The morning of October 29th was bright and clear.
"Ah, I slept well."
"Good morning, Father."
"Ah, morning, Reiko."
Jin stretched his arms wide as he rose from his futon. Having neglected to prepare pajamas, he was still in his underwear. He quickly got dressed and headed toward the washroom.
"I shall go and prepare breakfast then," Reiko said as she headed to the kitchen.
"I must have been exhausted yesterday; I slept soundly..."
For Jin, the work of renovating the house had been more engrossing—and more draining—than the repairs he had performed on the giant golem, the Shouro Empire's ancient artifact.
"Jin-nii, morning."
"Ah, morning, Elsa."
Elsa had also woken up, and they washed their faces together. Realizing there were no towels yet, they were forced to dry themselves using the Craft Magic 'Heat' combined with the wind-attribute magic 'Breeze'.
"This could actually be used for a warm-air dryer..."
While musing on new magic tools for daily life, Jin and Elsa made their way to the kitchen.
Since they hadn't stocked the pantry yet, they used ingredients Laojun had sent over from Hourai Island. Reiko prepared a spread of bread, citran marmalade, bean soup, bacon and eggs, salad, and fruit juice.
It was a flavor both Jin and Elsa were well-accustomed to.
"Jin-nii, what are you doing today?" Elsa asked between sips of her juice.
"Well, I'm planning to call Barrow and Belle over, and I want to bring Hanna here too."
Elsa nodded, set her glass down, and spoke. "In that case, I want an airship landing pad for the Mansion."
"Ah, true. If we were to make one..."
It would have to be on the roof, Jin decided.
"I could tear off the current roof and make it flat... or perhaps turn it into a proper rooftop plaza."
After some consideration, he decided to build a rooftop landing area.
"Renovations aside, it would probably be bad if I didn't get official permission for the takeoffs and landings..."
Jin planned to secure that permission when he went to the Imperial Palace to retrieve the airship.
"Maybe I'll make that 'Detox' magic tool I was thinking about and present it as an offering."
He figured the imperial family and high-ranking officials would find it useful, so it was a solid plan. He immediately requested magi-crystals from Hourai Island.
"Elsa, what shape do you think is best? A ring? A bracelet? Maybe a pendant?"
Consulted, Elsa thought for a moment.
"Considering it's for Detox, I think it should be close to the center of the body. A necklace would be better than a bracelet, and a bracelet better than a ring."
"I see. In that case, let's make it a pendant top."
Jin noted that they could simply explain its use and have the chain length adjusted so it rested against the chest.
"Un. I think that's good. Use mithril for the chain."
"Got it. I'll leave the design to you, Elsa. I'll start by making the chain."
After bringing in the mithril, Jin crafted a chain for the necklace. He used a design known as a curb chain, where standard links are twisted ninety degrees to lie flat.
Jin at least knew the name for this specific style.
Since pure mithril was somewhat soft, he used 925 mithril mixed with copper. It was the same alloy he had used for the dagger he once gave Elsa for her birthday.
After forming a standard chain, he processed it by twisting and flattening the links. By the time he had produced about ten meters of it, Elsa was looking at him with exasperated eyes.
"What are you going to do with so much?"
"Well, I'll probably end up giving them out to at least ten people, right?"
At that, Elsa looked even more dismayed.
"Jin-nii, first and foremost, the offering to Her Majesty must be special. You need to emphasize its value as a unique, one-of-a-kind item."
Elsa lectured him that such was the inherent value of items crafted by a Magi Craft Meister.
"I see..."
He understood her point. Jin nodded obediently.
"But well, it won't go to waste, right? You can use one, Elsa, and then there's Mine, Martha-san, Hanna... plus Saki, Stearena, Vivienne... oh, that's right, Beena and Lishia, too."
When Lishia's name came up, it likely wasn't Jin's imagination that Elsa's eyebrow twitched.
"...I've realized once again that this is just the kind of person you are, Jin-nii."
"?"
The words Elsa murmured with a small sigh didn't quite reach Jin's ears.
"Anyway, making the offering comes first."
