Coinciding with Jin’s activities on Hourai Island, the small countries were in an uproar.
Amidst that Reinhardt was making his way back to Shouro Empire as planned.
He had a company of guards with him. Its commander was Captain Matheus Geist von Realgar. He was the company commander of the third Imperial Guard force.
He was Reinhardt’s friend, and also Reinhardt’s fiancee’s elder brother.
“So Matheus came here for me, huh.”
Right now, Reinhardt was returning home while being protected by the men led by Matheus.
“Yeah, even His Majesty wished me to escort you, so.”
“His Majesty did?”
“That’s right. The rumors about your Schwarz Ritter have reached all the way our home country. Overall victory in the mock battle of combat golems held in Celuroa Kingdom’s capital! Didn’t it also wreck the Adamas Warrior?”
It was a story from about a year ago, but for the current Reinhardt it felt like a tale from the distant past.
“Moreover, I hear you got second place in the golem boat competition held in Elias Kingdom?”
Matheus kept talking while keeping precise pace with the carriage on his horse. He was rather skillful.
“Well, yes. Although it was a shame I couldn’t win.”
“What! It was a match outside your field of expertise, isn’t suddenly getting second place a big deal?”
Now that Mathias mentioned it, Reinhardt remembered that the competition was when he had first met Jin. Since then his every day has been very busy.
“…Come to think of it, where’s your cousin?”
Mathias’s voice interrupted Reinhardt’s thoughts. He was asking about his cousin, namely Elsa.
“Elsa, huh. …It’s not something for me to say. Ask Fritz.”
“Major Fritz, huh. I do not like that man.”
Reinhardt knew that as a child his friend had cared about Elsa. However, now she was but a nobleman’s wife to him.
“Fritz…”
Now that he had learned much from Jin, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps Fritz too was under the influence of [Seduce].
But there was no way of confirming that.
They spent the night in the provincial city Tunsten.
＊ ＊ ＊
Jin received reports from Laojin.
“Regulus-4 has discovered ruins in Mt. Galatt at the outskirts of Blue Land. He found a sealed box containing a Gigantes and is traveling here.”
“Deneb-7 has discovered ruins near the lake Cedrolia on the border of Cline and Celuroa Kingdoms, it appears to be empty.”
“Spica-10 has discovered a sealed box containing a Gigantes in the ruins on the shore of lake Manoce in Cline Kingdom, and she is traveling here.”
Today two sealed Gigantes boxes were discovered. Now three remained.
“Regarding the war between Celuroa Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom, currently Celuroa Kingdom is slightly superior. They’ve apparently crossed the border and invaded with three battalions.”
“Mh-hm…”
“Finally regarding the war between Frantz kingdom and Cline Kingdom, they seem to be presently struggling for supremacy. Both countries are at a standoff.”
“…Understood.”
Jin stood up and headed for the workshop. Reiko followed him silently.
“War isn’t a good thing. I know that. However, I think I’ve heard someone say that what is right is decided by the many. But wouldn’t that mean that countries decide what’s right for them…”
Jin walked while thinking.
“I’m not a hero or a brave man. I’m not even a soldier. I’m the Magi Craft Meister.”
And then, he remembered what the new noble girl of Cline Kingdom had said.
“‘I… am I fine the way I am right now…?'”
That’s what she had said.
And that was Jin’s current mental state.
“Father, where are you going?”
Reiko called out to Jin who had walked past the workshop while deep in thought.
“Ah, oops. Sorry.”
Jin walked back while scratching his head. Reiko watched Jin with concern but said nothing.
“Now then, I was thinking we should develop a new weapon today.”
The very first thing Jin said after entering the workshop was that.
“When I analysed the ‘chant-obstructing choker’ that had been attached to Reinhardt and Stearina earlier, I thought of some interesting ideas.”
“Please do tell.”
“Of course. First of all, that choker had the effect of interfering with the gathering of Magic Energy.”
His earlier worries disappeared somewhere as Jin gradually heated up.
“When one uses magic, the chant works as something like a ‘power word’. It works as a ‘trigger’ and completes the spell with miniscule amount of Magic Energy.”
If one could compose that trigger without chanting then casting of chantless magic would be possible, but he didn’t touch on that for now.
“The function of that choker is to completely diffuse the infinitesimal Magic Energy required for the casting.”
You could think of it as the flame of the match that lights the gasoline known as Magic Energy. It was a function similar to blowing out that match.
