At 7:40 AM Kunlun Island time, the Konron 3 arrived at its namesake, Kunlun Island.
"Welcome to Kunlun Island."
This time, Jin escorted Lishia as they descended the gangway. Waiting for them at the bottom was Elsa.
"Lishia-san, welcome."
"Thank you, Elsa-san."
The two exchanged greetings, and Elsa took Lishia’s hand, taking over from Jin.
"This way, please."
The Konron 3 had landed in the plaza before the Mansion. There, the Number 100 series of the Five-Colored Golem Maids were lined up to receive them.
"Oh, how wonderful!"
Having visited Jin Castle before, Lishia had developed a bit of a tolerance for Jin’s engineering marvels.
"First, let’s have breakfast together," Elsa said with a smile.
She had prepared a Japanese-style breakfast for their guest.
"Oh, I remember having this at Jin Castle."
As a goodwill ambassador and the lord of a neighboring village, Lishia had visited Kaina Village on several occasions and was already familiar with eating rice.
"...It’s delicious."
The miso soup with aburaage and tofu seemed to be to her liking. She even managed to eat the grilled dried fish quite skillfully with a fork. However, she did grimace slightly when she tried the umeboshi.
"Well then, shall we start with a tour of the island?"
After breakfast, the tour of Kunlun Island proceeded much as it had for previous guests. The walkthrough of the Mansion went smoothly, but when they reached the Jade Pavilion and the Hall of Five Virtues, Lishia was once again left in awe.
"Wh—What are these buildings?!"
The Jade Pavilion was a masterpiece of white and green jade, while the Hall of Five Virtues showcased traditional Japanese architecture set within a serene Japanese garden.
"...Jin-san, I didn't realize you were capable of creating things on this scale..." Lishia said, her expression a mix of profound admiration and sheer exhaustion.
Jin decided to push the envelope further. "Lishia, would you like to see my true base of operations?"
"Eh? Your true base? Yes, I would love to."
She had likely given the answer without fully considering what it meant, but Jin took her response seriously.
"Alright, let's go."
"Pardon?"
Prompting a puzzled Lishia, he led her down into the basement of the Mansion.
"Jin-san? This is..."
"This is one of the powers I inherited: a Warp Gate."
"A—A Warp Gate?!"
Lishia had heard of such things—ancient methods of transportation mentioned in legends.
"Come, let’s head through."
"Wait, wait! Where exactly are we going?"
The Mansion, the Jade Pavilion, and the Hall of Five Virtues had already been overwhelming, and now there was a Warp Gate. To make matters more chaotic, he was telling her they were actually going somewhere with it. Before she could process it, Lishia was led by the hand through the Warp Gate.
"Welcome to Hourai Island," Jin said as they emerged on the other side.
"Welcome, Lishia-san."
"Lishia-san, we’ve been waiting for you."
Elsa and Reiko, who had traveled ahead of them, were there to welcome the pair.
"Wait... Elsa-san? And Reiko-chan? What is happening?"
Lishia seemed to have reached her limit for processing the impossible.
"...Jin-nii, did you explain anything to her beforehand?"
Taking in Lishia’s bewildered state, Elsa shot Jin a reproachful look.
"No, I thought I’d surprise her, so I didn't say much."
Elsa let out a heavy, exaggerated sigh. "Jin-nii, you can be so thoughtless sometimes..."
She noted that this level of shock was far too intense for a normal person to handle without warning.
"You really lack imagination when it comes to these things."
"Ugh..."
Since he knew she was right, Jin had no choice but to take the criticism in silence.
"...I’ll start by giving her a slow, general explanation."
"...I’ll leave it to you, then."
"Mm."
With a nod, Elsa led Lishia out of the Warp Gate room.
"Yeah... I guess I really am a blockhead," Jin muttered to himself, finally realizing his blunder.
About thirty minutes passed.
Elsa never revealed exactly what she had said, but when Lishia returned, she looked much more composed.
"Jin-san, I’m sorry for panicking earlier. Elsa-san’s explanation helped me calm down."
"I—I'm glad to hear that."
Naturally, Laojun had monitored the conversation and knew exactly what was said. Elsa had simply taken the time to recount Jin’s journey—everything that had happened to him up until this point. Her quiet, halting way of speaking had been exactly what Lishia needed to settle her nerves.
"I had heard that Jin-san was from 'Japan,' but I never imagined it was a country in another world."
"Yeah. Sorry for keeping that secret."
"No, it was only natural. With all of this..." Lishia paused, looking around the room before speaking again. "...With all that you can do, Jin-san, you must never be bound to a single nation. You must remain free."
"Thank you."
Jin finally broached the subject he had intended for this visit.
"Lishia, I would like you to become one of us... a member of the 'Family'."
"Eh...?"
It seemed Elsa hadn't gone quite that far in her explanation. Jin glanced at Elsa, who gave him a silent nod. Her eyes said, 'This part is for you to explain.'
"Well, the truth is, there are very few people who know about my origins or Hourai Island."
"I can certainly understand why."
"So, I call those people my companions—my family—the 'Family'."
"The Family..."
"Right. And I’d like you to be a part of it, starting today."
Jin held out a Fellowship Bracelet he had quickly crafted while Elsa was speaking with Lishia.
"Lishia, will you join us?"
"...If you'll have someone like me..."
And so, Lishia officially became a member of the Jin Family.