December 2nd.
Jin asked Christoph how he planned to handle boarding and disembarking from the ship.
"Well, I was thinking we could just use ladders," Christoph replied.
Just as I thought, Jin noted to himself. If they did that, loading and unloading cargo would be a massive chore.
"I think it would be better to provide a gangway."
"A gangway?"
"Ah, a gangway is..."
Jin proceeded to explain what a gangway was and how it functioned.
"I see. So we provide a sturdy one at the ports for handling cargo, and on the ship itself, we keep a folding version for the crew and passengers to use. Is that it?"
Regarding the port-side installations, Christoph immediately granted his approval within his authority as the project lead. As for the ones to be stored on the ship, they decided to deliberate on the specifics during the final inspection of the outfitting.
The remaining issue was navigation. Jin decided to discuss this with Christoph as well.
"Hmm, so the question is how to determine our current position," Christoph mused.
How to manage on the open sea with no landmarks? Christoph could well imagine the difficulty.
"...That is a tough one."
For the time being, Christoph explained that they didn't intend to sail so far offshore that they would lose sight of land. In other words, they planned to always keep the coast in view and navigate along the shoreline.
"That might be fine for now, but what if you're swept out to sea, or if heavy fog rolls in, or if it turns night and the land is no longer visible?"
"Ugh..."
Christoph was stumped by Jin's questions.
"I understand. Let's hold a meeting first thing this afternoon. By noon, work on the ship itself should be ninety percent finished, so we should have time later today."
Jin agreed to organize his thoughts by then and left the area.
"Now then, I suppose it's time to make a prototype magnetic compass..."
Jin decided to go with the simplest possible experiment and sent instructions to Laojun to prepare the materials.
＊ ＊ ＊
As planned, the work on the ship reached the ninety percent mark. After finishing lunch, the team was summoned to the meeting room first thing in the afternoon.
There, Christoph explained the proposal Jin had made that morning.
"I see, a gangway..."
"Installing them at the ports is a necessity. It would be very convenient to have them on the ship as well."
Everyone immediately recognized the necessity of the suggestion, and the addition of the gangways was approved unanimously.
The next problem was navigation.
"...First, please imagine a situation where you are surrounded by nothing but ocean and have no idea which way to go," Jin suggested, prompting them to use their imaginations.
"Hmm..."
"During the day, you can see the sun, so..."
The magi engineer Zeneros started to speak, but Kleia cut him off.
"Don't be silly. What if it's cloudy or foggy?"
"Guh..."
"Is it possible to use the stars at night?" Kleia asked, her insight proving quite sharp. "I've heard stories that there's a star in the northern sky that doesn't change its position all night long. I believe it's called the North Star."
It seemed that even in this world, there were those interested in astronomy who had identified the North Star.
"If we can identify that, it would certainly serve as a guide for direction," Christoph added. "If we're traveling along the southern coast, heading north would mean we'd eventually hit land."
Everyone nodded at Christoph's words.
"But if it's cloudy at night, the stars won't be visible. What do we do then?"
"True....I wonder if there's a magic tool that can tell us our heading anytime, anywhere?"
Jin reacted instantly to the question. "There is."
"Eh?"
Everyone—though Elsa and Reinhard likely already knew—stared at Jin in unison.
"It is called a magnetic compass."
"What is a magnet?" Kleia asked.
"A magnet? You mean those stones that stick to iron?"
Kleia, Rodrigo, and Kubalt didn't seem to know what a magnet was. On the other hand, Christoph and Zeneros appeared to at least be aware of their existence.
"I've heard there are stones that possess a force that pulls them toward iron," Christoph said.
What Christoph was referring to was likely magnetite—a type of iron ore that occurs as a natural magnet.
"That's the one. I happen to have a powerful magnet right here."
Jin pulled a bar magnet from his pocket that had been manufactured on Hourai Island. It was made of a material close to MK magnet steel, created by adding nickel, aluminum, and copper to iron.
This was the only magnet steel Jin knew how to make; he didn't know the specifics for alnico magnets or rare-earth magnets, but this was more than powerful enough for their needs.
"Now, if I rub this against a steel needle and then stick it through a leaf to float it on water..."
It was a simple science experiment, the kind often performed in elementary schools. Normally, one would stick a sewing needle through a piece of paper, but since there was no paper handy, he used a dried leaf.
"Hmm... Oh-ho!"
The floating needle rotated until it pointed North and South, then stopped. Even when they tried to change its orientation, it always returned to a North-South alignment.
"To think magnets had such a property... Jin-dono, how is it that you know of such things?"
Christoph had a look of pure shock on his face. From the looks of it, he hadn't received much of the science education provided by the Fuhrer. It was likely because he was too busy with the practical affairs of the empire.
"This is 'science.' I learned it from my master. Please allow me to keep my master's name a secret."
Since it would be a hassle to explain his origins, Jin added that last part to prevent further prying.
"Mmm-hmm, so if we apply this, we can know our heading anytime, anywhere!"
A look of joy spread across Christoph's face. He had likely realized that this could be used not just at sea, but for land travel as well.
"However, as you know, it is attracted to iron. Its accuracy will drop significantly if there is iron nearby."
"Yes, certainly. But we aren't using any iron parts in this new ship, so it should be fine."
Because iron rusted easily in salt air, they were making heavy use of bronze and 64 light silver for this project. Of course, this was also because Jin had hinted at that direction through Reinhard on the first day.
"If we float it in oil instead of water, the needle won't rust."
"If we seal it inside something like transparent crystal, the oil won't spill even if the ship rocks."
"It would be good if we made it large so it's easy to read."
Various opinions and improvements were voiced.
With that, the meeting concluded. It was decided that Reinhard and Elsa would craft the gangways, while Jin would handle the production of the magnetic compass.
Since there was still time left in the workday, everyone except Jin, Reinhard, and Elsa headed back to the dock to work on the ship's finishing touches.
"Reiko, help me out."
"Yes, Father."
Reiko caught a glimpse of Elsa, who was staring at Jin as if she wanted to say something, but the automaton briskly followed Jin out of the room.
"..."
Reinhard offered a comforting word to Elsa, who looked somewhat dejected.
"Elsa, don't get jealous of Reiko-chan."
"I-I'm not... jealous."
Elsa hurriedly pressed her hands to her cheeks.
"Denying it while your face is turning red isn't very convincing, you know."
"Ah, ugh..."
Reinhard smiled warmly at her reaction. "From Jin's perspective, he probably can't be affectionate even if he wants to be in an environment like this, so he's just immersing himself in the work."
"A-Affectionate...?"
Elsa's face turned even redder.
"Haha, sorry. What I meant is that Jin is probably feeling lonely too. Dinner is about the only time you two can really talk, right? Besides, Jin isn't the type to do that sort of thing in front of others anyway."
"...Yeah, that's true."
"I can understand why he'd want to finish the ship quickly so he can be free. Even I haven't seen Bell in quite a while."
"...Rai-nii, you ruined it at the end."