It was a stroke of good luck that most of the neutral clans had been receptive to Jin’s proposal.
The clan chiefs who had pledged their friendship today would personally handle the task of persuading the smaller, less populated clans. However, this diplomatic tie was strictly with "Jin," not with "humanity." It was treated as an alliance formed specifically with the Magi Craft Meister.
"Well, even so, it's a step—no, two or three steps forward."
Currently, Jin was working on the Agrii agricultural golems intended for each clan. Since he couldn't keep up with production on-site alone, he was utilizing the Smiths on Hourai Island to assist him. Thanks to their help, production speed had tripled; in a single day, two hundred Agrii units and twenty frost damage countermeasure barrier devices had been completed. He planned to deliver them secretly via transporter.
"And so, My Lord, the prototype for the simplified transporter is ready."
"Oh, that was fast."
"Here it is."
Since Laojun’s dedicated mobile terminal, Laozi, was currently out scouting for Negadoll 001's bases, Laojun was using a Smith golem as an assistant.
"Hmm, it really does look like a small gun."
It had the appearance of a toy gun. The design was smooth, lacking any rugged contours; to put it kindly, it was sleek, and to put it bluntly, it was simple and uninspired. Jin, however, seemed to like it.
"How do I use it?"
"Yes. We considered several interfaces, but for now, please aim at something and touch the trigger. A light touch is sufficient."
"Got it."
Jin stepped outside the laboratory and aimed at a fallen tree branch. When he touched the trigger, a red laser-like pointer illuminated the target.
"What's this?"
"It is a pointer. The device will transport whatever object the pointer is resting on. Please pull the trigger."
When Jin pulled the trigger, the tree branch vanished.
"Oh, I see."
"The destination is fixed; I have designated the airspace five thousand meters above a distant point at sea."
"At sea, huh..."
Jin figured that as long as it wasn't used excessively, there wouldn't be much of a disadvantage to that. Even threats like bombs could be neutralized this way.
"The drawback is that the energy required for transport is quite high. At this size, the energy will be depleted after only two uses. For the same reason, large objects cannot be transported. The power source is ethenol."
Jin felt that was certainly better than it running out after a single shot. Given the compact size, a user could simply carry two units if necessary.
"What are the size limiters?"
"Yes. Regarding dimensions, it can handle anything that fits within a spherical range of approximately fifty centimeters in diameter. As for weight, the limit is about forty kilograms."
That should be enough to manage a bomb. Other threats could be dealt with through different means.
"It wouldn't be bad to just make the destination outer space, though."
"Because of the distance involved, that would consume significantly more energy."
"Ah... true. Well, I'll just have to make sure we don't overdo it."
Jin gave instructions to Laojun to produce forty units and to equip Reiko and Land 2 through 20 with two units each.
"Now then, as for me..."
Jin resumed his theoretical work on Magic Cancel.
"Jin-nii."
Elsa arrived at the workshop where Jin sat deep in thought.
"Elsa, what's up?"
"...I came to help Jin-nii."
"Help me?"
"Un. Reiko-chan isn't here, so I thought you'd need an assistant."
"I see, thanks. In that case, I think I'll take you up on that."
Jin explained his ideas regarding the theory of Magic Cancel to Elsa.
"...Neutralizing it..."
"Yeah. But to cancel out a wave, it’s impossible unless you use the exact same wavelength."
"Then, what if you broadcasted every frequency at once?"
"The device would end up being way too massive."
It would likely reach a size that even Jin would struggle to miniaturize.
"Then, how about dividing it into smaller parts for each attribute?"
"That’s not bad, but the number of components would skyrocket."
"Mmm... it's difficult."
Elsa fell into deep thought as well. Watching her frown her cute face and groan in concentration, Jin couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"...What?"
"N-No, I just thought the faces Elsa makes when she's thinking were cuter than I expected."
"...!"
In a rare display, Elsa’s face turned a bright, hot red as she stood up abruptly.
"...I-I just remembered. I have to go prepare lunch."
No sooner had she said the words than she hurried toward the workshop exit. On her way out, she tripped over a chair leg and nearly fell, but somehow managed to recover her balance before disappearing. Jin watched her uncharacteristic clumsiness with a look of blank amazement, but then—
"Dividing it... into parts... I've got it!"
Having hit upon a breakthrough, Jin immediately set to work on a prototype.
Meanwhile, Laojun’s mobile terminal, the automata Laozi, was in the middle of scouting for Negadoll 001's base.
The location was halfway up a mountain northwest of the Pazdext Great Isthmus. Perhaps due to the prevailing wind or the sheer force of high Winds blowing the snow away, there were patches where the bare rock was exposed, free of ice. Behind those rocks lay a small entrance leading to one of Negadoll 001's bases.
(A barrier here as well. How troublesome.)
Laozi used his mana detection abilities to their fullest to locate the source of the barrier.
(The structure is... multi-layered? No, it appears to be merely two single-layered barriers placed one over the other.)
With a level of caution and precision impossible for a human, Laozi analyzed the barrier’s structure.
(The weak point is here. If I pass through this exact singularity, the alarm will not trigger.)
A singularity in a barrier was a weakness that often occurred in large-scale fields generated by multiple devices. It was the point where the mana emitted from one "antenna" met the mana from another. Coincidentally, because the waves possessed the same waveform and wavelength, they would interfere with each other and weaken the barrier. Such a spot was called a "singularity."
Having discovered this weakness, Laozi successfully infiltrated the interior.
(No further barriers inside? Is this arrogance, or perhaps they have absolute confidence in their outer defenses?)
The entrance had been cleverly hidden, but it could not deceive Laozi's eyes. He passed through without difficulty and stepped inside the base.
(This place... seems to have been carved directly out of the rock. The handiwork is crude. Based on this, it's unlikely they have a large number of subordinates here...)
Cloaking his body with an Invisible barrier, Laozi advanced deeper into the interior, one slow, deliberate step at a time. Because he possessed a tactile sense, he could respond immediately to even the slightest unevenness in the floor, allowing him to walk in absolute silence.
When the ten-meter-long passage, which sloped slightly downward, came to an end, it opened into a small hall.
(There is a high probability of traps.)
He possessed data on the hazards Reiko, Anne, and Alectas had encountered in a similar hall during their previous mission. Laozi paused to consider the best way to cross.
(Assuming there are traps, I must determine the trigger conditions.)
In other words, he needed to identify what sensors were being used to detect intruders.
(Finger Golems, deploy for investigation.)
Five ultra-miniature golems, each only five centimeters tall, were housed beneath Laozi’s chest armor. They deployed separately, beginning their analysis of the small hall at the entrance and slowly advancing inward.
(No temperature sensors, no weight sensors, no infrared sensors.)
As he monitored the data from the various sensors, Laozi moved the Finger Golems forward centimeter by centimeter.
(An optical sensor... here it is.)
It was a trap designed to trigger upon detecting an object over a certain size.
(The wavelength it reacts to is... within the visible light spectrum. There is nothing in the infrared range... and nothing in the ultraviolet range, either. I can pass through using my Invisible spell.)
After investigating all the way to the far side of the hall and confirming that it was being monitored only by optical sensors—ordinary visual magic tools—Laozi maintained his Invisible barrier and crossed the hall.
Repeating this careful process of detection, countermeasure, and passage, Laozi continued his steady infiltration into the heart of the base.