June 18, two days before the Technology Expo.
Confirming the date, Jin decided it was best to leave for Reinhardt’s place in Vanne before noon. Elsa and Mine planned to meet up with Jin later.
Just before he left, Laojun spoke with Jin and handed over a magi crystal. “I’ve finally managed a little analysis of gravity magic. The details are recorded in this magi crystal.”
Taking the crystal from Laojun, Jin’s face shone. “Thanks for the great work, Laojun. Please keep at it… I’d better be on my way then…”
“Yes, my Lord. Have a safe trip.”
Jin passed through the warp gate.
“Hey Jin, it’s been three days?” Saki greeted him from the front of her house.
Jin had seen her three days ago on Hourai Island. “Ah, that’s right. Have you finished your paper?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect. The golem copies are done too.”
Golem copies, as the name implied, referred to copies of a piece of writing made through golem technology. Since there was no printing technology here, things needed to be copied out by hand. Golems were used because it was difficult for humans to do it themselves. Golems could write faster than humans and they made no mistakes. Since they didn’t need to take breaks, it was said that they were 3 times faster at copying than humans while also being more accurate.
In truth, Hourai Island’s golem handwritings were even faster than this, but Jin wasn’t stupid enough to draw unwanted attention to the island by spreading this information about.
After being guided by Saki, Jin entered the house. It had been cleaned and repaired to the point that Jin could barely recognize it. Jin said so honestly, and Saki shyly smiled.
“Kufu, it’s all thanks to Aal. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all beautiful now. He replaced and repainted the damaged areas.”
Her face became serious again. “I didn’t really understand things back then. I learnt from observing my Father. I wanted to become a fully fledged alchemist as fast as possible and I rushed things. I was indifferent to what I wore or ate. My life was honestly a mess. When I think back on it, I feel like a fool.” Saki breathed out. Just then, Aal came in with tea.
Taking a sip of it, Saki continued, “Seeing Elsa, I finally woke up. That girl. She can cook! And she even teaches children to study. Yet, she’s a magi engineer … a magi craftsman who has grown so, so much. I’m really no match for her.”
Saki had wanted to be seen for her own worth, rather than just her father’s, and that caused her to push herself to the point of neglecting the rest of her life.
The conversation drifted to other matters then.
“Where’s your luggage? Actually, where’s your stuff for the Expo?”
Jin laughed before answering Saki’s natural question, “It’s all onboard Reinhardt’s boat, moored at Lake Tosmo.”
“Well, that is a surprise. You’ll tell me how he made that vessel someday, right?”
“Of course.”
Their interaction came to an end and Jin made his way to Saki’s Barn. He was going to retrieve the carriage he’d left there for the journey. He planned to transport the warp gate to the Expo in Koju using it.
Originally, the barn door was not large enough for the carriage to fit in and out, so Jin had destroyed part of it and then remodeled it. Because of this, the carriage could be pulled out easily by sliding a modified wall above the entrance.
“Hey! Since when could my barn door do that?”
Jin bowed and apologized to Saki, who smiled mischievously.
“I’m really sorry! I remodeled it without asking. Sorry… If you want me to fix it, I’ll put it back to how it was right away. “
Saki smiled at his words and shook her head, “Haha, that’s okay. I don’t really use this barn anyways, and we’re ‘family’ right?”
Hearing her say this, Jin grinned. “Thank you. ”
In the afternoon, Jin and Saki, followed by Reiko and Aal, made their way to Reinhardt’s house.
“Hey Jin. Hi Saki. It’s finally time for the Expo, huh?” Reinhardt greeted them with a smile.
They all moved to a private room in Reinhardt’s home. Reinhardt’s father, Wolfgang, had already left for Koju.
“Welcome to our home Lord Jin, Ms. Saki.”
Berthie brewed fragrant tea.
“The paddle wheeler is floating on Lake Tosmo.”
“Yeah, I heard from Laojun. Thanks. ”
Reinhard always kept one of Jin’s mana comms to stay in contact.
Speaking of things belonging to Jin, he just remembered leaving some of his treatment magic, healing and remedy drugs, and golem horses with Lycia and Pasco.
Well, it’s Lycia so she wouldn’t abuse or misuse my stuff, but I need to go pick it up soon, Jin thought.
That night, they rested at Reinhardt’s house before heading to Koju the next morning.
“I heard Prince Ernest of the Kingdom of Egelia will be there, and there’ll be magi craftsman coming from the Kingdom of Celuroa too.” Reinhardt added that the Royals of Celuroa weren’t coming because the country was going through some internal unrest.
“I’m excited for it.”
“Yeah, absolutely. I wonder how many people will be named Magi Engineer Maestro this year? Well, without a doubt, Jin will be. But I hope I’ll have a chance too.”
Magi Engineer Maestro was the title given to leading magi craftsman. It wasn’t limited to one person, so anyone deemed excellent could receive the title. It was rarely ever given out to begin with though.
