At Reiko’s words, Elsa’s father, Georg, laughed as if mocking her.
"Hmph. What does a mere doll have to say?"
"A mere doll!?"
Jin, hearing Reiko being insulted, raised his voice in anger. Reiko herself was so startled that she momentarily forgot her fury and stared at Jin’s face.
Then Marcus spoke up.
"Still pretending to be a daughter, I see, despite being a doll."
The words slipped out of him.
"Still pretending?"
Jin muttered the phrase back, troubled by it, but Marcus did not elaborate.
"Viscount, if they claim to be full-fledged, why not have them prove it?" Marcus said, egging the man on.
"...I see. Interesting. Marcus, how many of your latest golems and automata do you have available?"
"Yes, sir. In addition to the giant golem, I have five units. Two automata and three military golems."
Upon hearing this, Georg grinned.
"...Jin Nidou. If Elsa is your disciple, then show me your own skill as her teacher. Compete against the golems Marcus has built. If you win, I shall reconsider the matter regarding Elsa."
"...What does my skill have to do with Elsa’s ability?"
"Everything. The disciple of a superficial magi engineer could never be considered a professional in their own right."
"If you lack the confidence, you’re free to run away, you know?"
Jin realized that as long as he wasn't recognized by Viscount Georg Randol, the man wouldn't even listen to reason.
Furthermore, Jin was thoroughly incensed at the Viscount for dismissing Reiko as "a mere doll." He decided to accept the provocation.
"...Fine. What is the method? And the time?"
"Hmph. So you’ll take the bait? You have some nerve. As for the method, we shall each field a golem or an automata and have them compete in a Gonkrenz. The date will be tomorrow. It’s perfect, as there will be plenty of spectators."
"A Gonkrenz?"
"You don't know it? It is the golem competition held in our Shouro Empire. Ask that man over there for the details."
"Eh?"
In the midst of the commotion, Jin hadn't noticed that Reinhard had approached them.
"Uncle, if you challenge Jin, you will only end up embarrassing yourself."
Reinhard tried to dissuade him indirectly, but the Viscount refused to listen.
"Hmph. I wonder which of us will be the one embarrassed?"
Meanwhile, the onlookers were buzzing with excitement.
"Oh! A Gonkrenz!"
"Has it been a year and a half since the last one?"
"They say Jin Nidou and Marcus are going to compete!"
Then, Christoph Balde von Tarnart, the Administrative Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Magi Technology and a Technology Expo Executive Committee member, came rushing over after hearing the disturbance.
"Viscount! Jin-dono! What on earth is happening?"
"Ah, the Executive Committee member. It is nothing; it has simply been decided that my magi engineer, Marcus, and Jin Nidou will hold a Gonkrenz tomorrow."
"What...!"
"The people around us can testify that Jin Nidou and I have declared a Gonkrenz. There is no backing out now."
According to the laws of the Shouro Empire, if a declaration to hold a Gonkrenz is made in the presence of five or more witnesses, it is officially recognized.
"Since tomorrow is the final day of the Technology Expo, it will serve as a fitting attraction."
"I-I see..."
"...And so, I leave the preparations for the Gonkrenz to you. Elsa, come."
Viscount Georg Randol grabbed Elsa’s arm once again.
"Ah..."
Elsa’s face contorted with sadness. Seeing this, Jin shouted.
"Wait!"
"What is it? I am Elsa’s father. What problem is there with a father taking his daughter home? Isn't that right, Elsa?"
"...Yes."
Glared at by Georg, Elsa nodded while hanging her head. Everyone present heard Elsa herself utter that "Yes." In front of so many witnesses, Jin could say no more.
"If you win tomorrow, I will reconsider Elsa’s situation as I said before. I promise you that. Farewell."
Leaving it at that, Viscount Georg Randol pushed through the crowd and walked away, dragging Elsa with him. Marcus followed behind.
Left behind, Jin and Reinhard stood there in stunned silence.
"...Jin-dono, I apologize, but could you explain the situation?"
Christoph, the Executive Committee member, invited Jin and the others into a conference room with a somewhat apologetic look.
"...And that's how it happened..."
Jin explained the circumstances as the group's representative.
"I see. From what I’ve heard, regardless of the process, it seems the Gonkrenz must be held."
