Meanwhile, what had Reiko been up to?
Ever since they had departed the capital on the 18th, she had sensed suspicious individuals trailing them.
Night of the 19th. Cloudy. Behind a hotel in Cartor Town.
She neutralized one pursuer.
(Father dislikes unnecessary killing.)
That the target escaped with only simple fractures in both legs was a stroke of genuine luck.
Night of the 20th. Rain. Midnight, in a hallway of the guest lodgings in the regional city of Bazard.
She neutralized two more.
(These two feel different from the one yesterday. Could multiple groups be tailing us?)
After knocking them unconscious, she stripped them buck naked and dumped them on the main street.
Night of the 21st. Light rain. On the second floor of an inn in Flagran Town.
She neutralized one person.
(Every day now. I should look into more ways to ensure Father’s safety.)
This individual was tied up and left dangling from a watchtower on the outskirts of the city.
Then, the night of the 22nd. Rain. At the guest lodgings in the regional city of Dogran.
(No one seems to be coming tonight, but I cannot afford to be careless.)
With that thought, Reiko activated her manacam.
"(Yes, this is Luna.)"
The support golem and Reiko’s younger sister, Luna, responded immediately.
"Luna, come here through the Warp Gate."
"(Yes, Big Sister.)"
Luna emerged from the Warp Gate installed in Jin’s custom carriage a moment later.
"I have arrived, Big Sister."
"Good work. I am heading to the laboratory now and will be back by morning. I am entrusting Father’s safety to you until then. Can you handle it?"
"Yes, Big Sister."
With the hand-off complete, Reiko traveled back to Hourai Island.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Welcome back, Reiko. What brings you here tonight?"
The magi-brain who managed Hourai Island, Laozi, moved to greet her.
"Laozi, I need to consult with you regarding Father’s security."
"I am listening."
While Reiko and Laozi monitored each other to ensure neither went rogue, they were by no means on bad terms. Where Jin was concerned, they were of a single mind.
Reiko gave Laozi a detailed account of everything that had happened since the Golem Rampage Incident. Laozi listened intently, and once Reiko finished, he offered his assessment.
"I see. Elradrite combined with Master-Slave Rewrite Magic... that is indeed troublesome. I shall handle the preparations for the golems here. A shield and a magi-recorder for each should suffice, I assume?"
"I leave the details to you."
"Furthermore, regarding My Lord’s personal protection..."
"That is our primary concern."
For a while, Reiko and Laozi continued their deep deliberations.
"Then it is settled—we shall equip every golem with a manacam?"
"Yes. I will ask Father to install mine personally, but please take care of the others, Laozi."
"Understood. Given the numbers involved, I shall begin with Soleil, Luna, Plane, and Satella, then proceed through the rest in numerical order."
"That sounds appropriate."
Jin had also expressed interest in the internal installation of manacams, so they decided to move forward with the project all at once.
"As for Father’s protection, we are agreed on forming a Secret Mobile Unit?"
"Yes. However, if we are to construct such specialized golems, it would be best to obtain My Lord’s permission first."
"Agreed. I shall consult with Father tomorrow."
"I look forward to the result."
Finally, they exchanged a few more points of data.
"Since My Lord has not been in touch recently, the reports have been piling up. Reiko, could you relay them for me?"
"Certainly."
Information regarding the newly completed maps, the repelling of local magical beasts, and the materials secured from them was passed over to Reiko.
By the time the meeting concluded, it was well past midnight. Reiko prepared to return to Jin’s side.
She used the Warp Gate to return to the regional city of Dogran instantly. The rain had stopped.
"Welcome back, Big Sister. This man was peering into Father’s sleeping quarters, so I apprehended him."
Luna pointed to a man bound tightly with rope. His face was swollen and he was out cold. Reiko gave him a dismissive glance.
"Good work, Luna. I will take it from here. You should head back. I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to speak with Father."
"It’s alright, Big Sister. Please give Father my regards."
With that, Luna returned to Hourai Island. Reiko left the captured man tied up behind the lodgings.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next morning, Reiko brought up the idea of the Secret Mobile Unit to Jin.
"Haha, I’ve actually wanted to try making something like that. You’re right, Reiko—it’s not fair to leave the night watch entirely to you."
"Oh, it is no trouble at all..." Reiko started to protest, but Jin was already deep in thought.
"Alright, let’s head back to the laboratory tonight and build them....Hmm, the only problem is that I don't have a good reference for stealth maneuvers."
As Jin sat there looking troubled, Reiko spoke up.
"Actually, Father, I have the perfect candidate for that."
"Eh?"
Reiko told him about the man she had left tied up behind the lodgings.
"I see... I figured someone like that would turn up eventually. A Secret Mobile Unit really is a necessity, then. Alright, let's go. I’ll borrow his movement patterns."
They slipped around to the back of the building, where the man was still unconscious. That was ideal for Jin, who proceeded to use Trans Info.
"Trans Info, Level 4."
He extracted the man's knowledge of stealth operations, behaviors, and specialized movements, along with organizational information, transferring it all into a magi-crystal.
If he analyzed the data later, he would likely be able to determine exactly who had sent the spy.
As it happened—by pure chance—the organization had dispatched one of its top-tier agents because of the failures of the previous pursuers. Even so, he had been easily captured by Luna.
Consequently, Jin had managed to acquire incredibly sophisticated stealth data.
Night of the 23rd. Rain. The group stayed at the guest lodgings in the regional city of Dizier.
In the middle of the night, just as the rain began to taper off, Jin slipped out of his room and headed for the carriage. Perhaps the organization was being cautious after losing their top agent, as there was no sign of any suspicious figures tonight.
Using the Warp Gate hidden inside the carriage, Jin and Reiko traveled to Hourai Island in an instant.
There was a time difference of about three and a half hours between Hourai Island and Dizier, making it night there as well. Of course, day and night meant nothing to the golems.
"Welcome back, Father, Big Sister."
Reiko’s assistant golems, Soleil and Luna, were there to greet them.
"Yeah, I’m back. To get straight to the point, is everything ready?"
Laozi was the one to answer.
"Welcome home, My Lord. Yes, the various materials are prepared and waiting."
"I see. Good work."
With that, Jin headed straight for the laboratory.
First, he added the manacam function to Reiko. Since the basic hardware was already complete, the process was finished in short order.
Then came the main event: the Secret Mobile Unit.
Given their purpose, they needed to be as light as possible. Jin crafted the skeletons from hollow light silver and used the same material for the exterior plating.
As for their appearance, he decided to give the surfaces a matte black finish. Jin nodded to himself as he debated the final details.
Male or female? Adult or child?
He soon reached a conclusion.
He would make a variety of models so they could adapt to any situation.
Over that night and the next, Jin’s personal Hourai Island Secret Mobile Unit—also known as the Ninja Force—was born.
The unit consisted of ten members, divided into five pairs.
Two girl-types with a build similar to Reiko: Pensee and Viola.
Dahlia and Canna, who were modeled after Elsa (though with slightly more generous curves).
Lily and Rose, who were adult female types.
Elm and Ash, who were standard adult male types.
And finally, Pothos and Heath, who were boy-types.
"There. I’ll be counting on you all."
When Jin addressed the newly created Ninja Force, they responded as one.
"Yes, Father!"
As this is an interlude, the future exploits of the Ninja Force shall be a story for another time.