The meeting commenced exactly at 1:00 PM in the medium conference room of the Royal Palace.
"I am Alois Lux Klein, King of the Klein Kingdom."
"I am Ladeous of the 'All-Creation' clan, chief ambassador for the Nord Federation. With me are my wife, Rolona, and our secondary daughter, Sion."
"Lord of Kunlun, we thank you for accompanying the ambassador's party."
"The honor is mine, Your Majesty."
Once the formal greetings were out of the way, the other high-ranking officials introduced themselves.
"I am Powell Danner Hudson, serving as Chancellor."
"Jackson Red Bados, Minister of Industry."
"Clarot Bados Keris, Minister of Magic."
One after another, the kingdom’s heavyweights gave their names.
Jin took the lead in providing an overview of the 'Northern Lands.'
"If you cross the mountains north of Kaina Village, a gentle plain stretches all the way to the sea. Beyond that sea lies another continent."
Jin was the ideal person to handle the geographical explanation. Given his reputation, they could intuit how he had reached such distant places without him needing to provide an exhaustive itinerary.
"I later learned that this land is called the Gondoa Continent. It is connected to our Lauren Continent by a narrow strip of land known as the Pazdext Great Isthmus."
"I see."
Jin spread a map drawn on wood-paper across the table, pointing to the locations as he spoke.
"After crossing the isthmus, we traveled along the coast and eventually encountered the All-Creation clan."
Jin paused his explanation there, handing the floor over to Ladeous.
"The Nord Federation is not organized as a single centralized state, but rather as a collective of units called 'clans.' We are the All-Creation. There are others as well, such as the Jest, the Gospel, and the Loftiness clans."
He intentionally omitted names that might sound more aggressive or unsettling, such as the 'Puppet' or 'Erosion' clans.
"I understand," the Chancellor noted, while a secretary recorded the minutes of the meeting.
Once the general description of the Nord Federation was complete, it was time to move to the main agenda.
"Let’s take a short break first."
Before getting down to business, Jin decided to offer them a refreshing drink he had brought along. Carbonated water is made by dissolving carbon dioxide into water.
In terms of magi-craft, it was a simple matter of applying 'Non-homogenize' to the carbon dioxide in a specific area of the air and forcing it to dissolve into water. By mixing the juice of a ramon—a fruit similar to a lemon—with this sparkling water, he produced ramon squash. Jin had prepared a batch that was sweetened with a little added sugar to make it more palatable.
"Oh, this is wonderful!"
"The refreshing aroma of the ramon combined with this fizzy sensation on the tongue is truly remarkable."
"Jin, this is delicious, noja."
"As expected of the Lord of Kunlun!"
"...It’s good."
The drink was a universal success. After everyone had refreshed themselves, they finally addressed the primary topic.
"I heard from Jin-sama that you are currently seeking new methods for road construction," Ladeous began.
"Indeed. As part of a national initiative, we are beginning to overhaul our highways. However, budget limitations make it a difficult endeavor."
"I see. Jin-sama mentioned the same concern. My wife, Rolona, is quite knowledgeable on this subject, so I will let her explain."
It was now Rolona’s turn to speak.
"Allow me to explain our method," she said, spreading a pre-prepared diagram on the table. "We call it 'crushed stone Hardening.' Essentially, it involves compacting crushed stones into a solid surface."
"That's all?" the Chancellor asked, sounding surprised—and perhaps a bit underwhelmed—by the simplicity of the concept.
"Yes. However, you must use crushed stone. Rounded stones, like the ones you find in a riverbed, will not suffice."
"Hmm..."
Jin stepped in to provide a technical supplement. "To elaborate, crushed stones have sharp edges and corners. When compacted, those edges interlock with one another, fixing them firmly in place."
"I see."
The officials looked mostly convinced. Rolona then moved into a more detailed explanation.
"There is a specific technique to it, of course. It is easiest to understand if you look at this cross-section." She pointed to a part of her diagram. "As shown here, we spread a layer of fine crushed stone about five centimeters deep on the surface. Beneath that, we lay about twenty centimeters of coarse crushed stone, then pack it all down."
"I tested it briefly on Kunlun Island," Jin added. "It handled carriage traffic without any issues. For the compaction process, simply having a golem stomp over the surface is sufficient."
"Oh, as expected of the Lord of Kunlun," the Minister of Magic, Keris, said with admiration.
In reality, Rolona’s people used Gravity Magic for the compaction, but they had agreed to keep that detail a secret for the time being.
"I also have some ideas for specialized tools to assist with the compaction," Jin said.
"Wonderful! As expected of Jin!" Princess Lieschen cheered. "In that case, I should like to try it out here immediately, noja."
Now that the tension had broken, Princess Lieschen had slipped back into her usual idiosyncratic speech patterns.
"If you do, I would suggest a location where the rocks needed for crushed stone are abundant," Rolona advised.
Princess Lieschen nodded in agreement. "I see. In that case, how about we start from Toka Village—the end of the highway—and work our way backward?"
Toka Village was surrounded by rocky terrain, so materials would be plentiful. With enough manpower, they could start the project almost immediately.
"An excellent suggestion," the Chancellor agreed.
"We shall trial the Hardening on a section between Toka Village and the Town of Charles," the King decided.
"Um, are you sure about that?" Jin asked, feeling a bit concerned. He wondered if it was wise to use such a remote, low-traffic stretch for their first test.
"I understand your concern, Jin-dono," Jackson Red Bados, the Minister of Industry, explained. "However, this construction method is entirely new to us. If we were to implement it on a high-traffic route and it somehow failed, the resulting disruption would be severe."
"Ah, I see. That makes sense."
They wanted to master the technique in a place where a potential failure wouldn't cause a national crisis. Jin could appreciate that logic.
"Once we have the knack for it, we can move on to busier sections to test the durability," the Minister of Industry concluded.
"I agree. That seems like the right way to go."
Jin approved of the Minister’s measured approach. The Klein Kingdom was moving forward slowly, one step at a time. Unlike Jin, they didn't have the luxury of skipping ahead; they had to build their foundation piece by piece. All Jin could do was offer a little support from the shadows.
"By the way, regarding the golems I provided previously..."
"Ah... yes. The general-purpose golems," the Chancellor replied, his voice trailing off.
He wasn't sure where Jin was going with this. Of the twenty high-performance general-purpose golems Jin had gifted them, ten had been destroyed. They had been lost because the kingdom had pushed them too hard in a mine, trying to extract as much ore as possible before the site was transferred to Jin. A Gigant Peeder had appeared in the tunnels and decimated them.
It was entirely the kingdom’s own fault. While Jin hadn't said much about it at the time, the officials suspected he had been quite angry. Now that Jin had brought them up, the Chancellor was visibly tense.
"I'd like to Reinforce those remaining ones a bit more."
"Pardon?"
The Chancellor was so braced for a lecture that he couldn't immediately process Jin’s offer.