Heinz Rush introduced himself as the second son of House Rush.
He had brownish-gold hair, bordering on bronze, and blue-green eyes. He possessed a solid, muscular build.
"He is said to be quite promising even among our younger ritters," the Princess added. Hearing this, Heinz looked slightly bashful.
"S-so, Your Highness, what would you have me do?"
"Umu. Ask Jin for the details."
At her word, Heinz turned toward Jin.
"I was hoping that you, Heinz-dono, could help me measure the capabilities of the newly built golems," Jin explained. Even after hearing this, Heinz wore a look of confusion.
"By the way, as a ritter, you fight with swords or spears, correct?"
"Hm? Yes, indeed."
Having led him into the conversation, Jin immediately invoked his magic.
"Trans Info Mild, Level 4."
It was his first time testing the "Mild" option.
Since few people would be pleased to have their memories or knowledge copied, this version allowed Trans Info to be performed without the target realizing what had happened—or so it was intended. Even if he were overheard, the target likely wouldn't understand the meaning of the words, but Jin kept his voice low just in case.
The destination for the transfer was the last magi-crystal he had brought from Hourai Island.
"Decompile... Yes, it worked."
After checking the results, Jin confirmed that the Trans Info had been a success.
"Jin-dono, what specifically is my role?" Heinz asked again. He seemed to have noticed nothing. It was a complete success.
Jin addressed him, "Please wait just a moment. I’m going to wake up this golem now. Would you mind engaging in a brief mock battle with it?"
Since Heinz had already been informed of the commission Jin had received from the King, he readily accepted.
"I see, so that’s it. Understood. I look forward to it."
Jin transferred the necessary data for the golem's control core from the magi-crystal in his hand.
"Alright. Wake Up."
He channeled mana into the unit and activated the mana driver. The mana tank had been filled in advance.
Following Jin's command, one of the golems stood up.
"Ooh!?"
"Oh!"
"It moved!"
The Princess, Gloria, and Heinz each cried out in surprise. Elsa and Hanna, having grown quite accustomed to the sight, remained silent.
"How is it? How is your physical condition?"
"Yes, Creator. There are no abnormalities."
"Good."
Jin quickly fashioned two practice swords from the remaining iron ingots and handed them to Heinz and the golem.
"Please keep it very light. It would be a disaster if anyone were injured during a test like this."
"Umu."
The group moved to the backyard.
Attracted by the unusual pairing, it seemed that off-duty maids, soldiers, and ritters were watching stealthily from a distance. Heinz unfastened the sword hanging at his waist.
"I shall hold that for you."
Gloria immediately stepped forward, bowed slightly, and received the sword.
Heinz swung the practice sword two or three times to gauge its weight, then glanced at Jin.
"Whenever you are ready."
Jin took that look as a sign of readiness and declared the start.
"Begin!"
Heinz gave a single nod and swung at the golem with a diagonal slash.
The golem parried the strike by letting the blade slide off its own, then stepped in to deliver a horizontal sweep. Heinz dodged with agile footwork. Seeing this, the golem pressed the advantage, stepping forward two more paces.
However, Heinz didn't retreat backward; instead, he moved to the side and slashed down over the golem's shoulder.
"Oh, this is quite amazing!"
The Princess, watching from the sidelines, was practically jumping with excitement. Heinz was known as one of the top one or two combatants among the kingdom's younger ritters.
Jin also rejoiced inwardly, knowing he had obtained excellent data. The magi-crystal currently in his pocket now contained a complete transfer of Heinz's martial techniques.
"Do your best, both of you!"
Just as the Princess cheered, the practice swords held by the man and the machine snapped. It was no surprise, given they were simple, temporary creations.
"That’s enough for now!"
Jin called out, declaring the end of the match. He then bowed deeply and thanked Heinz.
"Heinz-dono, thank you very much."
"No, the pleasure was mine. This golem will soon belong to our country, yes? It is quite reliable. I am the one who should be giving thanks."
"Jin, you are incredible! My eyes did not deceive me!"
Princess Lieschen was also in high spirits.
The gallery watching from the surroundings was equally impressed. Though they couldn't openly approach, they showed their approval with soft applause.
"Well then, I shall take my leave."
Heinz gave a bow and departed.
Jin and the others returned to the workshop. He put the golem he had just tested into Stand Still and performed a check on its components.
"Everything looks good. No abnormalities. Now then, let's finish the remaining nineteen units."
Muttering half to himself, he began writing the information into the control cores using Trans Info.
The entire process was completed in about ten minutes.
"Jin, is it finished?"
Princess Lieschen asked, her face making it perfectly clear she was struggling to contain her excitement.
"Yes, it's done. I'll wake them up now."
Jin replied and proceeded to activate them one by one.
"O-ooooooh?"
The sight of twenty golems gleaming with a dull silver-gray luster was spectacular.
"Alright. Each of you, perform a self-check of your motor functions."
Following Jin's instructions, the twenty golems swung their arms, bent their legs, and twisted their torsos. Then, all of them spoke simultaneously:
"No abnormalities."
Hearing that, Jin smirked for a fleeting moment, though his expression immediately returned to its usual neutral state.
"Good. Now, I will give you temporary names. Starting from the far right, you will be Nick 1, 2, 3, and so on, until Nick 20 on the far left."
"Understood."
It should be noted that the name "Nick" was derived from "Nickel."
By treating golems made to the same specifications as separate entities, individual personalities would eventually emerge. Giving them different names was the first step toward that goal.
Since they had reached a natural breaking point, they decided to break for lunch.
The Princess led the way back to the Detached Palace, where preparations were already complete. The automata lined up the dishes one after another. Seeing the automata move so briskly and efficiently was a pleasant sight.
Since it was lunch, the menu was relatively light, consisting of bread, soup, salad, and juice.
That said, the bread was pure white, the soup was made from various vegetables and venison simmered until it melted, and the salad featured vegetables picked that very morning. And the juice was none other than Persica juice.
Since Persica was known to be precious in the Klein Kingdom, it was clear the Princess had splurged for Jin and his group.
"Wow, it's sweet and delicious!"
The juice, made by squeezing ripe Persica, was thick and naturally sweet enough that it required no added sugar. The sweetness was refreshing and left a clean aftertaste.
Even Elsa, who usually favored citran, seemed to enjoy the juice.
"I wonder if it was truly alright for me to join you for this meal..." Gloria said, looking a bit overwhelmed.
"What are you saying? If we trace it back, I hear it was your request for Jin to make a sword that started all of this. In other words, this is your achievement," the Princess replied.
Hearing this from the Princess only made Gloria feel more humbled.
In the afternoon, they turned their attention to making the swords. This time, they weren't making shortswords, but standard longswords.
The term "long" was relative to the shortswords; they weren't exceptionally large blades. They were of a weight that a strong male ritter could swing with one hand, designed more for thrusting than for cutting.
"Now then, for the model... the Chancellor said he would provide one. Ah, here it is."
Jin gave instructions to Reiko and had her prepare the required amount of steel.
Reiko's specialized vision made her superior at non-contact measurement of weight and dimensions. From the mass of a sword to the sizes of a woman's undergarments, nothing escaped Reiko's sight.
"Father, I believe this is sufficient."
Reiko held out 2.2 kilograms of 5.5 nickel steel.
"Good."
Jin reached out to take it, but then an important realization occurred to him.