As soon as they stepped into the meeting room, Jin turned to Christoph with a request.
"Christoph-san, do you have any magi-resin on hand?"
"Hmm? I have some secured for golem maintenance, but..."
Magi-resin was the standard material found inside most golems. It was a general term for resins that were easily reshaped through magical power—essentially, one could think of it as mana-infused pine resin.
"I’d like you to share a bit of it with me."
"I see. It seems Jin-dono has something in mind. You there!" Christoph barked an order to a soldier standing outside the room. Within minutes, the soldier returned, carrying an armload of magi-resin.
"Good work. Jin-dono, will this suffice?"
"Yes, thank you very much."
Jin stared at the magi-resin placed on the conference table, lost in thought for a moment. Everyone watched him with rapt curiosity, eager to see what he intended to do. Once he had organized his thoughts, Jin finally reached out and invoked his Craft Magic.
"Separation. Forming."
For an instant, a faint glow characteristic of Craft Magic pulsed through the air. The lump of magi-resin tore apart and shifted, its shape rapidly shifting into that of a ship.
"Oh...!"
"This is..."
"A-Amazing."
The group marveled at Jin’s swift precision. Only Reinhard and Elsa remained unsurprised.
"I’ve made an approximately 1/100 scale model. I thought we could use this as a basis for our discussion."
The model was about forty centimeters long. It was a monohull of a very standard design.
"Yes, I think it’s better if the hull isn't flat," Reinhard said, breaking the silence while the others were still dazed by Jin's speed. "If the ship is lifted by waves and then slammed back against the surface, a flat bottom would take the full force of the impact and likely break."
This was the same advice Jin had once given to Eckart, a merchant in the southern Celuroa Kingdom. It was just as valid here.
"The bow will take the brunt of the waves, so I think it should be raised a bit higher," Elsa added. Her experience participating in the Golem Boat Race in Port Rock was clearly paying off.
"Alright, like this then? Forming."
Following their suggestions, Jin adjusted the model’s details.
By then, the other members of the team had recovered from their shock and realized the brilliance of this approach.
"Shouldn't the bow be a bit narrower?"
"What about the ratio of length to width...?"
"If the sides were curved rather than flat, I believe it would prevent waves from washing over the deck."
Using a "mock-up" was common practice in product development in modern Japan, but to the people of this world, it was a fresh and innovative concept. After about thirty minutes of back-and-forth, the general silhouette of the hull was finalized.
"This is quite an interesting way of doing things," Christoph said with a breath of admiration. "If Jin-dono weren't here, I doubt any of us would have thought of it."
"A 'model,' is it? It’s far easier to grasp than a blueprint," Kubalt said, sounding somewhat resigned. "The only shame is that it requires someone exceptionally skilled in magi craft to pull it off."
Jin offered a reassuring smile. "No, not at all. Even if it takes more time, you could achieve the same results using wood or clay."
"That is true," Rodrigo noted, nodding in agreement.
With Jin’s model as a reference, the hull design was rapidly refined. They even filled a large container with water to float the model, identifying and correcting various issues as they arose. Once that phase was settled, the deliberation moved to the next step.
"Next is the installation of the Wind Thrusters."
"Right. Until we decide on that, there’s no point in further refining the hull," Jin agreed.
Christoph nodded. "Indeed. Let us move on to the thrusters, then."
This immediately reignited the heated debate between Zeneros and Kleia.
"Like I said, the thrusters will be more stable if they’re mounted on the sides!"
"And I said that’ll just get in the way of the crew! They belong on the ship's centerline!"
"Oh? Then do you plan on making a Wind Thruster that’s forty meters long? Talk about a waste!"
"Ugh... N-No, we can just place air intakes on both sides!"
"My, my, wouldn't that just force the airflow to bend awkwardly?"
"Urgh..."
"Are those two on bad terms?" Elsa whispered to Reinhard. Choosing to ask him instead of Jin was a wise move.
"No, they’re probably just too similar," Reinhard whispered back. "That’s why they’re clashing."
Jin, meanwhile, watched the exchange with a look of mild exasperation.
"In the first place," Kleia shouted, "if you mount them that low, you’re going to suck in water along with the air!"
"Based on the structure and principles of the thruster, spray shouldn’t be an issue. Debris or seaweed would be bad, but water is fine."
"But what if they fail during a storm when we need the propulsion most? The lives of the crew are at stake!"
Knowing they would go in circles forever if left to their own devices, Jin decided to intervene.
"We could just experiment with a prototype."
"I see!"
"Y-You're right!"
Jin asked Christoph to provide some bronze and magi-crystals. With the materials ready, he crafted a Wind Thruster about fifty centimeters in length. By now, the others were starting to get used to his speed—though everyone except Elsa and Reinhard still stared with wide eyes.
"Now, this isn't 1/100 scale. This Wind Thruster has enough power to move something like a hot air balloon. We just need to see if it functions properly if water gets inside."
Christoph was the first to snap back to his senses. "Y-Yes. Lake Wasu is right there. Let’s have a general-purpose golem conduct the test."
The group filed out to the shore of Lake Wasu. The test would be carried out by a Shouro Empire-style general-purpose golem, an autonomous type.
"Now, begin," Christoph commanded.
As the Wind Thruster woke up, a powerful gale blew forth. The golem braced itself to hold the device steady.
"Hmm, as expected of Jin-dono’s craftsmanship. It has quite a lot of kick," Kubalt noted with admiration.
"Now, please submerge it in the water," Jin requested.
Christoph hesitated. "Is that safe?"
Jin gave a reassuring nod.
"A-Alright. Submerge it!"
Christoph gave the order, and the golem dipped the active Wind Thruster into the lake.
"Whoa!?"
The golem, which weighed over two hundred kilograms, was instantly jerked forward and dragged toward the water. It gouged a furrow through the shoreline gravel as it was pulled toward the depths.
"Quickly, get it out of the water! No, have it face upward!" Jin shouted.
"Golem! Point it up!" Christoph screamed.
By angling the Wind Thruster vertically, the golem finally stopped its slide. The thruster didn't have enough power to lift two hundred kilograms into the air. The golem eventually trudged back to the shore, dripping with water.
"Jin-dono, what happened? Could you explain?" Christoph asked, breathless.
"Of course. Let’s head back inside."
Once they were back in the meeting room and the thruster was deactivated, Jin began his explanation. Everyone—save for Elsa and Reinhard, who already knew—waited with bated breath.
"The Wind Thruster is an application of the wind-attribute magic Wind. Now, this magic works on air molecules..." Jin trailed off, realizing his terminology might be a bit too advanced. "Er... air is actually made of tiny particles that are too small to be seen. Please just accept that for now so I can continue."
He managed to keep the group quiet and moved on.
"The magic Wind moves those particles. And anything within its range will move along with them, even if it isn't an air particle. For example, even if sand is mixed in. You can blow away dust or smoke with Wind, right? That’s the same principle."
The group nodded.
"Water is also made of tiny particles. Therefore, it can be moved by Wind as well." Jin paused to look around the room. "Because water is much denser and heavier than air, the force generated was far greater, which is why the golem was dragged. However, I wouldn't recommend using a Wind Thruster underwater on purpose."
"And why is that?" Christoph asked.
Jin didn't hesitate. "Because it’s far less efficient than the water-attribute magic Water Stream."