Even though they had decided to make an anatomical model, crafting it in their guest room was out of the question, so they first headed over to the parked Hurricane.
Using its built-in Warp Gate, they relocated to Hourai Island. Since it was already night, Reiko accompanied them. In their stead, two Doppel units were sent over to take their places in the guest room. In other words, the room was now occupied by Jin's and Elsa's Doppel bodies, along with Hope. They had instructed Hope to handle any unexpected situations that might arise.
"Now then, should we make it male-type or female-type?" Since the internal organs differed slightly, Jin needed to ask before doing anything else.
"What if we made it different on the left and right sides?"
"Huh?...Hmm..." Jin thought that sounded suspiciously like a certain anime baron, but reconsidered, figuring it wasn't actually such a bad idea. Asymmetrical organs were common to both men and women anyway. As for the reproductive organs, they were largely symmetrical, so splitting them down the middle should be perfectly feasible.
"All right, let's go with that, then."
"Nn....Although..."
"What is it?"
"When I think about it carefully... does it really have to be a physical model?"
"Eh?...Ah, I see what you mean."
Back when Jin lived in modern Japan, 3D CAD was already a reality. 3D printers were also in practical use, even if they were expensive. Video games, too, were predominantly 3D.
"So we just need to scan a real body with the Peeper and record the data, right?"
"Nn."
That way, it would certainly look more realistic... or rather, it could be viewed as authentic imagery. Duplicating the data would be effortless, too.
However, one problem remained.
"Who are we going to scan as our model with the Peeper?"
"..."
Even if it was for academic purposes, everything from the surface of their skin down to their innermost organs would be thoroughly recorded. On top of that, Elsa wanted data for both male and female bodies.
"Jin-nii, what should we do?"
"Well, if we strictly conceal the model's identity, we might be able to protect their privacy, but..."
"I don't mind volunteering as the female model," Elsa offered, but Jin shot the idea down instantly.
"No, absolutely not."
"Why?"
"...Are a homunculus's internal organs really completely identical to a human's?"
"Ah."
Indeed, even if a homunculus was crafted to mirror a human, there might still be subtle physiological differences. If discrepancies cropped up, it could cause all sorts of complications later. Elsa nodded, accepting his reasoning. In truth, though, Jin simply couldn't stomach the thought of exposing Elsa's body—even her internal organs—to anyone else's eyes.
"...Then what do we do?"
Asking Laojun to pick someone at random from the general populace felt criminal, so Jin refused to consider it. Calling for volunteers in Avalon might be a better alternative, but the privacy concerns still weighed heavily on his conscience.
Just then, Laojun spoke up.
"My Lord, Elsa-sama, please rest assured. I am capable of composite image synthesis."
In other words, it could generate anatomical visuals that did not belong to any specific individual, but rather belonged to "no one."
"I see, there was that option."
"Nn."
It would literally be pure 3D data. However, relying solely on 3D data meant eliminating the entire crafting process. Deep down, Jin had been looking forward to building an anatomical model with his own hands, if only a little.
Ten minutes later.
"My Lord, it is complete."
Laojun reported, and Laozi brought over a magi-crystal. It was a recording magi-crystal containing the saved data. Its underlying format closely resembled that of a control core. To put it in perspective, it was like the distinction between a computer program and its data files.
"Oh, thanks for your hard work." Jin voiced his appreciation as he took the crystal.
"Would you like to review it?"
"Yeah, let's take a quick look."
"Understood."
Decompiling data from an information-bearing magi-crystal was functionally identical to pulling files from an SD card or a USB flash drive. The "information memory" retrieved from the ancient ruins and currently undergoing analysis in Avalon was of the exact same nature. To decompile data from such information memory, one needed a magi-device akin to a personal computer or a DVD player.
"You've managed to build something like this, huh?" Jin murmured, genuinely impressed.
"Jin-nii almost always leaves the decompiling to Laojun, after all."
"True enough." With the world's most advanced magi-brain at his disposal, there was no reason not to make full use of it.
"This is also something you made in the past, Jin-nii."
"Is that so?"
"Nn. It's called a 'magi-memory reader.'"
"I see." It certainly sounded like his naming style, Jin thought wryly. Because he had specifically requested not to be briefed on past inventions and developments unless strictly necessary, he only ever rediscovered them on occasions like this.
"Do they have these in Avalon as well?"
"Of course. Ah, and the 'magi-projector' was a magi-device made around the same time."
At Elsa's remark, the memory clicked for Jin. "Ah, that one."
A magi-projector was a magi-device capable of projecting data stored in a magi-crystal like an overhead projector. By replacing the projection unit with a magi-monitor and adding an input interface such as a keyboard or a joystick, it became a magi-memory reader. Jin had simply christened the interface unit he built at Elsa's request a "controller."
"All right, let's take a look right away."
"Nn."
Jin and Elsa woke up the magi-memory reader connected to the controller...