"I finished prototyping the non-woven fabric," Saki said, presenting several samples to him.
"There are three different thicknesses and three different fiber densities, making nine varieties in all. The materials are cotton and magi-polyethylene."
Magi-polyethylene was a type of magi-resin produced by using Extraction to draw magi-isotopes of carbon and hydrogen from magi-resin, then synthesizing them via Combine.
Thanks to its simple structure, it was well-suited for mass production.
"I had a feeling plant-based cotton alone would lack durability. Besides, making them disposable felt like a waste, don't you think? Magi-polyethylene has zero water absorption, so as long as you sterilize it, it can be reused again and again."
"In that case, we can just enchant it with a Sterilization or Cleanup effect."
"Kufu, that's a great idea....If we do that, maybe it'd be better to make it entirely out of magi-polyethylene?"
"Wouldn't that feel rough against the skin, though?"
"Hmm, that might be true."
Jin and Saki bounced ideas back and forth, continuing to weigh their options.
They even cut out sample swatches and held them over their faces to see how easy it was to breathe through them.
"The thick ones are out of the question since you can't breathe, but the overly thin ones won't function properly as masks either."
"Yeah, this medium thickness feels just right. The medium density too."
In that sense, Saki's initial estimate had hit the mark perfectly.
"All right, the recipe is set, so I can remake it in less than ten minutes....Enju 1, if you please."
"Yes, Saki-sama."
Saki gave instructions to Enju 1, who had been quietly assisting her the entire time.
"Come to think of it, how is Enju 1 holding up?"
Jin recalled that he had asked Saki to put the automaton through practical field testing.
"No complaints at all. If I had to be picky, it might be nice if her voice leaned a bit closer to an alto range."
"...Understood."
Thanks to Elsa's design, Enju had the appearance of a composed, mature woman in her mid-twenties. Saki was simply pointing out that her voice didn't quite match that impression.
"Enju 1, come here for a moment."
"Yes, Jin-sama."
Jin called Enju 1 over and began making adjustments without shutting her down.
Specifically, he slightly lowered the baseline magical frequency of her artificial vocal cords.
"How about now? Enju 1, try speaking."
"Yes, Jin-sama. Saki-sama, how does this voice sound to you?"
"Ah, that's wonderful! Exactly what I had in mind!"
To put it in musical terms, her voice had shifted from a mezzo-soprano down to an alto.
Jin agreed that she certainly sounded more like a calm, composed adult woman now.
"Kufu, if she's going to examine patients as a doktor, having a calming effect on them is definitely for the best."
Saki's offhand comment sparked an idea in Jin's mind.
"That's it—Hypno!"
"Huh?"
"We can use Hypno to calm patients down."
Patients with severe injuries frequently fell into a panic. The idea was to use Hypno to settle them.
"I think that'd be much better than paralyzing them with Stun."
Keeping them calm rather than knocking them unconscious or putting them to sleep would make it far easier to evaluate their condition.
"But isn't Hypno a forbidden spell?" Saki voiced her concern.
"That's the rub. I don't know if being a doktor would excuse using it."
For the moment, Hourai Island was under no foreign laws, so giving Enju 1 such a capability wouldn't cause any legal problems internally.
"The real issue is the potential for abuse."
There was no guarantee that assistant automata deployed to the outside world would never be misused.
What was more, Hypno was the very spell once wielded by Unifilar, the organization that had plotted to dominate the world.
Having witnessed its devastation firsthand, Jin knew all too well what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands.
"I wonder if there's a better alternative for general use..."
As Jin muttered thoughtfully, Saki furrowed her brow and joined him in pondering the issue.
"Hmm... Oh, I know!"
"Did you come up with something good, Saki?"
"Yep....Kufu, let's just ask everyone!"
"Good point."
Taking Saki's suggestion, Jin decided to consult the members of the Jin Family.
Since it was just about lunchtime, they headed over to the dining hall.
Everyone currently on Hourai Island had already gathered there.
"Oh, look, they're all here."
Elsa, Hanna, Lishia, and the others had also shown up for the meal.
Holding back the urge to start asking questions right away, Jin and Saki sat down to eat first.
Today's lunch was piping-hot udon, accompanied by an assortment of toppings.
There were chopped shalot, agedama, shrimp tempura, mixed vegetable tempura, sakura shrimp tempura, chikuwa tempura, kamaboko, aburaage, and mochi.
Jin added mochi to his bowl to make chikara udon.
Saki opted for shrimp tempura and kamaboko.
The rest of the family were likewise savoring their noodles, loading up their bowls with their favorite ingredients.
"Well, everyone, I actually wanted to ask for your advice."
Once they had finished eating, Jin explained to the assembled group that they were looking for a way to induce a calming effect on patients.
"The first thing that came to mind was Hypno, but that's a forbidden spell, and things would turn ugly fast if it were ever abused."
"Mm, definitely."
"Indeed, that would be terrible."
Elsa and Mine, who had suffered the most from Unifilar's Hypno magic, agreed without hesitation.
"So, I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts on alternatives."
"Hmm..."
It proved to be a challenging topic, and everyone tilted their heads in contemplation.
Then Marikka spoke up.
"Um, Jin-sama, there is a spell we use called Tranquilize."
She had offered the exact solution they were looking for.
Tranquilize was a magic that stabilized the mind. It was typically cast to soothe states of extreme agitation, such as violent rage or deep grief.
After listening to Marikka's detailed explanation, Jin felt it was an excellent fit.
"Yeah, that sounds viable....Elsa, what do you think?"
"Mm, I think it's good."
Since the sole purpose was to prevent injured patients from panicking, this spell seemed more than adequate to do the job.
"I'm glad I asked. Thank you, Marikka."
"I-I'm glad to be of help!"
With that settled, the assistant automata would now be capable of casting Tranquilize depending on a patient's condition.
Taking advantage of having everyone together, Jin decided to gather more general feedback regarding the assistant automata.
"Let's see..."
Everyone gave the matter serious thought. Before long, Martha shared her opinion:
"If you ask me, I think it'd be best to tailor their appearance depending on who they're treating."
"I see. So instead of just a woman in her mid-twenties, we could make some that look around forty or sixty."
"Having male assistant automata might not be a bad idea either."
Suggestions were raised that alongside a gentle, soothing presence, patients might also appreciate a dependable, reassuring figure.
"In that case, should we prepare three distinct types?"
A woman in her twenties.
A woman in her fifties.
A man in his forties.
"Yeah, wouldn't that cover all the bases?"
"All right, let's do it."
Jin promptly set out to fabricate bodies for those three designs.