Saki’s birthday party had been held on Hourai Island. After it concluded, Saki and her parents—her father, Toa Eschenbach, and her stepmother, Stearena Gamma—returned to their home on the outskirts of Banne in the Shouro Empire.
Rather than emerging directly from the Warp Gate on their own property, they followed a circuitous route to maintain their cover story. They traveled with Reinhard to the Rankenhaus in Kalts Village, which sat within his territory, and from there, they made the final leg of the journey by carriage.
Due to the time difference, 8:00 PM on Hourai Island was only 2:40 PM in Banne. With the travel time accounted for, it was now 3:30 PM.
"Welcome back."
Waiting for the three of them was Goose Minakata.
They had told Goose that they were celebrating Saki’s birthday at Jin’s mansion in Loizart. The official story was that they had been flown by airship to a point near Reinhard’s territory before returning the rest of the way by carriage. Since they truly had just come from Reinhard’s land, the explanation held up without any issues.
A modest celebration awaited them here as well, though it was mostly a matter of formal congratulations during the evening meal.
"Saki, happy birthday," Goose said, offering his well-wishes.
"Thank you, Goose." Saki looked genuinely pleased to receive his greetings.
"Young lady, happy birthday to you."
By this time, the Eschenbach household employed a human servant in addition to the automata, Aaru. They had hired help because the number of residents had increased; or rather, they had rehired a familiar face.
"Thank you, Lona."
It was Lona, who had worked for the family once before. She had originally quit in a panic after seeing Saki’s face swollen from a lacquer rash, but since life at House Eschenbach had stabilized thanks to Aaru’s presence, they had brought her back into their service. Lona already knew the household routines, which spared them the trouble of training someone new.
"Thank you, everyone, for today."
Saki was feeling the weight of the time difference, but she was well-acquainted with sleep deprivation and accepted the birthday wishes with a polite smile.
"Saki, this is from me." Goose held out a wrapped package.
"Ah, thank you."
As Saki took it, she felt the texture of the material and realized it was something familiar. "Hmm? Wait, this is..."
She opened the package to reveal its contents. "A book?"
"Yeah. It’s the first volume of the findings I’ve compiled since arriving here. I’ve summarized everything I know about magical beasts. I plan to move on to animals and plants next."
"You’re giving me such a precious book?"
In this era, books were almost exclusively handwritten. Jin had only recently developed a Golem arm plotter, making mass production a distant dream. Consequently, any book was a high-value rarity.
"Don’t worry about it. I wrote three copies at once. I’m keeping one for myself, presenting one to Her Majesty, and the third... well, that’s the one in your hands."
"I see. Thank you, Goose."
Saki then turned her attention to the cloth the book had been wrapped in. "This fabric, though..."
"Ah, that’s called a 'furoshiki.' It’s apparently a tradition passed down by the Magus."
It was a beautifully dyed square of cloth, roughly seventy centimeters on each side. However, the tradition wasn't what had caught Saki's eye.
"A 'furoshiki,' huh? Actually, it’s the material that has me curious."
Her drowsiness had vanished instantly. This was the Saki everyone knew.
"Hm? I bought it in Loizart recently and asked Lona to sew it for me." To be more precise, he had asked Lona to hem the edges after he had cut the fabric to size so it wouldn't fray.
"W-Whaaat!? L-Lona did it!?"
Utterly shocked, Saki stared intently at Lona. The sudden scrutiny made the young servant flustered.
"U-Um, did I do something wrong, miss?"
"N-No, that’s not it. Lona, do you know what this fabric is made of?"
"No, ma'am. Only that it’s a very sturdy material that feels a bit like silk..."
"I thought as much..." Saki shared her own conclusion. "I’m certain this is ground spider silk—GSS."
"Ground spider... What is that?" Lona asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
Goose, however, knew exactly what she meant. "What? Are you saying... this is fabric woven from the threads of a ground spider?"
"Exactly. But..."
Saki began to speculate. If Lona had been able to cut and sew it, the material's strength must be different from the standard variety.
"Goose, do you have any of this fabric left over?"
"Yeah, I have some."
"Then, that fabric—"
"Saki, Goose-kun, that’s enough for now," Toa interrupted. "We’re still in the middle of dinner."
"Ah, sorry."
"My apologies."
The two researchers sheepishly settled back into their seats.
"Now then, let’s properly begin Saki’s birthday celebration."
Having already celebrated with Jin and the others, Saki was eager to finish the meal. Goose was equally impatient, scenting the trail of a new mystery. Both of them finished eating in short order.
Toa and Stearena could only watch them with wry, knowing smiles.
"...So, the fabric?"
"Here, these pieces."
Goose produced a few scraps, about fifteen centimeters long, likely the remnants of the ninety-centimeter wide bolt he had purchased.
"Yes, these scraps are perfect. Hmm... the texture is definitely a match for GSS."
"You can tell just by feeling it?"
"Of course. I’ve handled it before."
Goose seemed slightly surprised by her confident answer, but he remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"But the durability is completely different. If this were the GSS I’m familiar with, you wouldn't be able to cut it with ordinary scissors."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I wonder what makes it so different?"
Saki wanted nothing more than to rush back to Hourai Island that very moment to run tests on this GSS variant. However, Goose was right here. She couldn't take someone who wasn't a member of the Family with her.
"How should I analyze this... Ah, that’s right! Aaru!"
Saki remembered that Aaru had been programmed with basic Analyze magic for exactly this kind of situation. "I really have to thank Jin."
"Yes, Saki-sama," Aaru replied.
"Aaru, could you analyze this cloth for me?"
"Understood....Analyze....It appears to be composed of ground spider thread."
"So it really is the same material."
Goose, who had been observing the process in silence, finally spoke up. "Hmm, so that’s how you investigate things. Craft Magic is truly fascinating."
"It really is, Goose. Jin could do even more with it."
"Putting that aside... why is the strength so different?"
"I honestly don't know."
Both Saki and Goose tilted their heads in contemplation.
"In any case, the chemical composition must be different," Goose suggested. Saki nodded in agreement.
"Yeah... that’s the only logical explanation. That means we’ll need to conduct a follow-up investigation to find out exactly where this was harvested."