Jin was back in Kaina Village, alone.
It had been on his mind lately, and he'd felt a sudden urge to return.
He used the carriage's Warp Gate to reach Hourai Island, and from there, he took the Warp Gate installed in the shelter on the outskirts of Kaina Village.
It was night in the village as well.
While it had been clear in Delid Town, here the sky was lightly overcast. The air was lukewarm—typical of a spring night.
"Everyone must be asleep by now..."
With no real entertainment to speak of, the nights in the farming village of Kaina ended early. Once the sun went down, most households went to bed.
Moonlight filtered through the clouds, providing just enough light to see the path. Jin set off down the familiar road.
"I wonder if Martha and Hanna are doing well."
He peered over a fence to look at Martha's house. Through the mica window he had once installed, he could see Hanna's room.
He wanted to take a look inside, but Jin stopped himself just before he reached the point of acting like a prowler. He circled the house once with a sense of nostalgia before moving on.
Next was the pump. This was the location where he had first used Craft Magic to create and install a useful tool.
"It's still working properly."
Jin gently moved the handle. Since he had used Hardening to increase its durability, the pump showed almost no signs of wear. Satisfied, he let go of the handle.
He headed to the hot springs next.
The sound of the free-flowing water could be heard even in the dead of night.
The roof, which had once belonged to a mere shack, was now made of beautiful shingles, and the structure as a whole was quite sturdy. It showed how much the villagers cherished the facility.
Peering inside, Jin noticed some mineral deposits clinging to the excavated hole, so he removed them with Craft Magic.
The settling tank for the wastewater was also filled with mud, so he used Decomposition and Cleanup to clear it out.
Jin continued his walk through the village. When he reached the plaza, he saw pale crimson flowers in full bloom despite the dim moonlight.
"Query tree blossoms, huh? They really do look just like cherry blossoms."
They were the flowers he had loved most back in Japan. Jin stood there for a while, looking up at the blossoms in full bloom.
"Master."
Someone noticed him and called out. When Jin turned around, he found a golem standing before him.
"Gen."
It was Gen, likely on his midnight patrol.
"What brings you here tonight?"
"Oh, I just wanted to see the query tree blossoms."
Even though there was no need to hide anything from the golem, Jin felt a bit self-conscious as he gave his answer.
Then, a thought suddenly struck him.
"Gen, where is Gon?"
"Yes, he should be patrolling another part of the village."
Upon hearing that, Jin nodded.
"Alright, I'll take you one at a time. First, Gen, follow me."
"Understood."
The realization Jin had just had was that he had not yet implemented countermeasures against Master-Slave Rewrite Magic for Gon and Gen. The same applied to the golem horses.
Since he was here, Jin decided to quickly apply these measures to all the golems he had left in the village.
"Laozi, do you have the components for the Master-Slave Rewrite Magic countermeasures ready?"
"Yes, My Lord. I have already implemented them for every golem on Hourai Island, and I have one hundred sets prepared as spares and for replacements."
"Good. I'm going to apply the same countermeasures to Gen now. After that, I'll do Gon, then the five golem horses."
"Acknowledged."
With Laozi's support, Jin applied the countermeasures to Gen. Simultaneously, he adjusted and optimized the golem's magi-devices and performed overall maintenance.
As a result, Gen's output increased by about eight percent. Overall, he was now capable of performing at roughly thirty percent of Reiko's level.
Furthermore, Jin added a Stealth function, upgrading the golem so he could protect the village in secret.
"Alright, Gen. Return to the village and tell Gon to come here."
"Yes, Master."
Jin performed the same procedure on Gon. Next, he did the golem horses—Ein, Zwei, Drei, Quatre, and Cinq—and finally Hanna's Mint. He felt a sense of relief once the work was done.
"It would be a disaster if anything happened to Kaina Village, after all."
As a side note, he did not add Stealth to the horses.
Once all the improvements were complete, Jin warped back to Kaina Village one last time.
The shelter containing the Warp Gate was on the outskirts of the village, near the Erme River.
Jin decided to take a walk by the river.
The riverbank was just beginning to sprout its spring greenery. Jin's face softened with nostalgia as he stepped over the gravel.
"I remember playing tag in the water in that pool. I think it was back then that I found those magi-stones mixed in with the sand."
He had used those stones to create stoves and sold them to the merchant, Roland.
"It feels like it was a long time ago, but it's only been about three months."
Jin reflected on everything that had happened since he left the village.
"Meeting Beena in Blue Land, making popcorn and refrigerators, meeting Count Kuzuma, Reiko's big scene..."
The memories were pleasant.
"Making a golem ship in Port Rock, fighting the Death Sea Serpent, starting the journey with Reinhard and the others..."
It felt like it had happened only yesterday, yet also like a lifetime ago.
"Making kites, catching bandits, developing Kunlun Island, making Lotte... oh right, there was that Golem Incident, too."
"Everything... brings back memories." Jin found himself wanting to mutter that famous anime line.
As he stood there, the eastern sky began to grow light.
Kaina Village was much further east than Delid Town, where Jin and the others were staying, so dawn came earlier here.
"It's about time for the early risers to wake up."
Muttering to himself, Jin began walking back toward the shelter.
"I'll be back."
Offering those words to no one in particular, Jin stepped into the shelter and leaped back to Hourai Island via the Warp Gate.
In Delid Town, it was still night.
Returning via Hourai Island, Jin quietly slipped back into his room at the inn and crawled into bed.
He fell into a short sleep that lasted until morning.
Jin never knew that his peerlessly loyal Automata, Reiko, had been following him the entire time.
"Father... I hope you are satisfied."
Reiko whispered softly as she watched the contented expression on Jin's face while he slept.
There was still time before morning, and the stars continued to twinkle over the quiet town of Delid.