After disembarking from Pegasus 2, Jin informed the gathered crowd that he had received the craft from No. 700672. It wasn't technically a lie.
This seemed to satisfy them; they dispersed, muttering things like, "As expected of the servant."
Lordtoss was the only one who remained.
"Jin-san, what is this?"
"Pegasus 2. Apparently, my past self from four hundred years ago left it in the care of No. 700672."
"This is amazing."
"Let's head back to the All-Creation clan territory with this."
"Right now?"
It was past 5:00 PM, and the sky was already beginning to grow dark.
"Yes."
At Jin’s word, Lordtoss went to inform the Gospel Clan Chief of their departure. He returned shortly thereafter with the Clan Chief, Baltodoss.
"Jin-dono, quite a hurried departure."
"Yes, my apologies. However, we are in a hurry."
Baltodoss stared at Pegasus 2 with eyes filled with equal parts awe and envy.
"To be given such a Magi Machine... I envy you, Jin-dono," he said, stating his honest impression.
"Well then, it was for a short time, but thank you for your hospitality."
"Take care. Lordtoss, stay healthy as well."
"See you later."
Jin and Lordtoss offered their thanks and farewells to the Clan Chief before closing the cockpit hatch.
"All right, let's go."
Taking his seat in the cockpit, Jin first activated the gravitioner, the gravity control device. Pegasus 2 ascended silently into the twilight sky.
"Th-This is...!" Lordtoss let out a startled cry. "Is this an application of gravity magic!?"
Many among the Northern People were proficient in gravity magic, so Lordtoss was well-acquainted with the sensation of its activation.
"That's right. It's quite convenient to use for aircraft, isn't it?" Jin said casually.
"It's not common because the consumption of free ether is too high," Lordtoss replied.
Jin considered this. It seemed that the ether converters of this era were still quite inefficient. He also wondered if magi-reactors even existed in this time.
In the meantime, once they reached an altitude of about one hundred meters, Jin engaged the propulsion system. Since the distance was short, he used the Magi Jet Engine instead of the force generator.
"O-Ohhh, it—it's fast!"
They crossed the distance that had taken four hours the previous day in a mere ten minutes. Incidentally, the Golem horses were set to return to the All-Creation clan territory automatically.
While a faint twilight still lingered, Pegasus 2 landed in the plaza within Sion’s mansion grounds. Hanako and Hope, who had sensed their return, were already waiting.
"Welcome back, Jin-sama."
"Lordtoss-sama, welcome back."
"I'm home."
Sion, Marikka, and Lordtoss’s younger sister, Vita, came rushing out to meet them.
"Welcome back, Jin. You've come back in something incredible."
"Ji-Jin-shama, what is this!?"
Faced with Marikka, who had reverted to her old habit of stuttering when excited, Jin gave a wry smile and explained.
"Apparently, it’s a gift from my past self to my current self. No. 700672 kept it in storage for me."
"It’s incredibly fast," Lordtoss added. "It flew from the Gospel clan territory to here in less than ten minutes."
"That’s amazing!"
The one who shouted was Lordtoss’s sister, Vita. Since Sion and Marikka had experience with supersonic flight and even spaceships, they weren't quite as shocked, but they were still taken aback by the unexpected arrival. Seeing is believing, Jin mused.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I see. So you’re going."
After dinner, when Jin mentioned he had learned Reiko’s whereabouts from No. 700672, Sion nodded with a serious expression.
"Once you find Reiko-chan, everything else should fall into place," she added, her words sounding almost prophetic. "But please, be careful."
"Thank you."
Then, somewhat hesitantly, Sion made a request.
"Um... Jin, if—and this is just a 'what if'—you find a way to return to your original time, would you come to see me one last time before you go?"
Jin had no reason to refuse. "Yeah, of course. You’ve done so much for me, after all."
"That makes me happy. I’ll be waiting."
＊ ＊ ＊
That night, Jin set to work modifying Hope in Marikka’s workshop. He chose this location because he could make use of the abundant materials available.
"I only use it for my own hobbies now," Marikka had claimed, but it was far from neglected. The workshop was well-organized, spotless, and stocked with high-quality supplies.
"In that case, I’ll use some adamantite, 64 light silver, magi-crystals, and... Frost Dragon leather."
"Please, go ahead, Jin-sama."
As compensation for the materials, Jin had permitted a few of Marikka’s disciples to observe the work at her request.
"You girls, I don't know if you'll be able to use this as a reference, but watch closely," Marikka instructed.
"Yes, Master." (But is this person really better than her?)
"Understood, Master." (He doesn't look like much. Besides, he's just a human from the Lauren Continent, right?)
"Yes, Master Marikka." (I can't believe anyone is more skilled than our master.)
"Okay." (Well, let’s see what he’s got.)
Jin, for his part, had completely shifted into Magi Craft Meister mode. After all, he finally had access to first-class materials, even if they weren't quite super-first-class.
"Separation. Forming. Forming. Forming. Strengthen."
"Wh-Wh-Wh..."
"M-Master! What—what was that!?"
"'What' was that? Don't be rude. That is the true skill of Jin-sama, whom I look up to as my teacher."
"..."
"Write In. Fusion. Alloying. Alloying. Strengthen."
Jin continued his work as if the voices of the observers didn't even reach his ears. Since he lacked an assistant, his pace was slightly slower than usual, but it was still more than enough to leave the onlookers spellbound.
(Ah, Jin-sama... I thought I had improved quite a bit, but I understand now that I am still nowhere near your level.)
In her heart, Marikka felt her reverence for Jin climb to even greater heights.
Meanwhile, Jin was feeling a pang of regret that he couldn't create any Fellowship Bracelets due to the lack of super-first-class materials.