The next morning, in front of the city gates of Blue Land.
"Ah, here they come."
Jin had been waiting for a short while when a carriage emerged from the gates. It was Reinhard’s familiar four-horse carriage. It pulled to a stop in front of Jin and Reiko, and the door swung open. Reinhard and Elsa stepped out first.
They were followed by Elsa’s butler, Adberg, and her wet nurse, Mine. Finally, a person Jin hadn’t expected to see stepped out last—the red-haired girl, Beena.
"Jin! I wanted to see you!"
As soon as her feet hit the ground, Beena rushed over to Jin.
"Back then, you just said your piece and disappeared! I really wanted to thank you properly...!"
Beena was slightly shorter than Jin, but as she pressed in on him and stood on her tiptoes, her eyes were level with his. Her sheer intensity was overwhelming.
"S-Sorry," Jin stammered, instinctively leaning back.
However, whether she was unable to bear seeing Jin like that or simply took issue with Beena’s attitude, Elsa intervened.
"There is no reason for Jin-kun to apologize. You, step back."
Elsa stepped between the two of them, physically pulling Beena away from Jin.
"Ugh, fine, I get it... Jin, you don't need to apologize. I just wanted to say thank you."
The other three watched the interaction. Reinhard found Elsa’s behavior endearing, while Adberg gazed at the young mistress's growth as if looking at something dazzling. Mine, the wet nurse, was busy glaring daggers at Jin.
"Well, Jin, Miss Beena insisted that she absolutely had to see you, so I brought her along. I hope that’s not a problem?"
Jin replied that it wasn't a problem at all. Then he added, "The way the Warp Gate is set up, I can only take two people with me, but..."
"Ah, I understand. Actually, Count Kuzuma mentioned wanting to at least say hello, but he couldn't come because of official duties. Adberg and Mine are just here to see us off."
But Mine began to protest. "Lord Reinhard! Do you really intend for the two of you to go to such an unknown place all by yourselves!?"
She grumbled, seemingly oblivious to the cold gaze Reiko was directing at her.
Reinhard tried to settle her down. "It will be fine. I'm with them, and you know how Jin was always looking out for Elsa during our journey, don't you?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
While Mine still seemed unconvinced, Adberg whispered something to soothe her.
"J-Jin! I... um, can I come to your house too...?"
Ignoring Reinhard and the others, Beena finally voiced the request she had been dying to make. "I've been curious about it ever since you were helping me. Please!"
Jin agonized over what to do. In truth, the reason he had built the house on Hourai Island was as a countermeasure for the eventual day he might bring Beena there. However, he had just told them he could only take two people.
As if reading his mind, Reiko offered a solution. "Father, I believe I can also take one person with me."
"I-I see. Then it looks like we can manage."
Jin turned back to the group. "Er, the Warp Gate only reacts to my magical power. So, if someone is holding my hand, they can travel with me. That's why I said two people, but it seems Reiko can also take one person along."
It was an explanation that left plenty of room for questions, but fortunately for Jin, no one poked holes in it. They simply assumed that was the nature of an ancient artifact like a Warp Gate.
"In that case, please take me—"
Mine began to grumble again, but Adberg had the foresight to drag her back into the carriage, which finally silenced her.
"Well then, shall we go?"
Jin started walking, followed by Reinhard, Elsa, and Beena. Reiko brought up the rear.
Before long, Elsa pulled alongside Jin and entwined her left arm with his right. Seeing this, Beena immediately clung to Jin’s left arm.
Watching the scene with a smirk, Reinhard spoke to Reiko, who was walking behind him. "Your Father has it rough, doesn't he?"
Reiko looked extremely displeased.
After ten minutes of walking, neither Reinhard, Elsa, nor Beena showed any signs of fatigue, but Jin came to a stop.
"Koma!"
He called out to his beloved golem. The golem horse Koma emerged from the forest, leading two other golem horses of the same model.
"W-What is this?" Beena's face cramped up at the sight.
"...Looks interesting," Elsa said, her face lighting up.
"A golem horse! As expected of you, Jin!" Reinhard praised.
"It's a golem horse. You ride it like this."
Jin asked Elsa and Beena to release his arms and demonstrated by mounting Koma.
"You hold here, and if you twist the handle like this, it starts moving. It also has autonomy, so if you give it proper directions, you can just sit there."
In truth, Jin had realized only this morning that making his guests walk all the way to the Warp Gate was a waste of time, so the other two horses were units he had built in a rush.
"U-Um, I'm wearing a skirt, though," Beena said, her face flushing.
"Ugh." Jin hadn't noticed that.
Elsa, however, didn't seem to care and was already astride her golem horse. "Jin-kun, this is fun."
She skillfully operated the handles, making the golem trot around. It almost looked as if she was looking down at Beena with a small, triumphant smile.
"Yeah, I never thought of this concept." Reinhard had also mounted up and was riding around to test the controls.
Since Jin had originally only planned to bring two people, he had only prepared two extra horses.
Should I have her ride with Elsa? No, it'd be dangerous to ride with Elsa since she's not used to it yet, Jin thought. He had put speed limiters on them, but he still felt uneasy about a potential accident. That left his own horse, Koma.
"I guess I have no choice."
Jin maneuvered Koma over to Beena’s side and reached out his hand. "Here, Beena. Get on with me."
At first, she looked confused, but once she realized what he meant, her face lit up. "Y-Yes!"
She gripped Jin’s hand tightly and climbed onto Koma, sitting sideways in front of him.
"............"
Beena cast a triumphant glance at Elsa, who was staring at them, and clung to Jin. "Now, let's go. I've been interested in Jin's house for a long time!"
Jin, Elsa, and Reinhard headed deeper into the forest in that order. Reiko took up a roaming position, keeping watch over the surroundings as they traveled. He knew there were only small animals and birds in this forest, but one could never be too careful.
They proceeded at a speed slightly faster than a walking pace. In less than thirty minutes, they arrived at the base of a massive rock deep in the woods.
"Alright, please get off the horses here."
Jin dismounted first and helped Beena down. Reinhard dismounted on his own and turned to his cousin. "Here, Elsa."
When he tried to help her, she replied, "It’s fine. I can get down by myself." She spoke a little poutily and jumped down.
Jin went around the large rock and led everyone into a cave on the backside.
"This is the entrance. Please take my hands. That way, you won't be blocked by the barrier."
When he held out his hands, Beena quickly grabbed his right and Elsa grabbed his left.
"Er—Reinhard, please take Reiko’s hand. Reiko, if you would."
"Yes, Father."
Reiko reached out to Reinhard with an obviously reluctant expression. Reinhard took her hand with a wry smile, but he was inwardly surprised; her hand was softer than he had imagined, and he could feel a faint warmth, like body temperature.
"Well then, shall we go?"
Jin stepped into the cave. Beena and Elsa walked through beside him.
"It's bright."
The interior was brighter than they had expected, which surprised them both.
"The Warp Gate has small lights attached to it," Jin explained. Since both his hands were occupied, he gestured with his chin toward the back of the cave.
"Oh! So that's a Warp Gate!" Reinhard was excited to see the real thing for the first time.
"Come on, let's go," Jin said, stepping toward the device.
Elsa and Beena hesitated for a heartbeat, but since they were holding Jin’s hands, they were pulled along and plunged into the Warp Gate.
The scenery changed in an instant. The group emerged into a stone basement. A moment later, Reiko and Reinhard followed them through, with Koma and the other golem horses bringing up the rear.
Jin released their hands and gave a light nod.
"Welcome to Kunlun Island."