"Right, I get it."
At Elsa's suggestion, they decided to make the pendant top by creating a diamond-shaped mithril base and setting a processed magi-crystal into it.
At 9:00 AM, Jin and Elsa headed to the Imperial Palace, carrying the offering.
The Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou, was already a celebrity; he was essentially granted entry on sight and shown into a waiting room. Elsa and Reiko, who accompanied him, were also well-known, so there were no issues.
After a twenty-minute wait...
"Jin-kun, what brings you here today?"
Jin and Elsa were shown directly into the Empress's office, though he would have been satisfied just meeting the Chancellor.
"If a Magi Craft Meister has something to say, I am always willing to listen."
The Chancellor standing beside her looked a bit weary, but Jin chose to ignore it and stated his purpose.
"A magic tool for Detox... Wonderful!"
"Elsa designed it, and I crafted it."
He presented the pendant top and chain inside a box made of a dark wood similar to ebony.
"So, wearing this provides a Detox effect?"
"Yes. Just wearing it provides a mild effect. For instance, it prevents one from getting a bad hangover..." Jin began to explain the benefits. "Therefore, even if one were to ingest a lethal poison, for example, they wouldn't collapse immediately. It provides a window for their body's functions to operate normally."
This was a precaution, as it could be too late to activate a tool once the poison had taken full effect.
"If you suspect something is wrong, simply tap the pendant top firmly. That will trigger the activation."
He had considered the possibility of someone being unable to speak due to being paralyzed by poison.
"Since there is a mild Detox effect active at all times, I believe it's unlikely your hands would be paralyzed."
He also added that even if she tapped it by mistake, it would have no ill effects on a healthy body.
"Thank you, Jin-kun. I shall graciously accept it."
The Empress accepted the pendant top with a smile, but then she showed a flash of her keen intuition. "Is that all? Surely you have a request of some kind?"
"Ah, yes. There is one thing I would like permission for."
Jin then explained his desire to install an airship landing pad on the roof of the mansion he had been granted.
"I see... Chancellor, what do you think?"
After some careful thought, the Empress asked for her advisor's opinion.
"Yes, Your Majesty. In the future, should others come to possess hot air balloons, we will likely have to issue similar permissions. In the interest of establishing a precedent, I believe it would be wise to have Lord Jin Nidou, as a Magi Craft Meister, set the standard."
In other words, they would observe Jin's method and use it as a benchmark for the future.
"Thank you for the immediate permission," Jin said, giving his thanks before taking his leave. Even the Empress was far too busy to spend much time on idle chatter.
"That went well, Jin-nii."
"Yeah, thanks to you, Elsa."
With the parchment containing the written permission in hand, Jin, Elsa, and Reiko headed triumphantly to the airship mooring site.
"Reiko, tell the Smith Golems on standby to begin the work."
"Understood."
Since they were nearly certain permission would be granted, they had already finalized the renovation plans. The ten Smith units received their orders and immediately began the reconstruction.
A Smith Golem's production capacity was about one-tenth of Jin's. Having ten of them didn't mean they were exactly equal to Jin, however. Because they had the advantage of numbers, they could divide up the tasks: dismantling the roof, removing the debris, refitting the attic, constructing the rooftop, and setting up the landing area.
Being able to split up these stages was a massive advantage. By the time Jin and Elsa flew the airship to Magiroots Village and brought back Barrow and Belle, the renovations should be well and truly finished.
It was about 130 kilometers from the capital, Loizart, to Magiroots Village.
Feeling pressed for time, Jin headed toward the village via high-altitude flight. He tended to get impatient when he had a project he wanted to move forward with.
They arrived at the village in less than an hour. This time, no one was shocked; the villagers merely met them with gazes of intense curiosity.
"Jin-dono, welcome."
The Village Chief came out to meet them as they landed in the vacant lot on the outskirts.
"What business brings you here today?"
"I've come to pick up Barrow and Belle."
Jin explained that he wanted them to return to their duties soon.
"Of course, that is only natural given their employment. I leave them in your care."
With those words, the Village Chief bowed respectfully to Jin.