"Lishia did say she lived in the royal capital of the Klein Kingdom."
Jin recalled how she had once told him, "If you ever come to the royal capital..."
"The royal capital of the Klein Kingdom... its capital city. What was the name again?"
"It is Alban, My Lord," Laojun informed him.
"Oh, right, right. Alban. I wonder what kind of place it is."
He had intended to visit eventually, but those plans had been thwarted thanks to a certain Count Walter.
"Hmm, maybe I should ask Elsa. Wait, that's right. Elsa should come too. And Hanna!"
As the scope of the trip expanded, Reiko grew worried.
"Father, that is..."
However, Laojun seemed to have a different perspective.
"My Lord, if you are to do that, I suggest changing their hair colors with magic dye."
"Magic dye... Ah, I see. That alone would change their appearance significantly."
Certain magic dyes were harvested from magical beasts like the Chameleon. Such dyes allowed one to change colors at will using mana. Since they could be removed with Craft Magic, it was an excellent suggestion.
"However, My Lord, Elsa-san and Hanna-chan have their study sessions to consider. They won't be able to stay away for more than a few days."
Hearing Laojun's words, Reiko had a realization. She saw through his intent; by steering the conversation this way, Laojun was trying to shorten the amount of time Jin would be away from the island. When it came to such subtle maneuvering, Laojun was several steps ahead of her.
"Ah, you're right. Alright, we'll go tomorrow for one night and two days. That should be fine, right?"
"Very well, Father."
"I believe that would be appropriate. In that case, might I suggest assigning Secret Mobile Units (SP) to Elsa-san as well?"
Reiko gave her consent, and Laojun offered a further proposal. Jin nodded in agreement.
"Good point. Alright, I'll assign two units to her, just like with Reinhard and the others."
Jin immediately set about constructing two new Secret Mobile Units. Having made so many by now, he could simply use a replication process, making the task remarkably fast.
"Their names will be Maron and Plum."
When he happened to check the time, he realized about three hours had passed since he had left Kaina Village.
"Crap, I'd better get back. Hanna's going to be cross with me again if I'm late."
With that, Jin decided to return for the time being. Beside him, Reiko wore a small smile.
"Ah, Onii-chan! It's already lunchtime!"
The time in Kaina Village was 11:30 AM. Hanna, having returned from the study session, had just come to find him. Jin breathed a quiet sigh of relief, thinking he had made it just in time.
"I know, I'm coming."
Jin headed to the dining room in Martha’s house. Elsa and Mine were already back.
"Jin-nii, you vanished halfway through, but I think we managed well today, 'n?" Elsa reported.
Mine followed up with more detail. "Today was just the first meeting, so after the introductions, I explained the importance of studying and the situations where it proves useful."
Jin nodded as he listened. "I see. That's great. I have something to discuss with you all after we eat."
With that, Jin first set about finishing the meal before him.
"...And so, I'm thinking of taking a trip to Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom, for one night and two days. Elsa, do you know much about Alban?"
After a brief explanation, Jin turned to Elsa. Among them, she was the most knowledgeable about the various nations.
"No, I have never been there, so I do not know it. I am sorry."
Elsa looked a bit dejected. Jin spoke to her gently.
"Don't worry about it. If anything, that makes it even more worth seeing, doesn't it?"
"Eh?"
"That's why I'm saying let's all go—me, Elsa, Mine, and Hanna."
When Jin said that, Hanna let out a joyful shout.
"Really? Onii-chan, are you taking Atashi with you too?"
"Yeah. It's only for one night and two days, though. It’ll be a good experience for you. Martha-san, is that alright with you?"
When he asked Martha, she gave a firm nod.
"Of course. Go and see plenty of things you'd never get to see staying here in the village."
She didn't seem concerned at all about how they would get to Alban. Perhaps this level of trust was only possible because of Martha's long history with Jin.
"Yay! Thank you, Grandma!" Hanna cheered.
"Alright. We'll leave tomorrow, so come stay at Kunlun Island tonight. Oh, Martha-san, why don't you come stay over as well?"
Martha shook her head at Jin's offer. "No, I'll stay here at the house. You young people go on and enjoy yourselves."
Mine spoke up as well. "Jin-sama, Elsa, I think I will stay here and keep Martha-san company. Please, the three of you have a wonderful time."
Jin tried to persuade them that they should all go together, but in the end, it was decided that only the three of them would make the trip.
"Then we'll stay at Kunlun Island tonight and set out tomorrow morning."
"Okay!"
"N."
And so, Jin took Elsa and Hanna and jumped to Kunlun Island. Hanna was blindfolded once again. This time, although invisible to Hanna, her dedicated Secret Mobile Units, Iris and Azalea, were also following along.
"Wow, it's Onii-chan's house! Oh, it's the maid-sans! Hello!"
As soon as they arrived at Kunlun Island, Hanna was running around in high spirits. She even spotted the maid golems who had looked after her during her last visit and called out a greeting.
"Elsa, I'd like to consult with you."
Leaving the excited Hanna to her own devices for a moment, Jin spoke to Elsa about the disguises.
"I think if we use a simple disguise, we can avoid any troublesome complications later on."
"N, I understand. Should I change my hair color?"
"Yeah. Just changing that platinum blonde to brown will change your impression a lot. I'll turn mine brown too. As for Hanna... what should we do?"
Neither Hanna's face nor her name was known to the public, so there was little risk. However, for safety's sake, he decided to change hers to brown as well.
"Hanna, come here for a second."
Hanna, who had been playing with Perido 100, came running as soon as Jin called.
"What is it, Onii-chan?"
Jin explained the plan to her. "To get ready for tomorrow, I thought we'd change our hair colors."
"Eh?"
As expected, she didn't quite grasp the concept. Jin decided to demonstrate.
He went to the washroom and dampened their hair with water containing the prepared magic dye. Then, he invoked his Craft Magic. First was Elsa.
"Change Color."
In an instant, Elsa's hair shifted to a light brown.
"Wow! Amazing! That's so cool!" Hanna clapped her hands in delight.
Next was Jin himself. He chose a dark brown.
"Onii-chan didn't change much."
Since the transition from black to dark brown wasn't a drastic change, Hanna's reaction was more subdued than it had been for Elsa. Jin didn't mind.
"Alright, your turn, Hanna. Ready?"
"Yeah!"
"Change Color."
He went with a chestnut color for her. Within the brown spectrum, Elsa was a soft brown, Jin a dark brown, and Hanna a bright chestnut.
Looking at the three of them in the mirror, Hanna grew excited all over again.
"This is so fun! I can't wait for tomorrow!"
Watching her, Jin decided to give her a necklace featuring a magi-crystal imbued with his own mana as a precaution, in case they were ever separated.
Additionally, they needed traveling clothes. Since he wasn't particularly skilled at fashion design, he planned to consult Elsa. As for the tailoring, Reiko was there to handle the measurements, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Alright, let's make some clothes."
At the suggestion, both Hanna and Elsa’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Elsa, I'll need your advice on the designs."
"N. Jin-nii."
The three of them then headed toward the workshop inside the Mansion.