The morning of February 3rd.
"Hmm, this looks great."
Right after breakfast, Jin was shown the design sketches for the giant golems drawn by Lordtoss and Ludmila.
Incidentally, the Titan was originally the giant golem used in Deus Ex Machina's debut battle, but since its design had been inherited by Jin's Daidara, he wanted to alter the aesthetic for differentiation.
The members of the Jin Family were also looking over the design sketches together.
"Ooh, this one is really cool!"
"I think this one is wonderful."
"I like this design the best."
Saki, Stearena, and Reinhard each shared their impressions upon seeing the drawings.
"All right, let's go with this one."
From the seven design sketches, Jin selected the one that received the highest praise and happened to be his personal favorite.
It was drawn by Ludmila and featured an exterior that somewhat resembled armor.
Since the armor was styled after that of the Northern People, it was expected to look quite novel on the Lauren Continent.
Next, Jin was shown the design sketches for the multilegged tanks.
For this, he decided on Lordtoss's design.
Because the design made extensive use of curves throughout, the overall visual impression was considerably different.
Based on this decision, they would construct five giant golems based on the Titan and ten multilegged tanks based on the Capricorn 1.
The materials consisted mostly of 64 light silver, reinforced with adamantite in critical areas, and the 64 light silver was largely covered by what Jin had purchased.
"Now then, all that's left is the residential district."
To give it a lived-in feel and sell the idea that it had been in use for centuries, it was necessary to scatter a few antique items around.
They could pass off the interior design as having been completely revamped under the current Maquina, but even so, having a few heirlooms passed down from the Predecessor would be ideal.
"If that's the case, I have a few things at my place," Sion offered.
"Art pieces kept from four hundred years ago should do the trick, right?"
Things received in her capacity as the representative of the Nord Federation would be problematic, but items purchased privately ought to be fine, Sion explained.
"Sorry for the trouble. That's a huge help."
"I don't have very many, though."
"Having two or three would be plenty."
Jin also had a few things he had purchased himself, so he figured he could put some of those on display as well.
"Would placing them in the entrance hall and the reception room work?"
"Yes, that should be a safe choice," Reinhard said. "When it comes to places that catch a visitor's eye, those two would definitely be first."
He added that it would be wise to prepare some background information or trivia about the artwork as well.
"Laojun probably knows about those details... Ah, but we'll need to learn the history of the ones we're getting from Sion."
"Yes, leave that to me."
The one actually piloting Maquina was Mentor, a subordinate under Laojun, but such information was shared across their network.
"And then, the book collection," Elsa murmured softly. "It would be good... to have a variety of old and new books."
"Ah, that's true. Let's ask Laojun to make duplicates. We can treat the old books so they look properly aged, too."
"Mm, I think... that's good."
"...Hmm, does that wrap up most of the preparations?"
"Yes. Looks solid to me."
"It's not like we're inviting guests over immediately, after all."
Even after checking with the other Jin Family members, it seemed there were no major issues remaining.
Now that matters regarding Arcadia had reached a good stopping point, Jin felt a wave of relief.
Sion and her companions planned to return to the Nord Federation after having lunch together.
"I wonder what's for lunch today?" Sion mused.
"It's only ten o'clock," Jin chided gently.
"Um, I believe it will likely be pasta," Reiko answered. "Soleil and Luna were kneading flour earlier."
Since they had eaten udon the other day, Reiko deduced that pasta was on the menu.
"Ah, the 'Pashta' that used to be a specialty of Toka Village, right?"
"S-Sion-san, it's really fine to just call it pasta," Lishia, the very person responsible for the creation of "Pashta," spoke up timidly.
"As long as it's delicious, either name is fine with me."
"Yeah, well..."
However, Jin suddenly recalled something that had been lingering in the back of his mind.
"More importantly—though I hate to change the subject—how is Najas from the Kingdom of Franz doing?"
Laojun was the one to reply.
"My Lord, after completing the treatment for her father, Lord Astero, Najas-san departed to study abroad in Avalon as of February 1st."
"Oh, is that so?"
Jin then began explaining why he had brought up the topic.
"During the recent cave-in accident in the Shouro Empire, arzts and doktors rushed over from Avalon as relief, but there were far too few of them. So, I looked into the background behind it..." Jin added a brief clarification that Laojun had conducted the actual investigation. "And, just as expected, the influence of the Magic Federation was at work."
It was a well-known fact that the Chief Administrator at the time, Graham Derby, had been a member of the Magic Federation. Furthermore, his predecessor, while perhaps not a formal member, seemed to have been heavily swayed by their ideology.
"To put it simply, an ideology spread claiming that 'If you have magic, first-aid and basic physical treatments are unnecessary,' and it seems there was a period when proper medical education fell into complete decline."
"...Mm, I will explain the rest."
Here, Elsa took over the explanation.
"So, medical education became secondary, and only talent for Healing magic was deemed essential, which resulted in a severe shortage of qualified personnel."
Things had been steered back on course under the current Tomax Bertman, but medical expertise could not be rebuilt overnight. Elsa noted that the shortage of doktors would likely persist for several more years.
"On top of that..." Frowning, Elsa continued. "In the Healing Magic Society at that time, theory outpaced everything while practical application was neglected, so there were many arzts who were completely useless when deployed in the field."
"Ah, that really is a dreadful trend."
Having experienced such institutional stagnation herself, Stearena empathized deeply with Elsa.
"That is why....So, after discussing it with Jin-nii, we were wondering if Arcadia could take on the education of such healing personnel."
With that, the reason why Jin had brought up Najas became clear, and the pieces fell into place.
"Of course, it will be limited to a short period. Probably around three to five years, I'd say," Jin took over the explanation once again. "It's Elsa's wish as well. For us, it's much easier to be directly involved through Arcadia than Avalon."
Elsa would assume a role akin to an honorary principal, aiming to educate motivated, talented students.
Then, once the number of qualified instructors increased, the training could be fully unified under Avalon.
"Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Lishia was the first to voice her enthusiastic agreement.
"Mm. I want Lishia-san to serve as an instructor as well, so I'm happy you agree," Elsa smiled warmly. "I am thinking of conducting the training using the assistant automata Lise, the nursing golem Nurse, and the surgical mini-golem Jack."
In truth, watching Jin work tirelessly had made Elsa realize that she, too, wanted to contribute in some meaningful way to the world of this era.
Naturally, beneath that desire was also her lingering indignation that the medical technology they had advanced four hundred years ago had been degraded by the Magic Federation.
And so, Elsa took her own step forward to re-engage with the world.