"Would you be able to provide us with some information?"
The "information" Reglei sought was, of course, regarding the golem-like entity that had orchestrated this chaos.
"However, if the Magic Federation is truly the one pulling the strings, their ideology is a hollow one," Ernst II muttered to himself.
Jin shared that sentiment. Utilizing golems while simultaneously rejecting material civilization was the height of hypocrisy—a blatant double standard.
(Well, people like that always have a gap between their true intentions and their public facade,) Jin thought.
He was briefly reminded of the politicians from his original world. There were so many of them who prioritized their own power above all else, never feeling even a shred of shame for their double-tongued or triple-tongued nature. Jin could only smile wryly at the memory.
"...Over there."
Meanwhile, Lordtoss pointed toward the northern sky.
"The sky? It is flying!?" Reglei sounded frustrated. It seemed that even he had not thought to order security for the upper atmosphere. "Ugh... Even if we head back to Loizart now and call for the airship fleet, those crazed golems will reach the town of Bulurek before they can arrive here..."
Reglei agonized over the situation. "Considering the risks, I cannot even dispatch my own golems. What on earth are we to do...?"
Seeing his distress, Jin decided to carry out the resolution he had made earlier.
"Minister Reglei, would you let me handle that part?"
"Hm? And who might you be?" it was Ernst II who asked.
"Your Majesty, please grant me a direct audience. I am Jin Nidou. I am a friend of Minister of Magic Technology Reglei and a relative of Lordtoss of the Puppet Clan."
"Oh, Jin Nidou, you say?...Taking that name is quite interesting. Do not trouble yourself over the direct audience; these are extraordinary circumstances....So, you are saying you can do something about the golem that caused this chaos?"
"Yes."
"I see. Then I leave it to you. Every second counts....However, we will also proceed with other measures on our end, so do not take offense."
Although the Emperor had given Jin permission, there was no guarantee of success. Or rather, there was no way for Ernst II to know what Jin was truly capable of. Therefore, he declared his intention to move forward with other plans in parallel.
Jin, understanding the necessity of such caution, gave a nod. "Of course. As expected of Your Majesty."
Turning to his companion, he gave a simple command. "Reiko, go and capture it."
"Yes, Father," Reiko replied briefly before quickly running from the spot. She was careful not to do anything as conspicuous as taking flight in front of the crowd.
As long as she was in public view, she kept her speed capped at around 100 kilometers per hour. Once she judged she had reached a spot where she was out of sight, she activated Invisible.
Having become completely unseen, Reiko engaged her force generator and soared into the sky.
"Now, the target is... there it is. That one."
Reiko spotted a Blow Floater flying at an altitude of about 100 meters. It appeared to have a Hide barrier deployed around it, which would likely make it impossible to spot from the ground.
"A Hide barrier... That takes me back."
Reiko was recalling an incident from long ago, during the early days when Jin and Elsa were traveling toward the Shouro Empire. Back then, she had failed to sense a bandit wearing a Hide-effect amulet, which had led to Elsa and Mine being attacked.
However, the current Reiko would not be deceived by something on the level of Hide. To begin with, the Stealth barrier magic existed as a superior version of Hide, and the Invisible magic Reiko was currently using was an even higher tier than that.
"I can see you clearly."
Reiko accelerated toward the Blow Floater at about 300 kilometers per hour. To her, its current speed of 50 kilometers per hour made it look like it was standing still. Furthermore, she was approaching while remaining completely invisible.
"First... like this!"
In an instant, Reiko knocked the pilot golem off the Blow Floater. The craft went into a tailspin and crashed into the uninhabited wilderness below. Reiko then muttered, "Captured," and gripped the golem's shoulders with precision.
The golem's shoulders buckled under her strength, rendering its arms immobile.
"Stop."
Simultaneously, she activated an ether eliminator. The golem came to a complete halt, and the internal magi-device emitting the Master-Slave Rewrite Magic signal also ceased functioning.
In that state, Reiko headed back toward Jin and the others, dragging the golem with her. Partway back, she descended to the ground and eventually pulled the captive golem into the presence of the Emperor.
"Father, I have returned."
"Oh, good work, Reiko....Is this the golem responsible?"
"Yes."
"The golems under its control haven't stopped even though the source has. Let's hurry and take this thing apart to see what kind of magi-device was used to dominate them."
"Yes, I will assist you."
Jin and Reiko exchanged those words and immediately set to work.
"Whoa, amazing! Jin-sama, can I watch?"
"Yeah, go ahead. There might be something useful for you to see."
Rubina had been behaving herself because she was in the presence of the Emperor, but she finally reached her limit and ran over to Jin's side. Shu approached silently as well. Both were filled with curiosity about the unknown golem.
As for Lordtoss, he watched Rubina and Shu with a fond expression.
"..."
"..."
However, the Emperor of the Shouro Empire and the Minister of Magic Technology seemed unable to process the speed of the events.
"...Reglei, unless my senses deceive me, barely five minutes passed between that girl-like automaton leaving and her return?"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. I believe it was closer to three."
"She returned before I could even issue additional orders..."
"Indeed she did."
"Who exactly is he? That man calling himself Jin Nidou?"
"At this point, I would believe it even if I were told he was the Magi Craft Meister herself."
While serving as Jin's assistant, Reiko was firmly keeping track of the conversation between the Emperor and the Minister. She relayed the details to Laojun via her internal manacam.
Laojun immediately began to devise a strategy that would settle the situation in the most beneficial way for Jin's future standing. After running several simulations and reaching a conclusion two seconds later, Laojun communicated the plan to Reiko via manacam.
Understood. I will find an opportunity and proceed as planned, Reiko replied without speaking aloud, her hands never stopping for a moment.
Then, while helping Jin with the disassembly, she briefly conveyed Laojun's proposal to Jin in a low voice meant only for his ears.
(Got it. That line seems like the best path...)
Jin replied to Reiko without pausing his work. Before long, the captured golem had been laid open and its components separated.
"Hmm, this seems to be it....Inspection...?"
"What is the matter, Father?"
"This might be a new concept."
Jin noted that the mechanism was different from both Master-Slave Rewrite Magic and a Magi Emulator.
"Jin-san, what exactly do you mean?"
Lordtoss was intrigued, and Shu and Rubina leaned in with intense curiosity. Jin began his explanation in a voice loud enough for the Emperor and the Minister of Magic Technology to hear.