After excusing himself under the pretense of using the washroom to finish giving his instructions to Laojun, Jin returned to his seat.
"...So, what was the extent of the material damage?"
Jin told the village chief that, if possible, he would pass the information along to Avalon through Deus Ex Machina.
"Ever since that incident, we stopped storing all our food in one place and dispersed it instead, so only one cache was cleaned out. Even so, that was three months' worth of provisions for our village."
The chief explained that of the four storage sites situated to the north, south, east, and west, the northern storehouse had been hit.
"I'll report that to Avalon as well."
If their reserves ran short and they were unable to make it through the winter, aid would likely be provided.
"...Now then, about the bandits themselves."
Having settled back into his seat, Jin paused for a breath before continuing.
"Assuming they're remnants... why haven't they made a move until now?"
About a year and a half had passed since the Markitus incident. He wondered what they had been doing all that time.
"It is certainly strange."
As expected, Kachea was unable to offer an explanation either, given the lack of information.
"Well, if I had to make a rough guess, it might be something simple—perhaps the preparations they were secretly making finally came together, or maybe they just ran out of food while in hiding."
Whatever their reasons, plundering was unforgivable, Jin concluded firmly.
"That is true."
Kachea nodded in agreement.
"In that case, I'm worried about the other villages too..."
Jin couldn't help but feel concerned for the settlements that had not yet been attacked.
"I should get in touch with Deus Ex Machina soon..."
With that decided, Jin and Kachea resolved to head back to Taji Village for the time being.
Just to be safe, they decided to leave Enju 3 behind and return for her the following day or the day after.
This way, they could rest easy knowing she would oversee the recovery of the injured in Fan Village.
And so, Jin and Kachea took to the air aboard Eagle Unit 1.
"Still, this incident seems like it'll be more troublesome than expected."
"Indeed..."
Since the bandits had remained in hiding for nearly a year and a half, they likely had a proper hideout somewhere.
Furthermore, the scale of their group was by no means negligible—especially if they commanded golems.
As things stood, Jin's side suffered from a glaring weakness whenever forced onto the defensive:
Numbers.
If multiple locations were attacked simultaneously, their response would inevitably be delayed... assuming, of course, that they operated without direct support from Hourai Island.
It was precisely because he was aware of this vulnerability that Jin had contacted Laojun earlier.
Eagle Unit 1 flew straight back to the Hurricane. Asking Kachea to wait, Jin retreated to the cabin to contact Deus Ex Machina—or at least, that was the story.
"Hmm... While I'm here, I want as much fighting strength as possible....Alright!"
Jin contacted Laojun and asked it to send someone who could temporarily watch over the Hurricane.
The unit promptly dispatched through the transporter was Sky 900.
"I'll leave the Hurricane to you."
"Yes, Master."
Relieved, Jin felt a considerable weight lift from his shoulders.
Then, he gave further instructions:
"Hope, come along with the Hurricane. I'll give you landing coordinates shortly."
"Understood."
Jin figured that with Hope and Reiko on hand, they would be able to handle whatever happened, even if Taji Village came under attack.
"Let's head back to Taji Village for now."
Emerging from the Hurricane's cabin, Jin suggested they make their return.
"I'll be bringing the Hurricane to Taji Village as well," he informed Kachea. "It'll make it easier to respond to any situation."
"Thank you very much."
Kachea bowed her head in gratitude. She was deeply touched that he cared so much for a village where he had stayed for only a short time.
In just a short flight, Eagle Unit 1, accompanied by the Hurricane, arrived at Taji Village.
The Hurricane was set to park in the open square south of the village.
Jin left Hope near the ship to keep watch over the entire settlement.
Meanwhile, Sky 900 remained on standby in the Hurricane's cockpit, prepared for any unforeseen emergencies.
"Whoa, look at the size of that thing."
"That thing can fly...? Well, I suppose it just did."
The villagers gathered around the Hurricane, brimming with curiosity.
Looking at Hope, they also whispered among themselves.
"Is that going to protect the village...?"
"...Doesn't it look a bit flimsy? But they say it's a golem made by Jin..."
Seeing the crowd gathered, Jin took the opportunity to issue a standard warning.
"It appears the neighboring village was attacked by bandits. Please make sure to lock your doors at night and avoid going outside."
He then added,
"I've also brought in reinforcements for security, so there's no need to worry."
In short, there was no need to panic, but they should remain cautious just in case.
Since it was still daytime, Jin decided to reinforce the village's defense network on his own end.
Taking the magi-crystals sent by Laojun at his request, he began fashioning them into magi-devices. There were eight in total.
Once finished, he asked,
"Kachea, where are the village boundaries, roughly?"
"Um... They might have shifted slightly, so it would probably be better to ask Helga-chan."
Taking her advice, Kachea beckoned over Helga, who had come out to see the Hurricane, and explained Jin's request.
"Understood! If it's for the good of the village, by all means!"
With that, Helga strode off at a brisk pace.
Jin, Reiko, and Kachea followed close behind.
"When you say boundary, would inside this fence be alright? Or would you prefer the outer edge of the fields?"
Stopping at the northern outskirts of the village, Helga turned to Jin.
"Since this is a countermeasure against bandits, the fence should do fine."
When Jin answered, Helga nodded in agreement.
"True enough. I doubt any bandit would go out of their way to harvest wheat and carry it off."
Jin recalled that in modern Japan, thieves did indeed make off with agricultural produce... but he kept the thought to himself.
"Alright, let's make this Point 1."
Taking one of the eight magi-devices from his pocket, Jin cast Dig, carving out a vertical shaft about three meters deep.
The diameter was just wide enough for the magi-device to slide through—roughly three centimeters across.
After dropping magi-device 1 into the opening, Jin backfilled the hole with earth.
"That does it. On to the next."
Jin set off to repeat the exact same process for the remaining seven points.