“You certainly possess some magnificent golems and automata!”
Reglei Gibbs von Besuvius, the Magic Technology Minister of the Shouro Empire, beamed with delight.
“The girl and boy automata you have there are particularly exquisite pieces of work...”
Reglei let out a long sigh as he gazed at Reiko and Edgar.
“They must be modeled after the legendary automata, Lady Reiko, and Edgar—the one said to have been created by the wife of the Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou! Using the same names is such a dedicated touch. It’s truly wonderful!”
“Reglei, you haven't changed a bit,” Lordtoss remarked, sounding slightly exasperated as he took a sip of his tea.
“Haha, naturally! Wouldn't want the seawater turning sweet on us, would we!” Reglei declared, utterly unabashed.
Jin and the others—especially Rubina and Shu—could only stare in bewilderment. They weren't used to this kind of banter, so their confusion was only natural.
Reglei turned back to Lordtoss.
“I take it you’ve come to see tomorrow’s Gonpetition?”
Lordtoss confirmed that they had.
“Not to worry. There are plenty of vacant seats in the VIP section.”
It would be a national disgrace if they ran out of VIP seating, so they apparently planned with a significant surplus. At the same time, conspicuous empty seats would affect their public image, so they filled the vacancies under the pretense of them being guards.
Instead of guards, he was offering to secure seats for them under the guise of “guests from the Nord Federation and their companions.”
“That would be a great help.”
“Think nothing of it. Now then... ‘Urgan,’ was it? You must let me take a close look at your new golem later.”
“Of course, feel free.”
Lordtoss and Reglei chatted with the easy familiarity of old friends. Jin felt a small pang of envy watching them.
“As for the guests... Juna, I’ll leave them to you. Please show them to their rooms.”
“By your command. Guests, please follow me.”
The slender Juna gave an elegant bow and led Jin and the others toward the guest quarters.
(Hmm, she’s a fairly impressive automaton. Though, her power seems to be only around human level or slightly better.)
With his keen eyes, Jin had already discerned Juna’s general specifications.
“Please, make use of this suite.”
They were shown into a large guest room that featured six separate bedrooms. The layout consisted of a central hall serving as a living area with three bedrooms branching off each side. It also came equipped with a washroom, toilet, and shower room.
“It’s quite a modern room.”
Jin was impressed. It was exactly what one would expect from the residence of a Magic Technology Minister.
“I’m taking this one!”
Rubina was the first to claim a spot, picking the bedroom in the far corner on the east side. Shu chose the far corner on the west side, and Jin took the room next to it, also on the west side near the window.
After setting down their belongings, they gathered on the sofas in the hall. Shortly after, the glamorous Yuana appeared.
“I am Yuana. I have been assigned to look after your needs. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you.”
With that, Yuana took a station by the door. Jin and the others didn't have any immediate requests, but one thing came to mind.
“Where will Lordtoss be staying?” Jin asked.
“Yes, Lordtoss-sama will be joining you here momentarily.”
As she spoke, Lordtoss and Urgan entered the room.
“Jin-san, I’ll be staying here as well.”
Lordtoss placed his bags in the room on the east side near the window.
“Lunch will be served soon. I told them we had a light snack on the way, so it shouldn't be anything too heavy.”
Just as he said, the meal brought to the room was rice porridge. It wasn't just plain porridge, however. It was served with sides of miso soup, a thick savory sauce for topping, eggs, oshinko, tsukudani, and salt, allowing everyone to customize their bowl to their liking.
“Tsukudani, huh...”
“It’s one of the things Father spread throughout this land,” Reiko informed him in a quiet voice.
It seemed the Jin from four hundred years ago had introduced it. Since it required katsuobushi and soy sauce, Jin imagined it must have happened after trade with Mitsuho had become well-established.
“Oh, this sauce is delicious!”
When Jin tried the savory sauce, he found it to be a Japanese-style dashi. Of course, the term “Japanese-style” didn't exist here; it was referred to as “Konron-style.”
“So I’m the one who spread this too...”
Jin felt a quiet sense of joy, knowing his past self’s actions allowed him to enjoy a delicious meal today.
“It’s also good if you mix in the miso soup to make it like ojiya.”
Since the bowls provided were quite small, it was easy to go through three or four of them. When Jin tried mixing in the miso soup to create an ojiya-style dish, he found it quite satisfying.
“The miso soup is seasoned a bit on the stronger side for that very reason.”
“Jin-sama, this is wonderful!”
Shu also seemed to have taken a liking to the ojiya-style porridge.
“This salt is quite high quality as well,” Lordtoss remarked with admiration after trying the porridge with simple salt seasoning.
“Let’s see... Yeah, the flavor is close to seaweed salt.”
Jin wondered if it was seaweed salt produced in some local region. Reiko took a tiny taste of the salt. Her mouth was equipped with a high-performance chemical analysis sensor.
“Father, this salt is rock salt.”
“I see, so it’s rock salt.”
Most rock salt was formed in ancient times when areas that were once seas were uplifted, causing the seawater to evaporate and the salt to undergo crystallization. During that process, various minerals were often incorporated, which could give the salt unique colors and flavors.
“It appears to contain magnesium chloride, iodine, glutamic acid, inosinic acid, and aspartic acid, in addition to sodium chloride and potassium chloride.”
“I see... Wait, Reiko, how do you know all those chemical names?”
Jin wasn't particularly well-versed in chemistry, so his knowledge of chemical formulas and substances was limited.
“Yes. It is knowledge I gained from the books brought by the ‘Magus’... my Grandfather, Shuuki Tsetse.”
“Right, that makes sense.”
Tsutsui Shuuki—Shuuki Tsetse—was a man who had ended up in this world from modern Japan just like Jin, or at least from a very similar place. As a medical student, he had brought books on medicine, pharmacology, and nutrition with him. Reiko had absorbed all that knowledge when they visited the Mitsuho Library.
“Ah, that was wonderful.”
“It certainly was.”
“I’m stuffed.”
Rubina, Shu, Jin, and Lordtoss were all thoroughly satisfied with the lunch. Likely due to Jin's influence, the Shouro Empire seemed to place a heavy emphasis on the pursuit of culinary culture.
The meal concluded with a cup of hojicha.
“Yes, this tea is freshly roasted and delicious.”
Everyone finished their lunch in high spirits.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Jin-san, what would you like to do this afternoon?”
“Hmm, let’s see. Since we’re here, I’d like to take a look around the town.”
Jin answered after a moment of thought.
“Understood. In that case, I’ll borrow a carriage from Reglei.”
Lordtoss mentioned that if they were going to the center of Loizart, a carriage would be better than walking, and he stepped out of the guest suite to make the arrangements.
“What about you two, Rubina and Shu?”
“I want to go with Jin-sama!”
“Me... too.”
Since they were both eager to go...
“Alright, let’s all go together. For escorts, I think Reiko and Edgar will be enough.”
Jin explained that taking large golems into town would draw far too much attention.
“You’re right. It’s a shame, but Blitz and Donner will have to stay here,” Rubina agreed.
However, she followed that up with a bold declaration.
“Next time, I’m going to make an automata of my own!”