"They were all low-ranking members of Unifilar," Gloria began.
She was relaying information obtained from the interrogation of those Jin—or rather, Reiko—had neutralized earlier that day. They were apparently unrelated to the ones who had caused the Golem Incident the day before.
"It seems they only received orders to launch an attack on Alban sometime after noon today."
Gloria continued, explaining that the instructions had been quite haphazard; the group was essentially told to run amok however they pleased after starting the commotion.
"We concluded that their goal, no matter how you look at it, was simply to cause chaos," she finished.
"The one who tried to kidnap Hanna-chan was, well, perhaps a bit more rational than the rest. He probably didn't think he could escape safely after attacking Alban. Once we started the interrogation, he spilled quite a lot."
Gloria added that she couldn't share all the details, though Jin actually knew more about the underlying circumstances than she did.
"I do not know how much you are aware of, Jin-dono, but summarizing the reports from swift horses and carrier pigeons, the battle that had been pushed back to Tetrada has ended due to the intervention of a mysterious force. The Kingdom of Franz's army has retreated, and the situation has reached a state of ceasefire."
Jin knew this very well, considering he was the one responsible for it.
"In short, the situation in the Allied Kingdoms is stabilizing. Though the post-war negotiations with the Kingdom of Franz are still to come."
While Jin had some interest, his true desire was to leave political matters to the respective nations. However, there was one point he could not ignore.
"As for the Klein Kingdom, did they not implement conscription?"
Jin knew for a fact that a conscription order had already reached Kaina Village.
"Yes, instructions should have been issued to the land-holding nobles to provide soldiers in proportion to their population," Princess Lieschen answered. Her being so well-informed despite her age was a clear sign of her excellence.
"Will you not cancel it?" Jin asked. This was the matter he was most concerned about.
Gloria was the one who answered.
"I believe it will be canceled within a day or two. That is because the knight order that went out to Tetrada will be returning by then."
She mentioned that until the true extent of the knight order's losses was understood, the order might not be revoked immediately. She concluded by noting that it wasn't yet certain if the war with the Kingdom of Franz was truly over.
"I see."
Hearing that explanation, Jin reaffirmed that he would indeed have to take one more measure.
That night, Jin and the others stayed in the same room as the previous night, dimly lit by the glow of a magi-lamp.
As Hanna began to yawn, they prepared for bed. Even so, it only involved changing into sleepwear. The clothes provided in the guest room were made of silk, evident from the smooth texture.
I wonder where silk comes from in this world, Jin mused idly as he changed behind the curtains of his bed. At that moment...
"Hanna-chan, do you want to sleep together?" Elsa’s voice drifted over.
When Jin heard that, it clicked. Even if it was only for a short time, being captured by bandits during the day had been a shock to the young girl.
At the same time, he reflected on his own failure to be more considerate. Closing his eyes, Jin felt a wave of gratitude toward Elsa.
the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Jin was set to head to the Royal Palace workshop to continue his commission.
"Lies-sama, would it be alright if I brought Elsa along as an assistant?" Jin asked, figuring it was worth a try. The princess gave her permission quite easily, saying, "That is fine."
"Hey, hey, Princess, can I go too?" Hanna asked. The princess granted her request immediately as well.
Furthermore...
"Hmm, it would be boring if both Hanna and Elsa were gone. I shall come along as well," Lieschen declared.
"Princess! In that case, I shall go too!" Gloria, who happened to be present, spoke up. Whether it was for protection or out of curiosity was a question for another time.
And so, they headed to the workshop as a large group.
Though it seemed there might be some trouble with the guards, with both the vice-captain of the royal ritter corps and the princess present, the gatekeepers could say nothing, and everyone was allowed inside.
"Ooh! So these are the golems Jin is making!"
"Wow, they're cool."
The princess's excitement rose upon seeing the twenty skeletons. Hanna also looked on with interest. Elsa, having seen them several times already, had no outward reaction.
As for Gloria:
"Hmm, so this is how a golem is structured. No, this is quite informative."
There was no one there to tell her that she shouldn't be using Jin’s work as a reference.
"First, I will attach the muscles," Jin said, beginning to process the dragonic eel skin.
"Elsa, watch closely. When using the Craft Magic Separation, the most important thing is accurately gauging the volume."
Explaining as he worked, he began separating the skin into the required amounts.
"You could cut it, but doing so would sever some of the fibers and tissues. That's why it's better to use Craft Magic here."
"Mm, Jin-nii."
Even as he explained, Jin's hands did not stop. One after another, the dragonic eel skin was portioned out using Separation.
