The following morning, after finishing breakfast at Kachea's family home, Jin headed over to Village Chief Sergei's residence along with Reiko, Enju 2, and Kachea.
"Good morning."
"Ah, good morning, Jin-kun....And who might this be?"
"This is the assistant automaton, Enju 2."
"A-An assistant automaton?!"
"Yes."
Jin explained that after hearing the previous day about the area's lack of medical care, and worrying about Kachea's sister-in-law Inessa nearing full term, he had decided to wake up an assistant automaton he had on standby aboard the Hurricane.
He then offered to loan her to the village until medical personnel could be dispatched from Avalon.
"Oh, that would be a tremendous help."
It was decided that she would be stationed at the village chief's house.
Jin agreed, figuring it would be the easiest place for the villagers to locate.
"Sergei-san, I look forward to working with you."
"Enju-san, was it? The pleasure is all ours."
Jin then addressed the chief once more.
"With that settled, please encourage anyone feeling unwell to come see her right away."
He paused before adding, "How should we handle the examination fees...?"
Jin wanted to confirm this with Sergei beforehand. Providing medical treatment entirely free of charge might cause friction later when actual healers were officially assigned here.
"I have a pretty good grasp of that, actually."
"Oh, you do?"
Kachea mentioned that she was somewhat familiar with the standard compensation for medical services in Avalon, so Jin decided to leave the details to her.
Feeling relieved to have her with them, Jin thought to himself that bringing her along had certainly been the right call.
At any rate, with the medical shortage handled for the time being, Jin breathed a small sigh of relief.
However, their peace did not last long.
"Is the village chief in?"
A man who looked like an official stepped inside as he called out.
"Ah, Administrator-dono."
Jin deduced that the newcomer was likely the regional administrator for the territory.
"Has something happened?"
"...Before we get to that, who is this man? And who is the woman beside him?"
The official asked as he glanced between Jin and Enju 2.
"This is our guest, Jin-dono. And this is the assistant automaton, Enju 2, whom Jin-dono has graciously loaned to us."
"Hoh..."
With an air of blatant disrespect, the administrator looked Jin and Enju 2 up and down.
"Is there something you need?"
Finding the man's demeanor thoroughly unpleasant, Jin frowned.
"And what is your name?" Jin countered.
"Hm? I am Gone Maui von Keema, Northern Administrator of the Melkana Autonomous Region."
"So you hail from the Shouro Empire."
"Indeed I do, but... did he say Jin? Jin?...Jin Nidou-dono? No, could it be...?"
Gone seemed to finally piece together who Jin was, and panic washed over his face.
"That's right."
"P-Please forgive my terrible rudeness! You are Jin-dono, the Magi Craft Meister, are you not?!"
Gone immediately shifted to bowing and scraping.
"...Right, that's enough. If something has happened, just tell us what it is."
Jin decided this was not someone he wanted to waste time entertaining.
It looked like he would have one more thing to add to his report once he got back.
"Y-Yes, of course....Well, you see, neighboring Fan Village has been attacked by bandits."
"What?! What are the casualties?"
"Zero dead, one critically injured, and several with minor injuries... or so the report states."
"And the bandits?"
"They reportedly made off with food stores and fled."
This was an urgent situation.
Fan Village was thirty-five kilometers away in a straight line, and about forty kilometers by road. Even on foot, it was a distance that could be covered in a single day.
There was a strong chance the bandits might target Taji Village next.
Even more pressing—
"The person with the critical injury... are they going to be all right?"
Jin was far more concerned about their condition.
To this, Administrator Gone replied,
"We are currently arranging for a healer, who should arrive by this evening."
"..."
Hearing that, Jin made an immediate decision.
"They might not last that long. We'll head to Fan Village ourselves....Kachea, will you come with us?"
"Ah, yes!"
He asked her because he figured she might know people in Fan Village.
After all, Jin himself knew practically nothing about the place.
"Helga, please let Kachea's family know where we've gone."
"Understood!"
"All right, let's move."
Jin broke into a run alongside Reiko. Kachea followed right behind them.
Before Kachea could catch up, Jin communicated telepathically.
(Reiko, tell Laojun to send either Enju 3 or Lise over to the Hurricane.)
Having loaned Enju 2 to Taji Village, Jin wanted another assistant automaton on hand.
(Understood....Father, Laojun says it will send Enju 3.)
(Got it.)
Just as their mental exchange ended, Kachea caught up. They had arrived at the apron where the Eagle Unit 1 was parked.
Reiko immediately set to work preparing the Eagle Unit 1 for launch.
"Jin-san, will Taji Village really be safe while we're gone?"
"That's why I left Enju 2 behind. If it comes down to it, she can output more than five times the physical strength of an average human."
"I-Is that so...?"
Jin and the others boarded the Eagle Unit 1 and made a brief stop at the Hurricane.
"Hope, where is Enju 3?"
"Yes, Jin-sama. She is right here."
"Good."
"Huh? Wait... Enju-san?"
Kachea stared in surprise upon seeing Enju 3.
"Ah, this is Enju 3. She's the same model of automata as Enju 2."
"O-Oh, I see!"
"Right....Hope, keep guarding the Hurricane. But if Taji Village falls into any danger, you have permission to intervene."
"Understood."
Having given orders for emergency contingencies, Jin loaded a medical kit aboard.
He left the piloting to Reiko.
Enju 3 carried another medical kit and boarded the craft.
Jin and Kachea settled back into their seats.
"Eagle Unit 1, launching now."
With a brief announcement from Reiko, the Eagle Unit 1 started up once more.
Their destination: Fan Village.