On March 2nd, slightly before 8:00 PM, a group gathered on Onogoro Island.
"I wonder what Jin-sama’s celebration will be like," someone wondered aloud.
"I’m looking forward to it."
"It’s almost eight o’clock."
Ten people had assembled in the Warp Gate room. Jin had mentioned they were welcome to bring their automata, but out of modesty, everyone had chosen to attend alone.
Right as the clock struck eight, Jin and Reiko arrived through the Warp Gate.
"Good morning. I see everyone is gathered."
"Father, it is nighttime here," Reiko reminded him.
"Ah, that’s right."
The time difference between Hourai Island and Onogoro Island was exactly half a day. Since the Warp Gate room lacked windows, Jin had momentarily forgotten the discrepancy.
"Well then, let’s get moving."
Jin gestured for them to follow him into the Warp Gate he had just exited.
"Jin-sama, that Warp Gate leads to..."
"That's right. I’m inviting you all to Hourai Island."
"Wow...!"
Even Rubina, Natalia, and Shu, who had visited once before, let their eyes sparkle with excitement. The other seven, for whom this was a first, were absolutely ecstatic.
"Come on, let’s go."
"Yes!"
Following Jin and Reiko, the ten guests stepped through the gate. For this occasion only, Jin had recalibrated it to allow direct travel to Hourai Island and to recognize magic patterns other than his own. He had set it to revert to its original configuration after a single use, ensuring that no one could use it again without his explicit permission.
On the other side of the Warp Gate, it was 8:00 AM on Hourai Island. After exiting the underground room and stepping outside, Jin delivered his customary greeting under the clear blue sky.
"Welcome to Hourai Island."
"Whoa, so this is Hourai Island!"
Greena Kuzuma, the youngest aside from Rubina, let out a cry of delight. The others seemed to feel the same, murmuring words of wonder and joy amongst themselves.
"The legendary Hourai Island..."
"So this is where so many magi-devices and Magi Machines are born..."
Understanding their awe, Jin remained silent for a few moments to let them take it in. When he felt the time was right, he spoke up again.
"Follow me. We're heading to the next stop."
He guided them toward the area behind the laboratory. When they arrived, the guests were met with an incredible sight.
"Wh-What is this?!"
"A giant sphere... wait, could it be?"
"Is that a spaceship?!"
Indeed, waiting for them was a spherical spaceship three hundred meters in diameter—Jin's flagship, the Adriana.
"I thought I’d take you all into space as a reward—or a celebration, if you prefer."
"R-Really?!"
"I’m so happy!!"
The group erupted into a frenzy of excitement once more.
"Go ahead and board."
"Yes!!!"
＊ ＊ ＊
"W-Whoa! We’re... we’re flying!"
Jin and the others were gathered in the Adriana’s observation deck. Because of the magi-screens embedded in the floor, ceiling, and walls, it felt as though they were standing directly in the middle of the sky.
Below them, Ars was gradually shrinking. Above them lay the pitch-black void of Space. The Adriana pierced through the clouds, rapidly gaining altitude.
"Space is filled with dangerous electromagnetic waves, including cosmic radiation," Jin explained. "It’s safer to stay in a room like this, protected by barriers and metal walls."
"We’ve just passed thirty thousand kilometers. We're entering geostationary orbit."
Their surroundings were now entirely dark, filled with the twinkling of countless stars. Diagonally below them, a star blazed with light—Star Celane. It was a G-type star, nearly identical to Sun Sol. Its brilliance illuminated the blackness of the void.
"That’s Celane... and Planet Hehl is on the other side of it, isn't it?" Shu murmured.
Jin nodded. "Yes. The Progenitors (Origin) migrated to Ars because their resources were exhausted, but from another perspective, it’s a very habitable planet as long as you can secure the necessary resources."
"You’re planning a migration project, aren't you, Jin-sama?" Eugene Foul asked.
Jin considered the question before answering. "It’s not quite a mass migration. I’m thinking of making it a base away from Ars. A retirement spot, perhaps." He gave a wry smile. "But first, making it livable is the top priority."
"Would we be allowed to live there too...?" Florence Fahlheit asked tentatively.
Jin gave a firm nod of affirmation. "Of course. Between the spaceships and the Warp Gates, we can travel back and forth easily. There's no need to overthink it."
"I see."
As they spoke, Ars grew even smaller in the Adriana’s view.
"Alright, we’ll make a loop around the Moon, Uni, before heading back."
The Adriana had not been ascending vertically; it had been climbing diagonally to swing around to the night side. As a result, Uni was already visible in their path.
"Um, it’s about three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers away, right?" Elvis Alcott asked.
"Exactly. At our current speed of one hundred kilometers per second, we’ll reach Uni in a little over an hour."
The Adriana’s maximum acceleration was approximately 20 G, or two hundred meters per second squared. It had reached its current cruising speed in about eight and a half minutes.
"That's incredible..."
The guests were astonished by the staggering scale of the speed.
"That’s why there are so many precautions we have to take," Jin said, taking the opportunity to explain the hazards of space. "Traveling at these speeds makes collisions with any object terrifying."
"I can imagine," Sidney Marek said, nodding along with the others.
"To prevent that, we fly with repulsive barriers, Solid Barriers, and the Aegis deployed." Jin added that if they were to increase their speed further, they would also engage a Teleportation barrier.
"Then there are the electromagnetic waves and radiation, like cosmic rays and ultraviolet light. Some are so powerful that they can’t be blocked without at least fifteen centimeters of adamantite."
Jin explained that this was why the observation deck was a strictly sealed environment. The guests listened with rapt attention as Uni continued to grow larger and larger before them.