"Engagement procedures... is that what you need?"
"Yeah. I happened to run into Fritz-dono today, and we're supposed to go to Elsa’s family home together this afternoon. I need to give my greetings to Elsa’s mother as well."
"I see..."
Having grasped the situation, Berche fell into thought for a moment.
"In the case of typical noble families, it is customary to have an 'intermediary' or a 'matchmaker' present."
I guess that's like a go-between back on Earth, Jin thought.
"In our case, it was my brother, Mattheus."
"Oh, really?"
Jin revised his understanding; it seemed the role was different from the professional matchmakers he was familiar with.
"My brother was on good terms with my husband, and the three of us used to spend time together quite often."
Berche explained that it was common for someone with a deep, personal connection to the couple to act as the intermediary.
"In short, it's someone who acts as a bridge between the two families and the two individuals."
"Exactly. It would be quite unusual for the man himself to make the proposal to the woman's family directly."
"Hmm..."
If that were the case, the most suitable person to be the intermediary would undoubtedly be Reinhard.
"So, when did you say Reinhard would be back?"
"I expect him to return shortly after noon at the earliest."
The local time was around 11:00 AM.
"Then I'll come by again around then. Could you talk to Reinhard for me once he gets back?"
"Yes, certainly."
Then, Jin remembered one more thing he wanted to ask.
"Ah, also, is it customary to give some kind of gift at that time?"
"Yes, indeed. It is the custom to present a commemorative gift that symbolizes the man's house, though people aren't as strict about the specifics these days. What my husband gave my family was a portrait of me."
"A portrait, huh..."
"He had it commissioned from a first-class painter, of course."
Hearing that, Jin seemed to make up his mind.
"Thanks, that helps a lot. Well then, see you later."
"Yes, good luck with everything."
＊ ＊ ＊
Instead of returning to the mansion in Loizart, Jin warped straight to Hourai Island.
"Jin-nii, are you going to make something?"
Elsa, who had followed him, tilted her head curiously.
"Yeah. If Reinhard gave a portrait, then I'll..."
"...A doll, perhaps?"
Elsa, sensing Jin's intentions, voiced the answer before he could.
"Correct. That's why it'll be even more helpful to have you here, Elsa."
"..."
"Oh, it's not a figure, okay? It's a proper sculpture," Jin said soothingly, sensing Elsa's hesitation.
"...Like the ones you took to the Celuroa Kingdom?"
"Yeah, well, something like that."
"..."
Jin, having a general idea of what Elsa was imagining when she heard the word 'doll,' hurried to clarify.
"I'm telling you, it's a proper statue."
"O-Okay."
He emphasized that it wasn't something designed to accentuate her body lines. He chose to ignore the swimsuits from the Golem Boat Race for the moment.
"Besides, even if it is a doll, I wouldn't make something like that for an unspecified number of people to see."
"Eh, ah, ugh."
While Elsa turned red and flustered, Jin began the preparations for crafting. First was the material.
"Reiko, I need some white or transparent quartz or crystal. Let's see, about a hundred kilograms."
"Yes, Father."
"And then... I'm pretty sure blue was cobalt... I'm not entirely confident, so I'll have to experiment."
What Jin intended to create was a glass ornament. A material made of 100 percent quartz is known as quartz glass; it boasts excellent heat resistance, a low thermal expansion rate, and high transparency.
It would be difficult to work without magic, but Jin had Craft Magic at his disposal.
"Fusion. Purification."
By fusing the blocks of quartz into a single mass and removing the impurities, clear quartz glass was complete.
The problem came next.
"Laojun, we have cobalt, right?"
"Yes, My Lord. We have a supply secured for the production of special steel. How many tons do you require?"
"No, I don't need anywhere near that much... Though, I'm starting to think I shouldn't use the metal as-is."
He was right. What he needed were cobalt ions, such as those found in oxides, rather than metallic cobalt.
"Eugh, no use just thinking about it. First, I'll turn the metallic cobalt into powder and apply heat... Heat."
"Father, it turned black..." Reiko noted worriedly.
Indeed, the silver cobalt powder had turned a dark, blackish gray.
"That's proof it oxidized. I'll add a small amount of this to the glass... Add. Homogenize."
Since it was just an experiment, Jin added the cobalt oxide to a small lump of quartz glass. However, it wasn't blue at all. Instead, it looked as though fine gray powder had simply been mixed into the transparent glass.
"...Hmm, it's not working."
Jin fell into deep thought.
"Jin-nii, how about we break for lunch first? Perido made some delicious soba."
"Yeah..."
With a sense of lingering regret, Jin left the workshop and headed to the dining hall.
"Yeah, this is great."
The soba was made from flour with the hulls carefully removed, resulting in a white noodle. It paired perfectly with the light-flavored dipping sauce.
"The texture is perfect, too."
While drinking the soba water mixed into the remaining sauce, Jin looked out the window. A cobalt-blue sky stretched out across the horizon.
"Jin-nii, is it not going well?"
"Yeah, well."
"Are there things that are difficult even with Craft Magic?"
"Haha, I suppose there are. If I didn't have Craft Magic, I'd have to heat the glass to melt it..."
Jin's words trailed off. He looked down, lost in thought, but before Elsa could worry about him, he suddenly looked up.
"Wait, that's it! Elsa, thank you!"
Shouting that, he ran back to the workshop. Reiko followed close behind, and Elsa hurriedly gave chase as well, with Edgar bringing up the rear.
"I see, it's heat! The color only develops once it's molten! Why didn't I realize that sooner?"
Glazes for pottery also developed their colors through the application of heat. Because of the sheer convenience of Craft Magic, Jin had forgotten that fundamental principle.
"Let's see, I don't have time to make a crucible... Reiko, use a barrier and a force generator to keep the glass suspended."
"Yes, Father."
Like a master artisan, Reiko used the force generator to expertly lift the block of glass encased in a barrier into the air and fix it in place.
Jin unleashed his Craft Magic at the glass floating in mid-air.
"Heat."
He applied heat until the quartz glass melted. It was roughly 2,000 degrees Celsius.
"Homogenize."
He ensured the added cobalt was distributed evenly throughout the molten mass.
"Cooling."
Next, he cooled it down. When he did...
"Oh, I did it!"
A deep blue block of glass hung in the air.
"So beautiful..."
The deep blue looked more like the depths of the sea than the color of the sky.
"There was too much cobalt. Let's reduce it a bit."
To create color samples, Jin made pieces of colored quartz glass with half and then a quarter of the previous amount of cobalt.
"Alright, this is the one."
The version with a quarter of the cobalt was a pale sky blue, a hue exactly like aquamarine.
"..."
Elsa watched silently as Jin worked.
First, he performed 'Add' and 'Homogenize' while the material was still cold. Next came the heating.
This time, a block of about a hundred kilograms was fixed in the air by Reiko.
"Heat."
He heated it until it became soft.
"Alright, Cooling."
One of the defining characteristics of quartz glass is its low coefficient of thermal expansion. This meant that even if the heated object was cooled rapidly, it wouldn't crack.
"It's done."
"Wow, it's gorgeous."
It was a brilliant, light-blue block of quartz glass.
"Alright, now I can shape it."
Jin applied 'Forming' to the mass.
The block of glass shifted its shape as easily as clay.
Partway through, Jin caught a glimpse of Elsa's face and continued the transformation.
"Finished."
Taking an unusual amount of time for Jin—a full minute—the work was complete.
"Whoa..."
It was a statue of Elsa, about one meter tall, wearing a dress with a long, flowing skirt.