Jin was curious as he had been told Laojin had reports for him so,
“I’ve got something to do for a bit.”
He said and excused himself from Hannah and the others and returned to Hourai Island before the evening.
Hannah appeared to be sleeping with Mine so he didn’t have to worry.
“Laojin, the reports please.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
Laojin began the reports. First he said with regards to the aircraft carrier’s state of progress that construction had begun. Then he spoke regarding the state of the mass production of the golems’ weapons: the Vibration Blades, Paralyzers, and Magi Jammers.
And about how the Mermaid unit had found resources at the bottom of the ocean. They were in the middle of prospecting to find out if anything could be dug out.
Then,
“We learned as a result of the investigations on whether or not Celuroa Kingdom’s administrations’ important personnel are affected by [Hypno] or [Seduce] that most of the people appeared to be under some kind of influence.”
He reported.
“What… the…”
The situation was alarming.
“Apologies for getting the order of the reports mixed up, but incidentally we’ve confirmed that by means of Magic Energy pattern detection it is possible to distinguish whether or not magic of the mental manipulation type has been used on a given subject.”
“What? That’s good news, huh.”
In the middle of bad news there was this large development.
“When monitoring the Magic Energy Pattern, the normal response is usually a flat status which in an agitated state becomes a pattern with peaks. If the mind is under manipulation then the status stays flat constantly. However, its level is as high as when in an agitated state.”
Hearing that, Jin nodded like he understood.
“I think I understand. It’s something like always being in an agitated state.”
“Yes. It’s possible to use the [Shock] magic to dispel it. It doesn’t seem necessary to expressly agitate them as it was stated earlier.”
It seemed that Laojin had experimented on clearly affected people. According to him they recovered without any after-effects.
“Well, leaving aside the right and wrong of human experimentation, you’ve done well. From now on doing things will become easier.”
“Thank you very much. And then…”
Laojin told Jin more bad news.
“Reinhardt-sama was attacked. Only some time ago did the SP protecting Reinhardt-sama report.”
“What! Tell me the details.”
Then Laojin explained to him about Reinhardt’s meeting with the Magi Craftsman named Donald and the Automata named Elena, about how Elena’s attitude suddenly changed partway through, and about how the SP, Elena, and Donald’s golems fought. And that Reinhardt himself was safe. And then about how Donald was the second seat of the Unifilers.
Finally he said that because the ManaCom given to Reinhardt had been accidentally broken the contact came from the SP protecting Reinhardt.
“I see, so I’ve got to give him a ManaCom again, huh.”
“Reinhardt-sama himself has moved to stay in Shouro Empire’s supply base accompanied by Matheus-sama and his subordinates.”
Laojin said, bringing the explanation to an end.
Jin felt relieved that Reinhardt was saved along with feeling his anger towards the Unifilers resurface.
“They can’t be tolerated any more, huh.”
He then thought he should give Reinhardt a new ManaCom as soon as possible along with remodeling Sage and Cosmos who were protecting him to be more powerful.
“Even so, that Automata Elena or something seems to be quite the thing. Although the SP aren’t that powerful, she can fight evenly or better against two of them.”
“Did you find out what this Automata is like?”
Ann who had been silently listening until now suddenly cut in. Laojin answered her question.
“Yes. It seems she has golden hair, crimson eyes, white skin, and outwardly appears to be at an age between a girl and an adult woman.”
After hearing that the tone of Ann’s voice rose.
“That’s! It’s her!”
“Her?”
Interested in what Ann said, Jin instructed her to explain.
“I said ‘her’ because her name wasn’t known. Just before and in the early days of the Great Magic war, there was a mysterious golem appearing frequently. She looked just like a human and completely destroyed golems and Automata built by people mostly indiscriminately.”
“What the?”
“Having said that the Automata was no ally of the devil race, as she also brought down countless of them who meddled in her affairs.”
“Hmm, I wonder if she’s got an objective of any kind?”
“That’s unknown. A part of the soldiers took to calling her the ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’ though. ”
“The Golden Princess of Destruction, is it? Just from what I’ve heard I get the feeling like she’s gone berserk.”
Jin said as he knit his brows, and Reiko who was at his side also agreed.
“That seems to be the case, I can vaguely imagine it. Surely that Automata is running wild because she has no Master.”
When Reiko said it it sounded somewhat credible.
“In which case that Automata wasn’t made by that Donald guy, but is from much earlier right?”
“Yes, it’s surely something made before the Great Magic War.”
Ann brought the question to a close.
“Hmm, why is an Automata like that together with the second seat of the Unifilers?”
Jin wracked his brains but an answer didn’t come.
Then more bad news came in.
“My Lord, just now a report came from Regulus-2, the Quinta dispatched to Cline Kingdom’s capital Alban.”
“Mh-hm, so?”
“Cline Kingdom has proclaimed a state of emergency and decreed for the nobles holding territory to organize their troops it seems.”
“Eh?”
“Frantz Kingdom’s invasion is gradually progressing, and this is thought to be for opposing them.”
The look on Jin’s face became even more complex.
“In other words, they’re saying to conscript the people of the domain as soldiers, huh. Even though farmwork is supposed to get busy after this!”
Even supposing that they won, because of the decline in production of agricultural produce they surely wouldn’t be able to avoid the decline of national power.
“War, what a thoroughly stupid act. If you’re going to do that why not have just the people who want war to have a go at it.”
Jin said as if spitting it out.
“I wonder if I should soon go mix up the battlefield.”
That’s the only thing Jin thought about.
“The reason why Kaina Village lost population was war, wasn’t it. And that one village…”
Jin remembered the sight of the depopulated village he had seen while on his trip with Reinhardt and company.
