The reporting session resumed in the afternoon, following a break for lunch.
Jin managed a brief meeting with Lishia, Hanna, and Elsa, confirming that all three were having a pleasant time.
"We shall now begin the report regarding the deciphered records of the golem data discovered at the ruins," the minister of internal affairs announced, acting as the moderator just as he had in the morning.
The attendees were largely the same, though Jin noticed a distinct lack of knights and other military personnel. He figured they had decided there was little point in sitting through technical jargon.
As the report began, his suspicions were quickly confirmed.
"...The skeletal structure utilizes an endoskeleton, while the muscle tissue is ****. To prevent corrosion, a Surface Treatment of ++++ is applied."
It appeared the symbols **** and ++++ represented portions of the text that were either impossible to decipher or physically missing from the documents.
"Materials resistant to strong acid must be strictly selected."
There was no doubt that these specifications were intended to counter the Giga Ants.
"Shields are to be constructed on a large scale and must also be treated against strong acid. The use of biological materials is strictly forbidden."
Jin nodded inwardly. Indeed, such potent acid would likely dissolve almost any biological material. He recalled how even Reiko's original skin and the wing membranes of a Sea Dragon had succumbed to it in the past.
"...The control system shall be @@@@@. That concludes the information found in Document One."
Jin surmised that Document One outlined the core concept for the anti-Giga Ant golems.
"Next is Document Two, though I must preface this by stating that it was heavily damaged. Consequently, much of the content remains unintelligible."
Parchment was notoriously difficult to preserve; poor conditions often led to mold or, worse, insect damage. In this case, it seemed the records had suffered both.
"Er, we were only able to discern mentions of golem replenishment and something regarding the cores."
Jin speculated that the massive hoard of magi-crystals found within the ruins had served a dual purpose: acting as bait to lure the ants and providing the materials for the control cores needed to manufacture replacement golems.
"Documents Three and Four were almost entirely obscured by mold and proved indecipherable. Document Five, however, described the circumstances under which the Giga Ants first appeared in the mines of that era."
According to the brief summary, the Giga Ants emerged when the tunnels—where magi-crystals had been mined for generations—reached a depth of approximately 200 meters.
Initially, they appeared in small groups of one or two. Within ten days, however, their numbers became overwhelming. They were eventually pushed back into the depths of the tunnels, though the effort resulted in heavy casualties. Since insect-type magical beasts were susceptible to low temperatures, magic such as 'Freeze' was employed to weaken them.
I see. That’s quite logical, Jin thought, impressed by the ingenuity of the people of the Former Leonard Kingdom.
"Document Six consisted of facility layouts and floor plans of the ruins. According to these, there appears to be another room similar to a reference room. However, based on the investigations conducted at the time, that area was buried under rubble. We speculate it was lost to some past disaster."
It was a shame, Jin thought. Any documents or parchment left in such a place would likely have been destroyed.
"...That is all."
A scattered round of applause followed the conclusion.
"Are there any questions?...Jin-dono."
Jin was the first to raise his hand. There was something he needed to clarify.
"Yes. Regarding the undecipherable sections of Document One—was it that the characters themselves were unreadable? Or were the characters legible, but the meaning of the words unknown?"
"To answer your question... the part regarding muscle tissue was read as 'metallo,' but the meaning was entirely unclear to us. Similarly, the term following Surface Treatment was 'passivate,' which was also beyond our understanding. The remaining sections were simply illegible due to insect damage."
"I see. That is a pity. Thank you."
Jin offered his thanks and fell into thought.
“Metallo”... likely “METALLO.” As in metal? Metallic? Does that mean metal musculature?
It seemed plausible. Metals would certainly offer better resistance to the Giga Ants' acidic fluids than biological materials.
The other one was “passivate”... Could it actually be “PASSIVATE”?
Passivation was a specific anti-corrosion treatment for stainless steel. In stainless steel, the passive film that forms naturally due to chromium content is extremely thin; the passivation process artificially thickens that layer.
If that’s the case, it definitely refers to a Surface Treatment meant to resist strong acids.
Given his deep expertise in metallurgy, Jin had essentially solved the puzzle. However, he felt a twinge of frustration.
Even if I explained it, I doubt they’d understand...
"...Are there no other questions?"
While Jin was preoccupied, another round of questions and answers had concluded. With no further inquiries forthcoming, the reporting session was brought to a close.
"Following a brief recess, the Ministry of Magic will hold a deliberation session. Does anyone here wish to attend?" Minister of Magic Kelichdore announced.
Jin considered going, but he had left Elsa, Hanna, and Lishia alone since the morning. He decided to decline for today.
As he was preparing to leave, a familiar pair approached him.
"Jin! Now we can finally talk!"
It was Prince Ernest and Princess Lieschen.
"We’re about to have some Te-e. Would you like to join us, Jin? Of course, Elsa and the friends who came with you are invited as well."
"Nest-sama, 'the friends who came with you' is a rather amusing way of putting it, is it not?"
"A-Ahaha."
The two of them clearly shared a close bond.
"Wow, I’ve never seen a room like this!"
"Haha, I’m glad it’s to your liking."
Jin and the others had been led to a parlor within Ernest's private living quarters in the Royal Palace. Though called a parlor, it was so grand it could easily have been mistaken for a formal reception room—a fitting space for a prince.
"Oh, look at that beautiful wall hanging!"
"That is a tapestry specialized to the southern regions, if I recall correctly....Is that not so, Nest-sama?"
"Yes, that's exactly right."
Hanna was in high spirits, fascinated by the Egerean furnishings. Princess Lieschen watched over the girl with sisterly warmth.
Elsa, who had visited the Kingdom of Egerea before and was herself the daughter of a viscount, maintained a composed air as she sipped her Te-e. Lishia, however, was as stiff as a board. As a member of the new nobility, the presence of the prince had her gripped by nervous tension.
Meanwhile, Jin struck up a conversation with Lotte, the maid golem standing behind Prince Ernest.
"Lotte, how are you holding up?"
"I am doing well, Jin-sama."
"I’m glad to hear it. Since I’m here, I’ll give you a maintenance check later."
"Thank you very much."
Jin's gaze then drifted toward Tia, who stood behind Princess Lieschen, and a realization struck him.
Oh.
He suddenly remembered a promise he had made long ago.
I promised Tia at some point that I’d let her meet her sister unit, Refa.
Having remembered, Jin leaned in and whispered the matter to Reiko. Reiko immediately relayed the request to Laojun via her internal manacam. Jin trusted that Laojun would assess the situation and take the best possible course of action.
"In that case, I suppose I should send Anne, Loll, and Refa—all of them."
Back on Hourai Island, Laojun began to mobilize.