The next morning after Jin returned to Kaina Village after a long time.
âAh, what a nostalgic smell.â
The smell of unripe wheat. The smell of the householdsâ cooking. The smell of trees. The smell of the wind. Jin breathed in a lungful of it all.
After breakfast in Marthaâs house, Jin brought up what he had decided upon yesterday.
âI was thinking about seeing Elsa off after this and going back to the research laboratory for now.â
The first one to reply was Hannah.
âOnii-chan, youâre going back?â
Jin who had thought she might say that at once added,
âDo you want to come along too, Hannah?â
Hearing that, Hannah nearly jumped with joy.
âEh, really!? With onii-chan, to his house?â
âYeah, as long as itâs alright with Martha-san.â
Before he had finished speaking Hannah had already run over to Martha and asked her while gasping.
âGrandma, hey, grandma! Itâs alright if I go to onii-chanâs house, alright?â
Martha smiled faintly and said,
âAh, itâs alright. But donât cause any trouble for Jin, got it?â
âYeah! Iâll do as onii-chan says!â
And so it was decided that Jin would return to Hourai Island, bringing Hannah too with him.
âWell then, Hannah, it may be uncomfortable but could I have you cover up your eyes until weâre there?â
âYeah, su~re!â
Knowing how to go to there and such could direct unwanted trouble to Hannah, so Jin suggested this out of concern but Hannah only gladly accepted the idea.
Jin carried the blindfolded Hannah on his back. Just that pleased Hannah and she said,
âOnii-chanâs house. I canât wait~â
And so on and so on, she was in high spirits the whole trip on Jinâs back. Elsa who was walking next to them looked at Hannah and smiled fondly.
Meanwhile they exited the villageâs borders and soon arrived at the shelter which had the Warp Gate in it.
âIâm sure I came out of here too. And yet, after I left I couldnât find the place any more.â
Elsa said and explained what happened the other day. Jin replied apologetically.
âAh, thatâs because thereâs quite a few barriers put up to prevent anyone from carelessly wandering in.â
âIs that, so?â
âThatâs right. Thereâs a barrier to hide the entrance. A barrier to protect against intruders. Barrier to prevent magical detection. Although none of them have any effect when coming out from the inside.â
Elsa tilted her head in puzzlement after Jinâs explanation,
âBut, then Jin-nii canât go in either.â
She voiced her problem. Jin also explained that.
âMy Magic Energy pattern is the only exception. Thereâs an infinite variety of Magic Energy patterns so thereâs hardly any people with the same one. Thatâs why no one except for me and the golems Iâve made can use it.â
Jin said and extremely naturally reached out towards a place that seemed to have nothing in it and made a show of opening the door.
Although Elsa couldnât see it. Because the Magic Energy in the brooch wasnât enough. Jin then took Elsaâs hand.
âAh.â
Elsa let out a voice in surprise.
The second Jinâs hand grasped hers, an open door appeared in front of Elsa. The door she had gone out of the day before yesterday. The door to return, which she couldnât find no matter how long she searched for it.
âCome on, letâs go home.â
Jin said and led Elsa into the shelter by hand through the door. Reiko also followed them. And although they couldnât be seen, the SP dedicated for Hannah, Iris and Azalea also followed.
The group first went to Hourai Island using the Warp Gate, then subsequently warped to Kunlun Island.
Once they got outside, Jin took off Hannahâs blindfold. Hannah who had been quiet ever since they had approached the shelter once again opened her mouth.
âWow! This is onii-chanâs house?â
âYeah, thatâs right. How we got here, thatâs a secret. Got it? And donât tell anyone other than Martha-san about this, alright? If you can promise that then Iâll bring you along some time again.â
âYeah! I promise! I wonât tell anyone! Itâs a secret between onii-chan and me!â
Hannah happily promised.
âElsa! Jin-sama!â
And then Mine came running. Despite what she said, she had probably been worried about Elsa after all.
âWho?â
Hannah looked dubious and asked.
âSheâs Elsaâs mother.â
âEh? Then sheâs onii-chanâs mother?â
âNo, me and Elsa arenât related by blood. And so Mine is just Elsaâs mother.â
âHuuhâŠâ
Just how much of that Hannah understood was unknown, but she nodded once and intently stared at Elsa, then Mine who was hugging Elsa.
Mine had spoken with Elsa about something, but now turned to Hannah and,
âHannah-chan, right? I am Mine. Iâm Elsaâs mother. It seems youâve helped out my Elsa, thank you very much.â
She said and lightly bowed her head. Hannah then blushed a little and replied only,
âY-youâre welcome.â
âWell then, Iâve got to go do some work. Iâll be back in an hour or two.â
Jin said so in front of the mansion, then Mine spoke.
âJin-sama, I apologize for the inconvenience Elsa caused you. Please let me have the responsibility of taking care of Hannah.â
This was a godsend to Jin who was thinking of having Reiko do that and,
âThen Iâll trust her to you, okay?â
She left Hannah in Mineâs care. Then,
âHannah, sorry, but for just a little while, Iâve got a bit of work to do so could you please wait?â
Jin said to Hannah while looking concerned. Mine thought seeing Jin like that was unusual.
And then,
âYeah! Thatâs okay! Iâll wait!â
Hannah replied cheerfully. Jin was relieved.
âJin-nii, itâs alright. Iâll be with her too.â
As Elsa also said so, Jin could return to Hourai Island at ease.
âCeluroa Kingdomâs army is pressuring Egelia Kingdomâs army.â
âFrantz Kingdomâs army is overpowering Cline Kingdomâs army.â
Information was sent in from the battlegrounds.
âHa ha, just as weâve plotted.â
Then another voice spoke. It appeared to have come through some communication device resembling a ManaCom.
âThe current declined countries canât win against ancient technology, can they?â
âAh, Elena. Did something happen over there?â
âNo, nothing. Itâs just that thereâs someone very interesting in the city I am currently in.â
âHm? Who is it?â
âThe Magi Craftsman of Shouro Empire, Reinhardt.â
âWhat? You mean the Magi Craftsman Marcello once captured?â
âYes. It seems he arrived here in Astan yesterday.â
âHm. Thatâs where Donald was too, right?â
âYes, heâs with me.â
âIn that case, Elena, could you somehow try to meet with that fellow?â
âIt seems possible. We should be able to just apply [Seduce] to someone in Reinhardtâs employ.â
âIn that case, please give it a try.â
âI understand. Should he be captured?â
âIâll leave that decision to you, Elena. If you think heâs got any use value then capture him. If you think otherwise⊠Erase him.â
âAs you wish. It would be preferable if he was of some use, wouldnât it? For Reinhardt, and for us.â