After enjoying the hot cake, Jin and his friends had a little more time to spare before they had to go back, so they went back to finish their tasks at hand.
Elsa went to check out Lisa who was working with the golem maids.
Reinhardt continued monitoring Noir’s operation.
Berthie and Mine were being polite and helped cleaned the dishes.
Jin went back to the underground hall and asked Laojun regarding his progress.
“My Lord, I’ll give you an interim report on Marcus.”
“All right. I’m listening.”
“Yes. My Lord’s presumption was correct after all. I learned a lot more from Transinfo level 8.”
Even if his memory was erased, there seemed to be some remnants remaining. It would be more accurate to say that his memory could not be recalled, instead of being erased.
It was comparable to protected sectors of FAT (File Allocation Table) of a personal computer so they could not be read or deleted.
Although it seemed to disappear at first glance, it was still there.
“I see! So what did you find out?”
“Yes. … There was an important finding. First of all, there is no doubt that Marcus was manipulated by a demon.”
That was as expected. So my presumption was confirmed.
“The demon’s name was Marcosias. Marcus was targeted most likely because of the similarity in their names.”
It seemed Marcus was very unlucky to have been chosen just because of that.
“Here’s the important part. First of all, Marcosias, or Marcus, was investigating human technology, ecology, and society.”
Elsa also mentioned something similar. Their purpose was to measure human’s ability. That was probably his mission.
“He seemed to do various things to see the reactions of human beings. Georg Randol’s inferiority complex toward his brother was used to cast magic similar to Seduce to manipulate his actions.
According to Laojun’s analysis and reasoning, the cast magic seemed to have awakened and encouraged his deepest desires.
“I see, that explains his abnormal behavior, right?”
“That’s correct. Poisoning the Marquess was completely arbitrary. I think this analysis is accurate.”
That was good news. That fact would change the situation considerably. Elsa would be happy to hear that, too.
“Anything else?”
“Yes. It seems that the Seduce cast on Mine was part of it as well.
Laojun ended his interim report with such a conclusion.
This would be our chance to learn about Marcosias’ abilities and demon skills.
“All right. Please continue.”
Jin felt relieved. The poisoning of the Marquess was not directed by Elsa’s father, the former Viscount Georg Randol.
Thinking more thoroughly, the timing of poisoning was pretty bad. It would have been more advantageous for Elsa to marry and poison him after their baby was born.
Jin felt a little relieve since he and Elsa would not need to visit the Marquess with a guilty feeling.
Two hours later, Jin and his friends returned to Count Randol’s residence.
June 26th, after dawn. Jin and his friends were planning to head to Marquess Theodoric, but some unexpected things happened.
“Jin!”
“It’s been three days since I last saw you!”
The first was the unexpected arrival of Prince Ernest and Princess Lieschen at Earl Randol, Reinhardt’s parents’ home.
The other unexpected thing was …
“’Lord Jin Nidou, Egelia Kingdom would like to grant you the title of Magi Craft Meister together with your honorary knighthood.’”
“’Lord Jin Nidou, Klein Kingdom would like to grant you the title of Magi Craft Meister as well, together with your honorary knighthood.’”
The prince and princess read the document aloud.
Egelia and Klein Kingdoms had granted Jin the title of Magi Craft Meister.
“Isn’t the Manaphone convenient? The day before yesterday, I reported everything regarding the technology expo to my father. Yesterday morning, I was contacted to grant you the title of Magi Craft Meister.”
“Same here. My father made a swift decision. He probably thought he would fall behind other countries in granting you the title.”
After announcing the official notice, the Prince and Princess returned to their casual tones and laughed openly.
“Congratulations to Jin! You’re now a Magi Craft Meister who is fully recognized by three countries!”
Reinhardt was so happy as if he was the one receiving the recognition.
“Brother Jin, congratulations.”
“Congratulations, Lord Jin.”
“Lord Jin, I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Congratulations, Father!”
Elsa, Mine, and Berthie were also pleased that Jin was named Magi Craft Meister by two other countries. Reiko expressed extreme joy for the good news. She looked so happy that she was about to break into a dance any moment now.
“Say, Jin, what’s Magi Craft Meister?”
Even though Princess Lieschen announced the title, she did not seem to know what Magi Craft Meister was.
“Lies, Magi Craft Meister was originally called a legendary Magi Craftsman a long time ago.”
As expected, Prince Ernest answered her before Jin did.
“I see. In other words, Jin is the second generation, right?”
“That would be accurate. Maybe messengers from Celuroa, Franz, and Elias Kingdoms would come soon as well.”
Disregarding Jin, the Prince and Princess had a conversation by themselves. With a warm expression, Jin smiled listening to their conversation.
Although he was recognized as a Magi Craft Meister, which was the pinnacle of a Magi Craftsman, Jin knew that was not the only perk. Only Jin knew about it, to be exact.
It was the “right of access to the Magi Engineering Library”.
