The next day, the 4th, was dedicated to making Wylie jam from early in the morning.
They bypassed the magic stoves typically found in households, opting instead to build a hearth in front of the Village Chief’s house. There, they heated a massive pot using a fire magi-crystal Jin had specifically calibrated for the task. They planned to turn a full cauldron of Wylie fruit into jam.
"Wow, it smells so sweet and tangy!"
All the village children came out to help, plucking the stems and tossing the fruit into the pot. Sara, the Golem maid, stirred the mixture while carefully crushing the Wylie.
The cauldron itself was made of light silver. In the right market, it was worth enough to build a small house, but the villagers remained oblivious to its value. They simply marveled at how such a large pot could be so lightweight.
Furthermore, during the night, Jin had ordered Land and his units to gather more Wylie from the nearby mountains. Consequently, the total volume of fruit was three times what they had harvested the day before, though no one seemed to notice the discrepancy. They were too busy crushing the fruit and tossing it into the pot to realize the supply was replenishing itself.
As the juices seeped out and the mixture became easier to stir, scum began to float to the surface. They skimmed it off diligently, keeping the jam clear.
"The sugar is a donation from me," Jin announced.
With that, he emptied the sugar into the pot. They simmered roughly fifty kilograms of sugar with fifty kilograms of Wylie. By slowly boiling off the moisture and taking care not to let it burn, they would eventually yield a thick, syrupy jam.
Generally, the more acidic the fruit, the better the jam tasted. During his days at the orphanage, Jin used to buy strawberries that were cheap because they were past their prime and turn them into preserves. By using plenty of sugar and reducing the moisture, he could make them last a long time. If kept in a freezer, they would last until the following spring, though the children usually devoured the supply long before then.
"Let's see... Ouch!"
Jin scooped a bit of jam from the spatula with his finger to taste it, but he nearly scalded his tongue; he had always been particularly sensitive to hot food.
"Yeah, this is definitely sweet!" Saki chirped, taking a taste from the spatula herself. Her face lit up with a grin at the flavor.
Once the pot was removed from the heat and allowed to cool, they planned to distribute the bounty to every household.
"Hmm, there's still plenty of energy left in this magi-crystal..."
Since the heating magi-crystal was far from exhausted, Jin decided to make marmalade as well.
"Reiko, bring me about fifty kilograms of citran. And some more sugar, too."
After giving Reiko her instructions, Jin asked Mine to prepare cutting boards and knives.
"Alright, anyone with free hands, come help us out!"
Reiko returned from the warehouse at Nidou Castle with the citran in about two minutes. Jin set those who were proficient with knives to work peeling and chopping the rinds. In the meantime, he manufactured another large cauldron.
"Put the chopped rinds in the pot, boil them once, and then drain the water."
There were various schools of thought regarding the process, but Jin followed his own preferences. Leaving the white pith on the inside of the citran peels was a staple of his signature style.
"You can eat about half of the peeled fruit, but squeeze the other half and put the juice into the pot!"
"Okay!" the children shouted back cheerfully.
Despite their enthusiastic replies, most of them were busy stuffing their faces with citran. Watching them from the corner of his eye, Jin ordered Reiko, Ar, and Edgar to handle the squeezing. Citran was exceptionally juicy, so even with the children eating half the fruit, there was more than enough liquid to work with.
They boiled down the juice and the shredded rinds together, skimming off the scum before stirring in the sugar. Jin added a generous amount; if the sugar content was too low, the preserves wouldn't keep.
The jam-making session, which had begun in the early morning, concluded right as noon arrived. The entire village immediately gathered for a tasting session.
"Whoa! This is amazing!"
The villagers spread the fresh jam and marmalade onto slices of the local specialty bread. The flavors were so concentrated that a tiny amount was more than enough.
"Onii-chan, this is so good!"
"Jin-niichan, thank you!"
The children, knowing the expensive sugar had been a gift from Jin, made sure to thank him between bites.
The surplus was divided among the twenty-nine households. Each family received roughly two jars of Wylie jam and one jar of marmalade. The containers were special crystal jars made by Jin. Under normal circumstances, such vessels were far too precious for jam, but once again, no one commented on the luxury—not even Saki.
"Once you've finished eating, make sure to clean your mouths. Here is how you do it..."
Mine began instructing the children on dental hygiene. Fortunately, Kaina Village had almost no instances of cavities or gum disease, but there was no telling what might happen as their dietary habits evolved. Establishing the habit now was a wise precaution.
