On the morning of August 26th, the summons finally arrived.
And they were addressed to all three of them: Jin, Eira, and Kachea.
"...Ugh, how can this be...?"
Paerova Sondvik's lamentation was anything but ordinary. It was understandable; the talented technicians he had finally secured were being snatched away by a mandate from the state. It was the perfect embodiment of the old saying—a kite snatching away one's aburaage.
After a frantic fit of frustration involving a kicked table and a punched wall, Paerova finally managed to regain a modicum of composure.
"...I want to speak with Jin and the others. Bring them in," he told his secretary, Jed Alamold.
"They have been waiting for some time," Jed replied.
"Good. Send them in."
"It is regrettable! Extremely, profoundly regrettable! That such capable technicians as yourselves are being torn from my grasp!" Paerova barked the moment he saw their faces.
"We are also sorry it has come to this, after all your hospitality," Jin replied with a polite bow.
"Indeed... Jin, Eira, Kachea. The state... or rather, the Council of Ten... they..."
Paerova went on to explain the situation, mirroring the warnings Jed Alamold had previously given Jin.
"...For those reasons, they may very well send you off to the Jagus Principality."
Jin remained silent.
"...Eira, you were born there, so perhaps it won't trouble you as much," Paerova added sourly before sinking back into his sofa and falling silent.
"Lord Paerova, I have a proposal," Jin said, voicing an idea that had taken shape during the administrator's explanation.
"...What is it?"
"One of the Mercana Principality's primary weaknesses is its lack of mineral resources. Is that correct?"
"...It is. What of it?"
"I can create a magi-device designed to locate mineral deposits."
"You can what?!"
"Wait, really?! Jin, are you serious?!"
Both Paerova and Eira leaned in, eyes wide with interest.
"I am. There is an earth-attribute spell called Grand Search, after all."
Paerova's expression darkened. "Grand Search? We've tried it. We searched down to a thousand meters and found nothing of value."
"Then we simply need to search down to fifteen hundred or two thousand meters."
Paerova shook his head. "Impossible. You can't dig a hole that deep. Even if you could, mining would be out of the question."
Jin didn't blink. "That's only if you limit yourself to human labor."
Jed Alamold was the first to catch on. "Jin-dono, are you saying...?"
"Yes. The golems I repaired are more than capable of it."
Jin had fully assessed their capabilities while fixing them. Their performance was more than enough for deep-vein mining. "All we need is a magi-device to perform the Grand Search."
"I-I see! Jin-dono, please! You must make it!"
"Of course. If you can provide two high-quality magi-crystals, a magi-circuit, a small amount of mithril, and some bronze, I can get started."
"Consider it done! Since we are in the royal capital, I should have them by midday."
And so, Jin set out to create an ore-prospecting device as a parting gift. Meanwhile, their personal belongings were being shipped from Rofon. Following the instructions sent via carrier pigeon, their luggage was expected to arrive in about three days.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Position this here, and..."
"Whoa... Jin-san, are you actually being serious?"
"Yeah, a little bit."
That afternoon, Jin set to work on the prospecting tool using the materials he'd requested.
"Now, the question is how to notify the user of what kind of minerals it finds..."
"Why not just have it speak?" Eira suggested, half-joking.
"You're right. That's probably the most efficient way."
"Wait, what?!"
Jin adopted her suggestion without hesitation.
"..."
"That's our Jin-san for you..."
Kachea watched with a look of resignation; she was starting to get used to his brilliance.
"Alright, finished."
The device looked like a large flashlight, the kind that might hold four D-cell batteries. As a test, Jin decided to probe the ground beneath their feet. He pointed it straight down and activated it.
No response.
"Let's try a deeper range."
He adjusted a dial to increase the search depth.
500 meters.
1,000 meters.
1,200 meters.
1,500 meters.
2,000 meters... A response.
"Metal vein detected. Small-class. Iron and nickel ore detected. Abundant. Manganese ore detected. Small-class."
"Whoa!" Eira, who had been unusually quiet, shouted in surprise. "Jin! This is incredible!"
"It looks like there are plenty of veins sleeping further down."
The only hurdle was the excavation. At those depths, the infrastructure needed for human workers—ventilation and dust management—would be astronomical. But for golems, those requirements were negligible. Jin knew the repaired units were up to the task.
"Well, they'll have to provide their own shovels and pickaxes," Jin noted. He figured Paerova could manage at least that much.
＊ ＊ ＊
"H-Hmm... Remarkable! Jin-dono, you truly are the second coming of the ancient Magi Craft Meister Jin!" Even the usually stoic Jed Alamold was shouting with excitement.
"The Magi Craft Meister Jin?"
"Yes. Have you never heard of him? He is a legendary figure from four centuries ago. His other title is the 'Lord of Kunlun' we discussed yesterday. His deeds are legendary. Surely you were named after him?"
"Named after him? How so?"
"Apparently, there was a time when naming children 'Jin' was extremely popular. The fad has faded since then, but among the nobility, you'll still find one or two Jins for every hundred people."
"You're joking..."
"If you include professional names and variations like Eugene or Jean, the number is even higher. There's even Gina for women."
In a place he never expected, Jin had stumbled upon some very startling pieces of information.