April 16, 3900.
After finishing dinner at "the House" on Hale, Jin stepped out onto the veranda and gazed up at the sky.
Reiko brought him some tea.
"Ah, thank you."
He sipped his post-meal tea while looking out at the horizon. The sun had set, and the crimson clouds were gradually deepening into black as stars began to twinkle in the night sky.
"I might finally be able to take it easy."
Since he had resolved to live in this era as a duplicate, much had transpired.
There had been his travels through various countries to understand the current age, the liberation of Kunlun Island, and the confrontation with Markitus. Then there was the meeting with his descendants on Onogoro Island, the commotion during the Gonpetition in the Shouro Empire, and the restoration of Avalon. He had also navigated the struggle for the title of Magi-craft King (Queen) on Onogoro Island and dealt with the remnants of the Magic Federation. Most recently, he had secured a resource satellite to redevelop Hale and established this base of operations.
Jin felt a sense of relief, thinking he could finally immerse himself in the crafts he loved.
"Father, a message has arrived from Laojun."
"Hmm? I wonder what it is."
Jin stood up from the veranda and walked over to the manacam in the living room. Per Jin's personal taste, this particular manacam was styled like an old-fashioned black rotary-dial telephone.
"Jin here. What is it, Laojun?"
『Yes, My Lord. I apologize for interrupting your rest. An emergency communication has just arrived from Sion.』
"From Sion? Did something happen?"
『Yes. Though it is not that anything has happened to Sion herself...』
Laojun provided a brief explanation. According to its report, a problem had arisen near Blue Land, a regional city in the Kingdom of Egerea. Normally, such a matter wouldn't warrant informing Jin, but since descendants of the former Jin Family were involved, Laojun had decided to reach out.
『I do not yet have the full details of the situation. My deepest apologies.』
This lack of information was because the Quinta, the intelligence units dispatched to various nations 400 years ago, had all been withdrawn. Their "eyes and ears" had essentially been cut off. While Laojun wanted to redeploy the Quinta immediately, they had not yet been sent back into the field. Having been secluded on Hourai Island to avoid the Magic Federation's attacks, Laojun did not yet have a complete grasp of current world affairs. It couldn't risk sending the Quinta back in without a way to ensure they remained undetected.
"Sorry. That's on me."
『No, it is not your fault, My Lord.』
Jin had previously told Laojun that redeploying the Quinta could be a secondary priority. He had wanted Laojun to focus its resources on the various projects regarding Hale instead.
"Hmm. In that case, I'll go to Blue Land in the Kingdom of Egerea myself. Is the Warp Gate there still functional?"
『Yes, My Lord. It was hidden underground for a time, but it has been refurbished and is ready for use.』
"Oh, good."
"Father... are you really going?" Reiko asked, sounding slightly dissatisfied.
"Yeah, I am. If the descendants of my former companions are in trouble, I can't just ignore it."
『Reiko, while it is labeled a 'problem,' it does not appear to involve an armed conflict. The danger to My Lord is likely negligible. All the more so with you accompanying him.』
Laojun's guarantee of safety finally convinced Reiko to give her consent.
Jin made his preparations quickly. In truth, all he had to do was lock up the House here on Hale.
"Well then, let's go say goodbye to the Elder and head to Sion's place first."
"Yes, Father."
Jin and Reiko boarded the Sparrow and flew toward the home of the Elder, No. 700672.
"I see. So that's what happened. I can understand why you would be concerned."
"Yes. That's why I'm planning to return to Ars for a while."
No. 700672 showed immediate understanding. Furthermore, he added, "I believe I shall return as well. It has been some time since I left the other side. Besides... I should report this to Marikka-sama."
"Then shall we travel back together?"
While they would be traveling together, they were simply taking the Bridge of Warp Gates back to Ars, where they would normally part ways at the terminal. However, since Jin was heading to the Nord Federation to hear the details from Sion, they would be traveling the same path for a while.
"Neige, Rouge, did you hear that? Get ready."
"Yes!"
"Oka—y!"
Preparations took about ten minutes. Jin, Reiko, No. 700672, Neige, and Rouge then crossed the Bridge of Warp Gates to return to Ars.
"Jin, you're early!"
Sion welcomed Jin at the clan territory of the All-Creation. No doubt she had already received some word from No. 700672 via Marikka.
"I heard there was some kind of dispute."
"Yes, that's right. Well, come inside."
Sion invited Jin into the house, signaling that this was not a conversation for the doorstep.
"The root of it is an internal family feud."
"A family feud?"
Seeing Jin's puzzled expression, Sion began to provide the background.
"The issue is in Blue Land, specifically with the Marquis Kuzuma family, who serve as the acting lords there."
"Kuzuma? A marquis? By any chance, are they the descendants of Louis and Beena?"
Sion nodded. "Yes. They rose from counts to marquises about 200 years ago, and it seems the Duke Blue family entrusted them with full authority over Blue Land."
"Huh..."
While the Duke Blue family remained the formal lords of Blue Land, they were actually living in the royal capital to participate in national politics. The Kuzuma family had risen in rank and was essentially running Blue Land as the acting lords with total autonomy.
"Everything was fine until recently."
Apparently, the family's influence began to wane following the Markitus incident. That era had triggered the migration of more than half of the family's descendants to Onogoro Island.
"Well, that's understandable."
The ones who had migrated were those skilled in magi-craft, who were prime targets for the Magic Federation.
"Those people apparently handed the family headship over to a branch house and moved to Onogoro Island, claiming they were 'evacuating because they feared for their lives.'"
"Hmm... I don't know the exact circumstances of that era, but I imagine it caused quite a bit of chaos."
"It seems so."
Sion hadn't witnessed it herself; she had heard it from those who had migrated. Now that those migrants had passed their roles to the next generation, finding perfectly accurate information was difficult. Furthermore, during the height of the Magic Federation's offensive, even Laojun's Quinta had been obstructed, leaving gaps in the records of that period.
I bet the city of Blue Land itself was in quite a state of confusion, Jin thought. He could imagine the tension of that time, when groups like Nostalgia and the Magic Federation were in open conflict.
Still, the situation weighed on him. "Didn't people find it strange that so many members of the family suddenly vanished?"
"Oh, I'm sure it caused a stir. However, the different branches weren't all living in the same place—they had estates in different regions—so I'm not sure how obvious the confusion was to the public."
"I suppose that makes sense."
Sion added that the branch house might have even been happy to see the head house go. Apparently, that was the nature of branch houses among the nobility.
Incidentally, the greatest difference between the original head house and the branch house was whether or not they were aware of the existence of Hourai Island and Onogoro Island.
"The ones who moved away... who migrated... seemed quite relieved to be out of it, though."
"Yeah, I can imagine."
Jin felt that as long as one wasn't obsessed with power, life on Onogoro Island would be a paradise.
"Anyway, back to the point. The former branch house that became the new head house is apparently in a lot of trouble right now."
"I see."
Now that he had a grasp of the history, Jin straightened his posture and focused on Sion's next words.