"Tee-hee! Now Reiko is mine. Oh, she's simply magnificent!"
Reiko did not move.
"Dominique, you..."
Stearena forced the words out, her face pale with disbelief.
"That's right. I am a member of Unifilar."
"Unifilar? That pack of fanatics!"
Dominique bristled at Stearena's choice of words.
"We aren't fanatics. We are reformers—saviors who will restore this world to the glory it knew before the Great Magic War."
"Then you really were the one behind the golem incident, Dominique?"
Dominique gave a predatory smirk.
"Yes, I was. I hid Elradrite and magi-crystals inside my bird golems. Since no one bothered to inspect their internals, it was child's play. In addition to the red, blue, and yellow ones, I had a white one. I activated them in the castle's golem storage, and it was a resounding success."
Triumphant, Dominique began to chatter away, her smile radiating a sense of absolute superiority.
"So, you being attacked was nothing but an act!"
At Reinhard's exclamation, Dominique replied nonchalantly.
"Precisely. Though I do appreciate you coming to my rescue, Lord Reinhard."
She spoke with utter shamelessness, her smirking face twisted with malice.
"Once I bring back this Reiko—who is stronger than every golem in this castle combined—I'll be guaranteed a spot as an executive. Now, Reiko, kill everyone here except for Jin and Reinhard."
Dominique issued the cruel command.
Hearing this, Stearena, Elsa, and Reinhard turned ashen.
If Reiko rebelled, there was no one who could stop her. No one except Jin.
Yet Jin remained perfectly composed. His gaze was fixed on Reiko, who stood there in eerie silence.
"Reiko! What are you waiting for?! Slaughter them all!"
Growing impatient with the unmoving Automata, Dominique shrieked. However, Reiko’s expression remained blank as she spoke in a chillingly level voice.
"Why should I listen to anything a person like you says?"
"What?"
Dominique looked as if she couldn't comprehend the words.
"The only one who may command me is Father."
Reiko said this as she walked slowly toward Jin. She then produced a magi-crystal from her person.
"Father, here is the magi-recorder."
She placed it in Jin's hand.
"Good work, Reiko."
Accepting the crystal, Jin glared at Dominique. He was clearly incensed that she had tried to hijack Reiko, his 'daughter'.
"Reiko, restrain Dominique!"
His tone was sharp and commanding.
"Yes."
With a short reply, Reiko moved behind Dominique. In the blink of an eye, she had twisted the woman's arm behind her back. She also snatched away the Elradrite Dominique had been clutching.
"Agh! Why?! Why didn't it work?!"
Dominique seemed unable to believe that the Master-Slave Rewrite Magic she had cast at point-blank range—even with the boost of Elradrite—had failed to take hold.
"Damn it! Why?!"
As Dominique continued to scream and rave, Reiko’s brow furrowed slightly.
"You are being quite loud."
A sickening crack echoed through the room.
"GYAAAHHH!"
Dominique's shoulder had been dislocated.
"My apologies. I appear to have used a touch too much force. Elsa, please treat her."
"It hurts! It huuurts!"
Dominique wailed, but her body was pinned so firmly by Reiko that she couldn't move an inch.
"Rianna, Mary, someone, tie her up!"
At Reinhard's instruction, Rianna of the Royal Secret Maids rushed over and bound Dominique securely.
"Elsa, heal her—at least enough to keep her quiet."
"Nn. Schmerzmittel."
The fact that Elsa chose a painkiller instead of a full healing spell made her anger clear. Jin offered no objection.
"We shall take her into custody now."
"Yeah, please do."
With the culprit captured, the Master-Slave Rewrite Magic incident had reached a tentative conclusion.
＊ ＊ ＊
"How did you know to suspect her?"
"When she grabbed my hand, the mana waveform I felt from her was identical to the one I sensed earlier today."
Jin and the others were currently in Reinhard’s room, providing a summary of the incident.
His audience consisted of Kelichdore, the minister of magic, and Judle, the minister of defense.
"What?! You mean to say you can read mana waveforms, Jin-dono?"
Kelichdore was visibly stunned.
"Eh? Isn't that something everyone can do?"
Since the Mutual Aid Society's Automata could do it, Jin had assumed it was a common skill. He couldn't translate the waves into numerical values, of course—it was like being able to recognize a face but lacking the talent to draw a portrait.
"No, no, it most certainly is not common. I see... it is no wonder His Majesty and His Highness hold you in such high regard as a magi craftman."
Kelichdore nodded repeatedly, finally understanding the source of Jin's reputation.
"So, how did you block that Master-Slave Rewrite Magic at point-blank range?"
Earlier, sensing something suspicious in Dominique's behavior, Jin had used Stealth to slip out of the room with Reiko.
