Since the provisional agreement had been concluded on the very first day, the following day was devoted entirely to informal discussions.
There, Jin offered a suggestion.
"I would like to visit Lake Yato."
Aboard the Hurricane, of course.
"We have plenty of passenger room, so bringing up to about five people would be no problem at all."
Upon hearing this,
"I would love to accompany you!"
Duke Gaspar de Mimaka was the first to speak up.
Consequently, Chancellor Moitz Myas Rohdai, Minister of General Affairs Ryuji F. Katsuki, Diplomat Yaharu Sumi, and the Duke's secretary and lady's maid, Sheena Sumiya, were selected to join them.
"Right this way, please."
"Mm, we are in your care."
The sight of the eleven-year-old Duke doing his utmost to maintain an air of dignity was endearing.
Sheena Sumiya boarded right behind the Duke, staying close at his side.
Following them were the Chancellor, the Minister of General Affairs, the diplomat... in that order.
After them came the World Conference delegation:
Chief Envoy Theobald Theoderic von Grain, and Deputy Envoys Tein Miyabe, Illumina Ratkin, and Gajue Tsuga.
Then Manon stepped aboard, followed finally by Jin and Reiko.
Hope, the pilot, guided everyone to their seats.
"Please take your seats. We are preparing for departure."
Hope announced and initiated the engines.
A faint vibration rippled through the cabin, accompanied by the low, resonant intake and exhaust hum of the blow floater engines.
After a momentary sway, the Hurricane floated softly up into the air.
It continued to climb, ascending steadily higher.
"Whoa, it's so fast!"
Gazing out the window, the Duke cheered with childlike excitement.
"The Hurricane is an 'airship-type blow floater,' which allows it to climb at this kind of speed," Jin explained.
"I see...! Jin-dono, what sort of speed can it reach?"
It was a question from the Chancellor. Jin answered plainly.
"Its top speed is 800 kilometers per hour. That puts a considerable strain on the craft, however, so we normally cruise at around 500 kilometers per hour."
Figures like these were hardly a state secret.
"Eight hundred kilometers... What an astonishing speed. Truly, you live up to the title of Magi Craft Meister."
The Chancellor appeared deeply impressed by the numbers.
"Now then, let's open the floor windows."
Jin gave instructions to Hope, unshielding the viewing windows built into the cabin floor.
"Eek!"
A shriek escaped the Duke's lady's maid, Sheena Sumiya.
"I-It's all right," the Duke said, soothing her. "Look, the glass is fitted securely in place."
"Y-Yes, Your Grace... Forgive me for losing my composure."
"Were you afraid of heights, Sheena?"
"...It is most embarrassing."
"It's fine, it's fine. Everyone has things they can't handle."
The Duke patted the head of the cowering Sheena.
There played out the scene of a nineteen-year-old being comforted by an eleven-year-old.
Seeing this, Jin decided to have the floor windows half-closed.
"I apologize, Jin-sama," Sheena said, offering her regrets to Jin.
"No, until you get used to it, this view can certainly be terrifying."
Tokyo Tower and the Sky Tree had similar glass observation floors, and it was said that standing on them for the first time was quite frightening.
Even so, once one grew accustomed to it, the thrill of looking straight down at the ground tended to win out.
"Whoa... This is the first time I've ever seen our land from above, but so this is what it looks like... There really is very little farmland..."
While his phrasing had slipped back into that of an ordinary boy, the Duke was paying attention to what truly mattered.
"Hmm... The greenery is concentrated along the coastline and flanking the highways, isn't it?"
As the Minister of General Affairs made that observation, Illumina Ratkin addressed him.
"Katsuki-dono, the section where the highway runs has fewer undulations and sits slightly lower than the surrounding land, does it not?"
"Eh? Ah, I see. It is just as you say, Illumina Ratkin-dono."
"Could it not be described as an exceptionally gentle 'valley'?"
This was the very same conclusion the Jin Family had reached a short while ago.
"Indeed, it certainly can be viewed that way."
"Could there perhaps be a subterranean water vein flowing southward from Lake Yato?"
Illumina Ratkin was offering a remarkably sharp analysis. Jin silently admired her, thinking she was every bit Marikka's student.
"Aah, I see..."
"Ryuji, you do nothing but nod and marvel."
The Duke teased him for repeatedly saying "I see." In that moment, he acted entirely his age.
"Ah, Your Grace, forgive me."
"Still, Your Grace, opportunities to view our land from the sky like this do not come often."
Because this was a creation of the Magi Craft Meister, the nation's foremost figures—the Duke, the Chancellor, and the Minister of General Affairs—had boarded without hesitation. However, Gajue Tsuga, observing from the side, figured that aside from Diplomat Yaharu Sumi, this was likely the first time any of them had ever ridden an aircraft.
After an aerial cruise of about thirty minutes, the Hurricane arrived over Lake Yato.
Fortunately or unfortunately, no skirmishes with vessels from the Norha Principality were taking place today.
Jin had no intention of interfering here, so he made no mention of the matter.
Bringing the Duke and his ministers along—and giving Gajue Tsuga and the others a firsthand look at the country's actual conditions—had simply been the purpose of this flight.
"Hmm... Looking down upon our land from above like this, I get the sense that what Ratkin-dono said earlier may well be correct."
Minister of General Affairs Ryuji F. Katsuki seemed to reach that conclusion after taking in the broader topography.
"While we're out here, let's head a little further east. Hope, if you would."
"Yes, Master."
At Jin's command, Hope turned the Hurricane toward the eastern mountain range.
This was a blank zone of sorts, territory belonging to no nation in particular.
Roughly 120 kilometers east of Lake Yato, one would collide with the colossal mountain range that diagonally bisected the western Lauren Continent.
While that mountain range broke off near Lake Omoser, it was undeniably the geographic barrier that isolated the western reaches of the Lauren Continent from the rest of the landmass.
Lush greenery carpeted the western slopes of the mountains, a clear sign that water was not in short supply there.
And near the Tropic of Cancer, the range's highest peak soared into the sky.
(Is that the mountain the Jagus Principality is after? What on earth could they want it for?)
Gajue Tsuga questioned in his mind without voicing the thought aloud.
After all, aside from its towering elevation, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary about that peak.
After concluding an aerial journey of roughly two hours—a flight that had felt very much like a sightseeing tour—the Hurricane returned to the royal capital, Quonale.
The moment they landed and set foot on solid ground,
"Jin-dono, I cannot adequately express our gratitude for taking us aboard."
Chancellor Moitz Myas Rohdai bowed deeply.
"Truly, you have opened our eyes today."
Minister of General Affairs Ryuji F. Katsuki bowed as well.
And Duke Gaspar de Mimaka, too,
"Magi Craft Meister Jin-dono, I shall remember this day for the rest of my life."
bowed his head respectfully as he spoke.