The AI Archmage - Chapter 83

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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 83

While the Craftsmen burned their souls, melting down weapons and reforging them into raw materials,
Alhaio Village was finally completed.
Despite the historical significance of the moment, the Villagers’ reaction was lukewarm at best.
“Well, I suppose it’s… something.”
“The Village is nice, but…”
Alhaio Village was, to its Residents, a matter of identity.
So when they first planned the Village’s reconstruction, they wanted it to take the same form as before.
The reason was simple enough.
They thought the familiar shape would be more comfortable.
But humans are creatures of desire—sit them down and they want to lie back; lay them down and they want to sleep.
And during the Village’s construction, people had lived in the Blue Tower.
Which meant something.
“You’d like to add a few things to the Village yourselves?”
“Yes, we’d like to introduce techniques to the Village based on what we’ve learned in the Tower, if that’s acceptable…”
a Villager said carefully.
Naturally, Alhaio’s Residents had a conscience.
They understood full well that the Blue Tower supporting the land and building the Village on their behalf was already an extraordinary privilege.
But how to put it.
“It’s just… a bit inconvenient as is.”
“I see.”
Watching the Village Chief speak with an apologetic expression, Sion nodded in understanding.
‘Fair enough to be frustrated.’
It would have been different in the past.
The Blue Tower, having leaped several technological stages in such a short span, was now truly at the very forefront of magical engineering.
And even now, new innovations continued to emerge, each one building upon the last—
Which naturally meant these technologies spread rapidly among those living in the Blue Tower.
The result:
“A life without Magic Tools… I can’t even imagine it anymore!”
“I see.”
Watching the Village Chief cry out with such despair, Sion nodded.
Of course.
How convenient it was when Magic Tools were woven seamlessly into daily life.
Cleaning? The Golems handle it.
Repairs? The Golems handle it.
Communication? Magic Tools take care of it.
Everything else is solved through Magic Tools as well.
No need to use Magic at all.
After all, the Magic Tool’s power comes not from the User’s Mana, but from the Mana Crystals within the Tool itself.
And the Residents of Alhaio weren’t merely using Magic Tools in their daily lives—they were also receiving professional education in their use.
“Of course, I understand that making such a request is shameless. So if you’ll permit it, we’d like to lay Mana Lines throughout the Village using the knowledge we’ve acquired…”
‘Fast.’
Not long ago, the people of Alhaio Village had nothing to do with magical engineering.
But through Akasha’s instruction, building knowledge steadily, they had quickly grown familiar with it.
And they’d progressed beyond mere familiarity to the point of offering solutions to their present circumstances.
This was even faster growth and change than Sion had anticipated.
[It’s proof that my education is exceptionally efficient, human. I trust you’ll show proper respect to an artificial intelligence like myself from now on.]
‘No, that’s not it. You should be respecting the one who created you to teach so efficiently.’
[…]
Akasha stared at Sion with an expression of utter disbelief, but Sion wore perfect confidence.
In any case, it was a positive change.
The Villagers weren’t being unreasonable, and there was no reason to stop them from thinking things through themselves and attempting to realize their own ideas.
Besides, going forward, the Residents would need to continuously cultivate the surrounding areas from the Village as a base.
“Of course, we don’t expect to live as we do in the Tower. We simply thought it might be good if we developed the Village ourselves…”
“The Main Tower can’t simply give away everything for free.”
“I understand. That’s why we’d like to pay the proper price and purchase materials.”
“Hmm…”
Sion stroked his lip thoughtfully, as if deliberating, and paused a moment.
‘Good.’
To be honest, I’d intended this situation all along.
No—the development of Alhaio Village was quite important to the Blue Tower as well.
The more the village prospered and grew wealthy, the greater the revenues flowing back to the Blue Tower.
And watching Alhaio Village, others would naturally aspire to become like this place.
The crucial thing was that it developed on its own without requiring my constant attention.
That was the most important part.
After all, Sion couldn’t oversee everything herself.
“I see no objection.”
Sion smiled pleasantly and nodded.
“If the purpose is to provide fair compensation, purchase materials, and develop the village, then I have no reason to refuse.”
“Ah……!”
“However, Village Chief.”
“Yes?”
The Village Chief glanced sideways at Sion. She maintained her amiable smile as she continued.
“Don’t you think dreams are better the more ambitious they are?”
“Yes, quite so.”
“To develop a village properly, you need a clear sense of purpose. Have you decided on a direction?”
“Well…….”
The Village Chief hesitated before speaking.
“For now, I just hoped the village would become a bit…… more convenient.”
But you must think in the long term. After all, for that convenience to be sustained, don’t you need a steady source of income?”
“Y-yes, I suppose so?”
The Village Chief found himself agreeing with Sion almost without thinking.
“There are clear limits to maintaining a village by pooling the residents’ money. Naturally, the village itself needs to guarantee its own revenue.”
“Y-yes, you’re right?”
“So wouldn’t it be necessary to create detailed plans for village management?”
“That…… that too, yes?”
The more he listened, the more convinced he became. It wasn’t faulty reasoning at all. Why had the village been impoverished before?
Of course, the problem was the lack of resources and nothing to develop—but before that, there had indeed been no ‘sense of purpose’ as Sion said.
“Sion, then if that sense of purpose you mention…….”
“The Blue Tower will continue to develop. In such circumstances, will all visitors spend their entire stay at the Tower? Surely not?”
“That’s true.”
“And lodging isn’t simply about sleeping. If visitors could leave with unforgettable ‘good memories,’ wouldn’t that be wonderful?”
It was such sound reasoning that the Village Chief nodded in agreement.
Besides, this newly acquired village land wasn’t naturally suited for pure self-sufficiency.
The soil wasn’t particularly efficient even for farming.
“Are you suggesting we plan the village around tourism?”
“Yes.”
The Village Chief fell silent in thought.
He wasn’t particularly well-versed in business.
But as he considered the direction for the village that Sion had proposed, he found himself intrigued.
‘A tourist village…….’
If the tourism business succeeded, the village would teem with visitors.
And that wasn’t all.
The village’s appearance would naturally improve, and money would flow in steadily.
‘Excellent!’
The Village Chief found himself nodding.
The scene that sprang to mind was precisely the ideal he’d so longed for.
“Then how should we proceed? I’ll follow whatever you say, Sion!”
“Haha, well now…….”
Sion laughed as if troubled, then quietly produced a contract from her robes and handed it to the Village Chief.
“Though it would be nice to proceed with trust between us, it’s better to be thorough in these matters, don’t you think?”
“Ah……!”
The Village Chief let out an exclamation of admiration.
He’d noticed it before—she really does love contracts.
In any case, he scanned through the contract Sion had given him.
“Regular land clearing of the surrounding area, paving the roads…….”
“Visitors need convenient access to the village, don’t they?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
The Village Chief nodded.
Beyond that, there were minor details concerning taxes and material costs, but nothing that posed a real problem.
As he continued reviewing the contract,
“Pardon me… Sion?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“It’s Article 8, Section 4 here. There’s a clause that allows for a ‘special modification’ of the village in case of emergency, but…”
“Ah, that?”
Sion laughed softly.
“What sort of modification?”
Sion regarded the Village Chief with a cryptic smile as he spoke.
“Precisely what it says—a special modification. That’s what modification means. No one knows what form it will take until it’s complete. When an egg hatches, you can’t tell beforehand whether it will be a chick or an eagle chick, can you?”
…….
The Village Chief felt, quite suddenly, that this man’s tongue was a touch too silver.
Yet setting aside this one suspicious clause, the contract terms themselves were quite reasonable, truth be told.
Or to put it plainly.
‘Even if we lose a little, isn’t that still gain?’
In the past, loss had been the daily norm, and there was never anyone to look after them like this.
What’s more, they had already received far too much from the Blue Tower.
So his deliberation was brief.
“I am grateful for your generosity.”
Without hesitation, the Village Chief signed the contract.
After all, without Sion’s aid, Alhaio Village as it stood now would never have come into being.
And once the contract was confirmed, the Village Chief asked,
“Now that we’ve signed, I must ask—what exactly is this special modification?”
At that, Sion grinned.
“Explaining it wouldn’t be very elegant, I’m afraid.”
“……?”
“I’ll simply call it a special modification.”
…….
Snap.
As the Village Chief listened in silence, a vein emerged on his brow for the first time—clear and pronounced.

