Jin and Elsa were greeted with a warm welcome by King Cesar of Celuroa.
"Lord of Kunlun, and Madam, thank you for coming."
The Imperial Guards had been deployed to receive them, and Cesar himself stood at their head.
"We saw each other at the World Conference, of course, but I am truly delighted to have you visit like this."
Konron 3 was moored at the airfield, left under Edgar's supervision.
Jin, Elsa, and Reiko rode toward the Royal Palace in an open-topped carriage alongside Cesar. As they traveled, the tracks of a monorail came into view before them.
"This is the monorail you helped us develop, Jin-dono. We have finally reached the point where it circulates through the royal capital as a Loop Line."
"Yes, it's quite impressive."
Jin offered sincere praise for the Celuroa Kingdom's formidable national strength.
"I hope to continue extending the tracks little by little at this pace, though such things are only possible because the world is at peace."
Tracks that reached outward could, conversely, serve as paths for an enemy to strike from without.
"That is true."
"I wish to preserve the peace we have been granted for as long as possible, rather than letting it be a fleeting thing."
"I feel the same way."
Engaged in such conversation, the carriage eventually passed into the Royal Palace.
Inside the Royal Palace, within Cesar's private office.
"Once again, welcome, Lord of Kunlun. And you as well, Madam."
"Your Majesty, I hope you are in good health," Jin said, reciting the formal greeting Elsa had coached him on.
"Ah, please, speak normally with me, Jin-dono," Cesar replied, immediately reverting to a franker tone.
"I see."
"Today is a day for celebration... well, technically it was yesterday, but our Warp Gate has finally reached a stage of practical use!"
"My congratulations to you, then."
Cesar nodded with satisfaction.
"Yes. At the time, I claimed there was no need to seek cooperation from other nations—including yourself, Jin-dono—and we have somehow managed to reach this point. Would you like to see it?"
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. I would have been embarrassed to show something incomplete to the Magi Craft Meister, but with its current level of refinement, I believe I won't lose face."
Accompanied by two Royal Guard escorts, Cesar led Jin, Elsa, and Reiko out of the office. Guided by the King, the group headed to the Royal Laboratory located within the palace grounds.
The facility, labeled Laboratory 3, was situated in the palace courtyard and was roughly the size of a small elementary school. Two guards stood watch, but upon seeing King Cesar, they snapped to attention and allowed the party to pass.
"Is now a good time?" Cesar called out.
A thin, middle-aged man poked his head out from within.
"Your Majesty! Yes, of course... and who might these guests be?"
"The Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou-dono, his wife Elsa-dono, and his squire Reiko-dono."
Upon hearing Jin's name, the man looked as though he might jump for joy.
"Forgive my rudeness, Jin-dono! I am Tobias Bellows Zeta. I serve as the director of this Laboratory 3."
"I am Jin Nidou."
Jin and Tobias shook hands.
"So, Your Majesty, since you are with Jin-dono, I assume you are here for a tour?"
"Indeed. Is that all right?"
"Of course! Please, by all means, come and see!!"
Tobias invited the group further into the laboratory.
"Behold!"
"Oh!"
In a vast room nearly half the size of a gymnasium, two Warp Gates were enshrined. Each unit was a cube measuring eight meters on each side.
"This is our latest model. By charging it with free ether for six hours, we can transport approximately one ton of material to a location five hundred kilometers away."
"Ho, that is quite an achievement."
Tobias beamed with pride at the King's praise.
"Yes! Operational efficiency has increased fourfold, and the range is two and a half times greater. We have finally reached a point where I can show it to Your Majesty!"
"..."
Jin gazed at the Warp Gate with quiet, discerning eyes.
"Jin-dono, what do you think?"
Jin snapped out of his thoughts when addressed.
"Yes, I think it's magnificent. This will surely bring about a revolution in travel across the continent."
Tobias flushed red with delight at Jin's words.
"It is an honor!!"
Since the device was a state secret, Jin wasn't permitted to inspect the interior, but the Magi Craft Meister already had a rough idea of its inner workings.
(The convergence and synchronization of the mana waves connecting the two units are likely imprecise... that's probably why it's consuming so much unnecessary energy.)
If it were the Predecessor's method, the two points would be connected by a thread—razor-thin yet incredibly strong, like a wire made of hyper-adamantite. In contrast, the method before his eyes was like using a paper string that looked ready to snap, so they had bundled tens of thousands of them together to achieve the necessary strength.
Because of that, the connection range couldn't be extended much further, and the amount of free ether consumed was orders of magnitude higher.
(Still, the skill it took to reproduce it this far in just a few months deserves recognition. Honestly, it's impressive.)
Jin praised Tobias in his heart, noting that there were many points worthy of admiration. Part of this stems from Jin's awareness that his own knowledge was inherited from the Predecessor, rather than being something he had developed entirely on his own. In this way, Jin occasionally reflected on his own standing.
"I would love to hear your professional opinions, Jin-dono, but as that would go against national policy, I must reluctantly refrain from asking."
Jin thought that being able to say such a thing in front of the King was proof that the country was currently being managed in a healthy way. It was a scene that would have been unthinkable during the reign of King Richard.
"You may consult him about the other project," King Cesar told Tobias with a smile.
"Oh! That's right. Jin-dono, please look at this."
Tobias guided the group to a separate room. Enshrined there was what appeared to be a new model of golem. However, Jin intuitively felt that it was something else entirely.
It was slender overall and lacked distinct facial features.
"Is this... the base unit for an automata?"
Tobias was overjoyed by Jin's immediate identification.
"Oh! As expected of Jin-sama! You truly are the Magi Craft Meister!"
As Jin had suspected, it was the internal structure for an automata. For a typical automata, skin would be placed over this base unit to make it look human. However, if left as is, touching it would result in a hard, rugged feel because one would be feeling the machinery beneath the surface. High-end models would include cushioning material, but even then, they never felt exactly like a person. A construction like Reiko's was extremely rare.
"There was a man named Donald-dono who was formerly registered in our country, and he proposed a golem with an 'endoskeleton.' At the time, however, no one would listen to him."
"I see."
"Now, we finally understand just how advanced the things he was proposing actually were."
Tobias's face was clouded with regret as he spoke.