Jin was stunned to learn that the mansion he had lived in four hundred years ago still belonged to the Nidou family.
"Without a doubt, the current head of the house is a biological descendant of you and Elsa-san," Lordtoss confirmed.
It seemed the lineage had been preserved through various branches—the second son of a third son of a second son, and so on—and the current patriarch had been appointed to the rank of count within the Shouro Empire.
"The House of Count Nidou, huh..."
Jin gave a wry smile, the reality not quite sinking in.
"Well, I didn't come here today to see the mansion anyway."
Jin had no intention of interfering with his descendants as long as they were living happily.
"Shall we go take a look at the shops, then?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!!"
At Jin's suggestion, Rubina and Shu replied with spirited enthusiasm.
"By the way, have you two ever gone shopping before? Wait, of course you have. There were shops on Onogoro Island, after all."
Jin assumed that was the case, even if those establishments were run by automata.
"No, I have never actually gone shopping before," Shu said, leaving Jin utterly flabbergasted.
"W-What!?"
"We don't need money on Onogoro Island," Rubina added simply.
"...Uh, you mean you can just get whatever you want for free?"
"That is correct," Shu replied.
Jin felt the urge to bury his face in his hands.
(I suppose it's because Testa, Helente, and Direk are so strongly influenced by the Origin Clan...)
Back on their home planet of Hale, the Progenitors had apparently left every menial task to their servants so they could immerse themselves in their own hobbies.
Jin imagined that this same attitude had translated into how they cared for the residents of Onogoro Island. He also suspected that Marikka had never bothered to interfere with those finer details.
"Lordtoss, this money is still usable today, isn't it?"
Jin pulled the coins he had prepared out of his pocket to show him.
"Yes, there should be no problem. The unit of currency is still the Toll, and I have heard its value has barely fluctuated over the centuries."
Jin wondered if that was actually a good thing.
While he was no expert on economics, he couldn't judge whether it was positive or negative for prices to remain stagnant for four hundred years.
(Well, I suppose I can't apply Earth's economic principles here directly.)
When comparing Earth to Ars, the most fundamental difference was energy. In the world of Ars, they possessed an energy source called free ether that was free of charge and in no danger of depletion. As a layman, Jin speculated that a simple comparison was impossible.
Furthermore, the existence of magic could not be ignored.
The presence of golems, which combined these two elements, provided a labor force that Earth simply could not match in terms of efficiency and cost.
"Well, as long as the coins work, it's fine."
He had brought five gold coins, totaling fifty thousand Toll (roughly five hundred thousand yen). He had also entrusted Reiko with about two hundred thousand Toll, so he figured they could afford most anything they might want.
However, Jin, who had considered giving the two an allowance of one gold coin each, reconsidered after hearing they had never shopped before.
"You two, if you see something you want, just let me know. If it's something I can afford, I'll buy it for you."
"Thank you very much!"
"Yay! Thank you, Jin-sama!"
Seeing how happy they were, Jin felt relieved that he had made the right choice.
The group eventually reached the main shopping district.
"Wow!"
Rubina's eyes sparkled as she peered into an accessory shop.
"Incredible!"
Shu was rooted to the spot, captivated by the samples at a weapons shop.
As for Jin, his attention was drawn to the display window of a clothing store.
(So this is the current fashion...)
It had an aesthetic somewhat reminiscent of the Showa era, with designs Jin recognized incorporated here and there.
For instance, the skirt lengths. As far as Jin knew, almost everything had been floor-length four hundred years ago, but some of the items on display were knee-length.
Then there were the patterns. Fabrics with prints, which were almost nonexistent before, were now in use—though they were mostly checks and polka dots. This was likely why he felt a sense of Showa-era nostalgia.
The clothes Rubina wore were almost identical to the styles of four hundred years ago. While the quality was supreme-level, it was perhaps unavoidable that the design felt somewhat antiquated by comparison.
In contrast, men's clothing remained virtually unchanged from what Jin, Shu, and Lordtoss were wearing.
Jin thought about buying some clothes for Rubina, but the girl showed no interest in them, heading straight into the accessory shop instead.
"Well, I suppose jewelry is fine too."
Jin followed her inside, only to find her staring intently at a sapphire.
"Oh, this stone looks quite hard," she remarked.
"Well, a sapphire has a Mohs hardness of nine, so it's certainly tough," Jin agreed. "But this one over here is even harder."
He pointed to a pink diamond three spots down.
"Oh, you're right."
"That's because its Mohs hardness is ten."
As the words left his mouth, Jin realized something was amiss.
"...Wait, you weren't looking at them as jewelry, were you?"
"Huh?" Rubina looked at him blankly.
"...Never mind. Let's move on."
"? Okay."
Though she didn't quite understand the confusion, Rubina followed Jin back out of the shop.
"Oh, Jin-sama, there seems to be a magi-device shop over there. I'd like to take a look."
Shu voiced his request.
"Oh, I want to see that too!" Rubina agreed.
"...Fine, but don't say anything disparaging about their inventory."
Looking at Rubina's face, Jin felt the sudden urge to give her that warning.
They soon arrived at the magi-device shop.
"Whoa..."
A vast array of magi-devices was lined up inside.
It was fascinating to see the mixture of old and new technology.
"Oh?"
Among the items, Jin spotted a familiar trademark.
"The Craft Queen Workshop, huh... Rubina, this is a product from a workshop related to your ancestor, Beena."
"Eh? Really?"
"Yeah. Look. This engraving is the proof."
"Wow, so this is it..."
It was clearly a mark of trust; the quality of that particular magi-device was a grade or two above everything else in the store.
"As expected."
It was more accurate to say it was a workshop managed with Beena as its Honorary Advisor rather than one she had founded herself.
During Beena's personal days, she had engraved a stylized 'B' as her mark, but the Craft Queen Workshop used a design that combined a 'C' and a 'Q'.
As he looked at it, Jin thought to himself that he would like to take Rubina to Blue Land someday.
Despite a few minor surprises, the excursion passed without any major trouble, and Jin's party returned safely to the mansion of Magic Technology Minister Reglei.