* * *

The residents of Alhaio Village who had stayed in the Blue Tower all headed toward their completed village.
Though many wore expressions of reluctance at leaving, just as many found joy in the fact that their own complete homes had been built.
And Barean stood quietly in the village, watching the residents enter their homes with eager faces.
“……This is remarkable.”
A sight he could never have imagined in the past.
Barean had lost everything, and the village itself had been slowly dying in its suffering.
But now it was different.
He had reclaimed his magic, and the village was advancing into the future with a brighter countenance.
Now there was a future in this place.
And.
‘The Blue Tower as well.’
Thinking thus, Barean found himself smiling without quite meaning to.
It was a single boy who had made all of this possible.
“What do you think, sir?”
Just then, that boy’s voice came from above him.
“Quite respectable, wouldn’t you say? The design, well, I simply made it resemble the original as closely as I could.”
“Indeed.”
Barean nodded at those words.
“Without you, this sight would never have come to pass.”
“It will become even better from here on.”
At Sion’s words, spoken with quiet certainty, Barean looked up at him.
How was it possible for one so young to possess such ability and such conviction?
Barean could not fathom it.
It was beyond the realm of his understanding.
Yet one thing was certain: Sion himself was the future of the Blue Tower.
And he possessed every reason to stake everything on that future.
“Sion.”
“Yes, senior.”
Barean regarded this remarkable junior quietly for a moment, then spoke with genuine warmth.
“Thank you. I mean that.”
“Of course you do.”
Sion offered no false modesty, speaking simply as things were.
“Ha.”
Barean laughed, clearly delighted by the response.

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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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