The day after Jin enjoyed rice for the first time in what felt like forever, he and Reinhard were huddled together in a private meeting.
"Reinhard, I have a favor to ask."
"The truth is..."
Jin proceeded to explain how he had achieved some success—or so he believed—in the Klein Kingdom and had ended up taking a certain village as a leased territory.
"Ah, did you mention that to me before?" Reinhard asked.
"Well, an ambassador from the Klein Kingdom has arrived there. I can't exactly ignore her, and while the immediate issue has been resolved, it sounds like some kind of incident occurred."
"I see. So you want to head over there for three or four days?"
"Yeah. Is there any way to make that work?"
Reinhard crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and sank into thought.
"...I suppose faking an illness is our only option," Reinhard eventually concluded, opening his eyes.
"Faking an illness, huh?" Jin mused. It was the classic excuse for skipping school or work.
"I can cover for you for a day, but if it's three or four, someone is bound to come by to check on you," Reinhard pointed out.
However, Jin already had a solution for that. "Right. In that case, I can use a Body Double."
He had built a Body Double before, though he had later modified it into Maquina. Still, he could easily construct another. Since it only needed to lie in bed, there was little risk of the ruse being discovered.
He could leave simple responses to Laojun.
When Jin explained this to Reinhard, the knight nodded. "Hmm, I see. A Body Double. That's a tactic only possible with your level of technology, Jin."
An ordinary automata would be found out immediately, but something made by Jin carried far less risk. Furthermore, since the premise was that he was unwell, the doll simply had to lie in bed, and visitors wouldn't be permitted to stay long.
With their plan set, they moved into action.
The first step was leaving the Imperial Palace. This was easy enough; Reinhard simply claimed he was giving Jin a tour of the city. Once they were clear, they could use the Warp Gate installed in Jin's carriage to travel to Hourai Island.
"Alright, I'll be right back."
The next step was for Jin to go to Hourai Island and retrieve the Body Double. Since the one he had made previously had been cosmetically altered, he had to build a new one from scratch.
"Preparations are complete, My Lord."
Laojun had already prepared the materials and everything else after receiving word through Reiko. Thanks to that, the Body Double was finished in less than thirty minutes. This version was a full remote control type.
"...It really is creepy," Jin muttered. No matter how many times he saw it, he couldn't get used to a doll that shared his exact face and form.
"...And then there's Reiko."
It would be suspicious if Reiko wasn't by Jin's side, so a double for her was also necessary. For this, they summoned Mira 10 from the Quinta to act as a decoy. Since the Quinta were designed with infiltration and disguise in mind, this was a simple task.
"Alright, let's head back."
Leaving the basic operation of the Body Double to Laojun, Jin and Mira 10 returned to the carriage.
"O-Oh!?" Reinhard's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw two Jins. "Th-That's incredible! It looks exactly like you!"
Reinhard was clearly excited, but Jin cut him off to save time.
"Sorry, Reinhard. Please head back with this doll....Reiko, I'm counting on you."
"Yes... Father," Mira 10 replied, perfectly mimicking Reiko's voice. Jin hadn't informed Reinhard that this Reiko was also a double.
"Jin, so we're looking at four days, just like we discussed?"
"Yeah. I'm counting on you. I'll make this up to you somehow."
"Haha, I look forward to it. Honestly, I'd like to visit that village myself one day. Would that be alright?"
Kaina Village, where his cousin Elsa lived. Reinhard was clearly interested. Jin nodded, waved, and stepped through the Warp Gate once more.
Reinhard returned to the Imperial Palace as planned. Naturally, Steward served as the coachman for Jin's carriage. He escorted the Body Doubles back to Jin's quarters and prepared the bed.
This was where Reiko's earlier forceful declaration—"I am here, so there is no need for maids"—proved incredibly useful.
"Reinhard, I heard Jin-kun collapsed! Is he alright?"
Word of Jin falling ill reached the Empress immediately. As expected, the frank and informal Ruby came to visit in between her administrative duties.
