At the stroke of midnight on January 3rd, Avalon time, the date officially changed.
Laojun, the management magi-brain of Hourai Island, detected the activation of the magi-device Jin had entrusted to its care. The signal lasted a mere 0.1 seconds.
However, for Laojun, who had been fully prepared and waiting, that was more than enough time.
Having pinpointed the recipient of the mana wave transmission, Laojun immediately contacted Jin, who had remained awake in anticipation.
"My Lord, the magi-device has activated, just as you predicted."
The reply came instantly.
"I see... and the destination?"
"Yes. It is located in the outskirts of Blue Land in the Kingdom of Egerea."
"What?"
"I am transmitting the detailed coordinates to Reiko. I will also send a map via the transporter and return the device in question at the same time."
"Got it. Good work."
The communication cut off. Five seconds later, both the magi-device and the map arrived. Jin disassembled the device to permanently disable its communication capabilities, then turned his attention to the map.
"The outskirts of Blue Land... Is this a mine?"
"It appears to be an abandoned one," Reiko noted, leaning over to examine the map with him.
"Most likely. They must have secretly constructed a base in the tunnels underground."
"The probability is high."
Satisfied with the result, Jin finally decided to get some rest.
The next morning—or rather, at 8:30 AM that same day—Jin arrived at the Chief Administrator's office. He had already finished breakfast and was ready to move.
"We've identified the signal's destination."
"Oh! And where is it?"
"The outskirts of Blue Land, in the Kingdom of Egerea."
"The Kingdom of Egerea, you say..." Tomax Bartman murmured.
It was impossible to tell if the enemy had established this second base following the loss of their stronghold in the Kingdom of Elias, or if they had kept it prepared as a contingency all along.
"Jin-dono..."
Tomax looked at Jin with pleading eyes. Having spent over three years unaware that a listening device had been cleverly hidden in the back of his own desk, the man had fallen into a deep state of self-reproach.
"I know. Now that we've come this far, Maquina and I will see this through until the matter is resolved."
"I—I see! That is a huge help!!"
Tomax bowed so vigorously that his head nearly struck the desk.
The team for the expedition to the Kingdom of Egerea was quickly selected. Naturally, it included Jin, Reiko, and Hope, as well as Lordtoss and Urgan. Sion and her group would not be joining them; instead, they were to be sent back to the Nord Federation via an Avalon airship.
"Sion, Marikka, Vita, Ludmila—I'm sorry things ended so abruptly," Jin said, bowing his head to apologize for the New Year's festivities being cut short.
"It's fine, Jin. Just make sure to invite us again, okay?" Sion replied.
"Of course."
Sion and the others laughed and forgave him, allowing Jin to breathe a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Maquina III would remain in Avalon as a precaution against any further trouble. Representing Avalon on the mission were Tomax Bartman and Illumina Ratkin.
Illumina Ratkin was a woman who was proficient in magi-craft, possessed above-average martial arts skills, and excelled at administrative tasks. To put it kindly, she was an all-purpose talent; to put it harshly, she was a jack-of-all-trades. However, her specific skill set made her an ideal secretary or staff officer, which was why she served as the Deputy Chief Administrator.
"Illumina, do your best out there," Marikka encouraged.
"Yes, Teacher. Thank you for seeing us off."
Illumina bowed deeply, showing her profound respect for Marikka.
Since time was of the essence, the party boarded Jin's Hurricane to head for the Kingdom of Egerea. The distance from Avalon to the capital, Asunt, was roughly 300 kilometers—a mere one-hour flight for the Hurricane.
Given the emergency, they planned to fly straight to Blue Land to confirm the location of the base believed to belong to the Magic Federation. The group was kept small to ensure they weren't detected, preventing the enemy from fleeing.
Jin, Maquina III, Elena, Sion, Marikka, and Lordtoss had all agreed that Reiko, Hope, Urgan, and the Hurricane provided more than enough combat power. In reality, Laojun could instantly dispatch additional reinforcements from Hourai Island if necessary, and the observation satellite Watcher was monitoring the surface from orbit.
However, the Quinta, who had been stationed across the various nations 400 years ago, had all been recalled to Hourai Island, meaning they were unavailable for local intelligence gathering. As far as Laojun was concerned, that was the only regret.
The time difference between Blue Land and Avalon was approximately 45 minutes.
Just before noon local time, the Hurricane landed at an airfield on the outskirts of Blue Land. Having been contacted in advance via manaphone, the lord of Blue Land, Duke Blue—Vargas Blue Pyroid—was there to greet them.
"Welcome, Chief Administrator Tomax Bartman-dono, Illumina Ratkin-dono. And Magi Craft Meister Jin Nidou-dono, Honorary Squire Reiko Nidou-dono, and Lordtoss of the Puppet Clan."
Duke Blue was a young man in his mid-30s. He appeared to be an acquaintance of Tomax Bartman, as the two exchanged polite greetings. Jin and the others followed suit.
"To get straight to the point... you say there is a secret base likely belonging to the Magic Federation in the outskirts of my territory!?"
"Yes. While we haven't confirmed it belongs to the Magic Federation specifically, there is no doubt it is a base for the enemies who attacked Avalon recently."
"Hrmm..." Duke Blue's expression turned grim. "May I accompany you?"
"Yes, of course," Jin replied, though he immediately fell into thought.
The Taube, the wind-attribute Blow Floater carried aboard the Hurricane, was a six-seater. It couldn't carry the entire party once Duke Blue was added. On the other hand, flying the Hurricane directly to the site would be too conspicuous.
However, Duke Blue had already made arrangements.
"I have three of our country's Blow Floaters ready. Will that be sufficient?"
Three four-seater Blow Floaters, including their pilots, were waiting. With this, the logistics were simple: Jin, Reiko, Hope, Lordtoss, and Urgan would take the Taube. One Egerean floater would carry Duke Blue, Tomax, and Illumina. Another would carry Duke Blue's two Guard ritters and one Guard Golem. This meant they only needed two of the three local crafts.
"Oh, so this is the Magi Craft Meister's Blow Floater!" Duke Blue exclaimed, his eyes widening as he examined the Taube.
With no time to waste, they boarded their respective vessels. The Taube took the lead, as Jin's team knew the exact coordinates.
The Blow Engines slowly woke up, generating the lift needed to bring the crafts off the ground. They ascended to an altitude of 30 meters and set a course to the northwest.
Their destination was an abandoned mine halfway up Mount Galat.
"Hope, I'm counting on you."
"Yes, please leave it to me."
Having received precise coordinates and mental images of the site from Laojun, Hope piloted the craft with absolute certainty. He flew straight toward the objective, with the two other Blow Floaters following in his wake.
Looming ahead was Mount Galat, one of the most prominent peaks in the Kingdom of Egerea. It was a major mining site that produced useful metals like adamantite and mithril, as well as high-quality magi-crystals. Among the many tunnels, several had been mined down to a depth of 500 meters before being abandoned when the cost of maintenance exceeded the value of the ore.
Their target was one of these: Shaft 102.
The Taube and the two local Blow Floaters landed on a flat patch of ground roughly 500 meters from the shaft entrance.
"Your Grace, please wait here," Jin advised.
Duke Blue remained aboard his Blow Floater, keeping it in a state where he could immediately take off and escape if things turned dangerous. Meanwhile, Jin, Reiko, Lordtoss, Urgan, Tomax Bartman, and Illumina Ratkin stepped onto the mountain soil.
"I think we should have Urgan go ahead and scout the situation," Lordtoss suggested.
Following the proposal, Urgan was dispatched alone to conduct a preliminary reconnaissance of the mine.