Magi Craft Meister

Magi Craft Meister 597

18 Further Progress Arc

18-17 A Report and What's to Come

"By the way, I'd like to enjoy a hot bath as well."

"Please ask the village chief about that…"

Jin had already donated the entire bath facility he had built to the village.

Then, he remembered that there was one more thing he needed to talk about with the Empress.

"Actually, there's something I'd like to discuss with you in private."

Upon hearing that, the Empress let out a mischievous chuckle.

"Oh? Am I about to get a move made on me?"

Jin was completely taken aback.

"P-Please stop."

Elsa, who was sitting next to him, involuntarily grabbed Jin's arm.

"Ouch…. Elsa?"

As Elsa's grip started to feel painful, Jin stared straight at her, completely confused.

"Ah-I… I'm sorry…"

Elsa blushed and let go. Seeing that, the Empress nodded and then let out a single "hmph", as if she could see beyond her reaction.

"I'm sorry, I'm just joking. …Well, everyone, please wait outside until I say you can come back."

Although there were a few exchanges, there was no questioning of the Empress' orders, and so everyone, including the escort knight, went out of the tent.

The only ones left inside were the Empress, Jin, Elsa, Reiko, and Edgar.

"Is this okay?"

"Thank you."

After a brief pause, Jin opened his mouth once again.

"Actually, it's about the demons."

"Oh, I thought as much. Have you found anything?"

There, Jin briefly explained the series of events that began with Shion and Istalis asking Jin for help.

For the time being, Jin thought it prudent to omit the part where he arranged for Istalis' rescue from her imprisonment in the Frantz Kingdom.

Moreover, he also chose to avoid talking about No. 700672, which made things slightly harder to explain, but Jin still managed to deliver a convincing report.

"…I see."

The Empress' face looked like she was thinking hard about all this new information.

Jin had expected that the fact that the demons -who have always been considered a sworn enemy of mankind- actually shared the same ancestors with mankind would be hard to accept.

"…"

After a moment of silence, the Empress finally opened her mouth.

"…To be honest with you, Jin, this wasn't something I could immediately accept. …Who else knows about this?"

Jin named Elsa, Saki, Toa, Reinhardt and his wife, Stearleana, Vivian, and Mine.

"All of them are your acquaintances, huh… Well, if you say so, I'll believe it."

The Empress made another pause followed by a sigh, then continued speaking.

"Listen, Jin. Do you think you could leave the task of passing this information along to each of the other countries to me?"

"S-Sure."

Jin agreed that the story would be much more credible if the Empress of a country were to be the one to tell it as opposed to doing it himself, so he immediately nodded to the Empress' suggestion.

"You know, one of the reasons I ask you this is because of the different race of people that live on the other side of the Harihari Desert."

"Ah, they were the ones who invaded these lands a long time ago, right?"

Jin remembered hearing that, soon after the Great Magic War, they invaded the impoverished Small League of Nations.

"These people I speak of look exactly like the ones from the 'servant race' you've described just now. Dark brown hair and eyes, and dark skin."

According to No. 700672, those from the now referred to as "servant race" by the demons had been taken north from these southlands, so Jin agreed that there was no mistake there. They had to be from that same race.

"Those… "original ones" you mentioned… When they came to this world, it was around our Stone Age, correct?"

The concept of "Stone Age" was something they had learned from Fuhrer as well.

And sure enough, No. 700672 had said that the natives of this world used tools made of stone.

"That being said, 300 years ago, these people had quite a few weapons. They themselves couldn't use magic, but they had their giant Golems, which are now ancient relics, at their disposal, along with other Magi Devices."

What the Empress meant to say was that the people of this particular race had made great progress in the last few thousands of years. Perhaps the "original ones" from Hale had shared some of their knowledge as compensation for taking some of their people to the northern continent.

"That's why we, the Shouro Empire as a country, have a basis to believe in what you say. But what about other countries? Knowing that these people are weakened, some of the other countries may want to attack them instead."

"I see…"

Humans fight even among their own kind. There was no way that they would just accept the fact that the demons, who have until now been nothing but hostile towards mankind, actually shared the same ancestors with them, and that it was possible to coexist peacefully.

