Today's lunch was isobeyaki—grilled mochi seasoned with soy sauce and wrapped in nori.
"Ugh, this mochi is so stretchy!"
The mochi, made from glutinous rice that had undergone four hundred years of selective breeding on Hourai Island, was incredibly elastic.
"The soy sauce is delicious, too."
It was the very same sauce that Perido and the others had aged for four centuries inside a mana tank.
By sealing ingredients in a high concentration of free ether, materials containing free ether can be preserved almost indefinitely. This is believed to occur because the free ether inhibits the chemical changes within the molecules and atoms of the stored substance.
"Try it with some grated daikon. It helps with digestion."
Jin offered a side of grated daikon with a few drops of soy sauce. It contained a starch-digesting enzyme called diastase—a type of amylase—making it a perfect accompaniment to mochi.
"Yeah, I like grated daikon. As long as it’s the kind that isn't too spicy."
"Haha, I know exactly what you mean."
Since Rubina was still young, Jin figured she wasn't fond of pungent foods yet. He himself found the sharpness of daikon more difficult to handle than wasabi or mustard, so he sympathized with her completely.
The winter daikon they were eating wasn't as sharp as the summer variety. It was said that during cold weather, the plants employed a self-defense mechanism that increased sugar content and reduced pungent components to prevent themselves from freezing.
Furthermore, taking the blue-neck daikon as an example, the central part was the sweetest and best suited for grating. The section near the leaves had a moderate sweetness with very little spice, while the tip tended to be quite sharp.
＊ ＊ ＊
After lunch.
Neige and Rouge had overindulged in mochi and were now lying down in another room, so Jin, Rubina, and Marikka began their meeting.
"I’ve been giving it some thought, and I believe an aircraft would be the best mode of transport for the Elder," Jin proposed.
"I agree," Rubina concurred. "Hale is vast, and the roads haven't been maintained, so a car wouldn't be very practical."
"How about we build something similar to the Sparrow?" Jin suggested. If they made it in a different color, it would be recognizable at a glance.
"Hmm... personally, I’d like to try designing a new craft," Rubina said.
Jin laughed. "I understand that. To be honest, I felt the same way at first."
"Then..."
"Alright. Let's decide on the specs for 7-san's family and figure out what kind of vessel would be appropriate."
The Sparrow was a craft Jin had built specifically for the environment of Hale, so it should have been the most suitable choice.
"Got it. The users will be 7-san, Ne-chan, and Ru-chan, right?"
"That’s right. But how should we handle the piloting? It might be best to provide a dedicated pilot."
"True. Also, we need to consider if they’ll ever need to carry anyone else."
"You’ve got the right idea. Considering cargo and potential guests, I think we should have room for about two extra people."
"Hmm... You're right, Jin-sama. I’m learning so much."
In Jin's case, however, he had a habit of being a bit too generous with extra capacity.
In any case, they settled on a capacity of five people, including the pilot. It would be slightly smaller than Jin’s Sparrow.
"Next is the design. Should it be an airship type, or an aircraft type...?"
"Oh, if that's the case, how about a 'Flying Disc'?"
It was Marikka who spoke up.
"I mean, didn't Helente and Testa use Flying Disc crafts once upon a time?"
"Ah, that's right."
Jin recalled the incident from four hundred years ago, back when Testa was being controlled by the Beherrscher devices.
"I think Testa mentioned those were only 'toy-level' tech, but they were certainly disc-shaped."
This meant that the 'Masters'—the Progenitors—were familiar with that specific form of transportation.
"Stability won't be an issue if we use a gyro, and we're using a dedicated golem for the piloting anyway," Jin noted.
Since the design was a total departure from the vehicles of Ars, people would know immediately that it belonged to the Elder, No. 700672.
"Yeah, I’m starting to like the sound of that."
Following Marikka’s suggestion, Jin decided to move forward with the disc-shaped concept.
"That sounds like fun!" Rubina agreed.
"...Though, since I've never built one before, there are a few questions we need to answer."
"Like what?"
"First, does a disc even have a front or a back?"
A disc was a rotational body. To put it simply, it was perfectly round, meaning a circle had no inherent directionality like front, back, or sides.
"Jin-sama, do Flying Discs rotate while they fly?" Rubina asked. It was a simple question from someone who had never seen the real thing.
"No, I don't believe they do."
Jin tried to recall his past memories, but he didn't remember them spinning.
At that moment, Reiko offered a suggestion.
"Father, aren't spaceships like the Adriana also rotational bodies?"
Jin was struck by the realization. "You're right. The Adriana is even designed for vertical flight."
However, this craft was intended for visual flight.
"I suppose we can just designate a temporary front and back," Jin said.
"Jin-sama, what if we used a gyro to keep the cockpit fixed while the rest of the hull rotates around it?" Rubina suggested.
"Now that sounds interesting."
Jin, who never turned down an intriguing design, immediately began considering the mechanics.
"The engine won't be a problem since we'll use a force generator."
The plans began to expand rapidly in various directions.
"Why don't we just make it a spherical spaceship...?"
Since there was already a series of ten-meter class spaceships, Jin suggested making one a rank smaller—something with a diameter of about five meters.
"And make it so it can submerge underwater!"
"Oh, that’s a great idea."
They decided to make it capable of short-term space travel as well. 'Short-term' was a compromise based on the carrying capacity for life essentials like food and water. A barrier would protect the cabin from dangerous cosmic rays.
Since the size of the magi-reactor would be limited, they capped the acceleration at 5G—roughly the upper limit of a high-intensity roller coaster. Naturally, they would use Gravity Magic to cancel out the inertial pressure during normal flight.
"The material will be Neo-series, of course."
"For a spaceship, a magi-brain would be better than a living pilot."
Ideas continued to flow. It was now quite obvious that Rubina was the same type of person as Jin, but nobody dared to point it out.
Thus, the concept for a five-meter diameter spherical spaceship was finalized.
"Well, it's impossible to finish that today, so should we start by making the maid golem?"
"Ah, yes!"
This was a task Jin, Rubina, and Marikka were all well-versed in. They constructed a maid golem based on the design of the Five-Colored Golem Maids in just thirty minutes.
During the process, Marikka seemed a little discouraged, thinking to herself:
(...To think that it actually takes more time if we help...)