September 30th, the final day of the month.
Jin was receiving a report from Laojun regarding the resources mined and smelted at Kutsudo Mine.
"Regarding standard metals, we have obtained 10 tons of steel, 6 tons of copper, 5 tons of tin, 2 tons of zinc, 1 ton of nickel, 0.5 tons of chromium, 0.5 tons of manganese, 0.3 tons of vanadium, and 0.2 tons of molybdenum."
"You dug up quite a lot."
"Yes, My Lord. Moving on to quasi-magi-type metals, we have 15 tons of 64 light silver, 1 ton of mithril, and 0.8 tons of adamantite."
"Oho."
"Additionally, we acquired 1 ton of the white gold group elements you were interested in, My Lord. Since their composition is not uniform, they are currently awaiting smelting for separation."
"I see."
"As for other precious metals, we secured 0.01 tons of gold and 0.05 tons of silver."
"You didn't strip it bare, did you?"
"Yes, My Lord. We took care in that regard; the vast majority of the mining was conducted deeper than 10 kilometers underground."
The shafts in the shallower sections had reportedly been mined only lightly before being left as they were.
"That's fine, then."
"Regarding magi-crystals, we extracted 3 kilograms of standard-quality crystals across all attributes, along with 1 kilogram of high-quality ones."
"Oh, that's good too....What about the other attributes?"
"There are veins of earth-attribute and water-attribute crystals, but we have left them untouched as they are relatively small in scale."
"Yeah, that's fine."
"Over the past two weeks, we have gained a comprehensive grasp of Kutsudo Mine's reserves....Given the Klein Kingdom's current rate of consumption, it should be enough to supply them for roughly 200 years."
"Of course, that's only counting the relatively shallow portions, right?" Jin double-checked.
"Yes. That considers depths down to approximately 2 kilometers underground."
"Then there shouldn't be any issue."
"If we include down to 10 kilometers, there should be enough for 500 years."
Naturally, if their consumption rate increased in the future, it would be depleted that much faster.
"The crust in this region is thick, so delving as deep as 100 kilometers is unlikely to pose any significant danger."
"In that case, that hydrogen sulfide pocket from before was just bad luck, wasn't it?"
"Indeed."
There had been an incident where hydrogen sulfide burst forth, but subsequent investigation revealed it had not been surging from deep underground; it had merely collected within a hollow cavern.
After reinforcing and sealing off the surrounding area with Toughening, the trapped hydrogen sulfide had been drawn into adamantite containers and stored away on the off chance it might prove useful.
It amounted to roughly 120 drum cans' worth.
Jin felt somewhat uneasy keeping it on Hourai Island, so it was currently stored on the Moon.
Part of it seemed to have become fine research material for Saki.
"Also, how about the refinery?"
"Yes, My Lord. We have received more than enough resources as compensation, so I judge that there is no problem with handing it over."
"I see."
There were three dedicated smelting magi-machines each for steel, copper, and 64 light silver, alongside five general-purpose smelting magi-machines.
Though crafted personally by Jin, their internal structures were not overly complex, so with some effort, the engineers of the Klein Kingdom should be capable of maintaining them.
"With this, the redevelopment of Toka Village should move forward as well."
"Yes, My Lord. And though it will likely be gradual, the Klein Kingdom's national power should grow as well."
"That part will require their own effort, after all."
At the end of the day, they had to manage things themselves. Jin had made peace with the fact that he was only lending a small helping hand.
Even so, constantly meddling seemed to be second nature to him, Jin thought with a wry smile.
"Jin-nii, what are you going to do about the people on Onogoro Island?"
As Jin was taking a breather on the veranda of the House on Hourai Island, Elsa came and sat beside him.
"I'm thinking about that right now. Besides broadcasting the event, we could invite anyone who wants to come as tourists."
"...Where will you say they're from?"
They could not claim they were from the Nord Federation, nor could they say they hailed from any other recognized country.
"Yeah, that's the problem."
They couldn't very well say they were from an unknown land, either...
"Well, if the group is small enough, we should be able to manage somehow, right?"
Jin hoped they would easily blend in among the general tourists.
"Aside from that, we need to send invitations to acquaintances like Freddie and Eris."
"I think the people from Avalon will want to come, too."
"That's true."
Jin mentally ran through a list of everyone he thought would be good to invite.
The descendants from Onogoro Island: the married couple Trihart and Susanne. Rubina, Amanda, Greena, Shu, Eida, Edith, Natalia... There was quite a crowd.
Shouro Empire: the married couple Daiki and Cocona.
Kaina Village: Freddie and Eris.
Kingdom of Egerea: Marquis Kuzuma, Madam Anna, and their three daughters.
Kingdom of Elias: Liira and Sonya, who were also members of Nostalgia.
Avalon: Groma, Eira, and Kachea.
That was the list just off the top of his head.
"Royalty and the like will probably receive invitations directly from the Klein Kingdom anyway."
Similarly, regarding House Sharned, since the head of house worked in the Ministry of Magi Technology, he would naturally be called upon.
"...As expected, the people from Onogoro Island make up the largest group."
"Yeah."
Jin thought it might be wise to gather interested participants early.
"I'll go talk to them after this."
"Mm, I think that's a good idea."
With that decided, Jin immediately headed for Onogoro Island.
"I had heard rumors about that."
When Jin first brought it up with Trihart Randol, the steward, it turned out that being closely associated with Marikka, word had already reached him.
"The date has been set, so I wanted to formally extend an invitation. Of course, we'll be broadcasting the event as well."
"That is wonderful news. I'm sure many will want to attend."
Trihart told Jin he would check with the residents and give him a final decision in three days.
"Yeah, please take care of it....By the way, how are Rubina, Shu, and the others doing?"
"They're doing well. As usual, they're busy crafting all sorts of things. They've been working quite hard."
"I see. That's good, then."
Jin considered dropping by to see them, but since there were many preparations left to handle for the event, he simply asked Trihart to give them his regards and returned to Hourai Island.
"Welcome back, Jin."
"Jin-nii, what did you decide on for the final competition events?"
Back on Hourai Island, it was almost lunchtime, and everyone was gathered in the dining hall.
"Yeah, I'll explain after we eat."
Hourai Island was peaceful today as well.