"Good grief, how embarrassing."
"I got carried away like a child, despite my age."
"Not at all. I am just glad you enjoyed yourselves."
Having spent about two hours enjoying the Golem karts, Wattes Schretzer and Tomax Bartman were profusely apologetic.
"If it's this much fun, we should build a circuit in Avalon too!" Illumina Ratkin declared with great enthusiasm.
"Indeed. Operating such a circuit might be a fine venture for Nostalgia as well."
Even Elena was giving it serious consideration.
Afterward, the three went to change out of their golem karting attire.
"You should take a shower as well," Deus Ex Machina called out to them.
"Thank you very much," they replied, waving as they headed into the changing rooms.
While waiting for them to return, Deus Ex Machina and the others passed the time chatting. The conversation naturally revolved around the Golem karts.
"I believe increasing options for recreation is a positive thing. It stimulates the economy, after all."
Deus Ex Machina was fundamentally in favor of the idea.
"However, taking these Golem karts as an example, safety management is indispensable."
Still, he made sure to sound a note of caution.
"That is certainly true."
Even within Jin's memories held by Laojun and Mentor, venues of that sort involved all manner of tedious concerns—special insurance policies, terms of service dictating that accidents were at one's own risk, and the like.
"The best precaution, however, is simply keeping the speed down," Deus Ex Machina noted, pointing out that severe accidents would be unlikely that way.
"Yet I imagine that would take away the thrill," Elena countered.
Just as Illumina Ratkin had grown dissatisfied with the beginner mode once she got the hang of driving and asked to switch to the mid-level mode, Elena argued that without a bit of excitement, the enjoyment would be cut in half.
"That is the tricky part, isn't it?"
Deus Ex Machina could only agree.
As they were talking, the three returned looking refreshed.
"Well, thank you so much. That was truly a valuable experience."
Tomax Bartman was in high spirits.
"Indeed, these Golem karts are fascinating. I imagine quite a few people would become obsessed with them."
Wattes Schretzer offered high praise of his own.
Illumina Ratkin, meanwhile, shared her impressions from a different angle.
"It seems difficult to use them outdoors with these exact specifications, though. How should I put it... the ride is rather uncomfortable. Ah, running them here is perfectly fine, of course!"
Because they were tuned specifically for a paved circuit, they could not be driven on ordinary roads in their current state.
The suspension systems were stiff and the ground clearance was low, meaning not only would the ride be rough, but the undercarriage would scrape against the ground.
"There is also the option of designing vehicles specifically for rough terrain and holding off-road competitions, of course."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful as well!"
Wattes Schretzer immediately jumped at Deus Ex Machina's offhand remark.
"However, the risk factor increases considerably that way."
"I see..."
Elena then stepped in with a remark to bring things back on track.
"Now then, everyone, our purpose today is to tour Arcadia. Shall we save such discussions for another occasion?"
"Quite right, Lady Elena."
Tomax Bartman was the first to agree.
"After this, you are scheduled to see the fields and the orchard, after all."
Deus Ex Machina reiterated the itinerary as well.
First came the fields.
"O-Ohh...!"
The entire floor—an 800-meter-diameter circle, subtracting only the thickness of the outer hull and the passageways—was spread with earth-attribute soil, transformed into vast farmland.
It spanned roughly 500,000 square meters, or 50 hectares.
"We cultivate one hectare each of wheat and barley here. This is primarily for seed preservation."
The underlying logic was that even if the surface fields were completely wiped out for some reason, this place would remain largely unaffected, securing their seed supply.
In addition, fifty varieties of grains and vegetables were cultivated here, including Devil's Potato, itopo, kuromugi (soba), round beans (soybeans), red-eyed peas (azuki), black-eyed peas, natsumame (peas), taro, daikon radish, turnips, korot (carrots), and spinach.
He explained that because the objective was seed preservation, they maintained a two-year stockpile; any harvest beyond that was sequentially shipped out or preserved for long-term storage.
"What a wonderful concept. We in Nostalgia keep about half a year's worth of food stockpiled in preparation for disasters, but the idea of preserving seeds never occurred to us."
Elena clapped her hands in admiration.
"Avalon also maintains roughly half a year of reserves, but we will certainly take this approach into consideration," Fione Fias added after consulting with Tomax Bartman.
"By the way, what sort of lighting do you use here?" Edda Eema asked.
"It is artificial lighting, of course, but we have adjusted it to be as close to sunlight as possible."
"I see. That makes sense."
Back when Jin lived in modern Japan, he vaguely remembered hearing that blue Light or purple Light was beneficial for plants, but since he had never fully understood the details, he had settled on illuminating them with white Light spanning the full spectrum from red to violet.
It contained no ultraviolet light, but so far there had been no issues with plant growth, and crop yields remained above average.
Because the system ran on mana rather than electric power, its greatest asset was that they had no need to worry about operating costs or environmental impact.
Next, they headed down to the orchard on the floor below.
"What a sweet fragrance," Fione Fias remarked; it was the scent of Persica.
"If you regulate the climate properly, they will bear fruit year-round."
On Hourai Island, nearly all the fruit trees were everbearing as well.
"Over here are citran. Ah, they look delicious."
When Edda Eema let that slip, Elena chided her with a gentle, "Now, where are your manners?"
It was just past eleven in the morning, an hour when it was only natural for their appetites to stir.
"If you like, please feel free to pick some and try them."
The citran here were essentially mikan oranges, making it perfectly safe to eat them as-is.
Deus Ex Machina plucked one himself, peeled it, and ate a slice to show them.
Taking his lead, the others each harvested a fruit that looked ripe.
"Ah, this is delicious."
"It's so juicy!"
"Simply wonderful."
"To think you can enjoy them like this."
"It might be nice to promote it this way locally."
Since there did not appear to be any pick-your-own orchards in this region, Fione Fias reasoned that offering such an experience would be a tremendous hit.
"Let us make that proposal when we invite the leaders of each nation."
Deus Ex Machina voiced his full agreement with the idea.