After spending a relaxing time in Kaina Village, Jin returned to Hourai Island before evening.
"Now then, I’d like to finally begin preparations for the World Conference."
"Mm."
Joining the meeting were Elsa, Reiko, and Laojun, as well as Anne—who had recently returned from Uni—and Taihaku, the magi-brain of Kunlun Island, along with his assistants, Loll and Refa.
"I’m thinking of holding it on Kunlun Island."
Jin had considered a conference at sea, but he felt a 250-meter-class battleship leaned too far toward gunboat diplomacy. He wanted to avoid giving that impression.
《My Lord, how many guests do you plan to invite?》 Taihaku asked.
"Two heads of state per nation plus two guards each. That’s four times six, which makes twenty-four. Let's say under thirty people total."
《In that case, what should we do for their accommodations?》
Taihaku pointed out that the capacity of the Mansion would be somewhat lacking for such a group.
"Ah, I see."
Taihaku noted that it wouldn't be ideal to have world leaders sharing rooms in the Mansion.
"We’ll need to build something like a Guest House."
『I agree,』 Laojun added. With his support, they moved forward with the plan to build one. The specific details would be handled later.
"I’m looking at a three-day schedule, including a buffer day. It would be difficult to ask them for a long commitment right from the start," Jin explained. He intended to keep the event short to make it easier for them to adjust their busy schedules.
"Mm, I think that’s wise," Elsa agreed. "We should treat this first one as a simple meet-and-greet."
"The theme was already decided, so that’s fine. The real question is how to invite them."
"A shuttle service using Konron 3?"
"Yeah, that handles the transportation. But what I’m talking about is the approach itself."
Jin’s concern was that if he simply sent a letter saying "We’re holding a World Conference at such-and-such a place and time, please attend," there was no guarantee they would actually show up.
『In that case, I believe it would be best to speak with the Empress of the Shouro Empire first,』 Laojun suggested.
"Ah, and have Her Majesty extend the invitation to the other nations?"
『Yes, that is one way. However, it is also about stirring up a sense of competition—a mindset of 'if that country is attending, then ours must as well.'』
"I see..." Jin was impressed; it was certainly a clever tactic.
《However, My Lord,》 Taihaku interjected, 《if the main topic is to be the monorail, would it not be proper to first inform the King of Celuroa?》
"Ah, you’re right."
Taihaku had a point. Since Jin wanted to discuss the current agenda and the future of an intra-continental railway network, Celuroa was a key player.
"In that case, wouldn't it be best to bring the proposal to both countries simultaneously?" Refa offered her opinion. "Master has the Doppels, so it should be possible."
"I agree as well," Anne added.
"...I can go to see Her Majesty," Elsa volunteered.
Hearing this, Jin made his decision. "All right. We’ll take the proposal to the Shouro Empire and the Celuroa Kingdom at the same time. Elsa, I’ll leave the Empress to you."
As he spoke, Jin lightly patted Elsa on the shoulder.
"...Yeah. Leave it to me." Elsa nodded firmly.
"Now then, moving on to secondary matters."
Just as Jin was about to start talking about the lodging, Taihaku spoke up.
《My Lord, regarding the monorail, how about creating a scale model in addition to the blueprints?》
"Oh, that’s a great idea!"
Jin’s excitement spiked instantly. To tell the truth, there was a time when he had longed for HO or N gauge model railway sets.
HO was 1/87 scale with a 16.5mm track gauge, while N gauge ranged from 1/148 to 1/160 scale with a 9mm gauge. While the larger HO gauge was easier to work on, it took up more space to lay out tracks, so N gauge was more popular in Japan—or so Jin remembered.
At any rate, the idea of building a model monorail for a demonstration set his crafting heart ablaze.
"Alright, I'll handle that. Now... let's decide on the lodging facilities."
After receiving everyone's input and deliberating, they decided to build the guest house along the coast rather than using the existing Mansion. The image they settled on was a seaside resort hotel—a four-story building with chalk-white walls.
Furthermore, Elsa had a request. "I want a tatami room, too."
Based on her suggestion, they decided to simultaneously build a Japanese-style wing featuring a tea room and a nearby garden.
《Please leave it to us.》
『We shall have it finished within five days,』 Taihaku and Laojun promised, full of enthusiasm.
"For hospitality, the Golem Maids should be enough," Jin decided. He figured he could dispatch the Five-Color Golem Maids from Hourai Island. If visitors became a regular occurrence, he could create a dedicated service staff later.
"Next is the food... I suppose I should make sure we can offer cuisine from every nation."
With the Quinta available, procuring ingredients from various countries was easy. They had already obtained the major staples and mastered the local recipes.
"Father, what about that 'buffet' style you mentioned before? Perhaps that format would be suitable?" Reiko suggested.
"Ah, right. Let's try that for the snacks during the meeting breaks." Jin thought it would be interesting to allow the guests to taste small portions of delicacies from various regions.
"Master, I believe it would also be good to serve drinks during the sessions," Anne noted.
"Yeah, just as Anne says. I wonder if serving carbonated juices would be a fun surprise?" As the host, Jin felt the event needed a few unexpected touches.
"Hmm, is there anything else..." Jin pondered, searching for a treat that no one in this world had ever eaten before. And then it hit him. "That's it—pudding."
Technically it was a custard pudding, but "pudding" was the common term back in Japan.
"Let's see... eggs, milk, and sugar should do it." During his time at the orphanage, they had mostly used instant mixes, so his memory of the scratch recipe was a bit fuzzy. However, since there was still time, he was optimistic that he could figure it out through trial and error.
"Also, fruit mitsumame would be good. We have plenty of kanten now."
"Anmitsu would be fine too," he added. Jin figured that sweets would be the perfect fuel for a brain fatigued by long meetings. "Ah, but I don't know how to make gyuuhi."
Jin had always loved the soft, chewy gyuuhi that came in mitsumame.
"It's a bit different from shiratama, so maybe it's made from glutinous rice flour?"
As expected of a Magi Craft Meister, his intuition was almost perfect. Gyuuhi wasn't made by pounding rice, but by adding water and sugar to glutinous rice flour and kneading it over heat to create elasticity. Adding mizuame kept it from losing its softness even after it cooled.
"I'll have Perido research it."
"Mm, I'll help too," Elsa volunteered, her interest piqued.
Following the meeting, Perido Leader set to work and would eventually perfect a recipe for gyuuhi exactly to Jin's liking.