Jin’s airship slowly landed at the center of the square after it flew over Tosmo Lake for about 10 minutes.
He felt relieved. He did the demonstration without a rehearsal, but it went unexpectedly well. In his pocket was something Laojun handed to him before he left.
(He said it was imbued with weight ultra-lightening magic, but I’m glad I didn’t have to use it.)
Although Gravity Magic was still under an analytical study, he managed to reproduce Weight Reduction.
Even if the airship crashed, utilizing this magic would reduce the weight to almost zero and prevent injuries.
As the airship landed, the audience exploded into applause and cheers.
“Take me for the next ride!”
“No, me first!”
“Me!!”
The arena became chaotic due to people fighting to go for the next ride.
“W-wow, this is amazing.”
Saki was also being pulled a little while she was disembarking.
People seemed to have a dream to fly in the sky.
“Please be quiet!”
The announcer at the venue was screaming but was drowned by the voices of the audience.
At that moment …
“Be quiet!”
The voice of the Empress echoed throughout the arena.
It was undoubtedly a voice of authority. The audience in the venue calmed and quieted down.
“I understand your feelings. But please maintain order!”
Looking at the time allotted for his demonstration, he could only take one more volunteer for a ride. Even though there were dissatisfied visitors, he managed to get their acceptance of the situation.
And then the next volunteer for the test-drive was selected. The Empress would appoint a name. There was no other selection method that the audience would accept.
The Empress appointed an elderly nobleman. Jin was not personally acquainted with him.
But Saki seemed to know him and showed astonishment in her expression for a split second. She immediately turned her face away and returned to the arena. Even though she seemed to know him, she definitely did not have a good impression of him.
On the contrary, the nobleman seemed wanting to say something to Saki. But she ran off without giving him a chance to say a word.
The nobleman was bald with an indiscriminately tall physique. But he was terribly thin, and his complexion was not very good. His bodyweight seemed to be very light.
“I’ll be in your care.”
The nobleman nodded to Jin courteously and slowly boarded the airship.
“O-okay, let’s go.”
Jin ascended the airship again. Until they reached altitude, the nobleman silently gazed at the ground.
(This is awkward …)
Jin was troubled about what to say. But to his surprise, the nobleman broke the ice and started to talk to Jin.
“Um, did you say your name is Jin? This is an outstanding vehicle.”
“Y-yes, thank you. It’s called an airship.”
“I see. You mentioned that a while ago. It certainly is a ship that flies in the sky. The vehicle called ‘Hot Flying Ball’ that raided Klein Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom would be inferior to this vehicle, wouldn’t it?”
“Pardon me, but perhaps do you have military relations?”
Jin asked him out of curiosity because his attitude toward Jin was gentle, but his aura was somewhat different.
“Um, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Marquess Gueren Theodoric von Eisen. I’m retired now, but I was a lieutenant general in the military.”
“…!”
He was Saki’s grandfather that said he wanted Elsa to be his wife. However, the impression was quite different from what Jin had heard. He seemed serious and did not seem to throw his weight around.
“Pardon me, but how fast can this airship go? Would you show me the maximum speed?”
“Y-yes.”
Jin set the Magi Propulsion Device to its maximum output. The airship sailed through the wind. It picked up quite a speed since it was supported by a weak tailwind as well.
“Oh, it’s fast! It’s about 100 kilometers per hour, isn’t it?”
In this world, vehicles that could run as fast as 100 kilometers per hour were almost nonexistent. Horses could run as fast as about 70 kilometers per hour.
He was supposed to be surprised by it, but the Marquess was persistently calm in giving his assessment. The Empress might have selected him based on this reason.
“How far can it fly?”
“Well, I’ve never tried it, but as long as there’s no problem with the people on board, I think it could fly forever.”
But since water supply and provisions could be a problem, if it flew for about 12 hours with a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, then it would travel 1,200 kilometers. It was a reasonable distance.
“Hmm, how much weight can it carry?”
“Let’s see. It can carry about 6 people. In terms of weight, it would be up to about 500 kilograms.”
“Hmm, that’s not quite enough.”
As expected, he was thinking of military applications for the airship after all.
