On December 2, Jin flew to the mansion in Loizart, the royal capital of the Shouro Empire.
His descendants and current caretakers of the house, Daiki Nido and his wife, Cocona Nido, came out to greet him.
"Welcome, Jin-sama."
"Is there a particular purpose for your visit today?"
"Yeah, actually..."
Shown into the reception room, Jin explained his latest plan to the two of them.
"...And that's the gist of it."
"I see. A memorial hall for the First One, is it?"
"That sounds wonderful."
Both voiced their wholehearted approval.
"Shall we present the proposal to His Majesty right away, then?"
Jin held the title of Imperial Honorary Advisor.
It was a rank created specifically for him by the former Empress, serving as an honorary post in practice with no binding duties.
However, his status was higher than that of a count and just below a marquis. He held the right to enter and leave the Royal Palace without prior notice, as well as to request an audience with the Emperor without an appointment.
For Jin, who despised tedious formalities, it was a perfectly suited position.
"Right. As they say, strike while the iron is hot."
"In that case, I recommend putting together a brief written summary of what we just discussed."
"Ah, good point."
Putting it in writing was important, as verbal explanations always ran the risk of leaving details out.
"...All right, that should do it."
"Yes, Father."
Reiko reviewed it—and Laojun did as well through her—giving him their seal of approval that there were no issues.
With that settled, the three of them—Jin, Reiko, and Daiki—set off for the Royal Palace.
For transportation, they used an automobile owned by the Nido family.
The Hurricane remained parked, and Hope, its pilot, stayed behind to look after the place while also keeping watch over the mansion.
The automobile cruised along at a leisurely pace. Jin watched the townscape pass by, taking in the sights after a long absence.
"The streets look even better maintained than when I last visited."
When he muttered this almost to himself, Daiki replied,
"Yes. This autumn, the aging cobblestones and streetlights were completely renovated."
"Ah, that makes sense."
Jin felt relieved to see that good governance was alive and well in the Shouro Empire.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Well now, Jin-dono, what brings you here today?"
Though he had been kept waiting for about thirty minutes due to the lack of an appointment, Jin was escorted without incident into the office of Ernst II, Emperor of the Shouro Empire.
Seated alongside the Emperor was Chancellor Roderich Balberas von Heiser, the new Chancellor who had just taken office this past September.
Furthermore, Magic Technology Minister Reglei Gibbs von Besuvius, an old acquaintance of Jin's, and Minister of Finance Reinmar Fulmers von Gausen were also in attendance.
"Please take a look at this first."
Jin presented the document he had prepared earlier.
Chancellor Roderich Balberas von Heiser received it and read it aloud.
"1. A proposal to construct a memorial hall commemorating the achievements of the First Generation Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse.
The requested location for this purpose is the shores of Lake Tosmo, in the vicinity of the Town of Banne.
The contents of the exhibits shall be..."
After finishing the reading in about two minutes, the Chancellor said,
"That concludes the proposal, Your Majesty," and handed the document to Ernst II.
Ernst II looked over the pages once more.
"It sounds like a fine idea. You stated that you would cover the entire expense, Jin-dono, but we shall bear half of the construction costs on our end. In addition, we will provide the land."
In response, Minister of Finance Reinmar Fulmers von Gausen inquired,
"Your Majesty, shall we classify this under national project expenditures? Or record it as a donation?"
"Umu, treat it as a donation."
"As you wish."
With that, Jin's proposal received its initial approval.
Next came the discussion of the specifics, and Ernst II expressed a keen interest in participating as much as possible.
"Our nation places great emphasis on education. If this memorial hall is established, I hope it will inspire a deeper interest in magi-craft."
To this, Jin offered several concepts he had not included in the written proposal.
"Yes, that is precisely the kind of facility I envision.
"A few times a year, I would like to hold simple crafting workshops and seminars, gathering interested people by skill level to showcase the joy and practical value of making things."
"Umu, that is splendid."
"I would certainly like to attend myself," came another voice of support.
"Though it will likely be run by automata at first, I am also thinking it would be wonderful to set up a consultation counter where people can seek guidance whenever they hit a wall with crafting or repairs."
"Oh, that is excellent as well."
"I feel like asking for advice right now, to be quite honest."
The reception was overwhelmingly positive across the board.
Since budget and land posed no obstacles from the start, the discussions progressed swimmingly.
As Jin had hoped, they were granted roughly one square kilometer of land on the shores of Lake Tosmo, which led to plans for turning the area surrounding the building into a public park.
Furthermore, it became feasible to divert water from Lake Tosmo onto the grounds to create a pond where model ships could sail.
"I think it would also be entertaining to hold model boat races on this pond in the future," Jin suggested. Following his idea, the pond was planned to be roughly the size of a fifty-meter pool, with a shallow depth of about one meter.
"Fumu, conceptualizing a facility like this is remarkably enjoyable," Emperor Ernst II remarked.
"Isn't it?"
"It brings me immense joy to see Your Majesty appreciate the thrill of crafting."
The Magic Technology Minister looked thoroughly pleased.
However...
"...Forgive me, but I must ask the rest of you to handle the remaining details. Reglei, I leave it in your hands."
"Yes, Sire."
After brainstorming lively in the Emperor's office for about an hour, Ernst II, the Chancellor, and the Minister of Finance understandably had to return to their official duties.
"Well then, shall we continue over here?"
Jin and Magic Technology Minister Reglei moved to a small conference room to hammer out the finer points.
"Would it not be wise to include a cafeteria as well?"
"That's a great idea. It might also be nice to display material specimens gathered from every region of the Shouro Empire."
"Oh, good thinking....In that case, how about setting up a gift shop to sell local specialties from across the realm?"
"I don't think that's a bad idea, but are we perhaps taking it a bit too far...?"
The scope of their brainstorming grew broader and broader, requiring occasional course corrections along the way, but Jin would later look back on the session as a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Following three days of extensive discussions, Jin delivered his final report to Ernst II, Emperor of the Shouro Empire.
"We will commence construction as soon as the new year arrives."
"Umu, I look forward to it, Jin-dono."
With the dawn of a new year, Jin's latest endeavor was poised to begin.