"And what exactly is this Gonkrenz?"
"Ah, naturally you wouldn't know, Jin-dono. Let me explain."
A Gonkrenz was, essentially, a duel between golems or automata.
Though it was called a duel, they did not destroy each other; rather, it was a venue to compete in performance.
The competition consisted of five events:
- Footrace (A 500-meter sprint)
- Weight Throw (Throwing a designated weight to compete for distance)
- Long-Distance Swim (Likely a round trip across Lake Tosmo this time)
- Search Dive (Searching for an object underwater)
- Combat Skills (Using swords or unarmed grappling like wrestling)
It was said that occasionally, other events could be added if the competitors agreed.
"You can enter different golems or automata for each event, or do them all with a single unit," Reinhard added.
"Reinhard-dono was the winner of the previous one. With Schwarzritter and Lorelei, was it?"
Reinhard had apparently won the Gonkrenz held before he and Elsa had set out on their journey.
"So Lorelei handled the swimming and diving, while Schwarzritter handled the rest?"
When Jin asked, following his intuition, Reinhard nodded and said he was right.
"Then, it will be held tomorrow at nine o'clock at the plaza where today's outdoor presentations took place. Naturally, the swimming and diving will be at Lake Tosmo, so keep that in mind."
After reminding Jin, Christoph Balde von Tarnart left the conference room.
"...Good grief, and after things settled so peacefully with the Marquis."
Jin couldn't help but let out a groan.
He should have reapplied his disguise before leaving the room, but it was too late for regrets now.
The plan had been to reveal his identity after the third day ended and the participants' evaluations were announced.
If he was officially recognized directly by Her Majesty the Empress, no one would be able to doubt that Elsa was a full-fledged engineer.
However, once Georg asserted his paternal authority at this stage, it was difficult to defy him. Moreover, Georg being here at all was unexpected.
"I’m sorry. It seems my information gathering was insufficient."
In truth, even Reinhard hadn't known that Elsa’s father would appear at this Technology Expo.
He had been certain that the eldest son, Moritz, would come. This was because Viscount Georg Randol had never attended a Technology Expo in the past.
Consequently, even the usually thorough Laojun had been unable to anticipate Georg's arrival.
"I saw him earlier at the Arena, so I should have been more careful... Well, at least it's her actual father, so the silver lining is that we don't have to worry about anything extreme happening to her."
It was incomparable to when she was captured by the Unifilar.
After letting out a sigh, Reinhard brought up another point that was bothering him.
"So Jin, things went well with the Marquis, then?"
"Yeah."
Jin explained the situation to Reinhard.
"I see. That side settled in a better direction than expected. But poison, huh..."
It was easy to forget because of Elsa’s situation, but there was a high possibility that someone had poisoned the Marquis. That was also a problem.
"Ah, how troublesome..."
"Truly..."
For a while, both Jin and Reinhard were silent.
Finally, Jin broke the silence.
"Hey, Reinhard. Don't you think Elsa’s father's behavior is a bit abnormal?"
Reinhard agreed immediately.
"Yeah, I think so too....I wonder if he’s under Seduce magic, just like Fritz was?"
"I can't be sure....Reiko, what’s your opinion?"
Since Reiko had also been there, she might have noticed something Jin missed.
"I did not sense anything unusual about Viscount Georg Randol. Rather, I felt that the man called Marcus was a bit strange."
"Marcus?"
"Yes. How should I put it... it was as if his memories had been tampered with. The magic pattern that leaks out occasionally is worm-eaten."
"Worm-eaten?"
Jin understood the expression, but he had no idea why it would happen.
"I contacted Laojun earlier and consulted him. According to Laojun, if one uses the forbidden spell Amnesia to erase memories and then attempts to provide new ones, it might result in such a pattern."
"What did you say?"
Setting aside technical knowledge, erasing experiential memories and trying to provide substitutes is not something that can be done easily. Gaps will inevitably occur.
Laojun’s theory was that those gaps became unstable factors that manifested in the magic pattern.
"If that's the case, who tampered with Marcus's memories?"
Reinhard voiced the natural question, but there was no answer.
Thus, Jin instructed Laojun through Reiko to have the Secret Mobile Unit—who should be attached to Elsa—investigate the matter.