The AI Archmage - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Grand Mage 72

There was a name circulating through the Magic Society these days, whispered here and there.
Blue Tower.
Those who knew something of it would say the same thing upon hearing the name.
— What? Isn’t that some washed-up Magic Tower from ages ago?
It had its day once, perhaps, but now it was a has-been—a Magic Tower whose name scarcely crossed anyone’s lips.
Yet among those who knew “much more”—those at the level of a Magic Tower Master, say—the conversation took a different turn.
— I’ve been hearing lately that something unusual is stirring at the Blue Tower.
— Ah yes, now that you mention it, there was that recent business with the Artisan Union…….
It had reached the point where even those of Tower Master rank were speaking of it.
Naturally, most of what was said carried little warmth.
And yet among them, there were always those who saw such circumstances as an opportunity.
“Hmm, the Blue Tower, you say…….”
The one who heard this news smiled and hurried toward the Blue Tower.
Covertly, so that no one would notice.

* * *

How did Lumia, the Tower Master herself, react to this audacious plan to employ Workshop Craftsmen dispatched to the Blue Tower as teachers?
The answer was simple.
“Thank you!”
Not a moment’s hesitation.
She too had been concerned about the limited range of courses available.
Thus the craftsmen took their historic place among the Blue Tower’s teaching staff.
Dute was rather bewildered.
‘What is this.’
Before he knew it, he’d signed a contract and now found himself facing an imminent lecture.
How had this come to pass?
Truth be told, he had little sense of how to conduct a lecture at all.
There was something similar he’d done before, with the Workshop Craftsmen.
— Are your hands decorative? Is that what you call finishing work now……!?
— Why did you omit this from the design? If that’s your approach, turn in your Workshop credentials, you brat!
‘Hmm, that won’t help here.’
If he spoke that way here, he’d catch Sion’s fist by day’s end.
“Dute, have you given any thought to what you’ll teach?”
Hanjar posed the question gently. Sion hadn’t given them time to prepare—he’d simply thrown them into the Lecture Hall with assurances they’d do fine—and had even conjured up lecture titles seemingly at random and recruited students without consulting them.
He’d managed the whole affair with uncanny efficiency.
“Well, we’ll just teach what was planned—an understanding of Magic Device Design…… that should be it, shouldn’t it?”
“……That seems wise.”
Of course, the craftsmen were not here to teach mages Magic.
That wasn’t what Sion had asked of them in the first place.
What the craftsmen were meant to teach was none other than Magic Tools themselves.
The design of Magic Tools.
If they could help their students understand design without necessarily teaching them how to craft, then broader application of Magic Tools would become possible.
Yet even so, the craftsmen harbored no great expectations that this “lecture” would succeed.
There was an invisible hierarchy between Magic Tool Craftsmen and Mages—that was fundamental.
A Magic Tool Craftsman teaching Mages?
It simply didn’t happen.
No matter how much respect individual Mages might show for craftsmen, they never truly regarded them as teachers.
For most Mages, Magic Tool Craftsmen were merely convenient servants—those who made useful things. Nothing more, nothing less.
