Jin and the others arrived at Toka Village before long.
"Whoa! What is that thing?"
"Calm down! I believe that's what they call an 'airship'!"
He could see the soldiers on duty scurrying to and fro in the village below. However, it seemed Lishia had come out to meet them after hearing the commotion.
"Quiet! That is the Lord of Kunlun's personal craft. Everyone, make sure you are not disrespectful."
"...Understood."
Jin couldn't hear the exchange, but he assumed those were the orders being given. The rowdy soldiers and villagers fell silent, and the plaza where they intended to land was cleared. Jin instructed Edgar, who was at the helm, to descend even more slowly than usual.
Finally, they touched down.
Through the window of the gondola, Jin spotted Lishia's face. This meant that she had seen him as well. The rear door of the gondola-style cabin functioned as a gangway when opened. Jin, Elsa, and Reiko descended slowly, leaving Edgar behind to look after the vessel.
"Jin-san!" Lishia came running toward them. "It has been far too long!"
She wore a joyful smile, but when her gaze shifted to Elsa standing beside him, a slight shadow of loneliness flickered across her face.
"It’s been a while, Lishia-san. You look well."
"Yes, thanks to you... I have heard the news. You are to be married to Elsa-san. Please, accept my congratulations."
"Thank you."
"It would be improper to keep you standing out here. Please, come this way."
Lishia guided Jin and the others toward the manor house. The building had been renovated into an impressively grand structure, looking almost unrecognizable.
"If a lord's home is too humble, it can lead to others looking down on them. Besides, the project provided employment for the villagers, which brought a bit of life back to the community."
According to her, her handling of the famine had been highly praised, leading to direct financial assistance from the Third Princess, Lieschen.
"That's good to hear."
Jin could only offer a few common words of praise, but his sincerity reached her. Lishia smiled happily.
"Yes, it truly is."
They were led into a reception room, which was furnished with simple yet tasteful pieces.
"Please, have a seat."
Following Lishia’s invitation, Jin and Elsa sat down. Reiko took her place standing behind Jin. Just then, a young girl about fifteen or sixteen—likely Lishia’s secretary—arrived with tea.
"Here you are."
"Thank you."
The girl bowed and withdrew.
"That girl is also from the village. I am employing her on a shift basis to provide her with work."
I see, so it's like a part-time job, Jin thought.
"You seem to be working very hard."
That single remark from Jin caused Lishia’s face to cloud over.
"..."
"Oh, did I say something wrong?" Jin panicked as he saw Lishia suddenly look forlorn.
"No... I am sorry. It is nothing."
"It clearly isn't nothing."
"Are you... worried about something?" Elsa asked, sensing the shift in her demeanor.
"..."
Lishia remained silent, but looking at her face, even the socially dense Jin could tell they had struck a nerve.
"If you'd like, we’d be happy to listen," Jin offered.
"..."
Lishia still didn't speak at first, but after Jin and Elsa took turns encouraging her, she finally began to talk in a low, heavy voice.
"...I've reached my limit."
"What?"
"I have begun to feel... the limits of what I can do."
From there, Lishia began to describe her thoughts haltingly. She spoke of the limits of what she could do as a lord, the limits of the village itself, the difficulty of improving the standard of living, and the shortcomings of her own abilities.
"...Ah, I see."
As I thought, Lishia is trying to shoulder far too much, Jin realized.
She likely had no one nearby to consult with, and in her attempt to handle everything herself, she was nearing a breaking point. Because Jin himself had once been forced to juggle endless tasks at an exploitative company, he recognized the signs immediately.
"Knowing when one has enough, huh..."
These were words the Orphanage Director used to say to the children from time to time.
"Jin-nii, what does that mean?"
"Jin-san, what sort of phrase is that?"
As expected, Elsa and Lishia both asked for an explanation.
"I’m not entirely sure if I understand the exact academic meaning myself," Jin prefaced.
The phrase originally came from the "Tao Te Ching," a collection of teachings by the ancient philosopher Laozi. Since such Classical Chinese often lacks the detailed explanations found in modern Japanese, its meaning could change depending on the interpretation, though Jin didn't know the full depth of its history.
"To put it simply, human desires are limitless. As long as you are driven by a desire for 'more and more,' your heart will never be at peace. So, I think it means something along the lines of 'learn to find contentment.'"
This didn't mean one should abandon all ambition. Rather, it was a warning against wearing one's heart out by fixating on things that were impossible to achieve or obtain.
As he spoke, Jin thought of the people of Kaina Village. They accepted what they had and lived with a certain calm composure. Of course, they were happy to receive the tools and magic tools Jin made for them, but not a single person ever demanded more.
I wonder if that’s just the temperament of the people from the Former Leonard Kingdom? Jin mused.
"...In short, it might mean that as material wealth grows, the heart must also be enriched."
Jin finished his explanation, mixing in his own perspective.
"'Knowing when one has enough.' That is a wonderful sentiment." A small smile finally played on Lishia's lips. "...Perhaps that applies to me. It sounds noble to say I am not satisfied with the status quo, but perhaps I was ignoring the things I could do while getting distracted by grander, more flashy goals. I was worrying because I couldn't do everything at once."
Having voiced her self-analysis, Lishia’s smile grew warmer.
"Thank you, Jin-san. Somehow, this reminded me of when we first met."
"The first time?"
"Yes. It was when I first visited Kaina Village as a tax collector."
"Ah, that time."
They had crossed Togo Pass with the village youth, loading bags of wheat onto the handcart Jin had built.
"Is it all right for things to stay as they are?" Lishia had asked Jin back then, worried about her role as a noble and what she could truly do for the people.
"You told me that you felt a sense of danger in someone standing above others without having those kinds of worries."
"Ah, I did say that."
"So, I thought about it in my own way and concluded that I should 'do what I can.' It seems I had completely forgotten that. I tried to reach for things beyond my grasp, hit a wall... and began to worry myself sick."
Lishia’s expression was far more vibrant now than it had been only moments before.