On the morning of August 14th, Jin took his leave of Taji Village amidst reluctant farewells.
The entire village turned out to see Eagle 1 off, led by Village Chief Sergei, his daughter Helga, and Helga's childhood friend Isaac.
"Well then, time to head back to Hourai Island and swap with Jin D."
Using the onboard Warp Gate, Jin returned to Hourai Island. In his place, Jin D boarded Eagle 1.
Since they were separated by approximately 110 degrees of longitude, the time difference was around seven hours and twenty minutes. Furthermore, the distance was roughly 1,500 kilometers, meaning even Eagle 1 would take about eight hours to make the journey.
In other words, it would not merely be nighttime, but the dead of night when it arrived in the Norha Principality.
Factoring in that timeline, Jin had decided to return to Hourai Island.
"Welcome home, My Lord."
"I'm back. Has anything happened while I was away?"
"No, nothing in particular. Ah, there is one matter. Regarding those 'seeds,' around twenty of them have sprouted."
"Oh, really?"
"We cannot yet determine what species they are, but there is no doubt they are dicotyledons."
A dicotyledon referred to any plant that sprouted with a pair of embryonic leaves—cotyledons—upon germinating from seed.
Morning glories were a classic example of a dicotyledon.
Other examples included legumes, cherry trees, plum trees, rapeseed, walnuts, and chestnuts.
Incidentally, there were also monocotyledons, which encompassed rice, wheat, lilies, daffodils, and orchids.
Generally speaking, plants whose leaf veins ran in parallel without branching were monocotyledons, while those with branched, netting veins were dicotyledons.
"I see. Then it'll be a little while longer before we can tell what kind of plants they are."
"Yes, My Lord."
Wrapping up that topic, Jin considered what he should do next and decided to carry out the idea he had come up with the other day: paying Rolona a visit to consult her about agriculture.
He would take Pegasus 2, accompanied by Mini Reiko.
"We're already here."
Since they had traveled to the Gondoa Continent via transporter, the journey took only about ten minutes.
Assuming Rolona would be in the All-Creation Clan territory, Jin directed Pegasus 2 there.
Mini Reiko took the controls, once again operating the craft via direct-connection mode.
Since he had sent word ahead—even if only about fifteen minutes prior, just before leaving Hourai Island—Sion had also come out to the airfield to greet him.
"Long time no see, Jin."
"Welcome, Jin-san."
"It's been a while, Jin-san."
Knowing Jin disliked noisy crowds, the welcoming party consisted of only three people: Rolona, Sion, and Lordtoss.
"I heard briefly when you messaged us, but are you really considering agricultural development in the west?"
Rolona inquired right away.
"Yes, that's right."
"In any case, we can't talk out here. Let's head inside."
As Rolona and Jin began talking shop immediately, Sion chided them and ushered the group toward the house.
Jin was invited into the residence of the All-Creation Clan Chief, where tea was promptly served in the parlor.
Jin laid out the situation once more.
"...So, to give you a brief summary of the background..."
"...I see, so that's how things stand. Still, that 'Origin' technology sounds truly fascinating."
After listening to the explanation, Rolona expressed deep admiration for the Progenitors' technology.
"Yes. We're still investigating it, but once we finish analyzing everything, I believe it will have plenty of practical applications."
"I trust your judgment on that, Jin-san."
With that, they moved on to the main topic: discussing the future of agriculture in the Principality.
"I see. So up until now, they've been producing grains—or rather, food in general—under those constraints."
Taking the current circumstances into account, Rolona said she wanted to brainstorm what steps should be taken moving forward.
"It will likely prove difficult to introduce completely new crops all at once. Agriculture is inherently conservative work, after all."
"I see."
In this context, "conservative" carried no political connotation whatsoever; it simply meant "resistant to sudden change."
"First of all... well, if rainfall is going to increase, wouldn't it be best to gradually expand the cultivated acreage and plant new crops in the newly added areas?"
"I see, that makes sense. Keep growing the traditional crops in the established fields, and use the newly cleared land for new varieties."
Jin thought that was a clear, straightforward approach.
"Ah, but of course, clearing land should be done by manual labor, all right? If you were to bring in your golems, Jin-san, things would spiral out of control in no time."
"R-Right, of course."
Jin was well aware of that himself.
"As for specific crop varieties, the climate there is far too different from ours, so I'm afraid I won't be of much help. My apologies."
"Ah, no, please don't worry about it."
As expected, the suitable crops differed too drastically between the frigid Nord Federation and the tropical climate of the Four Principalities.
"It's more than enough if you can just share your thoughts on the general direction."
Saying so, Jin prompted Rolona to continue.
"Right. Next would be livestock, wouldn't it?"
"Yes."
"Over here, we use capri—an animal somewhere between a goat and a cow—to clear away weeds. But with the work of that 'Master,' weeds won't be much of an issue, will they?"
"That seems to be the case."
"How wonderful... In that case, it would probably be best to start with livestock that can feed on the stems and leaves left over from harvested crops."
"Ah, I see."
In that sense, Rolona explained, it would be wiser to start with capri or sheepa—a type of wild sheep raised for their wool and meat.
Fully domesticated livestock tended to be picky, refusing to eat anything other than pasture grass.
"On that front, capri and sheepa will gladly eat straw and bran—the chaff left behind when milling wheat."
Their milk and fleece would be useful, and their meat could be eaten as well, Rolona added.
"That really does sound ideal. They're hardy and easy to raise, right?"
"Yes....In fact, on seaside pastures, you wouldn't even need to provide them with salt licks."
"Ah, because of the trace amounts of salt in the sea air and grass."
"Yes, exactly."
On mountainous ranches, cattle were often given salt licks.
The salt-feeding grounds at Utsukushigahara Ranch were quite famous, known for stones worn hollow from cattle repeatedly licking the salt placed upon them.
Jin was deeply grateful to have been able to consult her on such matters.
"As expected, the advice of someone with hands-on experience in the field is invaluable."
Jin meant that from the bottom of his heart.
"My, aren't you the flatterer, Jin-san?"
"No, I truly mean it. Even if both involve 'making' things, I'm a complete amateur when it comes to farming."
"Fufu, but in exchange, no one in the world can hold a candle to you when it comes to 'manufacturing,' Jin-san."
Rolona chuckled warmly.