Among the students attending the lecture were, of course, Eira, Kachea, and Groma.
"...Jin really is something else."
"Jin-san is truly in his element today, isn't he?"
Having recently crafted the crystal golem Kaela alongside him, Eira and Kachea had already heard a little about the "magic-frame style." Hearing it presented systematically like this, however, left them in pure awe of his achievement.
Groma, on the other hand, was gnashing his teeth in regret.
"Man, what a terrible time to have been away!"
"Come on now. You could always go ask him in person later, right?" Eira said, trying to soothe him.
"Well, assuming I get the chance."
Groma looked down at the handout in his hands.
"...This 'magic-frame style'... It's going to become the new standard for all golems from now on."
Groma had grown accustomed to building ball-joint style golems, but a lingering sense of dissatisfaction had always nagged at him.
"The movements are stiff. Maintenance is a pain. And costs never drop as much as you'd hope."
In comparison, the magic-frame style was tailor-made for mass production and industrialization.
"To think people had already developed a method like this before the rise of the Magic Federation."
Groma Tray could only marvel at Jin for unearthing and refining the technique, feeling deeply grateful to him.
A little before noon, the morning session drew to a close, and the lunch break began. The afternoon session was set to resume at 1:30 PM.
"Jin and his group are probably having lunch somewhere else."
For this day alone, an announcement had requested that everyone bring their own packed lunch if possible.
After all, over five hundred attendees had arrived from outside Avalon.
The influx far exceeded the capacity of the standard cafeteria.
"If only we could use cafeterias farther out without it taking so long, this wouldn't even be an issue," Groma muttered.
"Yes, and because of that, there's apparently a plan underway to lay down a high-speed underground transit network," the well-informed Kachea chimed in.
"If that happens, Avalon won't feel so vast anymore."
Groma couldn't help but hope that day would come soon.
"All right, I'll be having Greena and Rubina give proper presentations this afternoon," Jin said.
Having finished lunch, they were currently relaxing. Marikka appeared to be having lunch with Tomax Bartman, while Freddie and Greena had gone for a stroll in a nearby green space, leaving only Jin, Reiko, and Rubina in the room.
"You got used to the atmosphere this morning, right?"
"I guess so... but I'm still nervous."
Talented though she was, she was still only ten years old—Rubina was very much a child. Jin knew it was only natural for her to feel that way.
"At times like this, they say you should just picture the audience as pumpkins."
"Pumpkins, huh..." Rubina gave a wry smile.
"Or trace the character for 'person' on your palm and swallow it, that sort of thing."
"What's that? A charm to 'swallow up' your nervousness around people?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"That's funny."
Just then, Marikka returned.
"Jin-sama, what a wonderful turnout."
"Yeah, it's quite a crowd."
To Jin, however, who remembered attending various large-scale expos at Makuhari back in modern Japan, this crowd still felt relatively modest by comparison.
"We're back!"
Greena and Freddie returned as well.
"Welcome back."
"This really is a pleasant academy city," Freddie said.
In the past, he had attended magi-craft schools in the Kingdom of Egerea and the Klein Kingdom to study the craft.
Those had been institutions of learning too, but looking back now, their standards were incomparably lower than this place.
"Though being able to say that at all is entirely thanks to you, Jin-sama."
When Freddie said the standards were lower, he explained with a self-deprecating smile that he meant not only the academics, but the students' morals as well.
"How should I put it... there were noble children who acted like 'nobles' in the worst sense, constantly measuring themselves against others. The moment they thought someone was beneath them, they'd get arrogant and overbearing."
"Ah, that hardly sounds like an environment for learning."
Hearing Freddie's experiences brought home the true difficulty of education.
Even back in modern Japan during Jin's time, issues like bullying, school truancy, and demanding parents had run rampant.
"But this place is different. Only people with a genuine desire to learn gather here."
Jin and Marikka both watched with warm smiles as Freddie spoke with an uncharacteristic burst of passion.
At 1:20 PM, Jin and his entourage waited in the green room behind the Grand Auditorium.
"Well, the afternoon lecture is about to start. Let's stick to the plan."
"...Yes, understood."
As the hands of the clock ticked forward...
"The time has come. We will now begin the afternoon session. Presenting 'New Golems and Materials'—Jin-sensei and his disciples, the stage is yours."
"All right, let's go."
With Jin leading the way, Freddie, Greena, and Rubina stepped onto the podium one after another.
"Ahem. For the afternoon session, we will be lecturing on the topic of 'New Golems and Materials.' Please open your handouts to page 40. You will find a list of standard metallic materials there."
In elemental terms, common metals included steel, copper, silver, 64 light silver (a magi-isotope of titanium), mithril (a magi-isotope of silver), adamantite (a magi-isotope of tungsten), and the like.
"However, aside from metals with exceptional individual properties like adamantite, most are utilized in the form of alloys."
Examples included steel (iron and carbon), bronze (copper and tin), brass (copper and zinc), and magi-duralumin (various blends of aluminum, copper, magnesium, and other elements).
"There are also specialty alloys—some of which are used in small amounts, yet remain utterly indispensable."
These included "magi"-type alloys with added mithril, stainless steel varieties, and 925 silver.
"As for strength, magi-craft spells like Hardening and Toughening can compensate to a certain extent. However, the higher the baseline quality of the raw material, the higher its ultimate limit of durability will be."
Jin emphasized that they should avoid cutting corners and instead carefully choose their materials, truly putting the right material in the right place.
"Next, when talking about golem materials, we must discuss magi-resin. For this section, I will hand the floor over to my disciple, Freddie."
As planned, Jin yielded the podium to Freddie.
"...Th-thank you for the introduction. My name is Freddie....Magi-resin is typically harvested from the pinaceae plant known as 'magi-pine,' but is it truly impossible to extract it from other plants?"
A ripple of murmurs spread through the hall. Until now, sap from magi-pines had accounted for ninety percent of all magi-resin production.
"Jin-sensei taught us to cast aside fixed ideas and preconceptions. Through that approach, we discovered that sap from a tree called 'Pinacea,' which grows wild in the northern reaches of the Lauren Continent, can also be utilized."
Gasps of awe rose from the crowd.
"Its performance actually surpasses resin derived from magi-pine. In fact, the magical muscles powering the golem Storm right here are made from that very resin."
As the clamor in the auditorium intensified, Freddie paused his explanation for a moment.
True to their drive as earnest scholars of Avalon, the audience quickly settled back into silence.
"To continue: there is one crucial point of caution. Pinacea bark contains a toxic substance called atropine, meaning extreme care is required during harvesting and handling."
Freddie went on to explain the nature of atropine.
The audience listened in rapt silence.
Among the crowd sat several acquaintances who had once shared a desk with Freddie back at the magi-craft school in the Kingdom of Egerea.