On the return journey from Toka Village, the golem Gon pulled a handcart that was itself carrying another handcart, meaning everyone else could simply walk.
"Man, that Gon is really something. Jin never ceases to amaze us."
Rock and all the other men shared that sentiment.
As an aside, it goes without saying that on the way back, Jin loaded the other broken golem—the one he had destroyed—onto the cart and brought it home as well.
Today, Jin had taken Gon to a pass overlooking Death Mountain. He was searching for magi-crystals; even small ones would do. Naturally, they were the materials needed to repair the other golem.
"There should be some around here..."
"Jin Onii-chan, if you want pretty stones, they're on the other side of that mountain over there!"
Hanna called out from atop Gon’s shoulder. Although she had been terrified of the golem at first, she had gradually grown accustomed to him after seeing how obediently he listened to Jin. Now, she had reached the point where she would hitch a ride on his shoulder whenever they moved about.
"Is that so? Alright, let's go take a look."
Following Hanna’s advice, they descended into a valley behind Death Mountain, taking care to choose a spot free of volcanic gases.
As they descended, the number of colored stones increased. The rock seemed to be granitic. These locations were often rich in various minerals. However, going too far down was dangerous, so Jin called a halt.
"Alright, let's search here. Grand Search."
He scanned the area with his exploration magic and, luckily, found magi-crystals at a relatively shallow depth.
"Gon, try digging here for a bit."
After letting Hanna down from his shoulder, the golem Gon began to tear into the ground. He dug with such ferocity that the air seemed to vibrate with the grinding of earth; within minutes, a hole about five meters wide gaped in the ground.
"Wow, amazing!"
Hanna watched, her eyes wide with wonder. Suddenly, she noticed a flash of light.
"Onii-chan, something sparkled!"
"Alright, Gon, stop for a second....What is this? Ah, isn't this muscovite?"
There lay a massive crystal of muscovite, over one meter square.
"This could be useful... Oh, that's it! Gon, dig out what's there."
Gon immediately unearthed the muscovite. It was a beautiful, highly transparent crystal.
"This is perfect. Winter's coming soon, after all," Jin muttered as he inspected the find.
Hanna tilted her head. "Onii-chan, is this useful?"
"Yeah, it’s very useful....Alright, that looks like all of it. Gon, dig a bit deeper."
Having finished extracting the muscovite, Gon resumed his work. Before he had even dug another fifty centimeters, yellow crystals appeared amidst the rubble.
"Oh? Success! It's an earth-attribute magi-crystal!"
"It's so pretty, Onii-chan."
Hanna marveled at the crystal. The transparency was high enough that it could have passed for a gemstone; it was a specimen of remarkable quality.
Having unearthed about five such magi-crystals, Jin stopped Gon and prepared to head back.
"Hanna, we're walking on the way back. Are you okay?"
"Yeah! I'm full of energy!"
The magi-crystals could fit in a pocket, but the muscovite had become a massive load. Even the powerful Gon didn't have the leeway to carry Hanna as well.
"……………"
"Onii-chan, hurry up!"
"...Haa, whew."
As it turned out, Jin still lacked the stamina of an eight-year-old girl.
＊ ＊ ＊
"What’s that? You've brought back something unusual again."
When they returned, Martha shared her thoughts upon seeing the muscovite.
"This is muscovite," Jin explained.
The name supposedly originated from "Muscovy glass." Jin recalled reading in a mineralogy book that if used as a glass substitute, it was lightweight, hard to break, and wouldn't cause injury with its shards. The only downside was that its transparency was lower than that of actual glass.
"I’ll just set this into the window frame like this, and..."
He fitted the muscovite into a wooden frame he had fashioned, then installed the whole piece into the window.
"How does it look?"
For the time being, he installed it in the kitchen window and waited for Martha's reaction.
"Well now, you can see right through it, and it keeps the draft out! This is wonderful! It’ll be a huge help with winter coming!"
Encouraged, Jin spent the next day fitting muscovite into all the windows in the house. Naturally, he designed them so they could be opened and closed.
"It's bright, and it keeps the warmth from escaping. This will save us a fortune in firewood. Thank you, Jin."
"You're very welcome."
"It's so warm~"
As the sunlight streamed in, the room grew cozy—so pleasant that Hanna even began to doze off on her bed.
"Now then, next is this."
Since the muscovite they had brought back was almost gone, fitting windows for the rest of the village would have to wait. Instead, Jin decided to restore the other golem.
"I'll use three yellow magi-crystals."
One for the ether converter, one for the mana driver, and one for the control core. He carved the specialized programs into each using the Magi Language.
At this point, the specifications already far exceeded an ordinary golem—even top-tier ones. However, just as when he had repaired the automata, Jin lacked any sense of self-awareness or restraint.
"Alright, done. I've given the control core conditional intelligence, so I haven't forgotten anything. Now then, Gon, come here."
Since Gon lacked an ether converter, Jin used one of the two remaining magi-crystals for him. The last one was for his control core. The original control core was of poor quality, so he removed it, intending to find another use for it later. While he was at it, he tuned Gon up, giving both golems the same level of ability. Now he had two truly outrageous golems.
"Now then, might as well do it all at once. Trans Info....This time it was only a partial transfer, so it was no big deal."
"Onii-chaan, what are you doing?"
Hanna, having woken from her nap, wandered over.
"Huh? Are there two Gons?" she asked, looking at the golems lying side-by-side.
"Hanna, this one is Gon, but this one isn't."
"Hmm?"
At that point, Jin decided to change the color of the golems' exteriors. Both were wearing light combat armor; he gave Gon's a bluish tint. He was going for the look of a bronze knight, even though the armor was actually iron. He made the other one look silvery.
"Wow, so pretty."
"Hanna, this blue one is Gon. Gon, activate."
Gon stood up and spoke words of obedience to Jin.
"Yes, Master."
"Whoa, Gon talked!"
Hanna was shocked. However, Jin continued.
"Gon, this is Hanna. Her instructions are to be prioritized second only to mine."
"Acknowledged."
"Good....Hanna, Gon will listen to what you say now, too."
"Really? That's amazing!"
Hanna was purely delighted. Jin proceeded to activate the other one.
"I name you 'Gen.'...You are Gen."
"Yes, Master."
Gon and Gen... combined, they made "Gongen." It seemed he was going for "Avatar," though no one was there to critique his questionable naming sense.
"Hanna, this is Gen. Gen, this is Hanna. Her instructions are to be prioritized second only to mine."
"Acknowledged."
In this way, two guardians were born in Kaina Village that day.
With the help of the two golems, it took Jin about three days to fit muscovite windows into every single house in the village.