Rubina watched from the sidelines as Jin went about disassembling the large-class Magi Puppet.
However, she wasn't the type to just sit and watch in silence. Before long, she began bustling about to help him.
"Jin-sama, can I take this part off?"
"Yeah, that's fine. It's heavy, so be careful."
"Jin-sama, isn't this part fixed in place?"
"No, it's just stuck together with rust. Try removing it with Deoxidization."
"Oh, you're right!"
"Jin-sama, I'll hold this side down."
"Oh, thanks."
"Jin-san, should I take this part off first?"
"Ah, wait a second. It's easier if you start from this side."
"Jin-san, where should I put this part I took off?"
"Hand it over to the Smith."
"Jin-san, I'm finished over here!"
"Yeah, thanks... Wait, what?"
Jin, who had been completely absorbed in the work, finally realized that the number of voices helping him had increased partway through.
"Neige? Rouge?"
"Yes."
"We came to help."
"Wh-when did you two...?"
"They've been here for a while. You were giving them instructions so naturally that I thought you’d noticed," Rubina informed him with a look of exasperation.
"I came because Rubi-chan looked like she was having fun," Neige explained.
"The more hands the better, right?" Rouge added.
"Well, I suppose so."
Rubina was enjoying herself, and this wasn't a task that had to be finished in a rush. Since Neige and Rouge were having fun too, Jin had no reason to complain.
Deciding to continue the work with the extra help, Jin issued his next set of instructions.
"Alright then, the three of you remove the inner cover of the chest."
"Understood."
"Okay!"
"Leave it to us!"
In this manner, after about an hour and a half, they finished disassembling the large-class Magi Puppet to the necessary level.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Ah, that was so much fun! I learned a lot. Jin-sama, your technique really is amazing!"
It was now time for 3 PM tea.
Yokan and sencha were laid out on the table.
They had prepared two types of yokan: one with reduced sweetness and another that was intensely sweet.
"I prefer this one, with the milder sweetness," Neige said.
Neige seemed to favor the less sweet variety.
"I like the sweet one better!" Rouge declared.
Rouge, on the other hand, clearly preferred the sweeter version.
In addition to the jellies, they served senbei with the savory aroma of soy sauce.
"Having rice crackers to refresh the palate after eating something sweet is quite wonderful, isn't it?"
Susanne Randol seemed particularly fond of the senbei. Trihart, meanwhile, was a man with a serious sweet tooth; he was happily munching away on the sweet yokan.
"Ith deliciouth."
Marikka was stuffing her cheeks with the sweet yokan.
Given how dignified she acted back in the clan territory, she seemed to relax more than anyone else in a setting like this where she could show her true self.
"The tea... is delicious."
"It really is."
Neige and Rouge were also drinking tea alongside the group.
"Ho ho, how interesting."
No. 700672 didn't drink tea or eat the snacks; instead, he sipped on Persica juice.
"Homunculi are constructed with the capacity to eat, yet fundamentally we can live on free ether alone. And yet, there they are, enjoying the oral ingestion of matter with such delight. It seems external factors play a significant role after all."
The Elder noted that by befriending Rubina and spending time with humans, the two were rapidly becoming more human-like.
"So, is this the first time such an instance has occurred?"
When Jin asked this, No. 700672 murmured in a low voice.
"...the Masters never treated servants as if they were human, after all," he muttered under his breath.
＊ ＊ ＊
The day concluded with the disassembly and analysis of that single unit.
"Jin-sama, I learned so many things today. Thank you very much."
Following her grandmother Amanda's teachings, Rubina offered Jin a proper thank-you.
"Gaining a variety of experiences is the best way to learn, after all."
"You'll let me help tomorrow too, won't you?"
"Eh? Well..."
Indeed, there was little point in having her help only halfway through.
Jin thought that, at this rate, it might be a good idea to let her handle one entire unit herself.
"Alright, I've decided. Tomorrow, I'll leave one unit to you."
Rubina was overjoyed.
"Wow, really? Thank you, Jin-sama!"
"Rubina, since you've been entrusted with it, you must do a thorough job, understood?"
Amanda gave her granddaughter her support as well.
"We'll help too."
"Mm-hm, we're friends."
Rouge and Neige also declared they would assist Rubina.
"Oh, that's fine, but make sure you help her properly, alright?"
"Yes, Father."
No. 700672 felt a swell of pride seeing that such a sense of self had been born within the two of them.
That night, they all had dinner at Jin's house.
"A dinner party, a dinner party! I'm so happy!"
"Rouge, behave yourself, please."
Neige was gently chiding the frolicking Rouge.
At Rubina's earnest request, Rouge and Neige had been invited as well.
No. 700672 had given his blessing, saying, "I apologize for the trouble, but please look after them."
"It's so good!"
"I love this."
The dinner menu consisted of rice, shimeji and tofu suimono, grilled dried aji, simmered vegetables, sweet tamagoyaki, and oshinko.
Rouge took a liking to the sweet tamagoyaki, while Neige seemed to prefer the oshinko.
"Ah, the food at your place is always so delicious, Jin-sama."
Marikka was already asking for a second helping of rice.
"There must be a trick to the way it's cooked."
Amanda remarked that even she couldn't cook rice quite this perfectly.
"I feel like there's some secret ingredient in this oshinko," Susanne said after eating a piece of the pickled napa cabbage.
"Correct. I pickled it with a little bit of chili pepper, some apulul—apple—peel, and kombu."
Jin explained that it wasn't just a matter of sprinkling salt and putting a weight on it; it was the result of various experiments to perfect the flavor.
"Apulul... Apple peel and kombu! I never would have thought of that. I'll have to try it next time."
In this way, the dinner hour passed in a warm and peaceful atmosphere.