Jin happened to know that the drinking water in Kaina Village contained trace amounts of baking soda, which was also why the local hot spring was a sodium bicarbonate spring. Since baking soda was useful for cooking, he was investigating whether it could be secured in larger quantities, though he was loath to perform any large-scale Digging within the village itself.
Setting that aside, it was possible that the minute concentration of baking soda helped maintain an alkaline environment in their mouths. There was also the fact that the water contained significantly more free ether than other regions. While the capital of the Klein Kingdom, Alban, measured at about 0.1 ppm, Kaina Village hovered around 10 ppm—a hundredfold difference. Granted, 10 ppm was still only one part in a hundred thousand, so it had no measurable effect on a person's internal mana.
Still, it might be effective for keeping the mouth clean, Jin mused. He couldn't be certain without clinical trials, but he suspected it was a major factor in their lack of cavities.
"Well, it's about time I went to meet Reinhard."
It was 12:30 PM in Kaina Village, which meant it should be around 9:30 AM in Banne, where Reinhard was located.
"Jin-nii, be careful," Elsa said.
"Kufu, I can practically see the look on Reinhard's face when you arrive," Saki added.
"Onii-chan, have a safe trip!" Hanna waved.
Seen off by Elsa, Saki, and Hanna, Jin and Reiko jumped to Hourai Island via Shinkai. While passing through the transit point, Jin paused.
"How is the oxygen supply handled here?" he asked Butler 50, the unit stationed at Shinkai.
"Yes, My Lord. We monitor the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and periodically ventilate the area using a Warp Gate."
Reassured, Jin continued his transfer to Hourai Island.
"Welcome back, My Lord," Laojun greeted him.
"I'm back, Laojun. Today, I'm bringing my friend Reinhard and his wife to Kaina Village first. Then, tomorrow or the day after, I'll bring them here to Hourai Island. Are there any issues?"
"None at all. Everything is prepared."
It was highly probable that Reinhard would be accompanied by his Black Knight, Noir, while Berche would bring Neon. The small Warp Gate attached to Jin's carriage was too narrow for Noir to pass through. To solve this, Jin had dispatched Falcon 10 earlier to install a larger Warp Gate in Saki's shed—one large enough to accommodate not just a Black Knight, but an entire carriage. For security, this gate would be dismantled immediately after use and reassembled only when it was time for Reinhard’s party to return.
"The carriage can stay inside Shinkai, I assume?"
The Warp Gate within Shinkai was indeed large enough to fit a carriage.
"Yes. Upon your signal, I will temporarily lower the security protocols."
The plan was for Jin to signal Laojun via the manacam built into Reiko just before the transfer. Laojun would then relay the command to Shinkai to lower the barriers.
With the final checks complete, Jin brought out one of the Golem horses he had manufactured recently. He intended to use it to pull Reinhard's carriage, as caring for live horses during the trip would be a needless hassle.
"I'm glad I made several of these," Jin muttered to himself while mounted. "Though... I really should get those horses back from Lishia and Pascoe eventually."
That, however, was a task for another day. Jin initiated the transfer to Banne in the Shouro Empire.
"Dear, are you certain Jin-sama is coming to fetch us today?"
Shortly after 9:00 AM on the 4th, Berche questioned Reinhard while finishing their travel preparations at House Randol in Banne. Clouds blanketed the sky and the sunlight was pale and weak. It didn't look like rain, but the weather was dreary enough to make one hesitate about a long journey.
"Yes, there is no mistake."
Since the existence of the manacam was still a secret he kept from Berche, Reinhard hadn't been able to have long conversations. However, through brief exchanges with Laojun—whom he had become quite friendly with during his travels—he had finalized all the arrangements.
"Master Reinhard, have a safe journey," Claude, the butler, said as he saw them off.
Per their request to have a private trip for just the two of them, Reinhard and Berche were traveling alone. The only others accompanying them were the Black Knight Noir and the automata Neon. Since they were still within the Randol territory, the rest of the household assumed there was no danger. While that was likely true, Reinhard was currently the only one who knew their destination was nowhere near the territory.
It was then that Jin and Reiko appeared.
"O-Oh!?"
Wolfgang, Reinhard’s father, let out a startled cry. It was the first time he had ever seen a horse-shaped Golem. Since he hadn't seen the carriage Jin had arrived in, his shock was understandable. In contrast, Claude looked on with a calm expression, having already grown accustomed to Jin's eccentric inventions.
"Reinhard, Berche-san, I've come to pick you up."
"Jin, thank you for coming all this way."
"Jin-sama, it has been quite some time," Berche added.
Reinhard stepped forward and shook Jin’s hand, a wide smile on his face.