"If possible, could I speak with your granddaughter? I’d like to hear what kind of doll she would prefer."
Shelving the matter of the delivery deadline for the moment, Jin decided he wanted to meet the girl.
His primary reason was to learn her tastes. Since he struggled with design, Jin wanted to hear her preferences directly from her if possible.
"U-um. I cannot allow you to stay for long, but..."
Salyut Belluci spoke hesitantly, but he nevertheless led Jin toward the third floor.
The room was situated in the best location on the floor, facing south.
"Youth, I'm coming in."
Salyut knocked, announced himself, and opened the door.
"Oh, Grandpa."
Lying in a bed placed by the window was a girl slightly smaller than Hanna. She had beautiful golden hair and green eyes, but her skin was pale to a sickly degree.
"A guest?"
Seeing Jin behind Salyut, the girl wore a look of mild surprise, as if she were seeing something rare.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you, I’m Jin. This girl is Reiko."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is You—cough."
Youth began to cough in the middle of her greeting. It wasn't just a single cough; it was a wheezing, rasping sound that seemed like it would never end, a sound that transcended a simple cough.
"A-are you all right?"
Salyut rushed to her side with a worried expression, helping her turn on her side as he rubbed her back.
Despite his efforts, the coughing showed no sign of stopping. Unable to just watch her suffer, Jin ran over as well.
"Cure."
He cast the healing magic. With that, the coughing finally subsided.
Youth breathed with a pained, whistling sound, her face distorted in clear agony.
The true cruelty of respiratory illnesses lies in the inability to breathe properly. Having seen children at the orphanage whose coughing wouldn't stop due to colds, Jin looked at the suffering Youth and felt a desperate urge to help.
"Um, does she have these fits all the time?"
It was, naturally, her grandfather Salyut who answered.
"Yes. She does. Her coughing fits become unstoppable several times a day, just like this... Jin-dono, thank you for the treatment."
As her breathing finally settled, Youth looked at Jin and tried to say something, but Jin stopped her.
"Ah, you shouldn't try to talk just yet. I'll use Cure once more just to be safe."
After two applications of healing magic, Youth’s complexion improved significantly.
(...There's a high possibility this is childhood asthma...)
There had been two children with childhood asthma at the orphanage where Jin lived, so he had an inkling of what it might be.
(If I remember correctly, the primary cause was allergies... and mites were part of it too.)
The air in this region was severely dry, which likely made things even worse for her respiratory system.
(I wonder if there are mites... That's it!)
"Reiko, come here for a second."
"Yes, Father."
"Your eyes can magnify up to about a hundred times. Could you look over the bedding and see if there are any living organisms there?"
Jin gave Reiko her instructions while he scanned the room.
It was warm. He noticed several basins filled with hot water placed around the room; evidently, they were being used for humidification.
(Hmm, if it's as I suspect...)
As Jin turned the possibilities over in his mind, Reiko reported her findings.
"Father, there are very, very small living creatures, along with many of their carcasses."
"What do they look like?"
"Yes. They are generally oval-shaped, I suppose. They have eight legs."
"So it was mites after all."
Allergic reactions caused by inhaling the carcasses and droppings of small mites—commonly called house mites—account for the majority of childhood asthma cases.
Formally, these species are known as the European house dust mite and the American house dust mite. They feed on human dander and fallen hair; since they do not suck blood, their presence is difficult to notice.
Furthermore, they thrive in hot, humid environments. In other words, the humidification they were performing out of the kindness of their hearts was actually having the opposite effect.
"Hmm, I noticed because of Reiko, but if only there were a Microscopic Magic Eye like Gloria-san’s father had... I forget his name. Well, if I don't have one, I'll just have to make one."
A switch seemed to flip inside Jin.
"Jin-dono?"
Salyut’s voice snapped Jin back to his senses. Returning to reality, Jin reconsidered Youth’s problem. He decided to step outside the room for a moment.
