After arriving on Kunlun Island, Jin's first order of business was setting up a Warp Gate.
"Right. Now I just need to install the corresponding Warp Gate in Blue Land."
"Father, let me handle that."
Before Jin could even finish his sentence, Reiko dove into the Warp Gate to return to Hourai Island.
She gathered the necessary materials, flew from Hourai to Blue Land, installed the gate to pair with the one on Kunlun Island, and then used it to return.
The entire process took barely fifteen minutes—a display of the efficiency only Reiko could provide.
Now that the means of transportation were ready, Jin could finally take his time to survey Kunlun Island.
His guides were Soleil and Luna, the two golems responsible for the island's development.
"First, this Warp Gate is located in the basement of the Mansion."
The stone-walled basement looked appropriately weathered, creating an atmosphere where finding an ancient artifact would feel perfectly natural.
"If you open the door and climb the stairs, you'll reach the entrance hall on the first floor."
The bronze door was heavy and even featured a realistic green patina, giving it the distinct look of a secret chamber's entrance. The design was likely a fusion of Jin's modern knowledge and that of his predecessor.
The entrance hall was a stone space roughly ten meters square. Murals and complex-looking formulas were carved into the walls.
Upon closer inspection, the carvings were mostly images of Five-Color Golems or harmless magi-formulas, but then Jin stopped.
"What in the world...?"
There, he found a poem written in Japanese—lyrics, to be precise. They belonged to a pop song that had been a hit about five years ago, a memory lingering in a corner of Jin's mind.
"Well, I suppose no one here can read it anyway, so it doesn't matter."
Jin moved on without overthinking the oddity.
"The room at the back is the workshop. We tried to make it look the part; what do you think?"
Inside were metallurgical tools like anvils, forges, and hammers, along with woodworking tools like saws, chisels, planes, and small knives.
A large, heavy-looking workbench sat in the center of the room. Every tool appeared well-worn, or at least had been meticulously crafted to look that way.
The shelves held a few magi-crystals and various colorful magi-stones. Another shelf contained a small amount of Ground Spider silk.
The adjacent storehouse was stocked with copper, bronze, cupronickel, nickel, iron, and tin. There was also light silver, mithril, and a small quantity of adamantite.
It felt like a miniature version of the workshop on Hourai Island.
"Hmm, this is more than enough. Soleil, Luna, you’ve done a great job."
As a reward, Jin presented them both with the Protect Rings he had crafted earlier.
"Thank you very much. We will treasure them."
Both golems accepted the gifts with visible joy.
The first floor also contained a dining room, a toilet, and a bathroom, all finished in a style that suggested recent remodeling. Notably, the toilet was Western-style.
Waste was magically broken down into its base elements, keeping the facilities clean and odorless.
To Jin's delight, the bath was fed by a hot spring pumped up from fifty meters underground. For a bath-lover like Jin, this was a fantastic addition. As a side note, he planned to have a hot spring dug on Hourai Island in the near future as well.
The dining room was quite spacious, large enough to seat ten people. The kitchen was equipped with four stoves Jin had crafted, and, of course, a refrigerator. Water was drawn up via a pump system.
"Yeah, everything looks perfect here."
The second floor served as the living quarters.
"The residential facilities are arranged like this."
There were eight rooms, each roughly the size of ten tatami mats. Two of them were covered with faux-tatami mats and were designated as the rooms for Jin and his fictional "Master."
To be precise, Jin’s room had a closet built in, which took up two mats' worth of space, leaving him with eight.
Jin's room and his Master's room were adjacent. Across the hallway were a study and a storeroom.
The remaining four rooms were Western-style with wooden floors and stone walls. The windows were fitted with muscovite panes. They were furnished with beds, tables, chairs, and built-in closets, all featuring antique-style designs.
In truth, since they were based on designs popular during his predecessor's era, they were essentially genuine antiques—or at least perfect replicas.
Three of those rooms were intended for guests, while the last room served as a waiting area for the Golem Maids. There was also a toilet nearby for the guest wing.
The third floor was an attic used for storage.
It held dozens of copies of magi-books that had been common in the previous era, along with robes designed to look like something an ancient wizard would wear.
The pièce de résistance was a collection of broken magic tool parts brought from Hourai Island. They had specifically chosen components whose original purpose was now impossible to discern.
"Honestly, even I'd be convinced a mage had lived here for ages," Jin remarked, impressed.
"Now for the exterior. I have provided a rough layout in the form of a mural."
It had been back in the entrance hall, but Jin hadn't noticed it until now.
"Let's see... ah, here it is."
By Jin's estimation, Kunlun Island was about half the size of Oshima in the Izu Islands. It was more than enough space for people to live and was roughly circular in shape.
Mount Kunlun stood at the center, with the Mansion nestled against the southern foothills.
"The eastern and northern sides of the island are forested. The western side consists of grasslands and wastelands, while the south features grasslands, sparse woods, and wetlands."
"Does that mean we can mine resources in the west?"
"Yes. With the help of Land units 80 through 100, we have dug several mining pits and have already extracted various mineral resources."
They were exceptionally well-prepared.
"Alright. I'll leave the task of guiding the guests to you two. I'm counting on you when the time comes."
"Understood."
"Has it really been three months?"
Reinhard and Elsa were currently visiting a friend's home in Blue Land.
"Yeah, I suppose so. It was the end of last year when we left here for the Kingdom of Elias."
"I haven't seen you in quite a while, but Lady Elsa has become even more beautiful."
"No need for flattery," Elsa replied bluntly.
"It's not flattery. Your atmosphere has become more mature—deeper, somehow."
"Praise won't get you anything."
The friend was Count Kuzuma.
They spoke with an easy familiarity. Since they were both from noble families and close in age, they had been friends ever since Reinhard’s first diplomatic mission to Blue Land two years prior.
"Can you stay a while this time?"
"I think so. All my official duties are finished, so I'm just making a leisurely trip back to my homeland."
Just then, a maid arrived carrying a platter of fruit.
"Ah, perfect timing. Here, give these a try."
The count offered them slices of Persica. Reinhard and Elsa both took a bite and were immediately struck by the quality.
"This is wonderful! And so cold!"
"Delicious," Elsa added.
Count Kuzuma beamed with pride. "Isn't it? Fruit chilled to just the right temperature in a 'refrigerator' is truly exceptional."
The word "refrigerator" immediately caught Reinhard’s attention.
"Wait... did you say a 'refrigerator'?"
"That's right. It's a magic tool I acquired after you left. They've only just started to become common here in Blue Land."
"I saw one recently in Borgia."
"Oh? Is that so? I suppose some sharp-eyed merchant managed to get one there."
Count Kuzuma then gave a mischievous smile.
"Actually, the magi craftman who created the 'refrigerator' is here."
Reinhard was stunned. When he had discovered the refrigerator in a shop in the capital of Elias, Jin had explicitly stated that he was the one who invented it.
"Is that so? I would certainly like to meet them."
"I thought you'd say that. You are a magi craftman yourself, after all. You there, go fetch him."
The count ordered a nearby maid to go call for the man.
Inwardly, Reinhard was eager to see what kind of person would appear.
Though it had been less than a month since he met Jin, he felt he had a firm grasp on the man's character and extraordinary talent.
If he believed Jin—who had claimed the invention as his own—then the magi craftman about to walk through the door was a fraud.
Inwardly, Reinhard resolved to unmask the impostor for the sake of Jin's honor.