Utilizing the Large-scale Warp Gate brought by Condor 3, the fragments of the Gigant Peeders, the fifty Land golems, Titan 2, and Pegasus 1 were all transported to Hourai Island. They were joined by Land 21 through 25 and Pelican 3, which had been used to evacuate Boulton and the others. Condor 3 would return to the island later via the Extra-large-scale Warp Gate installed in the mountains north of Kaina Village.
Pegasus 1 emerged from the Warp Gate behind the laboratory and touched down on the plaza, which was bathed in the brilliant glow of magic lights. Jin, Elsa, and Saki stepped out, their faces etched with fatigue.
The rest of the island’s residents were there in full force to welcome them back.
"Jin, welcome home! That must have been quite the ordeal. Elsa, Saki, thank you for your hard work!"
"Jin-sama, that was truly spectacular! Elsa-san, Saki-san, you both did wonderful work."
"Jin-kun, you really are amazing!"
"Jin-sama, welcome back. A meal has been prepared for you."
It was already past ten o’clock at night on Hourai Island. Mine had been thoughtful enough to prepare a late-night supper for them.
"Yeah, I actually am pretty hungry. I’ll gladly take you up on that."
Surrounded by the welcoming committee, a look of relief finally crossed Jin's face. To him, Hourai Island was truly the home he returned to.
Meanwhile, considering the time difference, Stearena would soon need to head back. With a difference of about five hours, it would already be past 5:00 PM at the location where her carriage was waiting.
"Oh, what a shame. But I can come back tomorrow, can't I?"
"Of course. We'll be waiting. Actually, I’ll send a transport for you."
Jin nodded firmly in response to Stearena’s question.
『My Lord, for that very purpose, I have left Pelican 1 in that vicinity rather than having it return to the island,』 Laojun interjected.
Jin was impressed by the foresight. "Oh, I see! That certainly is more efficient."
With Pelican 1 stationed near Stearena’s carriage, the commute would be incredibly simple. They decided to proceed with that plan for the time being.
"Well then, Jin-kun, everyone, see you tomorrow."
Stearena, who seemed to have grown quite comfortable in just a single day, said her goodbyes with the ease of someone simply retiring to their own room.
The morning after the Gigant Peeder crisis, Jin visited Kaina Village. As he had expected, no one there had noticed anything unusual; they had all spent a peaceful night.
Relieved, Jin returned to Hourai Island and set about personally repairing the damaged Land squad.
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, in Toka Village.
"Wh-What could have happened?"
The sounds of a distant struggle had been echoing from the highway leading toward Kaina Village. Occasionally, flashes of light like lightning had streaked across the twilight sky, and the villagers were unable to hide their growing anxiety.
In Kaina Village, no one had noticed a thing because the battle had taken place entirely on the far side of Togo Pass. On the Toka Village side, however, the sounds were audible and the flashes visible.
"Once it’s light out, I’ll go investigate."
Judging it far too dangerous to venture out in the pitch black, Gloria decided to wait until dawn to assess the situation. Eventually, the noises died down and the anomalies ceased, allowing the villagers to feel a temporary sense of peace as they drifted off to sleep.
The following morning at 5:00 AM.
Waking early to confirm the cause of the previous night’s disturbance, Gloria was about to head out on horseback when she spotted several figures collapsed at the village entrance.
"...Father!"
Upon drawing closer, she identified her father, Boulton Allstatt; the knight, Heinz Rush; and an unknown man who appeared to be a coachman. Finally, there was Viscount Bayer, who had sustained a head injury.
"Wh-What on earth happened?"
Temporarily abandoning her investigation, she moved to tend to the four men. Despite the early hour, the gravity of the situation required an immediate report to the lord, Lishia.
"What? Gloria-san’s father? And Heinz-sama and Viscount Bayer as well?"
Lishia had only just woken up, but the news snapped her into full alertness. She informed the soldiers on duty and had the men moved to the barracks, which was equipped with a medical room.
Lishia immediately treated Viscount Bayer’s injury. In the process, she learned an unexpected fact from the soldiers.
"The Viscount and his men had been continuously mining ore at Inado Mine..."
"What did you say?...Tell me everything."
