Leaving the matter of Mine on hold for the moment, Jin returned to the inn to meet with Reinhard.
"Jin!"
The moment Jin reached Reinhard’s room, the man himself came rushing out before his butler, Claude, could even announce the guest.
"What on earth happened? Why haven't I heard a single word from you until now? Was it something you couldn't even tell me?" Reinhard grabbed Jin by the shoulders, firing off questions in a frantic blur.
Jin hurriedly tried to calm him down. "Easy there. I’m here to explain everything. It’s a bit too public here, so let’s head to my carriage."
True to form, Reinhard caught on immediately.
"I see. You don't want to be overheard? Fine, let’s go! Claude, I’m heading out for a bit. Don't worry if I'm late!" Reinhard announced loudly to his butler before slapping Jin on the back. "Lead the way, Jin!"
Jin stopped by his own room first to call for Anne.
"Yeth, Matther?"
"You're coming with us."
With Anne in tow, Jin led Reinhard to the carriage and climbed inside.
"Alright, Jin, start talking!"
Reinhard was clearly impatient. Jin held up a hand. "Just a second. Actually, Reinhard, there’s a secret to this carriage I haven’t shown you yet. If I do this..."
As he spoke, he opened a door disguised as a luggage storage compartment behind the rear seats.
"I've installed a Warp Gate in here."
Reinhard stared, utterly dumbfounded. "What?! You mean... we can get to Kunlun Island from here?!"
"Well, you'll see where it leads once we go through. Are you coming?"
"Of course I am! This is incredible!" Reinhard looked ready to dive in headfirst.
Jin laughed. "In that case, I'll go in first. Take Anne's hand and follow right after me."
This Warp Gate was keyed to Jin’s magic pattern; without him, it was impassable. Once Reinhard saw Jin disappear into the gate, he took Anne’s hand and leaped in after him.
＊ ＊ ＊
When Reinhard emerged from the receiving gate, he found himself in a vast room.
A quick glance revealed more than fifty Warp Gates lined up, all seemingly active.
"J-Jin, where are we? This doesn't look like the basement I saw before."
Reinhard looked around the chamber, which bore no resemblance to the facility on Kunlun Island.
"That's right. Reinhard, welcome to Hourai Island."
"Hourai Island?"
"Yeah. I'll explain it all in due time. For now, follow me."
Jin led the vibrating-with-excitement Reinhard out of the laboratory. Outside, the sky was already turning the colors of dusk.
"Eh? It was barely past noon back in Telurus!"
"The time here is shifted by about three and a half hours from Telurus."
"?"
Reinhard looked lost, but Jin promised to explain the details later and invited him into the Mansion.
"Ah, please take off your shoes."
Having grown accustomed to the customs on Kunlun Island, Reinhard nodded and pulled off his boots before stepping up into the house.
"There's someone I want you to meet," Jin said.
Reinhard tilted his head. "Someone you want me to meet? Jin, don't tell me..."
Without waiting for him to finish, Jin slid open the fusuma door to Elsa’s room.
"Elsa, I've brought Reinhard."
＊ ＊ ＊
"Elsa! You’re safe! You little fool, do you have any idea how much I worried?"
"Rai-nii, I'm sorry. I was being foolish."
The two cousins clasped hands, their faces lighting up with the joy of reunion.
Once they had settled down, Jin signaled Soleil and Luna to serve dinner. Since Laozi had already directed the maid golems to prepare the meal, the two only had to bring it in.
"A toast to your reunion," Jin said, raising a glass of wine.
They were sitting on zabuton cushions around a low table in a tatami room, drinking wine—a slightly odd combination, but Jin didn't have any better alcohol on hand.
"Cheers."
As they ate, Jin began the explanation he had been carefully composing. He needed to answer the burning questions he knew were on both Reinhard's and Elsa’s minds.
"Reinhard," Jin began, "I want you to listen to this not as a noble or a representative of your country, but simply as my friend."
Reinhard gave a slow, solemn nod.
Jin finally took the plunge. "I wasn't originally born in this world."
"What do you mean by that?"
Jin had expected it wouldn't sink in immediately.
"I mean I was born and raised in a different world entirely. I was... well, transferred here."
"..."
Both of them fell silent, trying to wrap their heads around the concept. Eventually, Reinhard found his voice.
"I see... So that's the secret behind your impossible knowledge."
"Yeah. In the world I come from, magic doesn't exist. Instead, we developed science to support our civilization."
"But how did you end up in this world?"
"I was dying in my world. Just as I reached the end, Reiko summoned me. Well, she wasn't quite the Reiko you know back then, but it was her original body."
"Summoned?!"
"You were... dying?"
Their points of shock differed, but the revelation was clearly staggering for both.
"Su-Summoned from another world? Honestly, if this were anyone but you talking, Jin, I'd laugh in your face."
"I can't imagine Jin-nii almost dying," Elsa added softly.
Jin gave a wry smile and continued. "I suppose it is hard to believe. Even the automata that served as Reiko's base apparently spent a thousand years searching for me."
"A thousand years?! Wait, wait a minute. Did you say a millennium?" Reinhard looked like he was about to lose his grip on reality.
"Yeah. The woman who created that automata was Adriana Barbora Tsetse. She was my Predecessor."
"Whaaaat?!" Reinhard’s shock finally hit its peak.
"Then, Jin-nii, did you actually meet Adriana Barbora Tsetse?" Elsa asked.
Jin shook his head. "No, I only know her through the records she left behind. After I was summoned, I inherited her magical knowledge through her own spells."
"............"
A heavy silence filled the room. Elsa was the first to break it.
"Now I understand why Jin-nii isn't normal. Is this the first time you've told anyone?"
Jin nodded. "Yeah. This isn't the kind of thing I can just go around broadcasting. I really didn't want to be targeted by the wrong people."
"That’s impossible," Elsa said flatly. "Even now, Unifilar is after you. You stood out way too much in both the Kingdom of Elias and the Kingdom of Egerea."
"I suppose you're right." Jin knew she was correct. "If I'd just stayed cooped up on this island, I might have stayed under the radar, but being alone is... well..."
Being surrounded by nothing but golems was a lonely existence.
Elsa nodded, looking strangely relieved. "I'm glad. Jin-nii's tastes are normal after all."
It seemed she had still been harboring suspicions that he preferred dolls to people.
"By the way, Elsa," Reinhard said, finally finding his voice again, "what's with this 'Jin-nii' business?"
"I have already abandoned the house of Randol," Elsa replied. "Jin-nii took me in as his sister figure. That's why he's Jin-nii."
Hearing that, Reinhard crossed his arms and let out a long breath. "Hmm, I see. So that's what happened..."
He muttered the words, his face clouding with a pensive expression. Then, he turned to look Elsa straight in the eye.
"You really have no intention of going back, do you?" he asked, his voice grave.