July 22nd, the day Jin and his companions traveled to Mahahama to visit Saki's family home.
Ludwig, the deputy workshop head of the Berlich Workshop, had been busy since morning.
He was analyzing the agricultural golem that had run amok the day before.
As soon as he finished, he intended to compile the paperwork and lodge a formal complaint with the vendor that had sold it: House Techles Banne Branch.
"Deputy Workshop Head, is that the golem that rampaged yesterday?"
Thomas Harnas, a colleague from the Berlich Workshop, peered in from the side.
"Yes. Take a look at this. It's a careless... no, an utterly atrocious control system. There isn't a single safety measure built into it."
"Hahaa... That's far beyond just cost-cutting. It's blatant corner-cutting."
"Right? As someone involved in magi-craft, I simply cannot forgive this."
"I understand completely. It's an insult to the craft."
Thomas Harnas was equally indignant.
Because Ludwig had watched Jin decompile the control core the previous day, conducting the re-analysis and drafting the documents took very little time.
"Alright, time to head out."
Fortunately, the Magi-Craft Class was not in session that day, so there was no issue with Ludwig being away despite his position as deputy workshop head.
Ludwig gathered the necessary documents, tidied his appearance, notified the office girl, and left the Berlich Workshop.
His destination: House Techles Banne Branch.
From Kalts Village to Banne was under ten kilometers—a walkable distance—but Ludwig opted to drive a golem automobile made by the Berlich Workshop.
The highway was well-maintained, and by maintaining a steady speed of around thirty kilometers per hour, Ludwig reached Banne in twenty minutes.
Banne was not only situated on the highway encircling Lake Tosmo, but it also served as the starting point for the northern route, making it a bustling, eclectic town with a long history of prosperity.
"Now then..."
House Techles Banne Branch was supposed to be somewhere in this town. Searching aimlessly would take too much time, so he decided to consult one of the local information offices established for just such occasions.
It was not a tourist desk, meaning the staff would offer only dry, bureaucratic assistance, but Ludwig headed inside nonetheless, confident it would suffice for his needs.
"...It's not listed."
"What?! Please check again!"
"Even if you tell me that, if it's not here, it's not here."
"..."
Inconceivably, House Techles Banne Branch did not exist in Banne at all.
"But someone definitely bought an agricultural golem from there six months ago!"
"Well, this simplified ledger only goes back five years, but throughout that entire period, there is no record of a 'House Techles Banne Branch' ever existing."
"What is the meaning of this..."
"If I had to guess, couldn't it have been a fraud?" the middle-aged clerk offered with a sympathetic look.
With fraud now appearing exceedingly likely, Ludwig decided to head straight for the security guard headquarters in Banne.
Banne was the central hub of the Count Randol Domain (Reinhard's family territory), so he judged that filing a report with the security guard force policing the domain would be the most appropriate course of action.
"Fraud, you say... Please give me the details."
The security guard member who received him was about as young as Ludwig, but he handled the matter with utter sincerity.
"To think such fraud took place right here in our domain... Unforgivable."
His indignation was entirely fitting for his youth.
"Leave it to us. I, Land, shall take charge of this investigation. Inexperienced though I may be, I will tackle this with all my heart and soul."
"I leave it in your capable hands."
Deciding there was nothing more he could do in Banne, Ludwig returned to Kalts Village.
"Now then, what should I do about this..."
Back at the Berlich Workshop in Kalts Village, Ludwig stood brooding before the broken agricultural golem.
"Thinking about Emil and the others, I'd like to fix it for them, but... hmm."
Now that a fraud investigation had been opened, he felt it best to avoid repairing the golem, as it was crucial physical evidence.
"Still, without an agricultural golem, things are going to be rough for them..."
In modern Japanese terms, it was comparable to a combine harvester.
It was a piece of farming equipment far too expensive for a single household to own.
In fact, this golem had been purchased jointly by Emil's family and five neighboring farms.
"Which will only make things harder on Emil, I'm sure."
They took turns using it among the households, and it had simply happened to malfunction while Emil's family was using it. Even so, Ludwig worried that the other families might blame Emil's household for breaking it.
"Maybe I should lend them another golem."
Deciding that was his only real option, Ludwig looked around the workshop. However, there were no spare units available.
"Guess I have no choice but to gather up some scrap and cobble one together..."
Fortunately, he was off duty today, so no one could complain about him working on a personal project.
"In that case, time to get to work..."
Ludwig spent the rest of the day assembling a golem.
Anyone who has ever tried DIY carpentry with reclaimed lumber knows how surprisingly tedious it can be.
With brand-new materials, one only needs to cut them to the specified dimensions, but reclaimed wood requires prepping the surface to remove nail holes, old adhesive, and rough patches.
Because the pieces are already pre-cut, finding lumber of the right size is a constant struggle. A piece might be subtly too short, or slightly too long—meaning trimming it produces frustratingly wasteful offcuts.
You might set out to use matching materials, only to be forced to substitute a different wood for a single section.
Of course, that challenge had its own peculiar charm.
In short, it was immensely time-consuming.
Even after Ludwig worked until nightfall, spending roughly three and a half hours, he had managed to complete only the skeleton.
"Ah... That's all I managed to get done, huh..."
It was only natural that he decided to finish the rest little by little during his spare time over the coming days.
Two days later, on July 24th.
A large crate arrived at the Berlich Workshop, addressed to Deputy Workshop Head Ludwig.
While one might say it had "arrived," the reality was that it was simply found sitting in front of the workshop doors first thing in the morning.
"What's this?"
Ludwig gingerly unpacked the delivery.
"This is...!"
Inside was a brand-new general-purpose golem, albeit an older model.
"The sender is... 'Jin Nidou'? The Magi Craft Meister?!"
The world's greatest magi engineer, whom he had met by chance three days prior. Ludwig realized he must have sent this as a replacement for the agricultural golem that had been deactivated.
A short note was enclosed, confirming his suspicion: This is a replacement for the golem that Reiko broke.
"He says she broke it, but that was a necessary measure..."
Even so, he felt deeply moved that someone of worldwide renown had paid attention to a humble provincial workshop like theirs.
"Alright then, let's go deliver this to Emil."
Knowing it was a gift from the Magi Craft Meister, Ludwig did not bother inspecting it and went straight ahead to wake up the general-purpose golem.
"Yes, Master."
"Oh, you can speak."
"Yes. Please give your orders."
"Excellent."
Without delay, Ludwig escorted the general-purpose golem straight to Emil's farm.
When he presented the golem to Emil's family and the neighboring farmers who had jointly bought the previous unit, every single one of them was left wide-eyed with astonishment.
Its craftsmanship was leagues beyond their old agricultural golem.
"I will take full responsibility for this golem. Please feel free to put it to hard work."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, everyone."
"Whoaaa, i-it spoke?!"
"I wonder if they're putting that golem to good use right about now."
Over on Hourai Island, Reinhard was chatting with Laojun.
Jin had previously instructed Laojun, "I'm curious to see how things turn out, so please keep an eye on it until everything is settled." When Laojun learned that Ludwig was struggling to assemble a replacement golem, it consulted Jin, and together they prepared an Agrii-based model for him.
Agrii was a line of golems Jin had developed long ago to improve the food supply for the Northern People (who were known as the demon race back then).
Although it appeared to be an older model on the outside, its knowledge of agriculture was extensive.
Thanks to this gift, the workload on the farmers—including Emil's family—was dramatically reduced, and their harvest income reportedly saw a sizable increase.