"Maquina-dono, thanks to you, we were saved."
"I truly do not know how to thank you enough."
"We shall never forget this debt of gratitude."
Deus Ex Machina, who had been making the rounds at the scene, received words of thanks from the dignitaries of various nations.
"I wish to send a formal gift once I return to my country..."
Despite proposals like the one from Count Guarana, or invitations like the one from Duke Orange, who said, "Our entire nation will welcome you, so please, do pay us a visit," Maquina declined them all. He did not accept a single offer.
Then, feigning exhaustion from the relentless invitations, he led his golems away and vanished into the unknown once more.
Having lost sight of Maquina, the crowd turned to Jin with a barrage of questions.
"Jin-dono! Is it true that Maquina-dono is your senior apprentice!?"
"Do you know where he resides?"
"Can you also create things such as those he made!?"
And so it went, question after question.
Jin merely wore a troubled smile as he tried to manage the crowd.
"I will make those matters clear in due time. Please wait until then. More importantly, there are things that must be done right now."
He parried them gently while stating an undeniable truth, causing the attendees to reconsider their priorities.
"...However, even if we are to take action, we cannot begin without the King of Celuroa."
That was also true. In a situation where the leader of the country was missing, the actions they could take were limited.
While aboard the Konron 2, Jin had received a briefing from Laojun.
There was likely a hidden room somewhere in the Detached Palace where the King and the Crown Prince were located, but they had yet to be found.
If that were the case, the most likely possibilities were a hidden basement or a location entirely outside the Detached Palace.
Laojun was already aware of this and was currently expanding the search area covered by the Land Squad.
Meanwhile, Elsa was busy providing medical treatment to the injured.
The location was the Guest House. This building had remained almost entirely unscathed.
On the other hand, the Guillaume Detached Palace had been half-destroyed. Debris removal work was still ongoing there.
The Empress of the Shouro Empire had also requested Elsa’s help in treating the wounded, and her skills were being highly evaluated by the leaders of each nation.
Among the twenty-one severely injured people, four had life-threatening wounds. With Elsa's current capacity, if she had used the highest-level surgical-type healing magic, Völlig Genesen, she likely wouldn't have been able to treat everyone. However, by stacking Heilung, she had managed to restore them to a stable condition where they only had minor injuries.
Since there were also healers from the Celuroa Kingdom present, she had them focus primarily on those with light wounds.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...Phew."
"Good work, Elsa."
Jin offered Elsa a bottle of Hourai Island's special Persica juice to comfort her, as her complexion had grown pale from the mana depletion.
It was a drink rich in free ether that could replenish the mana lacking in the body.
"Thank you, Jin-nii."
Taking a breather, Elsa thanked him.
"It's nothing."
Jin lowered his voice significantly.
(...So, what about Arshel?)
Arshel, whom Fritz had rescued, had been examined and treated by Elsa in the same manner as the others.
(...Mm, she's definitely a homunculus.)
Elsa answered in a whisper, matching Jin's tone.
(...I was able to examine her in detail this time. She is definitely different from a human. However, her crushed left arm was restored by healing magic. This is a significant discovery.)
Healing magic worked on homunculi as well. This meant they possessed biological tissues similar to those of humans.
(And the Trans Info?)
(At my current level, six was the best I could do. But I tried.)
Elsa had secretly performed Trans Info and handed Jin a magi-crystal onto which she had transferred the data.
Jin accepted it. He planned to have Laojun analyze it later.
＊ ＊ ＊
About fifty meters away from the Guillaume Detached Palace, there was a small building.
At first glance, it looked like a church, but since religion was hardly prevalent in the Celuroa Kingdom—or rather, in this world—it was clear that it served another purpose.
"There is something suspicious about this place," Anne said.
Laozi and Anne had also joined the search for the King and the Crown Prince.
The building itself had sustained minor damage from the rampaging Lyons, but it was sturdy overall, and there seemed to be no immediate concern about it collapsing.
"...Something feels off," Anne murmured.
"Yes. The positioning, the design of the building, its durability... It stands out far too much," Laozi agreed.
"In any case, let us investigate."
They first tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.
Laozi or Anne could have easily forced the door open if they used their full power, but because there were many people in the vicinity, they had to avoid using brute force. They activated Invisible just in case.
"This door must be opened via mana."
"In short, the mechanism that operated on mana has likely malfunctioned... or something to that effect."
They walked around the building and found a likely magi-device located exactly on the back side.
"It seems this is it. Let's take a look."
After a brief investigation, the cause of the failure became clear. The mana tank required for operation was empty.
Magi use their mental waves to gather free ether and convert it into mana. This mana is imbued with the "caster's color," rendering it unresponsive to anyone else's control.
However, a mana tank stores only the parts of mana that lack a caster's color. If it were otherwise, replenishing mana would be a task only the original creator could perform, which would be impractical.
Therefore, although the efficiency is somewhat lower, mana tanks utilized in magi-machines are designed to store and use only the common components of mana—similar to a direct current component in electricity.
Laozi released mana converted from free ether via his own ether converter and began filling the mana tank embedded deep within the wall.
The process was complete in about ten seconds.
"It should open now."
He went back to the front and stood before the door. But the door still did not respond.
"...It is possible that only a member of the royal family can open it."
Laozi had to nod at Anne's suggestion.
Jin had developed security that responded only to registered magic patterns; this likely followed a similar principle.
"If that is the case, this building is quite important. I wonder what exactly is hidden here..."
Although Laozi and Anne were searching for the King and the Crown Prince, their absolute priority was Jin. If there was even a one percent chance that leaving this mysterious facility unexamined would be disadvantageous for their master in the future, then uncovering its nature was more important than searching for the royals.
Fortunately, while there were people nearby, very few seemed to know the significance of this building, so no one questioned Laozi and Anne as they worked.
Taking advantage of the lack of oversight, Laozi began examining the door's locking mechanism.
"Analyze. Trace. Inspection."
He investigated the structure by following the flow of magic. This was only possible because he had just filled the system with mana.
"...I see. This is the authentication magi-device. Normally, one would need to insert a magic tool that serves as a 'key'."
It was not the magic pattern detection method that Jin typically used. In fact, a physical "key" system was often more troublesome to bypass.
However, Laozi was no ordinary automaton. He had successfully navigated security and traps set by the Failure in the past.
"...Found it. This is the authentication module. If I can just trick this... Write In."
Laozi bypassed the authentication section and issued a direct command to the magi-device beyond it, activating the mechanism through a Write In.
While it sounded simple, identifying a specific magi-device and performing a Write In from a distance was a feat that could only be achieved by Jin or those who inherited his specialized techniques.
The door slowly began to open.