On the night of September 11, Jin prepared to depart for Uni.
"Is that everything? You haven't forgotten anything, have you?"
"No, I should be fine."
Jin had decided to head for Uni, and Sion and Marikka were busy supporting his departure.
Sion, in particular, was acting for all the world like a mother fussing over a child going on a field trip, meticulously double-checking the inventory of food, water, and other essentials.
"How long will it take to reach Uni?" she asked.
"Let's see..."
Jin hadn't measured the distance with absolute precision, but he estimated it to be somewhere between 370,000 and 380,000 kilometers.
"Pegasus 2's maximum speed should reach about a hundred kilometers per second, so we should be there in a little over an hour."
"That’s incredible..."
He could leave after breakfast and be home by lunch.
"Mind you, I haven't actually tested those speeds yet."
"No, Father, you tested it when you first built the craft," Reiko chimed in.
"I... I see."
Coming from Reiko, who had been there when it was crafted, the confirmation provided an extra layer of reassurance.
"Well then, shall we go?"
After confirming that the cosmic ray protection barrier projectors and the air conditioning were functioning, Jin spoke with the casual air of someone heading to the next town over.
"Oh, did you check the Warp Gate?"
"Yeah, that was the first thing I looked at."
Since there was a risk that any Warp Gate connected to Hourai Island or Shinkai might fail, Jin had newly installed an emergency escape Gate linked to the Sion's clan territory. This ensured they could return if things went south.
"Then everything should be fine," Sion said, her worry finally beginning to ease.
"Well, I'm off then."
"Take care, Jin."
"Jin-sama, please be careful."
Aiming for Uni, which shone brilliantly in the night sky, Pegasus 2 ascended soundlessly. Reiko sat at the controls, with Hope as her co-pilot.
"Father, I am accelerating to maximum speed."
"Understood. I'll leave it to you."
Reiko had served as the test pilot when the 'future' Jin built the craft, so he could trust her steering implicitly.
Through the work of the gravitioner, Pegasus 2 accelerated at a rate of 20G, though Jin only felt a standard 1G. Moving at an acceleration of 196 meters per second squared, the craft reached a staggering velocity of ten kilometers per second in just fifty-one seconds.
"The repulsion barrier is functioning normally," Reiko reported.
The barrier, powered by the force generator, was designed to deflect obstacles. Without it, even a tiny speck of cosmic dust would become a lethal projectile capable of piercing Pegasus 2.
When I eventually return to my time, I'll have to build this from scratch...
The thought of the work ahead was daunting, but Jin also found it deeply motivating.
"You can do it, Father."
Reiko wasn't merely offering flattery; she spoke with the certainty of someone who had already seen it done. Jin could only nod in response.
＊ ＊ ＊
As scheduled, Uni loomed large after an hour of travel.
"Can you establish contact with Jack?"
"Yes, Father. I believe there shouldn't be any problem."
No matter how much information the Magic Federation had stolen, an immediate leap into space travel was beyond them. That was why Laojun had moved Watcher to the safety of Uni.
"This is Pegasus 2 of Hourai Island. Pilot: Reiko. Management magi-brain Jack, please respond."
A reply came almost immediately.
"This is Jack. Welcome to Uni, Reiko-san."
"Father is with me. We request permission to land at the designated facility."
"Jack acknowledges. Opening airlock. Please proceed to Uni's North Pole."
The 'North Pole' was defined as the direction perpendicular to the orbital plane of the Celane System, aligned with Ars's own North Pole. This definition was necessary because Uni did not rotate relative to the planet.
As Pegasus 2 approached the coordinates, a massive opening appeared below them—the airlock.
"Landing now."
Reiko skillfully guided the craft into the opening. The vertical shaft was roughly a hundred meters deep; as Pegasus 2 descended, a series of hatches sealed shut above them. By the time the fourth hatch closed, the ship had touched down on the landing pad.
"Father, outside pressure is at one atmosphere. The air is breathable."
"Got it."
As a precaution, Jin donned a built-in space suit before stepping out of the craft.
"Welcome, Jin-sama."
The voice of the management magi-brain, Jack, greeted him.
"It’s been a while, Jack."
"Indeed. You appear unchanged, Jin-sama."
Jin offered a wry internal smile. Since he had arrived here directly from four hundred years in the past, it stood to reason he looked exactly the same.
"I've come today to upgrade Watcher."
"An upgrade? What will it entail? Do you require materials or assistance?"
"The primary focus is countering the Magi Emulator. I was hoping to use some of the materials you have here."
"Understood."
Jack opened the bulkhead, inviting Jin deeper into the facility. Jin moved with familiarity; the layout was mostly stored in his memory.
"By the way, who is your other companion? They do not match my registered data."
Jack was referring to Hope, who had been following silently so as not to interfere with Jin.
"Ah, sorry about that. This is Hope. He's an assistant golem I created recently."
"Data recorded. Lord Hope, I look forward to working with you."
"Lord Jack, the pleasure is mine," Hope replied politely.
Before long, they arrived at the Factory within Uni.
"Please feel free to use any materials found here."
Uni routinely captured passing asteroids and cosmic dust, processing and storing them as raw resources. Even fragments of the long-period planet Modenu, which had once approached Ars, were stored here.
"This should be more than enough."
Jin immediately set to work on the magi-device.
"Father, the magi-formula you're drafting... it seems different from the previous versions," Reiko observed, peering over his shoulder.
"Yeah, it is. I've added another layer of security."
"Another layer?"
"I've made it so it requires a password."
While passwords were used in some magi-devices and Magi Machines, they weren't common on Hourai Island. This was because they relied heavily on Certificates based on magi waveforms, but now that Jin knew even those could be spoofed, he had decided to use a multi-factor approach.
"The process for authentication stays simple. It just has to recognize my magi, and then I provide the password in my own voice."
"I see. That makes perfect sense."
"The password will be... 'Tsutsui Shuuki'."
Since it was a Japanese name, Jin figured that the combination of the specific name and its correct pronunciation would be impossible for any native of Ars to bypass.
"That is an excellent choice, Father," Reiko agreed.
With that settled, Jin set about quickly assembling the new magi-devices.