The AI Archmage - Chapter 59
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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 59
“S-Sion? What on earth are you saying right now…?”
“Ah, of course I don’t mean a real engagement. Do you think I’m crazy enough to do that with the Tower Master?”
After being suddenly confessed to by Sion, Lumia stared at him with her mouth agape, looking stunned.
“Do you perhaps dislike me?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then why on earth…?”
“This kind of baseless confession would be a nuisance to both of us. No matter what, I wouldn’t seriously confess in a situation like this.”
“Ah, yes.”
Lumia felt her hand holding the tea cup trembling, but she nodded for now.
It felt like something in her heart had broken in that very brief moment, but she decided to smile anyway.
“Haha, so? Why did you suddenly mention engagement…?”
“Have you heard that Hayden Kaul was chosen as the Magic Council’s envoy?”
“What?”
At those words, Lumia’s expression instantly hardened.
It was a cold attitude she had never shown in front of Sion, except for when she was first ignored by him.
“Hayden? That bastard… was chosen as the Council’s envoy?”
“Yes, it seems the Council has heard news about the Main Tower. And they appear to be planning something using Hayden.”
“…”
Lumia’s eyes trembled as she organized her thoughts before speaking.
“It’s probably the opposite.”
“You mean it wasn’t the Council appointing Hayden as envoy first, but rather Hayden requested it?”
“Yes, from the Council’s perspective, there’s no reason to refuse his request. If someone’s volunteering to play the hunting dog role, why would they refuse?”
Lumia continued with a cold smile.
“This time he’s probably planning to use the Council’s power as backing to firmly grasp the Main Tower’s leash and do something to me.”
“…Hmm.”
Based on Lumia’s reaction, it seemed the information Akasha had provided was correct.
He had been bothering Lumia with his courtship for a long time, and from Lumia’s perspective, just thinking about him now seemed irritating.
“It wasn’t originally this kind of relationship. There was a time when I treated him with respect as a senior, but human affairs are truly unpredictable.”
“Since the Tower Master knows him well, there’s no need for lengthy explanations.”
“…What?”
“Tower Master, there are many varied reasons why people lose their rationality in this world.”
Sion spoke seriously while looking at Lumia, who had an expression asking what nonsense he was talking about.
“And among those reasons, romantic entanglements occupy a considerable portion.”
“Ah, yes.”
“So I’m suggesting we pretend to be engaged for now. To make Hayden furious.”
“…”
At those words, Lumia scratched her head. Honestly speaking, it seemed like a pretty useless thing to do.
Even though she was analyzing Sion and trying to absorb his strengths somehow, this kind of thing was completely beyond analysis.
“Uh… but aren’t there some other methods too?”
“What do you mean?”
“For example, what if Sion just uses magic to unilaterally crush that Hayden guy…?”
“Tower Master, with that kind of method, he can just claim a mental victory and be done with it. If you falsely accuse him of using Mind Magic or something like that, surprisingly, it rarely causes any real psychological damage.”
Sion wasn’t trying to do this for no reason.
He didn’t need to worry much about it, yet he could definitely get on Hayden’s nerves.
There’s nothing easier to deal with than an enemy whose rationality has crumbled.
“We need to completely destroy his brain. You can trust me and proceed with this. I can control Hayden Kaul’s emotions.”
“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you.”
Lumia continued with a reluctant voice.
“…I don’t know if you realize this, but if we mess this up, it could just become a fait accompli?”
“It’s fine. We can quickly break off the engagement.”
“Ah, the day after we finish the job?”
“That’s right. Looking at things lately, cases of people getting married and divorced in a single day are common, so what’s there to say about an engagement?”
At Sion’s answer without a moment’s hesitation, Lumia pressed her forehead firmly.
No, well… it wasn’t completely unreasonable.
If she just ignored a few concerning points, it wouldn’t be bad to proceed with it.
Right, there was nothing bad about it.
But.
‘Is this… right?’
She couldn’t stop this all-too-valid doubt from circling in Lumia’s mind.
While she was lost in such deep contemplation, the door burst open and Serentia entered.
“Lumia, did you hear?! Right now Hayden Kaul is… huh?”
Serentia’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Sion and Lumia inside.
“Why are you here, Sion?”
“Ah, it’s about the engagement issue.”
“…You’re getting engaged?”
“I’m just thinking of doing it.”
“With whom?”
“With the Tower Master.”
At this stream-of-consciousness conversation, Serentia briefly wondered if there was some part of the dialogue she had failed to follow.
But there wasn’t.
And shortly after, Serentia quickly utilized her ‘Sion Handling Method’ to eliminate the source of the problem.
“Fighting!”
It becomes easier if you eliminate the option of worrying about Sion’s problems.
That was the truth Serentia had felt during the nearly month she had known and spent time with Sion.
* * *
“Good, I got permission for now.”
[…Well, that’s true.]
Akasha asked cautiously.
[Will it be alright, Human?]
“Of course it’ll be fine.”
Sion continued speaking.
“What matters anyway is that I become Hayden Kaul’s target instead of the Tower Master.”
[A target. Well, the moment the label of ‘engagement’ is attached, Human becomes the first person Hayden Kaul needs to eliminate.]
“Jealousy is simple, but depending on the situation, it can be used quite effectively.”
He had grasped rough information about Hayden Kaul. That bastard had come to see Lumia several times regularly.
