"Good mooorniiing!"
"Good morning!"
The cheerful greetings of children echoed across Kaina Village.
"Yes, good morning."
"Good morning."
The children gathered at Village Chief Giebeck's home. These were the youths taking part in Mine and Elsa's study sessions.
There were nine in all. It was a modest turnout, but that was simply down to the village's small child population.
"It really is a small group, isn't it?"
Mine had noticed as well. In an ordinary household, it would hardly be strange to see three or more children.
Indeed, though from different mothers, Elsa had two siblings, and Mine herself had six.
"Even though food isn't hard to come by, either."
Catching her muttered remark, Village Chief Giebeck chimed in.
"Mine-san, you see, that's because the men were taken by the draft, and also because of the epidemic eight years ago."
His tone was still somewhat formal and distant.
"An epidemic, you say?"
Rock had mentioned this to Jin once before. He had framed the draft as the primary cause, but in truth, the epidemic had been far more devastating.
Rock had gone to the royal capital at the time, harboring dreams of knighthood, so he didn't know the full story.
"It was terrible back then. Half the village succumbed. Since they said it mustn't spread, we had no choice but to burn the dead until nothing was left but ash. That's why there are no proper graves for them."
"Is that so...?"
However, as if to shake off the gloom settling over them, Giebeck pressed on.
"Still, our numbers will be growing before long."
"Oh?"
Mine, who had been looking down, lifted her head.
"Ever since Jin arrived last year, the burden on the villagers has lightened a bit—or perhaps it's thanks to the hot spring. I couldn't say for sure, though."
"Ah, does that mean some of the women are expecting?"
Beside her, Elsa wore a puzzled look, but Mine was predictably quick on the uptake.
"Yes. Five of the wives have growing bellies."
"My, that is wonderful news."
As they were talking, Hanna came running over.
"Auntie—I mean, Teacher, good mooorniiing!"
"Yes, good morning, Hanna-chan. Well then, shall we get started?"
They had already exchanged greetings at home, but having been told to keep home life and the study sessions separate, Hanna was putting it into practice right away.
Including Hanna, there were ten children in total, ranging from seven to fourteen years old.
"Good morning, everyone. I am Mine, and I'll be your teacher. This is my daughter, Elsa, who will be assisting me."
"Teacher Mine! Teacher Elsa!"
The children were brimming with energy.
"All right, settle down."
Mine clapped her hands to quiet the room.
"Since today is our first day, let's start with introductions. You all may know one another, but I only recently arrived in this village, so I don't know you very well yet. Please tell me about yourselves, all right?"
"Okaay!" the children chimed in unison.
"Then I'll go first. My name is Mine. I'm thirty-five years old. I'm not from this country, but from the Kingdom of Egerea. And Elsa here is my daughter. Go ahead, Elsa, introduce yourself."
"...I am Elsa. Seventeen years old. I am from the Shouro Empire. I am a bit clumsy with words, but... I hope we can be friends."
When Elsa finished, applause erupted from the children.
"Teacher Mine! Teacher Elsa!"
"Show us some magic again!"
Having demonstrated her magic when the cold storage room was built, Elsa had become an object of sheer wonder to the children.
"Now then, let's go down the line and have you introduce yourselves one by one."
"Yeah! I'm Patty! I turned eight just the other day. Umm, my father is Linus, and he's really good at making all kinds of things out of wood. My mother is Sera. She's a little scary when she gets mad, but her cooking is great!"
"All right, thank you, Patty-chan. Next, please."
"Yes! I... I mean, my name is Mario. My fath... father is Rock, and my mother is Morley."
One after another, the children introduced themselves.
Once everyone had finished, the lesson was finally ready to begin.
Jin had been watching the scene from a short distance away, but when Reiko tugged gently at the hem of his clothes, he realized she had something to tell him. He quietly stepped away and walked around to the back of the Village Chief's house.
"What is it, Reiko?"
"Yes, Father. My apologies, but there is an inquiry from Laojun."
"Hmm, I wonder what it's about. All right, let's head over for a bit."
With a Warp Gate in the basement of his new home, popping back to the laboratory was completely effortless.
After receiving a greeting from Butler 1, the management golem stationed in the Warp Gate Room, Jin made his way to the familiar living room.
Laojun's mobile terminal, Laozi, was waiting for him.
"My Lord, I am humbled that you took the trouble to come."
Laozi gave a respectful bow.