"Yes. Though I say he collapsed, I believe the exhaustion from his journey has simply caught up with him," Reinhard explained, subtly hinting that he would prefer she not linger. The wise Empress caught the hint. She spoke a few words to Jin (the Body Double) in the bed and then departed.
Everything was proceeding exactly as Jin and Reinhard had planned.
Back on Hourai Island, Jin was listening to a report from Laojun.
"...A disease, then."
"Yes. Assuming the mysterious man did something to those pigeons, as reported by Deneb 29."
"...That is unforgivable."
Contagious diseases were a nightmare in this world. The skewed population distribution of Kaina Village was a direct scar from a past epidemic.
"But the safety of the village takes priority over revenge."
Jin considered the possibility that the illness might enter through a different route. After all, the identity of the mysterious man remained unknown, even with the Quinta's surveillance capabilities.
After a moment of thought, Jin reached a conclusion.
"Alright. First, I'll meet Lishia and the others in Kaina Village. Then, I'll give everyone in the village, including her party, some kind of reason to gather... I know, let's call it a 'Castle Completion Ceremony.'"
Jin intended to create an excuse to have all the villagers drink medicine as a preventive measure. Though he was privately seething with rage, he suppressed it, judging that securing the safety of those close to him was his primary duty.
"The Persica juice we've been storing long-term in the free ether box isn't quite a drug base, but it should be highly effective, right?"
"Yes. Of the stock available now, the free ether concentration is roughly ten percent. It is possible to enchant it with Medicare."
While plain Persica juice could improve one's health, it could also be explicitly enchanted with Medicare magic. Because its free ether concentration was low, there had been no reason to use it on Hourai Island where true serum was available, but it was perfect for having people drink it without them suspecting a thing. Because it was juice, people would drink it in large quantities, which would make up for the lower concentration.
Jin had decided that raising the alarm about a contagious disease before the facts were clear would only cause a panic.
"Alright, get it ready....And keep investigating that mysterious man."
"Understood," Laojun replied. "I shall also begin devising a method for retaliating against Earl Walter."
"...I'll leave that to you as well. Also, make sure to check the route Lishia took to see if similar symptoms have appeared elsewhere."
It wasn't enough to just protect Kaina Village. However, since Lishia's guard, Pascoe, hadn't shown any symptoms yet, Jin was still unsure how contagious the illness truly was. He decided to wait and observe for one day.
"Father, the luggage is ready."
Reiko had finished gathering the tools they might need in the office of Jin's castle. Jin and Reiko then jumped to Kaina Village. This time, they used the Warp Gate inside the shelter.
It was currently noon in the village. Jin headed toward the castle first.
"Ah, I really need to decide on a name for the place..."
Kaina Castle, Jin Castle, Nidou Castle... The names floated through his mind.
"Nidou Castle, huh... Sounds a bit like Nijo Castle. I like it."
Just as Jin reached that conclusion, voices called out to him.
"Master, Ojou-sama, welcome home!"
He was greeted by Unit 101 of each of the Five-Colored Golem Maids—Ruby, Aqua, Perido, Topaz, and Amez—along with Butler B and Butler C.
"Oh, you're all here. Good work."
Jin nodded to them and stepped inside. "Where are Barrow and Belle?"
He asked Butler B, who was trailing behind him. He was told they had gone to the Village Chief's house to attend to Lishia and her guard.
"I see. It is lunchtime, after all."
Assuming they were helping with the cooking, Jin headed toward his office.
"The third floor... It's going to be a pain to carry luggage up there," he muttered to himself.
Overhearing this, Butler C spoke up softly. "Master, a secret elevator has been installed inside the central pillar."
The castle featured a central pillar similar to those in five-story pagodas, and it turned out a hidden elevator had been built right into it. Jin wondered why Laojun hadn't mentioned it during their last talk.
The reason was quickly revealed.
"Actually, since Belle was getting out of breath while cleaning, we carried out emergency construction last night."