"Well then, I should probably take care of that unfinished business first."
On February 1st, after finishing breakfast at the mansion in Loizart, Jin departed for Hourai Island.
"What unfinished business, Jin-nii?" asked Elsa, who had accompanied him.
"It's about Akitsu."
Akitsu was an educational automaton installed long ago by the Magus, Shuuki Tsetse.
"I didn't get a chance to perform maintenance on her this time. But more importantly..."
Now that Jin had gifted airships to various nations, the likelihood of someone spotting her from the sky had increased.
"Since I'm the one who provided the ships, I have a responsibility to handle this."
"I see your point. So, what's the plan?"
"I'm going to relocate her."
＊ ＊ ＊
And so, Jin called the flagship Adriana into action.
"This will make things quite easy."
His plan was to move the dome that served as Akitsu's base in its entirety to Kunlun Island. The 300-meter-long Adriana was perfectly suited for the task. Using gravity control magic and force generators, he uprooted the dome—ten meters in diameter and four meters high—foundation and all, then stowed it in the ship's lower hold.
"...I didn't expect you to go that far," Elsa said, a look of mild exasperation on her face.
"I don't like doing things by halves."
"I suppose I can understand that."
"It is, after all, a facility left behind by the Magus... by Grandfather Shuuki Tsetse," Reiko added, backing Jin up.
"Exactly. I decided this was for the best."
"I am truly overwhelmed by your kindness toward me."
The dome was in the hold, but Akitsu herself stood with Jin and the others on the Central bridge.
"Not at all, Aunt. Something like this is child's play for Father," Reiko told her.
I wonder if Akitsu really counts as an aunt to Reiko and the others...
While Jin was lost in thought, the Adriana arrived over Kunlun Island.
"Where should we put it...?"
After some consideration, he chose a forested area on the western side of the island, safely away from the plains where the Hall of Five Virtues and the Jade Villa stood. He leveled the site with force generators and set the dome down. The actual work was finished in ten minutes by a team of Smiths summoned from Hourai Island.
"Well, how is it, Akitsu?"
"Yes, thank you. This seems like a very pleasant place to live."
Fortunately, the Warp Gate in Mitsuho had no distance limitations—or rather, it had more than enough capacity—so Akitsu's relocation didn't hinder its operation at all. Most importantly, it meant Reiko, the other automata, and the golems could visit Akitsu whenever they liked.
"I have been alone for so long, so this makes me very happy."
Showing a faint trace of the emotions she had been programmed with, Akitsu accepted the arrangement.
"Aunt, next time I visit, I'll bring the others along," Reiko promised.
"I look forward to it."
Since Anne, Loll, and Refa could be considered Reiko's younger half-sisters, Akitsu was indeed their aunt. Likewise, everyone Jin had created was effectively a niece or nephew to her. Even for the generally stoic Akitsu, bringing an end to her long years of solitude was clearly a source of joy.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Well, that's one thing settled."
"Good work, Jin-nii."
The move had taken less than half a day. Jin felt a profound sense of relief.
"To be honest, I only realized it yesterday when we were heading back on Konron 3..." Jin confessed to Elsa as they enjoyed tea at three o'clock back at their home on Hourai Island.
"I see. That explains why you were in such a rush."
"Yeah."
Elsa was about to say something else when Reiko hurried into the room.
"Father, Sion is here to see you."
"What?"
＊ ＊ ＊
"Sion, what happened?"
The moment she saw Jin, Sion dropped a bombshell.
"Jin, my sister has disappeared!"
"What!?"
Sion's older sister—Istalis—had vanished.
"How? Why?"
"...Her wedding was only two weeks away."
Sion cast her eyes downward.
"...Wait, did she run away because she didn't want to get married?"
Sion gave a silent, somber nod.
"Wait, what did Belialus have to say about this?"
Jin recalled hearing during their visit to the demon territory that Istalis had been engaged to Belialus of the Puppet Clan.
"...It looks like Belialus was the one who set the whole thing up."
"What?"
The situation made no sense to him. Jin sat down and asked Sion to explain the details. A few things quickly became clear. The engagement between Istalis and Belialus had been arranged by their parents and grandparents. It was a union between clans; the feelings of the couple themselves had never been considered.
"I... I just assumed my sister was happy about it. She always had a smile on her face."
As it turned out, Belialus hadn't been interested in the marriage either. The proof was that he hadn't panicked when Istalis went missing. In fact, Sion had spotted him smiling to himself from the shadows.
"That wasn't the face of someone whose fiancée has gone missing."
When she cornered him and asked, he admitted that he had orchestrated her escape to the south.
"Wait... was the person she ran away with Netros?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
"Well, I mean..."
Jin felt like it would have been harder not to know. His thoughts must have been written on his face, because Elsa chimed in with a gentle reprimand.
"Jin-nii, I think sometimes when you're too close to someone, you can't see what's right in front of you."
"But my sister and Netros grew up together! It's always been like that with them!"
"I see..."
Jin supposed that if they had grown up like siblings, it was possible for her actual sister not to notice the romantic nature of their bond.
"Please, you have to help me find her! I... I need to know she's safe!"
Seeing the desperation in Sion's eyes, Jin spoke gently.
"I understand. Leave it to me."