The Marikka workshop stood on the outskirts of the All-Creation clan territory.
Apparently, it was more convenient to have it located there when heading out for experiments or gathering materials.
"My, what a lovely building."
Empress Emerita Hilde voiced her admiration. Indeed, the structure was still brand new.
It was likely built using magi-craft, Jin estimated.
It was about twice the size of an elementary school classroom—more than adequate for small-scale crafting.
"Right this way, please."
Led by Marikka, Jin, Empress Emerita Hilde, Flora, Sion, Reiko, and the Five-Colored Golem Maids stepped inside.
"Oh, it's very well organized."
At a single glance, Jin noticed that the layout had been modeled after the workshop on Hourai Island.
Various metals and magical beast materials were neatly arranged on the storage shelves, and the standard tools were all meticulously maintained.
As a workshop, Magi Craft Meister Jin scored it a 90 out of 100. That was high praise.
"Everyone, we have guests visiting to tour the workshop."
When Marikka called out, the three young girls inside turned toward Jin's group all at once.
Catching sight of the Five-Colored Golem Maids behind them, their eyes went wide with shock.
"Wait, what is that?!"
"A-A golem lady's maid?!"
"A-And it's that sophisticated?!"
The three might have thought they were whispering, but Jin and the others could hear every single word.
Marikka cleared her throat.
"...Ahem. This is Magi Craft Meister Jin-sama and his companions. Mind your manners, please."
Watching Marikka deliver her explanation so smoothly and eloquently, Empress Emerita Hilde and Flora were quite impressed.
"As expected of a teacher."
"She carries herself with such poise."
The girls, however, erupted in excitement.
"Eeeh?! You're Magi Craft Meister Jin-sama?!"
"Th-The real one?! That explains the golem lady's maid!"
"You're Marikka-sensei's master, aren't you?!"
With that, all three leaped up and surged toward Jin.
"W-Waah, it's an honor to meet you!!!...Mmph!"
Reiko moved in an instant, cutting off their charge.
If three people with the strength of the Northern People tackled Jin all at once, there was no telling what might happen to him.
"Please calm down."
"Mmph... E-Err, Reiko-san?!"
"Waah, it really is Reiko-san!"
"She's so cute!"
"U-Umm."
This time, the three latched onto Reiko, wrapping her in hugs.
Reiko was every bit as popular as Jin.
"...Please step away."
Without a word of argument, Reiko effortlessly peeled the three girls off her.
"...Everyone, you mustn't cause trouble for our guests! Behave yourselves!"
Snapping back to her senses, Marikka sternly scolded the trio.
"Y-Yes, ma'am."
"Okaay."
"...We're sorry."
Having settled down a bit, the three girls returned to their respective seats after Marikka gave each of them a pat on the back.
Seeing that, Jin couldn't help but admire how much Marikka truly acted the part of a teacher.
However,
"I am so sorry, Jin-shama."
Sure enough, whenever Jin was involved, her habit of stumbling over her words remained as prominent as ever.
Once everyone had composed themselves, they started anew.
"Lately, I've been focusing on processing zirconia," Marikka explained, gesturing toward the prototypes scattered across the workbench. "Things like cut glass, pendant tops, bracelets, and hair ornaments."
"How pretty!"
Empress Emerita Hilde admired them with genuine warmth, while Flora voiced a question of her own.
"Is this different from rock crystal?"
"Yes. It is a mineral somewhat harder than rock crystal, and it's a specialty product of the Nord Federation," Marikka replied.
"I see..."
Flora picked up a piece of the cut glass from the table to inspect it.
"The clarity is magnificent. And it looks even more brilliant and sparkling than rock crystal."
The reason cut gems appeared to sparkle so vividly was due to optical phenomena like internal refraction and reflection.
When a material had a high refractive index, incoming light was dispersed as if passing through a prism. As those rays bounced internally, the perceived color shifted depending on the viewing angle.
At the same time, light reflected off the surface met the eye, blending standard light with spectral hues to produce that distinctive, gem-like brilliance.
The refractive index of zirconia was 2.13, whereas rock crystal sat around 1.543. The higher the refractive index, the more dazzling the sparkle.
Incidentally, diamond boasted a refractive index of 2.42—one of the highest among all minerals.
As an aside, rutile (titanium dioxide) possessed an even higher refractive index than diamond at 2.62 to 2.90. However, transparent natural crystals were exceedingly rare, so it was not circulated as a gemstone.
"If you treated this as a gemstone, wouldn't that grant it even more added value?" Empress Emerita Hilde suggested.
"Lady Hilde, we have already begun selling them as cut glass and accessories, so I believe it would be difficult to raise the price abruptly now."
"Ah, is that so? What a shame."
At that moment, an idea struck Jin.
"If I recall correctly, you can alter the color of zirconia by adding trace elements. I don't know which element yields which color off the top of my head, so we'd have to figure it out through trial and error, though."
"That would certainly provide added value. A vibrant array of colorful zirconia sounds lovely."
Sion spoke with an enraptured expression. She really is a young girl at heart, Jin thought to himself with a touch of fond irreverence.
"Ah, that's a wonderful idea," Marikka agreed.
"All right, I'll look into that, too."
"I'll leave it in your capable hands, Jin."
Though in truth, he was simply planning to pass the task off to Saki.
Saki will probably jump at the chance to research this with absolute glee, Jin thought with a grin.