"Increasing speed, huh..."
Jin pondered for a moment on how to address the question from Kondak of the All-Creation Clan, who had been introduced as Marikka's grand-disciple.
"I imagine you already understand the basics—air resistance, machine weight, and the propulsion system..."
"Yes, of course."
"So your issue is that you aren't quite sure how to reduce or optimize them, right?"
"That is correct."
It was just as Jin had expected. Education in the Nord Federation was advanced; when it came to general knowledge, they far surpassed the nations of the Lauren Continent.
In other words, they were seeking what lay beyond that baseline.
(I'm not exceptionally knowledgeable about this either, though...)
"Given the operating principles of the Blow Floater, I'm sure you realize its air resistance is inherently high. However, there should be room for improvement by altering the shape of the wings..."
Weight came down to materials and structure; the propulsion system came down to efficiency and power.
Jin explained these concepts, weaving in general engineering principles.
"Thank you very much."
"Lastly is entry number 10, Puppet's Lulustner."
She was a female engineer whom Jin felt like he had seen before at Marikka's workshop.
"My question is regarding material strength for the Blow Floater. Are there any adverse effects if the rigidity is increased too much? I apologize for asking directly, but we simply don't have enough time left to experiment."
"Hmm..."
Through the Q&A session so far, many questions had already been addressed with helpful hints and solutions, meaning the later inquiries tended to become increasingly specialized—yet Jin had not anticipated this particular angle.
"First, the general principle. Rigidity is important, but if you increase it too much, the material becomes brittle. Furthermore, when the applied load exceeds its limit, it tends to fail catastrophically all at once. That can be dangerous."
Hard materials snap. Soft materials bend. Balancing the two was quite tricky, and Jin explained that judging this balance properly was a true hallmark of an engineer's skill.
"..."
"As a countermeasure to prevent this, you might consider imparting moderate elasticity or toughness, or utilizing composite materials. Strength also varies depending on the structure."
He was referring to lightweight, sturdy designs such as truss structures and honeycomb structures.
"The rest comes down to material characteristics. Hard, brittle materials are weak against tensile and bending stresses, but strong against compression."
Concrete was an example of this, designed with copious amounts of reinforcing steel embedded in areas subjected to tensile loads.
"I hope you can use these hints to devise your own solutions."
"Thank you very much."
With that, questions from all ten participating teams came to an end.
Looking at the roster, it was evident that technical clans made up the entirety of the participants.
Furthermore, most of them were connected to Marikka—meaning her disciples, grand-disciples, or colleagues.
Since it's the Marikka Cup, I suppose that's only natural, Jin thought.
Finally, when he asked if anyone had general questions, Sion raised her hand.
"Well then, I have one."
With that preface, Sion posed her question.
"Have you considered doing a demonstration run?"
In other words, she wanted to see a Blow Floater crafted by Jin in action.
"I hadn't planned on it for this event, but..."
Just as Jin started to speak, numerous eager voices chimed in.
"We would love to see it!"
"See? As one of the organizers, please give it some thought," Sion urged.
To which Jin replied:
"Understood. I'll consider it favorably....At the very least, I'll bring the Taube."
Though it had taken an unexpected amount of time in the Nord Federation, Jin returned to Hourai Island that evening.
Everyone already knew what had taken place thanks to Laojun's report, greeting him with a warm, "Welcome back, thank you for your hard work."
Though they all knew what he had done, Jin shared his impressions and thoughts after dinner.
"I see! So technical personnel have truly been flourishing in the Nord Federation as well!"
Reinhard looked delighted.
"I am so glad to see my disciples showing such enthusiasm."
Marikka seemed equally pleased.
At this point, Jin spoke up.
"About the trophy for the Marikka Cup... I was thinking of making it a statue of a young Marikka. What do you think?"
"Whaaaat?!"
"Oh, that sounds lovely."
"I think it's a great idea."
"Wouldn't that be nice?"
"Mm, agreed."
Aside from one person's flustered reaction, everyone seemed fully in favor.
"In my world, there were designs featuring the Goddess of victory holding a laurel wreath above her head to crown the victor."
"Oh, I see."
"Fueh..."
Seeing Marikka blushing intensely, Jin offered some reassurance.
"Well, it'll be small, so hardly anyone will even recognize who it is."
"..."
She remained looking down shyly, so he added:
"Alright, let's try making a quick prototype."
Jin had Reiko bring him a block of silver. Then,
"Forming."
In an instant, he sculpted a statue of Marikka.
Rather than holding the laurel wreath high above her head, the pose had her holding it raised to chest height.
"Ooh."
"As expected of Jin."
"Eeeek?!"
"Heheh, you really can't tell who it is unless you look very closely."
"That's how I intended it."
By softening the sharper edges, the contours were skillfully blurred; while one could tell it depicted a woman, no one would realize who it was unless they were already looking for her.
The garment resembled a toga worn by deities in Greek or Roman mythology, draped in loose cloth that revealed virtually none of her body lines.
"Mine was in a swimsuit, though," Marcia complained.
"This isn't a display figurine, after all," Jin casually brushed off.
"Now, what if we mount this on an ebony or rosewood pedestal?"
"Hmm, don't you have any red wood?" Reinhard asked.
"There is one. A wood called 'Satine'. It can occasionally be found on Hourai Island as well."
"We should have samples available."
Reiko brought out a collection of wood samples that even Jin hadn't known about.
It consisted of several boards processed into business card sizes organized in a file, making the wood grain and texture easy to discern. Apparently, this was something the past Jin had made.
"Ah, this one."
Satine was indeed a deep "red" wood. It was close to the wood known as satine in modern Japan.
"Let's go with this. How is our stock?"
"We have more than enough to make pedestals for trophies."
"Alright."
And thus, the championship trophy for the Marikka Cup was completed.