Lishia knew that Inado Mine was scheduled to be incorporated into Jin's leased territory starting August 1st. While preparing the mine would have been understandable, the soldiers revealed that they had been mining non-stop for the past half-month. As a result, four carriages fully loaded with ore had already been dispatched to the royal capital.
"What a shameless thing to do..." Lishia muttered, wanting to bury her face in her hands.
"Was my father also part of this scheme?" Gloria asked, her voice tight with fury.
"No, a subordinate cannot easily refuse an order from a superior."
"...I suppose that’s true."
Unlike the Female Ritter Order, which enjoyed enough freedom to act on personal judgment, a civil servant couldn't easily indulge in the kind of independent action Gloria had shown when she insisted on being Lishia’s guard. It was the unfortunate reality of serving the court.
"...Even so, I wish my father had shown enough backbone to at least offer a word of protest."
"Let’s leave that discussion for later....I’m sorry, I can use healing magic to close wounds, but... oh, that’s right!"
Lishia remembered the magic tool she had borrowed from Jin. She had it stored on her Golem horse, intending to return it to him. She ran to retrieve it.
"...This... should... work!"
Returning out of breath, Lishia didn't even give Gloria a chance to ask questions before activating the tool. The healing magic of Medicare took effect, and consciousness returned to the four men.
"Wh-Where am I?!"
"U-Uwaaaah! Save me!"
"Father!"
"Viscount!"
Boulton looked around in confusion, while Viscount Bayer collapsed into a panic-stricken scream.
"...Gloria? And you are... Baronet Fahlheit, I believe?"
Heinz Rush was the first to regain his composure. He recognized Gloria Allstatt, vice-captain of the Female Ritter Order, and Lishia Fahlheit, the new lord of Toka Village.
"A-Awa wa wa..."
The final man, the coachman, did nothing but tremble. Lishia spoke with Heinz while Gloria questioned her father to get to the bottom of things.
"............"
"What? Last night’s noise was... I can't believe the mine ended up like that... I-Is this village going to be safe?"
"What?...How could you... That is a complete breach of faith, Father!"
Lishia shuddered at the thought of the giant centipede threat, while Gloria was incensed by the illegal mining. Meanwhile, Viscount Bayer did nothing but mumble incoherently. It seemed his mind had finally broken under the strain.
"...I understand the situation. Gloria-san, it’s a good thing you didn't go out to investigate last night."
The thought of Gloria encountering five of those massive monsters head-on made a chill run down Lishia’s spine.
"But if there are five of those things, can we even evacuate the villagers in time?" Even the usually stouthearted Gloria looked pale, realizing the desperation of their plight.
However...
"Now that I think of it, Deus Ex Machina-dono protected us....Did he come to this village?" Heinz asked, as if just remembering.
"Eh? Maquina-sama?"
"Yes, it's coming back to me. When we were running from the magical beasts with no hope of escape, five golems appeared. They said they were under his orders and moved us to safety....I don't remember anything after that, but perhaps he did something?"
"...Now that you mention it, it was noisy for a while and there were flashes of light in the sky, but things settled down quickly after that."
"Flashes? Those monsters didn't emit any light."
"What? No, I’m certain—flashes of light streaked across the night sky..."
"Hmm... this is just optimistic speculation, but if Maquina-dono took action, perhaps that light was his doing," Heinz suggested.
Boulton, however, remained skeptical. "What? Are you saying he defeated five of those monsters?"
"If it's Maquina-dono, then perhaps..."
"A-Anyway, we have to confirm the situation....Gloria-san, could I ask you to take a look? Please, be extremely careful. Take this recovery medicine with you just in case."
Lishia handed Gloria the one remaining bottle of recovery medicine Jin had entrusted to her.
"Listen, please don't take any unnecessary risks. You must come back safely. Depending on what you find, I’ll have the villagers evacuate immediately."
"Understood. Leave it to me. I'm off."
Gloria mounted her horse again and was about to charge out of the village when she noticed something. At the spot where the four men had been found, there was a piece of parchment. She leaned down to pick it up.
On it was written:
『The Gigant Peeders have all been defeated. There is no longer any danger. —Deus Ex Machina』
Gloria turned her horse back around and showed the note to Lishia.
A wave of relief washed over the group. However, they still needed visual confirmation, so Gloria finally departed the village to see for herself.