"At that time, <> was a fairly well-known group worldwide. <."
"I see."
It seems that the <> became a major force at once because of such technical, economic, and human resource bases.
"So to speak, it's like the Unification Party without the ambition to conquer the world."
"You could say that.
The aims to contribute to the world with purely magical technology, while Avalon aims for even greater heights through the fusion of science and magic. In between them is the nostalgia party (Nostalgia).
Such a composition came to Jin's mind.
"But the most amazing thing is that Golbert Malkitas found out about the existence of Horai Island. I can only guess how ...... he found out, but I'll tell you later."
"Yes, I know."
The founding executives such as Donald and Jules must not have known about the existence of Horai Island. The only one who knew about it was Elena.
Speaking of which, what's going on with Elena?
"She was alive and well when I went to sleep. As a symbol of nostalgia.
It was a well-known fact that Elena was an automata because she never aged.
And the creation of an automata like Elena was the goal of the magical engineers of the world.
I digress. ...... So the <> developed a golem technology quite different from your mother's."
Jin guessed that this was the <>.
"They were much easier to make than our mother's, and quickly became popular.
He said that the same structure and configuration can be used for everything from low performance to high performance.
"It is true that the Adriana system is not suitable for low performance.
Rather, if you build it, it will definitely be high performance.
"Yes. That's why beginners and intermediates are switching to them.
Oh, so you're saying they just went with the easy way out.
Yes. That's why there are now factions in the magical engineering world.
I don't think that's a bad thing.
"And because of this technology, the value of the Golem has dropped dramatically."
It sounds bad, but the point is that the price dropped and it started to spread to the general public.
"It would have been nice if the factions could have had a friendly competition, but instead, each had its own that wanted to kick each other down the road."
Jin let out a sigh in his heart.
"...... In the midst of all this, Golbert Markitas, the leader of the extremist faction and head of the League of Magic, has created a magical tool."
"What is it?"
It was called the Magi Emulator.
"Magi Emulator"? ...... from the name, reproduce ...... magic power?"
If that were possible, all authentication by magic power would be meaningless. Jin shuddered.
"Yes, that's right. The old man guessed that perhaps you used the magickal emulator to make the fifth column (quinta) follow you and extract the information from you."
"What?" ......
"After learning of the existence of this magical tool, the old man sent all the fifth column (quinta) back to Horai Island. There are two unreturned 5th line quintas. One is Spica 5, also known as . The other was Mira 2, also known as <.
You mean those two were captured?
"Yes. We can't communicate with them and we can't locate them.
The old man decided that they had either disappeared or were inside the magic-impermeable wards.
"Then, I took a countermeasure based on the assumption that it is more likely that it is inside the magic-impermeable field.
Jin frowned.
"But that would have been tough, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, it was. It's a good thing that I and the old man recognized and identified not only your father's magic, but also his voice and face. ......"
So the fifth column has been captured.
"Perhaps."
Jin now had a rough idea of what was going on.
The information on Horai Island must have been extracted from those two bodies.
"Currently, the old man is protecting Horai Island by completely sealing it off. He is waiting for your father's return.
"I see..."
Thus Jin understood the meaning of Zion's words, <>.
"Umm...... then, what about the Kunlun Island?"
"Yes, that one is ......."
On the other hand, the Kunlun Island is open to the public, with dignitaries staying at the Jade Pavilion and Wujinggaku, and has not been touched.
"However, all the warp gates including <> have been stopped, so it is impossible to go to Horai Island by transfer. Akitsu-san has taken the precaution of moving the entire facility to the basement of the Great Sahara Desert.
"Well done. And the Watcher?
They've been deactivated and evacuated to the moon.
They won't make it to outer space, but they're taking precautionary measures.
"Okay. That's fine."
Now that we have a general idea of the current situation that Horai Island is in, the next step is to find out more about the enemy.
As for this, Reiko, who was asleep, does not know the latest information. .......
"Why don't you retrieve the control core of the enemy golem you just defeated and check it out?
"Well, I recovered the control cores from the two that came near the hole. I have no detailed information about them.
"I see. ......"
That's not a problem, Jin said. It was impossible for a terminal golem to have detailed information.
"Anyway, let's go to Zion's place and talk about what we're going to do.
"Okay."
Pegasus 2 flew back to the Nord Federation in about the same amount of time as he had arrived.
"Jin, welcome back! Rako, it's been a long time! Lo, thank you for your hard work."
"Jin-sama, welcome back! I see you found Reiko safely.
<
Jin is a little embarrassed by his rather grandiose departure a few hours ago, but Zion and the others do not seem to mind.
They were honestly happy that Jin had found Reiko and returned safely.
"I'm back. Thanks to you I found Reiko.
"Yes, I'm glad."
Sion looked at Reiko who was standing close to Jin, and Marikka looked at Hanako who was following right behind Reiko, and each of them narrowed their eyes.
Jin, too, felt much better now that he and Reiko had Pegasus 2 in their possession.
"I'm starting to understand the situation a little better now. I'd like to hear what Theon and the others have to say.
"Yes, of course. Come on in."
* * *
At 6:00 p.m., Jin had finished bathing and was sitting in the dining room of Zion's house, refreshed. Reiko was behind him. She was in a good mood, having washed Jin's back for the first time in a long time.
"Here you go."
Zion came in. Maricka followed soon after. Rhodes has not arrived.
When Theon took his seat, the maids prepared the dinner.
The menu consisted of white rice, miso soup with fu and Japanese leeks, meat topopo, grilled toroto (loach), boiled shrimp in soy sauce, and oshinko (Japanese pickles).
No sake as I have an important talk later.
"This kind of menu can be found at ......."
I learned it from an old djinn. ...... from a golem maid, to be exact.
"I knew it."
We can make fu since we have flour and the Nordic Federation is now a major producer of topopo.
"Yes, it's delicious."
The miso soup was delicious, with a broth made from dried bonito flakes.
Reiko looks at Jin as he eats his Japanese food, half happily, half regretfully.
"Tell me more after the meal."
"Yes, sure. Anything you can answer.
Zion smiled softly, saying that they should enjoy the meal for now.