“Right, surely even Lithia has been recruited.”
The girl who had asked Jin “I… am I fine the way I am right now…?”. The girl who had yelled “As a 《Ritter》 I’ll protect everyone!” and assaulted a golem with a sword.
“As things are, surely even Egelia Kingdom won’t safely get away with things, huh…”
Prince Ernest and his favorite Lotte whom Jin made for him. The naturally airheaded and clumsy Royal Secret Maid Laila.
Earl Kuzuma from Blue Land and his fiancee Beana.
It wasn’t unthinkable that maybe even Elias Kingdom would be endangered. Jin was reminded of the Shipwright Marcia.
There were other people he had met during the trip. Schiede and her family whom he met in the mine in Yada Village. The children of Moft Village.
“If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it…”
Jin began thinking along those lines.
“Master, you’re not trying to win the war but to stop it, right?”
Ann asked to confirm. Those words reminded Jin of a scene.
A long time ago, in the orphanage. Back then two young children had become totally engrossed in a game, lost their cool from winning or losing, and in the end it appeared to be turning into a fight.
“If you can’t get along then you don’t get to play games!”
The director-sensei picked up the game and threw it against a rock breaking it to pieces.
“I bought the game for you to have fun and play with, but if the game’s going to cause conflict between you then I absolutely won’t let you play it anymore.”
The director-sensei firmly said so, and the children who had been fighting cried and apologized.
Afterwards, Jin used the money from his part-time job to once more buy them the game console that had been broken, but the children never fought again.
“Well, whether or not they can get along depends on the countries’ disposition, I wonder if they can do it if I make them stop.”
“Father?”
Perhaps vaguely suspecting that Jin was going to instigate something dangerous, Reiko pulled the sleeve of Jin’s coat.
“Ah, um, it’s alright, Reiko. What I’m going to attempt to do after this is something out of the question without you.”
Jin then explained his plan.
After listening to it Reiko gave a large nod and,
“Please leave it to me.”
She replied, puffed up with pride. Then,
“Father, please just stay on Hourai Island and send instructions, alright?”
She smiled cheerfully and said.
Jin planned to use the substitute puppet he had made earlier so he meekly agreed.
“Yeah. I’ll issue instructions through the substitute puppet. …Oh right, it doesn’t particularly need to look like me, does it?”
Intervening without revealing who he was what Jin had already thought earlier. But upon further thought he realized that it would be convenient for what he would do next if the puppet didn’t resemble Jin.
Jin then urgently began tampering with the substitute puppet’s appearance.
From black hair to silver air. From black eyes to blue eyes. The height was also lengthened to 180 centimeters.
No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t resemble Jin at all.
“Alright, this will do. Next is…”
Jin began preparing the equipment he needed to carry out his plan at a quick pace.
“Next is, oh yes, improving the [Induction] Magi Tool.”
Having the Smith golems assisting him, the preparations were completed in a short time.
Then once Jin saw that all the preparations were in good order he gave orders to Laojin.
“Have Reiko take out Titan Mk.2. If the situation calls for it I’ll move Titan Mk.3”
Mk.2 was the type controlled by a person inside it, and Mk.3 was the remote-controlled type.
“Understood. The construction of a floatsink base in Celuroa Kingdom’s Lake Azul equipped with a gigantic Warp Gate has been taken care of.”
“A floatsink base?”
Jin asked for an explanation for the term he wasn’t used to hearing.
“Yes. The floatsink base is usually hidden down at the bottom of the lake, but at times of emergency it can rise up to the surface and become a base with a Warp Gate fit for use.”
Jin was impressed after hearing that.
Lake Azul was in Celuroa Kingdom but its location was by the border of Frantz Kingdom, and Cline Kingdom wasn’t far either.
“It isn’t possible to warp a Titan or a plane carrying one to the ruins of the 8th subdivision, you see.”
“Hmm, if I built it myself it could somehow be done but, Laojin, good work.”
“I am thankful. Therefore, please name the airplanes that transport the Titans.”
Laojin said and had two large planes land on the plaza in front of the research laboratory.
“Ooh, so these are the Titan carriers, huh.”
They were planes equipped with strange-looking Magi Jet Engines. The diameter of the Magi Jet Engines was bizarrely large contrasted with their short length.
If normal Magi Jet Engines were tubular, these were rings.
As rather than a new thing they were a variation of an old one, so making them was within Laojin’s authority.
Jin viewed them and gave his impressions.
“I see, so they can’t go fast but they’re powerful.”
“Yes. I took the liberty of researching them myself.”
Hearing that Jin was even more pleased.
“Good job, Laojin. Please help me like this afterwards too. …So, a name, huh. Hmm…”
Jin once more looked at the planes.
There were four giant Magi Jet Engines that looked like they were floating, arranged in a square from top-down perspective, and the propulsion was done with four small Magi Jet Engines.
In the middle of the square a part like a swing harness came down, on which the Titan would ride.
“Alright, the name’s ‘Condor’.”
“Understood. Condor-1, Condor-2. Preparations are complete. Ready for takeoff at any time.”
“Alright, we’ve got plenty of time, huh. Pick up Titan Mk.2 with Condor-1 and depart tomorrow. Sortie and board the Army golems on the Raptors and Falcons.”
“This is Laojin, roger. Raptors from 1 to 10, Falcons from 1 to 10 prepare for takeoff.”
Jin had the Smith golems put on board the Magi Tools he had made just now. Once that was done with, Laojin gave orders to the Army golems.
“Land units from 11 to 90, take your provided weapons and assemble.”
Late at night on the 21st of April.
At last, Hourai Island started to move.