The AI Archmage - Chapter 78

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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: Episode 78

Demons are real.
They’re seldom seen and sightings can be counted on one hand, but they exist nonetheless.
They don’t appear often, but when one does, the devastation it wreaks upon the world is considerable.
Though even that much isn’t widely known.
And Sion Rostery and Lumia both understood this well.
The captured assailants were first imprisoned in the Tower Underground.
Kaildus, meanwhile, would hold a private meeting for negotiations separately.
But before that, Sion gave Lumia a brief explanation of the Minelios House, as he understood it.
“The Minelios Count’s House is a mage family with a legend claiming demon blood runs through their lineage. It’s why they specialize in Dark Magic.”
“I’ve heard. They say that house has gone to great lengths to distance itself from any association with Black Magic, haven’t they?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
A demon ancestor, and Dark Magic as their primary discipline?
Since Dark Magic especially specialized in concealment and assassination, it was exactly the sort of magic that could easily be mistaken for Black Magic if one wasn’t careful.
“Of course, demon blood in their veins is merely a trace amount. Today’s Minelios House carries less than one percent demon blood.”
“But in Nerin’s case…….”
“Well. Nerin is…….”
Sion’s gaze shifted toward Nerin.
Her expression had hardened ever since she heard the word “demon.”
Sion, of course, remained utterly composed.
After all, even if demon blood dwelled in Nerin’s veins, it wasn’t particularly important.
In fact, quite the opposite.
‘Better still. Premium labor has evolved into top-tier labor of its own accord.’
What mattered was how one made use of it.
At least Sion had no intention of rejecting Nerin simply because demon blood flowed through her.
He looked directly at Kaildus and spoke.
“Regardless of how it came about, what you’re saying is that a purer strain of demon blood has manifested in Nerin than in any other Minelios bloodline before her, isn’t that right?”
“That’s true, but your speech has grown short all of a sudden, and I’m the one with more years——”
He made a dismissive sound.
“——but in this society of magic, skill is everything. Speak to me as you wish.”
Kaildus lowered his head as he said it.
Perhaps his title of Vice Head wasn’t entirely undeserved; he did possess some skill at reading the situation.
“You mentioned earlier that your brother sent Nerin away without the family’s knowledge. Judging by the circumstances, that brother must be the current Family Head of Minelios House.”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“So the current Family Head didn’t want Nerin dead, which is why he sent her away in secret from the retainers…….”
Sion tapped his forearm with his index finger as he continued.
“And yet you went against his wishes and tried to kill your own niece anyway?”
“With demon blood that could manifest at any time, she’s not really——”
“That’s not your decision to make. Why do you keep trying to decide what’s right for someone else?”
Sion fixed Kaildus with a cold gaze as he spoke.
“If you’re going to keep spouting nonsense like that, I see no reason to listen further.”
“That, I——”
“The taboos you’ve broken in this affair are not one or two. And this won’t end as merely an internal matter for Minelios House.”
Kaildus’s eyes wavered at those words.
“P-please, show mercy——”
“Of course, depending on how you proceed, this incident will either be a minor disturbance or the downfall of Minelios. That much is within your control.”
Sion smiled thinly as he said this, and Kaildus quietly bowed his head at the sight of that smile.
Once he had confirmed how Sion intended to handle the situation, there was no room for Kaildus to resist.
“Then what do you require of me…….”
“First, this.”
Sion spoke directly to Kaildus, meeting his eyes.
“Arrange a private meeting with Minelios Count.”
……!
At those words, Kaildus’s eyes widened in shock.

