The morning of August 17th arrived.
"Jin-dono, are you awake?"
Summer nights were brief in these high latitudes. At 7:00 AM local time, Alectas arrived to inform them that breakfast was ready.
At this hour, it was Laojun who was operating Jin’s Body Double.
"Yes, good morning."
When Jin, Reiko, and Anne stepped out into the corridor, they found Istalis and her group emerging as well, having just been called by Mironia.
They were led to the same room as the previous night, where breakfast was already laid out. The menu hadn't changed much, save for what looked like grilled fish served in place of meat.
"I am ashamed to say it, but we are facing food shortages of our own. Please, understand our situation," Mironia said with a touch of regret.
Jin, along with Istalis and Sion, was well aware of the local conditions and took no offense.
"...This juice we received is wonderful. We had some yesterday, and everyone is saying it is exactly what they would expect from the Magi Craft Meister."
The special Persica juice from Hourai Island seemed to be a hit.
"Truly, we wish for nothing more than to be on good terms with the Magi Craft Meister."
They finished their meal amidst this light conversation, but soon it was time to address the heart of the matter.
"I apologize for the haste, but we will serve the post-meal tea in the conference room. Could you follow me?"
At Alectas's request, the group moved to the meeting area. Sensing that the mysteries were finally about to be unraveled, Laojun summoned Jin, who had been busy in the workshop, to take control.
Just as Jin arrived from the workshop and settled into the pilot seat, the scene in the conference room unfolded.
"I apologize for the rush so soon after breakfast, but I wish to conclude these discussions as quickly as possible," the clan chief, Fabius, began. Representing the Gospel clan were Fabius, Alectas, and Mironia.
"First, there was the matter of whether we have been inciting the other clans against humanity."
On Hourai Island, Jin stared at the magi-screen with bated breath.
"First, let me explain our history. I believe it will help you better understand our position."
Fixing his gaze on Jin’s Body Double, Fabius began to speak slowly.
"According to the legends of the Gospel clan, we originally lived to the south of the Pazdext Great Isthmus."
"What?"
"To begin with, the war against humanity—what you refer to as the Great Magic War—well... before that war, there was no such divide between the demon race and humanity as there is today."
I’m sure Vivienne mentioned something like that in the legends she told me, Jin thought.
"This is... such valuable information."
"!?"
Jin spun around in surprise at the sound of a voice other than his own. There stood Vivienne, Stearena, and Elsa, all peering into the magi-screen. Saki and Toa arrived a moment later.
"Did I startle you? Sorry about that. I peeked into the workshop and saw you weren't there, Jin-kun, so I asked Laojun and he said you were here."
"Ah, right. It might actually be best for everyone to hear this."
Jin turned back to the magi-screen, focusing alongside the members of the Family.
"Why did we and humanity have a falling out in the first place? Our territories were separate; there should have been no grounds for dispute."
Fabius paused, looking Jin in the eye.
"It came down to resources."
"Resources?"
"Yes. To put it simply, what we desired was in human lands, and what humans desired was in ours."
"...Food and magi-crystals, I assume?" Istalis interjected. Jin had been thinking the same thing.
"Correct. Furthermore, we possessed magi-engineering that was several levels more advanced than that of humanity," Fabius said with pride, though his expression carried a hint of melancholy. "...Specifically, saying we 'possessed' it would be more accurate."
Everyone listening noted his insistence on the past tense. Fabius continued with a look of slight pain.
"In our current state, while we can use it, we are incapable of creating it—we cannot even repair it."
"Is that... because of the Great Magic War?"
"No, it is not. The magi-engineering itself has existed for far longer than a thousand years. We estimate it to be from over two thousand years ago."
"Two thousand years!?"
"Yes, we have had transcendent magi-engineering for over two millennia. However, after many long centuries, we reached a point where we could use it, but not even fix it. That was the state of things one thousand years ago."
One thousand years ago—the era of the predecessor Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse.
"You may have already suspected as much, but yes, around that time, a woman calling herself Adriana Barbora Tsetse visited this land."
This was news even to Jin.
"They say she was a beautiful woman. She had antique gold hair that reached down to her back, and her vivid amber eyes shone with a clear brilliance. And they say she was accompanied by a servant with jet-black hair."
When Jin looked at her, Reiko shook her head slightly. She had no such memories in her records.
"She stayed for about six months. During that time, she repaired every magic tool that was broken or failing. When asked what she wanted in return, she supposedly replied, 'The fact that I was able to do such interesting work is reward enough.'"
Jin felt a twinge of kinship with that sentiment.
"That is why we treat the Magi Craft Meister with such respect."
Jin imagined that the predecessor, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, must have mastered those techniques while repairing the demon race's magic tools. He wondered what kind of person she had been to analyze and master magi-engineering that even the owners had forgotten. Meanwhile, Reiko was lost in a moment of quiet emotion, hearing tales of the 'Mother' she had never known.
"At that time, it was my clan that hosted her. While other clans visited occasionally, we likely know the most about her."
This clarified why Jin—or rather, the Magi Craft Meister—was so readily accepted by the demon race. To them, the Magi Craft Meister was a benefactor.
"Now then, where did that magi-engineering come from? This was a question we all shared. And it was Adriana Barbora Tsetse who cleared that up as well."
Jin, along with everyone listening on Hourai Island, leaned in.
"One of the magic tools she repaired held those memories. This was something we only learned after she left this land."
A storage device for official records, perhaps? Jin speculated.
"To our surprise, our ancestors are said to have come from the sky."
"What!" Sion cried out in shock. Istalis remained frozen, her mouth hanging open.
"...Jin-dono, you do not seem very surprised. Perhaps you already knew?"
"No, there was a similar story in our own legends. I’d only heard it in passing. I just didn't expect it to be true."
"I see....And so, it turns out that our ancestors who came from the sky and the ancestors of humans are, in fact, one and the same."
"What?"
The revelation was staggering. Jin had known that the physical biology of the demon race and humans was nearly identical, but he had never imagined a common ancestor. At most, he’d suspected interbreeding somewhere in the distant past.
"As to the question of what differentiates us from humans, I cannot say. I can only say that the differences arose during the long centuries we spent living apart."
"..."
Jin, Sion, and Istalis were all left speechless. Fabius's narrative was far from over.
"If our ancestors were the same, then it is only natural to believe we should be able to establish friendly relations. Since then, for a time, we and humanity interacted reasonably well....Until three hundred years ago."
In that instant, Fabius’s expression changed violently.
His eyes went wide, and his face turned deathly pale. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his body began to convulse with tremors. Alectas and Mironia, sitting on either side of him, were in a similar state.
"...Ugh, gh...!"
"W-What's wrong?"
"They noticed... the Land... of... Beginnings..."
Squeezing out those few words, Fabius fell silent.
Suddenly, the door to the conference room burst open with a thunderous crash.
"What is this?"
Standing in the doorway were six golems, their bodies glowing with a dull, blackish-gray luster. The moment they recognized Jin and his party, they swarmed into the room.