Thoroughly in private.
He hadn’t heard the details, but the process was obvious.
He must have pressured Lumia by bringing up the Red Tower or the Council.
In any case, one thing was certain.
Hayden Kaul harbored twisted affection for Lumia. And Lumia didn’t welcome it.
Moreover, even if she hated Hayden Kaul, responding directly wouldn’t be good.
At least not now.
‘If the Blue Tower Master moves directly, even that could be exploited by the Red Tower.’
In short, what was needed was justification.
He needed to create justification that would make it difficult for the Council or Red Tower to intervene, and use it to bring down Hayden Kaul.
However, he definitely needed to create an atmosphere convincing enough for Hayden Kaul to believe it.
[But if he’s a disciple of a Magic Tower Master and from a Marquis family, he wouldn’t be completely oblivious. Is it really possible?]
“I’m actually planning to make some preparations for that.”
[Preparations? What kind?]
To Akasha’s question, Sion said nonchalantly.
“It means I won’t be deceiving just Hayden Kaul alone.”
[Huh?]
Akasha tilted her head in confusion.
And Akasha’s doubt was resolved before long.
* * *
“So what you’re saying is… to properly spread the news of your engagement with Lumia, that child?”
“Yes, specifically so that Hayden Kaul, who will visit the Main Tower in the near future, hears this news.”
“Hmm…”
Barean pressed his forehead firmly.
Lately, whenever he looked at this junior, he felt that he acted in truly unpredictable directions.
‘I never would have thought he’d secure a contract with the Workshop Alliance from a thoroughly superior position.’
Sion achieved incredible results in everything he did, putting the Blue Tower back on track in a short time.
This was… quite remarkable even from Barean’s perspective, having witnessed the Blue Tower’s golden age.
The Blue Tower in its golden age had abundant talent.
Among those who came to mind immediately, there was also a certain senior who had practically served as Vice Tower Master.
But even that remarkable senior seemed to pale in comparison to Sion.
Besides that senior, there was also a peer with outstanding talent.
Someone with an aptitude for fire magic, who got caught up in the Red Tower’s greed…
‘Damn it.’
As he recalled him, Barean’s face contorted.
It was because he was reminded of that day when the Blue Tower fell.
It couldn’t be helped.
“To be honest, your plan seems a bit… how should I put it, inefficient, but you’ve already proven yourself right countless times.”
“Thank you for trusting me.”
“However.”
Barean spoke to Sion with a somewhat hardened expression.
“Don’t underestimate the Magic Council. I acknowledge your abilities, but the Council is not to be taken lightly.”
“I understand.”
“Before the Blue Tower fell, we too had our confidence. The confidence that we could at least hold our ground without being defeated.”
Barean’s hands trembled as he recalled that day.
…It was a nightmare.
He was on the verge of reaching the 7th Circle and was recognized among mages, yet he was defeated with frustrating ease.
The same went for other Blue Tower mages.
The level of Blue Tower mages at that time was very high.
Under Belusian’s leadership, they were recognized as one of the Four Great Magic Towers, and during Belusian’s lifetime, they were among the most powerful of the Four Great Magic Towers.
But the results of the consecutive duels were truly shocking.
“All our magic was dispelled with frustrating simplicity. To be honest, even I couldn’t understand how our magic was being broken.”
“They certainly weren’t ordinary opponents.”
“That’s when I realized. Even as one of the Four Great Magic Towers, we were helpless before the ‘Council.’ The Council’s very existence is the history of Continental magic. Regardless of good or evil, the weight of magic they’ve accumulated is heavier than anything else.”
“…”
Sion did not dismiss Barean’s warning.
Because he knew the Council’s fearsome nature better than anyone.
He had never underestimated the Council.
However.
“It’s because I know the Council is fearsome that I’m doing this.”
“…Hmm?”
“The Magic Council’s history was built through long-established orthodox theories. They’ve reached today based on thoroughly refined theories.”
That’s why the Council responds more skillfully than anyone to noble houses and ‘orthodox problems’ of the Continent.
It was the same when dealing with Altair.
Altair attempted to spread magic engineering at the same level as the Council.
He created the Workshop Alliance and tried to achieve his dream by pressuring the Council through the power he had built up.
Those were very orthodox responses.
Altair’s genius made countless impossible things possible.
However, even that genius couldn’t bring down the solid tower that the Magic Council had built.
After experiencing that one failure, there was one lesson learned from the process.
“If you try to face the Council with the rules the Council has established, there’s no chance of winning. That’s certain.”
“…Even if it’s a ridiculous method, you’ll respond in a way the Council doesn’t expect?”
“Yes.”
And the side using that ridiculous method holds a variable the Council doesn’t expect.
Namely, the variable called ‘Sion Rostery.’
“I won’t move according to the Council’s expectations. I shouldn’t either.”
“…I see.”
Barean nodded at Sion’s words.
He had thought this junior often acted strangely and unexpectedly.
But.
‘It was needless worry. What am I trying to advise from a position of having been defeated once.’
Barean smiled bitterly to himself and stood up.
Now that he had confirmed his junior’s thoughts, there was no major concern.
“Ah, but Senior.”
“Hmm…?”
“Could you give me some information about the next senior who needs help?”
Sion said with a grin, as if he was now ready.
“It seems like it’s time to start taking them back one by one in order.”
“…!”
Barean’s eyes wavered.
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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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