Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4327 The New Management Team

"It stems from Ea's 'selection of learning'."

"Why did Ea create the Scholar? Because he knew this field of knowledge would be useful to him, but he himself had no interest in it, and that's how Merlin came to be."

"But what about Merlin? He was created by Ea to specialize in addressing Ea's weaknesses. His purpose is to thrive in areas that Ea dislikes."

"What Aya dislikes, Merlin is an expert in; what Aya is too lazy to touch, Merlin treasures."

"Have you noticed? They naturally have different ideologies."

This relationship, born from rejection, deepened by liking, and marked by conflicting ideologies, will inevitably end in discord due to disputes.

So, the root cause of their bad relationship, to put it bluntly, lies in Ea's wrong intention in creating Merlin.

From the very beginning, this "utilitarian separation" sowed the seeds of Merlin's resentment towards him.

“It’s like there’s another version of yourself in front of you, almost identical in every other way, except for the faith he pursued throughout his life—a trait you dislike,” Laplace said softly. “Would you like this version of yourself?”

Angell thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Shaking your head doesn't mean you don't like it; it means, "I don't know."

After all, he had never experienced this situation before, and it was difficult for him to determine whether he liked it or not just by imagining it.

Laplace thought for a moment and said, "That's right. You don't have a physical body, and you've never even created a clone with your own will. It's hard for you to see your true self from the perspective of a 'divine self,' so it's normal for you to feel confused. Now, let me tell you how I would think if this question were put on me."

“I would consider such a person… to be heretical.”

Angel muttered softly, "Heretical?"

Laplace nodded: "That's right, they are heretics."

"In fact, a person can have traits that they don't like, but these disliked traits cannot be the original intention behind their existence."

"Just like Luigi is my incarnation, he has many hobbies, such as writing poetry, reciting, and performing, and these hobbies are equally important."

Do you think I would like his poetry?

This time, Angell was very certain: "No."

“I don’t like his poetry, and I’ve rejected his greatest passion, but Luigi won’t have any ideological conflict with me because of this.”

"Why? Because my original intention in creating him was not to have him do the things I hate, but to make him... another possibility of me."

Luigi's personality, his keen perception of music, his devout pursuit of art, as well as his poetry and his wanderings, are all extensions of another aspect of Laplace's life.

Even if it possesses some traits that contradict its true nature, it is still within the framework of "me".

“But Merlin is different.”

“When Ea created him, he forced the traits that he himself disliked into the very bones and blood of his being.”

Merlin's entire purpose is to bear the part that Ea doesn't want.

“The Time Body should be an extension of the original body, a different possibility from the same source. But Merlin, he is Aia’s abandoned child, a heretic who was stripped away.”

“I don’t like Luigi’s poetry, but I don’t consider him a heretic, because at its core is ‘the self I want to explore.’”

“And Merlin’s core is ‘the self that Ea wants to deny’.”

Of course, it's incorrect to say that Aya dislikes Merlin. As the original Aya, she greatly admires Merlin's talent; otherwise, she wouldn't have created him.

But Merlin was different.

He was a scholar with an independent will; what he pursued throughout his life was, in his own eyes, merely "trouble to be thrown away."

How could someone who treasures their faith like someone who discards it like a "discarded shoe"?

How could their relationship possibly be good under these circumstances?

Upon hearing this, Angell probably understood that Merlin's dislike for the original body was unilateral.

This is somewhat similar to Sebastian.

The slight difference is that Merlin dislikes the original body because he denies its original purpose, while Sebastian simply wants to replace the original body.

Laplace: "However, Ea really wants to get along with Merlin, so in his view, the appearance of the Fools' City is a good pretext to build a closer relationship."

Angell: "Do you think it's possible?"

Laplace shrugged: "It's hard to say. The story about Aya and Merlin is entirely Aya's own account. I don't actually know what Merlin is thinking."

"Perhaps Merlin doesn't really hate Aya, he's just pretending to."

Angell: "???"

