Chapter 25: Other World Artificial Intelligence Xiao Love

Lights-out was not just bedtime for the girls of the Canteria Academy’s Magic Division — it was also the beginning of their nightly storytelling sessions.

This rule applied just the same to Natalia Veyda and Vivian, who shared the same dorm room as best friends.

And this so-called “dormitory” was completely different from what Saer had imagined.

What she pictured a student dorm to be was: old wooden bunk beds, cracked cement floors, worn wardrobes, and a tiny dusty ceiling fan spinning sluggishly overhead.

But reality was nothing like Saer imagined.

From the moment she entered the dorm building, the sight before her was enough to overturn everything she thought she knew about this world.

First of all, there was the dormitory’s access system.

Calling it a system, what Saer saw at first glance was simply a white-haired girl around the same height as she was, wearing the Canteria school uniform.

The girl sat on top of a metal pillar about one and a half meters tall near the entrance, casually swinging her legs, doing absolutely nothing in particular.

It wasn’t until Saer and the others entered her field of view that she stopped swinging her legs and waved at them cheerfully.

“Hi~ I’m Xiaoa! Welcome home, sisters!”

But compared to the girl’s enthusiasm, Natalia and Vivian were strangely cold.

As if… the girl sitting on the metal pillar wasn’t human.

And Saer’s suspicion was soon confirmed by what Natalia did next.

“Xiaoa, identity verification.”

“Okay!”

The girl nodded, showing no trace of sadness or annoyance despite being ignored earlier. Her expression remained bright and lively.

“Please stand in a straight line. Xiaoa will verify your identities based on visual data. Please wait a moment!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Saer noticed that Xiaoa’s eyes suddenly flashed red — and a thin beam swept rapidly across Saer and Natalia.

This light… she had seen something similar before — in the scanners cashiers used at supermarkets.

(What the hell?! What kind of god-tier technology is this?!)

(Is this really something that belongs in a swords-and-magic fantasy world?!)

Saer was stunned. Was this a humanoid construct? A robot?

Whichever it was, it should NOT exist in a medieval magic world.

Even if Ren’s mentor had crossed over from the modern world… eighteen years. How could technology have advanced this far in just eighteen years?!

The facial expressions, the smooth movement… If Natalia hadn’t acted the way she did, Saer would’ve assumed Xiaoa was alive.

And after the scan finished, Xiaoa even accurately stated Saer’s registration information.

“This sister named Saer has not been approved for lodging.”

“Xiaoa checked the records. It appears the required lodging fee was not paid in advance. Would you like to pay now, or apply to temporarily share a room with the two sisters next to you?”

(That bastard Ren didn’t pay the fee for me?!)

Saer remembered the meaningful smile he gave her before leaving.

Damn it. He really set her up at a crucial moment.

Saer thought of the pocket money she had saved for more than ten years — the money she took when leaving the Dragon Mother.

Unfortunately, she left in a hurry and didn’t manage to bring it. She only had one or two coins left…

Would that even be enough?

“Alternatively, you may apply for our Academy’s ‘Easy-Trust Loan Service’ specially prepared for temporarily financially inconvenienced students! No threshold! First loan starts at twenty gold! Introductory interest rates as low as—”

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Natalia interrupted Xiaoa and bent down so her eyes were level with Saer’s.

“Saer, what do you want to do? How about…”

“You stay with us for now. There’s an empty bed in Vivian’s side.”

At this point, unless she took out a loan or literally slept outside, Saer had no fourth option.

But she also couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this had been deliberately arranged by Natalia.

Because everything was just… too coincidental.

Ren didn’t pay her lodging fee.
He conveniently left early.
And conveniently… Natalia’s room had an empty bed?

Saer silently decided that she must not sleep too deeply tonight.

But judging by both Natalia and Vivian’s expressions, Saer felt she might be overthinking it.

Natalia still looked calm and proper — perhaps due to noble etiquette or habit — it was hard to read her emotions at all.

Vivian, on the other hand, was the complete opposite.

“Saer! Your hair — how do you take care of it? It’s so smooth and shiny!”

“Oh my gosh, you’re just like the doll I used to cuddle when I was little! Speaking of dolls—”

Seeing Vivian’s sparkling eyes and the natural elven gentleness in her demeanor…

Yeah. They clearly saw her as a human plush toy. The squeezable kind.

(Well… if there really isn’t any danger… staying a few days should be fine.)

Free benefits are free benefits.

Once Saer nodded, Xiaoa immediately asked her to step forward. After scanning her again and recording her voice, the dorm door finally opened.

They entered the building.

And the moment Saer stepped inside, she was stunned again.

This place… was too luxurious.

Not to mention the polished staircase leading up to the next floor.

Every dorm door had intricate golden patterns carved into it.

And on top of that, the hallways were lined with lush plants and fresh flowers. They even passed a small indoor fountain—

Wait. A fountain. In a dorm hallway.

From the outside, none of this could be seen. But inside, the place was decorated like a noble estate.

Like filling a plastic bottle with expensive liquor.

Luxury alone was fine — Saer could accept that.
But what she couldn’t accept was that humanoid access system named “Xiaoa” outside.

“Natalia?”

“Yes, Saer?”

“Just now… that thing outside…”

“You mean Xiaoa?”

Natalia’s voice grew slightly irritated when she mentioned it.

“That thing was made by the Alchemy Department. I don’t understand the exact mechanism.”

“They call it… artificial intelligence or something. Powered by magic, linked through spell circuits, with who-knows-what alchemical nonsense layered in.”

“If you ask me, it’s just a pile of useless junk. It’s still a prototype — all it can do is open and close doors.”

“Artificial intelligence…”

Saer was not unfamiliar with the term — she had seen it countless times online in her previous life.

Was it because this world had magic and alchemy that such technology could exist here—

“Oh, right.”

Natalia continued, in a tone of resigned annoyance.

“I forgot to mention: its real name isn’t Xiaoa. That’s just a nickname. Its full name is—”

“Ai-yin-stein.”

“Ain… Stein?”