* * *

Minelios County.
Minelios Count, master of his house, was quietly fulfilling his duties as always.
“……Sigh.”
The family was susceptible to misunderstanding even without trying.
Because a half-demon had existed among their ancestors, they were forever burdened with suspicion regarding Dark Magic and demons.
The Minelios House was undoubtedly a prestigious family with tradition, yet they could never fully escape the taint of that ancestral origin.
“Count, are you working so late into the evening again?”
The family’s butler spoke with a worried expression, observing the Count still absorbed in his duties even as darkness fell outside.
“There are documents that must be submitted to the Council. If we don’t provide them regularly, it won’t work in our favor either.”
The Count offered a bitter smile and lightly dipped his pen into the inkwell.
“Speaking of which, where is Kaildus? I heard he went out on business, but no report has arrived.”
“We’re currently investigating. I was planning to report on that matter, but…….”
The butler’s face grew anxious.
“The Vice Head suddenly lost contact near the Blue Tower. We’re planning to send someone there immediately to assess the situation.”
“Hmm…… I wonder if he’s gotten himself into something reckless.”
Kaildus, the Count’s younger brother, was a man devoted to the family’s interests.
He had never once questioned the Count’s succession to the house.
He understood that his magical talent was inferior to his brother’s, and he knew that his brother was the more suitable heir for the family.
Yet his methods of serving the family were somewhat self-righteous at times, earning him the occasional reproach from the Count.
Moreover, the Count himself had recently heard whispers that his younger brother was engaged in something highly suspicious and had been meaning to verify it.
“……Sigh.”
The Count’s face darkened as he pressed his palms against it.
Then he activated the Soundproofing Magic installed in the room and posed a question to the butler.
“Joze, I must ask—what have you recently learned about the whereabouts of that child?”
“……I apologize, Count. We have not yet located them.”
The butler shook his head with a sorrowful expression, and the Count closed his eyes wearily.
“No, it’s not your fault. In truth, my search itself might cause greater problems.”
Years ago, before he rose to his current position, the Count had a child with a woman.
She was not of nobility.
She was a woman of a foreign people, and their meeting had been nothing more than chance.
Young love is rarely calculated.
The Count was no exception.
They shared an uncalculated love, and from that love, an uncalculated fruit was born.
That child was a joy to the Count, but not to the family.
The best the Count could do for the child was to secretly help the child’s mother escape the family.
But even that proved impossible.
In the end, she lost her life.
The child’s whereabouts likewise became unknown.
“……Sigh.”
The Count squeezed his eyes shut.
He forced himself to cast off the tangle of thoughts. Perhaps there was no use in searching now, in any case.
It might be shameless of him to try.
And if he did find the child and word leaked to the outside, both he and the child would be left in a difficult position.
“For now, I ask only that you continue your efforts a little longer. You’re the only one I can trust with this.”
“Yes, Count.”
The butler nodded at those words.
But it was at that very moment.
Hum.
“……What?”
Light flared on the Communication Magical Device resting atop the table.
The sender was…….
“Kaildus?”
Kaildus, the Count’s brother and Vice Head of the Minelios House.
A spark of surprise flickered across the Count’s eyes. The call came at a remarkably fortuitous moment.
The Count answered.
He was curious about what his brother had been up to anyway.
But the voice that came through the Communication Magical Device left him thoroughly astonished.
[Good evening, Count Minelios. My name is Sion Rostery, and I am affiliated with the Blue Tower.]
“……Sion Rostery?”
‘Rostery’—could it possibly be that Rostery?
And the Blue Tower at that…….
The Count felt a chill run through him. An outsider using the Vice Head’s Communication Magical Device to contact him?
No matter how he looked at it, this couldn’t be anything good.
The Count asked, his voice tinged with caution.
“This device I gave to my younger brother. Why do you have it?”
[Ah, it’s nothing serious.]
Sion continued in a casual tone.
[We currently have Minelios County’s Vice Head in our custody.]
“……!”
The Count’s eyes widened.
Could it be… a kidnapping?
And Sion’s next words confirmed the Count’s suspicion.
[I’m contacting you to conduct negotiations with your House.]
“Is my brother safe!”
[He is, for the most part.]
“How dare you assault the Vice Head of this House and think you’ll walk away unscathed!”
The Count’s rage erupted.
Even if the Blue Tower had been in decline, he never imagined they’d be so reckless!
If things came to this, he could mobilize the House’s forces immediately——
[Ah, that’s not quite right.]
“Not quite right? What kind of nonsense——”
[We were the ones who were assaulted.]
“……What?”
[What I mean is, we are the victims, not the perpetrators. We’ve had more than one critical facility destroyed because of your House.]
The Count, who had been ready to send forces to crush the Blue Tower on the spot, went rigid.
“……M-my brother did this?”
[Yes.]
“Why… why…?”
[Well, I can’t give you all the details.]
Sion chuckled softly as he spoke.
[But I will say this—it’s connected to something you lost long ago, my lord.]
“……Something I lost?”
The Count, who had frozen at those words, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
A single thought had flashed across his mind.
And if that were true…
“Surely not.”
[A perceptive man like yourself would understand exactly what I’m referring to, I imagine.]
Sion smiled slightly as he delivered his final words.
[We’ll see you at the Blue Tower.]

* * *

Click.
After ending the call, Sion set the Communication Magical Device aside.
The preparations were complete, more or less.
The Count probably wouldn’t come right away, so there was time to prepare at leisure.
“Sion, did it work out?”
“Yes, it did. Now we need to prepare to receive the Count.”
“Oh, that’s exactly like you, Sion.”
Lumia nodded, her eyes bright. Truth be told, they hadn’t suffered any real damage from Kaildus’s assault.
No Golems were destroyed,
just a minor inconvenience.
“It does concern me that the damage is so minimal.”
“……Yes?”
“In any negotiation, the first priority is to minimize the impression that we’re ‘squeezing’ them.”
Sion continued.
“You guide their sense of blame and justify our position, so they willingly offer us concessions.”
“So… what’s the plan?”
“Well, the Main Tower still stands rather intact. Hmm……”
Sion gazed at the peaceful land surrounding the Tower.
They’d planned to cultivate all that distant ground anyway.
If I’m going to push them out anyway, there’s nothing strange about shoving them out a little early.
Having thought that far, Sion suddenly let out a mournful cry.
“Oh, the beautiful forest the Main Tower takes such pride in—reduced to this!”
“It’s perfectly fine, though?”
“It’s tragic! If not for the attackers, we were planning to designate this land a nature preserve and protect it for centuries. Now we have no choice but to develop it……!”
“We weren’t actually planning that.”
Lumia protested, but Sion didn’t shift his stance.
“Given this level of destruction, we’ll have to bill the Minelios House for the restoration costs!”
“……I see.”
Only then did Lumia grasp what Sion was getting at, and she turned her gaze toward the Blue Tower’s nature preserve—serene as ever today.
“That’s the story you’re going with?”
Once she understood Sion’s meaning, she knew exactly how to play along.

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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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