"Hourai Island has really come along, hasn't it?"
After returning to his base, Jin spent several days relaxing.
"Father, please give Gon and Gen roles as well," Reiko suggested one day.
"You're right... I wonder how everyone in Kaina Village is doing."
Jin had no way of knowing that, by the King's order, his innocence had already been publicly proclaimed.
"Now that I think about it, there's a Warp Gate in the basement of the workshop, isn't there?"
It was currently buried under several tons of earth, however.
"I wonder if we can use it?"
The thought of suddenly teleporting into a mass of dirt and being unable to move was less than appealing.
"In that case, Father, I believe we can remotely operate the Warp Gate to transfer the dirt sitting within its range over to this side."
"Oh, that's a clever idea."
All the Warp Gates within the laboratory functioned as master units, allowing Jin to perform various operations on their corresponding gates from afar.
"First, I'll disable the filtering function."
He temporarily suspended the security feature that restricted access to those with a magic waveform identical to his own.
"And now, reverse transfer... Whoa!"
Jin jumped back as a pile of dirt suddenly materialized in the room.
"It seems to have worked," Reiko said with a small smile. She signaled for her subordinate, Rei, to clear the debris away.
"Now then, I will go first to discreetly assess the situation."
While the area immediately surrounding the Warp Gate was now clear, the rest of the basement was likely still filled with earth. Reiko intended to go through and dig a path out.
"Ah, about that, Reiko."
"Yes?"
"Actually, there should be a shelter I built on the outskirts of the village. It's about eighty percent finished. I only set up a simple barrier at the entrance, so you should be able to find it easily."
"Understood."
"I’d like to relocate the Warp Gate there."
"I see. In that case, I shall dismantle the unit in the basement and reassemble it at the shelter."
"Could you do that for me?"
"Yes. Please, leave it to me."
Jin decided to entrust the entire operation to Reiko.
Reiko began her work in the dead of night to avoid any potential witnesses. She stepped through the gate.
"As I thought, it is completely buried."
Earth packed the space around the Warp Gate.
"There are no signs of life nearby."
After confirming the area was clear using magic detection and life detection, she set to work. She shifted the earth and dug a tunnel to the surface. Since she had assisted Jin during the original construction, she knew exactly where the entrance was located.
Reiko eventually emerged into the workshop Jin had used. A month had passed since she was last here. Despite the absolute darkness, her eyes adjusted perfectly.
"Father's workshop..."
She cast a nostalgic look around the room before turning her attention to the Warp Gate. It was a familiar task; she had it dismantled in ten minutes. It took another five to move the components outside and backfill the hole.
"Now, for the shelter."
She projected her magic detection toward the outskirts of the village.
"I can sense a distortion in the mana. It must be here."
Target locked, Reiko carried the Warp Gate components through the dark. She found the shelter quickly, bypassed the barrier, and stepped inside.
"It is quite spacious. Both the floor and walls have been reinforced with Hardening... as expected of Father."
She moved with efficiency, reassembling and installing the Warp Gate in short order.
"Now, for a test run."
Reiko returned to Hourai Island, where Jin was waiting alongside the golems, Gon and Gen. Reiko noted their changed appearances, but decided to wait for Jin’s explanation before commenting.
"Welcome back, Reiko. Did everything go smoothly?"
"I have returned, Father. Yes, the Warp Gate has been installed without any issues."
"Good," Jin said. "Let’s head over and take a look."
Accompanied by Gon and Gen, Jin stepped into the Warp Gate. Reiko followed close behind.
When he emerged inside the shelter, he squinted into the gloom.
"...I can't see a thing. Light."
A glow emanated from his palm, illuminating the interior.
"Ah, it’s been a while."
Back before Reiko had joined him, Jin had watched animals fleeing the mountains and feared a magical beast might be approaching. He had built this shelter to give the villagers a place to hide.
"Is it still dark outside? Based on the moon's position, there’s about a two-hour time difference between here and Hourai."
A full moon hung in the sky, though it was much smaller than the one back on Earth and provided little illumination. It was just enough to make out shapes in the dark.
"Father, please hold onto my hand."
With Reiko’s assistance—since she was unaffected by the darkness—Jin was able to walk without stumbling. He followed her lead.
A short walk brought them to the edge of Kaina Village.
"Man, this brings back memories."
Only a month had passed, yet it felt like a lifetime ago.
"It doesn't look like anything happened... Good."
Unaware that his name had been cleared, Jin felt a wave of relief seeing the village in its peaceful state.
"There’s Martha's house... I wonder if Hanna is doing okay."
Jin felt a lump in his throat.
"Well, I shouldn't stand around getting sentimental."
He turned back to Gon and Gen.
"Gon, Gen. From now on, you will serve as the guardians of this village. Watch over it from the shadows. If anything happens, report to me immediately. You can use this shelter as your base of operations."
"Understood," they replied in unison.
"Oh? Their speech has become much more fluent," Reiko noted.
"Yeah. I gave them some upgrades while you were setting up the Warp Gate. I improved their autonomy and conversation modules, reinforced their frames with adamantite, and tweaked their appearances so they wouldn't be mistaken for anything else."
"I noticed the physical changes, but I didn't realize you had overhauled them to such an extent."
Since they had previously been confused for the golems that attacked during the tax collection, Jin had fundamentally redesigned their exteriors to prevent any future misunderstandings. He had strengthened their internal structures at the same time; they were essentially entirely new models.
"Like the Golem Maids on the island, they've become quite human-like."
"True. They don't have Skinning, but aside from being male-types, they're basically the same. And I'm going to have them wear these."
He produced sets of armor that resembled their original forms. If they were ever spotted, he wanted to ensure the villagers would recognize them as Gon and Gen.
Strictly speaking, if they were given Skinning to achieve a human appearance, they would be classified as Automata rather than golems, though the distinction was somewhat arbitrary.
"I’d love to stay, but it’s probably better to wait a bit longer for things to settle down before I show my face to everyone," Jin muttered.
He began the trek back to the shelter, guided by Reiko.
"Stay safe, everyone," he whispered.
Reiko, walking right beside him, heard him clearly.
At the shelter entrance, he meticulously reapplied the barrier.
"There. No one should be able to get inside unless they possess an incredible amount of magic power."
He added a special clause to the enchantment: the barrier would recognize and allow entry to Jin, Reiko, or the golems he had created. It was a technique from his predecessor that identified individuals by their specific magic waveform.
"Alright, Gon, Gen. I’m leaving the rest to you."
"Yes, Master. Leave it to us."
With the guardians in place, Jin and Reiko stepped through the gate and returned to Hourai Island.