Races like wizards and sorcerers could absorb Ether from the atmosphere by breathing it in. It was then transformed into Mana in their bodies.
Mana in the body would be used up when utilizing magic. However, by absorbing and transforming Ether from the atmosphere, Mana could be recovered over time.
This Mana could take various energy forms and be manipulated, depending on the will and image of the user. And hence, it was called magic.
Chanting an incantation could support forming a clear image in the user’s mind. However, chanting became unnecessary if the user could create a clear image in the mind.
Simple phenomena such as fire, light, and wind were classified as beginner magic that could be easily utilized by anyone who could use magic.
The process up to activation became complicated for intermediate to advanced magic. Therefore, it could not be utilized by just anyone.
The process for activating intermediate to advanced magic would be similar to computer software.
Magi Engineering could be compared to high-end 3D model production software.
The place where this software was installed became the “library” of the “world where magic exists”.
Magical talent would be someone’s ability to access that library.
Jin had almost unlimited access to the Magi Engineering library.
On the other hand, the attack magic library was almost inaccessible.
Such magic theory had been forgotten for over 300 years. The Magi War was a significant incident that changed the world.
“How long will you be here, Your Highness?”
“Here” was referring to the Shouro Empire.
“Well, I’m planning to stay until the end of this month at most. I’ll have to leave this house in a little bit, too. I want some free time.”
Since he was the prince, Prince Ernest grumbled when he had no free time.
“Prince Ernest, I feel the same way, too …”
Both the prince and princess looked at one another and smiled bitterly.
＊＊＊
Due to the unexpected event in the morning, Jin, Elsa, Mine, Reinhardt, and Berthie finally headed for the Marquess’ residence after lunch.
Reiko, Edgar, Neon, and Noir were dressed as usual, but Lisa was wearing a hooded coat so to conceal her appearance.
Again, Noir rode a golem horse, and Reiko sat on Jin’s lap. After all, the carriage was overloaded, so it could not be helped.
It was approximately a 50-km journey between Banne and Mahahama. An ordinary carriage would take a day for the one way trip, but Jin’s carriage could reach their destination in less than an hour.
However, due to other carriages on the road, they could not maintain a speed of 50 kmph. In the end, it took them an hour and a half to get there.
The Marquess’ residence was built in a quiet environment surrounded by forests. An old-fashioned three-story building made of stones. On the left and right were spires proudly protruding.
“Hi, Jin, Reinhardt, Berthie, Elsa, and Mine. Long time no see.”
Many servants lined up by the front entrance to the Marquess’ residence to welcome them. Saki was there to greet them as well. She was dressed like a daughter of the Marquess. She was even wearing hair accessories.
With Saki’s drastic change in appearance, Jin was at a loss for words. Realizing what just happened, Saki blushed and gave a wry smile.
“Heh, as I thought. This doesn’t suit me, right?”
“Ah, no, that’s not the case. You look so good that I was speechless. Uhm …”
At that time, Reinhardt came to the rescue.
“Wow, you look good, Saki. You already look beautiful, so anything would look good on you.”
“…”
Upon hearing Reinhardt’s compliment, Saki turned beet red and stayed silent.
“Well, everyone, welcome.”
Karen followed up after and welcomed everyone.
“I heard you’re coming from the messenger on a fast horse. Father is also looking forward to meeting you. … Elsa, you have returned. Congratulations.”
While Saki was still blushing, Karen instructed the servants to invite everyone in. Karen was tactful in a way that she did not neglect in greeting Elsa.
She did not greet Mine. Perhaps she thought Mine was a servant being assigned to Elsa, or that she was not her real mother.
The living room was huge. At the carpeted corner of the room, the Marquess was sitting in an armchair waiting for their arrival.
“Oh, Jin, you’ve made it. I heard that you received the title of Magi Craft Meister. Splendid. Pardon me for sitting down, because of this weak body.”
His body was still thin, but the jaundice had disappeared and his skin had returned to a healthy color. He seemed to be in better condition.
“Reinhardt, thank you for your hard work in keeping Jin entertained. Miss Berthie … how is your newlywed life?”
“Oh, yes, it’s wonderful …”
“Hmm, you seem to be very compatible with Reinhardt. It seems that your sex appeal has also come out.”
The Marquess laughed. That would be sexual harassment, but there was no such concept in this world.
“…”
Perhaps she was still feeling uneasy, Elsa stood silently behind Jin. The Marquess noticed her.
“Elsa, come over here. I’m not telling you to marry me anymore.”
Beckoned and unable to remain hidden, Elsa stepped forward.
“Hmm, I always thought you’re still a young girl. But it seems that you have gradually become an adult. Could it be because of the fruit of Lord Jin’s education?”
“Eh, ah, yes.”
Elsa did not understand what the Marquess was saying and gave a strange reply. The Marquess squinted at her.
He then gestured for everyone to take a seat.
“Well, everyone, please sit down.”