The preparations for the repairs and updates to Safi were completed in half a day.
"Then we will dispatch Deus Ex Machina tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM local time."
"Yeah, please do."
Jin and Elsa intended to monitor the progress from Hourai Island.
"This should give us peace of mind for the time being."
"Nn. There shouldn't be any urgent work for the next few days."
"Maybe we can take it easy for a bit?"
"...Jin-nii, I think once you find yourself with free time, you'll just end up finding something else to do and get busy again anyway."
"I-Is that so?"
Jin and the others enjoyed some casual banter over their three o'clock tea.
Just then, Jin remembered what had happened the other day.
As Reiko poured him a refill, he looked up and asked her:
"By the way, how is that matter concerning the small golems using magi-resin coming along?"
Originally, Reiko had taken the initiative to contact Laojun to gather fundamental data on the subject.
"Kufu, that's what I and—"
"—I have been working on."
"Saki, Reinhard."
Saki and Reinhard walked into the dining room.
The Jin Family's foremost alchemist—or rather, leading authority on materials science—and the magi-craft engineer second only to Jin had teamed up to investigate the project.
"That's amazing. Have you finished gathering the data already?"
Saki chimed in to answer his question.
"Yup, it's about ninety percent done."
"Or rather, our part is already finished. We're just at the stage where we need you to join in so we can reach a final conclusion, Jin."
"That's great."
And so, Jin decided to hear their findings right away.
"I would like to listen in as well."
"Of course."
Elsa joined in too. After all, she was an extraordinary magi engineer in her own right.
"Alright, let's hear it."
Jin downed the contents of his teacup in one gulp. The grimace that immediately followed suggested it had still been a little too hot...
With that, the group moved over to Saki's laboratory.
"Oh, it's pretty tidy in here."
Jin was pleasantly surprised to find the room so well-organized.
"Kufu, that's because Enju 1 is here to help me."
"A-Ah, I see..."
Saki will always be Saki, Jin murmured inwardly.
"Ahem. Uh... Reinhard, is it alright if I do the explaining?"
"Go right ahead. I'll add anything extra if it comes to mind."
"Yeah, please do....Alright then, let's begin."
Saki spread out a handwritten report across the table.
"These are the experimental results. To put it simply, the Fluid Form Drive using magi-mercury performed the best."
"Allow me to add right away: the experiments were conducted using one-tenth-scale golems."
"I see. At that size, the weight of the magi-mercury stops being much of an issue."
"That seems to be the case."
However, magi-mercury was still mercury at the end of the day. The fact that it was toxic to the human body remained unchanged.
"Right, so if we're going to use it, our only option would be to seal it tightly inside the chassis."
Reinhard was the one who answered.
"That makes sense....So, what came next?"
Saki nodded.
"Well, the next best was the magi-resin made from Ground Spider resin."
"I see. In that case... No, let me hear the rest of the explanation first."
"Okay. Next after that was the magi-resin made from the tree sap collected north of Kaina Village."
She explained that its natural free ether content was noticeably higher compared to samples from other regions.
"This is a bit of a tangent, but if this type of small golem catches on, I think demand for it will shoot up."
"Most likely."
That might add another local specialty to Kaina Village's list, Jin thought.
"Got it. And after that comes the magi-resin based on magi-polyethylene."
She noted that the performance gap between the magi-polyethylene-based magi-resin and the Kaina Village variety was quite pronounced.
"Anything below that... probably—no, definitely—won't meet your standards, Jin."
With that, Saki wrapped up her summary, noting they hadn't bothered gathering detailed data on the lower-performing materials.
"Thank you. That was extremely helpful."
Magi-resin made from Ground Spider resin would likely be too expensive to ever reach the general public, but the demand for the variety harvested from Kaina Village had real potential to grow.
"We'll need to make sure we don't overharvest and end up killing off the trees."
While the northern forests were vast, the Pinacea trees—a type of spruce that produced the sap required for the magi-resin—were not particularly abundant.
"Maybe we should consider setting aside specific areas for reforestation."
Taking forest conservation into account, Jin figured it would be best to take proactive measures early.
"Nn, I think that's a good idea."
Here, Saki spoke up.
"Hey, Jin. Pinacea grows wild in the northern parts of the Lauren Continent, but could it be found on the Gondoa Continent as well?"
"It shouldn't be."
Back when he had been researching golems with Rubina and the others, Jin had gone searching for magi-resin.
At the time, information from Laojun had confirmed that Pinacea did not grow on the Gondoa Continent.
"Still, among the various trees growing across the coniferous forests of the Gondoa Continent, don't you think there might be some that can yield high-quality magi-resin?"
Hearing Saki's suggestion, Jin had a sudden flash of realization.
"You make a good point....Alright, I'll bring it up with Sion."
If things went well, it might give the Nord Federation another local specialty of its own.
Furthermore, when it came to reforestation, Sion's mother, Rolona of the All-Creation clan, would likely be glad to spearhead the effort.
She was the mother of Sion and All-Creation, as well as the foremost botanical and agricultural researcher in the entire Nord Federation.
"Nn, sounds good."
"Kufu, Sion will be thrilled. And Marikka, too."
Jin promptly contacted Sion via manacam.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful! I'll have our people start searching for those trees right away. Give me one week."
Sion was entirely on board.
"Yeah, of course. Is a week going to be enough, though? There's no rush, so you can take more time if you need it."
"Really? In that case... I'll take two weeks. Would it be alright if I get back to you on April 30th?"
"Yeah, that works fine. I'm counting on you."
"There's a tremendous benefit in this for us as well, after all. Leave it to me!"
And so, the matter was settled.