”

 

At those words, the craftsmen nodded their heads for now.

 

Whether it would really turn out that way was uncertain, but they nodded anyway.

 

Thus, the carriage carrying them moved toward the Blue Tower.

 

* * *

 

Lumia was in a good mood today as well.

 

No, in fact, she was in a better mood today than ever before.

 

“Hehe, the Workshop Alliance!”

 

A contract with none other than the Workshop Alliance!

 

Cooperation with workshops was exactly what was needed for the Blue Tower’s direction anyway.

 

It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried.

 

The problem was that they had all been rejected.

 

But when Sion went, the contract was made like magic.

 

“As expected of Sion!”

 

“Exactly!”

 

And the Vice Tower Master, Serentia, also responded cheerfully.

 

Right, good things are good, aren’t they?

 

“Taking Sion as a mentor was definitely a good choice!”

 

“…Mentor?”

 

“Yes! I’m learning diligently!”

 

The smile gradually faded from Serentia’s lips, who had been laughing happily just moments before.

 

‘Is this really… good?’

 

Somehow it didn’t seem right.

 

The Blue Tower prospering was good, but wouldn’t she be picking up bad habits?

 

But she also had the opposite thought.

 

‘Actually, isn’t Lumia achieving species evolution in a direction with higher survival rates?’

 

In reality, Lumia up until now had been too naive to survive as the Tower Master of the Blue Tower.

 

Perhaps this direction might be the right one.

 

“Oh, come to think of it, sister.”

 

“Mm?”

 

“Lately, Nerin has been sending fewer letters. I wonder if something happened?”

 

“Ah, that….”

 

Serentia’s expression became strange.

 

Nerin was originally a mage who served as a teacher at the Blue Tower, giving lectures to students.

 

But one day, she ran out of the Tower, saying she would find a way to save the Blue Tower.

 

And she had been periodically sending survival reports through letters.

 

After Nerin left, Serentia felt both regret and relief at the same time.

 

Because Nerin was that kind of person.

 

– Did you know?! Humans only use 10% of their brains!

 

– That’s probably not true.

 

– Oh, and they say if you close all the doors in a room and use wind magic, you could suffocate! Let’s use wind magic with the doors open!

 

– …What?

 

Thinking about the things she had done at the Blue Tower gave her a headache.

 

‘Come to think of it, I’m a bit worried.’

 

More precisely, she was worried about the victims who would get caught up in her affairs rather than Nerin herself.

 

‘But she definitely stopped sending letters suddenly.’

 

The news from Nerin, who had always diligently sent letters to inform her of her current situation, had suddenly stopped?

 

This meant…

 

“Huh?”

 

Lumia, who had been giggling happily in her bliss, tilted her head.

 

“Sister, someone’s coming.”

 

“Hm?”

 

As soon as those words ended.

 

CRASH!

 

Something fell with a thunderous sound, and dust clouds spread thickly.

 

“What, what is it?! Is it an enemy?”

 

An, an enemy?! There’s such a thing?”

 

The students who had been practicing magic at the Blue Tower jumped up in shock.

 

Lumia and Serentia also hurriedly headed toward the crash site.

 

And slowly, the dust cleared and someone began to approach.

 

It was…

 

“Hey guys!”

 

“…Nerin?”

 

Serentia’s face immediately contorted.

 

The heretic of the magic world.

 

The master of pseudo-magic studies.

 

A beauty if only she would keep her mouth shut…

 

A woman truly called by many names.

 

“Yes! Nerin is here!”

 

It was the return of Nerin, another teacher of the Blue Tower.

—————
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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