It was just about lunchtime by the time they returned to Kaina Village.
“Jin-sama, Elsa, welcome home.”
Mine comes out to greet them. The smell of freshly baked bread drifts about in the air.
“I’ve just baked some bread.”
Thinking about how they’ve arrived just in time, Jin and Reiko enter Martha’s house.
“Oh, Jin, what does Reiko-chan have there?”
Martha asks Jin as she sees the saucepan that Reiko is holding.
“It’s bean paste. I’m having this with my bread. I’m not sure if I’ll like it or not, but this is how I used to do it back in my home town.”
“Ah, onii-chan, welcome home!”
Hanna smiles joyfully as she comes to the dining room to wash her hands and finds Jin already there.
“Hey, Hanna! …Hey, want to try this?”
Taking the initiative, Jin takes a slice of bread and smears some bean paste on it with a spoon.
The others imitate Jin and smear bean paste on their own slices of bread.
Those who took a bite were taken aback by the sweetness.
“Mmmm!”
All that Jin wanted to see the most was Hanna’s smiling face.
He had been worried about not being able to bring her a souvenir.
“Jin-nii, it’s so tasty!”
“It’s so sweet! You only need to put a little of it on bread.”
“So this is bean paste, Jin-sama? It doesn’t look too good, but it’s really tasty!”
They were having sweet bread with their salty soup. Jin was relieved that they all seemed to like the bean paste.
(But it would be impossible to cultivate sugar cane in Kaina village. I would need to find sugar beet instead.)
Sugar is a valuable commodity, so it is not eaten very often unless one cultivates it oneself.
(But that might be a good thing when it comes to preventing cavities.)
That’s what Jin thinks as he sees Hanna’s face, which is missing a front tooth.
After their meal, Jin went back to Hourai Island together with Elsa.
(Tomorrow I’ve got plenty of time, so let’s spend some with Hanna…)
That’s what he was thinking.
“Well then, Elsa.”
At the workshop, with a workbench standing between them, Jin spoke to Elsa about her new task.
“Try to make an Automata.”
“…Huh?”
Elsa could not believe her ears. Could she already make one by herself after just having started with Magi Craft not too long ago?
“You’re already capable of doing it, Elsa. You only lack experience. I’ll be watching, so go ahead and give it a try.”
“…”
Having heard what Jin told her, Elsa could not refuse.
“Okay, I’ll try.”
As she nods, Jin begins to explain the procedure.
“… Skeleton, Magi Device, muscle fiber, head, skin, Control Core…”
“Right, that’s the gist of it. Since it’s your first one, don’t make it too big. Just try to do something that’s about Reiko’s size.”
Jin pats Reiko’s shoulder, who was right next to him.
“…Got it.”
Still not feeling entirely confident, Elsa begins gathering the necessary materials.
“The first thing you need to do is getting used to working with aluminum.”
That’s Jin’s first advice. Since Elsa normally processes aluminum, she’s already used to working with it.
However, neither Jin nor Elsa know that aluminum is not a material that beginners would normally use.
The reason why Jin advised Elsa to use aluminum is its simplicity. To get used to a material is to reduce the amount of magical loss when processing it.
Jin doesn’t have any problems, but due to Elsa’s surplus of magical power, if she uses up all of her magic, she will start to seem ill.
A few days ago they had to remember using “Genesung”.
Following Jin’s advise, Elsa decides to use aluminum. Since Jin himself always uses aluminum, there’s always a large amount of it already prepared.
“Forming.”
Elsa begins processing right away. Apparently, she already has something in mind.
Jin watches silently, but the thoughts of the time when he was first rebuilding Reiko (before she was even given a name) are filling his mind.
After processing several times, Elsa finishes the automata’s skeleton. It feels as if she has made something that looks like a mascot doll.
“…How about it, Jin-nii?”
Elsa timidly asks Jin. Jin nods with a gentle smile, and answers.
“It’s a pass! You’ve gotten quite better at this, Elsa.”
Hearing those words, Elsa smiled cheerfully.
“Well, now that this is done, here’s a little trick to help reduce wear in its joints.”
Bringing a little of Adamantite…
“Plating.”
Jin produces a plating on the surface.
“This will reduce friction and increase its durability. Give it a try.”
The rest of the joints were left for Elsa to finish. And Elsa was able to meet that expectation, demonstrating that she is familiar with this technology.
She continued on working for 4 hours with Jin overseeing her work.
“…I made it.”
At last, Elsa finished her first automata. Jin also checked its every detail and gave his approval when he found no problems with it.
It is a boy model, with the same platinum hair Elsa has. They are closed now, but its eyes are blue.
“…How long does it take you to make one of these, Jin-nii?”
Elsa’s question had a hint of relief after having finally finished.
“Hmm… about 1 hour, maybe?”
That is a rather modest estimation. If he were to put all of his effort into it, it wouldn’t take him more than 30 minutes.
However, since Laojun and Smith have finished their preparations, Jin almost never has to start working from scratch.
“…I’ll do my best.”
Jin gently tapped Elsa’s shoulder and said:
“Well then, you’re almost done! Try starting it up.”
Cheering Elsa on with his words.
“Yes. …Start.”
Responding to the keyword, the automata slowly gets up.
“Nice to meet you, Creator.”
“Elsa, give him a name.”
“Yes. …Your name is Edgar.”
“Understood, my name is Edgar.”
Thus, Edgar was born as Elsa’s first automata.
Reiko seems to be pleased as she watches the scene. Perhaps it brings her memories of the time when she was created.
Elsa is not aware of it, but Edgar’s Control System is the same that Soleil and Luna have.
Thanks to the TransInfo conducted for Jin’s official disciples, it’s possible to use the Adriana System’s Control System.
Elsa does not know what this means, though.
Similarly, Jin doesn’t know either. That’s why Reinhart had told them that it’s important to know the world’s standards.
Such similar people had become teacher and student.
Now, returning to the story…
“Well, time to get him dressed.”
Edgar was still naked.
“Well, you might not be too familiar with men’s clothing, plus I haven’t got much more time. Let me make his clothes for you, Elsa. Just as a way to celebrate you finishing your first automata.”
Jin fetches some Ground Spider silk from the shelves and quickly produces some trunks. Then he makes a T-shirt out of knitted fabrics. He also makes sure to apply some rubber to the trunks.
This takes him about 5 minutes, by the way.
After looking at Jin’s display, Elsa began to feel her self-confidence wavering. But she soon got back on her feet.
“…One day, I’ll be able to do that too.”
Elsa’s ability to not be discouraged might be her strongest point.
The jacket is black and looks like a blazer. The bow tie makes him look like the son of a lord.
“Well, that’s done.”
“…So cool!”
Elsa’s first automata, Edgar, was standing there like looking like a young boy from the Showa era.
Black blazer, black trousers. A black bow tie over a white shirt. And white socks under the black shoes.
“Thank you very much, Jin-sama.”
Edgar bows as he says that. It seems that his behavior has been established.