After lunch, Reinhard headed back to the workshop to finish the New Black Knight.
He seemed to be going through a process of trial and error with the armor's design.
"I should be able to show it off around dinner time," he had said, leaving Jin and the others eager to see the result.
"Come to think of it, Beena, didn't you mention you were making something too?" Jin asked.
"Y-Yeah. A little something," came her noncommittal reply.
She then muttered quietly to herself, "I guess... at this rate, it'd probably be faster to just have Jin teach me."
Turning back to him, she spoke up. "Jin, if you don't mind, could you... well, teach me a few things after this?"
Naturally, Jin had no reason to refuse.
"Sure, no problem. In the workshop?"
"Yeah."
And so, Jin made his way to the workshop where Beena was working, carrying Mini-Reiko on his shoulder.
"Could you take a look at this?"
"Oh, this is..."
What Beena had been building appeared to be an original Blow Floater, though it was still at the experimental model stage.
"I was thinking I'd like to ride it with Louis-sama on Planet Hehl."
"That sounds great. So, what did you want to know?"
"Well, pretty much everything... I've only ever made tools for everyday use, so I've never built a recreational craft like this before."
Despite her modesty, it was well-made. When Jin pointed that out, Beena smiled happily.
"Really? Hearing you say that gives me a lot of confidence, Jin."
"A Blow Floater, huh..."
Jin had not built many of them himself, so he decided to share some general principles and precautions.
"Ascending, descending, and steering left or right come in fourth place. Floating and moving forward come in third. Stability—or rather, ride comfort—comes second."
"Then what comes first?"
"Not falling. In other words, safety first."
"I see..."
To begin with, the Blow Floater was a technology that had branched off in a completely different direction from Earth's aircraft.
While an airplane generates lift—the force that keeps it aloft—by moving forward, a Blow Floater completely separates its lifting force from its propulsion force.
In that sense, it was closer to an airship than an airplane.
"Your Pegasus 1 is also a kind of Blow Floater in a way, isn't it, Jin?"
"I suppose so."
"Since I'll be flying it on Planet Hehl, there's no need to worry about drawing public attention, right...?"
No matter how bizarre it looked or how advanced the technology involved was, no one would be there to question or criticize it.
"Exactly. That's why an original design of your own is perfectly fine, Beena."
"I understand that, but since I've never made anything like this before, I wanted to ask you for some pointers."
"I see what you mean."
Jin advised her that she should prioritize stable flight above all else, adding that the shape of the craft was critical to achieving that.
"A lower center of gravity makes it more stable. Picture a hot-air balloon."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Keep the center of buoyancy at the top and the center of gravity at the bottom. That balance keeps a balloon upright, ensuring there is virtually no chance of it flipping over.
"The most stable design of all would probably be a parachute."
"A pa-ra-chute?"
"Yeah, something like this."
Jin sketched a quick diagram to explain.
Long ago, when Jin had first started developing aircraft, he had tried making parachutes for emergency escapes during crashes. However, he soon discovered that they would fail to open if folded incorrectly, so the idea was ultimately abandoned.
Afterward, he began equipping craft with micro-class Warp Gates and force generators for emergency escapes. Because operational accidents had dropped to virtually zero, further research on parachutes had ceased—which was why Beena had never heard of the concept before.
"Ah, this looks just like those Flying Discs that... what was it called, Disaster?... used in the past."
"The operating principle is different, though."
Jin explained that suspending the cockpit and other components beneath a shallow, saucer-like Flying Disc would provide exceptional stability.
"Oh, you're right!"
"Besides, rather than just theorizing about it, you'll learn a lot more by actually building a prototype."
"You're right. I'll give it a try."
"And on that note..."
Jin decided to bring up one last important point.
"You know about the volunteers from the Nord Federation holding an air race in Toka Village soon, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"I think watching that would give you some great ideas."
"Ah, definitely!"
Since those craft were being built by Marikka's disciples and grand-disciples, to Jin, they were effectively his own grand-disciples and great-grand-disciples.
"I'm sure there will be a wide variety of craft participating, so it should be fun to watch, too."
"That sounds wonderful."
Jin also shared a quick story about the Golem Boat Race held in Port Rock Town years ago.
"There was even a golem with wings attached... It didn't have enough power in the end and got eliminated in the qualifying rounds, though."
"That's a pretty creative idea, regardless."
"It really was. There are things you just can't foresee until you try them, so you can't write off wild ideas."
"I suppose that's true."
As their conversation wound down, Mini-Reiko spoke up from Jin's shoulder.
"Father, Beena-san, it is almost three o'clock. Soleil and Luna are preparing tea, so please make your way to the laboratory courtyard."
"Oh, is it that time already?"
"Let's take a break... My body isn't tired, but my brain is completely fried. I could really use something sweet."
"Haha, fair enough."
With that, Jin and Beena stepped out into the laboratory courtyard.
Tables and chairs had been arranged outside, creating an ideal setting for an afternoon tea under the overcast sky.
"We have rusks today, huh."
There were butter, cinnamon, and maple varieties, allowing everyone to savor the subtle differences.
As for drinks, green tea, black tea (Te-e), barley tea, buckwheat tea, and Kaina tea had all been laid out.
"These are wonderfully crispy and delicious."
"I prefer the cinnamon ones myself."
"You can't beat the plain butter ones, though."
Surrounded by good company, everyone happily ate their fill of their favorite flavors.