January 13th, slightly overcast.
Since Sion and her companions had also stayed overnight on Hourai Island, the entire present-day Jin Family was gathered to observe the activation tests for Eagle 1 and its dedicated golem.
"Come to think of it, Jin, what's the golem's name?"
Reinhard suggested that, similar to Laozi and Laojun, it might be wise to give it a name that sounded alike yet distinct.
"Let's see... Elsa, do you have any ideas?"
"...How about 'Adler'?"
It was the Shouro Empire's word for "eagle."
"Ah, let's go with that....'Start'!"
"Yes, Master."
"Your name is 'Adler 1.'"
"Yes, I am Adler 1. It is an honor to serve you."
"Run an operational check. How does everything feel?"
Adler 1 performed a self-diagnostic and reported that all functions were normal.
Because standard behavioral data was already installed, basic movement was guaranteed to work, but since Adler 1 had originally been built around a control core intended for piloting Eagle 1, Jin wanted to err on the side of caution.
"All right, excellent....Let's see... Reiko, spar with him for a moment. Start at an output of five percent and gradually dial it up."
"Understood."
With that, an unarmed mock battle commenced to evaluate Adler 1's combat capability.
Under ordinary circumstances, the petite Reiko would have been at a severe disadvantage, but...
"Oh! It's been a while since I've seen Reiko-chan in action!"
"Adler 1 is holding his own remarkably well, isn't he?"
Even at Reiko's current baseline of five percent, her movements far exceeded anything a human could achieve, making for a truly spectacular sight.
Yet Adler 1 kept pace with her effortlessly.
Seeing this, Reiko raised her output further.
"O-Oh!?"
"Ah, I can't even tell what's happening..."
Ludmila turned to Lordtoss in bewilderment, but—
"No, neither can I..."
—Lordtoss's eyes were equally wide with astonishment.
By then, Reiko was operating at around fifteen percent.
Their movements had already blurred past the point where the naked eye could track them.
"All right, that's enough."
Jin called a halt to Reiko and Adler 1.
"Reiko, how high did you raise your output in the end?"
"Yes, Father. Twenty-one percent."
"I see. That's an outstanding result."
If he could withstand twenty-one percent from Reiko as she was now, standard golems wouldn't stand a chance against him, Jin concluded with satisfaction.
Next, he inspected Adler 1 for structural fatigue.
"Right, deformation is below 0.01 percent, with zero abrasions. That's more than sufficient."
After rectifying the minuscule 0.01 percent deformation with magi-craft, it was finally time for the link test.
Since Eagle 1 had been out on the airfield since the previous day, Adler 1 climbed straight into the cockpit.
The moment he donned the helmet-like headset, the Link between Eagle 1 and Adler 1 was established.
A seatbelt secured him in place, fastening automatically in response to Adler 1's conscious intent.
《Link complete. All systems normal.》
When Adler 1 delivered his report, his voice broadcast through the external speakers to Jin and the rest of the group.
"All right, you're cleared for takeoff."
《Understood.》
Having finalized the takeoff and landing sequence the day before, Adler 1 initiated the startup sequence and lifted Eagle 1 off the ground according to protocol.
"Ah, he's handling it smoothly."
The downward blast from the downwash was incomparably milder than yesterday's violent gust. Even so, it packed enough force to make someone of lighter build lose their balance.
After all, Eagle 1 was an enormous Blow Floater measuring fifty meters in length and width.
A cargo bay was suspended beneath it, standing twenty-five meters tall—or thirty meters with the landing gear extended.
Rising steadily into the air, Eagle 1 began retracting its telescopic landing gear.
Its ascent started slowly before steadily building speed.
It leveled off at an altitude of roughly 500 meters, transitioning smoothly into horizontal cruising.
From there, it retraced the flight path established during yesterday's test.
《Maneuverability is nominal. Airframe response latency is well within acceptable parameters.》
The comprehensive test flight confirmed that the magi-link type control scheme functioned without a single flaw.
"Hmm, going forward, maybe it's best to incorporate both control methods into our aircraft."
A magi-link type interface when a golem piloted, and a conventional manual cockpit whenever Jin took the controls.
Of course, the odds of Jin or any other Jin Family member taking the stick themselves were practically 99.99 percent nonexistent.
"You can never be too careful with aircraft, though..."
With sea vessels and automobiles, speeds remained strictly subsonic, meaning they could be navigated using human reflexes. But aircraft were capable of breaking the sound barrier, where human perception and reaction times would pose severe safety hazards.
"Still, having dual redundant control systems certainly isn't a bad thing."
Improved reliability was always welcome, Jin told himself.
"Well, with that, all our preparations for heading to the Shouro Empire are complete."
While eating sandwich lunches in the laboratory's dining hall, Jin addressed the gathered group.
"We're departing on the 15th, right?"
Reinhard asked to confirm the schedule.
"Yeah, that's right. The day after tomorrow, essentially. Factoring in the time difference, we'll head out first thing that morning."
"So we have all of tomorrow to relax around here, then?"
"Pretty much."
Jin anticipated that once they arrived in the Shouro Empire, their schedule would be packed with tasks.
"In that case, why don't we all spend today and tomorrow having some fun together? It might be nice to visit Planet Hehl again after so long, too."
"Ah, sounds great."
"I'm in!"
"No objections here."
With unanimous agreement, they resolved to visit Planet Hehl the following day.
January 14th.
The Jin Family—joined by Sion, Lordtoss, and Ludmila—boarded Jin's flagship, the Adriana, and set off together for Planet Hehl.
Via the dedicated Warp Gate, of course.
Passing through the Bridge of Warp Gates that bridged a span of roughly 300 million kilometers, they reached Planet Hehl in the blink of an eye.
The Adriana touched down smoothly onto the airfield, and the party set foot on the soil of Planet Hehl once more.
This "airfield" consisted of a leveled expanse roughly two kilometers square, situated on a plateau about 500 meters above sea level near the East Coast.
Around ten months had passed since their previous visit, and the ground had been neatly hardened into a proper surface.
The work was the handiwork of the development golems, the Fores squad.
Above them, the skies over Planet Hehl were clear and bright.