"A space station, huh..."
The desire of Taihaku, who had served as the management magi-brain of Kunlun Island, was to become the management magi-brain of a space station.
"How about we build a space station to orbit Planet Hehl?" Jin suggested.
"Mm, that sounds good."
"Oh, isn't that a great idea?"
"Sounds fun!"
Everyone voiced their approval in turn.
"All right, let's do that, then. First off, what kind of station should it be...?"
Whenever conversations turned to topics like this, Reinhard was always the first to jump in with lively enthusiasm.
"Uni is essentially like a space station too, right? Maybe we could modify an asteroid along those lines?"
"Or perhaps base it on a spherical spaceship."
"A disc-shaped base like Avalon probably wouldn't be well suited for outer space."
"Since it's a base, I'd rather place more emphasis on defense and observation than on mobility."
"We might also need to shoot down meteorites, right?"
Ideas and opinions poured in from all sides.
After gathering and deliberating on the various proposals, they reached a conclusion:
The design would be based on a spherical spaceship three hundred meters in diameter—the exact same size as the Adriana.
Living quarters would be kept to a bare minimum, allowing that space to be dedicated to power systems, defensive equipment, and other essential fittings.
As an observation apparatus, the Peeper telescope was deemed essential.
For propulsion systems, it would be equipped with a force generator alongside a gravity control device gravitioner.
A large number of micro-class observation probes called Sondes would also be installed. While these Sondes were originally designed to measure regions with dense concentrations of free ether, they were versatile enough for general surveillance.
For defense, an Aegis would be mounted to guard against incoming meteorites as well.
"Something like this, I suppose?"
"Hmm, the major components look solid, don't they?"
"Right, right. We can always add smaller features later."
Such effortless flexibility was possible only through magi-craft.
"All right, let's begin construction based on these specs. The arsenal on Uni would be best."
Given that construction was far easier in Uni's low gravity, Jin had made it a habit to build colossal spacecraft there.
Furthermore, the near-vacuum conditions offered a distinct advantage by preventing the corrosion of metals.
"Laojun, coordinate with Jack on Uni and start construction on this spaceship-slash-space station."
"Yes, My Lord. Understood."
"It's not an urgent emergency, so standard construction speed will do."
"Understood."
Scale aside, Jack was thoroughly accustomed to the process, having constructed similar vessels many times before.
Jin-sama, please leave it to me.
"I'm counting on you, Jack."
And so, construction on the space station for Planet Hehl was underway.
"Well, that settles that."
Since it was proceeding at standard speed, Jin figured it would take about a month.
Just then, the noon hour arrived. He headed to the dining hall, where lunch had already been prepared.
Fitting for midsummer, it was a refreshingly cool menu.
Hiyamugi, somen, and zaru soba were laid out across the table.
Incidentally, according to JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standards):
Somen: under 1.3 mm in diameter
Hiyamugi: 1.3 mm or more, under 1.7 mm in diameter
In other words, the thinner variety was somen, while the slightly thicker one was hiyamugi. Anything thicker than 1.7 mm apparently crossed over into udon.
In truth, when it came to hand-stretched somen, there also seemed to be production differences, such as applying oil to prevent the strands from sticking together, though such distinctions were not entirely uniform across the board.
Unconcerned with such technicalities, everyone simply selected their noodles of choice, perfectly happy as long as the food tasted good.
"Somen goes down so smoothly."
"The aroma of the soba is wonderful as well."
"I prefer the firmer bite of hiyamugi."
All the members of the Jin Family slurped their noodles with practiced skill.
Careful thought had gone into the dipping sauces, allowing everyone to savor subtle differences in dashi, flavor, and richness.
Condiments such as wasabi, green onions, and ginger were also available to suit individual preferences.
"This meat-based broth goes wonderfully with hiyamugi."
"Adding grated ginger to it makes it utterly irresistible."
"When it comes to soba, you just can't beat wasabi and green onions."
"Tossing in some agedama gives it a delightfully different texture."
After enjoying the chilled noodles, they brought the meal to a close with warm buckwheat tea. Naturally, soba-yu was on hand as well.
"Ah, that was delicious."
Everyone seemed completely satisfied with the feast.
"By the way, Jin-san," Lishia spoke up between sips of buckwheat tea. "I heard that Toka Village has fallen into decline lately."
"Ah... yeah."
"It sounds like the hot spring has stopped flowing too."
"Looks like it."
"...Is there anything we can do for them?"
"Even if you ask me that..."
If it were merely a question of whether he could, the answer was yes. However, Jin felt that doing everything on their behalf would do the villagers no favors in the long run.
It might offer temporary relief, but the moment outside support ceased, the decline would inevitably resume.
"In the end, it's something they have to work through themselves..."
Four hundred years ago, Jin had frequently stepped in and looked after everything, but the consequences of that approach were clear to see in the present day, four centuries later.
"Though I suppose I've only just realized that," Jin said with a self-deprecating smile.
He went on to explain that moving forward, he wanted to refrain from that kind of overbearing interference.
"So, let's see... Re-drilling the hot spring should be fine. But after that, they need to figure out their own revitalization efforts. We can lend a hand, but Toka Village should ultimately take the lead."
"I understand how you feel."
At that moment, Jin remembered something from his past visit to Toka Village—the Village Chief had mentioned having a fondness for aircraft.
"How about hosting an air race or something?"
"An air race?"
"Yeah. If I remember correctly, the air currents around Toka Village are quite stable."
Indeed, to the west of Toka Village, gently rolling grasslands stretched out toward the Kutsudo Mine.
"If an air race were held out there, it would bring in tourists too."
Aside from a few exceptions like Lake Tosmo and Azul Lake, open terrain suitable for air races was typically found out in the countryside, making it a spectacle impossible to host within crowded towns.
"That sounds fascinating."
"The real challenge will be figuring out how to steer things toward hosting it in Toka Village."
"Sounds exciting."
"Did someone say a race?"
With Reinhard chiming in and Goose showing interest as well, the entire Jin Family ended up putting their heads together to discuss the plan.