"My Lord, a report has arrived from Regulus 2, who was dispatched to the capital of the Klein Kingdom."
The voice echoed through the room.
"Is that you, Laojun? Route the communication here; I want to hear the details directly."
A short while ago, Jin had decided to call the Hourai Island integrated management magi-brain "Laojun" and its humanoid terminal "Laozi" to avoid confusion.
On Earth, both names referred to the same legendary sage, but for his purposes, the distinction was quite effective.
『This is Regulus 2.』
"It's Jin. What happened?"
『Yes, my Lord. The Kingdom of Franz has violated the borders of the neighboring Klein Kingdom. This is reportedly the third such incursion this year.』
"The Klein Kingdom, huh?"
That was the country where Kaina Village—Hanna's home—was located, and the nation Lishia served as a Ritter.
『Rumor suggests that the Kingdom of Franz is essentially a vassal state of the Celuroa Kingdom.』
"I see."
The Celuroa Kingdom was the nation most strongly suspected of harboring ties to the Unifilar.
Jin visualized a map of the world in his mind, though it was still a work in progress. To the north of the Celuroa Kingdom lay the Kingdom of Franz and the Klein Kingdom. If the Kingdom of Franz was indeed a puppet state, then once the Klein Kingdom was brought to heel, only the Kingdom of Egerea and the Kingdom of Elias would remain.
While the Leonard Kingdom at the far eastern edge was still a mystery, securing those two central nations would mean the Celuroa Kingdom had essentially achieved its original goal: the restoration of the ancient Dinar Kingdom.
"My Lord, a report has come in from Capella 1, who was dispatched to the western part of the Klein Kingdom."
Capella 1 was a Quinta unit stationed in that region.
『The Kingdom of Franz has officially declared war on the Klein Kingdom.』
"What!?"
The news of the border violation had only just reached him, and now this followed immediately.
"My Lord, a report has arrived from Mira 1 in the Kingdom of Egerea."
Mira 1 was a Quinta unit dispatched to the capital of the Kingdom of Egerea alongside Deneb 1.
"What is it this time? Are you going to tell me the Celuroa Kingdom has declared war as well?"
『Yes, exactly.』
"You've got to be kidding!"
Celuroa versus Egerea, and Franz versus Klein. The Allied Kingdoms were suddenly in a state of absolute turmoil.
"Are the Shouro Empire and the Kingdom of Elias still at peace?"
Laojun provided the answer.
"Yes. For the time being, no incidents have been reported in those two nations."
"Hmm..."
Jin fell into thought. What was the best move right now? He needed to gauge the situation through the eyes of a diplomat, and he immediately thought of his friend, Reinhard.
"Reinhard should still be in Dali or somewhere nearby."
To be precise, he was in Jiron, the town across the Azul River from Dali. He was still being detained there to assist with the aftermath of the Unifilar members Jin had captured.
"I need to figure out how to go get him..."
The only option was a midnight extraction using a stealth aircraft.
"Alright, Laojun. Prep Falcon 1. Also, make sure the Warp Gate is calibrated. And load a golem horse for transport."
"As you wish."
At that moment, Anne stepped forward with a suggestion.
"Gothujin-thama, I believe it would be unwithe to allow anyone to come directly here to Hourai Island unleth they are uthing a completely truthtworthy Warp Gate."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"Nothing ith perfect. In the unlikely event that an enemy utheth a Warp Gate to reach thith ithland, or if the gate'th thecurity ith breached, the dithathtre would be irreversible."
Anne’s argument was entirely sound. Jin nodded in agreement.
"I see. So you're saying that while it's fine for us to go out from here, anyone coming from the outside should pass through a buffer—like Kunlun Island—first."
"Yeth, that ith correct."
"In that case... where would be a good spot?"
He couldn't set it up immediately, but Jin was considering using an aircraft carrier as a relay base. In the absolute worst-case scenario, he could simply scuttle the ship.
With that in mind, he decided that a floating island or a simple relay station would suffice. He added a new requirement to his future security protocols: unless a person’s identity was manually verified via manacam, all incoming Warp Gate connections would be routed through a relay base rather than coming directly to Hourai Island.