"What do the healers say?" Jin asked Salyut.
"That her throat has been weak since birth, and that is why she coughs. We keep the room warm and provide moisture, but it hasn't been cured."
"I see..."
As expected, the concept of an allergy caused by mites didn't seem to exist here.
"Does that mean something? Does it relate to the automata?"
"No, the automata aside, I was just thinking it would be good if her illness could be eased."
When Jin said that, Salyut lunged at the suggestion.
"What! Are you saying, Jin-dono, that you can cure my granddaughter's illness!?"
Jin was slightly taken aback by the man's intensity, but reminding himself it was an expression of love for his granddaughter, he explained his theory.
"There are creatures in the bedding and the room so small they cannot be seen by the naked eye."
"Inhaling their carcasses and droppings creates toxins in the body, which makes her unwell."
He presented these two points clearly.
"Hmm, that is a story I find difficult to believe so suddenly..."
Anticipating that reaction, Jin had already thought of a way to persuade him.
A microscope.
Recalling his time at the orphanage once more, he had once made a 'plastic bottle microscope' with the younger children for a summer vacation project.
The process involved cutting a plastic bottle short, poking a small hole in the cap, and fitting a tiny transparent glass bead into it. The focus was adjusted by turning the screw of the cap.
It was a simple structure, but surprisingly functional. He didn't have a plastic bottle, but for the current Jin, the construction would be trivial.
"Well, proof is better than theory. Please see it with your own eyes."
With that, Jin returned to the main room.
"Oh, Jin, what's the matter?"
Reinhard was still there, conversing with Limer Gebalthoff.
"Would you like to take a look too, Reinhard? Salyut-san, I’ll take one glass."
After getting Salyut’s permission, he took a transparent glass made of crystal.
"Forming."
"Oh!?"
As a Magi Craft Meister, this was a level of precision processing only Jin could achieve.
"Hmm, what are you going to do with a bead like that? Ho, a cup next? No, that’s not it..."
Reinhard, Limer Gebalthoff, Salyut Belluci, and Mattheus watched with deep interest as Jin used the crystal to craft parts one after another.
"Done."
And so, a simple microscope was completed.
Essentially, it needed a structure that could hold a spherical lens roughly three millimeters in diameter steady against the object being observed. It was even better if the lens could be moved back and forth for focusing.
The tool Jin had created possessed exactly those functions. Since it was made entirely of transparent crystal, it exuded an aura of immense luxury.
"Now then, shall we start by looking at this?"
Jin placed the finished microscope on the table to look at the tablecloth and carefully adjusted the focus.
"All right, please have a look. Salyut-san, you first."
"Hmm? Yes....W-what is this!?"
The fibers of the thread that made up the tablecloth were visible, each one distinct and clear.
"This is called a microscope. It’s a tool that allows you to see small things by making them appear larger."
"Let me see. Ho! This is...!"
"Yes, yes! Jin, this is amazing!"
"Oho, Jin-dono, this looks like it would be useful for many things!"
The others took turns peering into the microscope, each voicing their astonishment.
"Now, with this, have you all understood that this tool can make small things look larger?"
"Indeed."
Salyut nodded deeply at Jin’s confirmation.
"Then, use this to look at the dust in your granddaughter's room, if there is any."
"I understand."
At that, Salyut went to Youth’s room alone and returned pinching a bit of dust.
"This is dust that had gathered in the corner of the bed. Let's try looking at this."
By this point, Salyut was already halfway toward believing that what Jin had said earlier was the truth. However, because he had become fascinated by the microscope, he had gone to collect the dust immediately.
"Wha... What is this! Is it a monster!?"
The moment he peered at the dust through the microscope, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"W-what’s wrong?"
Those present were startled by Salyut’s cry and took turns peering into the microscope.
"...How repulsive."
"To think such creatures exist..."
"Could they be descendants of magical beasts!?"
Each of them shared their own horrified impressions.