To establish the Ars Golem Standards—"AGS"—the AGS Establishment Committee was formed in Avalon.
The initiator was Tomax Bartman, the Chief Administrator of Avalon.
Serving as honorary advisors were Jin Nidou and Deus Ex Machina.
The members included Groma Tray, Eira Shiata, Kachea, and the rest of the Go-lab group.
Furthermore, with two representatives from each nation participating as well, all the necessary conditions to establish it as an international standard were in place.
The specific debates that took place within the Committee will be omitted here.
In the end, the agreed-upon categories were as follows:
Concerning Safety
Concerning Required Functionality
Concerning Durability
Concerning Price
Classifications and grades would be decided for each of these items, and the specific details would be hammered out.
"Civilian use" was divided into "general," "application-specific," "special/limited use," and "other."
"Application-specific" referred to divisions like agricultural or forestry use.
"Special/limited use" applied to mass-produced models that had been customized. In automotive terms, it would be treated like a camper van.
"Military use" consisted of "security," "combat," "rescue," and "other."
Sitting in the middle was "general-purpose golem," which was more expensive than "civilian use" but not utilized for military objectives. For example, golems meant for royalty and nobility would fall under this category.
The grades ran from 1 to 5, with Grade 1 being the highest and Grade 5 being the lowest.
...And with that, the 1st AGS Establishment Conference came to a close.
Naturally, such matters could not be settled in just two or three days. Following this, the representatives of each country would take the proposals back to their homelands for review, and they would reconvene in Avalon for further discussion in one month.
The fine details would be thoroughly ironed out over time.
"Man, I'm beat."
Inside the House on Hourai Island, Jin lay sprawled out star-shaped across the tatami mats.
"Jin-nii, good work today."
Elsa offered words of comfort.
"I know it's necessary, but still..."
Jin silently resolved to have his Doppel take his place starting next time.
"Still, I suppose standards and standardization like this will be essential for the world going forward."
Jin voiced his thoughts while remaining flat on his back.
"Mm, I think so too....A lot was destroyed by the Magic Federation, so we have to rebuild that portion as well."
"Yeah, you're right."
Still lying on the tatami, Jin let his thoughts wander.
"We're also going to need all sorts of measuring instruments and reference standards."
Length in meters, weight in grams, time in seconds, angles in degrees, temperature in Celsius.
Those fundamentals had been established by Magus Shuuki Tsetse, but many of the auxiliary units remained undecided.
"Not that I can decide on them myself, though."
Take "hardness," for example. Jin knew of Mohs, Vickers, Brinell, and Rockwell, but he did not know the actual baseline standards.
"There were things like durometers for rubber, too."
Then there were viscometers, pH meters, refractometers for sugar content, and countless others—the list was endless.
"It would be nice if we could spread them through the world bit by bit."
Hearing Jin mutter this to himself, Elsa spoke up.
"Jin-nii, have you changed a little?"
"Huh?"
"...It's just a guess, but if it were the old Jin-nii, I think you would have prepared all those things yourself and brought them to Avalon."
"..."
"But now, you're trying to have other people do it....Not because it's a hassle, but how should I put it... right, it's like you're placing your hopes on people's own initiative."
"That might be true."
Prompted by Elsa's words, Jin reexamined his own thoughts.
"Technology and culture that are merely handed over can be lost over the slightest thing. But things created through hardship and ingenuity aren't wiped away so easily."
"...Is that the 'current' Jin-nii's philosophy?"
"No, it's nothing so noble as a philosophy."
Even so, the fact remained that leaping across four hundred years of time had shown him certain truths.
"Ties and bonds didn't disappear, after all."
"...Mm, I feel like I understand."
The current Jin had jumped forward four hundred years into the future, and Elsa thought that perhaps that was precisely why he was able to notice the "changes."
Gradual changes were difficult to perceive, but massive shifts were easy to recognize.
When Elsa voiced this, Jin conceded the point.
"Yeah, maybe so."
"Maybe that's why... instead of trying to do everything myself as an individual, I've come to want the people to do it."
If he could just lend a helping hand toward that end, that would be enough, Jin said.
"...I think it will be hard."
Elsa gently took Jin's hand.
"But I will follow Jin-nii. I will support you."
"Thank you."
Happy to feel her warmth, Jin remained just as he was for a while.
"...Ah, did I fall asleep?"
Jin opened his eyes. He seemed to have dozed off before he realized it; the sunlight filtering through the window had taken on an afternoon hue.
"Where's Elsa... whoops."
Glancing to his side, he saw Elsa also lying on the tatami, breathing softly in her sleep.
"...I wonder what time it is."
"It is 1:30 PM."
When he unconsciously murmured aloud, Reiko answered from outside the room.
"It's already that late, huh?"
"Lunch is ready. Luna and Soleil prepared it."
"Oh, I see....Elsa, wake up."
Feeling a little guilty about it, Jin woke Elsa, who was napping right beside him.
"...Nnh."
Watching Elsa rub her eyes as she sat up, Jin thought that such quirks of hers hadn't changed a bit from the old days.
"...Did I fall asleep?"
As Elsa asked him somewhat bashfully, Jin nodded back.
"Yeah....You had a cute sleeping face."
"...!"
When Jin teased her, Elsa's face turned bright red, and she began playfully swatting at him. Of course, since it was just to hide her embarrassment, it didn't hurt in the slightest.
Thinking that this part of her hadn't changed either, Jin quietly savored the happiness of the moment.