After breakfast the following morning, Jin took Elsa, Saki, Toa, and Goose to the Imperial Palace aboard Konron 2.
Reiko was the only one to accompany them as an escort. This time, Hanna stayed behind to watch over the mansion.
"Goose, are you absolutely sure about this?"
As they prepared to submit the application for his naturalization, Jin made one final confirmation.
"Yeah. After talking with Toa yesterday, I’ve decided to commit to this country. I don't have any family left back there, anyway..."
"I see. If that's what you want, then it's fine."
Apparently, Fusou Island didn't have anything like a family register system, so there were no legal complications on that front.
"Look, we're already at the Imperial Palace."
Having finished the flight in the blink of an eye, Konron 2 descended onto the designated landing pad.
The usual security guards approached and greeted Jin. A royal ritter and Chancellor Jung Fowles von Kebsler also came rushing out to meet them.
"Welcome, 'Lord of Kunlun'."
"I have much to report to Her Majesty. How is her schedule?" Jin addressed the chancellor.
"Since yesterday afternoon, Her Majesty has been neglecting her administrative duties just so she could be ready the moment the 'Lord of Kunlun' arrived..."
"Ehh..."
Jin was momentarily at a loss for words, but seeing the chancellor's smirking face, he realized it was a joke.
"Chancellor, that's a cruel jest."
"No, forgive me. However, please spare a thought for me—I was forced to hear 'Jin-kun hasn't come yet, has he?' more than twenty times during work hours."
The chancellor looked truly weary.
"That... sounds like quite the misfortune," was all Jin could say.
The group was initially led to a small reception room. From there, Jin was the first to be called in. Naturally, Reiko went with him.
"Welcome back, Jin-kun. Did you enjoy your trip?"
The moment he was shown into the office, the Empress peppered him with questions.
"Y-yes. It was a journey where I gained a great deal," Jin replied while submitting his report. It was written on wood-paper, which he had hastily put together the previous night.
"Oh, as expected of you. Such efficiency. I shall read it carefully later."
After accepting the report, the Empress handed it over to the chancellor.
"Also, this is a reproduction of a tool I found during my travels."
Jin presented a table clock. It was a wooden housing fitted with the same type of movement used in a pocket watch.
"My, what is this?"
"It is called a table clock. The short hand represents the hour, and the long hand represents the minutes. It's a 12-hour clock..."
After listening to the explanation and peering closely at the clock, the Empress broke into a wide smile.
"This is wonderful! Thank you, 'Lord of Kunlun'."
Jin provided supplementary instructions on how to wind the mainspring and mentioned that it would occasionally need to be adjusted because of minor mechanical errors.
"And it doesn't use magic at all? Remarkable."
Even though it wasn't a product of magi-craft, at the moment, it could only be produced on Hourai Island.
"Now then, I assume you have some sort of request for me today?"
The Empress was sharp as ever.
"Yes, actually..."
Jin gave a brief explanation regarding Goose's circumstances.
"I see, I understand. Since Toa will act as Goose's guarantor, I shall approve his naturalization."
"Thank you very much."
Toa had come along specifically to ask for this, so it was the ideal outcome.
"And they're waiting in the next room, aren't they, Chancellor?"
"Yes. Toa Eschenbach, his daughter Saki, and Goose are all present," Chancellor Jung Fowles replied.
"Call all three of them in."
In this manner, Goose was granted an audience with the Empress and officially had his naturalization approved.
"...That was definitely nerve-wracking."
It seemed Goose hadn't expected to be summoned so suddenly by the Empress herself.
"Toa-san, I'll be in your care from now on."
Despite his nerves, he managed to give a proper greeting.
"Yes, likewise, Goose-kun."
"Since Father and Stearena-san are newlyweds, you can leave him to me," Saki chimed in considerately.
"Oh, is that alright?"
"Heh, it's fine, Father. Besides, I have Aaru with me too."
She had to spoil the moment at the end, Jin thought as he listened. Then, showing a rare moment of bashfulness, Goose spoke up.
"Saki, I'll be counting on you."
"Same here. I'm sure there are plenty of things I'll need you to teach me, too."
With the matter of Goose concluded so smoothly, Jin moved to Kaina Village, taking Hanna, Elsa, and Reiko with him.
They used the Warp Gate, of course.
This was the first time Jin had explained the Warp Gate to Hanna in detail.
"Whoa, Onii-chan can use a magic tool like this! That's so amazing!"
Hanna was frolicking with excitement. However, she clearly understood that this technology was not something she should carelessly speak of to others.
"I'm only allowed to talk about it to people Onii-chan says are okay, right? I'll keep my promise!"
She said this before Jin even opened his mouth. Jin couldn't help but feel that the day he would officially welcome Hanna into the Jin Family was not far off.
Setting that aside.
"Grandmother, I'm home!"
After all, she must have missed her home after a month away. As soon as they emerged from the Warp Gate beneath Jin's workshop, Hanna dashed up the stairs like a rabbit and dove into Martha's arms.
"Hanna, welcome back. You look well. Haven't you grown a bit taller?"
Even though Jin, Elsa, and Reiko had been with her the whole time, she was still only ten years old. Jin figured she must have been lonely being away from her grandmother.
"Welcome back, Jin-sama. Welcome back, Elsa."
Elsa's biological mother, Mine, also greeted them. She had been staying in Kaina Village to teach the local children how to read and write.
"I'm home, Mother."
To avoid disturbing the reunion of grandmother and grandchild, and mother and daughter, Jin went up to the second floor of the workshop, which served as his home.
"Father, shall I brew some tea?" Reiko thoughtfully offered.
"Yeah, please."
Kaina Village was a place Jin truly considered his second home. Drinking the tea Reiko had brewed, Jin gazed out the window.
The wheat was already heading; it would be ready for harvest in less than a month.
Once that happened, he would have to finalize what to do with the girls he had rescued from Lario Village.
Some, like Ru, had been adopted. Others, like Kana, had stated they wanted to marry Rick. Most of those girls were orphans, while the ones expressing a desire to return home were those who still had living parents.
In any case, Jin intended to respect their individual wishes.
"And then there's the spaceship..."
Starting tomorrow, they would move to Hourai Island, and for a while, his days would be spent entirely focused on matters there.
The approaching long-period planet, the mysterious Moon, and Hale—the homeland of the Origin. Once he was capable of traveling into space, there was a mountain of things he wanted to confirm.
"In the end, I still don't know much about the Predecessor."
From this trip, Jin had come to suspect that the Predecessor's grave must be somewhere on Hourai Island. It made sense that the automata that was Reiko's predecessor would have buried her.
However, the current Reiko simply didn't remember the location. Along with the space-time summoning magic used to bring Jin here, Reiko had lost those specific memories.
"If I investigate that chipped control core, I might find something..."
For safety's sake, it had been handled carefully and kept under strict storage.
"There's still a mountain of work to do..."
Even so, Jin had his companions, his family, and the children he had created.
The craftsmanship of the unrestrained Magi Craft Meister would continue on from here.