At any rate, the schedule for July 6th called for them to observe the butchering of the slain Sham Dragons.
Specifically, the two beasts brought down the previous day.
Because the meat of dragonkin did not spoil easily, processing them the following day posed no issue at all.
"Ah, I've been looking forward to this as well."
The Empress Emerita seemed eager to see it as soon as possible.
Jin checked with Sion, and they decided to head out to the site ten minutes ahead of schedule.
Their transport, naturally, was Konron 3, with Sion and Marikka joining them on board.
To avoid getting in the way of the workers, Konron 3 hovered stationary fifteen meters above the ground, allowing them to quietly observe the work below.
"We already took care of draining the blood yesterday," Sion explained.
At last, the butchering began.
Since the bloodletting had been completed overnight, the workers were able to devote their full attention to dismantling the carcasses, moving with practiced efficiency.
Right before the spectators' eyes, the hide was stripped away in what felt like the blink of an eye. The cuts of meat were portioned out, the bones were exposed, and the preparation for complete processing was finished in moments.
First came the sham wings on the back.
Once the wing membranes were peeled cleanly away, the twig-like skeletal frames were folded and bundled together.
These bones were reportedly used to craft fishing rods, as they were pliant and remarkably resistant to snapping.
Furthermore, crafting a bow from them yielded an exceptionally powerful weapon with a heavy draw.
The internal organs were dehydrated with drying magic before being packed into bags. Once completely desiccated, they would be pulverized into powder for use as fertilizer.
After separating the bones at the joints, any clinging scraps of flesh were cleanly scraped away. The bones were then purified with cleansing magic and loaded onto a cart.
The fangs and teeth would be detached from the skull after returning to the clan territory, to be used for fine craftwork.
The meat carved off at the beginning would partly serve as feed for livestock, while the remainder would be frozen and stored as emergency rations.
Even though it was tough and tasted awful, it had served as an indispensable lifeline during past famines.
In all, the entire butchering process took roughly an hour.
"As expected of people accustomed to the work—such impressive skill."
"They hardly let anything go to waste, do they?"
If the blood were utilized as well, there would truly be almost nothing discarded.
(Reminds me of whales,) Jin mused, his Japanese background surfacing.
In Japan, whales were utilized so comprehensively that people often said there was no part of a whale that went to waste.
It was not a culture that hunted whales solely for the sake of extracting oil.
Moreover, Jin had eaten whale meat as a child, and it had been one of his favorite dishes.
...Setting aside such nostalgia, Jin was genuinely curious about the materials derived from Sham Dragons.
The only Sham Dragon materials currently stored on Hourai Island were wing membranes, hides, bones, and fangs—there was no meat.
When Reiko had slain the creature long ago, she had been in the middle of a frantic search for the missing Jin, leaving her no time to calmly bleed or harvest the carcass properly.
The yield back then had been meager as well.
Furthermore, because they had acquired Sea Dragon materials shortly afterward, they had never gone out of their way to hunt Sham Dragons again.
If it might benefit the Nord Federation, Jin felt this was a fine opportunity to reexamine what Sham Dragon materials had to offer.
"Could you show me your stock of Sham Dragon materials?"
As soon as they returned to the Shinra clan territory, Jin made his request to Sion.
"Ah, I'm quite curious to see them as well," added the Empress Emerita.
Such materials rarely circulated within the Shouro Empire—or anywhere across the Lauren Continent, for that matter—so her curiosity was only natural.
"Of course, gladly," Sion replied readily.
"However, what was harvested today hasn't arrived yet. If you don't mind looking at our existing stockpile, I can show you right away."
"Yeah, that's perfectly fine."
"Follow me, then."
Jin and the others were led to one of the large storehouses.
Built in the style of an earthen storehouse, it was well-suited for preserving biological materials.
Inside, various parts were meticulously sorted and stored by category.
"Oh, these are surprisingly beautiful."
What caught Jin's eye and earned his admiration were the fangs.
They possessed a soft, moist luster with a fine texture reminiscent of elephant ivory he had seen in photographs.
About as thick as a tea canister and roughly fifty centimeters long, they tapered to a slight curve, just as one would expect of a beast's fangs.
"'Analyze'... Its strength is roughly on par with steel. Nothing extraordinary."
Upon inspection, it seemed far more suited for artistic craftwork than heavy engineering.
The same held true for the bones.
In fact, their structural strength was even lower.
"Huh... but these are a bit different from the materials we have back on Hou—er, back home."
Overhearing his muttered observation, Marikka offered an explanation.
"Jin-shama, could it be that yours never underwent heat treatment after being harvested?"
"Heat treatment?"
"Yes. When the bones of a Sham Dragon undergo heat treatment, they become much denser—or rather, their toughness increases dramatically... making them far easier to work with as a material. Without heat treatment, they remain brittle and rather difficult to use, I believe."
"Is that so?"
Surprising as it might seem, this was news to Jin.
There was good reason for his ignorance, however.
To begin with, he had only ever used Sham Dragon parts when utilizing the wing membrane as artificial skin for the earliest iteration of Reiko. Soon after, his interest had shifted entirely to the Sea Dragon materials they acquired.
As a result, the stockpile on Hourai Island had sat neglected and largely forgotten.
(Hmm... Saki would probably love to hear about this.)
Jin made a mental note to tell her once he returned.
He found himself quite fascinated as well.
"...What an intriguing material. Does applying heat trigger some kind of structural transformation in its composition?"
Holding what appeared to be a digit bone in his hand, Jin slipped into deep contemplation.
Sion, Marikka, the Empress Emerita, and Flora watched him with keen interest.
"Jin seems to have plunged straight into thought."
"Indeed. Whenever he gets like that, Jin-sha... Jin-sama invariably comes up with the most extraordinary ideas."
Hearing Marikka's fond remark, the Empress Emerita smiled with genuine admiration.
"You truly are Jin-kun's disciple through and through, Marikka-san."
"I-I'm honored. Um, whenever Jin-sama is in that state, the best thing to do is simply leave him be."
"Quite right. Once he finishes sorting through his thoughts, he will come back to us on his own."
"Both Sion-sama and Marikka-san understand Jin-dono so thoroughly, don't you?"
Both the Empress Emerita and Flora marveled at how naturally Sion and Marikka grasped Jin's quirks.
For Flora in particular, watching their easy, familiar interactions completely dissolved the lingering awe and tension she had carried from the start, letting it vanish like morning mist.