The next day, Jin visited Marcia's workshop accompanied by Elsa.
Reinhard was still occupied with his official duties as the chief ambassador.
"Ah, Jin-san! And is that... C-could it be Elsa-san!?"
Jeremy, who was sweeping in front of the shop, noticed Elsa, and her face flushed a bright red.
"Mhm. I'm Elsa."
"I knew it! Oh, wow, I'm so thrilled!"
Jeremy took Elsa’s hands and practically skipped with joy.
"…Eh?"
"I saw the Golem Boat Race! That dead heat with Manager Marcia! I can still see it in my mind even now!"
"I-I see."
Elsa pulled back slightly, overwhelmed by Jeremy’s high-octane energy.
"Hey, Jeremy, what’s all the noise about in front of the— Elsa-san!?"
Baccus, noticing the commotion Jeremy was making, stepped outside. His eyes widened as he spotted Elsa.
"E-Elsa-san!?"
It seemed Baccus was also a fan.
Frightened by Baccus, who was breathing somewhat heavily in his excitement, Elsa ducked behind Jin.
"Er, anyway, I came to give you an update on Marcia."
"Ah, m-my apologies! Please, come inside!"
Jin, Elsa, and Reiko were ushered into the workshop.
"…And so, her condition is much better now. But just to be safe, we’re going to have her rest quietly for the remainder of the day."
Jin finished his explanation. The two had already heard from Arrow the day before that Marcia was safe, but hearing the detailed report seemed to put them even further at ease.
"I see. Thank goodness…!"
"And Elsa-san can use healing magic as well! Incredible!"
Baccus's eyes began to take on a somewhat dangerous glint again.
"S-so, how are Arrow and the Cygnus doing?"
Jin wanted to check on them, knowing he had pushed them quite hard the previous day.
"Ah, they’re in our dock.…It’s right across the street there, facing the water."
Jeremy pointed toward a seaside dock. Since it was their private facility, they likely used it for all their ship assembly.
"Alright, let's go have a look."
"Ah, I’m coming too."
Elsa, clearly feeling out of place with the fans, followed him out.
"Oh…"
The dock was reasonably large, with enough space to build ships up to the ten-meter class. It appeared they usually worked on several vessels simultaneously.
The Cygnus was moored at the very front, and Arrow was standing right there.
"Ah, Creator."
Noticing Jin, Arrow stood up and bowed.
"Arrow, you did good work yesterday. Marcia is safe. She should be able to return tomorrow."
"I see. That is wonderful news."
"How are you holding up?"
Jin was concerned, as he knew she must have overexerted herself.
"Yes. There is a slight looseness in my leg joints."
"I thought so… Alright, I’ll take care of it. First, the Cygnus."
Arrow had already cleaned up the seawater and the spots where Marcia’s blood had splattered. Jin focused his inspection primarily on the drive system.
"…Mhm, no abnormalities here."
Elsa checked along with him and was amazed by the boat's robustness.
"…Looking at it now, I finally realize just how incredible a machine you built, Jin-nii. It’s no wonder Lorelei lost."
Having mastered magi craft herself, Elsa now recognized the sheer absurdity of the Cygnus's specifications.
"Well, I can't really work on Arrow here."
Jin came up with a plan. He returned to the workshop and spoke to Jeremy and Baccus.
"We’re heading back now. I’m taking Arrow with us so she can help look after Marcia."
He gave them his explanation, and the two accepted it without the slightest suspicion.
While Arrow was away, Cattleya and Lotus from the Secret Mobile Unit would guard the shop invisibly, so there was no need for concern.
Instead of returning to the Guest House, Jin’s group, now including Arrow, headed for the Warp Gate hidden in the sea cave.
The group warped to Hourai Island. Naturally, this was Arrow’s first visit.
"So this is the Creator’s base of operations."
"Indeed. Most of our brothers and sisters were created here," Reiko, the eldest sister, explained. It was a rather heartwarming exchange.
Jin led Arrow into his laboratory.
"Alright, I’m going to put you on standby for a moment."
Then, Jin temporarily dismantled Arrow.
"Now then, I’d be troubled if something like this happened a second time…"
Even though Cattleya and Lotus were around, they couldn't accompany Marcia out onto the open sea. Jin decided he would significantly enhance Arrow’s own capabilities.
He used the Hourai Island standard equipment as a baseline.
He replaced her skeleton with 64 light silver and gave the joints an adamantite coating. Her magical muscle was upgraded to the same level as the Secret Mobile Unit.
He swapped her power source for a magi reactor and installed a force generator, though it was a relatively small model. With this, putting aside actual flight, she would be able to swim through the water with total freedom.
To support Marcia, he also enabled her to use a bit of Craft Magic—specifically, at about a quarter of the ability of a Smith.
Since the current Smiths had been upgraded to possess about 70% of Jin’s own ability, even a quarter of that was undoubtedly superior to an average magi craftman.
As a precaution for emergencies, he added armaments. He equipped her with a barrier projector and a Paralyzer so she could function as a proper guard.
For defense against magical beasts, he gave her the ability to use Water Bullet and Water Jet.
To handle potential injuries, he modified her so she could use mid-level healing magic without issue.
He also built in a manacam so she could report to Laojun in an emergency.
Finally, he applied countermeasures against Master-Slave Rewrite Magic and finished the overhaul. He kept her external appearance the same, though he did apply multiple layers of Hardening and Toughening to her surface.
"There, that should do it."
"Jin-nii, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure, what is it?"
Elsa, who had been watching from the side, seemed to have something on her mind.
"I was thinking… maybe we should standardize the golems on Hourai Island."
She proposed categorizing them into ranks—such as combat, guard, or general-purpose—and standardizing their parts and materials.
"Because sometimes, Jin-nii does outrageous things on a whim."
Jin seemed to have at least some self-awareness, as he couldn't help but give a wry smile at her closing remark.
"You’re right. While we can't really set an upper limit, it would be a good idea to establish some standards."
Jin agreed.
"We don't have time today, but let's decide on them soon. You'll help me, won't you?"
"Mhm, of course."
Elsa nodded.
For now, as they had other things to attend to, Jin, Reiko, Elsa, and Arrow returned to Port Rock.
"Ah, Arrow!"
Shortly after noon, Jin brought Arrow to Marcia, who was recuperating at the Guest House. Reinhard had also finished his duties for the afternoon and joined them.
Marcia had already recovered significantly and was out of bed, walking around.
"I heard Arrow was the one who found me. Thank you, Arrow."
"No, it was simply my duty."
Arrow gave a slight bow. Seeing this, Marcia tilted her head.
"Huh? Arrow, your movements seem… different somehow?"
Jin was surprised by Marcia's sharp intuition. Or perhaps it was simply the result of her being around the golem every day.
"Ah, she overexerted herself yesterday, so I performed some maintenance. I did a minor upgrade while I was at it, so that’s probably what you’re noticing."
At the mention of a "minor upgrade," Reinhard's cheek twitched. It was the reaction of a man who knew exactly what Jin’s "minor" modifications actually meant.
Marcia herself didn't notice a thing.
"Oh, is that so? Thanks, Jin!…Man, I’ve got so much to tell you."
"Me too. Let's have a long talk today."
Jin finally felt the reality that he had truly come to Port Rock.
That day, Jin and the others let the conversation flow until late into the night, catching up on everything that had happened.