Arm muscles, leg muscles, waist, shoulder, and neck muscles. The size of the muscles for each part varied slightly, but since Jin had the design base in his mind, the work proceeded without hesitation.
It took only fifteen minutes for the muscles to be prepared. It was an astonishing speed.
"Alright, we'll start attaching these. Reiko, help me. It's still too much for Elsa, so you just watch closely."
"As you wish, Father."
"Mm, Jin-nii."
Reiko had assisted Jin countless times, and her skills were at a level that easily surpassed any other magi craftman. The complex and tedious task of attaching magical muscles to twenty golems was finished in twenty minutes with the two of them working together.
"Umm, it is a bit unsettling, is it not...?"
"Is it? I think it's interesting," Hanna replied.
Princess Lieschen was slightly put off, but Hanna, who was used to seeing mountain deer being butchered in her village, remained unfazed.
"Now we're moving on to the crucial task of making the magi-devices. Elsa, I’ll have you help with this."
Saying so, Jin picked up the magi-crystals and mithril. He tasked Elsa with producing the mithril casings. Naturally, these were the countermeasures against Master-Slave Rewrite Magic.
He made one sample and had her produce identical ones. In the meantime, Jin set about creating the mana tanks, mana drivers, and control cores.
"Hmm, those are beautiful magi-crystals. All-attribute, I see."
The princess murmured as she saw the magi-crystals in Jin’s hand. As expected, she possessed a solid general knowledge of the stones.
"Write In."
The magi-crystal in Jin's hand emitted a faint light. Magi Language characters shimmered into the air around it before being sucked into the crystal and vanishing.
"That's one done."
"Ooh! So that is Craft Magic..."
The princess seemed to have taken a liking to that particular spell, which was on the flashier side of the magic he had used so far. She watched intently as he engraved the magi-formulas into every prepared magi-crystal.
He prepared the magi-devices for speech using green magi-crystals and the eyes using colorless ones. It took him about thirty minutes to process all 120 magi-crystals. Even so, Jin was holding back; if he were serious, he could have worked three times faster.
"Elsa, how are things on your end?" Jin called out to Elsa, who was using Forming to create the mithril casings.
"Three more to go."
Having received Jin's tutelage, Elsa had already surpassed the standard level for specific types of processing, though she herself was unaware of it. Since she hadn't spent much time watching her cousin Reinhard work, her only point of comparison was Jin.
With Jin's help, the twenty casings were soon finished.
"Alright, these go..."
"Into the chest, right?" Elsa said, gradually memorizing the procedure.
Jin purposefully worked slowly so that Elsa could learn as he installed the chest magi-devices.
"Um. Mana tank, mana driver, and control core, right?"
"That's it. You remembered the mana tank well."
Jin didn't often make golems with mana tanks, so he was impressed that Elsa had identified it.
"I saw them at Earl Kuzuma's place."
Right—Lotte, the golem he had made for Count Kuzuma in Blue Land, had been equipped with a mana tank. Thinking back, perhaps Elsa had wanted to become a magi craftman even then.
Jin used Craft Magic to link the fine mithril wires—the magi-nerves—from the control core to the limbs, head, and torso. He then filled the space around the core and other components with sponge cushioning made of Gula Schwamm.
Next, he installed the eyeballs and the vocal apparatus into the head. For these units, the mouths were fixed, meaning their expressions would not change.
By the time he finished this, about two and a half hours had passed. The princess and Gloria were watching Jin's work with faces full of curiosity, while Hanna glanced around the room every now and then.
"Alright, I'll attach the exterior."
Watching sixty kilograms of 5.5 nickel steel being stretched into plates, formed into armor, and attached to the golems was quite a sight. This time, even Hanna watched the scene without a word.
Reiko supported Jin's work by dividing the 5.5 nickel steel into sixty-kilogram blocks and performing the initial stretching. It took three minutes per unit. An hour later, twenty golems stood complete.
"Oh, they are finished already!"
To the excited princess, Jin said, "Now, I would like to perform an operational test. Is there someone who can act as an opponent? Preferably a male soldier."
The princess tilted her head and thought for a moment.
"A man is better? Then I shall call one of the royal ritters."
The princess gave an order to Gloria, who passed it to a soldier. A few minutes later, a young ritter arrived.
"Your Highness, did you call for me?"
"Good work, Rush. I wished for you to act as an opponent for a test today."
"An opponent, you say?"
The princess then introduced Jin and the others.
"This is the magi craftman, Jin. He has created general-purpose golems at my father's request."
"I'm Jin."
"I am Heinz Rush."
Jin and Heinz exchanged a handshake.