Continental Calendar 320 (Year 3899), Mercana Principality.
"I wonder how that guy Jin is doing," Eira Shiata muttered, pausing her work for a moment.
"I hope he’s doing well," Kachea replied, her own hand pausing as she made an entry in a ledger.
"...Work efficiency really isn't the same without him around, is it?"
"It really isn't."
The two of them looked out the window. Somewhere far beyond the horizon lay the Jagus Principality, where Jin had been taken.
"Argh, what in the world happened?!"
In the Jagus Principality, an uproar was in full swing. Lordtoss, who had been under house arrest in the tower, had escaped. Amidst the chaos of the search, Jin’s own disappearance alongside him was barely mentioned.
"It appears all the golems we sent in have been destroyed as well."
"Ugh, was that automata he had with him truly that high-performance?!"
"We should have confiscated it for analysis."
"Hmph, don't talk about things you aren't capable of doing, Karion."
"What did you say?!"
"Your team can't even properly analyze a golem from the previous generation."
"Guh..."
The internal bickering continued within the labs of the Jagus Principality.
"Lord Paerova, we have discovered an iron ore vein. It seems it will also yield a small amount of magi-crystals."
"Oh, is that so? And the depth?"
"Yes, it is 1,800 meters underground."
"Hmm..."
In the northern part of the Mercana Principality, new mineral veins were being discovered one after another using the Magi Machines Jin had left behind. However, since they were all located so deep underground, excavation would remain a task for the future.
"Jin-sama is really gone, isn't he..."
"Yeah..."
"I knew it would be lonely, but still..."
"Yeah..."
In the Nord Federation, Sion and Marikka were sharing their shared sense of loss.
"To have to say goodbye twice... I wonder what kind of karma we're dealing with."
"Indeed... He is a truly sinful man."
Then, there was Hourai Island.
For a full day after seeing Jin off, the golems and automata stood motionless around the laboratory. Laojun had mobilized every unit not just to bid him farewell; it had required the reserves of free ether and mana held within all of them to secure the energy necessary to "transcend time." As a result, even Laojun had temporarily fallen into functional failure, with only a few core processes remaining active.
"..."
Meanwhile, Reiko had regained consciousness, but it had taken half a day to accumulate enough mana just to move her body.
"...Father," she murmured softly as she sat up.
"!!!!!"
What her eyes beheld then was something unbelievable.
"...Father?"
Lying in the courtyard where the one-time teleportation magic circle had vanished was a figure. It was unmistakably Jin Nidou.
"Father!"
Reiko rushed to his side. Fearing that the time transfer might have failed, she pulled Jin up into her arms.
"Father!"
She called out to him, but there was no response.
"...He is alive."
His heart was beating, and he was breathing.
"...I cannot leave him like this."
Reiko lifted Jin in her arms and carried him into the House. She laid out a futon and placed him on it.
"...Father... why?"
On one hand, she was overcome with joy that they didn't have to part, but on the other, she couldn't bring herself to be purely happy when she thought of the grief Jin would feel if he had failed to return to his original era.
Jin continued to sleep for three days and three nights. In the meantime, Laojun and the golems reactivated and returned to their respective posts.
"Laojun, what on earth happened to Father?"
『Reiko-san, the time transfer should have undoubtedly been a success. In my memory, there is a record that My Lord returned 400 years ago. That version of My Lord stated the transfer was a success on the first attempt.』
"Then why is Father here?"
『Regarding that...』
At that moment, the bedridden Jin stirred. Reiko was quick to notice.
"Father?"
"Nn... ngh..."
"Are you awake?!"
"Rei... ko?"
"Yes, it is I."
Jin sat up from the futon and shook his head lightly a couple of times to clear the cobwebs.
"Is this... the house on Hourai Island...?"
"Yes, it is."
"And it's the year 3899, right?"
"..................Yes."
"I see... I couldn't go back..."
"........................Yes."
Thinking of Jin's feelings, Reiko was unable to answer him immediately.
"But," Jin spoke up again after a while.
"Yes?"
"For some reason, I don't really feel a strong desire to 'go back' anymore."
"Father..."
"If I can't go back, then so be it. From now on, I'll just fully commit to being a person of this era."
『Regarding that, My Lord.』
Laojun chimed in.
"Laojun?"
『My Lord, you are likely a duplicate.』
"A duplicate?"
『Yes. A moment ago, when I used Analyze for a diagnosis, I found that your body is composed entirely of magiatoms.』
Magiatoms. These are atoms composed of magiprotons, magielectrons, and magitrons—or magi-neutrons. In other words, atoms made entirely of magi-particles. They possess higher stability compared to normal atoms.
『I speculate that when you pierced a hole into hyperspace for the time transfer and entered it, some effect occurred. Your body was replaced by magiatoms, just as it was during your transfer between worlds.』
Laojun explained that it was likely the same effect as the hypothesis that magiatoms compensate for physical loss during inter-world travel.
"But I wasn't injured anywhere this time, was I?"
『That is the point. The fact that your entire body was replaced means that your spirit separated from your original body.』
"Hmm..."
According to Laojun, a "reflection" might have occurred within hyperspace. Due to that reflection, a portion of his spirit might have returned to this timeline.
『Since spiritual lifeforms exist, is it not possible that your spirit—or something like a soul—acted as a core to reconstitute My Lord's body?』
While it couldn't be proven, it was the only explanation that made sense.
"Then, in the era 400 years ago...?"
『Yes, it is believed that My Lord, possessing his original physical body, successfully transferred.』
Laojun stated that because an impossible phenomenon like jumping through time had occurred, it was likely that the spiritual entity had experienced a duplication phenomenon.
"So that means the 'original' me successfully returned to 400 years ago, right?"
『This is merely a speculation based on the current situation. There is no way to verify it.』
"..."
Jin looked down in silence for a while. Finally, he looked up and smiled, his expression clear and settled.
"Yeah, there's no mistake. The other... the 'original' me returned safely to 400 years ago. I know because the version of me here has almost no desire left to go back."
"Father..."
"I am here. Isn't that enough?"
"Yes!"
『Yes, My Lord.』
Perhaps the fate named coincidence had smiled just a little, pitying the sorrow of Reiko and the others. Or perhaps Jin's own feelings—the desire to return, yet also having lingering attachments to this era—had worked a miracle.
In any case, the Magi Craft Meister Jin Nidou decided to live in this era once more.