The three months of summer—June, July, and August—followed a summer time schedule that made them a day shorter than the other seasons, meaning August concluded on the 29th.
On that final day of the month, Jin and his companions arrived in the Klein Kingdom.
"Jin, ’tis been quite a while, has it not?"
"Not since the World Conference, I believe."
Upon arriving at the Royal Palace, Jin and the others were escorted to a reception room where they were entertained by Princess Lieschen. Of course, the actual serving was handled by the maids.
"So it is....Is Lord Ernest well?"
"Yes. He's currently studying magi-craft with great enthusiasm."
Since there were others present, Jin spoke in a manner halfway between formal and casual.
"Elsa, congratulations."
"Thank you, very much."
"Thanks to you, Father has been mindful of his diet since his recovery. He seems to be in excellent spirits."
"That is wonderful to hear."
As they engaged in polite conversation over tea, another guest arrived.
"Pardon the intrusion, Lord of Kunlun."
It was the second prince, Arthur. It seemed he was the one coordinating the upcoming events.
"I wish to explain the arrangements from here on. For the Eve Festival, there will be a small party in the Great Hall of the Royal Palace tonight. Tomorrow is the main event; you will depart the Royal Palace at nine in the morning for a parade through the city, then return to the palace to begin the banquet..."
"So there is a banquet after all..."
"Well, ’tis only natural. That is the very purpose, after all."
"I suppose so..."
Jin occasionally wondered if any country would ever skip the reception, but he reminded himself that they were traveling to each nation specifically for these wedding festivities. The fact that such a thought even crossed his mind suggested his mental state was quite frayed.
"...And on the day after tomorrow, we have scheduled a tea party under the name of a Post-festival, intended only for the immediate inner circle. That is all."
"...I understand."
Jin resigned himself to the fact that every country’s procedures were bound to be similar.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I thought there might be some kind of unusual twist... No, it’s not that I was expecting one," Jin muttered once Princess Lieschen and Prince Arthur had departed, leaving him alone with Elsa and Reiko.
"In the Kingdom of Egerea, they showed us various golem performances, but that might have been an exception," Elsa replied.
"I suppose so... Besides, I can't really complain since I'm leaving the most tedious part—the greetings from the nobility—to the Doppel."
There was also the added benefit of having Laojun record information on the various nobles of each country through the double's sensors. Jin convinced himself that this was the way things had to be, reasoning that even if he were the one hosting, he wouldn't be able to come up with anything too eccentric either.
＊ ＊ ＊
Then, night fell.
"Huh..."
As Jin stepped into the Great Hall, he immediately noticed it had been adorned with new decorations.
The Klein Kingdom had been pushed to the brink of famine from the previous winter through the spring, and its finances were currently in a precarious state. In fact, they had borrowed five hundred million Tolls—roughly five billion yen—from the Celuroa Kingdom, which had become a friendly neighbor following its own change in leadership.
Because of this, the decorations were not extravagant. However, they were clearly the result of careful calculation and thought.
For instance, an excess of decorations can look gaudy, while too few can look meager. Usually, hosts over-decorate out of a desire for prestige, but here, they had exercised ingenuity to find the optimal balance.
Furthermore, the arrangement followed principles of aesthetic beauty. Specifically, they were placed to evoke a sense of 'rhythm.' At fixed intervals, gaps can make a layout look stretched out, but by subtly varying those intervals, the gaps themselves begin to hold meaning. One begins to perceive 'space' as a deliberate element.
Then there was the use of color. By skillfully combining warm 'expanding colors' with cool 'contracting colors,' they managed to reduce the sense of confinement in the room.
Jin was surprised to see such techniques applied so thoroughly. Having chosen crafts as his art elective in high school, he had heard about these principles in design basics. Despite his own lack of talent for design and his inability to apply the theory himself, he felt a genuine sense of admiration for seeing it executed so well in this world.
Lined up within the hall were ten general-purpose golems Jin had crafted in the past. As the group entered, the golems bowed deeply in unison. Half of the original units had been lost during the secret mining operation at the Inado Mine, so this was likely a gesture to show that the kingdom was taking great care of the remaining ten.
Furthermore, Craft Magic 'Light' was being used to direct a 'spotlight' effect onto Jin, Elsa, and their servant, Reiko.
(This is a new approach... I wonder if this was Prince Arthur's idea?)
Jin suspected the second prince was the mind behind these innovations. Focusing on spotting these small touches of ingenuity allowed the banquet to proceed before he even realized it.
Since it was the Eve Festival, the hall was filled with familiar faces. There were the royals: Alois III, Prince Arthur, and Princess Lieschen. The high-ranking officials were there as well: Chancellor Powell, Minister of Industry Jackson Red Bados, Minister of Magic Clarot Bados Keris, and Minister of Defense Fadas Lofus Fairgram.
The female knights, including Captain Jessica Norton, vice-captain Gloria Allstatt, Cynthia Kirkman, and Tiffany Bardak, added a touch of brilliance to the room even as they maintained security. On the men's side, Heinz Rush, Bernardo Nefra Foster, and Maltah Classe were also on guard duty. The first prince, however, was said to be away on a royal progress.
The Eve Festival was a buffet-style party, accompanied by the quiet music of stringed instruments resembling harps. Both Jin and Elsa felt relieved that they were actually able to enjoy the food for once.
"Jin, Elsa, are you enjoying yourselves?" Princess Lieschen asked, approaching them.
"Yes, thank you for the invitation," Jin replied, using polite language for the public setting.
"I am glad to hear it. My brother was quite obsessed with the planning and direction."
"Now now, Lies, do not go blabbing about that."
Prince Arthur joined them, chiding Lieschen with a wry smile. Jin felt a small sense of relief seeing how well the siblings got along; he always disliked seeing families in conflict.
As he looked around, Jin spotted Gloria standing a short distance away.
(Come to think of it... Fritz—my brother-in-law—asked me to check on her.)
Elsa seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she was watching Gloria intently. Noticing their gaze, Gloria made her way toward them.
"Jin-dono, Elsa-dono, my congratulations on your marriage." After the formal greeting, Gloria raised her wine glass. "May happiness follow you both always."
"Thank you," Jin said.
Elsa, however, decided on a more direct approach. "...Gloria-san, when is it your turn?"
"Pffft... cough, hack, hack!"
Gloria, who had just taken a sip of wine, choked violently.
"M-My apologies. Please, forgive me," she stammered, her face turning a deep shade of crimson.
Seeing her flustered reaction, Jin decided that Fritz definitely had a chance.