"The last time I saw you, you only reached my chest. You’ve certainly grown. And you’ve become quite beautiful, too."
The man speaking to Elsa was an imposing figure with the same platinum blond hair and light blue eyes as her. He then turned his attention toward Reinhard.
"Reinhard, thank you for looking after my sister. I know it must have been quite the task."
Reinhard didn't seem bothered by the man's somewhat arrogant tone and spoke to him casually.
"It’s been a while, Fritz. Are you a major now?"
"Yeah, I was promoted this year. You seem to be making a name for yourself as well. I’ve been hearing rumors about that Schwarzritter of yours."
"I’m honored to hear that."
The two spoke without honorifics, clearly comfortable with one another as childhood friends.
"Indeed. I was out on border patrol on the Kingdom of Egerea side today. I happened to spot a familiar carriage parked next to this inn. I thought it might be yours, and sure enough, here you are."
The man called Fritz turned back to Elsa once more.
"I’d like to stay and catch up properly, but I’m still on duty. I’ll come by again tonight."
With a crisp salute, he turned and walked quickly out of the dining hall. From start to finish, he hadn't spared Jin even a glance.
Once Fritz had departed, Reinhard scratched his head and looked at Jin.
"Surprised? That was Elsa’s older brother and the second son of House Randol, Fritz Randol von Grosch. He’s a company commander in the Expeditionary Force."
He offered the introduction even though the man himself was already gone.
"Brother Fritz is a soldier. He’s a bit simple, though," Elsa added, providing her own assessment of her brother’s personality.
"I see. So he’s a muscle-brain."
The thought slipped out of Jin’s mouth before he could stop it.
"Muscle-brain?"
"What’s that, Jin? This 'muscle-brain'?"
As expected, Elsa and Reinhard both caught the word. Jin had no choice but to explain.
"Uh, well, 'muscle-brain' is a metaphorical expression. It means... well, it’s like saying even someone’s brains are made of muscle. It refers to people who are much better at moving their bodies than thinking things through."
He chose his words with a degree of euphemism. He certainly couldn't tell Elsa that her own brother was a 'reckless simpleton' or 'thoughtless idiot' to her face.
However, the term seemed to resonate with her far more than he expected.
"Brains made of muscle... Brother Fritz... Pffft..."
Rarely for her, Elsa looked like she was about to burst out laughing. Seeing her struggle so hard to contain her amusement was a refreshing sight.
"Ahahaha! Jin, you really do have a way with words! Look at Elsa’s face. I’ve seen something rare today....Well then, I’m off to handle the paperwork. Elsa, what about you?"
Elsa, whose shoulders were still trembling slightly, finally looked up at Reinhard’s question.
"Mine said she would show me around the city today," she replied.
"I see, Mine was from around here, wasn’t she? All right. Be careful out there. Jin, what are your plans?"
"I’ll probably just wander around the city for a bit."
"Understood. Then I’ll see you both tonight....Claude, let’s go."
"Yes, My Lord."
Reinhard’s face shifted back into the serious expression of his diplomat mode as he left the dining hall with his butler, Claude.
"Well then, Jin-kun, see you later."
Elsa departed as well. Left alone, Jin spoke toward Reiko, who was keeping her presence hidden with Stealth.
"Reiko, shall we head out too?"
With that, he stepped out of the dining hall.
＊ ＊ ＊
Jin and Reiko had returned to Hourai Island.
He had a growing list of things he wanted to accomplish. He had left Anne back in the hotel room with instructions to tell anyone who asked that she was out in the city.
The very first item on his list was priority one.
"Reiko, happy birthday. I’m sorry it’s a day late."
"Eh? Father?"
It was now two days after Jin had been summoned to this world. April 3rd was the anniversary of Reiko’s reactivation. Since today was the 4th, he was slightly behind. The reason for the delay was simple: he had been trying to make her gift without her noticing, and he hadn't finished in time.
"It’s a new outfit. Please, wear this from now on."
During the maintenance check after the battle with the Gigas, he had found a few frayed spots on her previous clothes, so he had crafted a replacement.
The fabric was the same, but the color was now jet black. Combined with Reiko’s hair and eyes, the effect was almost mystical. In truth, this black dye offered the highest magic resistance.
"Thank you very much, Father."
Reiko changed into the new clothes immediately. She folded her old outfit with great care and placed it at the very back of her equipment storage area.
"Yes, it suits you well. You look a bit more grown-up."
When Jin said that, Reiko gave a happy, radiant smile.
Next, it was time to check the information recovered from Anne.
Though parts of her memory had been corrupted or lost, if Laozi had been able to supplement the data, it should still yield a wealth of knowledge.
"Laozi, how does it look?"
Jin asked about the progress of the data restoration.
"Yes, My Lord. The restoration rate is eighty-five percent. I regret to inform you that the remaining fifteen percent was too severely damaged to be recovered."
Laozi sounded apologetic, but Jin waved it off.
"That can't be helped. So, did you find anything noteworthy among the restored data? Tell me everything."