That night, at 8:00 PM Hourai Island time, a scheduled contact arrived from Reinhard.
『Jin, I've finally been released from all the tedious explanations and formalities.』
"Glad to hear it, Reinhard. By the way, do you know that war has broken out?"
『Yeah. I heard just a moment ago. The Celuroa Kingdom declared war on the Kingdom of Egerea, right?』
"It's more than that. The Kingdom of Franz has also declared war on the Klein Kingdom."
『What!?』
Reinhard was audibly shocked. It was only natural.
"So, I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Could you come over to my side?"
『By "your side," you mean Hourai Island? I've been waiting for that invitation!』
"Alright. I'm coming to pick you up now."
With the plan settled, Jin used the Warp Gate on Falcon 1—which had already reached the vicinity of Jiron—and jumped from Hourai Island to the outskirts of the town. He was accompanied by Reiko and the Secret Mobile Unit.
"So that's Jiron."
Falcon 1 had touched down on a riverbank about two kilometers from the town. Stepping out from the onboard Warp Gate, Jin looked at the faint city lights shimmering against the dark night sky.
"Alright, Reiko. Let's go get Reinhard."
"Yes, Father."
They unloaded Koma, Jin’s personal golem horse, and one additional unit. Jin rode Koma while Reiko took the other, and they made their way toward Jiron. Jin, of course, was wearing his Reinforce suit. The Secret Mobile Unit followed along on foot, easily keeping pace with the horses.
In just three minutes, they reached the outskirts of Jiron. The town was unique; it was not a traditional walled city, but was instead surrounded by a massive moat.
The moat was roughly twenty meters wide—impossible for a normal human to leap across. The walls were nearly vertical, and the drop to the water’s surface was at least five meters, making it nearly impossible to board or disembark from a boat even if one were available.
Most of the bridges were drawbridges that were raised at night. Only two were fixed bridges, and both were heavily guarded by sentries who refused passage to anyone suspicious.
"Now then, how do we get Reinhard out of there?"
As Jin sat there pondering the logistics, Reiko spoke up.
"Father, I shall simply jump across and bring Reinhard-san back."
"Hmm... I suppose that is the most efficient way."
Given the time constraints, it seemed like the best solution.
"Very well. Please activate your barrier and stay still. And you members of the Secret Mobile Unit, you must protect Father with your lives."
"Yes, Sister."
The protective Reiko looked as though she had more to say, but Jin hurried her along, and she finally set off toward the town.
Selecting a spot where no one was watching, she leaped across the moat. For Reiko, such a distance was trivial.
"Reinhard-san said he was staying at the Forest Badger Inn, didn't he?"
She had been given the general location, so she found it in short order. Reinhard was already waiting in the inn's entrance hall.
"Reinhard-san."
"Oh, Reiko-chan. Where's Jin?"
"Father is waiting outside the moat."
"I see. Then let's get going."
After the brief exchange, Reinhard followed Reiko outside, clutching a somewhat bulky bag of belongings. They arrived at the edge of the moat in moments.
"Um, how exactly are we crossing this?"
As Reinhard looked on with a puzzled expression, Reiko approached him and reached out her arms.
"Eh? Wait... could it be... you don't mean...?"
Reinhard turned a shade of pale. Reiko, however, remained perfectly composed as she scooped him up. The sight of the 130-centimeter-tall Reiko carrying the 185-centimeter-tall Reinhard was nothing short of surreal.
"Hold on."
"Wait, hold on, whoa—uwaaaaaah!"
Without a hint of effort, Reiko leaped across the twenty-meter gap while holding Reinhard, then sprinted straight back to Jin’s position without ever setting him down.
"Father, I have brought Reinhard-san back."
Reiko came to a halt in front of Jin, finally releasing the dazed diplomat.
"...H-Hey there, Jin."
"...Hey, Reinhard."
It was a somewhat awkward reunion.
Shortly after, Reinhard mounted a golem horse while Reiko joined Jin on Koma, and they headed back to Falcon 1. As a side note, Reiko seemed quite pleased to be sharing a ride with Jin.
From there, they used the Warp Gate and arrived back at Hourai Island in the blink of an eye.