In the end, the "Hanna theory" proved to be exactly right.
By tweaking the magi-sequences for range specification and refining the magi-formula for transfer targets, Jin finally achieved free ether transfer. Of course, those "tweaks" and "refinements" were the result of an immense amount of trial, error, and hard work.
On December 11, just two days after Jin had first heard Hanna's explanation, the ether transporter was finally finished.
"It’s done."
"Congratulations, Jin-nii," Elsa said.
"You did it, Onii-chan!" Hanna cheered, having rushed over the moment she heard the news.
"I couldn't have done it without you, Hanna."
Jin offered his sincere thanks to the girl.
"Father, congratulations," Reiko added.
"My Lord, congratulations," Laojun echoed.
"No, I’ll say it again—this is really thanks to Hanna," Jin insisted, stating his honest feelings. "But with this, our operational range is going to expand significantly."
They could now replenish free ether in the Southern Hemisphere, where the energy was still scarce, and they would be able to respond to any situation that required massive amounts of free ether on short notice.
"To distinguish it from the one I made before, let's call this one the 'ether transporter' and the old version the 'simple ether transporter'."
Naturally, Jin planned to replace the old units with the new model over time.
On that same day, the construction ship was also completed. The Space Force golems had already finished its initial test runs.
"My Lord, please give it a name," Laojun requested.
"Let’s see... How about Vulcan?"
Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and the forge, often identified with the Greek god Hephaestus. Since smithing meant craftsmanship, and craftsmanship meant a construction ship, the name felt perfect to Jin.
＊ ＊ ＊
"All right, the Vulcan is ready for space whenever we are."
Jin muttered with satisfaction after finishing the final inspections.
"We shall proceed with the launch at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning," Laojun declared.
Their destination was the planet Hale, located on the far side of the Sun Celane. While a noon launch might have seemed more direct, Ars was rotating, and they weren't heading in a straight line toward Celane anyway. They planned to first head for a point ninety degrees ahead on Ars's orbital path, making the morning departure ideal.
"Equipped with an Aegis shield, we plan to maintain a maximum speed of four hundred kilometers per second."
"Which means, let’s see..."
"It will take just under one hundred and fifty hours to reach Target Point X, which is approximately two hundred and twelve million kilometers away."
"So, a little over six days."
Since they had to account for acceleration and deceleration, they decided to budget seven days for the trip.
And then, a different celebration arrived.
"Tonight, we're having a party."
December 13 was Mine's birthday.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday, Mine!"
"Congratulations on your birthday."
On the night of the 13th, the Jin Family gathered in full force on Hourai Island to celebrate.
"Everyone... th-thank you so much..." Mine's voice trembled with emotion.
"Mother, congratulations." Elsa, her biological daughter, poured the wine for her personally.
"Thank you, Elsa."
For today only, Mine had traded her usual maid uniform for a formal dress. With her chestnut hair styled in an elegant updo, she possessed a youthfulness that made it hard to believe she was thirty-six.
"Mother-in-law, here is a present from me."
"Oh, Jin-sama, thank you very much."
Even on her own birthday, Mine addressed him as "Jin-sama"—her nature as a maid was bred into her very bones.
"This is from me, Mother."
"Thank you, Elsa."
"This is from me!"
"And this one is from me!"
"I have one for you as well."
"Everyone... thank you..." Overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection, Mine broke down in tears. Elsa watched her mother, at a total loss for what to do.
Jin leaned in and whispered into Elsa's ear.
"You should give her a hug, Elsa."
"Mm."
Elsa gently embraced her mother.
"Elsa..."
"Mother..."
As the two of them held each other, the rest of the family watched on with warm, gentle smiles.
"...I'm sorry you all had to see such an embarrassing display," Mine said a short while later, her face flushing as she apologized to the group.
"No, no, there's absolutely no need to apologize," Reinhard said, speaking for everyone.
"Thank you..."
From then on, the conversation flowed with lively, harmonious energy. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was together, Jin asked for Mine's permission to discuss business for a moment and gave a brief overview of the Vulcan.
"...And so, I've built a hundred-meter class construction ship and sent it off. The goal is to establish a simple relay base at a midpoint. Once that's in place, we'll be able to teleport toward Hale."
According to Jin's recent research, while ether waves could penetrate planets, they could not pass through stars that were actively generating free ether. Therefore, he had concluded that they would need to move around the Sun Celane in stages.
"I see, that makes sense," Reinhard noted.
The others seemed to agree, but then Saki made an unexpected observation.
"Wait... if that's the case, what about that Disaster ship? If it was sending free ether somewhere, then the destination couldn't have been Hale, right?"
Jin blinked. "...Ah."
"She’s right," someone added.
"Which means the people on the Hale side might already have their own relay bases," Saki continued.
"That seems likely."
"Hmm..."
Whether the Vulcan would eventually stumble upon relay bases established by Hale was something even Jin couldn't predict.