The day after the high-speed boat race—December 11th.
Jin was supposed to be taking it easy on Onogoro Island... but it wasn't quite working out.
"Jin-sama, where does my design fall short?"
"Jin-sama, what exactly is needed to reach even greater heights?"
"Jin-sama, what should I do to study beyond this level?"
"Jin-sama."
"Jin-sama."
"Jin-sama..."
"..."
Because Jin answered every single one of their questions, he ended up spending nearly the entire day unable to do anything else.
"J-Jin-sama, I am terribly sorry!"
Seeing Jin looking lost in thought, Trihart lowered his head so far he was practically performing a dogeza. Marikka also wore an apologetic expression.
"No, it’s fine," Jin said, brushing it off. "Everyone was so enthusiastic that the explanations felt worthwhile."
"I see."
"But I was thinking that if they only know what's on this island, their perspective will become narrow."
"Their perspective, you say?"
Jin nodded.
"Yeah. After all, I was the same way..."
Jin recalled the time when he had just been summoned and didn't realize just how much of an outlier he was compared to the rest of the world.
"Well, even now, I don't think I'm exactly what you'd call a sensible person."
The fact that he could needle himself like that showed he possessed some self-awareness.
"...So, anyway. There are a few things I've been thinking about."
Jin turned back to face Trihart properly.
"Regarding the competition to choose the King and Queen, I'd like to add categories for things like 'Forming' techniques, or precision processing, and other skills like that."
Since those would be a bit plain, Jin suggested they could simply report the results without a live broadcast.
"Certainly, an evaluation of such technical skills would be necessary."
"That sounds like it would be interesting in its own right," Marikka agreed.
"Also... I suppose I should tell Trihart and Susanne about this first..."
"What might that be?"
Just then, Susanne arrived, carrying green tea on a tray.
"Here you are, Jin-sama."
"Thank you."
Jin offered his thanks and took a sip of the tea.
"...So."
Once Susanne had also taken a seat, Jin began to speak.
Present at the scene were Jin, Reiko, Marikka, Trihart, and Susanne.
"First, do you know about Hale?"
The question was met with a nod.
"You also know about outer space, right?"
The answer to this was also "yes." It seemed the science education on Onogoro Island was at least at the level of a modern Earth elementary school graduate, so they were well-informed.
"Good. Then, onto the main point....I am currently planning the redevelopment of Hale."
"................Excuse me?"
"As I said, I'm going to redevelop Hale so that people can live there."
"..."
The hurdle seemed too high for the sensible couple; Trihart and Susanne simply stared at him blankly.
"E-Err, Hale is on the other side of Star Celane, right?"
"Yeah."
"And because its resources were exhausted, the Haleans—the Progenitors—migrated here to Ars, right?"
"That's correct."
"J-Jin-sama, you intend to do what the Progenitors could not? You're saying you'll bring Hale back to life?"
"Well, that's the gist of it."
After answering, Jin realized that alone lacked persuasive power and offered a supplementary explanation.
"By the time the Haleans—the Progenitors—noticed, it was already too late. And I don’t mean for the planet; I mean the Haleans themselves had begun to degenerate."
Jin stated that if the Haleans had been in their prime, they likely could have done it better than him.
"Though they seemed like people who didn't have much interest in the outside world, so that's really just a 'perhaps'."
After that explanation, Trihart and Susanne’s brains finally rebooted.
"Um, may I ask a few questions?"
"Of course."
"Thank you....Jin-sama, do you intend to live on Hale eventually?"
"Ah... yeah. It's not set in stone, but whether it's my Hourai Island or this Onogoro Island, as long as they are on Ars, they'll eventually be discovered by others."
Both of them agreed on that point.
"Since we have Warp Gates, we'll be able to go back and forth between Ars and Hale with the same ease as visiting a neighbor's house."
"...That is so like you, Jin-sama."
Trihart gave a small sigh.
"I'm also thinking of having you look for volunteers if there are any who want to go to Hale, perhaps for a change of pace, like visiting a villa."
"Eh? Oh, would it be alright for us to live there as well?"
"I'm actually thinking that might allow everyone to live more freely."
"That may be true..."
"I'm also planning to reach out to the Northern People."
Jin added that he expected there would be those wishing to migrate, centered mostly around the younger generation.
"That's likely the case."
"It's not a conversation that needs to be rushed, and it's a plan that will take many generations. But I just wanted you to know that such a plan exists."
"Understood."
＊ ＊ ＊
"...Phew."
Jin was soaking in the hot water, stretching his body out.
"I've mostly fulfilled my initial objectives..."
He was alone today. Or rather, only Reiko was with him to scrub his back.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Father?"
"Yeah. How should I put it... I think I've finally been able to feel a sense of peace since coming here."
Jin murmured thoughtfully amidst the rising steam.
"What are your plans for the future?"
"Let's see... after enjoying this island a bit more, I'll inspect the construction status of the spaceship."
"Understood."
It was meaningful for Reiko to keep track of Jin's schedule.
"I'll think about tomorrow's matters tomorrow..."
Saying that he was tired for the day, Jin stretched once more in the bathtub.