In the capital of Loizart, a giant golem towered over the courtyard of the Imperial Palace.
A temporary roof was currently being constructed around the still-immobile machine.
"Hey! Pull that side a little tighter!"
"That scaffolding looks unstable, watch yourselves!"
"Alright, lift it up—slowly now!"
Marcus Grinbalt, the magi engineer, was acting as the site supervisor for the project, which made heavy use of Craft Magic. Because he was utilizing a large-scale golem of his own design, work was progressing at a rapid pace. The framework had taken shape in a single day, and by the second, they were nearing completion.
"Good work, Marcus."
The Empress had come to inspect the finish and offered Marcus her praise.
"You have built quite a sturdy structure....It is a pity, however, that there is no control device. I truly would have liked to see it in motion."
At that moment, a faint click echoed from somewhere, but no one paid it any mind.
"Wow! Is this Honi-hyan’s house?"
Hanna was beside herself with excitement after being brought through the Warp Gate.
Barrow and Belle were still scratching their heads over how Jin had managed to fetch her from Kaina Village so quickly, but they had long since grown accustomed to his penchant for the extraordinary. They swallowed their questions, figuring he would explain it to them in his own time.
"But it’s still so bright out. Why is that?"
It had been past five in the evening when they left Kaina Village, yet here in Loizart, it was barely two in the afternoon. Hanna tilted her head, baffled by the discrepancy.
"Hmm, let's see..."
Jin decided to take this opportunity to explain the concept of time zones to Hanna—and to Barrow and Belle as well.
First, he used Craft Magic to construct a globe... or rather, an "Ars Globe." It was a simplified model of the world's landmasses, but it came with a proper stand that allowed it to rotate. He then prepared a magi-lamp to serve as the sun.
"Listen, Hanna. This world we live in, Ars, is actually a massive round sphere. For now, just try to accept that as a fact."
Jin continued the lesson.
"Let’s say this lamp is the sun. Ars rotates slowly like this. That's why it’s morning when the light first hits a spot, noon when the sun is directly overhead, and night when the world spins around so the light can't reach it anymore."
Barrow and Belle listened with rapt attention.
"Now, the 'time'—or more accurately, the 'hour'—is determined by the position of the sun. Directly overhead is noon, or twelve o'clock, and the opposite side is midnight, or zero hundred hours. We divide the space between them equally to set the time."
The concept was a bit complex, but Hanna had a sharp mind and had been diligent with her studies, so she managed to follow along.
"Because of that, the time at this point... and the time at this point will be different."
Jin pointed to two spots on the Ars Globe. One was at noon, while the other was at sunset—roughly six in the evening.
"This is what we call a time difference. When you move along the meridians—the north-south direction—the time doesn't change. But when you move east or west along the parallels, the time changes. Do you see?"
"Yes, I get it!"
"That was very clear. Seeing it on a model like this makes it much easier to visualize," Barrow added, impressed.
"Mhm. Honi-hyan, I understand why the time is different now."
It seemed Hanna had at least grasped the general concept.
Jin then decided to take her out for a proper tour of Loizart.
"In that case, I'll come too. I can be the guide," Elsa offered.
The group—Jin, Elsa, Hanna, Reiko, and Edgar—set out together. Barrow and Belle stayed behind to handle the finer details of the mansion's interior.
"You're free to give orders to the Smiths," Jin told them before leaving.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The renovations were ninety percent finished, but several rooms still lacked proper furnishings and fine-tuning. Barrow and Belle began a patrol of the grounds, doubling as a way to familiarize themselves with the estate.
"Ah, there's a gap in this door frame. Mr. Smith, could you take care of this?"
"Understood."
"This step on the stairs is chipped; it's a tripping hazard. Could you fix it?"
"Understood."
As they worked, the pair grew more comfortable in the mansion, and the remaining minor flaws were systematically ironed out.
"This is the central plaza."
"Incredible!"
The group focused more on sightseeing than shopping for Hanna's benefit.
The Shouro Empire had been founded roughly three hundred years ago, making it relatively young compared to the other Allied Kingdoms. Consequently, the city's design was quite rational. The architecture leaned toward sharp, angular aesthetics, standing in stark contrast to the overly decorative style of the Celuroa Kingdom.
"There are so many people..."
It was just past four in the afternoon, and the crowd of shoppers was beginning to swell.
"Ah!"
Hanna accidentally bumped into a passerby as she walked.
"Careful there."
Jin scooped her up and hoisted her onto his shoulders.
"Honi-hyan?"
Being suddenly given a shoulder carry in the middle of a crowd startled Hanna for a moment, but she quickly grew used to the height and cheered.
"Wow! I can see everything from up here! Thank you, Honi-hyan!"
"..."
Walking beside them, Elsa watched the two with an envious gaze.
"...?"
A moment later, Jin reached out and took Elsa's right hand in his.
"Stay close so you don't get separated."
"Mhm."
Elsa moved half a step closer to him. Reiko and Edgar followed close behind, watching the three of them as they navigated the busy streets.
The group cut their sightseeing a bit short and returned to the mansion. After a refreshing bath to wash away the dust of the city, it was time for dinner.
Hanna had technically already eaten dinner back in Kaina Village, and according to her internal clock, it was nearly time for bed. During the group's meal, Jin had her eat mostly fruit. Since she knew she had already had a full dinner, she was quite content with the light snack.
Though a three-hour difference wasn't enough to cause serious jet lag, Jin decided to play it safe and had everyone turn in early for the night.
"I can sleep all by myself now, you know?" Hanna told him, much to Jin's surprise.
He wasn't particularly worried, given that her personal SP golem guards, Iris and Azalea, were watching over her in secret. Jin himself was exhausted from his morning audience with the Empress and the multiple trips to Magiroots Village, so he was more than happy to call it an early night.
A messenger from the Imperial Palace arrived later that evening, but since the household was already asleep, they wouldn't learn the contents of the message until the following morning.
"What!?"
The next morning, Jin received a letter from one of the Smiths that the messenger had left behind. He read it and was instantly struck with shock.
"Jin-nii, what is it?"
Without a word, Jin handed the letter to Elsa.
"...Her Majesty the Empress is coming here!?"
"So it seems."
The letter claimed she wanted to ensure there were no deficiencies in the estate she had granted him, but that was clearly a pretext. She was obviously curious to see how a Magi Craft Meister would renovate a standard noble's mansion.
"The Empress is...!?"
"Eeeeh!?"
Barrow and Belle both turned a shade of pale.
"...I should probably call for the golem maids."
Knowing the Empress was coming, Jin decided to summon one of each of the Five-Colored Golem Maids from Hourai Island to ensure the service was impeccable.
"No, I might as well station them here permanently."
The visit was scheduled for 10:00 AM, which left them with enough time. Jin immediately warped back to Hourai Island to begin the preparations himself.