Laplace: "I'm just guessing. In my opinion, if Merlin really hated Aya so much, he probably wouldn't have shared his memories and knowledge with Aya."

But the fact is, Merlin did not stop Aya from seeking knowledge and memory.

Of course, it's also possible that Merlin was unable to resist the demands of his original self.

Angell: "...With your addition, Merlin seems to have gone from a rebel to a tsundere."

Laplace didn't respond, but continued, "Anyway, that's the situation. If Merlin were to come, we might need to give him a vice-principal position. Do you agree?"

Angel thought for a moment and then nodded, "Okay."

Although Merlin and Aya's relationship has a mysterious duality, Merlin's ability in city management is certainly unquestionable.

The talent that has been recognized by the higher-ups of the Undying Royal City is absolutely genuine.

Even having him manage the Fools' City feels like a waste of his talents.

In any case, Merlin is definitely a good fit for the position of vice principal, because Angel had also considered what kind of person should be appointed as vice principal.

Firstly, they need someone who can manage the affairs within the academy.

Secondly, there is a need for someone who can manage city affairs.

The Fools' City is called "City of Learning" because it combines academy and city, but the two operate under different logics.

The position of vice principal should definitely be given to someone who can manage the academy and the city.

Merlin is undoubtedly talented enough for this position, and he could probably manage both the academy and the city at the same time without any problem.

Under these circumstances, Angell could not refuse.

Laplace seemed relieved upon hearing Angel's reply: "It's good that you agree..."

Angell: "Why does it sound like it would be troublesome if I disagreed?"

"It's not exactly troublesome, but with Merlin's involvement, many subsequent tasks can be carried out more smoothly," Laplace stated frankly.

Angel wasn't stupid: "Because of Ea?"

Laplace nodded: "Yes, after Eya made his position clear, the other leaders at that meeting naturally followed suit."

Among these people, some genuinely believed that Fools' City had potential and decided to invest in it in advance; but others joined simply because of Aya, thinking that Merlin's joining would allow their people to "get direct access to the heavens," and naturally chose to join as well.

In fact, once this news gets out in the future, it will likely attract even more people to join the Fool's City.

Therefore, Merlin's addition is crucial; he is a pivotal figure.

"Oh, by the way, now that you've agreed to Merlin's joining, I can pass on another message from Gleipnir to you."

“Gleipnir said that as long as Merlin joined, she could use that as a reason to quickly build a faculty and staff team of at least tens of thousands of people, all of whom would be elites from various ethnic groups.”

"If she only needs a logistics team, how many people can she find?"

Angell: "...Is this the Ea effect?"

Laplace nodded: "That's one way to put it. But even if you didn't agree to Merlin joining, there are quite a few leaders here who see the potential of the City of Fools. They can help complete those ten tasks and, incidentally, build up the faculty and support team."

So, it's better to have Merlin, but it doesn't matter if you don't.

"Besides Merlin, there are a few other managers I can recommend to you..."

As Laplace recounted the story, Ingres heard many familiar names.

Many of them were prominent figures in their respective regions.

However, the number of people in the City's management is limited, and in order to avoid factionalism, Angell cannot recruit them all at once.

Ultimately, in addition to Merlin, the vice principal with level 8 authority, Angel recruited two college deans with level 7 authority, as well as several level 6 authority users.

Two of them are Level 7 users, namely Pisi and Vasya.

Pixi, an old acquaintance of Angel, is an oddball among Pilushi.

He was once Grand Duke Phichu's assistant, but now he is the Minister of Economy at Phichu Castle, nicknamed "The Miser".

If Pilushu laid the foundation for Pipi Castle's enduring presence in the Mirror Sea, then Pixi single-handedly made Pipi Castle great once again.

Pisi's economic skills are nothing short of genius. Although he is nicknamed "the miser," he is not actually stingy. Rather, he is adept at calculating every penny of resources with absolute precision.

