The fortress city of Asunt was ringed by walls standing ten meters high.
It formed a near-perfect square, approximately five kilometers on each side, with the Royal Castle situated against the northern wall of its interior.
The defensive fortification known as the Outer Palace extended from the northern wall at the same height, forming its own square perimeter. Since this northern segment was part of Asunt’s main defensive wall, the Royal Army would deploy directly from the northern gate.
Protected by the Outer Palace lay the Inner Palace, the residence of the king and the heart of the nation’s politics. The wall separating the Outer and Inner Palaces was only three meters high—less than a third of the height of the main city walls. Consequently, from near the center of the Inner Palace, one could see the outer fortifications.
Towering even higher than those distant walls, a colossal golem looked down upon the city.
"Wh-Wha..."
"Th-That thing is..."
As those below trembled in terror, a figure appeared, stepping from the golem’s massive palm onto the top of the city wall.
He wore black clothing and an unfamiliar silver helmet. He was tall, and judging by his physique, he appeared to be male.
"Who is that? An enemy? Or an ally?"
Every spectator shared the same desperate question.
"People of Egerea!"
The mysterious figure’s voice rang out. Some form of magic was clearly at work, for his words reached every corner of the Inner and Outer Palaces.
"I am Deus Ex Machina. It seems some refer to me as the Mysterious Golem Master."
Jin spoke, reciting the script he had drafted with Laojun. He had, of course, altered the quality of his voice for the performance.
"Deus Ex Machina?"
"I’ve never heard the name. Who is he? What does he want?"
The assembled crowd broke into a stir. However, when the man calling himself Deus Ex Machina raised a hand, silence immediately fell again.
"War is futile. It produces nothing," Deus Ex Machina declared. "The world is vast, and humanity is few. Do not commit the folly of slaughtering your own kind."
A few among the listeners nodded inwardly.
"It is a fact that humanity has yet to reclaim the heights of the civilization from the Great Magic War. However, it is foolish to chase the past. The past will never return."
Some furrowed their brows at his words.
"Do not look toward the past. Keep your eyes fixed on the present. Strive to carve out a future," Deus Ex Machina shouted, his voice rising in intensity. "You are free to heed this counsel or ignore it. However, should you choose to ignore it, I have methods of my own."
With that, Deus Ex Machina pointed toward a broken golem.
"Look."
The people's gazes converged on the wreckage. Their eyes widened in shock as the destroyed golem turned red-hot, then white-hot, before melting into a puddle of slag.
"Do you understand now? I desire only one thing: peace. Coexistence, if you prefer. It should not be a difficult thing to achieve."
Deus Ex Machina paused, looking over the crowd.
"So long as conflict does not arise, I shall not appear. Think well on this."
Concluding his speech, Deus Ex Machina leaped onto the giant golem’s shoulder. Simultaneously, the golem spun around, turning its back to Asunt Castle.
At that moment, a magi-ritter began chanting an attack spell.
"'Wind Slash'...! Why? I can't use my magic!"
Deus Ex Machina looked back from the golem’s shoulder.
"I forgot to mention. Far from simply nullifying magic, I can make it so you cannot use it at all. Cease these futile efforts."
He pointed at the magi-ritter who had attempted to cast the spell.
"Gah!"
The magi-ritter let out a short cry, went rigid, and promptly collapsed, unconscious.
"Regrettably, it seems he was a puppet of the Unifilar. However, this should bring him to his senses. I shall send a list of those identified as puppets later."
Deus Ex Machina turned away from the people once more.
"Now then, I pray the day never comes when we must meet again."
And so, this time for certain, Deus Ex Machina departed along with the giant golem.
Back at Hourai Island Headquarters, Jin was doubled over in agony.
"Ughaaaaah, that was so incredibly embarrassing!"
Having finished reading the script, he could no longer bear the weight of his own theatricality.
"My Lord, please calm yourself. You looked very dignified," Anne said, attempting to console him. "Before the Great Magic War, that kind of speech and posturing was perfectly normal."
Anne explained that during minor skirmishes between nations, nobles had frequently used such exaggerated language.
"...It was definitely over the top."
It seemed Anne’s comfort wasn't doing much to help.
"My Lord, I request your instructions for the next phase."
Laojun’s voice came in, allowing Jin to finally shift his focus.
"Everything went pretty much as we expected. Proceed with the aftercare exactly as planned."
"Understood."
"Alright. I'm heading to Kaina Village, so contact me if anything happens."
Having performed the uncharacteristic task of stopping a war, Jin felt restless. Seeking comfort, he hurried to Kaina Village.
"Ah—Onii-chan! Where have you been? It’s almost lunchtime!"
Hanna shouted the moment she saw Jin’s face. She was a bit cross since he had been gone for so long.
"Sorry, sorry. I had some things to take care of at my other house."
"Geez! I was worried you’d disappeared again!"
"I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to let you know from now on," Jin said, patting Hanna’s head. As he did, he felt his frayed nerves begin to settle.
"You know, I went to the forest to gather firewood today. Rock-oji-chan and the others caught lots of mountain deer this morning, so they’re going to make smoked meat!"
Jin recalled Rock mentioning something about that after seeing the cold storage room.
"I see. I’ll go help them, then."
"Yeah!"
Her mood restored, Hanna grabbed Jin’s hand and pulled him toward the plaza where the smoking was being prepared.
Around the same time, Titan 2 and Reiko returned to Hourai Island. Since they traveled via Warp Gate, their return was the swiftest.
"Welcome back, Reiko-san."
"Laojun, where is Father?"
Reiko asked, noting Jin’s absence from his usual spot.
"My Lord... went ahead to Kaina Village."
Laojun told her the truth, feeling a slight worry that the news might upset her.
"I see. He went to see Hanna-chan, then," Reiko said with a smile, contrary to his fears. "Hanna-chan seems to be the most important person to Father, after all."
Finding this a bit curious, Laojun decided to ask Reiko directly.
"Reiko-san, it appears that Hanna-chan is special to you as well. Am I correct? Aside from My Lord, of course."
To his surprise, Reiko let out a soft laugh.
"Hehe, did you notice? Yes, Hanna-chan is the most precious person to me after Father."
"May I ask the reason?"
"Of course. Hanna-chan looks very much like Mother."
"By your Mother, you mean the Predecessor?"
"Yes. She is the spitting image of Mother Adriana Barbora Tsetse. Of course, I don’t mean their magic patterns are similar. Hanna-chan can’t even use magic, after all."
"So, you mean her physical appearance?"
"Exactly. When Mother was young—no, when she was a child—I am certain she looked exactly like that."