Father is far better than any of them though…Beside them, Reiko refrained from voicing this comment, but she was thinking it in her heart.
＊ ＊ ＊
The following day, the group departed from Reinhardt’s estate at 8:00 in the morning. They took the exact opposite route they had taken the last time they crossed the lake from Koju.
They arrived at Lake Tosmo, where Reinhardt’s paddle wheeler was moored. Lorelei was there watching over it. On board was Regulus 41, one of the Quinta from the Shouro Empire.
Lorelei was the mermaid-shaped golem made by Reinhardt for the golem boat competition in Potlock. She couldn’t walk though because she had no legs, so she was basically luggage while they were on land. She had been left in a carriage loaded with food and water, but had been partially damaged when Valentino’s golem, Albus, had attacked them in front of the village of Luford.
It was Elsa who noticed this.
Elsa and Lorelei had competed together in Potlock, and she wanted to see Lorelei moving again like back then. So, she took Lorelei from Reinhardt secretly and fixed her up with Jin.
Hearing about this now, Reinhardt scratched his head and apologized to Lorelei, “Sorry, Lorelei, you should’ve been repaired sooner. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to fix you myself.”
“No, my creator, don’t worry. Let’s put it behind us. Here’s your ship.”
“Thank you, Lorelei,” Reinhard said and looked at the paddle wheeler.
It was 15 meters long and 3 meters wide. The ship was classified as medium-sized. Its hull was slender and streamlined. It was a high-speed vessel suitable for the gentle waves of Lake Tosmo.
“Okay, Mac? Okay, Mick. All aboard.”
Mac was on the right and Mick was on the left.
“Yah, my creator.”
The twin golems boarded the paddle wheeler.
“Love, what’s the ship’s name?” Berthie asked.
As if Reinhardt had been waiting for the question, he declared the name of the ship without hesitation, “Of course. The name of this ship is Scarlet Trail.”
“Scar, scarlet … ?”
It was a bright red color, full of vitality. It was also Berthie’s imperial name.
Shouro Imperial nobles gave their names in the following order: first name, last name von imperial name. Imperial names were given to nobles by the royal family. For that reason, they were seen as names of honor.
Berthie’s name, Scarlet, was given to her by the sister of the Emperor, Charlotte Ariana von Leonard Shouro.
The ship’s hull gleamed red.
Reinhardt reached out to Berthie, whose face flushed, “Ber, this ship is dedicated to you.”
He then climbed on board the Scarlet Trail.
“Kufu, that’s sure like Reinhardt.” Saki, who was watching, smiled to herself.
“Jin, Claude will load the carriage and everything on another boat. You guys should get on.”
Hearing this, Jin made his way to board. Hesitating about whether to grab Saki’s hand or not, he lost his balance on the pier.
“Father, it’s dangerous.” Reiko moved to support him.
Jin wasn’t good with ships. They boarded the Scarlet Trail together.
The hull had a flat bottom, so it was stable at least.
Reinhardt and Berthie were on the bow of the ship, with Noir and Neon nearby. The paddle wheels were attached to the left and right of the boat’s center. Mac and Mick were ready to man them. At the rear of the hull stood Jin and Saki, followed by Reiko, Aal, and Lorelei. Lorelei was there to rescue anyone in case of an emergency.
“Alright, here we go. The Scarlet Trail is off!”
When Reinhardt signaled, Mac and Mick began turning their paddle wheels. The paddle wheels, driven by their mighty arms, kicked the water vigorously and the Scarlet Trail began leaving the pier.
“Oh, it’s pretty fast.”
Jin was impressed as well. It was a substantial speed for a vessel of this size.
The Scarlet Trail glided across Lake Tosmo.
Reinhard, who saw no other boats around him, decided to try pushing their speed. “Ok, full speed! Could you help out too, Lorelei.”
The specially designed golems, Mac and Mick, powered the ship fiercely. The paddle wheels whirled, driving the Scarlet Trail like an arrow.
Lorelei jumped into the water and gave the ship an even further boost. There was no way this wasn’t fast.
“We’re going about 40 km/h, huh.”
It was faster than the golem boat that had been in Potlock. This was astounding given the number of crew members manning things.
“But, well, we can’t stay at this speed for too long.”
Unfortunately, it was difficult to maintain the magic tank and the mana driver like this.
I’m sure Jin’s technology could handle it, but there’s no meaning to it if it’s not something I can make with my own hands, Reinhardt thought. He had his pride.
Even so, the Scarlet Trail was a top-class vessel.
“It’s sure fast my love. It’s sure to be the fastest on Lake Tosmo.”
Berthie wasn’t wrong about that. Except for Jin’s Hydro series, it was the fastest ship in the world.
All the other boats crossing the lake were astounded at the speed of the Scarlet Trail.