Having dispatched Jin D to the Norha Principality, Jin was conferring with Laojun on Hourai Island.
Just then, an urgent transmission came in.
"My Lord, it appears that one of the merchants frequenting the Royal Palace has been subjected to brainwashing or Seduce."
"What did you say?...Hmm, sending the Weckener along seems to have been good timing."
"Yes. We will immediately have it cover the area centered on the royal capital, but three units will not be enough to cover the entire country."
"That's true..."
Four hundred years ago, he might have secretly used aircraft to irradiate the various nations, but Jin felt that in the end, doing so wouldn't be truly beneficial to the people.
"Should we mass-produce the Weckeners, then...?"
"Let us have Machina mass-produce them in Avalon."
"That sounds like the best approach."
As a general rule, Jin would gift three units to each of the three principalities. With that many, he figured they should be able to perform a Cleanup of the capitals and key military bases.
"After that, we need to go after the prince."
Jin had intended to support First Prince Zifola Movie de Norha, but the prince had departed before Jin D's arrival.
"We let our guard down there."
"Yes, my deepest apologies."
"No, it couldn't be helped."
Even Laojun didn't monitor every single location and person around the world around the clock, so Jin wasn't bothered, figuring things like this happen from time to time.
"Let's see. Bringing them water is a given, but is there anything else?"
Various supplies could be sent into Hurricane via the transporter. However, that was only possible when no one outside of Hourai Island personnel was on board.
"It would be advisable to bring a Weckener."
"Though Reiko, who is accompanying Jin D, has one built into her."
"No, having a visible magi-device is also necessary in this situation."
"I see your point."
Jin then consulted with Laojun on one more thing.
"If we find someone who has been brainwashed, I wonder if we could record their knowledge onto a magi-crystal using Trans Info before dispelling it, so we can analyze it later?"
When brainwashing or Seduce was dispelled, while the victims remembered what they had done, the directives that had been given to them vanished.
Because of that, the circumstances under which they were brainwashed and the intentions behind it remained unknown, leaving them short on intelligence when formulating strategies.
"Yes, My Lord. That should be possible."
With this method, it seemed they could trace the contents of the brainwashing.
"I see, got it."
Jin felt they had taken another step forward with this.
Shortly past noon, a shadow fell over the First Prince's party as they continued southward.
"Oh, look at that!"
Hurricane cut across the sky above.
Hurricane touched down on the flat ground beside the highway.
"Jin-dono!"
First Prince Zifola, 2nd Frontier Corps Commander Gene, and the others rushed over to Hurricane.
"When I visited Resonare earlier, I was told you had already departed, so I came after you."
"You have my gratitude."
"...At the Royal Palace, a merchant was discovered who had been brainwashed into mixing mud into your drinking water."
Jin D briefly explained the sequence of events that had occurred at the Royal Palace.
"Is that so?"
The prince also confided that while they might manage for human drinking water, they were running short on water for the horses.
"Understood. Suspecting that might be the case, I brought extra. Let's get it ready right away."
Saying so, Jin D instructed Reiko and Hope to bring out the barrels filled with water.
"Jin-dono, I cannot thank you enough."
Watching the horses drink the water with relish, 2nd Frontier Corps Commander Gene bowed deeply.
"Please, have some as well."
Jin D offered them citran juice.
"Mm, delicious!"
The Hourai Island-grown citran juice was rich in vitamins, and while not as potent as Persica juice, it possessed fatigue Recovery effects.
No matter how accustomed they were, having marched for over half a day under the blazing sun, they were more exhausted than they had realized.
"From here on, Hurricane can serve as your sunshade."
"Oh, that would be a tremendous help!"
Jin D had suggested traveling to their destination aboard Hurricane, but Prince Zifola declined the invitation, stating that observing the journey was also part of his inspection.
(True, understanding the state of things along the road is important, after all.)
Traveling by Hurricane went from point to point. But traveling on horseback connected everything in a line.
(Knowledge gathered on foot, huh? I had nearly forgotten the value of such steady, diligent effort. Time for a little self-reflection.)
And it seemed Jin, who was currently piloting Jin D, gained something from this as well.
Prince Zifola's party advanced beneath Hurricane as it cruised slowly overhead.
"This is wonderful!"
Since the air was Dry, without direct sunlight beating down on them, the march was quite pleasant.
Then, almost right on schedule, they arrived at the Town of Hotoris at 4:00 PM.
Prince Zifola and Commander Gene calmed the townspeople, who were alarmed and flustered at the sight of Hurricane.
Afterward, Hurricane landed on the outskirts. Leaving Hope behind to look after the craft, Jin D and Reiko decided to lodge alongside the prince's party.
"Seems like things are going smoothly."
Jin muttered on Hourai Island as he rose from the cockpit controls of Jin D.
The time difference between the Principality and Hourai Island was nearly half a day. In other words, it was already near dawn of the following day on Hourai Island.
Deciding it was truly bad for his health, Jin left the piloting of Jin D to Laojun and decided to rest.
This decision was also spurred on by the insistence of Mini Reiko:
"Father, please leave the rest to my counterpart over there and get some rest."
The Town of Hotoris was located at the southern tip of Lake Kotsushi.
Thanks to the lake, water was abundant, allowing agriculture to flourish.
A small amount of rice, rare in the Principality, was also cultivated here.
"...Still, this 'cooking method' is..."
A sloppy, sticky pseudo-porridge—or rather, a complete failure—where the rice grains had lost their shape entirely.
(Once the Principality is at peace, we must spread the cultivation of rice along with proper recipes.)
Laojun made plans for the future, looking ahead to when Jin might visit for leisure.