"Here you go."
"Thank you."
While Jin and the others waited for Marcia in the workshop's reception area, the girl from the shop served them Kuhe.
"Are you part of the workshop staff as well?" Jin asked.
The girl nodded.
"Yes, my name is Jeremy. I've been working here since this summer."
"And that man from earlier?"
Taking the opportunity, Jin decided to ask about the man who had first greeted them.
"That's Baccus-san. He’s in charge of sales."
"Thank you."
As Jin thanked her, the girl named Jeremy stared intently at him before asking an unexpected question.
"Um, I apologize if I'm mistaken, but would your name happen to be Jin-san?"
"Yes, I'm Jin."
The moment he confirmed it, Jeremy’s face lit up with joy.
"I knew it! Um, I watched the race! I remembered your face! It’s such an honor to meet you! Then that must mean the lady over there is Reiko-san!"
"Indeed I am," Reiko replied.
"Wow! I was right!"
Watching Jeremy’s excitement, Jin figured the "race" she meant was the Golem Boat Race; there really wasn't any other possibility.
"You also built the Cygnus out front, didn't you, Jin-san?"
"Ah, yeah."
"I knew it!...Baccus-san! Baccus-san!"
Jeremy hurried out, practically buzzing with energy.
"...She's certainly a lively one," Jin muttered.
"She is," Reiko agreed.
Jin felt a bit exasperated, while Rodrigo sat there, looking somewhat overwhelmed by the sudden burst of energy.
However, the source of the commotion returned almost immediately.
"Ooooh, so it really was Jin-san!"
It was the man from before. He had dark blond hair and green eyes, and appeared to be roughly the same age as Jin.
"My name is Baccus. I handle the sales side of things, but I hope to become a shipwright myself one day."
Baccus introduced himself with a bow.
"But man, to think the 'J' and 'R' of Team MJR would actually be here... I'm so moved!"
Even Baccus was gushing now. It turned out that both he and Jeremy had watched the Golem Boat Race and had been deeply inspired by their overwhelming victory.
"That overtake on the way back from Io Island was incredible!"
"And the speed! You never gave up the lead once you hit the front! It was amazing!"
"...Thanks."
For a while, Jin endured their praise and answered their many questions. By the time they finished, it was already noon.
"...She's late," Jeremy muttered, her excitement fading into concern. Baccus nodded, his expression mirroring hers.
"What kind of outing was this, exactly?" Rodrigo asked.
Jeremy and Baccus glanced at each other before turning to Jin.
"Um, Jin-san, who is this gentleman?"
"He's an acquaintance of mine—"
Before Jin could finish, Rodrigo introduced himself.
"I am Rodrigo, a shipwright. I arrived in town just the other day aboard the Bernstein."
"What! The Bernstein! That massive ship from the Shouro Empire!"
"I should have known he’d be an acquaintance of yours, Jin-san!"
Accepting the explanation, the two seemed to relax and decided to speak more openly.
"This is still technically a secret, so please don't tell anyone else," Baccus prefaced before beginning his explanation.
About three months ago, a rumor reached them.
It claimed that the Celuroa Kingdom was building a massive vessel—one capable of long-distance, long-duration voyages while carrying an enormous amount of cargo.
Hearing that, Marcia had been fired up.
"I don't know how far a private workshop can go, but I'm not going to lose to them!" she had declared.
She then spent about a month designing a new type of ship.
After another month and a half of construction, Marcia had finished it.
For the past two weeks, she had been out conducting sea trials and making improvements to the prototype.
"Hmm. Do you mind if I ask what kind of ship it is?"
Baccus looked at Jin, then at Rodrigo. He was clearly hesitating.
"Do you know who originally came up with the design for the catamaran?" Jin asked, deciding to nudge them.
"Eh? No... wasn't it Manager Marcia or you, Jin-san?"
It seemed Marcia hadn't told her staff anything about her father.
"No. Actually, it was Rodrigo-san here."
"What! R-really!?"
"I’ve never heard that before!"
The two were stunned. However, revealing the connection was clearly the right move; Baccus went and fetched the blueprints for the new ship.
Jin and Rodrigo leaned over the wooden board where the drawings had been etched.
"This is..."
It was a trimaran. The design was remarkably similar to the Hydro and Stream models Jin had put into use on Hourai Island.
"The power source... is a paddlewheel drive."
A paddlewheel was mounted to the rear of the central hull. According to the diagrams, a golem would provide the power.
The concept was for the golem to act as both the engine and the crew.
"I see. It's about... eight meters long. It even has a cabin for the pilot to sleep in."
"Jin-dono, is it truly possible to move a vessel this size with just a single golem?"
It was a practical question from Rodrigo.
However, Jin knew exactly what Arrow—the golem he had built specifically for Marcia—was capable of.
Furthermore, he had doubled her output just before they parted ways.
"...It can move it," Jin replied. But despite his words, his mind was far from calm.
"That said, with this specific structure, if you try to drive a paddlewheel like this, the belt won't hold up—even if the wheel and bearings do."
"Yes, that's why we're using two belts and carrying spares on board," Baccus explained.
"I see. But..."
That wasn't the only concern.
"What’s the backup propulsion system?"
Jin wanted to know if there was a way to move the ship if the paddlewheel failed.
In Jin's own experience, when an axle had snapped on an impromptu paddleboat, he had used Craft Magic to transform the wheel into a paddle. But that was only possible because Reiko had been there; normally, a ship required an independent backup system.
At the very least, it should carry a lifeboat.
But what about Marcia?
"Well..."
Seeing the hesitant expressions on Jeremy and Baccus’s faces, Jin realized there was no emergency propulsion.
"That’s dangerous..."
He wasn't saying an accident would happen, but the possibility was enough to make him uneasy.
"S-she’s always made it back exactly on schedule until now!" Jeremy added, trying to be helpful, but it only served to emphasize the fact that she was late this time.
"Jin-dono, Marcia is..."
Rodrigo looked sick with worry. In the heavy silence, Reiko spoke up.
"Are you familiar with 'ocean currents'?"
The response she received was blank.
"Ocean currents? You mean the sea moving?...No, I've never heard of that."
"The ocean just goes in and out with the tide, doesn't it?"
Hearing that, Jin felt a jolt of alarm.
A warm current originated near the equator, brushed past the peninsula of the Kingdom of Elias, and flowed north toward the waters of Kunlun Island and Hourai Island.
However, because of the islands south of the Elias Peninsula—further south than the equator—the flow was diverted. Around Io Island, the current was so weak it was almost imperceptible.
But in the waters east of Io Island, exactly where Marcia was likely heading, the current’s strength increased dramatically.
In other words, a powerful warm current flowed from south to north right in her path.
"If she got caught in that..."
Even with the Arrow he had built, pushing an eight-meter ship against a heavy current would be a struggle. And if the drive mechanism wasn't operating at peak efficiency, it might be impossible.
A dark premonition gripped Jin. Without a word of explanation, he turned and dashed out the door.