During dinner at the Sea Roar Pavilion, Jin and the others shared a modest toast to celebrate the formation of their team.
“Well then, to the formation of Team MJR!”
Their glasses clinked together with a light ring.
“Let’s do our best to win!” Marcia cheered.
MJR stood for the initials of Marcia, Jin, and Reiko. Jin had left the naming entirely up to Marcia.
After their peaceful meal, they settled in for a strategy meeting. Jin brought up a question he had been holding onto.
“By the way, what was the deal with that pompous guy today?”
“...”
Marcia looked hesitant to speak. Sensing her discomfort, Jin added, “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.”
However, Marcia seemed to reach a decision. “No, I don’t want to keep secrets from my teammates.”
She let out a breath and began to explain.
“That man is Valentino. He’s the third son of Marquis Hudson of the Kingdom of Elias. He’s currently the assistant to the lord here in Port Rock... and he’s made it quite clear that he wants to make me his concubine.”
“What?”
“He already has three wives and two concubines. He claims he won't be satisfied until he has an equal number of both.”
“What a piece of work...” Jin said, genuinely appalled.
“I have no idea why he took a liking to me,” Marcia said firmly.
Looking at her, Jin thought that while she didn't wear a lick of makeup, she was certainly a beauty. He kept that thought to himself, however.
“So, is he entering the race too?”
“He is. In fact, he’s a favorite to win. He uses his family name and money to hire the best shipwrights and skilled magi craftmen. There’s even a rumor that he brought in a magi craftman from the Celuroa Kingdom, the heart of magi craft.”
“There is no way my brother could lose to a man like that.”
Reiko, who had been listening in silence until then, couldn't help but interject.
“Ah, right. I believe that too,” Marcia agreed.
“So, what’s the schedule from here on out?” Jin asked, steering the conversation back to the race.
“Well, tomorrow we need to buy the materials for you to build the golem, Jin. I’d love to say that money is no object, but... well, you saw the state of things. Don’t expect too much.”
“That’s fine. Ordinary materials will be more than enough.”
“Also, I’ll be helping with the morning fishing until the day after tomorrow, so we can't go shopping until the afternoon. You’re free to do whatever you like until noon.”
“Helping with the fishing? Why?”
Marcia looked a bit embarrassed. “The official reason is to get used to being on a boat, but the truth is, I need to earn every bit of cash I can.”
“I see. Understood. Well then, should we meet back here in the dining room at noon?”
Jin had taken a liking to the food at the inn. Meanwhile, Reiko was already starting to develop a firm grasp of Jin’s culinary preferences.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Marcia nodded.
After some more talk—how the lord might come to watch the race, and how there were awards for design and ingenuity alongside speed—the meeting came to an end.
Once they were alone, Reiko spoke up. “Honestly, Father, you are far too meddlesome. Helping people again, I see?”
She was likely thinking of what had happened in Blue Land.
“Yeah, I guess. But the race itself sounds interesting. I think it’ll be fun.”
“If you are satisfied, Father, then it is fine. However, I worry that she is simply using you for her own convenience.”
In his previous life, Jin had often been exploited by his superiors and seniors at work, and he was vaguely aware of his own nature. However, habits like that were hard to break.
“You’re right, I’ll be careful,” Jin said. It was the best answer he could give for now. “Anyway, I think I’ll take a shower and freshen up.”
He felt sticky after spending the whole day in the salt air.
“I’m going to go wash off,” Jin told Reiko. He grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and headed for the communal bathroom... only to return almost immediately.
“Father? What is the matter?”
“It’s no good. There’s only cold water, and you have to pump it yourself into a bucket on a shelf before you can even use it. To make it worse, maybe because the sea is so close, the well water is all cloudy.”
Jin was reminded once again that clean water was a precious resource. He had built pumps back in Kaina Village, but it seemed they hadn't spread this far yet.
“I’ll go back to Hourai Island tomorrow and take a proper bath there.”
Giving up on washing for the night, Jin lay in his bed at the inn, turning various designs over in his head until he eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Jin and Reiko used the Warp Gate to return to the laboratory to pick up materials.