What others see as a losing proposition, he always manages to find a way to profit from. He may seem stingy to the point of splitting every crystal in half, but he can make big bets at crucial moments. By relying on this meticulous calculation, he has built an indestructible economic barrier for Pipi Castle.

It's no exaggeration to say that Pippi made Pippi Castle great again.

The only pity is that his greatness was only for a moment, and then his reputation was ruined by the cunning and treacherous merchant Pilushiu.

However, the cunning merchants also reveal that the Pilushi clan is very astute in economics, with Pixi being one of the best among them.

Its addition, while not necessarily making Fool's City great, will at least make tasks related to the economy, such as "the basic design of the city's points" and "the cycle of the city's material supply and commercial support," much easier to complete.

As for the other Level 7 user, "Vasha," Angell had never heard of him before.

I chose her because of Gleipnir's recommendation.

Vasha's camp belonged to the Ingi tribe, but he was not an Ingi... According to Gleipnir, Vasha was the only one who, as a non-Ingi, had obtained the position of general.

Although he is only a major general, it is still quite remarkable.

Most importantly, Vasya was able to gain a foothold in the factionally divided Yingji army not because of his fighting ability, but because of his solid skills in "establishing rules, delegating responsibilities, and managing resources".

The army under her command never suffered from shirking responsibility or procrastination. Even the most chaotic logistics and supplies could be organized in an orderly manner under her command.

Whether such a well-rounded talent is suitable for the academic city of Angell is unknown.

But it will definitely be able to complete tasks such as "Recruitment and Authority Adjustment of the University City Logistics Team" and "Management Strategies for Large-Scale Enrollment and Appointment".

Therefore, Angel selected her as another Level 7 privilege holder.

……

“I will try to contact Gleipnir and have her gather these people together.”

Angel nodded: "Then let's set it at the players' camp. I'll use my authority to bring them into the Academy City."

Laplace: "Okay, it may take some time."

The administrators were all gathered together, but Gleipnir also needed to bring along a group of faculty and support staff, in order to help settle the Prussians later.

Therefore, it takes more time.

Angell said it was fine; even if he completed the principal's exclusive task and gained the right to freely enter and leave the Fool's City, he would still stay there for a while.

After all, the main force of Prusia is currently in Dreambridge, and Angor is waiting to bring them into the City of Academia.

Wasn't that why he temporarily left the labyrinth of interrogation?

After ending the chat with Laplace, Angel had nothing to do for a while, so he began to study the permissions the principal possessed.

Most of the permissions were related to the management of the academy, and Angel glanced at them once before skipping over them.

What interests him most is the control over the academic city system.

Although he had managed to develop the "City Crystal," it was the City Spirit that was truly being developed, and Angel's understanding of the City system was still quite limited.

So I took this opportunity to learn more about it.

About half an hour later, Angel raised his head in a daze.

He had always known that the City system was very powerful, but after truly understanding it, he discovered that the City system was even more outrageous than he had imagined.

Because he saw an option... to create a human!

Yes, it's an artificial human!

According to the backend explanation of the Academy System, the boundaries of creation are far beyond what he knows!
Clouds and mist, grass and fruit buds, tables, chairs and equipment, buildings and vehicles... these are just the basic creation operations of the Academy City system; but it has an even more important trump card, which is the ability to generate artificial humans with basic behavioral logic out of thin air!

Furthermore, the Academy system clearly states that there are currently some androids within the Academy!

Upon seeing this sentence, Angell suddenly recalled the cleaners and drivers in the mechanical carriages he had seen in the city when he first arrived.

These people were taciturn, and their movements were as precise as a pre-programmed sequence, maintaining the operation of the academy day after day.

He had previously regarded them as ordinary NPCs created by the powers of the fairy realm, like background boards in a game on a holographic tablet, meant to enrich the world view, but completely uninterrupted.

Looking back now, it suddenly dawned on me that, in a sense, they were indeed NPCs, but they were not directly created by the powers of the Fairy Realm. Instead, they were artificial beings created by the City System through creation—dedicated to maintaining the normal operation of the city!

(End of this chapter)