Ever since they had entered the Shouro Empire, Jin’s journey had been peaceful and without incident.
After passing through Banmu, they spent a night in the town of Boltoro. They continued through Danga and stayed another night in Denzana. After crossing the Divide River by ferry, they arrived in the town of Banyu on the 7th.
"Ah, nothing beats a peaceful trip," Reinhard said with a satisfied sigh.
Jin, Reinhard, and Mattheus were currently relaxing on benches on the inn's veranda. From where they sat, they could see the shimmering surface of the Divide River. The spring sun was slow to set; though it was evening, the world was still bathed in light. Each of them had a glass of Airbeil juice, a local specialty of the Shouro Empire. Because it was served as juice, Jin couldn't tell what the fruit looked like in its natural state, but the taste was unmistakably strawberry.
"What a nostalgic flavor... Jin, these Airbeils grow wild all over the country. Children love to pick them to eat raw or press into juice. These ones are clearly cultivated, though," Reinhard said, clearly enjoying the taste of home. Jin made a mental note to bring some back as souvenirs for Elsa and Hanna.
"You’re right, Reinhard. Whenever you and I headed into the mountains to pick them, Lady Elsa would always tag along," Mattheus added, his voice warm with nostalgia. Reinhard nodded in agreement. "Yeah. The three of us went all the time. I remember Elsa used to pout and nearly cry, complaining that she was the only one who couldn't find many." It was the kind of story that would have made Elsa flush with embarrassment had she been there to hear it. It was a languid spring evening.
"That's strange. They’re past the scheduled date." Back in Kaina Village, Village Chief Giebeck was growing suspicious. Roland, who had visited in mid-April, had promised to return by early May, yet there was no sign of him. Barbara stood beside him, equally restless. "It’s also odd that Rock, Jeff, Dave, Howard, and Rick haven't come home yet. I wonder if something happened?"
Just then, the golem Jin had left behind as his deputy, Butler A, approached. "Village Chief, forgive my intrusion." By now, Giebeck had grown used to the golem's presence and spoke to him naturally. "Ah, A. Did something happen?" Since "Butler A" was a bit cumbersome, the villagers had taken to calling him "A" as a nickname.
"Yes. It appears there was a rockslide along the highway. That seems to be why the returning conscripts have been delayed." "What?! I won’t ask how you know that, but are you sure?" "Quite certain." Giebeck crossed his arms and frowned in thought. Barbara, however, wasn't one for hesitation. "Uncle, what is there to think about? We should just go clear the slide ourselves!" "Now, now, we can't just send out a crew when we don't know the location or the scale of the damage." "Well, A would know that, wouldn't he?" "Yes." Confronted with Barbara's blunt logic, Giebeck scratched his head, looking a little sheepish. "Hmph. I was so worried I forgot to ask the obvious. So, where is it?" "It is between Doppa and Rakuno." "Right. We’ll send Gon and Gen, along with the Golem horses Ein and Zwei. As for the volunteers—" "Please wait," Butler A interrupted. "Why? What for?" In his ever-level tone, the golem explained. "I said they 'were' delayed. The road is already open." "What? You should have said that from the start!" "My apologies. I intended to explain the situation chronologically, but I was interrupted several times..." Butler A’s communication style was partly to blame; he tended to save the conclusion for the end. His flat, dispassionate delivery also made it very easy for others to jump in mid-sentence. "Well then, they should be back in a few days," Giebeck concluded. Barbara, meanwhile, had only one thing on her mind. "Rick... and Roland will be here soon."
The previous day, the 6th—Hourai Island. [According to additional reports from Deneb 29, the rockslide was indeed orchestrated on the orders of Earl Walter.] Laojun sat in silent contemplation. [However, there is no physical evidence. It is still too early to move against him directly.] Laojun fully intended to crush anyone who opposed Jin. He wouldn't limit himself to physical destruction; he was prepared to ruin enemies socially and economically as well. [For now, we shall simply remove this petty harassment. We will credit the work to the name of Nostalgia.] Having reached a decision in seconds, Laojun immediately contacted Elena. Fortunately, Elena was available, and he was able to transmit all necessary instructions in a single burst. "Understood. If any inquiries arise, I shall ensure everyone knows Nostalgia was responsible." The groundwork was laid. Laojun decided to perform the operation in the dead of night.
The moon hung high in the sky, casting a faint, hazy glow over the landscape. While it was far too dark for human eyes, the golems of Hourai Island were unaffected. The site was the blocked section of the highway. Condor 1, Pelican 3, and Raptor 2 arrived silently. Condor 1 carried a single Daidara unit. The Daidara was a massive golem, fifteen meters tall and weighing eight tons. Compared to the combat-spec Titan, it was heavier and slower, but it excelled in precision work. Its maximum output was actually comparable to Reiko’s instantaneous peak. Given that it was more than eleven times her height and 267 times her weight, this was a logical baseline—or perhaps it was a testament to how terrifying Reiko was for matching such power at her size.
First, Condor 1 activated its Hide function at full power. Hide was a lower-tier version of Stealth magic; it merely masked one's presence. In the dead of night with no one around, it was more than sufficient. The Army golems Land 21 through 24, having arrived via the Raptor, set up a perimeter to ensure no travelers stumbled upon the work.
With the preparations finished, the labor began. Using its immense strength and delicate control, the Daidara cleared the boulders without triggering further collapses. Finding a place to dump the debris was easy. They used a prototype receiverless Warp Gate mounted on Pelican 3. Following precise calculations, they warped the rocks into the sea far to the south. Several Air Force golems were already stationed over the target waters to measure the margin of error. It was an operation that doubled as a field test. The results were promising, with a maximum deviation of only thirty meters. Between the Daidara’s power and the experimental Warp Gate, the highway was cleared in just fifteen minutes.
[Daidara and Condor 1, return. Smith 101 through 110, begin road maintenance.] Laojun issued the next set of orders. Ten smith golems emerged from a standard Warp Gate on Raptor 2. [Repair the road surface and stabilize the slope.] The golems cleared the smaller debris and applied Fusion to the cliffside, effectively preventing any future erosion. They used the remaining rubble to fill the craters left by the slide, then finished the entire area with Hardening to ensure the road was even more durable than before.
[Finally, leave proof that this was the work of Nostalgia.] Laojun had a pre-prepared metal plate embedded into the repaired rock wall. It read: "Repaired by Nostalgia — May 7, 3457." With Nostalgia becoming an unofficial branch of Hourai Island, it wasn't exactly a fabrication. Once the task was done, all golems and aircraft withdrew. Only a pristine, perfectly repaired highway remained.
"Wha—!? What happened here?" Early the next morning, a soldier stationed to guard the closure went to check the site and let out a cry of disbelief. "What happened in the middle of the night?!" "It says... 'Nostalgia'?" While the soldiers were initially thrown into a panic, they allowed traffic to resume that morning. Rock and the other four men safely passed through the site. By that evening, they reached Toka Village, and the following day, they arrived at the roadside rest area. Their progress was monitored by Land R and S, who had been dispatched for secret reconnaissance. [Report from Land R. We have located Rock and the four other conscripted villagers. They are safe.] [Acknowledged. Continue to escort them from the shadows until they reach the village.]
Thus, under the watchful but invisible eyes of their protectors, the group returned safely to Kaina Village on the afternoon of the 9th.