"To be frank, among the weapons recovered near Tetrada the other day, there was an item of particular interest."
With that, he presented a single shortsword.
"Tetrada... Ah, the Klein Kingdom forces were disarmed, weren't they? So it was mixed in with those."
As he spoke, Jin looked over the offered shortsword. It was a thoroughly ordinary weapon, the kind you could find anywhere. He took it in his hands, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary at a glance.
"What about it?"
"Yes. Strangely enough, I sensed faint traces of My Lord's mana lingering within that blade."
"Huh?"
Caught off guard, Jin decided to examine it closely.
"『Inspection』."
He cast the spell to analyze the behavior of its mana.
"Sure enough, this is mine... Ah, I remember now. This has to be Lishia's shortsword."
It all came back to him. Last autumn, when he had helped the village men haul their tax wheat from Kaina Village to Toka Village, they were ambushed by a golem. At the time, Lishia, serving as the tax collector, had recklessly confronted the monster with this very sword.
However, made of soft iron rather than steel, the blade had bent in an instant. After the golem was driven off, Lishia took it to the blacksmith in Toka Village, only to sink into dejection when told it couldn't be repaired.
Unable to watch her mope, Jin had cast 『Forming』 to straighten the blade, followed by 『Carburizing』 and 『Heat』 to forge it into true steel.
"This is the sword from back then. Right, Lishia was stationed at Tetrada, wasn't she?"
"Lishia-san... that is the person who came to warn you to flee in the past, correct, Father?"
Reiko hadn't been present during the golem fight, but she remembered the time Lishia had delivered word that Earl Walter was coming to arrest him under a misunderstanding.
"Yeah. Looks like she took good care of it."
The sword in his hands was free of rust and honed to a sharp edge. Knowing Lishia, she probably hadn't used it in real combat, but the care she had poured into maintaining it was clear to see.
"Indeed. Anyone who treasures a gift from Father is a good person."
Reiko's standard of judgment was delightfully simple. Jin offered a wry smile.
"If possible, I'd like to get it back to her."
He had ordered the confiscated swords, spears, shields, and armor to be quality-checked and melted down into ingots, sparing only those that were clearly special—such as enchanted pieces or gear forged from rare materials.
In that light, Laojun and its subordinates deserved credit for noticing this blade.
"If I remember right, she's in the royal capital, isn't she?"
Reiko's sharp ears didn't miss Jin's quiet murmur.
"Father, you are not planning on going there yourself, are you?"
"Hm? Is there a problem? My face isn't known in the Klein Kingdom, so I doubt there's any real danger."
"That may be so, but..."
Lately, the fiercely protective Reiko was quick to look troubled. Seeing this, Laojun stepped in to mediate.
"Reiko-san, since My Lord wishes to go, I believe it would be best to accommodate his desire this time. However, I would ask that My Lord accept a few precautionary measures."
"Precautions? Against what?"
It was a natural question.
"To account for any potential danger to My Lord."
Having answered, Laojun continued.
"Please, look at this."
Laozi, acting as the mobile terminal, brought over a basket containing several items.
"Hm? Isn't this clothing?"
"Yes. Those garments are crafted from the skived, thinned hide of a Sea Dragon."
"Sea Dragon hide? Does that mean it hardens upon impact too?"
"Indeed. According to our tests, while not quite on par with a reinforced suit, it can withstand attacks up to Anne's full power."
Anne's full power was roughly ten percent of Reiko's former output. In other words, it could effortlessly deflect anything a human could dish out.
"The grain layer appears to be the most critical element; channeling mana through it reinforces its durability even further."
The grain layer referred to the smooth, outer surface of the leather. It made complete sense that the exterior would provide the best defense.
"I see. Trousers and a jacket, then. Thank you, Laojun."
"Not at all; it is my honor to be of service to My Lord."
Sitting at the bottom of the basket was one more item. It resembled a collar pin.
"And what's this?...Wait, a magi-device? Let's see... it triggers a barrier in response to the fabric's reaction?"
"Yes. Please fasten it to the collar of your jacket. Should the jacket undergo impact hardening or mana hardening from an incoming attack, it will instantaneously generate a barrier. Due to its compact size, the barrier will only last a brief moment, but that will afford you enough time to activate the bracelet in your possession."
It was a remarkably thorough set of safeguards. Between this and the dedicated Pegasus aircraft from before, Laojun had been doing exceptional work lately.
"Understood. I'll gladly take advantage of them."