Having taken their leave of the Celuroa Kingdom, Jin and Elsa were racing through the sky aboard Konron 2.
The time was 3:00 PM.
Their next destination was the capital of the Shouro Empire, Loizart. Essentially, they were returning home to the mansion.
"It feels like we’ve been away for quite a while."
"...Yes. It feels like it’s been since the end of January."
"It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Barrow and Belle, too."
It was now March 22nd. They had been away for over a month and a half.
At a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, the 500-kilometer distance would take roughly two and a half hours. Factoring in the time difference, it was 4:30 PM by the time they reached Loizart.
Konron 2 descended slowly onto the landing pad built onto the mansion's roof.
Whether he had noticed their approach himself or had been informed by Butler D, Barrow was already on the roof to welcome them.
"Jin-sama, Elsa-sama, Reiko-sama, Edgar-sama, welcome back!"
"We’re home. Good work here. Sorry for being away for so long."
"Not at all. This is my duty."
Barrow, who seemed to have matured slightly in the short time they were apart, bowed respectfully.
Jin left the mooring of Konron 2 to Lily and Rose, then headed for the stairs leading below with Reiko, Elsa, and Edgar.
"Welcome back."
Belle was waiting at the top of the stairs to greet them.
"We're home. Thanks for watching the place while we were gone."
"Would you like a bath first, or would you prefer to eat?"
"Hmm... I think I'd like a bath."
"Understood. Right away."
After their baths, Jin and Elsa enjoyed their first meal in the Shouro Empire in quite some time.
Most importantly, they had white rice and miso soup made with bonito dashi.
While these were certainly available on Hourai Island, the flavor of the rice was subtly different. It seemed that even for the same variety, the taste shifted depending on the environment in which it was cultivated.
"Yeah, the rice here is definitely lighter."
The rice grown on Hourai Island was chewier. Jin liked both, but if he had to choose, he felt the lighter rice was better suited for sushi or bowls, while the chewier rice was perfect for bento and rice balls.
Of course, Jin’s ultimate preference was simply to eat freshly cooked rice as is.
"Now I just need some nori or a raw egg..."
Jin found himself wishing he could secure a more abundant supply of soy sauce.
"Now then, let's talk a bit about our future plans."
After the meal, Jin sat across from Elsa and began to speak casually while sipping hojicha.
"The focus is on two things: transport ships and automobiles."
"I understand the transport ships are for the copper. I’m looking forward to the automobiles too."
"Right. You were the one who suggested it, Elsa. A Golem carriage is fine, but if we're going to travel, I’d rather go by automobile."
Jin added that he hadn't worked out the fine details yet. Elsa then asked a question.
"What's the status of the spaceship?"
Reiko was the one who answered, as she received periodic reports from Laojun. Since Jin had been so busy lately, Laojun had intended to wait until significant results were achieved before providing a consolidated report.
"The small-scale prototype was a success. They are currently conducting tests on a medium-scale prototype."
The "small-scale" version was an experimental craft roughly 1/16th the size of the final model, piloted by mini-golems. The "medium-scale" version was 1/4th size and intended for Little Golems.
For a full-scale ship of approximately 50 meters, the small-scale version had been built at 3 meters. The medium-scale version was planned to be 12 meters.
"To be more specific, the small-scale prototype passed through the stratosphere and reached the complete vacuum of space. It underwent various tests over three days without issue, which led to the start of the medium-scale prototype."
Reiko concluded by stating that Laojun intended to report to Jin the moment the medium-scale prototype proved successful, regardless of whatever else was happening.
"I see. I'm looking forward to it."
Since they would be venturing into a completely unknown world, Jin wanted to proceed with the utmost caution.
"So, that leaves the transport ship for our side. How should we handle it..."
Jin’s initial thought was to load the copper in the Celuroa Kingdom, take it down the Naudaria River to the sea, and then travel up the river that flowed out of Lake Tosmo to reach Koju.
"Ah, but the Inart River has too many bridges, so a large ship wouldn't fit," Elsa pointed out.