"So, here's what I personally think. That… Great Isthmus of Pazdext, you said it was called? It would be better for all of us if you could watch over that place to make sure that no fight between humans and demons ensues, don't you think? If you yourself can't do it, Jin, then maybe you could… ask Lord Deus Ex Makina to help you with that.

"A-Ah…"

Jin couldn't tell how far the Empress, who was known for having a keen intuition, understood how Jin and Deus Ex Makina were related to each other, but her advise itself had made a lot of sense, so he concluded that he'd consult with Laojun later so that they could come up with a course of action towards the management of the Great Isthmus of Pazdext.

＊ ＊ ＊

The escort knight, Minister Degauss, and the secretary were called back into the room before Jin moved on to the next topic.

"I'd like to set up a dessicant processing plant in Kartze Village, if possible."

Jin then briefly explained his reasons for this.

"I know that there are many relatively dry regions in the Shouro Empire, but I think having a way to manufacture desiccant will come in handy in the southern part of the country, which is next to the sea, as well for the neighboring Celuroa Kingdom, and the Elias Kingdom to the south."

"Hmm, it would be nice if we could get our hands on some of that limestone."

Degauss agreed.

"Your Majesty, I think it would be safe to say that this will definitely promote our country's industry. I believe Reinhardt would be the most suited for the job, considering Sir Jin's cooperation thus far…"

"Yes, you're right. I'll allow it, Jin."

The conversation progressed even though Reinhardt himself wasn't there. However, Jin would later talk about it later with Reinhardt through Mana Comm, so he believed he wouldn't have any complaints about this plan.

"Sir Jin Nidou, we'll leave that to you then."

"Understood."

With this, all the business talks that Jin had planned to have with the Empress had been taken care of.

"So, Sir Jin Nidou, I wonder what would be a good reward for you."

The Empress pondered.

"Territory? A promotion perhaps? Which one would you like, Sir?"

The Empress smiled mischievously as she asked Jin. Then she waited for his reply.

"I'd actually like to decline both…."

"Well then, let me at least give 1 million tor as a reward. I'll give it to you the next time you come to Loizart. …Make a note of this."

The last words were for the secretary. The reward would be taken from the national treasury so as not to put pressure on the already troubled Magiroots Village's finances.

That night, the Empress was to stay in the marquee.

"But before I go to bed, I really want to take a bath."

Feeling a bit troubled, the village chief quickly arranged for a bath for the Empress.

Jin also helped by boiling the water. After all, without his "Heat" spell, the cost in fuel needed to get the water hot enough for a bath wouldn't have been small.

(I'll look into making a Magic Tool for boiling water later.)

And Jin was already thinking of a way to reduce those costs with Magi Technology.

＊ ＊ ＊

The next day, the Empress reluctantly left Magiroots Village. She had already scheduled visits to two other villages after this one.

The entire village had gathered to see the Empress off.

"Jin, let's meet again at Loizart."

Those were the words that the Empress had left behind.

Both the tax collector Flix Becker and the village chief were relieved that there had been no mention of their embezzling.

However, the truth was that the Empress' secretary had actually noticed their actions, and upon their return to the capital, both of them would receive a light reprimand. But none of that would have any real consequence in our main story.

Jin's blimp landed on the outskirts of the village.

"Well then, shall we get going as well?"

Jin started carrying luggage to the airship. Though in an unexpected manner, he had managed to report everything that had happened directly to the Empress, so all that was left for him to do was to go to Reinhardt's territory.

"Master Jin, are you sure you want us to stay here?"

"I… Maybe it's better if at least I go with you…"

Both Barrow and Belle seemed troubled.

"Ah, don't worry about me. You've been waiting for so long to come back to your hometown. All you need to worry about now is enjoying yourselves here."

"…Thank you very much."

Finally, Jin turned to Barrow with a concerned look on his face.

"Barrow, take good care of Belle."

"Yes, of course! She's like family to me already."

Belle blushed, and Barrow answered to her reaction with a warm smile. This interaction between the two brought a bright smile to Jin's face as well.

"Then, I'll come pick you up in about half a month."

"Okay. Take care, Master Jin, Lady Elsa."

Jin, Elsa, Reiko and Edgar boarded the blimp.

Looking up as the blimp slowly began to take off, Barrow and Belle waved at them.

"Have a safe trip!"

Barrow and Belle watched the blimp getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared in the distance.