"Elena, what is this?"
Jules—the former Chairman of Unifilar and now Chairman of Nostalgia—stared at a magic tool the size of a large desk and voiced his confusion.
The date was April 27th, two days after Unifilar had been renamed Nostalgia.
"This is called a 'manaphone,'" Elena replied.
"A manaphone?"
Jules was perplexed by the unfamiliar term.
"Yes. They work in pairs, allowing for vocal communication between two units," Elena explained.
"I see. But haven't we spoken over long distances before?"
It was a reasonable question. While Elena’s predecessor and the second seat, Donald, were returning via thermal balloon, Elena and Jules had communicated using a specific magic tool.
"Yes, your question is valid. While I do not know the name of that particular tool, it becomes unusable once the distance grows too great. Connecting Astan to this location was its absolute limit. Furthermore, it was only capable of communicating with me. To make matters worse, if a high mountain stood between the devices, communication would fail regardless of the distance."
One half of that previous communication device had been built into Elena’s body, while the corresponding half was large enough to fill a small room.
"In contrast, despite its compact size, this manaphone is capable of communicating over hundreds—perhaps even over a thousand—kilometers. Mountains do not affect its signal in the slightest."
"Incredible! Did this come from Maquina-dono?"
"Yes. He provided us with ten pairs, making twenty manaphones in total. I believe it would be wise to deliver them to the various kingdoms."
The five nations—the Kingdom of Egerea, the Celuroa Kingdom, the Kingdom of Franz, the Klein Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Elias—were all countries with deep ties to one another within the Allied Kingdoms.
If each capital were to install a manaphone as a dedicated hotline to every other nation, each country would require four units. Four units for each of the five countries made twenty in total.
The Shouro Empire and the Leonard Kingdom would have to wait for another time.
"I'm sure they will be delighted to receive these," Jules said, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he turned another question to his secretary. "How is the reorganization of the group proceeding?"
According to Elena, more than eighty percent of the executives who had been under mind control continued to sympathize with the ideals of Nostalgia after being freed. They chose to remain with the organization.
The remaining twenty percent appeared to have been motivated solely by power or greed. Those individuals had been detained and placed in dungeons.
Whether they would eventually be released after their personalities were neutralized through mind control or simply left to wither away in captivity remained undecided. Jules hoped they would truly reform, as that would be the best outcome.
"I see. If that is the case, we can continue our activities as an organization."
"Yes, My Lord."
Even though Jin had modified her, Elena maintained her previous speech style to avoid raising suspicion from those around her.
"Heh, I don't think I could have managed this without you, Elena. I'll be counting on you from here on out."
Meanwhile, Donald, the second seat, was struggling.
The source of his trouble was the battle that had occurred early on the morning of the 23rd.
No matter how vast and deserted the plains in front of their headquarters were, it was impossible that no one in the city of Kashimnole had noticed.
While Maquina had surveyed the area from the air to ensure no local residents were caught in the crossfire, the noise must have been considerable. Some might have even seen the rock debris sent flying when Maquina and his companions escaped the trap.
"I wonder if I can pass it off as 'new mine development'..."
Donald was racking his brains to come up with peaceful justifications to cover up the incident.
Furthermore, there was the matter of cleaning up the various "interventions" the organization had staged in other countries.
"...So, a group was dispatched to Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom, with the intent to cause a disturbance. I suspect there are others..."
Donald sighed as he reviewed an operation carried out independently by one of the extremist executives. It was now the morning of the 28th, approaching noon.
"The scheduled dates were noon on the 27th and 28th. One is already over. It’s too late to get word to the other one in time, either... I can only pray the Klein Kingdom handles it well."
"Your Majesty, a gift has arrived from a group calling itself 'Nostalgia,' presented as a gesture of goodwill."
"Nostalgia? Who are they?"
"Yes. According to the attached letter, they are a group whose objective is to 'unearth the technologies of the past, apply them to the present, and connect them to the future.'"
"Sounds suspicious. And this gift?"
"Yes, it is this."
"What is this massive desk? And there are four of them?"
"Yes. The letter identifies them as magic tools called 'manaphones.'"
"Manaphones?"
"Indeed. They apparently allow for conversation over vast distances via magic. Similar units have reportedly been sent to each of the five nations—the Klein Kingdom, the Kingdom of Egerea, the Kingdom of Franz, the Celuroa Kingdom, and the Kingdom of Elias—allowing for mutual communication between them."
"If that is true, they would be immensely useful. Shall we test them?"
"There may be hidden dangers, so it would be prudent to proceed under the supervision of the minister of magic."
"Mmm. Summon the minister of magic at once."
On the morning of April 29th, similar conversations took place across multiple nations.
"This is Kelichdore, the minister of magic of the Kingdom of Egerea. Can you hear me?"
The magi-crystal attached to the Klein Kingdom’s manaphone glowed brightly just before a voice resonated from the device.
Chancellor Powell, standing nearby, responded in a flurry.
"T-this is Powell, the chancellor of the Klein Kingdom. I can hear your voice clearly!"
"Oh, marvelous. We received this 'manaphone' magic tool this morning. After investigating it thoroughly and determining it to be harmless, I decided to attempt to contact your nation."
Upon hearing that, the chancellor replied hurriedly.
"We were also in the middle of our own investigation. Your call has unexpectedly proven its effectiveness. You have my gratitude."
The minister of magic of the Kingdom of Egerea and the chancellor of the Klein Kingdom continued their conversation for some time, albeit unofficially.
"This is truly convenient. I intend to inform the King of this and suggest he hold a formal conference with your monarch."
The same sentiment was echoed by both sides.
This occurred shortly before noon on April 29th.
Similar communications were exchanged between the Kingdom of Elias and the Kingdom of Egerea, as well as between the Klein Kingdom and the Kingdom of Franz.
The manaphones were poised to leave a definitive mark on the diplomacy of the Allied Kingdoms.
However, no one suspected that these manaphones had manacams built into them, or that every word of their conversations was being leaked directly to Laojun.
"Elena, do you know how those manaphones were delivered to each country?"
"Yes, My Lord. It appears that Maquina-sama ordered his subordinates to transport them."
Jules and Donald both groaned at that response. They wondered just how much power the mysterious entity known as Maquina truly wielded.
The words "Besides magic, there are powers in this world that should be understood and utilized"—which Donald had heard from Reinhard—now carried a heavy sense of reality as they stood before the two men.
"...I wonder how a golem could ever end up like this."
Before them lay a mountain of metal blocks—the remains of the golems that had melted down—which had been delivered as "reconstruction materials."
"I cannot say. There must be countless things in this world that we, who were only looking at the past, simply cannot fathom."
"I wonder how much of it I'll manage to understand in the life I have left."
There was a trace of melancholy in Jules's quiet murmur.
"It’s fine if we don't understand it all. That’s just the nature of life, isn't it?" Donald replied, maintaining his forward-looking stance.
"Heh, true enough. I suppose no life is ever truly complete."
"I will support the both of you to the best of my ability," Elena said.
Jules and Donald both broke into smiles at her words.
"Thank you, Elena. As long as you are with us, we can believe in the future."
"Yes, please leave it to me. Oh, and another magic tool was just delivered from Maquina-sama."
"Is that so? I wonder what kind of surprise awaits us this time."