"About this planet?"
Reiko parroted Jin’s words back to him. She likely hadn't quite grasped his intent yet.
"Yeah. There are a few things I've been considering."
He had only gotten that far when Elsa arrived to announce lunch.
"Jin-nii, food's ready."
With that, Jin, Elsa, and Saki headed to the dining hall.
The meal was tempura soba. It featured a savory broth rich with bonito dashi and "nihachi soba"—noodles made with a traditional ratio of eight parts buckwheat flour to two parts medium-strength wheat flour.
The dish was topped with tempura made from kuruma prawns—or something remarkably similar to them—and pumpkin.
The broth was a masterpiece that Perido Leader had labored over, and she had also been the one to knead the soba noodles. Elsa, meanwhile, had been in charge of frying the tempura. It was a task that proved surprisingly difficult.
"Mm, the tempura is fried perfectly too."
The secret to tempura batter was not overmixing the egg and weak wheat flour. In the beginning, Elsa had failed several times by stirring too persistently, but she had improved significantly of late and was now challenging herself with all sorts of dishes.
"...I'm glad."
"Elsa’s become quite the cook. She could get married anytime now," Saki teased, joining in on the praise.
"...Saki-nee needs to learn at least a bit of cooking too, or she’ll never find a suitor."
Elsa was a bit sharp today.
"Kuhu, I have no intention of getting married. Being single is much more carefree," Saki deflected airily. However, neither Jin nor Elsa noticed that for a brief moment, her expression seemed tinged with a faint loneliness.
"So, what were you two talking about?" Elsa asked while sipping her post-meal soba tea.
Jin had no intention of leaving Elsa out of the loop. He started with the newly completed world map, mentioned the material properties table Saki had compiled, and finally arrived at the subject of the planet.
"...So, after looking at the results, I’m thinking of launching surveillance satellites."
"Surveillance satellites?"
"Yeah. They're satellites that observe things on the ground and transmit data back to us. For example, if we have images of the clouds, we can provide weather forecasts."
Jin explained their practical applications.
"But didn't you say a launch failed before...?" Elsa pointed out.
Jin scratched his head. "Yeah. Back then, I got a bit overexcited about being able to use Gravity Magic and tried to jump straight to launching a geostationary satellite."
"So it'll be different this time?"
Jin nodded firmly. "Of course. I’ll place them at an altitude of 1,000 to 2,000 kilometers and have them orbit the equator. If we launch at least four, we should be able to cover everything up to the middle latitudes, even if we can't see the poles."
His reasoning was that covering the human sphere of existence would be sufficient for now.
"I’ll equip them with gyro-stabilizers and use force generators, so I’m confident they’ll succeed this time."
"...Mhm, I see."
While Jin wasn't an expert, Elsa’s knowledge of aerospace engineering was far less than his. On this matter, she had no choice but to trust his judgment.
"And another thing."
"There's more?" Elsa looked surprised that Jin was already moving on to the next project.
"Yeah. Actually, this one takes priority."
After that disclaimer, Jin continued.
"Now that we have a world map, I want to install teleportation markers. Eventually—and I don’t know if it’ll be years or decades from now—I hope all of humanity will be able to use them."
"Kuhu, that's very like you, Jin. I think that's a wonderful idea," Saki agreed with a smile.
"I’m planning to pick out landmarks like high mountains, large lakes, or the tips of continents and bury special markers there."
"Special in what way?" Elsa asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Well, if I just buried normal magi-crystals, someone might dig them up. I want to make the signal as weak as possible and use a highly unusual waveform."
"Is such a thing even possible?" Saki asked, looking impressed.
"What are you saying? You're the one who first suggested the relationship between magic attributes and frequencies, Saki."
That conversation had taken place back at the beginning of last September.
"Kuhu, that's right. How embarrassing... So, you mean you'll use mana waves with frequencies either so high or so low that normal people can't perceive them?"
"Exactly."
Unlike radio waves, it seemed mana waves were not reflected by the ionosphere. Furthermore, since they passed through ordinary matter, Jin knew they wouldn't be blocked by mountains or water.
"So, I’m planning to use earth-attribute magi-crystals to create the markers."
"True, it wouldn't be unusual for earth-attribute mana waves to be emanating from underground."
"That's the idea."
Furthermore, by setting the frequency even lower than naturally occurring earth-attribute waves, they would ensure that ordinary people couldn't detect them, thus minimizing the risk of discovery.
"You really do think of everything, Jin."
"It's all for the sake of a peaceful life."
"So, we start with the marker installation?" Elsa asked for confirmation.
Jin nodded. "Yeah. I plan to give the instructions to the Land squad."
And so, the mission to install the markers across the world's surface began.
In the Klein Kingdom, fierce debates were raging over the selection of participants and the means of transportation for the upcoming Founding Anniversary Ceremony in the Celuroa Kingdom.
"We should play it safe and travel by carriage, I expect."
"No, that would be like broadcasting our nation's lack of magi-engineering prowess."
"Then are you suggesting we go by hot air balloon?"
"Our kingdom currently possesses six hot air balloons. Using four of them for this would hardly be a mistake."
The distance from Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom, to Dali in the Celuroa Kingdom was 320 kilometers. From a town near the border, it was only about 230 kilometers.
A hot air balloon traveling at 30 kilometers per hour could conceivably reach the destination by evening if it departed in the early morning.
"However, we must not forget the inherent risks."
"In that case, we shall use both carriages and hot air balloons."
It took two full days of arguing to reach that conclusion.
"Now, as for the participants..."
"I will represent the royal family," Arthur, the second prince, declared. "Liones will be with me as well."
His personal tutor, Liones Ashford, was a native of the Celuroa Kingdom.
"I reached this decision after speaking with my father, my brother, and my sister last night."
With the second prince attending, their external standing would be more than sufficient.
"In that case, we must assign royal ritters as guards."
And so the cycle of debate, debate, and more debate continued.
In the end, the security detail was composed of Rodest Formes, the commander of the Second Royal Ritter Order, and five elite subordinates.
Additionally, Boulton Allstatt was selected. It was decided that his Microscopic Magic Eye might prove useful during the mission.
"Gloria Allstatt and her adjutant, Cynthia Kirkman, are currently in the Kingdom of Egerea, so we are ordering them to head there as well."
"Umu, that is wise. In that case, let us add Jessica Norton to the list as well."
The roster of participants was finally settled. But that was not the end of their troubles.
Since they had been invited to a Founding Anniversary Ceremony, they needed to bring an appropriate celebratory gift—primarily to maintain the nation's dignity.
"...However, with the budget being slashed as much as it is right now..."
"But we cannot afford to be humiliated on a stage where the envoys from the Kingdom of Franz will be watching..."
"Then what would you have us do!"
The worries of the Klein Kingdom seemed never-ending.