Reiko was carrying a barrel of fish sauce. Since they couldn't find soy sauce, she had bought this as a seasoning with a similar flavor.
After soaking in a morning bath that Reiko had prepared, Jin immediately began his preparations.
“Alright. Reiko, we have some Sham Dragon hide, don't we?”
Its wing membranes had been used for Reiko’s skin because they were thin and tough. In contrast, the hide was thick and highly elastic.
“Yes. I hunted one during the fourth warp and secured it as a material,” Reiko said casually as she handed the fish sauce to Perido, the golem in charge of housework. Normally, a magical beast with the name “Dragon,” even a “Sham” one, required a party of ten or more to take down.
“Good. I’ll need some of that. Also, a wind-attribute magi-crystal.”
“Wind-attribute? Wouldn’t a water-attribute be more appropriate?”
It was a logical question, but Jin’s answer was simple.
“The golem I’m designing needs speed more than raw power.”
“Understood.”
Replying obediently, Reiko gathered the requested items.
“Alright. Now then, let’s make some swimsuits.”
“Pardon?”
Jin looked at Reiko’s puzzled face and explained, “Well, there was a swimming area back at the port, wasn't there? I’d like to go for a swim for the first time in a while.”
“I see.”
For this task, the ground spider silk made another appearance.
“My predecessor was truly incredible, even building a knitting machine,” Jin remarked.
“Yes, Mother was great,” Reiko agreed.
The first Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, had developed various spinning and weaving machines. Among them was a knitting machine capable of weaving jersey-like fabric.
“Setting the navy-blue thread... okay, start.”
Once activated, the machine wove the fabric at a speed that rivaled modern Earth machinery. Since it was only for swimsuits, Jin stopped the machine once he had a decent length and removed the fabric.
“We can dye it later, so I’ll have some more woven in white for now.”
“Yes....Luna, Soleil, I leave the rest to you.”
Leaving the remaining work to Reiko’s two subordinates, Jin set about finishing the swimsuits.
“A cut here, fold this over, fuse this part... Alright, done. Reiko, this is for you.”
“Thank you very much.”
Jin had crafted a navy-blue one-piece swimsuit. He told himself that any resemblance to a school swimsuit was purely a coincidence. Next, he made a pair of trunks for himself.
“Good, we still have time before noon. Let’s head back to the Sea Roar Pavilion and change.”
Back in Port Rock, the two of them changed into their new swimsuits and headed for the beach behind the inn.
“This is nice and close.”
Jin walked right into the sea. The water temperature was relatively high, so it didn't feel cold at all. Reiko followed him.
Reiko’s specific gravity was almost identical to a human's, so she could float if she relaxed her body. For a while, the two of them floated peacefully on the calm surface of the inlet, soaking in the southern sun.
“Ah, this is the life,” Jin muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a voice called out to them.
“Oh? Could it be that the young lady there is a doll?”
“Wha—what?...Gah!”
Startled, Jin tried to sit up, accidentally swallowing a mouthful of seawater and coughing.
“Father, are you alright?” Reiko asked, coming to his side.
The man who had spoken continued, “Ah, I knew it! What magnificent craftsmanship! We don't have anything like this in my country. Is she an artifact, perhaps?”
The speaker looked to be three or four years older than Jin. He was slender and lanky, with gray hair and gray eyes. His skin was pale, despite a light tan. Since he was also in a swimsuit, he appeared to be another visitor to the beach.
Jin tensed up. “Why do you think Reiko is a doll?”
The man shrugged his shoulders with a theatrical flourish.
“Well, I am a magi engineer of the Shouro Empire—or a magi craftman, as they say in these parts. Oh, pardon me. My name is Reinhard.”
“...I’m Jin. This is Reiko,” Jin replied, still cautious.
Reinhard smiled. “Jin-kun and Miss Reiko, I see. By any chance, are you two also entering the Golem Boat Race?”
When Jin confirmed they were, Reinhard’s smile widened.
“I’m participating too. This is my golem.”
With that, he introduced a golem that suddenly broke the surface of the water next to him.
“The golem I poured my heart and soul into: Lorelei.”
It was a golem with the lower body of a fish—a mermaid-type golem.