Saki, Goose, and Vivienne arrived shortly after.
"Jin, I heard you finished the tele-observation device?" Goose asked as he approached.
"Yeah. Though I decided to call it the Peeper—short for Peeping Telescope—rather than a tele-observation device."
"Oh? Why that name?" Saki asked, sounding curious.
"Well, the truth is..."
As Jin explained the device's capabilities, the atmosphere shifted.
"X-ray... X-ray vision?"
"That’s... how should I put it... a bit intrusive," Vivienne said, she and Saki both drawing back slightly.
"That’s why Jin-nii and I discussed not using it casually," Elsa added.
"Fair point," Goose agreed. "People are naturally suspicious. It’s probably best not to mention its existence to anyone outside the Jin Family."
"But if we use it correctly, we can identify internal medical issues," Jin pointed out.
In his mind, he knew it could serve as a magical substitute for X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds.
"Ah, for medical use. Yes, I can certainly get behind that," Saki said, her expression softening.
"In that case, I'll leave the medical applications to Elsa," Jin decided.
Since it would be used for close-range diagnostics, there were no major precision or structural issues to worry about. It was primarily a matter of usability, so Jin felt it was best to entrust it to Elsa, who would likely be the one operating it.
"Mm, understood."
"I’m going to focus my efforts on developing the long-range version."
"Kufu. You and Elsa are certainly making good progress," Saki remarked.
"What about you guys?" Jin asked. "I assume you've been working on your deductions regarding Onogoro Island and the Progenitors."
"Yes. It’s strictly a hypothesis for now, but we’ve put together a brief summary of our thoughts, including Laojun's logical inferences," Goose said, taking the lead.
"The Progenitors migrated to Ars from Hale after its resources were depleted; that much is certain. However, from what we’ve gathered, the Progenitors were highly individualistic. They lived in small groups—families or, at most, small neighborhoods."
"I see." It was an intriguing perspective.
"Of course, when they migrated, many such groups likely banded together to form towns. Those towns might have then clustered into what we could call territories."
In this context, Goose explained that "territory" referred to a collection of towns rather than a feudal domain.
"They likely never formed a unified nation. Such a rigid organization is something the Progenitors would likely despise."
Jin listened with admiration, impressed by Goose’s sharp insight.
"And so," Goose concluded, "what you might call a vanguard landed on Onogoro Island. They proceeded to terraform Ars, changing the environment to make it more habitable for their kind. That covers their origins."
"I’ll take it from here," Vivienne said, picking up the thread.
"A vanguard also landed in the demon territory. Because the Progenitors are so individualistic, those who settled there probably didn't pay any mind to what was happening on Onogoro Island."
Jin nodded inwardly; that sounded plausible.
"Meanwhile, Onogoro Island continues to collect ether to sustain their environment... and..." Vivienne paused, noting that her next point was a significant leap in logic. "They are sending that ether and other resources back to Hale."
"That was Laojun’s deduction, right?"
"Yes. And the rest is our own theory," Vivienne confirmed. "To build the Heavenly Ships required to migrate from a resource-depleted Hale, they needed materials. They mined those resources—especially mithril—and sent them back. That explains why mithril is so scarce on this planet."
"Aha, I see." It was a bold theory, but it certainly made the pieces fit together.
"Those materials would have also been vital for the Progenitors who refused to leave Hale. Even now, ether is still being funneled back to the moon."
"That’s the gist of it," Vivienne finished.
"I see. It’s a fascinating hypothesis."
"Kufu. There are plenty of holes in it, though," Saki admitted. "Information is so scarce that the further we go, the more we have to rely on conjecture—or perhaps 'creative writing' is a better term."
"I imagine so," Jin said. Still, having this much context gave him a much-needed sense of direction.
"We still don't know the specific reasons or motivations, though," Goose added. "For instance, why send ether specifically to Hale? And if ether is all they need, there’s no reason it has to come from this planet specifically."
"If we could solve those mysteries just by sitting here, we wouldn't feel the need to go and investigate," Jin replied.
"True enough," Saki said. "I suppose you'll be the one to clear all that up for us, Jin?"
"If I can."
"Then there’s the matter of Helente," Goose said, bringing up the final point. "She’s the administrator of Onogoro Island, one of the bases the Progenitors established here. However, her loyalty seems to be directed toward only a small fraction of her race."
"What do you mean?"
"The fact that she did nothing during the Modenu crisis is proof enough. Her master likely isn't even on Ars. When we tried to press her on the subject, she became completely uncooperative, so I’m almost certain of it."
"If they aren't on Ars, they must be on Hale..."
"Exactly. Therefore, she isn't necessarily an ally to this world. At worst, she might not even be neutral."
In other words, if it served her master on Hale, she would likely act against the interests of Ars.
"Understood. Thanks, everyone." Jin glanced at the clock. "Is it that time already? Let's have dinner."
It was 6:00 PM, Hourai Island time.
"Oh, this is delicious!"
The dinner menu featured white rice, miso soup with aburaage, hiyakko, ohitashi, vegetable and whitefish tempura, and tamagoyaki. These were all Jin’s favorites, and Saki and the others enjoyed them just as much.
"Hmm, I wonder if I should learn to cook too," Saki murmured between sips of miso soup.
"Aaru is just so competent that it's easy to rely on her," Jin said with a wry smile.
Elsa offered a bit of advice. "Saki-nee, if you really want to learn, don't try to do too much at once. Learning one thing at a time is the shortest path in the end."
"Kufu. I see. Hearing that from you gives it some real weight, Elsa."
Elsa, who had been raised as a sheltered lady and couldn't do anything for herself at first, had become a truly splendid housewife.
"I suppose it's the power of love," Saki teased.
"...Mm. Yes."
"Wow, Elsa. You’ve certainly grown confident, haven't you?"
Saki had meant it as a joke, but when Elsa simply nodded with a straight face, Saki couldn't help but chuckle.
"By the way," Goose said, having finished his meal first and moved on to sipping hojicha.
"Yeah?" Jin looked up from his empty plate.
"What's the plan for the demon territory?"
"Right. Let's head there tomorrow on Konron 3. This research phase isn't exactly 'finished,' but the ether transfer project looks like it’s going to take a while to develop anyway."
"Got it."
Since they had visited the territory many times before and were familiar with the situation there, the trip felt like a casual excursion.
"I don't think we need any special preparations. Let's just take it easy."
"Kufu. Only you could say that with such a straight face, Jin," Saki said with a wry smile. "Not that it's anything new at this point."
"That's a bit harsh."
Knowing she wasn't being serious, Jin laughed heartily. He felt immensely grateful that he could have these kinds of unreserved, easy conversations with his friends.