A Hot Flying Ball could carry 200 kilograms at most, but the Marquess seemed not to know such detail.
“What is the cost per unit … No, I guess that’s a different problem.”
The Marquess told Jin that he already asked what he wanted, so he would like to enjoy the ride a little more. Jin made a large turn above Lake Tosmo.
“…”
The Marquess, who was silent for a while, asked yet another question.
“… Are you on good terms with Saki?”
“Huh?!”
“Didn’t you hear from her? I’m her grandfather. Isn’t it normal to worry about my cute granddaughter?”
“I-I guess.”
The Marquess stroked his hairless head while letting out a self-torturing laugh.
“… Apparently, I won’t live for too long either. I only wish for my granddaughter’s happiness. … So, what do you think of Saki?”
“Um, Miss Saki … I think she’s an excellent alchemist.”
As he heard that answer, the Marquess gestured with his hand while interrupted Jin.
“No, no, that’s not it. What I’m asking is what you think of her as a woman.”
“As a woman …?”
To be honest, Jin had never desired a woman since he came to this world.
“Well, she’s a good friend of mine ……”
The Marquess sighed at Jin for answering hesitantly.
“I see. As I thought … She’s incomplete as a woman …, she doesn’t have any sex appeal. But she can’t be called a man either. As for me, I’d like to see my grandchildren’s faces while I’m still alive.”
Jin was concerned about what the Marquess had repeatedly mentioned and decided to ask him directly.
“Um, your Excellency. Are you ill?”
“Hmm? Yes, that’s right. I’ve lost nearly 80 kilograms in the past year. Even a Healer couldn’t heal my illness. I guess this is destiny.”
The Marquess gently smiled. Jin noticed the jaundiced sclera of the Marquess’ eyes and the redness of his palms.
“Are there any visible swollen blood vessels on your abdomen by any chance?”
Jin’s question was a shot in the dark, but the Marquess’ complexion changed after hearing it.
“What? How do you know that?! I’ve never told anyone!”
In fact, Jin read about such illness once in a manga featuring a black doctor. The symptom was nicknamed Medusa’s Head.
“It might be cirrhosis …”
It was a liver disease that could be caused by viruses, alcohol, or drugs. The reason why Jin could diagnose it as a liver disease was due to the symptom of jaundice.
“Do you know something about this disease?!”
The Marquess got a little excited but was still maintaining his calmness. He asked Jin about the disease in more detail.
“Yes, I dare say. Pardon me, would you mind if I perform a medical examination using Magic?”
“Huh? Can you do that as well? I don’t mind if you can, please be my guest.”
“Pardon me. … Reiko, please.”
Jin gave Reiko, who was operating the Magi Propulsion Device at the rear of the boarding basket, some instructions.
“Yes. ‘Diagnose’ … As expected, there’s an abnormality in the liver.”
The Marquess saw Reiko anew with gleaming eyes.
“Um, what is that child? She isn’t human, is she? Is she an Automata?”
“Oh, yes.”
“She’s cute. Children are wonderful.”
The Marquess gazed at Reiko with gentle eyes.
(Sure, he seems to like children, but this is …)
Jin was wondering if the Marquess’ disposition was conveyed in a distorted manner.
“When Saki was little, she was very fond of me … It seems that I was too strict with her, and she completely hates me now.”
The Marquess muttered such remark. Looking at his extremely lonely appearance, Jin could not help but ask.
“Your Excellency, do you know Elsa Randol?”
Upon hearing Elsa’s name, the Marquess seemed to stiffen his cheeks for a moment but returned calm right after.
“… Elsa? Yes, I know her. She’s pretty cute. I wanted her to be my wife, but I’m running out of time.”
(So the rumor about him wanting to marry Elsa is true …)
Jin’s impression of the Marquess’ reputation has gone down a little — no, a lot.
“W-why a young girl?”
With the flow of the conversation, Jin decided to ask his reasons.
“Hmm? … Well, there are various reasons. More importantly, what about my body?”
The Marquess completely dodged the question and asked Jin to tell him about the result of the diagnosis.
“… I don’t know the cause, but an organ in your body called the liver is damaged.”