After setting up a countermeasure, he had re-entered as if he had just finished fetching her.
"I used this."
Jin pulled the magi-crystal he had received from Reiko out of his pocket.
"Please, have a look."
He handed it to Kelichdore. The minister of magic inspected it visually and through magical analysis before eventually conceding defeat.
"I can tell immediately that a magi-formula for mana absorption is engraved here. But what is this other one? I've never seen its like. And there's another layer so fine that I cannot decipher it here."
While the minister of defense looked on in amazement, Jin explained.
"The second one is a Record magi-formula. The fine details are the commands she tried to impose on Reiko."
Jin addressed the group. It was already known that Master-Slave Rewrite Magic worked by overwriting commands onto the magi-crystal that served as a golem's control core.
He explained that by having the magi-recorder absorb that mana instead of the core, the spell's objective was neutralized.
"Reiko's control core is protected by a heavy mana shield, but I didn't want to risk finding out what would happen at point-blank range, so I threw this together on the fly."
He concluded by noting that Dominique had fallen for the trap perfectly.
"Hmm, I see. Most educational."
Hearing Kelichdore—the man who stood at the peak of the nation's magical development—say such a thing filled Minister of Defense Judle with a secret dread.
He was struck by the unfathomable depth of the technology possessed by the young magi craftman standing before him.
"I would very much like you to teach us this method tomorrow."
Jin readily agreed to Kelichdore's request.
"Of course. This Master-Slave Rewrite Magic makes a mockery of both golems and the magi craftmen who create them. I can't let that stand."
To have a work created with one's heart and soul hijacked and used as a disposable pawn—Jin was furious at the insult to craftsmanship.
Stearena Gamma, the magi craftman from the Celuroa Kingdom, watched Jin with a gentle, admiring gaze.
"Now then, I would like you to hear my side of the matter," Judle, the minister of defense, spoke up.
"Regarding the 'Unifilar' Dominique mentioned... is there anyone here who is unfamiliar with them?"
Elsa and Jin raised their hands.
"I see. So Lord Reinhard and Lady Stearena are already aware."
"Yes. In fact, I was once approached by Unifilar myself."
"Ho? That is a significant detail. What sort of person approached you?"
The minister of defense leaned in, desperate for any lead, but Stearena stopped him.
"Before I answer that, why don't you explain what Unifilar is to Elsa and Jin-kun?"
Judle sat back, cleared his throat, and began his explanation.
"Ahem. Unifilar is an underground organization spanning the Celuroa Kingdom, Egerea Kingdom, Kingdom of Franz, Klein Kingdom, and others. They are extremists who wish to reunite the Allied Kingdoms into the 'Dinar Kingdom' as it existed before the Great Magic War. Their center of operations appears to be the Celuroa Kingdom, as the ancient capital of Dinar was reportedly located near the modern capital of Celuroa."
This was the "suspicious movement" in Celuroa that Reinhard had mentioned back at Port Rock.
"Currently, because the population was so drastically reduced by the war, there are no territorial disputes or friction between the Allied Kingdoms. Those who would seek to unify us by force can only be described as a group of destroyers."
Most international conflicts were caused by territorial disputes, economic disparity, or religion.
In Unifilar's case, it was closer to religious fanaticism. This meant they likely harbored many zealots among their ranks.
While power struggles and corruption existed, the world was generally stable, and Judle's stance was that he wanted to avoid anything that would plunge the world back into chaos.
"I agree," Reinhard said, breaking his silence.
"Every nation has used golems to compensate for the labor shortage. A spell like Master-Slave Rewrite Magic, which can seize control of them in an instant, is both terrifying and unforgivable. We must ensure that countermeasures are distributed to every nation immediately."
"Exactly. Lord Reinhard, Jin-dono, and Lady Stearena, I ask for your cooperation."
When Judle and Kelichdore bowed their heads, the three magi craftmen nodded in unison.
"Gladly."
"I'll help."
"Of course."
With those words, they exchanged handshakes.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Still... that man Jin... he is a marvel, is he not?"
"I couldn't agree more."
Minister of Magic Kelichdore and Minister of Defense Judle spoke privately.
"His origins are a total mystery. However, he has Reinhard's trust and is already set to go to the Shouro Empire. If it weren't for that, I would have bound him to this country even if I had to put a rope around his neck."
"Is he truly that capable?"
"Yes, Judle. I suspect even I am no match for him."
Hearing the pinnacle of Egerea's mages admit such a thing made Judle feel a cold shiver of dread.
"And that Automata by his side, Reiko... I suspect she alone could bring down this entire castle."
"That much?!"
"Furthermore, she is absolutely obedient to Jin. If anything were to happen to him... the consequences are too terrifying to contemplate. Until we have a clear national policy, do not do anything to antagonize them."