June 11th.
After a leisurely breakfast, the members of the Jin Family returned to their respective bases.
Only Jin and Elsa remained.
"It’s gotten quiet again."
"Mm... Now, it's just the two of us again."
Elsa plucked at the sleeve of Jin’s clothes with her fingertips.
"Yeah. This is precious time."
Jin smiled and drew Elsa close, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"I’ll need to think about our next steps... but before that, shall we go for a walk?"
"Okay."
The weather that day was overcast, a rarity for Hourai Island in early summer.
Accompanied by Reiko and Edgar, Jin and Elsa headed for Tatsumi Bay. Rather than walking, they traveled in a barrier cushion car with Reiko at the wheel.
However, this wasn't the space-faring model, but one built to Hourai Island specifications.
"Is this the prototype from before?" Elsa asked.
"That’s right. I had to add several functions to the version we’ll use in space, so I modified this one for everyday use."
Since it would have been a waste to let the completed prototype sit idle, Jin had converted it into something resembling a convertible.
Its standard top speed was fifty kilometers per hour. In an emergency, it could reach double that, but security was in place so that the dangerous speed of one hundred kilometers per hour could only be reached when Reiko was driving.
Since Reiko was driving today, they could have reached those higher speeds, but Jin wanted a relaxing day and instructed her to keep it around forty kilometers per hour.
And so, Jin and Elsa headed toward the sea, savoring their quiet time together.
The road stretching along the river was roughly forty kilometers long. After about an hour, the ocean finally came into view.
"I feel like it’s been a long time since I last saw the sea."
"We’ve been in a rush for a while now, after all."
They parked the barrier cushion car on the beach and walked toward the water's edge.
"It’s calm today."
Perhaps the lack of wind was why the sky remained overcast.
"Father, shall I prepare a rug for you?" Reiko asked.
"Ah, please."
Reiko brought out a rug—an authentic one woven from igusa (or a material very much like it). She spread it out on the sand, and Jin and Elsa lay down.
Though it was cloudy and not particularly bright, Reiko still showed remarkable foresight.
"I have this as well, for UV protection."
She set up a folding sunshade.
"Ah, thank you."
The scent of the igusa was soothing. Lying there in silence, the two of them eventually drifted off into a nap.
"Father, Elsa-sama, it is time to wake up."
The two of them opened their eyes at Reiko’s call.
"Ah... I slept well."
"It is already noon. What would you like to do about lunch?"
If they wanted to return to the laboratory, there was a Warp Gate nearby. It was primarily used for transporting seafood caught at Tatsumi Bay.
"Let’s see... I think I’d like to eat here."
At some point, the thin clouds had cleared, leaving a brilliant blue sky.
"I thought you might say that. I shall contact Soleil and Luna."
As expected, Reiko knew Jin’s personality perfectly. Within five minutes, Soleil and Luna arrived via the Warp Gate.
Soleil carried a basket and a water flask, while Luna brought a small parcel.
"Good work," Reiko said, thanking the two before all three began preparing the meal.
A folding table and chairs emerged from Luna’s parcel. Soleil’s basket contained sandwiches, and the flask was filled with chilled citran juice, which she poured into waiting glasses.
"You guys are certainly prepared."
Jin was impressed, and Elsa looked equally delighted.
Lunch by the shore, with a soft sea breeze blowing across the sand, felt exceptional.
＊ ＊ ＊
After their seaside nap, Jin and Elsa realized they had been a bit too leisurely. They decided to use the Warp Gate to return to the laboratory, leaving Edgar to drive the barrier cushion car back.
"Now then, I suppose I should formally decide on the monorail specifications."
To ensure that standards wouldn't differ between countries in the future, the initial design stage was crucial.
"First, there’s the size of the cars, the track width, the height of the elevated tracks, and so on."
Since monorails are difficult to scale for massive volumes, they aren't perfectly suited for high-capacity transit, but Jin moved forward with various figures under the assumption that this wouldn't be a major issue in a world with such a small population.
Because magic existed here, the requirements differed from those on modern Earth.
While the elevated tracks could be low for now since large trucks didn't exist, Jin knew he had to plan for the future. He noted his ideas down on a sheet of wood-paper, a specialty of Mitsuho.
"...Alright, that should about do it."
After spending an hour reviewing the main points with Elsa, Jin showed the summary to Laojun.
"Could you run a quick simulation on this?"
Jin’s primary goal was "zero accidents."
While achieving a literal zero might be impossible, he intended to strive for it, sparing no effort to get as close to that target as he could.
"The drivers will be dedicated golems, and the control center will be managed by golems as well."
To avoid human error—the result of simple blunders—this was a point Jin refused to compromise on.
Having finished the bulk of the work, the two relaxed with some tea. Suddenly, Elsa looked at Jin across the table.
"Jin-nii, you really are a Magi Craft Meister. You look the most lively when you're making something. I... I love that expression on your face."
The words tumbled out exactly as they came to her mind.
"Eh?"
Jin nearly choked on his tea. He hadn't expected such a direct compliment from Elsa.
"A-Ah... I..."
Elsa was just as taken aback by her own boldness.
In the relaxed atmosphere following their hard work, she had let her guard down, but she turned bright red the moment she realized what she had said.
"..."
For a moment, they simply stared at each other in silence... until a diversion appeared.
"Father, a report has come in from the moon."
At the perfect timing, their attention was pulled elsewhere.
On the moon—on Uni—Anne had been busy overseeing the construction of a simplified base.
"Oh? What is it?"
"It seems the lunar base is complete," Laojun reported. "A ten-kilometer square area has been leveled, housing a control tower, a hangar that doubles as a maintenance factory, and living quarters."
"That’s incredible. I’ll have to praise Anne when she returns."
It didn't sound "simplified" at all.
"Apparently, all materials were sourced directly from Uni."
It seemed Uni held even more resources than Hourai Island. Jin had no intention of touching anything beyond the base they had built, however.
"Now all that’s left is the observation—or rather, the monitoring—of the long-period planets."
To be honest, Jin’s interest in craftsmanship far outweighed his curiosity about space.
Regarding the moon and Uni, he had prioritized the investigation because of the incomplete information he had found, but now that the task was finished and the Jin Family had completed their space trip, his interest was shifting toward other areas once again.