"By the way, what are you going to do about unveiling the Southern Cross?"
Elsa casually voiced what had been on her mind.
"Hmm, how should I put it... I kind of missed my chance to bring it up."
Seeing them pour so much effort into bringing their own aircraft design to life, Jin explained that he had hesitated to ostentatiously flaunt his own craft.
"...I can understand that a bit."
Sitting before Elsa, Jin let his true feelings slip.
"To be honest, seeing engineers taking things step-by-step like that makes me feel just a little envious."
"What do you mean?"
"...When you're learning something, the period when you can visibly feel yourself getting better is the most fun, you know?"
Realizing you were improving the more you practiced was the most fulfilling, enjoyable experience, Jin explained.
"Mm, I think I get it."
Elsa gave a small nod.
"But there are things that can only be done because you've mastered your craft."
There were countless things that could only be achieved at Jin's current level—or rather, that only Jin could pull off, Elsa told him.
"You're right about that."
Hearing Elsa's words, Jin felt the tension melt from his shoulders.
"Thanks, Elsa."
"Mm. You're welcome."
A relaxed smile rose to Jin's face.
The time was 7:00 PM.
"Well then, I suppose I'll head over to the Go-lab."
It was the laboratory where Kachea, Eira, and Groma Tray—whom he had met on the Pandor Continent—were based.
"Mm. Have a good time."
Elsa opted to stay behind in the guest room.
"I'm scheduled to give a lecture tomorrow."
"Right, you are."
She had been asked to deliver a special lecture on medicine.
With Reiko accompanying him, Jin left the guest room.
Whenever Jin felt unsure of the way to the Go-lab, Laojun checked the route for him using Peepers, allowing him to arrive without losing his way once.
"Welcome, Jin!"
"Jin-san, it's been a long time."
"Jin-dono, welcome."
Eira, Kachea, and Groma greeted him at the entrance.
"Huh? Where is everyone else?"
Shown into the laboratory, Jin couldn't help but ask upon seeing how deserted it was.
"Everyone else went home for the day. Fifi-san told us you were coming, so we grabbed dinner and waited here for you."
Hearing Eira's explanation made Jin feel a twinge of guilt.
"Is that so? I'm sorry for making you go out of your way."
"Don't worry about it! We're friends, aren't we? Right, Kachea, Groma?"
"That's right. Please don't let something like this weigh on your mind."
"If it means getting to meet and talk with you, Jin-dono, it's nothing at all."
All three of them smiled, reassuring him that it was no trouble.
"I see. Then instead of 'I'm sorry,' I suppose I should say 'thank you.'"
Jin smiled back.
A genuine bond of friendship hung in the air between them.
"So, how have things been lately?"
To Jin's open-ended question, Kachea was the first to speak up.
"I went back home for the New Year holidays."
"Oh, did you?"
"Yes. My mother, my aunt, and Helga were all doing well."
Kachea happily shared the latest news about her mother Tanya, her aunt Sonya, and her friend Helga.
"I see, so there are already scheduled flights to the Pandor Continent."
"Yes. They even ran extra flights over the New Year."
Such nimble accommodation was unique to Avalon.
"Did you not go back, Eira?"
"Nah. I wasn't born in the Mercana Principality, after all."
"Ah, right, was that it?"
All Jin knew was that she was an engineer scouted from one of the four principalities on the Lauren Continent—the Norha Principality, Mimaka Principality, Jagus Principality, or Darato Principality—and Eira had never elaborated on the details.
Figuring she had her reasons, Jin didn't try to pry.
"It hasn't been that recent, but Berlich Becker went back to the Shouro Empire. Wouldn't he be green with envy if he knew Jin-dono had come here?"
"Hmm, I wonder. More importantly, Groma, you can drop the formalities with me."
"...Got it."
At Jin's request, Groma Tray shifted to a more relaxed tone.
"Berlich probably couldn't afford to leave his workshop unattended for that long, either."
Just then, Jin noticed Kachea blushing faintly. He made a mental note to dig into the details later to see if there had been any progress between them.
For now, technical discussions took precedence over love talk.
"...Anyway, right now the Shouro Empire is looking to mass-produce something like this."
Jin displayed the rough sketches for the power assist for civil engineering and construction that he had asked Reiko to bring along.
"Oho... This looks fascinating, Jin!"
Eira was the first to show keen interest.
"This... keeps production costs remarkably low, doesn't it? Is widespread adoption the primary goal?" Kachea asked.
Groma Tray studied the rough sketches intently.
"I see. The goals are preventing military diversion while slashing costs to promote widespread use, right?"
Then, he slowly voiced his thoughts.
"Did you give it three legs for stability?"
"Precisely."
"In that case, how about making the third leg act like a tail? That way, it can walk on two legs while in transit, and drop the tail down like a third leg whenever it needs to exert heavy force."
"Oh, good thinking."
"If that's the plan, wouldn't it be better to make the surface area of the soles a bit larger? The whole frame must be quite heavy, right?" Eira chimed in with her own suggestion.
"Yeah, it weighs around six hundred kilograms, I'd say....I see, increasing the sole surface area. That might work well."
Further suggestions poured in one after another.
"If it's meant for construction sites, wouldn't it be handy to install lights?"
"Ah, that's a fair point."
Jin nodded in agreement with Groma's suggestion.
Nighttime operations certainly couldn't be ruled out, and simply adding lights wouldn't drive up the costs noticeably.
"Also, what about a safety belt to keep the operator from falling out?"
"That could be useful."
Hearing Eira's idea, Jin recalled that passenger cars in modern Japan were equipped with seatbelts as well.
"Ah, and while this isn't a direct modification to the machine itself, do the workers wear helmets?"
Kachea pointed out a detail Jin had completely overlooked.
"Some did, but others didn't."
Requiring all operators to wear safety helmets was an absolute must, Jin realized.
"When you introduce that rule, I think some people might resist if they aren't used to it. So, I think it would be effective to make the helmets themselves into magi-devices—that way, they'll think, 'Hey, this is really convenient,' and wear them willingly."
Kachea had offered a wonderful perspective, which Jin deeply appreciated.
Though it had been quite some time since he last saw the trio, they offered insights from angles entirely distinct from the Jin Family. Jin felt genuinely glad to have heard such valuable feedback.