"Hmm..."
If it was just a matter of transporting it to Hourai Island, there would be no problem.
"In that case, why not just procure the copper you want to use here?"
At Elsa's suggestion, Jin realized such a simple solution had completely slipped his mind. They certainly had enough funds. The Shouro Empire was also a nation rich in copper-producing regions.
"But why are you so fixated on copper anyway?"
At Elsa's question, Jin realized he had been keeping his deductions to himself.
"Oh, come to think of it, I hadn't told you yet, had I?"
"No, I don't remember hearing anything about it."
"Right, sorry. Actually, I happened to get some fragments from that Golem 7410 that No. 600012 was using, so I decided to examine them."
"Mm."
"It turned out to be stronger than steel. I was shocked, so I had Laojun look into it more deeply."
The result was a copper-beryllium alloy.
It was a copper alloy containing two percent beryllium, along with a small amount of cobalt. On Earth, this would simply be called beryllium copper, but just like mithril, it seemed that if a portion of the neutrons were replaced by magi-particles, the strength increased exponentially.
"That kind of copper can be mined on Hourai Island too."
Beryllium copper made with roughly 20 percent copper from Hourai Island proved even stronger than that made with ordinary copper, reaching a level of strength comparable to 64 light silver.
"I’m currently experimenting to see what happens if the beryllium's neutrons are also replaced by magi-particles. It’s possible we’ve actually discovered orichalcum."
"Orichalcum?"
Elsa tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.
"Yeah. Originally, orichalcum was a legendary metal from the past on Earth. There’s a theory that it might have been a copper alloy like bronze or brass."
There were theories describing it as a reddish metal, and the most prominent metal fitting that description was copper. Bronze, made by adding tin to copper, was a very hard metal; until iron was mastered, it was the age of bronze tools.
In ancient China, during the Shang dynasty, the word for "Gold" actually referred to copper. Gold was called "Yellow Gold," while iron was known as "Evil Gold"—likely because they could only smelt very brittle iron at the time.
"I thought that if a copper alloy were reinforced with free ether, it might be what was known as orichalcum."
Just then, Reiko interjected.
"Father, it seems your hypothesis is correct. I have just received a message from Laojun."
"What?...Alright, I'll listen to him directly. I'll be right back."
Jin was always quick to move when it came to matters of magi-craft. He stood up and headed for the basement.
In the mansion's basement was a Warp Gate that allowed for travel to and from Hourai Island. Leaving Elsa to watch the house, Jin traveled to the island with Reiko.
"My Lord, thank you for coming all this way."
"I heard from Reiko. What did you find out?"
"Yes. Allow me to explain in order."
The information transmitted via Send Info from the two bodies of No. 600012 had been recorded not in the Jin Double's control core, but in a magi-recorder used for Master-Slave Rewrite Magic.
Because identical information had been sent from two sources almost simultaneously, there had been a significant amount of interference, rendering some of the data meaningless. Nearly 50 percent of the data had been lost this way.
"That’s a real shame."
"Indeed. However, some of the information was unnecessary for the current world—such as the method for creating a homunculus."
"Well, yeah."
Since mental catalysts were not available through normal means, they couldn't create a homunculus anyway, nor did they have any need to.
"What is truly regrettable is that the data regarding the spaceship-like vessels the Origins arrived in was almost entirely destroyed."
"Ah... that really is a blow."
Since they were currently in the middle of prototype testing, having such data as a reference would have been invaluable.
"However, I was able to analyze some of the material data. Among them was a copper, beryllium, and cobalt alloy, which they apparently called orichalcum."
"Oh! So that golem really was made of orichalcum."
"It appears so. As it is non-magnetic, it will be quite useful in situations where iron cannot be used."
"Like if we want to check our heading with a compass."
"Exactly....Therefore, I believe there is no issue in referring to the magi-beryllium copper that My Lord developed as orichalcum."
In this way, the fantasy metals Jin knew—namely adamantite, mithril, and now orichalcum—had become a physical reality in the world of Ars.