As Amanda continued to scold Rubina, Jin spoke up to intercede.
"Please, don't be too hard on her. It's my fault as much as hers. I didn't think things would turn out like this."
Jin explained that he hadn't expected their work to progress so rapidly, and it was his responsibility for failing to mention that he would be the one to provide the control core.
That finally earned Rubina her reprieve.
Meanwhile, Neige and Rouge were also being cautioned by Elder No. 700672.
"If you discover something you don't recognize, you must report it to me or Jin-dono first."
"……I'm sorry, Father."
"I commend you for trying to do things on your own, but you shouldn't let your stubbornness get the better of you."
"Father, we're sorry."
While this was happening, Marikka and Tsukino were busy restoring the ruined tent and tidying up the scattered materials.
"Jin-sama, is this all right?"
"Yeah, thank you."
By the time the sun had completely set, the cleanup was finally finished.
"Now then, I have a general idea of what happened, but I'd like to hear the details properly."
"……I understand," Rubina replied in a small voice. She began to explain the situation hesitantly.
"I see. Since you finished modifying the drive system faster than expected, you felt the urge to install the control system as well."
"……Yes."
"I was planning to handle all of that together."
That was why he hadn't prepared the magi-crystals yet, Jin added.
"……I'm sorry."
"No, that was my mistake. I should have explained the modification plan clearly from the start. More than that, your work speed was far beyond what I anticipated. It's quite an achievement—you should be proud of that, at least."
"……Wait, really?"
"Yeah, really."
"……I'm so glad."
"Come on, that's enough. Perk up."
Jin patted her on the head, telling her it wasn't like her to stay mopey for so long.
"Now then, it’s late. Let's head back and have dinner."
With Rubina—the group's usual mood maker—so subdued, dinner felt a bit quieter than the previous night. After eating, they all took turns bathing to refresh themselves.
Once he was out of the bath, Jin enjoyed a glass of fruit juice and stepped out onto the engawa to enjoy the evening breeze. Since they were on the Tropic of Cancer, the late March night was pleasantly warm.
Before long, Marikka, Amanda, Rubina, Neige, and Rouge joined him. At Jin's invitation, they all sat along the engawa to cool off. Reiko brought out a tray of cold barley tea.
"It’s so cold and delicious!"
Seeing that Rubina had finally regained her usual spirit, Jin decided to continue the conversation.
"The magi-crystals Neige found—I call them 'Malite'."
The name had actually come from Rokure, but Jin chose not to mention that. He realized that if he spoke of Rokure, he would eventually have to reveal that Rouge had been created by him. Since Rouge had no such memories and viewed Elder No. 700672 as her father, Jin had no desire to disturb her peace of mind.
"This Malite looks like a high-performance magi-crystal at first glance, but as I said before, if you use it in a control core, it’s prone to going berserk."
Jin explained that this was likely why the Progenitors had sealed it away.
"That said, just as poison can become medicine if used correctly, there might be a proper use for this Malite. The Progenitors probably kept it in storage with that in mind."
"I see. That is a plausible theory."
Elder No. 700672, who had been listening in silence, supported Jin's speculation.
"Malite itself is a rare magi-crystal, and its origin is actually quite mysterious. Therefore, no method for utilizing it has been established within the current systems of magi-craft. It is no wonder Rubina used it without knowing its nature."
"I see how it is."
Marikka nodded, understanding why such information was so scarce.
"Elena, who used this in her control cores, once went around destroying Adriana-style automata, after all."
"Eh…… Um, wasn't 'Elena' the Honorary Advisor of Nostalgia or something like that?"
"You're well-informed."
"I did study the history of magi-craft, after all."
"……They actually teach that?"
According to Rubina, the history of magi-craft was divided into seven eras. The time before Adriana was the dawning era; Adriana's time was the golden era; from then until the Great Magic War was the maturity era; from the Great Magic War until Jin's appearance was the decline era; the period from Jin's time until the rise of the Magic Federation was the restoration era; the peak of the Magic Federation was called the dark era.
And the seventh, the present, was the recovery era.
"Who came up with those names……" Jin muttered, feeling a flush of embarrassment.
"I think it was Sion-sama and Marikka-sama," Rubina answered, having overheard him.
"Eh…… Marikka?"
Jin looked toward Marikka, who was sitting a little further down the engawa. She gave him a bright, innocent smile.
"Is there something wrong with them?"
"No, they're not bad, I suppose."
Jin had to admit that, regardless of the names, the classification of magi-craft's progress felt more or less accurate.
"……It feels a bit strange to think of myself as a part of history."
"Is that how it feels?"
Marikka tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"……Well, anyway. At any rate," Jin said, bringing the conversation back on track. "It probably would have worked out fine if you hadn't used Malite. Let's fix it properly tomorrow."
"Y-Yes!"
At Jin's words, Rubina broke into a radiant smile.
"By the way, Neige, how did you find that storehouse…… or whatever it was, where the Malite was kept?" Jin asked, looking at Neige sitting on the other side of Rubina.
"Um…… I was searching the corners of the warehouse. I found a section of the wall with a mark on it, so I tried fiddling with it. Then the door opened."
"A mark?"
"Jin-dono, that would be a mark left by the Masters. It likely looked something like this."
Elder No. 700672 provided a supplementary explanation, noting that to an untrained eye, the mark would look like nothing more than a natural protrusion.
"Unless you know it's there and look for it specifically, it is quite difficult to find. Neige must have discovered it by chance."
And because Neige was connected to the Progenitors, she had been able to trigger the door.
"It is exactly as Father says," Neige confirmed. "I just felt a sense of…… discordance there."
Whether that was an instinctive feeling or a sense manifested only in homunculi created with the technology of the Progenitors, even Jin did not know.
"Could you guide me there tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then, see you tomorrow, Ne-chan, Ru-chan."
"Good night."
"Good night—!"
With the day's events concluded, Elder No. 700672, Neige, and Rouge departed for their own home.