The laboratory was completed in roughly six months.
"It’s finished. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself."
Muttering words of self-praise, Adriana tidied the study and carefully enshrined Shuuki’s keepsake, the paper crane, in its furthest reaches.
"Father, I may not know if magi-craft has truly taken root for another fifty or a hundred years. But I have done my absolute best to live up to your name."
With her hands clasped in prayer, Adriana turned over a new leaf, resolved to devote herself to her research in this laboratory to her heart's content.
Since she could obtain food, clothing, and other necessities through the Warp Gate, Adriana was finally able to pour all her energy into her work without having to worry about the outside world.
One of the fruits of those efforts was her work on golems and automata.
In particular, she utilized "magi-fiber" spun from the silk of the ground spiders she had discovered by chance. By synthesizing magical skin and magical muscle, she created automata that appeared more human than ever before, with physical strength exceeding ten times that of conventional models.
And then.
"It’s done."
As the culmination of her work, the automaton that could be called her greatest masterpiece was finished.
She stood 130 centimeters tall—a young girl-type automaton with black hair and black eyes, just like her father, Shuuki Tsetse.
"Ochibi-chan, I’ll be in your care from now on. Please call me 'Mother'."
"YES, MOTHER."
She was, as one might expect, Reiko's predecessor.
With Ochibi as her assistant, Adriana moved forward with her next field of study. It was the "access to different dimensions" that the late Adriana Tierra, Shuuki Tsetse's wife, had once researched.
"This is difficult... It seems I would need an amount of mana equivalent to at least obliterating a single planet."
She realized that connecting disparate spaces required a staggering amount of energy. Furthermore, she uncovered another possibility.
"Waves transmitted through 'ether'... These ether waves might be able to cross through space itself."
This, too, had been a theme explored by Father Shuuki’s late wife.
However, the years piled up relentlessly. As she combed her hair, which had turned completely white, Adriana found herself frequently lost in memories.
"I’ve certainly lived life exactly as I pleased... Well, I don't think it was a bad one."
Despite her accomplishments, Adriana’s dream of making this place a sacred ground for magi-craft never came to fruition. The reason was not recorded in her diary, and it is impossible to speculate on now. There was only one sentence that remained:
"I have continued my research into linking the phenomenon of magic with tools. This laboratory is the culmination of that work. Sadly, my research was not accepted by my fellow magi."
Jin suspected that the development of magic tools for commoners had likely ceased due to pressure from the Church and the prevailing ideology of elitism. For that reason, Adriana probably never found a magi she felt she could invite to her laboratory.
Then, one day.
"It really is lonely not having a successor."
After letting out that murmur, Adriana spent several days recording the sum of her knowledge into a magic tool.
"I’ll record my knowledge into a book-shaped magic tool, and have my image appear in a transparent crystal ball. After the knowledge is transferred via Trans Info, it will self-destruct. Hehe, how amusing."
It was a bit of playfulness from Adriana, who had suddenly remembered Father Shuuki telling her that a crystal ball was the trademark of a witch. With a mischievous smile, she crafted the magic tool for her eventual successor.
"『Welcome, my Successor』..."
With a bit of theatrical flair, Adriana recorded a message for the successor she had yet to meet.
"『My name is Adriana Barbora Tsetse. I am a magic-user, a magi. And I am the world's only Magi Craft Meister』..."
Having finished her task, Adriana looked into the distance as if peering into the future.
"Hehehe... I’d be happy if a successor eventually appears to whom I can entrust this. Someone who doesn't discriminate between magi, nobles, or commoners."
She whispered to the empty room.
More time flowed by.
"MOTHER, HOW ARE YOU FEELING?"
"Ah, Ochibi. I feel very good today. I want to see the sea..."
"I UNDERSTAND. PLEASE LEAVE IT TO ME."
The automaton Ochibi easily lifted her creator and mother, Adriana, and carried her up to the roof of the laboratory.
"Ah, what lovely weather. The sea is so blue. The sky is a brilliant, beautiful azure..."
In that manner, Ochibi and Adriana lived peacefully together.
Then, on December 25, 2432.
"I... think I... can't go on... much longer..." Adriana told Ochibi in a raspy voice. "...Listen... find someone... to whom I can entrust this laboratory... and my everything..."
"..."
The automaton Ochibi listened in silence.
"...Somehow... find... that person..."
Adriana's voice grew even fainter.
"...I'm counting... on you..."
Her voice cut off.
"YES, MOTHER."
The peerless magi craftsman and Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, thus ended her life.
"...And then, Reiko's predecessor, Ochibi, spent about a thousand years searching for me before finally summoning me to this world."
Jin finished his story. Sion and Marikka had tears in their eyes after hearing about the final moments of Adriana Barbora Tsetse. Reiko, standing beside Jin, also looked uncharacteristically somber.
"...Thank you, Jin," Sion said, her voice a bit thick. "I’m happy to have learned about the late Adriana-sama, the revered first Magi Craft Meister."
"I’m glad."
"...Sniff... But Reiko-san was called 'Ochibi' back then," Marikka noted while dabbing her nose.
"Yeah, that’s right. For example, no matter how much you treasure a carriage, you wouldn't give it a human name, right? It was just that kind of era."
"That kind of... era, was it?"
"Right. It seems that even three hundred years ago, they would give automata nicknames, but rarely proper names."
Jin briefly explained the automata of that era, mentioning Anne, Loll, Refa, and Tia.
"Since I came from another world, I wasn't bound by those traditions, so I named her 'Reiko'. Right, Reiko?"
"Yes, Father."
"I see. I understand now. Thank you."
At that moment, Elsa arrived with fresh tea.
"Good work, Jin-nii."
"Ah, thank you, Elsa."
Taking a sip of tea, Jin once again reflected on the past.
"I wonder... if the Predecessor was happy."
It was Reiko who answered his soft question.
"Yes, Father. Mother’s face was very peaceful at the end. I am certain she was satisfied."
"I see. I hope so."
"Yes."
It had become quite dark outside, and in the night sky, the stars twinkled brightly, unchanging as they had been a millennium ago.