Magi Craft Meister

Chapter 695

Chapter 21-07: Jin and His Companions

December 23rd, morning.

Jin, Reiko, Elsa, Edgar, and Reinhardt stood in front of the royal palace plaza in the capital, Roizart.

“Well then, Sir Reinhardt Randall, Lady Elsa Randall, I hope you fulfill your duties safely.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Empress personally handed a letter addressed to the Elias Kingdom to Reinhardt, the ambassador.

“Sir Jin Nidou, please take care of the two. I don’t think there’s any need to worry with Lady Reiko by your side, though.”

“Ah, yes.”

The Empress abruptly shifted to a more familiar tone.

“And one more thing. It seems the Bernstein will reach Potlock by evening today. So, Jin, make sure you arrive a day later, on the 24th.”

“Huh?”

Jin, who had assumed he would greet the Bernstein upon its arrival, was surprised by the Empress’s unexpected statement.

But the following explanation convinced him.

“I know your airship is fast, Jin. But if you depart later than the new ship and still arrive earlier, it might dampen their spirits.”

Indeed, flaunting superior performance needlessly isn’t a mark of honor. Jin nodded.

“Understood. I’ll adjust our arrival time in Potlock.”

Hearing Jin’s response, the Empress smiled.

In truth, after further improvements, Jin’s airship could now comfortably reach speeds of around 150 km/h using a wind-shielding barrier and a force-field generator.

＊ ＊ ＊

Then, Jin and his companions departed from Roizart on their airship.

Upon gaining altitude, they used the warp gate to transfer to Hourai Island.

Under Steward’s piloting, the airship headed towards the Elias Kingdom.

That day, their cover story was that they would be camping in the mountains or fields of the Celuroa Kingdom.

And on Hourai Island, they had a plan.

“Whoa! So this is the Orca!”

The plan was to let Reinhardt board the submarine.

“Kufu, I’m looking forward to it.”

Saki had come along, so of course, she was invited. Naturally, she didn’t refuse. This time, Jin, Elsa, Reinhardt, and Saki boarded, with Reiko as the pilot.

Since the last time, they had made improvements to the air-conditioning and oxygen supply systems.

Specifically, they realized that the oxygen in the moisture from the humidity mostly came from exhaled breath. So, simply recovering oxygen from CO₂ wasn’t sufficient.

Thus, they enhanced the system to recover oxygen from humidity and, in emergencies, even from seawater.

“If you start feeling any discomfort, let us know immediately. For emergency escape, use this warp gate…”

After a brief explanation of the emergency equipment, they set off.

“Whoa! This view is breathtaking!”

Reinhardt expressed the same amazement Jin had when he first boarded. Saki, meanwhile, was fascinated by the underwater scenery.

“Kufu, I never imagined last year that I’d see something like this.”

Currently, the Orca was traveling at a depth of about 100 meters. The gently sloping continental shelf gradually became deeper.

“Huh? What’s that?”

Around a depth of 200 meters, Reinhardt spoke up. Following his pointed finger, they saw it.

“Ah, that’s an undersea mining site.”

“Interesting…”

It was a seabed resource first discovered when they initially dove deep with the Orca, and upon further search, rich ore deposits were found scattered even in shallower areas.

The main mining operations were handled by the Mermaid Unit. At this location, Mermaids numbered 21 through 30 were busy extracting ore.

The extracted ore was sent to the Shinkai through the warp gate floating on the sea surface.

The Shinkai housed five smiths who would sort, refine, and then ship the processed materials back to Hourai Island.

Waste ore was sent back to fill in and cover the excavated pits.

“Fascinating.”

Listening to Jin’s explanation, Reinhardt was genuinely impressed.

“Have you found any interesting ores?”

Saki seemed interested in that aspect.

“We’ve only just started, so we haven’t found any rare minerals yet…”

Finding nothing visually interesting, they decided to examine the extracted ore later, and the Orca moved on.

The depth reached over 200 meters, then around 300 meters. With sunlight unable to penetrate, it grew quite dark. As they switched on the searchlights, fish illuminated by the light would dart away, providing endless entertainment.

“This is all quite intriguing… but I suppose we’ll have to head back soon.”

Reinhardt sounded a bit disappointed. After all, he wasn’t in a position to leisurely play around.

“Shall we return?”

“Yeah.”

Thus, the Orca, carrying Jin and company, turned back towards Tatsumi Bay.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Jin, it was a short time, but I had fun!”

“Yeah, I did too.”

Back on Hourai Island, Reinhardt and Saki were in high spirits.

Additionally, Saki headed to the warp gate where the undersea resources were being transported, hoping to find something unique.

“She’s just as lively as ever.”

Watching her leave, Reinhardt remarked with a fond smile.

“We’ll stay at the mansion tonight and transfer to the airship in the morning.”

Jin stated while writing the schedule on the whiteboard.

Since Hourai Island lay to the east of Potlock, careful time calculations were necessary to avoid issues later on.

“Got it. And I’m looking forward to the food on Hourai Island.”

Soleil, Luna, and Peri’s culinary skills had improved remarkably, delighting Jin’s family.

When Reinhardt and Saki tasted the miso soup placed on the table,

“Oh, it’s delicious!”

They looked surprised.

“This is different from the usual fare!”

Jin explained with a smile.

“Yeah, we made the broth properly with katsuobushi.”

It was incomparable to the food served in Roizart.

“This culture… Mitsuho, wasn’t it? They have a tradition of making things like this?”

“Indeed. Apparently, they have many other unique items as well.”

Reinhardt looked intrigued but knew he had to go to the Elias Kingdom.

“Well, we’ll learn more soon.”

John Denny had infiltrated, so more information would arrive in time.

＊ ＊ ＊

As planned, Jin and the others departed from Hourai Island on December 24th at noon.

“Jin, Reinhardt, Elsa, Reiko, Edgar, take care. I’ll be here enjoying sorting the ores.”

With Saki seeing them off, the group stepped into the warp gate.

In an instant, they emerged aboard the airship, piloted by Steward.

“Steward, where are we now?”

“Currently passing over the Egelea Kingdom, approaching the Elias Kingdom.”

Looking down, they saw the vast blue sea and a large peninsula.

“Alright, lower the altitude a bit.”

“Understood.”

They descended to an altitude of about 400 meters, visible from the ground.

Few people looked up at the sky, so they reached Potlock by 3 PM local time with minimal disturbance.

As they approached the familiar central plaza, it seemed the Empress had informed the city, as a welcoming ceremony was ready.

“There’s quite a crowd.”

Jin felt a bit overwhelmed.

The plaza was filled with people, leaving only a space for the airship to land.

“Well, of course. We’re the first to arrive by air.”

The Elias Kingdom hadn’t experienced the “Unifier” upheaval, so they’d never seen a hot air balloon.

“If we had arrived before the Bernstein, their achievement would’ve lost its impact…”

Realizing the Empress’s foresight, Jin felt deeply impressed.

And so, welcomed by the roaring cheers of the crowd, the airship slowly landed in the center of the plaza.