“If this was done on a large scale, it would be possible to make a field where magic cannot be cast.”
Jin wrapped up the explanation.
“That’s amazing, Father.”
Reiko honestly praised Jin.
“And the other thing, the function that whittles off the stamina of the chokee. If this too was applied on a large scale, a whole army could be made to faint.”
This was also an effective weapon. By finishing them both it seemed he would be able to stop the war, albeit temporarily.
“Magnificent, Father. Let us develop it at once.”
Just when Reiko said so, Ann came along.
“Master, I heard your talk through Laojin. Something like that has once existed.”
“What?”
According to Ann, during the early days of the Great Magic War, there was something like a magic-jamming magic.
“However, as allies also became unable to use magic it was not very effective.”
Apparently, on the contrary, there were lots of cases where being unable to use magic against the physically superior demon race was a disadvantage.
“Hmm, in this situation when Magic Energy used for casting is jammed, I think that Reiko and the other golems could act normally, is that right?”
Jin asked Ann while thinking.
“Yes, as it imply ‘jams casting’, golems that use internal Magic Energy to move are not affected. They just cannot use external magic.”
Lately Reiko had mostly fought using raw power but she was also capable of magical attacks. But there probably wouldn’t be any problems with Reiko’s strength.
“It would be effective against spellcaster forces, huh. So, do you know the method?”
“Yes, I remember it.”
Then using Ann’s memories as the basis at first, Jin created the prototype ‘Magi Jammer’. With Ann it was easy to complete.
Jin used his own methods to improve all the important parts.
“With master’s method the effectiveness was more than doubled.”
Ann who witnessed the test said.
Then Jin continued with starting on the ‘stamina-damaging’ weapon’s development.
“I wonder if it worked if I just used the function of the choker as is but made it larger?”
“But then the required Magic Energy will be too great.”
“Hmm, I suppose. Ah, in that case if we did this…”
“Father, at this point it would be faster to redo the whole Magi Sequence.”
“That may be so.”
Jin, Reiko, and Ann. These three kept discussing it. Jin’s insights, Reiko’s verification, and Ann’s different viewpoint.
Once there was a tentative model for it, since the goal was clear they had roughly solidified the configuration just before noon.
“Father, keeping at it for any longer than this will harm your health. It’s precisely lunchtime, so let’s visit Elsa-san and company.”
Reiko said and half-forcibly dragged Jin out of the sea of experiments.
“Master, please go have lunch. I will keep on putting together the prototype in the meanwhile.”
After even Ann told Jin so, he turned and went to warp to Kunlun Island.
“Welcome, Jin-nii.”
Today the weather was clear on Kunlun Island. For that reason lunch was outside.
Probably because Elsa was clever from the start, her simple cooking had greatly improved.
Jin who had been separated from his Magi Craft was still pondering a little as he ate the bread. Elsa found fault with that.
“Jin-nii, you’re eating while worrying over something?”
Jin was startled. As he was completely seen through by Elsa, he quickly explained the current situation on the continent.
“War…”
To relieve Elsa who had become a little pale Jin explained,
“Yeah, but perhaps luckily Shouro Empire isn’t undergoing war. Reinhardt too was, according to what he said last night, returning home while being guarded by forces led by some captain called Matheus.”
“Matheus?”
After hearing that name Elsa looked nostalgic for a moment.
“Yeah. Do you know him?”
“Matheus is Rai-nii’s friend, and his fiancee’s elder brother.”
“Huh. So once Reinhardt gets married this Matheus will become his brother-in-law.”
“Yes. If he’s with Matheus then Rai-nii is safe.”
Elsa said and so Jin too was a little relieved. Then, unrelated to what they just spoke of,
“Hey, Elsa, what are your thoughts about the war that has started?”
Jin tried asking Elsa.
Elsa had an immediate answer.
“I hate war.”
She then continued.
“…Fritz-niisama once was a prisoner of war. At that time I could do nothing but worry.”
It was when Fritz was still a kind brother.
After what Elsa said, Jin thought that maybe Fritz too was under the influence of [Seduce], which oddly was the same thing Reinhardt had guessed.
“Father is a military person. I heard he was promoted during war. But I hate war. It would be better if there was none.”
Maybe because she remembered about the time when Elsa was conceived, Mine who was listening from the side had a slightly painful expression.
“Got it. Sorry for asking you something strange.”
Jin said and lightly bowed his head.