Lastly, Jin and the others were concerned about Vivian.
The local bailiff was already aware that Stearena had been visiting her. If word eventually reached him that Stearena had defected to another country, it could lead to trouble for Vivian.
"We should all discuss this together," Jin said.
He asked Reiko and the Black Knight to go and call the women over.
Once they were gathered, Stearena made a sudden suggestion. "Why don't you just defect with me, Vivian?"
"That might not be such a bad idea..." Vivian mused.
Throughout the day, Vivian had seen clearly that Jin and his companions were no ordinary people. However, things hadn't yet reached the stage where Jin felt comfortable telling her about Hourai Island.
As Jin agonized over what to do, Reiko offered a word of advice via their internal link.
(Laojun says that since she is a storyteller and knows a great deal about the past, it might be acceptable to at least tell her about the Warp Gate.)
(I see...)
Aside from the Hourai Island "Family," there were already several others who knew about the existence of Warp Gates. Comparing them to Vivian, Jin felt she was just as trustworthy.
(I suppose I can tell her about the Warp Gate, as long as I present it as an artifact...)
Thinking along those lines, Jin considered helping her escape to the Shouro Empire alongside Stearena. He concluded the topic with a statement that could be interpreted in several ways.
"In that case, come with us tomorrow."
"Yes, I understand," Vivian replied.
"Leave the housing arrangements to me," Reinhard added, patting his chest confidently.
"We would welcome you, Vivian," Berche added with a warm smile.
"By the way," Reinhard said, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "What are those?"
He was looking at the small animals the women were holding—some were being cradled in arms, some sat on laps, and others were rubbing affectionately against feet.
"Eh? They're cats," Berche answered nonchalantly.
"No, I know they're cats. Why are there so many of them?"
Each of the women was accompanied by a feline.
"While you and Rai-nii were away, Eckart-san spoke to the maids and had them take us to the cat room," Elsa explained.
"There were dozens of them in there. We just brought back the ones that took a liking to us," Saki added.
On Elsa's lap was the white cat from earlier, Aqua. Saki had a ginger tabby, while Berche had a black cat. Stearena and Vivian had both befriended white cats.
"...I'm glad you all had fun."
"Mhm."
Stroking Aqua's soft back, Elsa nodded with a look of pure bliss.
The next morning, after being treated to breakfast, Jin and the others thanked Eckart and took their leave.
"Well, we pretty much achieved our goals, and a few interesting things happened besides," Jin said, and Reinhard nodded in agreement.
"True. We saw the ship, and we saw the cats. We even got to taste the miso."
Jin had managed to get his hands on a tiny sample of the miso. By using it, he might be able to isolate a suitable koji mold. If he could do that, he could make his own miso, which would put him only a couple of steps away from producing soy sauce.
Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to take the cats home with them.
"Please come again," Eckart said. He seemed to have taken a genuine liking to the group, and he saw them off with a look of lingering regret.
First, they headed to Vivian's house. Since her resolve to defect remained firm after a night's sleep, Jin and the others decided to provide her with full support.
Packing went quickly with everyone helping out. With the physical strength of Reiko, Edgar, the Black Knight, Neon, and Ar, the luggage was no trouble at all. However, walking through the town in broad daylight carrying all those belongings would be far too conspicuous.
"...Let's have a Warp Gate brought here."
There was still far too much time to wait until nightfall when they could move unseen. Jin made arrangements to bring a Warp Gate to their location.
Specifically, Reiko simply received the components outside Vivian's house. Taking care to ensure no one was watching, the parts were sent through from Hourai Island immediately. Assembly was second nature to Reiko; borrowing a spare room in Vivian's house, she had it built in five minutes.
"Father, preparations are complete."
"Oh, good work."
While Reiko was getting everything ready, Jin explained the Warp Gate to Vivian. He told her it was an artifact and that he owned several. He explained that as long as he was present, others could use them as well.
"A Warp Gate? Those appear in the old legends! That's incredible!"
Vivian was thrilled to see a magic tool that was practically the stuff of myths. Stearena simply smiled in silence.
First Berche, then Reinhard, disappeared through the gate.
"Come, let's go," Stearena said, taking Vivian's hand to encourage her. They stepped through the Warp Gate one after the other.
This time, the destination had been adjusted to lead directly to Reinhard's estate rather than going through Shinkai.
Edgar, Ar, the Black Knight, and Neon went through with the luggage. Then Elsa and Saki disappeared into the gate.
Before Jin stepped through, he issued final instructions to the units staying behind.
"Elm and Ash, stay here. Once Reiko has gone, disassemble the Warp Gate and stand by. When night falls, return to the island via Falcon."
"Yes, Chief."
Then Jin left. Following him were the remaining members of the Secret Mobile Unit, invisible to the eye. Finally, Reiko departed.
The Warp Gate was currently installed in the basement of Reinhard's mansion, Rankenhaus. As soon as the group emerged, they headed for the first floor, coming out into the main entrance hall.
"Welcome, Vivian."
"Thank you for having me."
At the moment, the only human servant at Reinhard's mansion was his secretary, Adberg. Things hadn't settled down enough for them to hire villagers yet. Normally, they would need to find talent from the surrounding area to help stimulate the local economy.
"I've only just finished setting up the family register," Reinhard confessed to Jin, looking somewhat sheepish.
"Reinhard-sama, welcome home."
An attendant automata, noticing the noise, appeared to greet them.
"This is an automata I made named Bella," Reinhard introduced her.
He explained that since a Warp Gate was installed in the building, an automata was more trustworthy than a human stranger. Her purple hair emphasized that she was not human, and her eyes were a deep black. She was dressed neatly in a maid's uniform.
"I am Bella. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
Even in the midst of his busy schedule, Reinhard was still a craft-obsessed fool; he had somehow found the time to build an automata for his own use.
With a time difference of about two hours, it was 7:00 AM at the estate.
"I'd like to make my report today. Stearena, Vivian, I'm sorry, but would you mind accompanying me to the capital?"
"Yes, of course," they both replied, readily agreeing to Reinhard's request.
"In that case, Reinhard, I'm going to head back for a bit. I'm thinking of requesting an audience with Her Majesty tomorrow, so could you pass that along for me?"
Sensing that Jin had something specific in mind, Reinhard nodded.
"Understood. I'll put in the request for 1:00 PM tomorrow. Well, if it's for you, Jin, I'm sure it won't be a problem."
"I'm counting on you."
Reinhard, Stearena, and Vivian headed for Loizart, while Jin, Elsa, and Saki moved to Hourai Island. Saki told Jin she would head home from there.
"Well then, Jin, I'm going to go back to my house for a while."
When they were alone, Elsa turned to Jin.
"Jin-nii, you said you were going to Loizart tomorrow. What is your... business there?"
"Ah, I'm planning to give a proper explanation regarding the demon race. And I have another idea as well."
"An idea?"
"Yeah. I need to make preparations to realize it. Elsa, will you help me?"
"Mhm, of course."
"Reiko, you too."
"Yes, please leave it to me."
Assisted by Reiko and Elsa, Jin set to work on creating a new magic tool.