On September 12, Jin was summoned by Melikalans I.
His destination was the King's office, where Magic Technology Minister Cowen Lacca Kido was also present.
"To tell the truth, Jin-dono... there is something I would like to commission from you as the Magi Craft Meister."
"What would that be?"
"I have a daughter named Lisabeth who turns ten this year."
"Yes."
"All my other children are boys, so she is simply so dear to me, I cannot help but dote on her."
"Ah..."
Jin had braced himself for a serious matter, only for the King to start proudly gushing over his daughter.
"Your Majesty."
The Magic Technology Minister gently cleared his throat to rein him in.
"E-Er, yes....It will soon be my daughter's birthday. And so, as a birthday gift, I wish to present her with an automata... Yes, a girl like 'Tia', who used to be in our country's service."
"Ah, I see."
Jin nodded in understanding. The blue-haired automata formerly owned by this kingdom, Tia, had gone to the Kingdom of Egerea when Princess Lieschen married. She was now in the care of Princess Mimir.
"I accept. May I ask what specifications you have in mind?"
Jin agreed immediately. Since this was a royal commission from the King himself, he was not worried about the price.
"Yes, of course....Broadly speaking, I would like an automata patterned after Tia."
That meant an appearance of around seventeen or eighteen—having just reached adulthood, poised right on the threshold between girlhood and womanhood.
That general age was universally appealing, favored equally by young children and adults alike.
"What will be her primary purpose? Housework? Guard duty? Education?"
"Education, without a doubt."
Melikalans I answered without a moment's hesitation.
That said, since this was an automata crafted by Jin, the question was merely a formality.
"Do you have any preferences for her hairstyle or eye color?"
"Straight hair reaching about halfway down her back, I suppose. I will leave the colors of her hair and eyes to your discretion."
"Understood....By default, I usually give them green hair."
Jin explained that this was done to distinguish them from humans.
"Ah, that will do fine. Tia has blue hair, after all."
"Understood....Next, what are your preferences regarding her voice and manner of speech?"
"Let's see..."
Only upon reaching this question did Melikalans I pause to consider. Although he had planned the general concept beforehand, he had not expected such meticulous inquiries.
"...A calm, composed voice would be ideal. A polite manner of speech would be preferable as well."
"Understood. I shall tune her voice to roughly a mezzo-soprano."
"I leave it in your capable hands."
Just as Melikalans I assumed they had finished with the specifications:
"Lastly,"
Jin had one more question in store.
"Do you have any requests for special features or functions?"
"Special features?"
Not grasping the intent, Melikalans I asked for clarification.
"Yes. For instance, the ability to contact a designated individual in an emergency, or the capability to cast specific magic."
"Ah, I see. In that case, it would be wonderful if she could use Healing magic."
"That is certainly an excellent idea. Understood."
"Yes, please see to it."
"As for delivery... I will head back to craft it now, so would tomorrow be acceptable?"
Jin dropped the biggest bombshell of the entire meeting.
"T-Tomorrow?!"
Melikalans I, who had assumed it would take at least a week, was utterly flabbergasted.
In the first place, the princess's birthday was October 10—still roughly a month away.
"Y-Yes. That is more than acceptable."
"Understood. In that case, I shall begin crafting her right away."
Jin bowed politely and stepped out of the office.
"...He never ceases to amaze, Cowen."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."
"Records of the Magi Craft Meister from four hundred years ago still exist, so I was familiar with the accounts... but to be frank, I believed they were exaggerated."
"I am of the same mind."
"To truly craft an automata in a single day..."
"No, Your Majesty—accounting for travel time, it may be even less than that."
"I-Indeed..."
"...Perhaps he keeps a stock of standardized units that serve as base frames for his golems and automata."
"Units?"
"Yes. For example, if one prepares several variations of completed skeletons in advance, there is no need to forge one from scratch upon receiving an order."
"I see. That may well be the case."
"If we can refine and develop this unit concept, we might be able to adopt it in our own country as well."
"Mm. Look into it."
"At once."
Jin took advantage of the opportunity to notify Sion and Maquina, then departed aboard the Aristotle alongside Reiko.
They climbed to cruising altitude, and once concealed from ground view, traveled to Hourai Island via the Warp Gate.
"Welcome back, Jin-nii."
Seeing Elsa come out to greet him, Jin recalled their discussion from the previous night.
"I took a commission from the Klein Kingdom to build an automata. Could you lend me a hand?"
"Sure."
Elsa nodded, and the two headed straight to the workshop.
"Father, all preparations are complete."
Reiko, who had entered the workshop about a minute ahead of them, had briskly arranged the necessary tools and materials and stood waiting.
"Oh, excellent work as always, Reiko."
Jin praised her with a gentle pat on the head and immediately set to work.
The base material was their standard 64 light silver.
Having performed the process countless times, he could practically do it with his eyes closed.
He forged the basic skeleton and coated the joint sections in adamantite. Up to this point took a mere three minutes.
Meanwhile, Reiko laid out the magical muscles, allowing Jin to link the magi-circuits as he secured the musculature into place.
For this model, he integrated four magi-circuits per system line.
As he worked, Jin relayed the requested physical details to Elsa.
"Mm, got it."
Elsa promptly began preparing the materials for the hair, the artificial skin, and the fabric for her attire.
"Let's see... For the power reactor specifications, an ether converter paired with a mana driver should suffice."
Jin sealed the components inside a reinforced shield case and connected the magi-circuit lines.
"Route this through here, and..."
Completing all the internal connections took ten minutes. He was working at a remarkably relaxed pace.
Next, he mapped out the tactile sensors, concentrating them primarily across the palms.
That took another five minutes.
"Now, all that's left is assembling the head."
Jin threw himself into the work, doing what he did best—thoroughly enjoying the craft.