"Whew, thank you for the meal."
"Thank you for the meal."
After finishing their somewhat—or rather, considerably—late lunch, Jin and Elsa leisurely enjoyed a cup of tea.
"It's almost like an early three o'clock tea time."
"Mm."
Amid the relaxed, quiet moment, Elsa posed a question to Jin.
"Jin-nii, about Milowina-san... doesn't she need a servant?"
"Eh... Ah, I see. That makes sense."
Jin had assumed that simply maintaining a direct communication line to the magi-brain Jack on the Moon would be enough. But having Elsa point it out made him realize that it might be far better to provide Jack with a dedicated terminal body, much like how Laojun operated through Laozi.
"That probably would be better."
Jin had Reiko, and Marikka had Hanako. He could figure out arrangements for the other members down the line, but Milowina took priority.
"Crafting the body won't be an issue. It's just a matter of deciding on the exterior."
Should it be an elderly butler like Laozi, a boy-type like Edgar, or a girl-type like Reiko and Hanako?
"...Somehow, I feel like a 'Chief Maid' style would suit Milowina-san best."
"A Chief Maid, huh..."
In other words, an elderly female-type.
Jin realized that he had never actually built an automaton of that archetype before.
"Let's go with that."
"Mm."
With the direction decided, Jin set to work immediately.
Moving to the workshop, he began constructing the base frame. While the foundational specifications adhered to the standard Golem Maids, he aimed to enhance its baseline performance by incorporating rarer materials.
"Jin-nii, it would be best to check in with Milowina-san and Jack, too."
Elsa, who was watching over his shoulder rather than actively assisting, offered a piece of advice.
"Good point....Reiko, ask Laojun to open a line to Jack."
"Right away, Father."
Jin could have handled the communication himself, but Reiko was always delighted to be given a task, so he made a point of relying on her whenever possible.
Meanwhile, he asked Elsa to reach out to Milowina.
To put it simply, both Jack and Milowina were completely on board with the plan.
They also readily welcomed Elsa's Chief Maid concept.
With their approval secured, Jin worked without hesitation.
While he had assembled the parts at a measured pace while waiting for their reply, now that everything was greenlit, he went all out, holding nothing back.
With Reiko rejoining him as an assistant after finishing her liaison duties, the physical body was completed in roughly five minutes.
"Now, just to install a control core as a backup..."
Since this was a remote type, the control core was purely auxiliary—intended for contingencies where Jack might be unable to pilot the frame for whatever reason.
Having integrated every necessary secondary function, Jin nodded in satisfaction.
"All that's left is the exterior....Elsa, can you handle that?"
"Mm, leave it to me."
Since the concept called for an elderly Chief Maid style female-type automaton, Jin left the exterior design entirely to Elsa and stood back to watch.
The frame was given a medium build and average height. This ensured the enhanced specs inherited from the Golem Maids could be utilized to their full potential without the unnecessary structural adjustments a heavier or slighter frame would require.
As Jin watched, curious about what kind of face she would choose, Elsa sculpted features that faintly evoked the Milowina of old.
Or rather, it was perhaps best described as two parts Milowina, blended with Mine and Martha, and divided by four.
"I see. So that's the look Elsa went with."
She opted against giving the unit glasses. The hair was kept a tasteful light brown, complemented by matching brown eyes.
The attire was a modified version of the standard Hourai Island maid uniform, complete with a detachable headdress that could be worn as needed.
"What should we do about the name?"
Since Jack was a masculine name, it did not quite fit a female-type frame.
"...Calling her 'Queen' wouldn't really work, either."
Jin had evidently drawn inspiration from playing cards, though his naming sense remained as predictably literal as ever.
"I think... it's best to let Milowina-san name her."
"You're right about that."
With that settled, they contacted Milowina and invited her down to the workshop.
She happened to be taking a stroll through the orchard behind the laboratory, arriving in less than ten minutes.
"Jin-kun, is it finished already?"
Having been consulted beforehand, Milowina knew Jin was building a terminal for Jack, but the sheer speed of its completion caught her off guard.
"Yes. What do you think?"
"Oh, my..."
Taking in the automaton's calm, refined presence, Milowina took an immediate liking to her.
"She's wonderful!...Jack will be piloting this body, right?"
"That's right. So, we'd like you to give her a name."
"Ah, of course....Hmm, how about 'Jackie'?"
While the name Jackie was often associated with men due to a certain famous martial arts star, it was actually a unisex name in the English-speaking world.
Jin wondered if it was somewhat akin to names like Hiromi or Hikaru in Japanese.
In practice, it was most often used as a diminutive of Jacqueline.
In any case, both Jin and Elsa felt that pairing Jack with Jackie made the connection immediately intuitive, much like Laojun and Laozi.
"Mm, I think that's lovely."
Elsa nodded in agreement.
"Alright. Are you happy with that as well, Jack?"
Jin did not expect any objections, but he asked just to be certain.
"Yes, that suits me wonderfully. Above all, it is a name bestowed upon me by Milowina-sama."
The reply came back exactly as expected.
"Great. I'll grant Jack the activation and administrative credentials, so go ahead and wake her up from your end."
"Understood. Start."
Jackie smoothly sat up.
"Milowina-sama, I look forward to serving you."
"Jackie, the pleasure is all mine."
"Yes....Jin-sama, thank you for providing this body."
"Take good care of Milowina, alright?"
"Yes, of course."
And so, from that moment on, the mobile terminal automaton Jackie, operated by Jack for Milowina's sake, took over the duty of looking after Milowina's everyday needs.
That evening, with the entire Jin Family gathered together for dinner, Jin shared the news of Jackie's creation.
"Ho, impressive. Just what I'd expect from you, Jin."
"Elsa handled the exterior, though."
"She has such a composed, lovely presence."
Mine, who had served as one of the visual inspirations, offered her warm praise as well.
With the rest of the household welcoming the newcomer without reservation, Jin and Elsa breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Before long, Jin's thoughts turned to Marcia, who had reportedly been spending day after day out on the water conducting research.
"How are things going on your end, Marcia? Making good progress on the ship research?"
"Yeah, bit by bit."
"I see... Do you think you might need a dedicated assistant after all?"
Currently, Marcia did not have Arrow by her side. Nor did she have Arco or Veil.
If she wanted one, Jin was fully prepared to build assistant automata of the exact same make to support her.