Ever since Marikka's passing, Jin had been mired in gloom.
"Father, are you all right?"
Reiko called out to him with concern, but he only gave a brief answer.
"I'm fine."
Marikka's death had weighed on him far more heavily than he had anticipated.
"...Thinking about how, from here on out, I'll have to keep seeing off so many people I know... it just gets to me..."
Rubina and the others had already returned to Onogoro Island.
Meanwhile, Eris and Freddie had been invited over to Greena's house.
As a result, Jin was currently the only human on Hourai Island.
That solitude only intensified his mounting sense of loneliness.
"Laojun, do you have any good ideas?"
At her wit's end, Reiko consulted Laojun.
"Reiko-san, I believe My Lord is agonizing over how he should conduct his life from this point forward."
"Do you think so?"
"If My Lord so wished, he could construct automata modeled after those he longs to be with, and by applying Trans Info level 10, it would even be possible to duplicate their very personalities."
However, whether taking such a step was truly the right thing to do was likely the source of his internal conflict, Laojun explained.
"Reiko-san, please recall the events of four hundred years ago."
"Ah, that is true. Father had to see off Martha-san, Her Emerita Majesty the Empress, Mine-san, Milowina-san, Stearena-san, Vivienne-san... so many people. And every single time, he ended up just like this..."
"Indeed."
"...But Laojun, regarding that matter, isn't it already—"
"Reiko-san, it seems it is not yet time."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. My Lord must remain connected to this world a little while longer."
"What is your reasoning?"
"Because there are still quite a few people who need him."
A few days later.
Jin had secluded himself inside his workshop.
"Father, where should this go?"
"Ah, put that over here."
Relieved to see that Jin truly could not bear to sit idly by after all, Reiko assisted him with his work.
At the moment, Jin was in the middle of crafting teacher-use automata capable of instructing others in the Adriana-style.
Naturally, they would not teach up to the highest tiers of the craft. They were meant strictly for the fundamentals.
Beyond that foundation, he wanted people to devise and innovate on their own.
Even if the craft eventually branched into something different from what he envisioned, he considered that perfectly acceptable.
He was the legitimate Successor to Adriana Barbora Tsetse, and his disciples were established on Onogoro Island and in the Nord Federation. In short, the techniques and core philosophy were already being faithfully passed down through the direct line.
"Leaving this to Avalon should work well enough. I'll have Maquina handle the delivery..."
Jin had decided that it was best to refrain from interfering excessively in the affairs of the world.
"Though it would be a different story if a global disaster or a world war were looming, of course."
Speaking to no one in particular, Jin muttered aloud just enough for Reiko and Laojun to hear.
At Avalon.
"Oh? You say Maquina-dono has arrived?"
"Yes. Furthermore, he has donated automata known as 'Lehrer.'"
Chief Administrator Tomax Bartman was receiving a report from his secretary automaton, Manon.
"'Lehrer'?"
"Yes. It appears their designated role is to serve as instructors teaching the basics of the Adriana-style."
"Oh, that is an immense help!"
Ever since that lecture, they had been inundated with inquiries from people eager to learn how to manufacture Adriana-style golems and automata.
"There are ten units in total, from Lehrer 1 through 10, so they should be more than adequate to serve as teachers for the foreseeable future."
"Mm. First, we will utilize those ten units as mentors to train engineers and lay the groundwork for the future."
Tomax Bartman nodded in approval.
"In that case, how about assigning five units to engineer training and the remaining five to general lecturing?"
"That sounds like an excellent plan. Regardless, we must carefully deliberate our upcoming technological promotion initiatives."
"That's one down."
Back on Hourai Island, Jin was counting off on his fingers.
"Next is... let's see... I suppose I'll make that. Reiko, bring me some lead, tin, and antimony... No, wait, that's not quite right."
The metals Jin had started to list were the components used to produce type metal.
He stopped himself because that particular alloy was relatively soft.
The reason that composition was standard back home was due to its specific advantages: a low melting point (roughly 240 degrees Celsius), excellent fluidity when poured into molds (allowing for the crisp casting of tiny characters), and minimal solidification shrinkage (reducing deformation as it cooled).
However, Jin reasoned that creating printing master plates using magi-craft was far more appropriate for this world.
"If I use Forming, it should be simple enough."
The written characters of this world were similar to an alphabet. Even accounting for numerals and special symbols, the entire set numbered fewer than a hundred characters.
"Assembling individual pieces of movable type works, but it'd be much faster to produce the entire plate in one go with Forming."
Naturally, only a tiny handful of engineers possessed the skill to achieve such a feat.
Yet going beyond that limitation was precisely what defined a Magi Craft Meister.
"All I need to do is build a dedicated magi-device."
The scanning component could be handled by a magic eye. Jin figured that by routing the visual input into a dedicated control core for processing, converting the text into a standardized font, and shaping a metal plate via Forming, the whole process would run smoothly.
"The printing mechanism itself will be far simpler after that."
Automating the system with Golem arms was also entirely feasible.
"I can leave that part of the process to the ordinary engineers."
With that decided, Jin set to work and completed a magi-device capable of converting handwritten manuscripts directly into printing master plates.
"What?! Maquina-dono has returned already?!"
At Avalon, after only a single day's absence, the staff were astonished by Maquina's prompt reappearance—and equally stunned by the magi-device Jin had donated.
"Mmh, this concept is brilliant... It is likely an invention inspired by the recent printing demonstrations, but even so..."
By storing the textual data within a magi-crystal, one could reproduce master plates as many times as necessary.
It was nothing short of a revolution in printing technology.
"Truly, what else could one expect from the Magi Craft Meister..."
Tomax Bartman immediately set about deliberating how best to implement the new technology.
"It seems My Lord has regained his spirits."
"Yes, Laojun. Father is always at his best when he is crafting."
On Hourai Island, Laojun and Reiko breathed a shared sigh of relief.