"Well, that completes it."
The day after Saki's birthday, back on Hourai Island.
While Saki and Goose were beginning their investigation into the ground spiders, Jin had put the finishing touches on Konron 3.
Laojun had anticipated Jin’s needs and handled the groundwork, speeding up the final assembly significantly.
"It looks exactly like Konron 2," Elsa remarked.
As she noted, Jin had intentionally designed Konron 3 to look identical to its predecessor. However, it was a true spaceship—at least in design.
That said, taking it into space at this stage was still fraught with issues. For now, it was a vessel limited to atmospheric flight, though calling it a "spaceship" at this stage was perhaps a bit of a stretch.
Its primary advantages lay in its cruising speed, stability, cargo capacity, and safety. Under normal conditions, it felt much the same as the previous model, but the true differences would manifest in a crisis.
In terms of speed, it was capable of reaching supersonic speeds of Mach 5 within the atmosphere. Unlike Konron 2, which relied on helium for buoyancy, both its lift and propulsion were handled entirely by force generators.
Normally, passengers would board the gondola attached to the lower part of the balloon-shaped hull, but the ship also featured an internal cabin within the hull itself, which would serve as the cockpit during supersonic travel.
Because the vessel was heavier, its stability against the wind was in a different league entirely, and its cargo capacity had also increased. The core concept for Konron 3 was to use it for regular travel while gathering various sets of test data.
Meanwhile, progress on the actual 300-meter spaceship was sitting at about sixty percent. The hull was already complete; its massive bulk towered inside the giant shipbuilding dock at the Spaceport behind the laboratory. It was supported by twelve landing legs that could extend and retract like telescopes, allowing the ship to remain level even on uneven terrain.
"My Lord, we are currently in the process of installing the propulsion systems," Laojun explained to Jin, Elsa, and Reiko as they arrived for an inspection.
"Yeah, I'm glad to see it's going smoothly."
"Yes. We are taking extra care with every step of the assembly this time."
"What’s the status of the interior?"
"The floor divisions are complete, so you may tour the inside. However, you will have to move between levels on foot for now."
Reiko immediately stepped up to Jin’s side. "Father, I will take you up with my force generator."
"Hmm... Well, I’ll count on you then."
"Yes, please leave it to me!"
With a quick nod, Reiko embraced Jin from behind, pulling him close. She then activated her force generator.
"Now then, here we go."
"O-Okay."
"Have a safe trip," Elsa called out with a smile, waving them off.
Jin felt his body lift gently. Though Reiko was carrying him, it didn't feel like he was being hauled up; she had expanded the field of her force generator just enough to envelop him as well.
They started their tour from the lowest level.
"The bulkheads haven't been installed yet, I see."
"It appears so, Father."
The floors and ceilings were mostly finished, but the lack of internal walls gave the space a hollow, cavernous feel. Rising through a shaft intended for a future elevator, Jin and Reiko ascended to the next level.
"This was planned to be a warehouse, right?"
"Yes. I intend to store repair materials and spare magic tools here."
Since nothing had been moved in yet, there was virtually nothing to see. They continued their ascent.
"Another warehouse level?"
"Yes. But a portion of this one will serve as a hangar for ship-borne craft."
"You mean the ones you created previously, Father?"
"That’s right."
Still, the view was desolate and empty. They passed through that floor as well. On the next level up, some equipment had already been moved in.
"So the water tanks and food storage will be on this floor."
"It would seem so."
Water would be recycled using Cleanup and Sterilization, but some loss was inevitable. Furthermore, the idea of recycling wastewater for meals wasn't particularly good for one's mental health, so Jin insisted on a more-than-sufficient reserve.
"I’m also thinking of building a plant factory here."
"A plant factory?"
"Yeah. I want to be able to harvest fresh vegetables and fruits—and eventually rice and wheat too."
"Total self-sufficiency, then."
"Well, the general rule will still be one meal a day."
Even so, it would be a revolutionary step if a spaceship could produce its own food. Additionally, the plants would help manage the ship's carbon dioxide levels.
After passing through several more levels, they reached the exact center of the ship.
"Welcome, My Lord."
The voice of Taisei, the ship's magi-brain, echoed through the space.
"Taisei. How are things looking?"
"Splendid, My Lord. Since the Magilink extends across the entire vessel, I am currently working to familiarize myself with every detail."
Because mithril had been added to almost all the ship's alloys, forming the Magilink network was exceptionally easy.
"The propulsion systems are currently being installed. Force generators... they are magnificent Magi Machines. By monitoring the entire construction process, I will be able to provide precise instructions when repairs are eventually required," Taisei explained. "Except for the command room, this central level consists almost entirely of force generators and magi reactors. A gravity control magi-device is also partially installed here; it will be used to compensate for acceleration pressure and generate 1G of internal gravity."
"I see."
Jin was familiar with the blueprints, but hearing it described aloud deepened his understanding.
"The level directly above this is scheduled to house life-support systems, the infirmary, valuables storage, and barrier projectors," Taisei continued. "Further above that, weapon systems will be installed. There will also be weapon arrays on the level located symmetrically below this central floor."
Taisei provided a brief summary of the floors they had already passed.
"The level above the life-support section will contain the recreation room, simulated hot spring, and the Repository. One floor above that is the golem standby room, though we plan to have several standby stations throughout the ship."
"Right. Let's head all the way to the top then."
"Certainly. The top floor is the observation deck. The transparent dome features a four-layered structure consisting of Ground Spider resin, cubic zirconia, soft magi-resin, and corundum."
Cubic zirconia did not occur naturally in this region, so it had been imported from the demon territory. Experiments to synthesize it from natural zircon were scheduled to begin on Hourai Island soon.
"The view should be incredible from up there."
"Yes. A dome cover with a two-layered structure of magi-invar and hyper-adamantite will eventually be installed to protect it when necessary."
The materials offered a combination of hardness, toughness, and heat resistance. The layer of soft magi-resin sandwiched between them was designed to automatically seal any minor punctures.
Once the briefing was over, Reiko carried Jin to the very top.
"Oh, wow. So this is the observation deck."
Through the highly transparent dome, he could see all the way to the ocean. Including the height of the landing legs, the observation deck sat at an altitude of roughly 320 meters. It was nearly as tall as the Tokyo Tower—and in fact, the deck itself sat higher than the tower's own observatory.
"I’m really looking forward to seeing this finished."
"As am I, Father."
Satisfied, Jin descended and exited the vessel. Looking up at it from the ground, the ship had a profound sense of weight and presence.
"That just leaves the sanitation facilities, I suppose."
Jin began contemplating how to design toilets and washbasins that could function in zero gravity.
"Using airflow for suction seems like the best approach."
He had a few ideas, so he decided to start working on a prototype.
"The problem is how to test it..."
"We should have Anne help us with that," Laojun suggested.
"Right. Let's do that."
Jin nodded. A multifaceted perspective was vital. After all, the era of spaceship development had only just begun.