Jin leaned against the second-floor window of his house, gazing at the moon. Reiko stood beside him.
Elsa wasn't there; she was spending the evening with her biological mother, Mine, for the first time in quite a while.
It was just past nine o'clock. Hanna had already drifted off to sleep.
Jin sat Reiko on his lap—a small gesture to make up for how little attention he’d been able to give her lately—and spoke in a low murmur while stroking her head.
"That moon is a strange thing, isn't it?"
"What do you mean, Father?"
"The fact that it stays a full moon and never waxes or wanes... it means the moon’s orbital period around Ars and Ars’s orbital period around Celane are perfectly synchronized."
"I see."
To Reiko, who knew only the moon of this world, the concept was something she could understand as data but couldn't quite grasp intuitively.
Jin wasn't an expert in astronomy, but he recalled hearing about things called Lagrange points between the Earth and the Sun—stable positions where celestial bodies could remain fixed. He dug through his memories, recalling a certain famous robot anime where space colonies were positioned at those very points.
In reality, there is a Lagrange point known as L2 on the line extending from the Sun through the Earth. However, if a moon were positioned exactly at L2, it would be in a perpetual total lunar eclipse, forever shrouded in the planet's shadow.
Yet, Uni, the moon of Ars in the Celane System, remained a bright full moon. This meant it was slightly offset from the true L2 position, though Jin didn’t quite understand the mechanics to that level of precision.
"I heard some planet is supposed to pass close by in six months. I might need to look into building a spaceship soon."
"Will you be going into space?"
"Yeah. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do."
There were likely very few boys born and raised in modern Japan who hadn't once looked up at the stars with a sense of longing.
"Though I suppose I should make sure my feet are firmly on the ground first."
With the mysteries beneath the surface and the lingering threat of Duke Orange, the world was still far too unstable.
"But I don’t think you need to limit yourself, Father," Reiko advised. "Sometimes you seem almost too devoted to doing things in a strict, linear order."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You often act as if you cannot start one thing until another is completely finished."
Jin tilted his head. "Really? I feel like I have plenty of projects I’ve started and left halfway. Like material synthesis..."
"Laojun has taken over those tasks, has he not? Therefore, they haven't actually stopped."
"I suppose you're right."
Reiko spoke as if to encourage him. "Precisely. If there are many things to be done, you only need to set the plan, Father. That is why we are here."
Jin gently patted Reiko’s head. "Thanks, Reiko."
"It is my pleasure." Reiko then abruptly changed the subject. "So, Father... what would this spaceship be like?"
"Eh?"
"I would like to hear about the kind of spaceship you’re imagining."
It was a question only Reiko would think to ask, knowing how much Jin loved such topics.
"Hmm, let’s see. Since it would use force generators for propulsion, it would probably be spherical."
"I see. And then?"
"The command room would be in the center. It would need a device to generate 1G of gravity, water recycling systems..."
Carried away by Reiko’s prompting, Jin began to pour out ideas.
"The onboard craft should be something like Pegasus 1. Oh, and it would be good to have various sizes available."
Seeing the joy on his face, Reiko reaffirmed her belief that Jin was happiest when he was simply creating the things he loved, exactly the way he wanted them.
And every single one of Jin’s ideas that night was recorded and stored by Laojun.
The next morning, Jin spent his time playing with Hanna. It was his way of apologizing for being so busy lately.
"Onii-chan, this way!"
Hanna was riding Mint, while Jin followed on Koma. They headed west along the Erme River. Reiko accompanied them in secret, using her Invisible magic for the first time in a while.
After an hour of traveling at a leisurely pace on the Golem horses, Hanna called out.
"Look, we're here!"
"Hmm, it really is a beautiful spot."
"Isn't it!"
Hanna had guided him to a place where the far bank rose as a sheer cliff. The Erme River had deeply eroded the bedrock over the ages, creating a magnificent display of layered stone.
Jin only had the basic geological knowledge he’d picked up in high school, but even he could tell these strata were significant. On their side of the river, the bank consisted of flat, layered rocks—a "rock terrace."
It reminded Jin of Nagatoro, a place he had once visited on a school trip.
"The older kids come here a lot. Grandma gave me permission today since I’m with you, Onii-chan."
The area was certainly more dangerous than the gravel and sand banks near Kaina Village. One wrong step here could lead to a nasty fall.
"Well then, shall we get to fishing?"
"Yeah!"
The deep pools here were said to be teeming with fish. Now that the water was beginning to lose its winter chill, one could catch omasou—a fish strikingly similar to a landlocked salmon.
Jin had brought along some village-style fixed-length rods that he’d modified for increased elasticity and strength. He used ground spider silk for the line and leader, and hooks made of 64 light silver.
For bait, they used river insects found clinging to the underside of rocks in the shallows. Having grown up in the village, Hanna thought nothing of picking the bugs up and skewering them onto her hook.
"Okay, Onii-chan, watch me!"
Since it was Jin’s first time fishing here, he let Hanna demonstrate.
"Hup!"
From atop the rock terrace, she cast her hook toward the center of the deep pool. She didn't use a float; it was a style of contact fishing where one felt for the vibration of a bite.
"I got one!"
Hanna snapped the rod up. A fish about fifteen centimeters long dangled from the line.
"It’s a little small, but they’re delicious when you simmer them."
She tucked the fish into the creel they’d prepared.
"Now you try, Onii-chan."
"All right, here goes."
Jin cast his line into a promising-looking spot.
"Hmm?"
He felt a sudden thump travel through the rod to his hand. He pulled back, and the rod bent into a deep arc, looking for all the world like a crescent moon. It was a big one.
"Onii-chan, that’s a monster!"
Knowing he had crafted the tackle himself, Jin wasn't worried about the line snapping. He boldly hauled the fish out of the water.
"Whoa!"
A large fish, easily fifty centimeters long, broke the surface. Hanna quickly moved in with a landing net to scoop it up.
"Amazing, Onii-chan! This will be so good grilled!"
Jin looked at the fish. It had vivid, oval markings along its sides. It really did look just like a landlocked salmon. This omasou was a close relative of the trout, a fish similar to the Biwa trout that also lived in freshwater. The main difference was that while the trout inhabited lakes, the omasou preferred the cold, rushing waters of mountain streams.
They decided to call it a day once Jin had landed fifteen omasou and Hanna had caught seventeen. They knew better than to be greedy.
"Salt-grilled, simmered... and maybe some smoked?" Jin pondered the menu as he swayed on Koma’s back. "And meuniere... how did that go again? I think you season it, coat it in butter, and fry it?"
He racked his brain. It wasn't a dish he made often.
"Ah, right. Season with salt and pepper, coat it in flour, and then fry both sides in butter. Finally, a squeeze of lemon juice."
Having successfully recalled the recipe, he decided to try it that very evening. He was sure he could find ramon—the local lemon substitute—at Nidou, and if Martha didn't have pepper, he could pick some up at Erik’s shop.
That night, Hanna, Martha, Mine, and Elsa all feasted on the meuniere Jin had worked so hard to prepare, enjoying every delicious bite.