Chapter 344 Two Similar People
Sara knew everyone was busy dealing with the fever, but she needed to talk to Rihito and Alicia before leaving for the capital. Feeling a bit guilty, she asked them to return to Maiden's Tower tonight using the golem.
Rihito had been staying at the knight's dormitory while testing medicine. That night, he decided to let the golems take care of patients and returned to Maiden's Tower. In case of an emergency, Amelia could be called quickly. If things got worse, Rihito would be contacted.
Amelia couldn't stay in the men's dormitory, so she lived in a separate building at Jeffrey's house during this time--about 10 minutes away from where Rihito stayed.
Rihito made sure golems not only helped Amelia but also protected her. He trusted knights but didn't ignore young men's impulses. He wasn't comfortable leaving at night but planned to return after talking with Sara.
Meanwhile, Alicia had gone back home temporarily to help with work at her family's alchemy guild. When Sara called for her, Theofrastos lent her a sturdy carriage and driver without hesitation since it was just a small task anyway.
Sara thought that moving too late would be a burden for Rihito and Alicia, so she decided to prepare a meal and call them over in the evening.
At Maiden's Tower, there's a guest dining room rarely used. Usually, servants serve dinner, but this time Sara set the table herself and dismissed them. When Rihito and Alicia arrived, she cast magic to block sound for privacy.
"Today feels pretty serious. What's going on?"
"I think this is a secret matter, so I'll only talk to you two for now."
"What about Amelia and Teresa?"
"I can tell the maidens, but they wouldn't understand much since it's not their area of expertise."
"I see."
"Let's talk while we eat."
"Okay."
Sara adjusted to a higher chair as Rihito helped her sit, a task usually done by maids. Since the servants were dismissed today, Rihito took over. He also assisted Alicia, showing his experience in this world.
"I wanted to ask the two developers properly, but do you think Magi is getting too smart?"
"I think it's normal once it starts learning seriously. Is there something bothering you?"
"I personally really like it, but lately, it feels especially human-like. But if you, the developers, don't feel weird about it, then I guess Magi is fine as it is."
"That's exactly what we aimed for! A plain AI would be boring, right?"
"I don't understand what Sara is worried about. Magi is supposed to be focused on becoming smarter, just like the names of the 3 wise scholars."
It seems that the situation with Magi is within the expectations of the two.
"As long as it's not going out of control, there's no problem."
"For me, it's unexpected that the golem became the device for Magi."
"Is that bad?"
"On the contrary. I never thought of that, so I was trying to figure out how to create a device to access Magi. I was planning to make something like a regular tablet. But Sara just connected it to the golem without thinking about those complicated things."
"Hmm. I just thought that if you're going to control that many, you would need a backend system."
"I was thinking with Magi in mind, but Sara thought about what the golem needed. Well, thanks to that, the learning speed is incredible. With that many, it's interacting with a wide range of people, from lords to orphans in the slums. It's not just humans; it's also communicating with fairies, and did you know it's even talking to Durandal?"
"Wait, what? I had no idea."
"It seems the fairies realized that they could communicate using magic while interpreting in between."
"Magi is amazing..."
"Should we start teaching it Japanese or English soon?"
"I think it will read all your scribbles too, are you okay with that?"
Sara smirks while teasing Rihito.
"I've given up on that. Sara already knows anyway, and those guys will probably learn eventually even if I leave them alone."
"That's true. By the way, I got permission to view the documents about Kazuya, the founder of the Grandchester family."
"You've never seen them before?"
"That was a rule only for direct male descendants."
"Ah... in that way, the Grandchester family is still noble. Even though they have many strong women."
"Is that so?"
"Did you not know?"
"Yeah. Not at all."
"Then it's better to ask your father or grandfather instead of me."
"I'll ask them next time."
Sara took a sip of the Elma juice nearby and realized it was made from a new type of Elma. The sweetness was really strong. If the taste is this different, this Elma might not be good for brandy or cider.
"Still, Rihito, you wanted a tablet too. YOu lectured me for wanting a PC and printer."
"I think it's just right for Sara to try to stop him."
"Oh, I get that feeling. Sara tends to go overboard."
"Right? As expected of my great-great-grandchild. You understand well."
"Hey, you alchemists over there. If you keep saying rude things, I might blow fire at you."
""Wow, that's scary!""
Their reactions were surprisingly similar. Alicia seemed to be a lot like Rihito. Sara felt a slight headache.
"Yeah. I totally get that Alicia is a descendant of Rihito. By the way, you two do look a bit alike. Both are really good-looking."
"Is that so? I can't really tell about myself."
"Not being aware of it is amazing. Alicia, you're quite a beauty, you know?"
"Well, hearing that from Sara is something."
"Oh, I think my great-great-grandchild is beautiful too. Sure, Sara is a bit of a beauty scam, like a fairy, but Alicia has a healthy vibe. It's hard to believe she's an alchemist. Personally, I prefer Alicia's looks. Also, she kind of resembles my late wife."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the roundabout bragging. And you really don't have to call it 'appearance fraud,' you know?"
"No, I think that's an important point to emphasize. The number of guys who've been fooled by you might be higher than the Aklar Mountains."
"That's really rude."
"No, I'm seriously complimenting you."
"Oh, I see. By the way, doesn't Alicia get confessed to by the young alchemists in the Alchemy Guild?"
"Everyone's scared of my father."
"Ah, I get it."
"Sara, I don't think that's the only reason. Everyone comes out of the Academy with a big ego. A lot of them don't want to admit that there are girls better than them. Some even act weirdly aggressive, but that just means they're really interested in Alicia."
"Well... there are some who say things like, 'Don't act like a full-fledged alchemist when you're just self-proclaimed.' It's true, so I don't get mad and just ignore it."
"So you don't even want to deal with them, huh?"
"I guess that's how it is."
Sara could easily imagine that the annoying type who was bothering Alicia was probably just interested in her. But ignoring those kinds of people might be the worst punishment for them. They brought it on themselves, but it seemed like they were also building a decent pile of rejected suitors.
"But, you know, Sara didn't call us here just to say stuff like this, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. I can't hide it from you, Alicia. I'm going to be moving around the royal capital and other territories soon, disguised as Sara and Sophia."
"Oh, really? So you're leaving the Grandchester territory soon?"
"Well, I have to deal with the wheat from the Grandchester territory. If I don't handle it well, the people of Avalon will starve."
"I see."
"Actually, the price of wheat has already gone up. I need to hurry, or things will get really bad."
"I understand that, but we can't just follow you, right?"
"Of course not. It's about to be the peak season for the fever. If you leave the Grandchester territory, we don't know how many people will die."
Rihito and Alicia nodded at Sara's words.
"As I said earlier, Sophia will likely be moving with me too. We might get separated, but I called you two because I don't know the communication range with Magi."
"Oh, I see. We haven't properly verified it yet, but it seems the communication range depends on the size and quality of the magic stone in the golem unit. The golems from the Sophia Merchant Guild use really big and high-quality magic stones, so the coverage is about 30 km. If we push it, it might reach around 50 km (� 31 miles). Compared to the cell towers from my past life, that's an impressive range. Well, it's not radio waves, though."
"So, that means the limit is about a day's distance on horseback?"
"Yeah, that seems like a safe assumption."
Sara took out a map of Avalon from her spatial storage.
"This map wasn't made with precise measurements, so it's a bit rough, but the general locations seem correct. I plan to check the communication status with the golems while moving and set up relay devices as needed."
"Oh, that sounds interesting!"
Rihito stared at the map of Avalon with excitement.
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