"Pardon me, Lord Jin, but what did you just say?"
Powell Danner Hudson, the Chancellor, struggled to grasp Jin's intent.
"As I said, I thought I would slightly Reinforce the remaining general-purpose golems."
"A-And for what reason?"
Despite the cool air, sweat beaded on the Chancellor's brow.
"Well, it's to prepare the crushed stone for the Hardening. They'll be carrying rocks, breaking them, and tamping them down, after all."
"I-I see."
"It would have been better if all twenty units were still together, of course."
The Chancellor’s cold sweat intensified at Jin’s words, which could easily be perceived as a barb.
While the greedy ministers who had orchestrated the previous debacle had all been ousted, both the Chancellor and the King still bore the responsibility of having approved their actions. Now that they understood the true extent of Jin’s capabilities, they realized just how immense the risk was in incurring his displeasure—hence the nerves.
Jin, however, viewed it as a matter from nearly two years ago. Laojun had already informed him that the corrupt nobles responsible had been dismissed, so he no longer held a grudge. His proposal was born of genuine goodwill.
Of course, he couldn't deny a certain degree of pragmatism; developing Toka Village, governed by Lishia of the Jin Family, would also benefit the people of Kaina Village by improving the local infrastructure.
"It will only be a slight adjustment. You can think of it as a bit of re-maintenance."
"I... I see. Then I shall ask you to do so at your convenience."
"Now then, shall we take a short break?" Princess Lieschen suggested.
The group had been conversing for over two hours straight, and exhaustion was beginning to set in. The proposal was well-timed. Because they had been sitting for so long, everyone was guided into the inner garden of the Royal Palace.
Only Alois III remained behind; a king could not always wander about so freely.
The inner garden was a sanctuary reserved for the royal family and their most distinguished guests. At this time of year, the early spring flowers were in full glory. The group enjoyed the blossoms while sipping tea prepared by the maids.
There were flowers resembling narcissus, others like crocuses, and some that looked like snowdrops.
"Narcissus, Crocus, and Snowdrops," Sion murmured. Until now, she had been as quiet as a mouse, but now she finally spoke.
"You are very knowledgeable," Princess Lieschen said with a bright smile.
"I simply love flowers."
"I am glad to hear that. In another month, the garden will be even more vibrant."
"I would love to see that if the opportunity arises."
"Then you must certainly visit again."
Jin watched them, noting that while they were still being formal, their shared age and interests were clearly helping them bond.
"Lord Jin, it seems you have been quite busy lately as well," the Chancellor said, striking up a conversation.
"Yes, more or less."
"With the World Conference and the World Security Guard, I imagine. I can only guess at the effort required."
"My only wish is for the world to remain peaceful. That is all I want."
"You said much the same thing before, as I recall."
As the sun began to dip and the breeze grew chilly, the group left the garden. Before returning to the conference room, Jin and the others were given a tour of the Royal Palace's workshop. This was a different facility from the one Jin had used previously to construct his golems.
"Oho, so this is your kingdom's workshop," Ladeous remarked with interest.
"It is quite well-equipped," Jin added after a quick survey.
"I'm sure it must seem humble compared to the Lord of Kunlun’s own facilities."
"Not at all."
Jin was well aware of how uniquely specialized his own environment was. The Klein Kingdom's workshop was particularly impressive in its selection of metal materials.
"Is this Baron Boulton's influence?" Jin asked, testing a hunch.
"That is part of it. Baron Boulton has a keen eye for discerning the quality of raw materials."
However, the ability to utilize those materials to their full potential depended heavily on the skill of the magi craftsmen. In that specific regard, the Klein Kingdom's metallurgy still had room for improvement.
"That reminds me—could you summon those ten golems here? All of them, if possible."
"Certainly. They are currently in standby."
"Good. Please bring them in. I’ll perform that re-maintenance I mentioned."
"O-Oh, I see. Right away."
Looking slightly flustered, the Chancellor signaled to the Minister of Magic. Clarot Bados Keris hurried out of the room to Wake up the units. Meanwhile, Sion and her parents looked around the workshop with curious eyes.
Five minutes later, the Minister of Magic returned at the head of ten golems.
"Oh!"
"They look quite sturdy."
"Incredible."
Ladeous, Rolona, and Sion marveled at the sight of the machines.
"Nick 11 through 20, I see. How is your condition?"
"Greetings, Creator. We are operating within normal parameters," the golems responded.
"I see. That's good to hear."
Because Jin had applied adamantite coating to their critical joints, they were essentially maintenance-free under normal operating conditions.
"Alright, let's begin the reinforcement."
"L-Lord Jin, are you starting right now? I was hoping to resume the meeting shortly..." the Chancellor said, sounding panicked.
It was currently 4:00 PM. The schedule called for the meeting to continue until 5:30 PM, followed by a banquet.
"It’s fine. I’ll be finished in a minute."
"Pardon?"
A rather undignified sound escaped the Chancellor's throat, unable to believe Jin could reinforce ten golems in sixty seconds.
"Strengthen."
With a single cast, Jin applied his Craft Magic, Strengthen, to all ten golems simultaneously.
This was an original spell of Jin's design. It enhanced the bonding force of the free ether within a material to increase its durability and power. It was effectively a high-tier version of Toughening and was exceptionally potent when used on magi-type materials.
Its most notable feature was its effectiveness on biological materials, such as the magical skin and magical muscle used in golems. Increasing the bonding force didn't just make the materials tougher; it also raised their melting and boiling points, and in the case of magical muscles, it increased the upper limit of their physical output.
This was what Jin meant by "slightly strengthening" them.
For the materials used on Hourai Island, this would typically result in a boost of 1.5 to 10 times, depending on the free ether content. To be more specific, Ancient Dragon hide would be strengthened over tenfold, while magi-type metals would improve by four to five times.
For the five-half nickel steel used in these general-purpose golems, the increase was roughly 1.5 times, while the dragonic eel leather in their muscles saw a twofold improvement.
"There. Let's head back to the meeting."
"U-Umu..."
"..."
The high-ranking officials of the Klein Kingdom could only stare in silence, once again reminded that Jin was a man who existed entirely outside the bounds of common sense.