Laozi responded immediately.
"First is knowledge regarding medicines. Second is information on Golem suits. Third is the origin of the Great Magic War. The rest is still undergoing supplementary repair."
"Those all sound fascinating. But if you found the origin of the war, was there no information on the Ether Stampede?"
"It appears Anne was deactivated or abandoned before the Ether Stampede occurred."
"I see. That’s a shame. Well, let’s start with the medicines, then. What did you find?"
About ninety-eight percent of Jin’s body had been replaced by magiatoms—atoms composed solely of magi-particles. Consequently, if an Ether Stampede were to occur, he would likely vanish in an instant. This was why he was so keen on finding information about it.
On the other hand, cells made of magiatoms were far more stable than normal human cells. While this meant he didn't gain much from physical training, it also meant he was immune to illness and pathogens. The only exception was mental stress or trauma.
Essentially, Jin’s current body could be injured, but it could not get sick. He still wasn't sure what this meant for his aging process.
Medicine, however, was a topic of great interest to him. Among the knowledge inherited from the previous Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, there was very little regarding pharmacology. At best, he only knew how to make ointments for burns or to protect the skin from irritants.
"I found records of an internal medicine that uses mana to accelerate the body's natural healing abilities," Laozi reported.
Jin practically wanted to dance.
"A potion!"
The staple of any fantasy story or game. Synthesizing medicine was usually considered the realm of alchemy rather than magi craft, which made Jin all the more curious.
"Yes, what is commonly referred to as a potion. Furthermore, there was information on 'ether,' a substance used to restore one's mana."
Jin found the terminology a bit confusing, as 'free ether' was also the term used for the ambient energy in the world.
"Well, whatever. Do you have the recipe?"
"Yes. The most common method involves refining the blood of a high-ranking magical beast. It essentially involves filtering out blood cells to create something akin to a serum."
Hearing this, Jin immediately wanted to try his hand at it.
"Yeah, but where am I going to get the blood of a high-ranking beast on such short notice?"
"We have it in stock," Laozi replied.
"Eh?"
"We secured a large quantity of blood from the Sea Dragon you defeated recently. It is currently being kept in frozen storage."
"Oh, that’s right! Good job, Laozi!"
This time Jin actually did jump for joy. He hurried straight to the freezer to inspect the stock.
"Whoa..."
The blood from the massive Sea Dragon had been stored in about twenty large drums. That was roughly four kiloliters. A staggering amount.
Jin took out a small sample that had already been portioned for testing. Laozi was always thoughtful about such things.
"Let’s start by refining this."
Drawing on his incomplete knowledge, Jin decided to attempt centrifugal separation. He could have built a dedicated machine, but for a quick test, he decided on a simpler method.
"Reiko, I’m counting on you."
"Yes, Father."
Reiko took the blood, which was held in an adamantite container—a material inert to chemical reactions. Since the container was durable enough to withstand extreme forces, she whirled it at speeds approaching the speed of sound. This produced an unexpected result.
The blood separated into three distinct layers.
Normally, serum is what remains after blood cells and platelets are removed, but because of the ultra-high-speed centrifugation that no one in this world had ever attempted, they had obtained a liquid that could be called a 'true serum.'
"Hmm, I'm guessing this crystal-clear part is the serum? Store the rest back in the freezer; I’ll analyze it later."
Jin held the crystal container of true serum up to the light and peered inside. It was about three hundred milliliters.
"Laozi, what's the next step?"
"It should be rich in mana. Please, examine it."
Jin used Inspection to check the flow of energy. Laozi was right. In fact, the liquid was almost pure mana.
"Now you need only give it a direction. If you imbue it with 'Healing and Recovery,' it becomes a potion. If you give it 'Absorption and Recovery,' it becomes ether."
Laozi’s explanation was easy to follow since he was drawing on Jin’s own knowledge base. However, the serum produced from the Sea Dragon's blood was more than ten times more potent than anything recorded in Anne's era.
"I see. It’s the same principle as engraving a spell into a magi-crystal."
Jin understood the concept, but he hit a snag. He wanted to use the Medicare spell, but he didn't know it. Neither did Reiko.
"I guess I'll have to have Reiko learn it somewhere first."
Muttering to himself, Jin set aside a hundred milliliters for an experiment. He decided to try imbuing it with the only healing magic he could use: Recover.
The liquid flashed with light for a moment before returning to its original state.
"Well, I’m sure it’s effective, but I don't have anyone to test it on."
Jin wasn't hurt, and the golems didn't need medicine. He decided to pour the medicine into a bottle and save it for a rainy day. Using Forming on some crystal to create a small vial, he sealed it with a cork-like piece of wood and tucked it into his pocket.
Finally, the second piece of information—the Golem suits—was equally fascinating.
"A powered suit!"
Jin felt a surge of excitement. Unfortunately, there wasn't much detailed data on their construction.
"I suppose I’ll just have to design my own version from scratch."
And so, the seeds for another incredible piece of equipment were sown.