Dawn broke on July 7, at 9:00 a.m.
It was the day Jin's party would depart from the Nord Federation.
"First, we'll head back to Jin Castle."
Even though Jin had left the arrangements to Elsa, he still wanted to bring a congratulatory gift of his own making.
He could have easily used materials from the Marikka workshop, but his artisan pride insisted on supplying them from his own personal stock.
"Well then, Sion, Marikka, thank you for everything."
"Oh, think nothing of it."
"Jin-shama, thank you so much for all you've done."
Jin, Sion, and Marikka exchanged their farewells.
"Sion-san, Marikka-san, I learned a great deal. Thank you very much."
"My narrow world has broadened considerably. Thank you."
Empress Emerita Hilde and Flora also expressed their brief yet heartfelt gratitude.
"Hilde-sama, I look forward to your continued goodwill."
And at the very end, Sion lowered her head to Empress Emerita Hilde with a proper Shouro Empire court curtsy.
"Edgar, launch Konron 3."
"Yes, Jin-sama."
With Jin, Empress Emerita Hilde, Flora, Reiko, and the Five-Colored Golem Maids all aboard, Konron 3 lifted gently into the air and began its rapid ascent.
Down on the ground, Sion, Marikka, and Marikka's students kept waving until the craft vanished from sight.
Returning first to Jin Castle, Jin spent about thirty minutes preparing the present.
He forged a silver spoon, placed it in a box crafted from wood resembling paulownia, and wrapped it neatly with fine paper and a ribbon.
Incidentally, the spoon's design was merely a slight variation on one Elsa had made previously.
As for their attire, since they were already dressed formally for their visit to the Nord Federation, he decided they were fine as they were.
However, to clear away any accumulated dust and grime, he cast Cleanup over the clothes of himself, Empress Emerita Hilde, Flora, Reiko, the Five-Colored Golem Maids, and Edgar.
The time was 11:30 a.m.
Though a bit early, they decided to have lunch.
For this meal, onigiri had been prepared.
"I believe I've had these twice before. They really are delicious."
"And so easy to eat, too."
To let everyone enjoy a variety of flavors, the rice balls had been made bite-sized.
The fillings included salt, sesame, umeboshi, okaka, kombu, and mejika salmon. In addition, there were two varieties of grilled onigiri: miso and soy sauce.
(A bit of a shame we don't have cod roe,) Jin thought to himself, but—
"The okaka has such a wonderful flavor."
"The kombu is delightful as well."
"The savory aroma of the soy sauce on the grilled onigiri is simply irresistible."
"The scent of the miso is utterly marvelous too."
Jin himself rather fancied the simple salted rice balls.
They rounded off the meal with hot hojicha.
"Ah, that was wonderful. Thank you for the meal."
"The food at your residence is always exquisite, Jin-dono. I would love to learn from your cooks."
Seeing that both Empress Emerita Hilde and Flora were thoroughly satisfied put Jin's mind at ease.
It was 1:00 p.m. local time.
Taking the time to load the golem-rickshaw for local transport and finish other preparations had brought them to this hour.
Jin brought one Golem horse for himself, while Land A and Land B boarded the vessel as well.
"Well then, Hilde-sama, we shall set off for the Shouro Empire."
"Yes, please do."
This time, the Five-Colored Golem Maids remained behind at Jin Castle to resume their regular duties.
Those departing for the Shouro Empire were Jin, Empress Emerita Hilde, Flora, Reiko, the pilot Edgar, and Land A and B.
Konron 3 rose effortlessly into the open sky and set a straight course westward.
"The time difference was about three hours, wasn't it?"
Empress Emerita Hilde asked Jin to confirm.
"Yes. So right now, it should be around 10:00 a.m. in Loizart."
"Assuming Konron 3 cruises at two hundred kilometers per hour, that makes it about four and a half hours....We ought to arrive around 2:30 or 3:00, then."
There was no need to push the engines to emergency top speed, Empress Emerita Hilde noted.
"Understood."
For this leg of the journey, Konron 3 cruised along at an altitude of roughly 5,000 meters.
That would easily clear the mountain range dividing the borders of the Celuroa Kingdom and the Shouro Empire.
"My, it's so fast!"
From the sprawling vista below, one could not make out the fine details of the towns, but the lay of the land was as clear as day.
With Azul Lake visible to the left and Mount Suhront and Mount Tokonakon to the right, they were now flying directly over the Shouro Empire.
"...Oh? Rain clouds."
Unusually, rain seemed to be falling near the Trockenbahn.
Several massive cumulonimbus clouds towered in turbulent formation.
"Rain at this time of year is a blessing, but..."
Since it would hardly do to let the weather disrupt Konron 3's flight path, they chose to detour to the north.
In truth, raising a barrier would have kept them completely safe even from a direct Thunderbolt.
Because of the detour, they lost a bit of time, and Konron 3 finally touched down at Ekishi at 3:30 p.m. local time.
Landing on the shores of Lake Tosmo, they unloaded the prepared golem-rickshaw.
From the landing site to House Randol was less than a kilometer, but they could hardly ask Empress Emerita Hilde to walk the distance.
Empress Emerita Hilde and Flora took their seats inside, while Land A pulled the carriage.
Jin rode the Golem horse, flanked this time by Reiko and Edgar. Custody of Konron 3 was entrusted to Land B.
They covered the single kilometer in roughly ten minutes.
Reaching the estate, Edgar first announced their arrival to the Gatekeeper.
"Jin-sama, husband to Elsa-sama, has arrived alongside his guests. Please arrange to receive them without delay."
He made sure the message was relayed directly to Elsa at top speed.
Upon receiving the word, Elsa rushed out to the Gate to welcome them.
Since Soleil had already informed her that Empress Emerita Hilde would be accompanying him, she was not caught off guard and greeted her with composed grace.
"Hilde-sama, welcome."
"Ah, Elsa, you really didn't need to stand on ceremony."
"No, I could not possibly neglect proper courtesy."
Then Jin spoke up to Elsa as well.
"Elsa, sorry for leaving everything to you."
Elsa shook her head.
"No, don't worry about it."
Then, she gestured forward.
"Please, come inside."
With that, she ushered the party into the mansion.