"Happy birthday!"
September 28th was the birthday of Saki's father, Toa Eschenbach.
The Jin Family had gathered in full force on Hourai Island to celebrate the occasion.
"Thank you!"
It was Toa's 45th birthday.
"I never imagined I would have such a wonderful birthday at my age," Toa said, with Stearena snuggled close at his side.
"Father, are you saying the birthdays you spent with just me weren't happy ones?" Saki asked, peering into his face with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Toa's face flushed a deep crimson. "N-No, that’s not what I meant at all! The birthdays I spent alone with you were also deeply cherished."
"Kufu, no need for flattery. Your face says it all."
"..."
"Oh, look at little Juliana, she’s in such a wonderful mood. She isn't shy around people at all, is she?"
Berche held Juliana, her daughter with Reinhard, in her arms. The infant was bubbling with excitement, clearly enjoying the lively atmosphere.
"Yes, she’s stopped crying at night lately, and she’s become quite heavy."
"It reminds me of when Marcia was a babe," Rodrigo added, his face softening into a broad smile as he and Vivienne peered at the child.
Meanwhile, Reinhard stood to the side, wine glass in hand, chatting with Jin.
"Jin, since everyone is gathered here, I assume you have some news to share?"
"Yeah, of course. We’ve discovered a few new facts. I was planning to talk about them once the banquet settles down."
"I’m looking forward to it."
The feast continued in a peaceful, harmonious atmosphere. The highlight of the meal was unagi no kabayaki—grilled eel.
"Something smells incredible," Saki noted, her sharp nose picking up the scent.
"Thank you for waiting."
A moment later, the Golem Maids arrived, carrying platters of the kabayaki.
"Oh, oh! What is this!?"
"Is it... fish?"
"It has a soy sauce-based glaze."
"The aroma is so savory..."
As the guests looked on with surprise and curiosity, Jin began his explanation.
"This is a dish called 'kabayaki.' You take a long, thin fish, butterfly it, and grill it plain first to render out the excess fat. Then you brush on a sauce and grill it again."
"A long, thin fish... I wonder what species it is?" Goose pondered, tilting his head.
"I-It is a fish, right? It's not a snake, is it?" Saki asked, seeking reassurance as she imagined the worst.
"It’s definitely a fish," Jin replied with a reassuring nod. "This fish is an 'unagi.' It isn't a dragonic eel, don't worry. The Mermaid Squad found them in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere and sent them over to us."
"Heh, from the Southern Hemisphere..." Goose looked eager to hear more.
"Well, please, give it a try. If you like, it’s even more delicious if you sprinkle some of this Japanese pepper powder on it."
"Ah, is that the herb we found on Fusou Island the other day?" Saki asked, remembering their trip.
"Exactly. These are the seeds, ground into a fine powder."
"Oh, it has such a lovely fragrance," Beena said, her nose wiggling as she leaned in.
"It’s quite nutritious, so I think it’ll be good for you too, Berche."
"Oh, really?"
Jin had confirmed this personally using Analyze. Since it looked like an eel, he had taken the precaution of checking for toxins beforehand to ensure it was safe to eat.
"Well then, let us eat."
Toa was the first to pick up his chopsticks. After much practice, he had become quite proficient at eating Japanese food with them. Following his lead, the others began to tuck in.
"Mm, this is delicious!"
"It’s wonderful. It’s rich and fatty, yet not at all heavy."
"This 'sansho' powder gives it such a beautiful aroma."
"You can call it 'sansho' if you like, but the formal name is 'Sanshou.'"
"It really is good! Grandma, it’s delicious!"
"It certainly is."
"And this sauce—is that what it’s called? The balance of sweet, salty, and umami is just exquisite."
Seeing the kabayaki receive such high praise, Jin felt a surge of relief.
"We don't see this 'unagi' on our continent..." Goose muttered between helpings.
Deciding the timing was right, Jin began his explanation. Since they were still eating, he started with the less heavy topics—specifically the biological reports from the South Pole Investigation Fleet.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...And that’s the situation."
After finishing his explanation, Jin took a sip of tea to clear his throat.
"I see. I’m not entirely sure what this 'Ark' is supposed to be, but I agree with the theory that the island was used to preserve biological species," Goose said, backing Laojun's deduction.
"Laojun said he wants to discuss several things with you, Goose, so please go see him later."
"Understood. I look forward to it."
"Jin-kun, would you mind if I joined that discussion?" Vivienne asked, predictably volunteering.
"Of course not. Please, share any ideas that come to mind."
"There is no free ether in the south, right? Is that why these 'unagi' never mutated into magical beasts?"
Lishia’s question came from her personal experience. In the Great Shama Marshland in the eastern part of the Klein Kingdom, the rivers flow into Lake Manuse. The dragonic eels that live there are herbivores, yet they are magical beasts that grow up to three meters long. Because they possess weak magical power, their hides are prized as materials for magic tools. Being from the Klein Kingdom, Lishia was very familiar with them.
"It’s possible that dragonic eels are simply normal eels that underwent a mutation," Goose suggested.
"That makes sense."
"Since we can't cover the entire continent yet, it remains uninvestigated, but I’m expanding the Sky squad. We should have more information soon. If you're interested, you can check in with Laojun in a few days."
With that, the talk about the South Pole Investigation Fleet concluded.
"Also, regarding something that happened very recently..."
Jin proceeded to tell them about the Bandit Group and Lance. Elsa stepped in to provide supplementary details throughout the story.
"I see... I had heard rumors about that. So it’s been settled, then," Reinhard said with a firm nod. "However, the automata named Lance and those researchers living in hiding certainly catch my interest."
"Yeah. I’ve left the details to Her Majesty—or rather, Minister Degauss is handling it."
"They possess Warp Gate technology, don't they? If that can be commercialized, it will revolutionize transportation and trade."
Jin expressed both agreement and skepticism toward Reinhard's outlook.
"I don't think it will be that simple. To be honest, their Warp Gates were built to function in high free ether concentrations, so they won't work properly in the current world as they are."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. Because of that, they’ll likely only be placed at key strategic points, and their use will be restricted to a permit system."
They were inferior to the Warp Gates Jin used. Nevertheless, the revival of a technology lost since the Great Magic War was a significant step forward.
"It will probably take a long time to spread, too. The primary components are dark-attribute magi-crystals, and those are incredibly rare to find under normal circumstances."
The dark-attribute had a profound influence on space, but perhaps because of that power, they were almost never found in mines—even though they were unearthed in abundance from beneath Hourai Island. Jin suspected this was also linked to the local free ether singularity.
In this manner, the exchange of information proceeded smoothly.