After breakfast on the morning of June 13, Jin headed for the Erme River.
He was accompanied by Reiko, Marcia, Rodrigo, and Tiberio of the Divergence clan. Golem Maids from Jin Castle assisted them in transporting the vessels—one commissioned by Barbara and her group, and the other requested by Jin himself.
Since this was an official delivery report, they had left the experimental boat back at the workshop.
It was a refreshing early summer morning. Several girls from the village were already down by the Erme River gathering magi-sand. While the supply had dwindled over time, there was still enough for them to earn a little pocket money.
"Oh, it’s Jin-san! And Marcia-san too!"
"Reiko-chan's here!"
"Uncle Rodrigo and Tiberio-san are with them!"
"Look! Boats!!"
The riverbank suddenly became quite lively.
"Good morning—Patty, Jessie, Jenny, Nonna."
Marcia had become quite friendly with the local girls.
"Are you gonna float the boats?"
"That’s right, Nonna."
The youngest, Nonna, was four years old. She was the daughter of Jeff and Sema, who had originally come from Lario Village.
"If everything goes well, you’ll all be able to ride in them soon."
"Yay! I can’t wait!"
Marcia gently patted Nonna’s head before beginning the trial run of the trimaran she had built.
"Oh, it’s remarkably stable."
Watching from the shore, Jin was impressed by the way the craft handled the rapids. Rodrigo stood with his arms crossed, watching his daughter pilot the vessel with a look of quiet satisfaction.
"Isn’t it? We made numerous minor adjustments to the finer details," Tiberio said, coming over to Jin’s side to share the story of Marcia’s hard work.
"I can imagine. That’s very much like her."
Marcia continued upstream until she was out of sight, pushing the boat to its limits.
"Everything feels great! She’s ready for delivery!" Marcia cheered, her mood soaring.
She executed a sharp U-turn in a deep pool of the river.
"Mm-hm, shortening the hull lengths and rounding out the bottom a bit really did the trick."
Satisfied with the handling, Marcia headed back downstream at double her previous speed. She passed Jin’s group in a flash and continued further down the river. Once she reached a spot where Jin could clearly see her, she performed another U-turn.
"That's a smooth turn," Jin noted, his voice carrying over the water.
Marcia beamed, heartened by his praise. She headed back up against the current, slowly approached the bank, and brought the boat to a stop on the sandy beach.
"Excellent work, Marcia. It’s a fine piece of craftsmanship!"
"Hehe, I’m glad you think so. Next up is the one you commissioned, Jin."
It was the rubber-style boat. Since it was relatively light, Marcia was able to carry it to the water by herself.
"Heave-ho!"
After setting it afloat in the shallows, Marcia started the outboard motor. Like the trimaran, it utilized an Aqua Thruster system rather than a screw.
"The directional stability is better than I expected," Jin said, his eyes widening.
"We experimented with a few different hull shapes," Tiberio explained. "Since it’s a flat-bottomed boat, the overhead profile matters more than the shape of the bottom. By reducing resistance at the bow and increasing it at the stern, we were able to ensure it stays on course even in rapids."
"I see. That makes sense."
As they spoke, the rubber-style boat sped up the Erme River. Then, right in front of the group, it spun around with ease. Because it was flat-bottomed, there was very little resistance to turning; simply angling the outboard motor to the side caused the boat to pivot instantly.
"Aha, impressive."
The boat traveled back down the river, performed one more turn, and landed in the shallows.
"How was that, Jin?"
"Outstanding. Thank you, Marcia."
Jin officially accepted the boat as a completed commission. Now, his focus shifted to safety—a lord's primary duty.
"I’ll have to make sure they always wear life jackets when they’re on the water," Jin mused. He thought he could manufacture them using expanded magi-polyethylene, or EMPE. "And then I’ll need a boatman golem. I’ll make sure it's proficient at underwater activities, just in case of an emergency."
As he pondered the logistics, the village children began to crowd around him.
"Hey, Jin-san, can we ride it yet?"
"I want to try!"
With all of them pestering him at once, Jin couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Reiko, I’d like you to take the helm for a bit," Jin said. With Reiko at the controls, he knew she could immediately rescue any child who might accidentally fall overboard.
"Yes, Father."
Reiko stepped into the rubber-style boat.
"Marcia, what’s the capacity on this?" Jin asked.
"I think five children could fit comfortably. With Reiko-chan piloting, I won't have to worry," Marcia replied.
Jin turned to the children and called out, "There’s room for all of you. Go ahead and hop in with Reiko!"
"Yay!"
"We're going with Reiko-chan!"
The children scrambled into the boat with joyful shouts.
"We are departing now," Reiko announced as she activated the outboard motor.
Unlike a screw-driven engine, the Aqua Thruster generated sufficient thrust even in the shallows. The boat pulled away from the shore with a gentle hum.
"Whoa! We're moving!"
"This is so cool!"
Accompanied by the children's cheers, Reiko piloted the boat upstream at a brisk pace. They rounded a bend in the river and disappeared from Jin's sight.
"Boy, Reiko-chan really is something, Jin! She’s handling that boat perfectly on her first try!"
Marcia sounded half-impressed and half-exasperated.
"Well, that’s Reiko for you. I’m planning to use the data she gathers to create a dedicated navigation golem."
"I see. You think of everything, Jin."
As they talked, the boat reappeared, having made its U-turn upstream. It zoomed past the group at a fair speed.
"Jin-saaan! Marcia-saaan!"
"Uncle Rodrigooo! Tiberio-saaan!"
The children waved and shouted with pure delight. Seeing their happy faces, Jin felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He was glad he had decided to build a boat for their enjoyment.