Bardius nodded in acknowledgment when Jin requested the kuromugi grains and bietra seeds.
"I understand. Of course, I don't expect that to be the end of it. This is merely the first step, correct?"
"Essentially, yes."
Rolona left the room immediately, presumably to go and prepare the seeds. In her place, Ladeous returned.
"Jin-dono, I've had the materials brought to our workshop. Would you care to look them over? If there is anything missing, I will see to it at once."
"Understood. Let's head over."
Accompanied by Reiko, Jin—via his Body Double—made his way to the prepared workshop.
The All-Creation clan's settlement was spread across a plateau overlooking the sea. The high ground, it seemed, was a necessity to stay safe from the massive waves.
"The sea is calm in the summer, but during the winter, the storms turn savage. Ten-meter waves are quite common," Istalis explained.
"You can't even get a boat out of the harbor then," Sion added.
Jin ran into the two sisters as they were explaining this to Anne.
"Father, Jin-sama, where are you going?"
"Ah, we're headed to the workshop. Jin-sama is going to build some golems for us."
"Oh! Father, may I come along as well?"
"Me too!"
Ladeous looked at Jin with a slightly troubled expression. He seemed to be a doting father. Or perhaps he simply felt guilty about exiling his daughters, even if it had only been part of a ruse.
"...I want Anne's help anyway, so they're welcome to join us."
"Hooray! Thanks, Jin!"
Sion was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Jin's work firsthand. Istalis also seemed quietly excited, her cheeks flushing slightly, though she said nothing.
The All-Creation houses were primarily built of stone. The material was pumice tuff, a relative of the Oya stone found on Earth. It was the same type of stone Jin had seen used in Port Rock, the harbor town in the southern Kingdom of Elias where he had participated in the Golem Boat Race. However, the stone here had a more pronounced green hue.
They likely used this stone for its resistance to salt damage and its low thermal conductivity, which provided excellent insulation. Each house was a single-story structure with only small windows facing the ocean. Istalis mentioned that this was to retain heat and defend against the harsh winter monsoons.
The roads weaving between the houses were mostly four meters wide—quite broad for a settlement of this size.
Following one of these paths, they reached the workshop on the eastern edge of the village. It was a spacious room, roughly ten meters square, built into a semi-basement so that the ceiling was much higher than those in the standard houses.
"The materials are piled in the corner," Ladeous said.
Jin performed a quick inventory. For metals, there were large ingots of copper and iron, smaller ingots of tin and light silver, and a small lump of adamantite. For the muscles, a substantial amount of magical beast leather was stacked on a nearby shelf. Finally, there was a generous supply of magi-crystals of various attributes.
"Yes, this should be enough to make something quite high-quality," Jin said with a firm nod.
Since these were for farming and not combat, he only planned to give them the strength of about three grown men.
"Is there anyone here experienced in magi craft?" he asked. He wanted someone to act as a maintenance technician rather than a simple assistant.
"Y-Yes, there are a few, but as for those with real skill..."
"What about Marikka? I'll go get her," Sion said, running off before anyone could object.
"...Who is this Marikka?"
"She is a friend of Sion's. Her grandfather was a master of Craft Magic."
Jin only needed someone capable of handling repairs, so he waited for Sion to return. Five minutes later, she was back.
"Jin, sorry to keep you waiting. Marikka, this is Jin. He's a Magi Craft Meister."
Marikka appeared to be about the same age as Sion. She had the same silver hair, but her eyes were a rare shade of yellow.
"N-Nice to meet you. I-I'm Marikka. Um... d-did you n-need s-something f-from m-me?"
She was so nervous she was tripping over her words.
"I'm Jin. I'm going to build some agricultural golems, and I'd like you to handle their maintenance from now on."
"W-W-Will I r-really be a-able to d-do it?"
"Don't worry, there's no need to be so tense."
Jin gave her a reassuring smile and then turned to Reiko.
"Reiko, let's start with one. Prepare the materials."
"Yes, Father."
Jin decided to start with a basic bronze golem. He began by creating a copper-tin alloy—bronze. Since tin was plentiful, he used a ratio of ninety percent copper to ten percent tin. This was gunmetal, a copper alloy often used for cannons before the widespread use of iron. It was a type of bronze that was easy to cast and boasted high strength and toughness.
"Alloying."
After determining the weights, he fused the metals instantly. A one-ton ingot of gunmetal materialized before them.
"Eek?! W-What just happened?"
Marikka was so shocked she nearly collapsed. Istalis and Sion stared with wide, speechless eyes.
"H-H-How can you create such a massive ingot all at once?!"
Even among the demon race, which possessed massive mana capacities, no one could do what Jin had just performed.
"Well, if you ask me how..."
Jin was currently using his Body Double, which possessed only about a third of his actual Craft Magic capability.
"Truly, this is proof that you are the Magi Craft Meister!" Ladeous exclaimed, sounding deeply impressed.
The onlookers managed to convince themselves with that explanation, and a semblance of calm returned to the room.
"I'll use fifty kilograms of bronze for each unit."
Using Separation, Jin divided the ingot into ten fifty-kilogram lumps.
"Hiu!?"
Marikka squeaked again. If Jin were here in person, he would have likely split them into twenty perfectly equal pieces without a second thought.
"I'll construct the skeleton. Reiko, help me."
"Yes."
"I'll give the joints a thin coating of adamantite to improve durability....Marikka, right? Are you watching?"
"Y-Yeth!"
"Now for the muscles... what kind of leather is this?"
Jin tilted his head as he inspected the leather intended for the magical muscles. If he were here in his own body, he might have identified it by sight, but this was a limitation of the Body Double.
"That is Ground Worm leather," Istalis offered.
It was the same kind of magical beast that had attacked Capricorn 1.
"I see. The quality is decent."
He cut the leather into thin strips, twisted them into muscles, and began fitting them to the frame. With Reiko's assistance, the installation was complete in about twenty minutes.
"Whoa..." Marikka murmured, looking dazed.
It was hardly surprising. The All-Creation clan had no proper magi craftmen, let alone a Magi Craft Meister.
"Alright, prepare the ether tank and the ether driver."
Since these golems would be operating in a high-ether environment, Jin used a simplified version of the systems found in Reiko and the others.
"The magi-nerves will be mithril. Marikka, if these snap, the golem will malfunction, so keep an eye on them."
"Y-Yes."
"Now for the control core. Reiko, we'll focus this on agricultural knowledge."
"Understood."
The control core was programmed with the farming expertise gathered by the Golem Maids on Hourai Island. It had been prepared by Laojun and sent over via a Warp Gate.
"We'll use this as the master and copy it."
After installing the internal systems and attaching the outer casing, the first unit was finished in about an hour.
"I-It's done already?"
"...He is remarkably fast."
"S-S-S-So cool!"
Sion, Istalis, and Marikka each shared their thoughts. Marikka was still fumbling her words out of excitement.
"Jin-dono, I am truly in awe," Ladeous said, bowing his head.
"Eh?"
"The skill of a Magi Craft Meister... you are truly our savior."
"..."
Jin, who was never one for such grandiose praise, couldn't help but feel a bit awkward.