Stearena’s room was located on the third floor of the Guest House.
A dedicated maid had been assigned to her, but since they had confidential matters to discuss, they asked her to wait outside the room.
"So, what is this talk you wanted to have?" Stearena asked, sipping the tea the maid had brewed and left for them.
"Right. First of all, Stearena, would you be willing to become our comrade?"
Jin asked point-blank. He was so direct that Stearena seemed to struggle to grasp his true intent.
"What do you mean by 'comrade'? Not... just friends?"
"Yes, 'comrades'."
Stearena, who seemed to have a faint inkling of what that implied, let her face light up. "...Does that mean you'll let me in on your secrets and teach me all sorts of things, Jin-kun?"
"Y-yes, well, essentially."
"Then count me in! I wouldn't even mind if I never went back home!"
Hearing those words, Jin presented her with a final confirmation. "...Are those words from your heart?"
"Eh?"
"For the sake of magi craft, are you prepared to abandon your country? Do you have that level of resolve?"
Sensing the weight in Jin’s voice and the serious atmosphere surrounding Reinhard beside him, Stearena dropped her playful manner and answered earnestly.
"Yes, I don't mind. If you like, I can prove it."
Stearena opened a drawer in her dresser and brought over a bag. From it, she took out an identification card—something akin to a passport. "I can't return to my country without this. I'm willing to surrender it to you."
Jin gently pushed the identification card back toward her. "I understand. You don't have to go that far. There is only one thing I need you to permit: allow me to use Trans Info."
"Trans Info? What kind of magic is that?"
Jin decided to be honest. "It is magic that reads the contents of a mind and transfers it into a magi-crystal. If you were lying, I would know immediately."
Normally, a person would feel aversion or find it creepy to hear that their mind would be read, but Stearena was different.
"Fine, go ahead."
Her dignified, open attitude actually made Jin feel a bit hesitant. But in the end, it was a necessary step to move forward.
"Trans Info, Level 8."
"Kya."
It lasted only an instant, but the slight, strange sensation caused Stearena to let out a small cry.
"Is this enough?" Stearena asked, staring at the magi-crystal glowing in Jin's hand.
"Yes, now I just have to analyze it. It’s quite a simple process."
He produced a magic tool he had developed recently through various exchanges with Laojun, named the Thought Checker. It was a cube measuring roughly fifteen centimeters on each side.
Structurally, it was a magic tool equipped with a golem's control core. What made it special was that it utilized a sub control core specifically for memory storage. He simply set the magi-crystal containing the transferred data into the sub control core section.
The control core automatically analyzed the transferred memories and consciousness to confirm if her desire to join them was sincere. To protect her privacy, the magi-crystal could be subjected to an Erase command immediately after the confirmation was finished.
The device's vocalization capability was a primitive 'word combination' style, simply stringing together pre-programmed terms. While complex interactions were possible, they took an inordinate amount of time. This configuration was also intended to protect privacy; it was designed so that even if someone wanted to extract specific details of a memory, they couldn't.
Using this, they conducted a check of Stearena's consciousness. The result came back: 'No problems found; Aptitude A'. An 'A' rating was an aptitude evaluation for the Hourai Island Family, representing a level where there was absolutely no concern of betrayal. Laojun could be quite meticulous about the strangest details.
"Stearena, I'm sorry for doubting you."
Jin was the first to bow his head in apology, and Reinhard followed suit.
"I think you'll understand clearly in a moment why we had to be so thorough."
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."
Having been judged fully qualified to be a comrade, Stearena accompanied Jin and Reinhard out of the Guest House and quietly into Jin's carriage. After confirming there was no one else around, they activated the Warp Gate installed inside.
"W-what was that just now?"
Jin, Reiko, Reinhard, and Stearena emerged at Shinkai. Experience teleportation for the first time, Stearena was visibly shocked and excited.
"That was travel via a Warp Gate."
"A—a—a Warp Gate?"
"Yeah. You'll need to start getting used to this sort of thing."
The group then moved on to Hourai Island. Passing through the Warp Gate room and the entrance hall, they stepped outside the laboratory. There, Jin spoke his usual greeting.
"Stearena, welcome to Hourai Island."
Stearena had been astonished by the Warp Gate, but she soon realized that was only the beginning.
What followed was the standard introduction. She was amazed by the Golem Maids, stunned by the mountains of rare materials, and marveled at the facilities, the toilets, and the hot springs.
"...I don't ever want to go back..."
Those were clearly her true feelings. However...
"You have to go back for now."
"Ehh? Why? I want to stay longer!"
"...If you just stay here, they'll send out a search party for a missing person, you know?"
Since she had left the Guest House saying she was going out for a bit with Jin and Reinhard, both of them would fall under suspicion as well.
"Ugh, you're right..."
"It's not like you can't come back. Tomorrow, you'll pretend to return to your country, and I'll pick you up along the way."
"Really? I'm holding you to that."
And so, Stearena returned to the Shouro Empire for the time being.
"In that case, please take this."
"Let's see... was it a 'manacam'? Thank you. I’ve got it."
After seeing Stearena back to the Guest House, Jin and Reinhard returned to Reinhard's family home. The Scarlet Trail was fast, and they reached Count Randol's mansion by evening. Jin's carriage would make its way back by land; the fact that the Golem horses didn't tire even when running through the night was a significant advantage.
"Jin, that reminds me, how are Elsa and the others?" Reinhard asked while they were chatting after dinner.
Jin explained the current situation in Kaina Village.
"Hmm, sounds like they've had a lot on their plate. But Sally Mileshann, eh? She sounds like a fine doctor."
"Did you say Mileshann?" Berche suddenly asked, joining the conversation. "Is this person a woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes, perhaps in her late forties... not quite fifty yet?"
"A-ah, yeah. I didn't confirm her age, but that sounds about right."
Hearing Jin's answer, Berche clapped her hands in delight. "My! In that case, she must surely be related to that doctor."
"That doctor? Bell, do you know her?" Reinhard asked. He didn't recognize the name Mileshann.
"Yes. Clara Mileshann. It is thanks to her that I was able to be born."
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't told you about this, have I? My mother, Hilde, was born at around eight months—a premature birth. She was a very small, weak baby. On top of that, she fell ill, and for a time her life was in danger, but Doctor Clara saved her. Of course, this is a story I heard from my mother, which she in turn heard from her own mother—my grandmother."
It seemed that Sally was likely related to the healer named Clara Mileshann. Judging by the age difference, she was probably her daughter, Berche noted. Dark blonde hair and blue eyes were apparently Clara's distinctive features.
"She certainly used Shouro Empire-style healing magic too," Jin recalled. It seemed highly probable that Sally was Clara's daughter.
"But why would she be in the Celuroa Kingdom... could it be...?"
"Do you know something, Bell?"
"Yes, this is also something I heard..."