"Wow, this feels incredible!"
"Indeed it does!"
Marcia and Rodrigo stood near the bow of the special cruiser Edo, gazing out at the open sea.
At 8:00 AM Hourai Island Time on September 9th, the special cruisers Azuma and Edo had weighed anchor and departed from Tatsumi Bay.
Joining Jin and Elsa on this journey were Saki, Goose, Mine, Hanna, Martha, and Vivienne.
Of course, Reiko and Edgar were also aboard. Aaru had remained behind this time to watch over House Eschenbach.
Other members of the Jin Family were expected to drop in for visits via Warp Gate at various points throughout the trip.
The special cruisers maintained a cruising speed of fifty kilometers per hour using their Aqua Thrusters.
For bursts of speed, they could reach up to two hundred kilometers per hour by activating their force generators.
The Hourai Island Honeymoon Fleet continued its steady southward progress at its standard cruising speed.
By noon, they had traveled far enough south to be roughly level with the latitude of Port Rock Town.
The sun was beating down quite strongly now, so everyone had been provided with the sunscreen Jin had recently finished developing.
"Father, the ocean is so vast!"
"It truly is. Marcia, I hope that one day we can go on a voyage across the great ocean just like this, but on a ship we built with our own hands."
"Yeah!"
Far from being discouraged by Jin’s superior technology, Marcia and Rodrigo seemed more motivated than ever.
This sort of forward-thinking attitude appeared to be a common trait among the members of the Jin Family.
Whether that was by coincidence or some inherent quality, being positive was certainly a good thing.
"The sea is... so big..." Hanna muttered, her voice trailing off with a hint of exhaustion.
It had been four hours since they set sail. Having spent the entire time staring at the unchanging blue marine as far as the eye could see, she had clearly grown bored. It was a natural reaction for a child.
"Hanna, it's time for lunch!"
"Oh! Okay!"
Turning toward Martha’s voice, Hanna gave a cheerful reply and dashed across the deck.
Jin and Elsa had crossed over from the Azuma to join the others in the dining hall of the Edo.
Jin had insisted that food always tasted better when eaten in a large group.
"Here you go, help yourselves."
Lunch consisted of sandwiches packed with a variety of colorful fillings: ham, bacon, topopo salad, and egg salad.
There was also plenty of fresh bread.
A wide array of spreads had been prepared, including Airbeil (strawberry), Apulul (apple), Plume (plum), Brule (blueberry), and Frape (lingonberry) jams.
In addition, there was ornut (walnut) paste, citran (mandarin) marmalade, and maple syrup.
Every bit of it had been delivered fresh from Hourai Island via Warp Gate.
"Hehe, this is certainly an elegant way to travel," Saki remarked with a chuckle as she spread maple syrup on her bread.
"Indeed it is. And since we're venturing toward unknown worlds, my heart is full of anticipation!" Goose replied to Saki’s observation.
"Still, Jin, you really do make the most incredible things. I'm always impressed," Martha said.
"Mm-hmm! Grandma, Onii-chan is amazing, isn't he?"
Martha and Hanna sat side-by-side, happily munching on their sandwiches. Tall glasses of chilled citran juice stood before them.
"Martha, you don't seem very surprised by all this," Mine noted, her expression somewhere between exasperation and respect.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm plenty surprised. But since it's Jin, I’ve found I can swallow just about any shock without much trouble."
"I see... I suppose that's one way to look at it."
Mine had known Jin for a fair amount of time herself, but there were still aspects of his genius that she couldn't quite get used to.
"I’m just delighted to witness the true capability of a Magi Craft Meister first-hand....Oh, this is delicious." Vivienne’s eyes narrowed with pleasure as she took a bite of bread spread with Plume jam.
Jin and Elsa ate their lunch in companionable silence, listening to the chatter of their friends.
"Hehe, you two seem a bit low on energy today," Saki noted, noticing their quietness. "Exhausted from being so lovey-dovey?"
"I-It’s not like that!" Elsa denied, her face turning crimson at the teasing.
"We were just up a bit late last night," Jin explained.
"I see. Well, it's good that you're close, but you have to do things in moderation..."
"No, Saki, you've got it wrong."
"...We just went to give our greetings, and by the time we got back, it was late."
"Greetings? To whom?"
Saki’s confusion was understandable. Since they had already finished their rounds in the Shouro Empire and the Allied Kingdoms, she couldn't imagine who was left.
"To the demon race."
"Oh, right. That makes sense."
The demon race lived on the Gondoa Continent, beyond the Pazdext Great Isthmus. In reality, they were a race who carried the blood of the Progenitors—those who had migrated from the planet Hale in the distant past—much more purely than the inhabitants of the Lauren Continent.
Since no formal diplomatic ties existed yet, their connection was purely a personal one with Jin.
Thus, after the wedding reception, Jin and Elsa had taken Konron 3 to the northern lands to pay their respects and report their marriage.
"We intended to make it a day trip, but they insisted we stay."
"Well, I can certainly imagine why."
Saki understood. She had spent a few days in the demon territory herself when she went searching for the skin of an Ancient Dragon.
The demons felt a massive debt of gratitude toward Jin, and the trust they placed in him was absolute.
"Hehe, in that case, tell us what happened!"
"Oh, I want to hear too!" Hanna chimed in.
"I'd love to hear the story," Vivienne added, her ears perking up at the mention of the demons.
Marcia and Rodrigo joined the circle as well. "We’re interested too!"
"Well, since everyone is so curious, let's listen while we have our post-meal tea," Martha suggested.
Everyone nodded in agreement, quickly finishing off the last of their sandwiches and bread.
They drained their juices, gave their thanks for the meal, and lunch officially concluded.
The maid golems cleared the table and returned with glasses of chilled sencha.
Being near the equator, the outside temperature was around thirty-three degrees Celsius. Even though the ship’s interior was climate-controlled to about twenty-seven degrees, the cold tea was a welcome treat.
"Well then, where should I begin?" Jin took a sip of his tea and began to speak.
"On September 6th, the post-festival in the Kingdom of Franz ended. We’d fulfilled our obligations to all the human nations, but we hadn't reported to the demons yet. So, Elsa and I decided to go pay them a visit."
"Yes. The post-festival in the Kingdom of Franz was a very modest affair, so we weren't particularly tired. We decided to head out the very next day," Elsa added, picking up the thread of the story.
"And when we got there, they gave us an incredible welcome. We meant to be back the same day, but it turned into an overnight stay."
"Come on, tell us the details!" Vivienne urged, leaning in with interest.
"I'm getting to that."
Jin nodded and slowly began to recount the events.