Jin finally understood.
It had been strange, in a way, that no one had commented on his name, given how famous the titles "Magi Craft Meister" and "Lord of Kunlun" were. That lack of reaction had been one of the factors that strengthened his suspicion that this might be a parallel world.
However, if it were simply a common name, then that would explain the lack of scrutiny.
"I wonder if the name 'Jin' is just common on the Lauren Continent."
He wouldn't know for sure until he went there himself.
"Jin-dono, I cannot thank you enough."
To Jin's surprise, even Paerova Sondvik bowed his head in gratitude.
＊ ＊ ＊
On the twenty-ninth of August, the final days of the month, Jin and the others' belongings finally arrived.
He did a quick check to see if anything had been pilfered during transit, but nothing seemed to be missing. It was the same for Kachea.
But as for Eira...
"Dammit... the technical notes I've been stockpiling all this time are gone!"
It appeared several important documents had been snatched. Whether the culprit was Paerova Sondvik or the Council of Ten, she had no way of knowing.
"I'll just have to write them all over again!"
At least the information remained clear in her head.
Now that their luggage had arrived, it was time to move. Their new residence was a research dormitory located within the grounds of the Royal Palace.
"I suppose they want to keep their technicians within arm's reach here, too," Jin mused.
"...Hmph. So you lot showed up too."
The one who greeted them was none other than Groma Tray.
"I've been stuck with the role of dormitory manager, after a fashion....Against my better judgment, welcome to the 'Supreme Dormitory'."
Jin barely managed to swallow a remark about the name overpromising, but Eira didn't bother with such restraint.
"What's with that name? Talk about false advertising."
"I—it's not my fault! I'm not the one who named it!"
Eira and Groma immediately began their usual bickering. Jin started to suspect that the two of them actually got along quite well.
As usual, Jin's move was finished in an instant.
He left his room with Hope to go help Kachea, and happened to run into Groma Tray in the hall.
"Oh, Jin. What's up?"
"I've finished my move, so I thought I'd help the girls."
"I see. I've come to help out as well, in my capacity as manager....In that case, Jin, you go help Eira. I'll go see to Kachea."
"Ah, sure."
Jin agreed, figuring that if Groma went to help Eira, they would just end up in another shouting match.
"Eira, I've come to he—whoa."
Jin peered into Eira's room and let out an involuntary gasp at the sheer clutter.
"Oh, Jin. Perfect timing."
The room she had been assigned was almost identical to the one in Rofon, with the addition of a general-purpose storage closet. However...
"It's... quite the mess."
"Yeah, I've always been bad at tidying up. I can't settle down unless the things I think I'll need are right where I can see them."
"I can understand that to an extent....In that case, you should try thinking vertically."
"Vertically?"
Since Jin also tended to let things pile up on his workbench, he felt he could relate to Eira's struggle.
"For example, take your desk. Instead of just laying tools out everywhere, you could build small, dedicated shelves to store them in."
"Hmm, I see. True, your workshop was always relatively tidy, Jin."
"If you'd like, shall I make some shelves for you?"
"That would be a huge help. I'm counting on you."
Using some spare wooden boxes, Jin crafted a set of small drawers—a desktop letter case.
"How's this?"
"Wow, this is perfect!"
Since Eira liked the design, Jin made three more sets of drawers in various sizes. With those, at the very least, Eira's workshop area was finally organized.
"You've been a big help, Jin....Maybe I should do something similar for the rest of the room."
"Wouldn't it be better to just buy some proper furniture?"
"I'll probably go buy some later. Will you come with me?"
"Sure, I don't mind... We'll have to ask where the shops are, though."
＊ ＊ ＊
Their previous sightseeing trip paid off, and they found a furniture store without much trouble. Eira purchased two chests of drawers.
Transporting the furniture was a breeze, as Hope handled all the heavy lifting.
They returned to the dormitory and resumed the cleanup. By that time, Kachea had finished organizing her own room and joined in. Together, they managed to get Eira's room to a state where a human being could actually live in it.
"Jin, Kachea, thanks for everything."
Eira thanked them both during dinner.
"...Though, if we're just going to be shipped off to the other continent after this, I can't help but wonder if tidying up so thoroughly was just a redundancy."
"Yeah, that does seem likely."
"My heart feels heavy just thinking about it..."
As the three of them sat at the table, footsteps approached.
"Pardon me while you're eating."
It was Groma Tray.
"What, do you want to eat with us?" Eira asked.
"That's not it!"
"I get it. You don't have any friends to eat with. You're a lonely guy, aren't you?" Eira teased, completely ignoring her own lack of social circle.
"I said that's not it! The one I have business with is Jin!"
"I see, I see. You figure Jin might be willing to be your friend, so you're trying to suck up to him before someone else snaps him up?"
"I told you, that's not it!"
The conversation wasn't getting anywhere, so Jin finished his tea and stood up.
"Well, shall we go then?"
He led Groma away from the scene somewhat forcefully.
"So, what is it?"
Jin guided Groma to his room. He had already confirmed that there were no eavesdropping magi-devices present.
"Yes....I thought I should speak with you. There isn't much time left."
Groma began to explain what it meant to be an "official asset" of the state.
The first half of the explanation matched what he had heard from Jed Alamold, but the second half piqued Jin's interest.
"In all likelihood, you, at least, will be sent to the Jagus Principality in the near future."
Groma was about to reveal exactly what lay in wait for them there.