“S-so this is Jin-san’s base...”
Kachea was the first to find her voice.
“Well, let’s head outside,” Jin said, taking the lead and climbing the stairs to guide the group out of the laboratory.
“Whoa...”
Lined up outside the laboratory was a full greeting party: Land, Sea, and Air Force golems, Units 1 through 10, standing in perfect formation to welcome them. Out of consideration for the guests’ sensibilities, Jin had instructed the Space Force and Mermaid units to stay out of sight.
“T-this is incredible!” Eira exclaimed, looking strangely delighted. Groma, by contrast, remained completely silent, staring at the display.
Sion, Marikka, and Lordtoss managed to maintain their composure, but the caretakers were a different story.
“S-so this is Jin-sama’s Hourai-to! It really does exist!!” Daiki and Kokona were practically trembling. It seemed the island truly was the stuff of legends among their people.
Jin left them to soak in the sight for a while. During that time, he had a quick meeting with Reiko, Luna, and Soleil to coordinate their stay.
“...My apologies,” Groma said, being the first to snap back to reality.
“Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve been this hyped up!” Eira laughed.
“Eira-san, your energy is still through the roof...” Kachea noted dryly.
Daiki and Kokona finally composed themselves as well, though they remained bowed in humility. “W-we are so sorry. We forgot ourselves for a moment.”
＊ ＊ ＊
“Ooh! So this is Jin’s workshop?!”
As they toured the laboratory, Eira’s eyes lit up the moment they entered the workshop area. “This is amazing... You have materials here I’ve never even seen before!” She was practically glued to the sample shelves.
“I’ve never seen magi-formulas like these...” Groma muttered, staring intently at various prototype magi-devices that Jin had left half-finished on the workbenches.
“Jin-san, how exactly do you handle resource management and inventory tracking for a facility this size?” Kachea asked, her mind focused on logistics as usual.
Before they knew it, evening had arrived. Since Hourai Island had a five-hour and twenty-minute time difference with Loizart, it was only natural that the day felt shorter.
“Well, why don’t you all relax in the hot spring for now?”
“A hot spring?”
“You have a hot spring here...?”
“Oh, hot springs are lovely.”
While their initial reactions varied, not a single one of them disliked the idea. While they bathed, the Golem Maids took the clothes they had shed, cleaned them, and ironed them to perfection within five minutes.
“...This is such a help.”
“Hospitality at its finest.”
“Th-thank you so much.”
The group continued to express their surprise and delight at every turn.
＊ ＊ ＊
Dinner was served a bit late. The menu featured white rice, miso soup with aburaage and okara, grilled fish, assorted tempura, Meat-Topopo nikujaga, chikuzenni, sweet tamagoyaki, kiriboshi daikon, chawanmushi, tsukudani, and oshinko. The meal was structured with small portions of many dishes so that the guests could enjoy a wide variety of flavors.
“Everything is so delicious,” one of them remarked.
The tempura included pumpkin, eggplant, shishito peppers (or something very similar), and itopo. There was also shrimp, squid, white fish, and chikuwa.
“This ‘chikuwa’ tempura has such a unique texture. It’s wonderful!” Surprisingly, the chikuwa tempura turned out to be a crowd favorite.
“As for me, I think I like this the best...” Kokona said, pointing to the sweet tamagoyaki. Daiki seemed particularly taken with the chawanmushi and eventually asked the Golem Maids if they would be willing to teach him the recipe.
“The food at Jin’s place is always so good,” Sion noted. “I wonder if it’s the way it’s cooked?”
Jin honestly couldn’t tell what the difference was, but Perido 1, one of the 5-Color Maids, offered an explanation.
“I suspect it is because the water is different. Sion-sama, would it be correct to say that the water in the Nord Federation is hard water?”
“Hard water? What’s that?” Sion blinked. She had never heard the term. Neither had Marikka, Lordtoss, or anyone else in the group.
Ah... I guess that wasn't included in the Fuhrer curriculum, Jin thought. He stepped in to provide a simpler explanation.
“Hard water has a lot of minerals dissolved in it, while soft water has very few. I imagine the water in the Nord Federation is quite high in calcium and magnesium.”
Jin concluded by mentioning that he didn't know the exact chemical threshold that separated the two. For reference, in modern Japan, water with less than 100 milligrams of calcium and magnesium per liter is considered soft, while anything above that is considered hard (though some use 120 milligrams as the line).
“The water on Hourai Island comes from rain and snowmelt on Mount Hourai, so it has very little time to absorb minerals from the ground,” Laojun added through the speaker system. “Conversely, the water in the Nord Federation is likely drawn from underground sources, which we speculate accounts for the higher mineral content.”
With Laojun’s help, Sion and the others seemed to grasp the concept.
“I see. So if I use Purification to remove the impurities, I can cook even better rice?”
“Actually, if you remove everything, the flavor might vanish along with it,” Jin warned. Distilled water rarely tasted good on its own.
“It’s more complicated than I thought... Well, once I’m back home, I’ll have to experiment a bit.”
“You should.”
The water in the Shouro Empire’s capital, Loizart, was also drawn from Lake Tosmo’s underground springs, making it hard water. It was particularly high in calcium since it passed through limestone bedrock. While hard water was generally considered better for Western-style stews because it helped remove the scum from meat, soft water was superior for general cooking, even if it provided fewer minerals.
“I wonder what the mineral content is like across the rest of the Lauren Continent...” Jin mused. It wasn't something he had ever given much thought to.
“My Lord, we estimate the average would likely be classified as medium-hard water,” Laojun reported. It explained why the food didn't taste bad elsewhere, even if it wasn't quite as good as it was here.
“I see. In that case, Sion, it just means you have an exceptional sense of taste.”
“Wh-where did that come from?!”
“Well, I didn’t even notice—or rather, I didn’t care—but you immediately picked up on the difference in the flavor of the rice.”
“I-is that so...? Well, I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment then.”
The dinner concluded on a warm, peaceful note.
Tomorrow, I’ll call Ludmila and the others over, and I’ll have to take Daiki and Kokona to Onogoro Island... Jin thought. He realized he’d likely need to leave one of those tasks to a Doppel. I’ll just have Hourai Island managed by a Doppel while I’m seeing Daiki and the others off.
It was a busy schedule, but Jin felt that such a packed day was quite fitting for him.
“It is December, after all.”
In Japan, the old name for December was Shiwasu—the month when even the masters are running. Jin, a Magi Craft Meister, smiled wryly to himself as he realized he was doing exactly that.