Because Shin had evaluated the female-type golem brought by Viscount Guarana as merely "fairly well-made," the viscount was now practically breathing down his neck for a justification.
(Is there some curse on me that makes me misspeak whenever I’m in Blue Land? First Beena, and now this...)
Shin reflected on his social blunder, but Viscount Guarana showed no sign of backing down.
"Viscount, that is quite enough..." Marquis Kuzuma began, attempting to restrain him.
"Well, regarding the exterior... I believe the sculpting of the body lines is magnificent," Shin said, having made up his mind to offer a proper explanation. "Was there a model? Even the finest details have been rendered with human-like precision."
He paused before continuing his honest assessment.
"However, since you made her look so much like a human, I believe it would have been better if her internal structure followed the Adriana-style. As she is now..."
Shin noted that a certain unnaturalness—a distinct lack of humanity—manifested in every nuance of the machine's movements.
"I will refrain from evaluating the control core for the time being, as I have not yet examined it. That concludes my general assessment. Since you insisted on hearing it, I have spoken my mind, though I apologize if my bluntness was impolite."
With that, Shin brought his summary to a close.
"Hmm... I see."
The first to nod in agreement was Marquis Logres.
"I can certainly understand Sir Shin's point."
Though the Marquis could not use engineering magic himself, his knowledge of magi-craft was clearly profound. As expected of the head of a house that maintained the Craft Queen Workshop, he was well-versed in the field.
"Um... what exactly do you mean by that?"
The question came hesitantly from Vernon, the son of Viscount Rasahn and the youngest of the gathered nobles.
Shin turned to him to explain.
"Well... they say proof is better than theory, and seeing is believing. Your Excellency, may I borrow Merine, the Chief Golem Maid?"
"Indeed."
Intrigued by Shin’s proposal, the Marquis nodded.
"Thank you. Merine, please stand there."
"Yes, Sir."
"Viscount Guarana, please have Dona stand beside her."
"...Very well."
At this point, even Viscount Guarana could not refuse.
With the two golems of roughly equal stature standing side-by-side, Shin gave them his instructions.
"Now, please imitate the movements I am about to perform."
He then led them through a slow, deliberate rendition of the first set of radio calisthenics.
The two golems mirrored his actions. However...
"Mmm, the difference is clear," Marquis Kuzuma remarked.
"O-oh, there certainly is a difference," Count Setena added, nodding in agreement.
"Ah... I see it now. It's just a feeling, but their movements are fundamentally different," Vernon said, looking pleased that he could grasp the nuance.
Viscount Guarana remained stony-faced and silent.
"This is primarily due to the skeletal structure," Shin explained. "I'll omit the technical details, but while Merine possesses a skeleton close to that of a human, Dona has a unique, non-humanoid structure. I must emphasize that I am not judging which is superior or inferior. It is simply that if the goal is to mimic human movement, the skeleton should follow suit."
Shin concluded by noting that for a golem—as opposed to a more advanced automata—there was no inherent requirement to force it to mimic human movements so closely.
"I see, that makes perfect sense."
Since the Marquis was satisfied, the others had little choice but to agree.
"Furthermore," Shin continued, "human movement possesses a certain 'fluctuation'."
"Fluctuation?"
"Yes. Even when attempting to repeat the exact same motion, there are infinitesimal deviations. We call that 'fluctuation'."
"I see. That explains why most golems don't look truly human... But wait! Isn't that a trait of golems in general? Why then does Merine appear so lifelike?"
To this question, Shin replied:
"In Adriana-style movement control, we use parameters for things like importance and ordinariness. For tasks of low importance or high ordinariness, we intentionally introduce fluctuation."
"What!?"
"Is that so?"
Naturally, the specific ratios and the method of application were where a master craftsman truly showed their skill.
"Correct. For actions requiring extreme precision and accuracy, such as cooking or sewing, the fluctuation is removed. Conversely, for simple actions like walking, fluctuation is introduced."
"Mmm... the Ancestor truly created a magnificent golem..." Marquis Kuzuma was visibly moved.
"Indeed. She is the work of Beena... who held the title of Craft Queen, is she not?"
"Yes, so I have been told."
"Please cherish her for a long time to come."
"Of course, I intend to do exactly that."
Then, Shin offered a follow-up for the sake of Viscount Guarana—or rather, for Dona.
"Viscount, Dona is also an excellent golem. It is merely that her structure and control logic are slightly mismatched."
"U-umu..."
"This may be overstepping my bounds, but would you permit me to tinker with her control system just a little?"
"...Dona has already been presented to His Excellency. Please ask him," Viscount Guarana replied somewhat curtly.
"Oh, of course I don't mind," the Marquis said immediately, sensing that Shin was no ordinary guest.
"Thank you. In that case... Merine, will you help me?"
Shin approached Dona, accompanied by Reko. Merine followed close behind them.
(Hmph. Does he really think he can do anything without knowing Dona's keyword or password?)
As Viscount Guarana smirked to himself, Shin gave a quiet order.
"Activate 'ether eliminator'."
"Huh?"
At Shin's command, Reko deployed the ether eliminator. Deprived of energy, Dona instantly powered down.
As Dona collapsed, Merine caught her gently and laid her out on the grass.
"Right. 'Forming'."
"Wha—?"
Before the wide-eyed Viscount Guarana, Shin used magi-craft to remove Dona's head plating.
"Good. As I thought, the control core is located in the head."
While the Adriana-style concentrates all vital systems in the chest, this particular design tended to place the control core in the head. Shin had opened the cranium based on that technical hunch.
"'Decompile'... I see, I see."
The contents of the control core were displayed before him as a cascading sequence of magi-formulas and Magi Language.
"Hmph. It's just like the one from back then after all..."
As if a switch had been flipped, Shin focused entirely on the decompiled data. He was likely recalling the golems once employed by the Magic Federation.
"......I see. If I increase this parameter and decrease this one..."
The decompiled data flowed and vanished as he worked at high speed.
Simply being able to parse the contents would have been a monumental feat, but Shin was already calculating the necessary correction values on the fly.
"That should do it. 'Overwrite'."
True to its name, 'Overwrite' simultaneously erased the old data and wrote in the new, updating the magi-formulas on the target's magi-circuit plate.
While it was originally a technique designed to bring a golem or automata under one's absolute control, it was perfectly suited for making precise modifications like these.
However...
"Wh-What in the world is Sir Shin doing?"
"...I have no idea at all."
"I haven't the slightest clue."
None of the onlookers could even begin to comprehend the level of magi-craft unfolding before their eyes.