December 30th, 4:00 PM.
Jin and his guests had finished their excursion on the cruiser Yodo and returned to the laboratory.
"Well, today is New Year's Eve."
"New Year's Eve?"
"Ah, that’s right."
Aside from Groma, who hailed from Fusou Island, no one else seemed to recognize the term.
"The last day of every month is called misoka," Jin explained. "Since today is the end of December and the end of the year, we call it Dai-misoka—the Great Misoka."
In the lunar calendar, a standard month lasted thirty days. Since the end of the month fell on the thirtieth day, the word for thirty—miso—became synonymous with the month's end. In the solar calendar, where months varied between twenty-eight and thirty-one days, the final day was still referred to as misoka by tradition.
"And on New Year's Eve, we observe several traditions."
Groma reacted immediately. "You mean toshikoshi soba!"
Customs from the old world, particularly Japanese-style ones, remained prevalent on Fusou Island and in Mitsuho. These traditions had been introduced by a predecessor who had drifted into this world long before Jin: the Magus Shuuki Tsetse.
"There are various theories about it," Jin continued. "Some say we eat it to wish for a life as long and slender as the noodles, or perhaps to sever the year's misfortunes, since soba breaks so easily."
"Heh... I didn't know that part. Jin... dono, are you originally from Fusou or Mitsuho?"
"No, I just happen to have some acquaintances from there. Or more accurately, I did."
Perhaps sensing a deeper story behind his words, Groma didn't press for further details.
"Anyway, back to the plan. We’ll purify ourselves in the baths, and then we’ll have toshikoshi soba for dinner....Do you prefer your soba hot or cold?"
Jin himself was a fan of cold mori soba.
In the end, Sion and the rest of the Nord Federation group opted for hot soba, while Eira and the Avalon group chose cold. Both styles would be served with tempura, and the cold soba would come with a side of soba-yu.
That business settled, the group headed to the hot springs to wash away the salt and stickiness of the sea breeze. It was also a chance to symbolically scrub away the grime and fatigue of the past year.
As always, the Golem Maids took their discarded clothes to be cleaned.
"Honestly, this is a lifesaver," Eira remarked.
"It really is," Kachea agreed.
"Such a luxurious way to utilize golems..." Groma added.
Each of them seemed to have their own impression of the service.
"Ah, that felt wonderful."
"As expected of Jin-sama..."
The members of the Nord Federation emerged feeling equally refreshed.
Once everyone had bathed and changed into clean clothes, they gathered around the table in the living room of the House.
"Tatami... How nostalgic," Groma said with a happy sigh.
"So these are mats made from a grass called igusa?" Kachea asked, clearly intrigued. "This is my first time seeing them, but they feel wonderful and the scent is lovely."
Kachea seemed to have taken quite a liking to the flooring.
"Yeah! Being able to sit right on the floor like this is so relaxing!" Eira added. Her naturally casual personality found great value in the informal seating.
Sion and her companions had visited many times, and since tatami saw a small amount of circulation in the Nord Federation, they didn't have much of a reaction.
Then, the toshikoshi soba was served.
"Wow, what a wonderful aroma."
Soba made from freshly ground buckwheat flour always had a superior scent. Two types of dipping sauce—sweet and dry—were provided so everyone could mix them to their liking. Jin preferred his slightly sweet, so he mixed two parts sweet with one part dry. It was a masterpiece of a broth, rich with the flavor of katsuobushi.
For condiments, they had wasabi and karami daikon—a sharp radish variety bred from wild stock.
"The tempura is so crispy!"
The meal was accompanied by shrimp tempura and vegetable mixed-fry. Since it was served straight from the fryer, Jin ate carefully to avoid burning his mouth.
"The soup stock on Hourai Island is always so delicious," Sion said, savoring the broth of her hot soba.
"It's katsuobushi and kombu, isn't it?"
"I heard they use niboshi stock as a secret ingredient as well," Jin mentioned. It wasn't a secret he felt the need to keep, especially from the members of the Jin Family.
"I see. I'll have to try that myself next time."
The night of New Year's Eve slowly deepened in peace.
Meanwhile, inside Avalon.
The time difference with Hourai Island was about three and a half hours, so it was mid-afternoon here. Preparations for the turn of the year were underway, though there weren't any particularly grand events planned. The most tedious task for the staff was likely preparing the new filing cabinets for the coming year's paperwork.
Despite the holiday atmosphere, Deus Ex Machina III and Elena’s party remained in Avalon. Maquina III, in particular, was conducting a thorough inspection of the facility’s infrastructure.
(...I left it for a while, but quite a few systems have deteriorated...)
The original equipment from the ancient era was holding up well, but the components added after Jin's departure were showing their age. It was clear evidence that contemporary technology could not yet match Jin’s skills or the techniques of the Progenitors.
(I suppose we have much to look forward to in the future.)
The Mentor, who was currently operating Maquina III, moved through the work in silence. Then, he stopped.
"This is...!"
Inside the Avalon facility, Maquina III discovered four suspicious magi-devices. And that wasn't all.
Upon analysis, three were eavesdropping units and one was a bomb. The "extra" discovery was a teleportation magic circle.
(It would be a surprise indeed if the Magic Federation already possessed the technology for teleportation magic circles...)
The Mentor immediately reported the find to Laojun. He also took the liberty of disabling all four magi-devices and the magic circle. His final task was to report the situation to Tomax Bartman.
At the same time, Elena had obtained permission to review the organization's records. She was utilizing her full processing power for the task. Because of the physical fragility of parchment and wood-paper, she limited her search speed to roughly eight times that of a human; any faster and the friction might tear the documents.
Her audit revealed three major instances of data tampering.
From documents five years old: "It appears the budget was being diverted to something else."
From documents two years old: "Cargo of unknown purpose was brought into storage."
And finally, from the records of the current year: "I believe information is being leaked."
She had traced four separate transmissions sent to an unidentified destination.
"Mmm, this is a grave situation indeed!"
Upon receiving the report, Tomax Bartman groaned, his face twisting as if he had swallowed a bitter bug.
It seemed the New Year would not be arriving for him quite yet.