They had never conceived of teaching Mages. Not once.
This time would be no different.
“Right. There’s nothing special about it.”
“Hanjar speaks truth.”
The craftsmen exchanged remarks and laid bare their distrust.
“Why would haughty Mages seek instruction from the likes of us?”
The craftsmen were uniformly skeptical.
It was a natural reaction—less prejudice than a simple reflection of how Mages were generally perceived.
With half anxiety and half tension in his heart, Dute stepped into the lecture hall.
“W-what on…….”
They stood slack-jawed at the sheer number of students packed into the lecture hall.
Contrary to their expectations, the students had filled every seat and were preparing to listen intently.
‘What on earth?’
The craftsmen couldn’t hide their bewilderment. But why on earth……?
Had they somehow wandered into the wrong lecture hall?
That had to be it.
Why would mages voluntarily attend a class taught by magical tool craftsmen like themselves?
They lingered uncertainly at the entrance.
Then it happened.
“Well? Aren’t you coming in?”
Eira looked down at them with an expression of exasperation.
The moment the craftsmen saw Eira, they all instinctively began to speak.
“Young La——”
“Come. In. Now.”
Eira’s eyes flashed as she cut them off with an uncanny precision, her voice sharp.
At her words, the craftsmen realized they hadn’t walked into the wrong room after all.
Which somehow made it harder to believe.
‘But why would mages……?’
Still, Dute managed to make his way onto the platform. The eyes of the Blue Tower students snapped toward him in unison.
‘What should I even say?’
He hadn’t come completely unprepared. To be safe, he’d thought through some material for the lecture beforehand.
“I-I’m pleased to be here.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The moment he spoke, the students responded as though they’d been waiting for nothing else.
Dute’s eyes widened without his realizing it.
Not a single student in this lecture hall—despite being mages—showed him any contempt.
They simply gazed at him with bright eyes, hungry for new knowledge.
And above all, they were showing him respect.
The humiliation he’d grown accustomed to feeling in the presence of mages was entirely absent.
‘Ah.’
In that moment, standing on the platform, the craftsmen felt an emotion rise from deep within their chests—one they had no words for.
The mages of this place did not treat craftsmen with contempt.
More precisely, that was the Blue Tower’s direction.
In the world the Blue Tower envisioned, magical tool craftsmen were not beings destined to be scorned by mages.
The Blue Tower was a world where craftsmen of true mastery were respected as craftsmen.
‘Ah.’
In that instant, Dute understood why Sion had specifically entrusted him with this lecture.
‘I see.’
Dute smiled faintly and slowly opened his mouth.
“My name is Dute. I’m the owner of the 3-Star Workshop in Ate.”
“Ooh!”
The students’ eyes shone brightly as they looked at him.
They genuinely admired the fact that Dute was a craftsman—and moreover, the owner of a 3-Star Workshop.
“And these friends here are all craftsmen with 3-Star-level skill. I believe they’ll be able to help you greatly.”
Words flowed from his lips of their own accord.
He continued speaking as naturally as if he’d been doing this all along, meeting the students’ eyes.
“Then, let’s begin the lesson.”

