On the night of January 3rd, Ernest XVII arrived at Duke Blue’s mansion.
“Jin-dono, I appreciated your help the other day. Today, I’ve brought my sister and Tia along.”
With those words, Ernest XVII introduced the little lady.
“Nice to meet you-machu. I am Mimir-dechu. Please treat me well-machu.”
The little princess gave a greeting while daintily pinching her pink skirt. She was a beautiful young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, the spitting image of her older brother, Prince Ernest XVII.
With her hair tied in twin tails on either side of her head, she bore a striking resemblance to Princess Lieschen.
“I am the Magi Craft Meister, Jin Nidou, Your Highness.”
“I am Honorary Squire Reiko Nidou. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Jin and Reiko both returned the greeting.
“Princess, it is an honor to meet you.”
Lordtoss, Duke Blue, and Illumina Ratkin offered their greetings as well.
Standing directly behind the princess was the blue-haired automaton—Tia.
“It has—”
Before she could finish saying, “It has been a long time,” Reiko moved with lightning speed.
She closed the distance to Tia in an instant, cutting off her words.
Then, Reiko spoke aloud.
“You must be Tia-san. I have heard rumors of you from His Highness. It is an honor to meet you.”
(Tia-san, Father is currently posing as the ‘Third Generation,’ so please follow his lead!)
While greeting Tia, Reiko transmitted a private message in the ultrasonic range, unheard by human ears, at fifty times normal speed.
Having understood perfectly, Tia responded.
“—The honor is mine to meet you. My name is Tia, an automaton serving Princess Mimir.”
She offered a safe, formal greeting.
Incidentally, it was the custom in the Kingdom of Egerea to address children by their childhood names until they were about ten years old. Once they entered social circles, they would be addressed by their formal names rather than their childhood ones.
“Mimir just had a birthday, so she is now a full four years old. I hope you will get along with her,” Ernest XVII said, his eyes narrowing with affection. He clearly doted on his youngest sister, who was born much later than him.
“Yes, of course.”
Jin, reminded of the younger children from his time at the orphanage, crouched down to meet her gaze.
“Your Highness, do you happen to like sweet things?” he asked.
“Yes, Jin-shama, I love them-machu!”
To the princess, who answered with eyes full of anticipation, Jin took a beautiful small box from his breast pocket and handed it to Mimir. It was a small case about the size of a pencil box, crafted from sturdy wood with silver fittings.
“A token of our friendship. However, you must not eat too many at once. Only eat them when your brother or Tia says it is alright.”
“Yes, I understand-machu.”
“Jin-dono, what is that?”
Her big brother, Ernest XVII, peered in curiously.
“A gift for the princess. As for the contents… please, take a look.”
After giving Ernest XVII a brief explanation, Jin turned back to Mimir.
“Princess, I believe it would be best to entrust the box to Tia for safekeeping.”
“Yes… Tia, please take care of this-machu.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Tia also crouched down and accepted the box from Mimir.
“Jin-sama, may I open it?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
With his permission, Tia gently opened the small box.
“What are these?”
“Wow, they’re so pwetty-dechu.”
“Jin-dono, what are these?”
They were tiny, colorful grains with little ‘horns’—konpeito.
Drawing on Jin’s memories of reading about the production process in a gourmet manga, the housekeeping golem maids, Perido and the others, had perfected them through a process of trial and error.
Granulated sugar, serving as the core, was placed into an obliquely tilted copper drum known as a dora, which rotated slowly. Then, sugar syrup was added and stirred gradually… but the process required a level of know-how that was difficult to convey in words or writing.
Fortunately, as golems, working for two weeks straight was not a significant burden for them.
The result was a box filled with konpeito that looked like tiny, colorful stars in red, white, yellow, pink, orange, green, blue, light blue, and purple.
“These are called konpeito, and they are a sweet treat.”
“Jin-dono, are these edible?!” Ernest XVII asked in surprise.
“Yes.…Tia, why don’t you taste one first to ensure they are safe?”
“Understood.”
At Jin’s suggestion, Tia immediately popped a white konpeito into her mouth.
“…It is almost entirely a mass of sugar. There are also trace amounts of natural pigments used for coloring. There are no harmful substances present.”
Upon hearing that, Princess Mimir immediately reached out a tiny hand and put a pink konpeito into her mouth.
“Ah… it’s so sweet-dechu! It’s delicious-dechu! Jin-shama, thank you very much-machu!”
Ernest XVII, watching from the side, also seemed curious about the taste.
“Mimir, could I have one as well?” he entreated his sister.
“Yes. Big Brother, here you go-machu.”
Mimir placed a blue konpeito on her tiny, maple-leaf-like palm and offered it to her brother.
“Thank you!”
Ernest XVII accepted the konpeito with a melting smile and promptly tossed it into his mouth.
“…Mmm, this is truly delicious. Jin-dono, you have given my sister a wonderful gift. You have my thanks.”
“Hey, hey, Tia, give me one more-machu!”
“Princess, only one more for today, alright?”
“Okay-machu!”
Clearly having taken a liking to the konpeito, Princess Mimir pestered Tia for her second piece of the day.
Illumina Ratkin watched the scene with an envious expression…
Princess Mimir frolicked for a while, but as the clock passed eight in the evening, she began to look sleepy.
“Princess, it is time for you to rest.”
“Okay…” the princess replied, rubbing her eyes.
“Then, this way, please.”
As the royal family visited occasionally, Duke Blue’s mansion had bedrooms prepared specifically for royalty. Princess Mimir was led away by the maidservant who had accompanied them.
“Now then, Jin-dono.”
Ernest XVII turned back to Jin with a fresh expression.
“I asked you briefly the other day, but I would like you to take a look at Tia’s condition.”
“Understood.”
“Jin-dono, if that is the case, please use the workshop.”
It seemed the Duke’s mansion had its own workshop, though it was small. Jin gratefully accepted the offer.
“Reiko, help me out. Lordtoss, would you mind coming as well?”
Jin called out to Reiko and Lordtoss, and together with Tia, they headed for the workshop. Duke Blue herself acted as their guide, with Ernest XVII following along.
“Please, use this room.”
The workshop was better equipped than Jin had expected.
“Alright. Tia, please lie down there.”
“Yes, Jin-sama.”
After having Tia lie down on the worktable, Jin first instructed Reiko to remove Tia’s clothes.
“O-Oh…”
Ernest XVII and Duke Blue both turned red in the face.
Did you follow us just because you wanted to see something like this? Jin thought in the back of his mind as he began to peel away the magical skin.
Tia’s internal mechanisms were revealed.
(…It looks like no one has touched her since then…)
By “since then,” Jin meant the time four hundred years ago in the Klein Kingdom when he had repaired her at the request of Tia’s master at the time, Princess Lieschen.
Even after four hundred years, Tia’s body showed very little wear and tear.