The AI Archmage - Chapter 7

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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 7

Sion walked down the corridor, praising himself.

“Akasha, remember this. Even with such simple methods, one can secure a teaching position at the Magic Tower.”

[Ah, yes…]

Akasha could have written roughly 5,700 characters worth of rebuttal, but didn’t voice it out loud.

[That aside, what will you do? Earlier, there was one rather concerning reaction among the students.]

“It’s fine. They’ll figure it out on their own.”

[…Will that be enough?]

“That much will do.”

Sion said with a chuckle.

“Either way, I’ve prepared countermeasures.”

[Well, if that’s what you say, human, I won’t say anything more.]

As he walked along having this trivial conversation with Akasha.

“Teacher Sion.”

When he turned his head at the sudden voice from behind, there stood Tult, the student who had clashed with him earlier.

“Oh, isn’t it student Tult?”

Sion greeted Tult warmly, but he seemed not to care about that.

He simply asked briefly with a determined expression.

“When will classes begin?”

“I wouldn’t know that.”

“When they do, please make sure to include me in those classes.”

At those words, Sion looked at Tult with interested eyes.

“Earlier, weren’t you ready to beat me up right away? Saying I insulted the Tower Master.”

“You said you solved it well.”

“That’s true.”

“Then you must have solved it well, I suppose.”

At Tult’s nonchalant reaction, Sion nodded in admiration.

“You’ve got potential, you. I haven’t often seen someone so shamelessly change their tune like this.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You saw what I’ve done so far. That’s not going anywhere, yet you still want to learn from me?”

“Of course.”

Tult had an expression that said ‘what are you talking about?’

“Whatever your past was like, teacher, your skills and knowledge aren’t going anywhere, are they?”

“That’s true.”

“If I can learn, I should learn. Isn’t that the spirit of a mage? Where is there good or evil in knowledge?”

At those words, Sion showed a satisfied expression.

It could be seen as dangerous in some ways, but it was an extremely mage-like answer.

“I like it.”

“Is that so?”

“You, have you thought about becoming a teaching assistant?”

“That’s a bit much…”

A moment of sanity returned to Tult’s eyes as he gave an abnormal response.

“I just want to learn.”

“That’s a shame. You seemed like the perfect talent for a teaching assistant.”

With this level of shamelessness, he could easily handle the work Sion would delegate.

But that was something they could discuss again later.

“I’ll keep it in mind for now.”

“Thank you.”

Tult bowed his head to Sion without any hesitation, expressing his gratitude.

There truly wasn’t a trace of resentment left.

“Still, it went more smoothly than I expected. I thought I might have to bang my head on the ground.”

“You were thinking of banging your head. I wouldn’t mind if you did it now?”

“…Should I bang it?”

Tult glanced at Sion cautiously as he spoke.

His expression showed none of the previous bloodthirsty look.

Should I say he’s quick to read the situation?

Or perhaps.

‘Once he makes a judgment, is he the type who doesn’t hesitate?’

Well, either way didn’t matter.

At least knowing that he was favorably disposed toward him wasn’t a bad thing.

“Never mind. I don’t have such hobbies. Instead, let me ask you something. How are the students reacting?”

“It’s roughly half and half. About half are impressed or intrigued by your performance, teacher, while the other half still find you disagreeable.”

“I see. So there are that many who need some ‘tough love.'”

“Still, it’s much better than before. Previously, the perception that you were just a disgrace to the Tower was absolute. Compared to then, it’s like heaven and earth.”

It seemed there was the level of change Sion had expected.

“Still, you should be cautious. While I just charged in recklessly and got beaten up by you openly, teacher, there are some among them who might try to harm you in underhanded ways.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Sion nodded and then asked again subtly.

“So, no thoughts about becoming a teaching assistant?”

“Please spare me…”

Tult ended up slamming his head to the floor, even though he didn’t bow properly.

* * *

The next day.

“Congratulations on becoming a 3-month unpaid teacher, Teacher Sion.”

“There’s no need to emphasize the 3-month unpaid part, Tower Master.”

“Of course, Teacher Sion the unpaid.”

Lumia once again fixated on the word “unpaid” as she looked at Sion.

This meeting is only accessible to executive-level members of the Blue Tower.

Total attendees… 3 people.

Sion looked back and forth between the Tower Master and Sub-Tower Master, then clicked his tongue.

“The Blue Tower really went to hell. To think there are only three of us, including me, in this spacious conference room.”

“Even so, you can’t imagine how relieved I am that Teacher Sion agreed to work for 3 months without pay.”

“I told you not to emphasize that.”

Lumia’s words emphasizing the unpaid work revealed an indescribable desperation.

“Oh, and I should correct one misunderstanding. Sion isn’t the only teacher in the Main Tower.”

“I figured as much.”

“There’s one more, so including Sion, that makes two people.”

“Damn it.”

Sion truly realized that the Blue Tower had definitely gone to hell.

Lumia looked at Sion, sniffled, and said.

“Now you understand why I’m so obsessed with unpaid work, right?”

“Even if you say that, after 3 months there’s no mercy.”

“Sob…”

Lumia hung her head with a tearful expression.

Akasha, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, spoke.

[It’s more of a mess than I thought.]

‘You’re telling me.’

[Of course, being ostracized by the Magic Academia leaves no way to survive. Considering that, maybe we should say they’ve endured well…]

Then, Lumia spoke.

“Now that Sion has officially become a teacher of the Blue Tower, I’ll explain the Tower’s situation.”

“I think I can guess without you telling me. The facilities inside the Tower aren’t working properly, you’re barely surviving on support funds from the Main Family, but the Main Family is using that as leverage to attempt serious interference in the Blue Tower’s internal affairs, right?”

“…You know well.”

Lumia deflated once again.

