Only a single bomb had been planted inside the castle of Norha Principality, located in the western spire.
"So the one Reiko found was the only one?"
"Yes, My Lord."
Piloting Jin D from Hourai Island, Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, three more have been discovered outside the castle."
"What?!"
"All of them are low in power. However, they will produce loud noises and generate dense smoke."
"Are these also meant to cause confusion?"
"I believe it is safe to assume so."
If such explosions occurred in the middle of town, people would suspect an infiltration by enemy operatives. Furthermore, extensive searches would likely be conducted to prevent further harm. Naturally, that would skew the deployment of soldiers, leaving other areas thinly guarded.
"That is most likely the intention of whoever planted these 'bombs.'"
"Hmm..."
Until now, the enemies Jin had faced had favored far more direct assaults. This was the first time he had encountered a foe who relied so heavily on underhanded methods.
"This is tricky to deal with..."
Finding himself forced entirely onto the defensive made Jin scowl. However, that was somewhat inevitable. Jin had only recently become involved in the internal affairs of the Four Principalities, a region shaped by centuries of history.
Using Jin D, Jin reported these facts to the leadership of Norha Principality.
"Wh-What did you say?!"
"B-Bombs?!"
"J-Just who on earth could have done such a thing?!"
"It goes without saying. It could only be the Jagus Principality."
As expected, the gathered officials were shocked and indignant upon learning the truth.
"Fortunately, Reiko is able to detect them."
In truth, it was Laojun, but Jin framed it that way since explaining the reality would be too troublesome. Besides, Reiko could also sense them at close range, so it was not an outright lie.
"Oh, as expected of the legendary Lady Reiko!"
"To think I would witness a glimpse of that legendary power with my own eyes...!!"
Everyone was moved to the point of practically worshipping Reiko.
"Because they are dangerous, let us drop the recovered items into a deep pit."
Much like with hand grenades, if an explosive detonated at the bottom of a deep hole, the blast would direct harmlessly upward, reducing the overall danger... or so the logic went. Jin had read about that long ago in a wartime manga.
With that in mind, Jin D used "Dig" to excavate a pit one meter wide and ten meters deep in an open lot far from the castle, reinforcing the walls with "Toughening" so they would not collapse.
"This should do. Let us discard the discovered bombs in here."
"Y-Yes, quite."
The onlookers stared wide-eyed at the sheer speed of Jin D's work.
Then, Jin D set about disposing of the explosives.
"First is this one."
They began with the watchtower where the initial device had been found. Since the task was dangerous, Reiko went to retrieve it.
"Well then, I shall be right back."
Leaving those words behind, Reiko dashed up the stairs. In less than twenty seconds, she descended carrying a magi-device roughly the size of a tissue box.
To ensure no harm would come to the surroundings if it went off, she deployed a small, hemispherical barrier from the palms of both hands, enveloping the bomb. Furthermore, before even touching the device, she had activated a "magic canceller," forcefully reverting the internal mana back into free ether so that it could not be triggered under any circumstances.
"All right, go place it at the bottom of the pit."
"Yes."
Reiko leaped down to the bottom of the pit, set the bomb down gently, and bounded back out in a single leap.
"That takes care of that one."
Collective sighs of relief escaped the onlookers.
Following the same procedure, Jin D and Reiko disposed of the three bombs found throughout the town as well.
"That completes the task."
"Y-Yes. Jin-dono, Lady Reiko, you have my deepest gratitude."
Duke Keith Tennick de Norha bowed his head to Jin D and Reiko.
"Now then, I would like to analyze what kind of bombs these are."
At Jin D's words, the gathered crowd was struck with astonishment. If one were to accidentally explode, Jin would certainly not emerge unscathed.
"There is no need to worry. I am an expert, after all."
In reality, its functions had been halted by the "magic canceller," any blast would be blocked by a "barrier," and Jin D was not a living body to begin with, so there was no real cause for concern. However, since the onlookers were unaware of these precautions, the situation looked alarming from an outside perspective.
Between Jin D's confident assertion and their own lack of knowledge to mount a counterargument, the leaders of Norha Principality had no choice but to reluctantly concede.
Though he could have simply jumped down, Jin D used a rope just to keep up appearances, descended into the pit, and immediately began his analysis.
"Let's see... 'Analyze.' 'Forming.' 'Analyze.'...I see, I see."
To put the anxious onlookers at ease, Jin D climbed back out of the pit after about thirty seconds.
"Thank goodness. It was dangerous after all, so you decided against the analysis, didn't you?"
Minister of Magic Miko Bee Saffron spoke to Jin D with a look of relief. However...
"No, I finished, so I came back up."
At those words, everyone's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Well, these bombs are a remote type... or rather, they explode upon receiving a specific mana signature. When they do, they produce a loud noise and spew out a massive amount of smoke. Furthermore, that smoke is toxic."
"What did you say?!"
"T-To think you could determine that much in such a short time..."
"Should we praise Jin-dono, or should we be enraged by such heinous devices...?"
The gathered officials wore conflicted expressions.
"Under the circumstances, let us dig the pit even deeper and destroy them."
Dismantling was dangerous. Leaving them be was out of the question. Even if they tried to discard them elsewhere, it would be pointless if they detonated during transport. For that reason, Jin D decided to destroy them right here on the spot.
"Reiko, if you would."
"Yes....'Thunder Javelin.'"
Reiko unleashed lightning-attribute magic. With that, the bombs at the bottom of the pit were completely disintegrated, leaving not a trace of their original form behind.
Thus, the bomb scare came to an end.
...Or so it seemed.
In truth, the bombs had already been safely dismantled into separate parts, secretly retrieved by Jin D, and replaced with dummies. The dismantled bombs would later be sent to Hourai Island via the Warp Gate aboard Hurricane.
Gauging the enemy's technological level was vital. For that reason, Laojun would proceed with a thorough analysis.