"...And that concludes the report."
On the morning of July 22, Jin was in his workshop when he received the latest briefing from Nostalgia through Laojun.
"What are your thoughts, My Lord?"
"Hmm... I agree that it’s likely for 'education,' but the objective beyond that is far too vague."
"Beyond that? Do you mean their ultimate goal?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Laojun attempted to deduce Jin’s line of reasoning.
"I see. You are wondering, 'What is the point of providing combat education to a golem?'"
No matter how powerful a single golem might be, one or even a handful of units could not accomplish much on a global scale—barring Jin’s creations, of course.
"That is true. Only someone like Reiko-san would be considered strategic-grade."
Beside Jin, Reiko puffed out her chest with visible pride.
"If that’s the case, the most likely possibilities are pure research interest... or a sales pitch, perhaps."
It wasn't uncommon for researchers to resort to illegal methods in their obsession to reach new heights. Furthermore, if one could create an exceptionally powerful golem, there would always be nobles or nations eager to purchase it.
"That seems plausible. It is a pity that none of the Quinta were stationed in the town of Hohodo."
"It can't be helped."
While the Quinta were dispatched across the world to gather information, it wasn't realistic to have a unit permanently stationed in every single town.
"Still, I’m a bit curious about that armored golem," Jin murmured, his hands never ceasing their work.
"Shall I arrange for the Quinta to investigate?"
"Yeah, please do."
"Well, this is nearly finished."
The project Jin was currently focusing on was the monorail requested by the Celuroa Kingdom.
The plan was to build a two-car set as a prototype and construct a demonstration track for a shuttle service between the Royal Palace and a specific location. Jin would create a few meters of the track here as a sample, while the rest would be manufactured on-site.
However, since the vehicle bodies themselves were quite large, he was still considering the best way to transport them.
"I’ll have to make it a knock-down model and assemble it over there after all..."
"That would probably be for the best, Father," Reiko agreed.
While they could transport a completed vehicle using Konron 3, doing so felt like an unnecessary display of power, so they decided to move the parts in several trips.
"I should be able to ship it out the day after tomorrow."
Because Jin was taking great pains to ensure that the Celuroa Kingdom would eventually be able to manufacture the system themselves, the project was taking ten to twenty times longer than his usual pace.
"Phew, that was unexpectedly tedious."
Having finally finished the bulk of the work, Jin lay down on the veranda of his home to relax. Elsa arrived shortly after.
"Jin-nii, are you finished on your end?"
Jin sat up and looked at her. "Yeah. How about you, Elsa?"
"Mhm. Mostly finished."
"Good work."
"Good work to you too, Jin-nii."
While Jin had been toiling over the monorail prototype, Elsa had been drafting the plans for their wedding tour.
"Could you give me a brief explanation?"
"...Mhm."
Though it concerned her own wedding, Elsa nodded with a slight, bashful blush.
"First, the ceremony itself will be on Hourai Island. The attendees will be the members of our Family."
Besides Jin and Elsa, the list included Mine, Reinhard and Berche, Toa and Stearena, Saki, Vivienne, Marcia, Rodrigo and his daughter, and Milowina.
"Plus Hanna-chan, Count Kuzuma, and Beena."
"Yeah, I have no objections to that."
Holding the ceremony on Hourai Island—Jin’s "place of beginnings"—felt most appropriate to him.
"The issue was the tour to report our marriage to the various nations. I had a hard time deciding on the order."
"I bet..."
Jin now had acquaintances across the Allied Kingdoms, and nearly all of them were high-ranking nobles or royalty.
"I decided to visit them in the order that would likely cause the least amount of friction."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Jin had shared the same concern; he didn't want to imply favoritism or a hierarchy of importance based on the order of their visits.
"So, what is the order?"
"The order in which Jin-nii met them."
"Huh?"
Jin had assumed she would prioritize the depth of their connections, starting with her own home, the Shouro Empire.
"No, it's chronological. So, Kaina Village is first."
"Oh, I see..."
"Next, I was torn between the Kingdom of Egerea and the Kingdom of Elias, but since Beena and Count Kuzuma are attending the ceremony, I decided on the Kingdom of Elias."
Elsa added that they would visit the capital rather than Port Rock Town.
"So, the order after that will be the Kingdom of Egerea, the Celuroa Kingdom, the Shouro Empire, the Klein Kingdom, and finally the Kingdom of Franz. Excluding Kaina Village, we’ll be staying for three days in each location."
"Are you serious...?"
Six countries at three days each meant eighteen days. He realized he would be spending more than half a month on an "Exhaustion Reception"—no, a wedding reception.
"It’s just the price of fame."
"..."
Elsa spoke as if to console the dejected Jin, though she looked rather reluctant herself.
"...Maybe we should just leave it to the Doppels..."
"Ah, that might be a good idea."
They considered swapping places with Doppels for the more tedious obligations, such as formal greetings to the local nobility, evening parties, and dancing.
"...Alright. For the most annoying parts, we'll let the Doppels handle it."
"Mhm."
Within the Quinta, there were units known as the "special detachment" who did not have a specific assigned region. They traveled across various lands, acting as scouts or providing assistance in regions where more manpower was needed.
Regulus 22, commonly known as "Derrick," was currently operating in the Kingdom of Egerea.
Following Laojun’s deduction that "Blue Land will likely be the next target after Hohodo," he headed there immediately.
Regulus 4 (Mark) and Regulus 5 (Beat) were already assigned to Blue Land, and the three units collaborated to put the town and its surrounding areas under heavy surveillance.
Laojun’s prediction proved to be spot-on.
The mysterious man and his armored golem appeared in Blue Land. However, there was an unexpected twist.
The man and his machine openly visited Count Kuzuma’s mansion in broad daylight.
"What is your business here?"
Count Kuzuma, who happened to be at home, went to meet the visitors personally.
"Greetings, Count. I am a magi craftsman from the city, and my name is Jix. This here is the latest model of golem I have created."
Jix claimed that he had come specifically to sell his new golem.