"Völlig Genesen."
"..."
On October 7th, Jin underwent his twentieth Völlig Genesen treatment.
On this final day, he felt no pain whatsoever.
"Jin-nii, how do you feel?"
"..."
"Father?"
Worried by his silence, Elsa and Reiko both called out to him.
"...Ah, sorry. It’s just... everything feels so different."
"Eh?"
"...If the treatments up until yesterday felt like climbing a staircase one step at a time, today feels like I’ve suddenly ascended an entire floor."
To demonstrate, Jin leaped into the air.
"...Huh?"
He had jumped nearly a meter high.
"My body feels so light..."
Next, Jin reached for a nearby low table. The piece of furniture weighed about thirty kilograms, but he hoisted it easily with just one hand.
"...Before, even when I tried to exert myself, it felt like my strength was just leaking away. But that’s gone now."
In all likelihood, Jin had been unconsciously using physical reinforcement to supplement his natural strength until now.
"I can move normally, too."
Jin jumped again, this time limiting himself to a more modest height of about forty centimeters.
"Ah, so this is what it feels like to use Reinforce properly."
Reinforce was a spell used in Craft Magic, typically employed to carry heavy materials or components. Until now, Jin had halfway given up on it because no matter how much he applied the magic to himself, his physical capabilities never seemed to improve.
"But from now on...!"
Overjoyed, Jin scooped Elsa up and perched her on his right shoulder. Then, he lifted Reiko onto his left.
"...Ji-Jin-nii!?"
"Father?"
Elsa was caught completely off guard, and even Reiko seemed a bit flustered by the suddenness of it.
"Elsa, thank you. Reiko, thank you. I feel like my body is finally my own at last."
The stagnation he had felt inside his body ever since his summoning and subsequent reconstruction was finally purged. Jin was utterly ecstatic. He was so giddy that he actually skipped around the room with the two of them still on his shoulders.
"...Are you quite finished?"
"...Yeah. My apologies."
Jin had been frolicking for nearly thirty minutes. If Toa and Stearena hadn't happened to walk in and stare at him with exasperated expressions, he might have kept going even longer.
"Once again, thank you. Elsa, Reiko."
Jin bowed deeply to them.
"Please, do not do that, Father. I have done nothing worthy of such thanks," Reiko insisted.
"Me neither," Elsa added. "In fact, I'm the one who owes Jin-nii so much more."
"No, I had no idea that activating my cells would feel this incredible. Besides, you both stuck by me for twenty days straight."
"I have simply fulfilled my duty," Reiko said.
"And I only applied the healing magic."
"Can we move on? Though I must say, I’m glad I got to see something so rare," Stearena interjected, cutting off the conversation before it could loop indefinitely.
"Something rare?" Jin asked.
"What do you mean?" Elsa followed.
Stearena smiled, looking as if she couldn't believe they were even asking. "I mean a bright-red Elsa-san and a frolicking Jin-kun, of course."
"Wh..."
"..."
"Hehe, I wonder if that was part of Jin-kun’s 'activation' too?"
Toa patted the giggling Stearena on the shoulder. "Lina, don't you have something else to discuss?"
Lina was, evidently, Stearena’s nickname.
"O-Oh, right..." This time, it was Stearena’s turn to blush.
"?"
"Go on, Lina."
"...You say it."
"I suppose I have to....Jin-kun, the truth is, the two of us have decided to get married."
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations to you both," Reiko added.
Jin had known they were close, and he’d had a feeling this day would come eventually.
"...Where’s Saki?"
Thinking that Saki should have been there to hear the news, Jin voiced his question.
"She already knows....But when we told her, she just said, 'Congratulations, Dad,' and then wandered off somewhere..."
"Ar followed her, so I don't think there's any cause for concern," Stearena added.
Beyond that, Laojun surely had the location of every member of the Jin Family tracked via magi-radar.
"I suppose she’s having a hard time accepting her father’s remarriage..." Toa murmured, looking a little lonely.
"...What about the wedding ceremony or the reception?" Jin asked.
"We're both at an age where we don't really need all that," Stearena replied.
"I told her we should do it precisely because of that," Toa countered.
Jin fell into thought. As members of the Jin Family, surely...
"Let's hold a ceremony here on Hourai Island, just for our circle of friends."
"I agree," Elsa chimed in. "Uncle Toa, you should do it."
Urged by both Jin and Elsa, Toa and Stearena eventually nodded bashfully.
"...Alright, we'll take you up on that offer."
"Jin-kun, are you sure it’s okay to ask this of you?"
Jin nodded vigorously. "Of course! So, when should we hold it? Tomorrow? The day after?"
As the words left his mouth, Jin remembered that he was scheduled to depart for the Shouro Empire tomorrow with Barrow and Belle.
"Ah—we aren't in that much of a rush," Toa said, making Jin feel a bit relieved at his own forgetfulness. "Stearena doesn't have any living relatives, but I feel I must at least give my regards to my father-in-law... Marquis Gehren, before we proceed."
Marquis Gehren Teoderic von Eisen was a high-ranking noble of the Shouro Empire and Saki's grandfather.
"That makes sense. Actually, I was planning to head to the Shouro Empire starting tomorrow myself."
"Oh, is that so? In that case, we could travel together part of the way..."
Toa started to suggest it, then realized it wasn't necessary. Jin was heading to Reinhard’s Rankenhaus, while Toa and Stearena would be going to Toa’s home. Both locations were equipped with a Warp Gate. While Toa’s assumption was slightly off regarding their exact arrival points, the sentiment remained.
"Well, we might cross paths over there. If we do, I’ll see you then."
"Yes, definitely."
With that settled, the group headed toward the laboratory.
"Now then, I need to get started on a wedding gift for Earl Kuzuma and Beena."
In the laboratory workshop, Jin and Elsa began brainstorming ideas for the present.
"Speaking of which, I wonder what Reinhard is planning?"
"I'll check," Elsa said.
Using a manacam, they could reach Reinhard instantly. Elsa headed down to the command room in the laboratory’s basement to use the device.
Outside, the sky remained the color of lead, and the landscape was shrouded in a veil of rain.
"I wonder if it’s clear in the Shouro Empire?"
Jin’s soft murmur was swallowed by the sound of the drizzle.