The next day, the 14th.
"Oh, here it comes."
At 8:30 AM, the silhouette of the Hurricane appeared against the clear winter sky.
In truth, the Hurricane had never actually returned all the way to Hourai Island.
It had simply climbed to an altitude where it was invisible from the ground and waited on standby.
Then, at a reasonable hour the following morning, Elsa had simply stepped inside the Hurricane via the onboard Warp Gate.
And now, the Hurricane touched down.
"Welcome, Elsa-dono."
"We are delighted by your arrival, Elsa-sama."
Just as they had for Jin, Queen Caroline de Lafayette, Chancellor Joachims de Drow, Minister of General Affairs Crow de Shaune, Minister of Magic Jonas Tigrina, and Minister of Finance Oneca de Cleo came out to receive her.
"Thank you for having me once again."
Stepping down, Elsa offered a graceful curtsy.
After leaving their luggage in the VIP room, Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and Hope set out.
"...So, we're going to check out the auction and the free market, right?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"I thought you would be."
Jin had asked Elsa to bring some spending money along.
Roughly five million Toll, which was entrusted to Reiko for safekeeping.
He had also summoned Sky 11 to watch over the Hurricane in Hope's place.
Hope accompanied Jin and the others under the guise of being their luggage carrier.
Their guide, naturally, was Najas Kahn.
"Elsa-sama, please mind your step."
"...Thank you."
Najas fussed over Elsa attentively, though Elsa looked slightly exasperated by the smothering care.
Since the free market was being held in the plaza right before the Royal Palace, it was only a short walk.
"Oh, is that ore?"
One vendor was selling an assortment of colorful minerals.
"And those are dried medicinal herbs."
Another stall displayed various herbs—some wild-harvested from the mountains, others clearly cultivated in fields.
"These are quite lovely."
Yet another merchant offered small, seemingly handcrafted wooden carvings.
"It's pretty fun just looking around."
"Nn."
"Isn't it?"
Najas, guiding them through the crowd, looked equally pleased.
Jin found himself thinking back to the flea markets he used to visit back in modern Japan.
Most stalls offered secondhand clothes and antiques, but every now and then he would come across fixable toys and buy them as gifts for the kids at the orphanage.
He had also browsed swap meets a few times hunting for bargains.
"Oh, what do we have here...?"
Jin's gaze stopped on a particular stall.
Something laid out on the table looked remarkably familiar.
"...These are figurines."
They weren't carved by hand. They were clearly crafted using magi-craft.
"Nn. But Jin-nii didn't make them."
Rather than pretty girls or handsome boys, the figures on display depicted armored knights, animals like horses and wolves, and miniature castle models.
A castle model is probably closer to a diorama than a figure, Jin idly mused in the back of his mind.
"Ah, looking at these? I actually made them myself, hehe."
The boy watching the stall spoke up bashfully. He looked to be about twelve years old, with a bright, clever look about him.
"Huh, they're really well-made."
While the sculpting still showed some unrefined touches, the underlying crafting technique was well above a passing grade.
"Do you have a teacher?" Jin asked, intrigued.
"Not really a teacher, no. My mom taught me."
"I see....I dabble as a magi craftsman myself, you know. Keep at it. If you keep practicing like this, you're sure to become first-rate."
"Really? Wow, that makes me so happy!"
"I'll buy this one as a keepsake."
Jin selected a wolf figurine from the display and paid the asking price of eighty Toll.
"Thank you very much!"
The boy waved enthusiastically.
"It's little encounters like this that make these places worthwhile."
"Nn. I agree."
Jin wrapped the figurine in a handkerchief and gently tucked it into the shopping basket Reiko carried.
Just then, Elsa tugged discreetly at Jin's sleeve, careful to keep the gesture out of Najas's line of sight.
(What is it?)
Taking advantage of the moment while Najas was examining wares at a nearby stall, Jin whispered softly to Elsa.
"..."
Without a word, Elsa pointed. Over in that direction...
"...Saki? And Goose?"
Saki and Goose were happily strolling among the stalls.
(Ah, they must have heard about this and decided to come, too.)
Naturally, a collection of stalls full of raw ores and dried plants would be right up Saki's alley, Jin realized.
Sure enough, Saki was currently engrossed in inspecting a stall lined with colorful minerals.
"Kufu! This one's rhodonite—that's a manganese ore! And over here, that's azurite!"
Her excited voice carried clearly across the square to Jin and Elsa.
(Saki looks like she's having a blast. I guess Goose is along to keep her in check, though he seems to be enjoying himself well enough, too.)
Spotting Jin and his group, Goose gave a subtle wave, and Jin returned a quiet nod. For now, it was best for both parties to pretend they didn't know each other.
"What catches your eye, Najas-san?" Elsa asked.
"Elsa-sama, please feel free to call me Naja....I was looking over the medicinal herbs."
"I see....Having practical knowledge like that, beyond just healing magic, is very good."
"Thank you very much!"
Elsa gave her a thoughtful look before offering some advice.
"If that's the case, you should study poisons as well. You may need to treat someone who has been poisoned, and after all, medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin."
Even the best medicine turned harmful if the dosage was exceeded. Elsa shared that core medical principle with Najas.
"Thank you so much, Elsa-sama."
Genuinely thrilled by the guidance, Najas Kahn offered her heartfelt thanks, her cheeks lightly flushed with appreciation.