Watching Lumia, Sub-Tower Master Serentia let out a small sigh and took over the conversation.

“It’s as Sion said. The Main Tower’s current situation is precarious. We’re somehow enduring for now, but we can’t even guarantee the future just a few months ahead.”

“Well, finances are rock bottom, and the sponsors who are our lifeline are full of greed to devour the Blue Tower. It’s not like the Blue Tower’s land is particularly good either.”

The land owned by the Blue Tower isn’t suitable for farming. Nor is it a transportation hub where commerce could develop.

Serentia sighed and said.

“To be honest, I can’t think of any way to develop the Tower through normal means. All normal methods have been blocked by the Magic Council.”

“And you don’t want to do anything that goes against the law either.”

“Yes, because if we did, that history would inevitably come back to haunt us. Besides, I’m not confident we could properly maintain those boundaries.”

“…Hmm.”

Sion fell into thought for a moment at Serentia’s words.

He had already grasped the situation to some extent.

As the Sub-Tower Master said, it was impossible to revive the Tower through normal means.

Then, Lumia spoke.

“…Of course, the Red Tower did express their intention to support us conditionally.”

“That doesn’t seem like it would be with good intentions.”

“Yes. They demanded two conditions. To publicly deny Altair and his direction, and for me to become engaged to the Red Tower’s successor.”

“Those bastards.”

Serentia said through gritted teeth.

“They’re trying to use the Main Tower as their chess piece. They’re demanding our submission. Moreover, the obsession that Hayden, that bastard successor of the Red Tower, has for Lumia is…!”

“Sister.”

Lumia stopped Serentia’s words with a quiet voice.

“You don’t need to say any more. I have no intention of accepting his words.”

“…Y-yes.”

Serentia, as if respecting Lumia, said no more.

However, unable to hide her feelings about the Red Tower, her shoulders trembled for quite a while.

Sion nodded his head while watching this scene.

“Good. I roughly understand what kind of situation this is.”

“Hah, of course, even knowing the facts won’t produce any good solutions. So for now…”

“Tower Master.”

Sion interrupted Lumia’s words and asked.

“Let me ask just one thing. What is the direction you ultimately want for the Magic Tower?”

“…Excuse me?”

At those words, Lumia’s eyes widened.

The direction I ultimately want?

That would be…

“To carry on my master’s will, right? My master’s goal was a magical society where everyone would be given equal opportunities in magic.”

“An idealistic goal.”

“Yes, and that goal could have actually been achieved. Altair nearly realized it in practice.”

Lumia let out a bitter smile.

“In the end, we couldn’t overcome the fierce opposition from Magic Academia.”

“That was unfortunate.”

“That’s why I find you interesting, Sion. You clearly know about grimoires, or rather, going further than that…”

Lumia’s eyes sparkled.

“You know the New Generation Engineering Theory that Altair established, ‘Altair Engineering.’ Isn’t that right?”

Lumia’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

It was a natural reaction.

Because Altair Engineering had tremendous potential.

As Belusian’s disciple, she would know this to some extent.

Of course, it was ultimately terminated due to the Magic Council’s oppression.

[A natural conclusion. They’ve taken the bait that Human has been laying out beautifully.]

Hearing Akasha’s words, Sion nodded.

“I won’t deny it.”

There was no reason to hide it.

For his purpose, he rather needed to reveal something about himself to some extent.

“I can’t tell you the detailed circumstances. But I have extensive knowledge about Altair Engineering.”

“As I thought…!”

“I could help the Blue Tower. But there’s a prerequisite for that.”

“What is it?”

Sion said with a smile.

“From now on, you must trust me completely.”

“…Completely?”

Lumia made a rather reluctant expression, but Sion spoke with a good-natured smile.

“Don’t worry. I’m currently making this proposal to the Tower Master with pure good intentions.”

“…Pure?”

“Yes, pure.”

Lumia tilted her head, but soon nodded.

In her current situation, she didn’t really have much choice anyway.

“Then, if I trust you completely, what’s your plan?”

“Well, first we need to strengthen our foundation.”

Sion continued speaking.

“The ideal goal the Tower Master desires is ultimately to be able to produce Grimoires stably.”

“That’s right.”

“But can the Blue Tower actually do that right now?”

“That’s… impossible.”

Mass production of Magic Tools isn’t easy even for the top workshops on the Continent when they put their minds to it.

A thoroughly planned system.

Machines for mass-producing Magic Tools.

And even the manpower to operate those machines…

Currently, the Blue Tower has none of these.

Far from it, even its very existence as a Magic Tower is being threatened.

“B-but can strengthening our foundation really solve this situation?”

“It can definitely be solved.”

Sion grinned and continued.

“It seems like it’s about time I keep the promise I made with the Tower Master.”

“Promise… you mean?”

“Yes, Archmage Belusian’s Secret Repository. But actually, ‘Workshop’ might be a more accurate expression than Secret Repository.”

At those words, Lumia and Serentia’s eyes widened greatly.

The Archmage’s Workshop.

A fact that even Lumia, who serves as the Blue Tower’s Tower Master as his direct disciple and successor, didn’t know.

Lumia asked stammering.

“R-right now… we’re going?”

“Yes, there’s no reason to delay.”

Sion answered with an expression that said ‘what an obvious thing to say.’

“Aren’t you curious? What kind of ‘secret’ your master hid in that Secret Repository.”

“Ah.”

Lumia’s eyes wavered.

Sion sensed various emotions in Lumia’s eyes.

Confusion, doubt, questions.

And greater than all of those….

“I’m curious.”

Curiosity.

The thirst for knowledge that every mage must possess moved Lumia’s lips on their own.

“Good. Let’s depart.”

Sion nodded with satisfaction at Lumia’s reaction and rose from his seat.

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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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