Jin decided to have the Land squad, whom he had summoned, transport the two newcomers on stretchers.
Though they drew some attention from the villagers, interest quickly faded once everyone saw Jin was involved. They returned to their respective tasks, much to his relief.
Jin noted that the pair didn’t seem particularly surprised by the sight of the Land squad. He found it curious but refrained from saying anything at the time.
Upon arriving at Nidou Castle, he had futons laid out in a guest room on the second floor and let them rest there.
"I’d like you to stay here for a while."
"Yes, thank you very much," Sion replied.
Lucas remained silent.
An awkward quiet filled the room. Jin decided to try questioning them again.
"Now then, if there's something you want to tell me, I'm listening. Won't you speak to me?"
"..."
The two remained silent.
"Well, I suppose that can't be helped. In that case, I have a few things I'd like to ask you instead."
Jin decided to change his approach and posed a direct question.
"Do you know about the demon race?"
"!!"
The question startled them so much they nearly leapt out of their skins.
"H-How do you know about that?"
"If you lay a single finger on the young lady, I won't let you get away with it!" Lucas shouted, standing up aggressively to glare at Jin.
"Just as I thought. You don't have to be so afraid. It's simply that I've encountered several members of the demon race before."
"What?"
"...Laldus, Dogmaralud, Bemiaruche, Marcosius, Androgias, and Arshel. Are any of those names familiar?"
"Wh-What!? Who... who on earth are you?" Sion’s face was pale, but her eyes were fixed intently on Jin.
"I am the Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou."
"The Magi Craft Meister? He actually existed...?"
Sion seemed to calm down slightly upon hearing the name, speaking with deep emotion.
"I heard that after the death of Adriana Barbora Tsetse, there was no one left who could inherit that title."
Now it was Jin's turn to be surprised. "You know of the predecessor... no, you've heard of her...?"
"The predecessor? If that is so, then you truly are..."
"Yes, Father is undoubtedly the successor to Mother, Adriana Barbora Tsetse," Reiko chimed in, having remained quiet until then.
Sion stared intently at her. "...A black-haired automata... Certainly, you are the Magi Craft Meister..."
＊ ＊ ＊
Once Sion had regained her composure, Jin proceeded to listen to her story.
"...As you suspected, Jin-sama, I am a member of the demon race. My clan name is All-Creation. I am Sion of the All-Creation clan."
"I'm Lucas. I'm the young lady's guard. As a servant, I have no clan name."
"Is a clan name something like a surname?" Jin asked.
"Yes, that's right. You could say that."
Taking the opportunity, Jin decided to ask about several things he had been wondering, hoping it would make it easier for Sion to open up.
"Tell me, are you two all right in a place with so little free ether?"
"Y-Yes. To be honest, it is a bit difficult..."
"Hmph! I've trained my body! This much is nothing..." Lucas blustered, but his pale complexion made it clear he was suffering just as much.
"I see. Just as I thought. By the way, did you come from the northern continent? Across that narrow isthmus?"
"!"
"You! How do you know about the Pazdext Great Isthmus?" Lucas demanded.
Technically speaking, Jin had a general grasp of this world's northern hemisphere topography. However, it was strictly just the terrain; he didn't know what specific dangers existed there. Because he didn't want to trigger unexpected trouble, the majority of the land remained unexplored by ground forces.
"I only know the geography. So it's called the Pazdext Great Isthmus. And you live on the continent to the north of it, right?"
"You even know that much... Truly, you are the Magi Craft Meister..."
Sion’s reluctance was gradually fading.
"Yes, as you say, we live on the Gondoa Continent, beyond the Pazdext Great Isthmus."
So the northern continent was called Gondoa. Through Reiko, Laojun stored every detail of this information.
"Unlike here... there are no such things as countries," Sion explained when asked about demon society. "We group together by clan and form settlements. Large clans have about a hundred people, while small clans might have only ten."
Jin felt a surge of excitement at uncovering such rare, previously unknown information. Then, he finally asked the question that went to the heart of the matter.
"Does the demon race intend to invade again?"
"..."
Sion could not give an immediate answer. Lucas, however, shouted in her stead.
"As if! That's just something some of the clans are doing on their own!"
"Lucas."
"...Ugh, I understand."
Silenced by Sion’s glare, Lucas looked away.
"...As Lucas just said, not all of us like conflict. However, it seems some of the stronger clans—those called radicals or extremists—are plotting various things."
"I see."
It seemed the demon race was not a monolith.
While there was a mountain of things he still wanted to ask, Jin decided to let them rest. He called Belle and had her bring some of Hourai Island's special Persica juice.
"Thanks for talking. Drink this and take a breather."
He had three portions brought in, drinking his first to show it was safe. Seeing this, Sion picked up her cup. Lucas looked like he wanted to protest, but he drank his portion before Sion did.
"It's delicious... no, wait..."
"Young lady, the mana..."
This juice had a much higher concentration of free ether than what had been served at the clinic. The two of them finished it off as if in a trance.
Watching them, Reiko shifted into a state of combat readiness. She was on high alert in case they became aggressive once their mana was restored. Naturally, the Secret Mobile Unit lurking nearby was doing the same.
However, the caution proved unnecessary.
"Thank you for the refreshment. Ah, my body feels much better now."
"...It was good. You have my thanks," Lucas added.
Neither of them changed their attitude after drinking.
"Jin-sama, this drink must contain a large amount of free ether, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, that's right. I thought it would be effective for you."
"Yes, very much so. Thank you."
With that, they resumed their conversation.
"That should be enough for the preliminaries. Won't you tell me why you've come all this way?"
"...Yes....Um... Please... save..."
"What?"
"...Please help us!"
Sion’s refined face contorted as if she were about to burst into tears. She pressed her hands to the floor and bowed her head low.
"I beg of you! Please help us!"
Jin could only look on in bewilderment.
"You! The young lady is bowing her head to beg you, and you're just going to ignore her!?" Lucas barked in anger.
Jin shook his head helplessly. "...Sion, could you speak a little more clearly? I can't give you an answer until you tell me who needs saving and what exactly happened."
"Ah... I-I'm sorry!"
Realizing that she had been so overcome with desperation that she’d forgotten the details, Sion’s face turned a shade of red.