The following day.
Despite how much they had drunk, not a single person had a hangover.
It was entirely thanks to the robust metabolism of their homunculus bodies.
Jin, being a Duplicate, could not get drunk in the first place anyway.
After breakfast, everyone gathered in the Great Hall to discuss their plans going forward.
"Now then, what should we do next?" Reinhard spoke up.
"Hourai Island, Planet Hehl, or staying here. For now, I think those are our three choices," Jin said.
"Well, naturally..."
"Hourai Island, of course!"
"Indeed!"
"That's right!"
Unanimously, they decided on Hourai Island. In a sense, it was only natural.
After all, every one of them had lived on Hourai Island in the past.
"Alright, now that that's settled, let's get ready."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
Everyone—except for Jin—set about packing their respective belongings.
That said, none of them had much luggage, and thirty minutes later, the entire group had assembled in the Warp Gate Room.
Milowina was among them as well.
By gaining a homunculus body, she had become capable of doing countless things she previously could not.
"Come on, let's go."
First, Jin and Reiko stepped into the Warp Gate.
Elsa followed, then Hanna, then Reinhard... One after another, everyone vanished into the Warp Gate.
Passing through the familiar Shinkai, they arrived at Hourai Island.
"Ah, Hourai Island!"
"It really has been so long!"
None of them could hide their joy at being back on Hourai Island after such an absence.
"It hasn't changed a bit."
"It really hasn't, has it?"
This was all thanks to Laojun and the others, who had preserved its original state as faithfully as possible.
Thinking it best to let the excited group enjoy themselves a while longer, Jin followed Elsa as she headed toward the House.
"...It hasn't changed."
"Has it?"
"...Mm."
At the entrance, Elsa narrowed her eyes in fond nostalgia.
"Come on, let's head inside."
"Mm."
And so they made their way toward their familiar room... or at least, they tried to.
"Ah, this place hasn't changed either!"
"Elsa! Jin! Let's go to the sea! The boats, come on, the boats!"
Saki and Marcia came rushing after them with eager pleas, so the plan quickly shifted to everyone visiting the sea together.
"There's no sea on Uni, after all."
"At most, there were only ponds."
"Well, that couldn't be helped."
Instead of using a Warp Gate, they formed a convoy of automobiles and set off for Tatsumi Bay.
Not a single soul stayed behind; every last one of them headed for the coast.
"Ah, the fruit trees around here have grown quite large."
"I remember that tree. It's grown so much!"
The journey was as lively as could be.
Brimming with that very excitement, the group arrived at Tatsumi Bay.
"Ah, the fish preserves, look at the fish preserves!"
"They're just like they used to be!"
"No, looks like there are more of them now."
"More importantly, let's hurry and get on a boat!"
Amidst the general clamor, Marcia adamantly insisted on getting out on the water, so Jin asked,
"What kind of boat do you want to take?"
"Hmm, it's gotta be a high-speed craft, of course!"
At her answer, Jin summoned the Hydro crafts.
Since each seated four, excluding the pilot Marine, the passenger capacity was three.
Thus, the groupings were arranged: Jin + Elsa + Hanna, Reinhard + Berche + Lishia, Louis + Beena + Marikka, Goose + Saki + Martha, Toa + Stearena + Mine, Marcia + Rodrigo, and Vivienne + Milowina.
Rather than staying behind so as not to intrude, Reiko used her force generator to fly alongside them.
"Alright, let's head out."
From the floating pier of Tatsumi Bay, the seven Hydro crafts launched.
"Oh yeah, this is the real deal, this is it!"
Naturally, Marcia was the most thrilled of all, but one look at the others' faces made it clear that they, too, were thoroughly enjoying the boat ride.
Having spent nearly four months cooped up in an underground residential district on Uni, it was entirely understandable.
A blue sea, a blue sky, white clouds, white waves, and a curved horizon.
"Aah! It's the sea!!"
Marcia was truly like a fish back in water.
She even went so far as to relieve Marine halfway through, taking the helm herself.
"Boats made by Jin really are incredible! I'm gonna give it my all, too!"
In the end, after circling Hourai Island three times, Marcia finally seemed satisfied.
"Ah, this is it, this is the taste!"
Having worked up an appetite from playing so hard, they returned to the laboratory via the Warp Gate for lunch.
"Hourai Island soba!"
There was pure, one-hundred-percent buckwheat soba, nihachi soba made with eighty percent buckwheat and twenty percent binder, as well as matcha soba and wild yam soba.
The dipping broths included niboshi dashi, bonito dashi, kombu dashi, and both sweet and savory varieties.
The condiments featured wasabi, grated daikon, karami daikon, green onions, and shredded nori.
Alongside those were tempura of itopo (sweet potato), natsuri (pumpkin), bisuna (eggplant), shrimp, and more.
"Delicious!"
"Seconds, please!"
"Me too!"
Everyone devoured the meal with a vigor that left Jin wide-eyed.
"Becoming homunculi sure gave them hearty appetites..."
Jin could only watch, feeling a little overwhelmed by their sheer momentum.