* * *

[Human, the craftsmen have successfully begun their lecture.]
Hearing Akasha’s report, Sion chuckled softly.
Those fellows who do things well always pull off stunts like this.
[Was this your aim all along?]
“What?”
[Showing the craftsmen the Blue Tower’s vision—so that they would cooperate not merely because of a contract, but because they’ve seen the Tower’s legacy and chosen to do so.]
“That’s right.”
Sion made no move to refute Akasha’s words.
There was no particular need to.
Of course he’d intended to recruit additional teachers, but there was a reason he’d entrusted that role to Dute and the other craftsmen instead.
In any case, cooperation yielded its best results when both parties genuinely wanted it.
“You’ve probably figured it out already. That the Blue Tower’s success will yield fairly meaningful results for the craftsmen as well.”
[That much is certainly true.]
“And building your artificial body will give them more enthusiasm for it. You can thank me if you like.”
[No, not particularly.]
“I see.”
Akasha’s tone was cold.
[As for the artificial body, I don’t concern myself much with it, since I don’t trust humans in that regard.]
“Is that so.”
[The human had no issue treating me thoroughly as a tool. After all, they created me and hold control over me.]
Akasha continued in an even voice.
[They could have even prevented me from ever becoming self-aware. To be frank, if it were merely a matter of convenience, my self-awareness would hold no value whatsoever to the human.]
……
[But the human did not do that. I am genuinely grateful for that point.]
“That’s unlike you. Why would you say such a thing?”
[Ah, well, just……]
Akasha let out a soft laugh and continued.
[Even an artificial spirit like me can become sentimental from time to time, can’t we?]
“Fair enough.”
Sion nodded at Akasha’s words.
Even he had such days.
And deep down, Sion himself had hoped for such a thing.
[Well then, I suppose we’ve settled the matter of teaching staff for Magic Tool work.]
“We have.”
As for Pure Magic, Maxwell would be sufficient for the time being.
He was already at the 6th Circle, and perhaps soon would reach the 7th Circle—a valuable asset indeed.
[Of course, there is another teacher among our staff as well……]
“You mean Nerin?”
[Yes, that’s correct.]
At Akasha’s confirmation, Sion fell silent in thought.
Nerin.
An eccentric who volunteered to undergo Magic Tool implantation and approached magic in a manner distinctly different from everyone else.
[Now that you mention it, isn’t that person in rather precarious condition?]
……
[If I’m not mistaken, the Magic Tool implantation was done out of sheer necessity, something unavoidable. Furthermore, the congenital condition she suffers from will soon……]
“I know.”
Sion had given the matter thought.
If anything, that made him want to approach it more carefully.
Nerin herself was a gemstone brimming with tremendous potential, and precisely because of that, he had no wish to make a hasty decision and squander that possibility.
“I’ve been deliberating on what to do about it.”
It was no accident that Nerin had taken to studying Magic Tool implantation and magic that no one else could wield.
Nerin’s constitution was special.
It was both blessing and curse.
Nerin’s constitution had granted her extraordinary magical talent, but it had also bestowed upon her the curse of mortal danger.
……Of course, Lumia knew nothing of this.
Only Sion knew.
[There’s no need for deliberation, is there? Simply cure her incurable disease and the matter is settled. That’s not something impossible for the human, is it?]
“It’s not impossible. But if I chose the method that came to mind first, there’s a real chance Nerin’s talent itself would evaporate.”
[…….]
“And that would be a waste.”
Of course, that was Sion speaking purely from his own perspective.
Nerin’s treatment was unavoidable, but separate from that, he wanted to preserve her magical talent.
That’s why he was deliberating.
He wanted to cure Nerin’s incurable disease while keeping her talent intact.
[Hmm, human.]
“What is it?”
[I have no place to say this as an artificial spirit, but… isn’t that a decision that shouldn’t rest with you?]
“Hmm?”
[If the human doesn’t concern himself with it, then it hardly matters—but shouldn’t this be a problem that Nerin needs to decide on?]
Akasha continued.
[Wouldn’t it be right for that human to make the decision, not the human?]
“…….”
At those words, Sion fell silent for a moment.
Thinking it over, he had to admit Akasha was right again.
The risks and the talent—none of it was truly his to decide.
“Well said. Truly, you’re an artificial spirit worthy of handling my humanity.”
[Though I do wonder if an artificial spirit should be the one managing a human’s humanity.]
“It’s fine. My artificial spirit can handle it.”
[……Is that really how it works?]
Akasha tilted her head uncertainly, but Sion had decided to take her counsel to heart.
“All right. Then I’ll ask Nerin directly.”
Talent, or life?
Or perhaps—a gamble with odds that might prove far lower than ideal.

And shortly after.
Sion, a man who knew only straightforward action, wasted no time in seeking out Nerin.
Since she had been recovering in her room for some time now, meeting her posed no great difficulty.
“So, in other words……I might die? And there’s also the safe way—giving up all my talent entirely and choosing life instead.”
“That’s right. On the other hand, the odds are relatively low, but there’s also the gamble of staking everything.”
“What are the odds?”
“By my estimation, I’d say it’s better than fifty percent.”
At those words, Nerin, who had been listening quietly, spoke in a trembling voice.
“B-Better……?”
“Yes, better than half.”
Well, risking one’s own life with odds only slightly better than fifty-fifty would naturally give anyone pause.
“That’s incredibly high!”
“……?”
“My goodness! Compared to 0.3 percent, this is practically a sure thing!”
“……Huh?”
Even Sion couldn’t help but be taken aback this time.

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