Magi Craft Meister

Chapter 708 21-19 New Year’s Eve in Horai Island

Naturally, the New Year comes to Hourai Island as well.

After enjoying New Year’s Day in Kaina Village, Jin and Elsa arrived on Hourai Island that same evening.

“My Lord, Happy New Year,”

“Happy New Year,”

“Happy New Year.”

The golem host “Laozi,” who oversees Hourai Island, and all the other golems greeted them.

“Ah—Happy New Year. I look forward to working with you again this year,” Jin replied.

“Yes, of course.”

“Since it’s the New Year, I thought I’d share my resolutions for this year.”

“I am all ears.”

“First, I want to make Kunlun Island officially part of my domain.”

“What do you mean, Brother Jin?” Elsa asked, naturally puzzled. After all, only Jin and his family knew about Kunlun Island, and there was no other force in sight that could seize it from them.

“By ‘officially,’ I mean I want to have the other nations formally recognize it.”

“I understand. You wish to keep Hourai Island hidden by putting up Kunlun as a decoy, correct?” Laozi asked.

“Exactly.”

After all, Kunlun Island had originally been developed as a dummy stand‐in for Hourai. In that story, Jin and his master were said to live there.

“Given the current state of affairs, most nations would probably accept that. But the real issues will be the Celuroa Kingdom and the Franz Kingdom.”

“Understood. But before we discuss that, I have another goal.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Next, I want to restore the old Leonard Kingdom and install Ernest and Riese as king and queen.”

“I see. So you plan to place rulers related by blood to both the adjacent Klein Kingdom and the Egelea Kingdom.”

Laozi clearly grasped Jin’s plan.

“Right: Kunlun Island lies to the east of the old Leonard Kingdom. If I help found Leonard again, there shouldn’t be any territorial conflict.”

“That makes sense.” Elsa nodded, recognizing the reasoning.

“Moreover, we could establish a direct route between Klein and Egelea without passing through Celuroa.”

“A fine ambition. It will give us a clear course of action.”

Now that he understood Jin’s objectives, Laozi could operate more effectively.

“Indeed. And just after the New Year, there’s already word that delegates from the Klein Kingdom will come to investigate the old Leonard Kingdom.”

“Yes. We’ve learned they plan to depart on January 3. One member is Gloria, and Counselor Roland will accompany them. From the Shouro Empire, Fritz will arrive at the head of the Goliath to cooperate.”

“Brother?”

Elsa’s own brother Fritz had been responsible for delivering “desiccant” aboard the Goliath to the Klein Kingdom—now he would be leading the Shouro delegation.

Roland, as a merchant, had visited the old Leonard Kingdom several times and would serve as guide and negotiator. But drafting a civilian in this way hinted at a shortage of skilled personnel.

“And in the Franz Kingdom, there is a resistance organization, isn’t there?”

“Yes. We have infiltrated Regulus 41.”

“That’s good. For example, when Leonard is restored, we could welcome these dissatisfied elements as citizens.”

“I understand. In that case, we could also make use of ‘Nostalgia,’ the Old‐Guard faction.”

“Indeed.”

Then Jin continued:

“The rest is minor detail, so it might not count as a true ‘resolution.’”

“But please tell me,” Elsa asked.

“All right. I need to manage resources carefully and consider environmental impact.”

“…You’ve been thinking about that?”

Elsa referred to her earlier comment: when the “orca” golem was made, she had pointed out how Hourai Island’s resources were being consumed.

“A little, yes. But most of it was necessary. I don’t want to think of it as wasteful…”

At the end, his voice grew quiet.

“And to address that, I’d like to study free magical essence Ether more deeply.”

“…Why?”

“In the world I used to be in, energy shortages were a major problem. Even here, consider how free magical essence Ether was drastically reduced by the Ether‐Stampede incident. It doesn’t seem inexhaustible.”

Although they now used it freely as a clean energy source, if it ever ran out, the very foundation of this world would be shaken, Jin had begun to realize.

“I understand. So far, we know its distribution in the ocean is about the same as in the atmosphere, and even up to the stratosphere it stays nearly constant with the surface level.”

“Right—good news, certainly. It likely exists to some degree in space as well. But we still don’t understand why it’s abundant in the north and scarce in the south—even that is unknown.”

“Then why not ask Servant No. 700672?”

“Servant 700672” was a homunculus—the first artificial lifeform created by the original mage “Origin.” He was arguably the oldest being in the Ars World.

“Hm… I feel ashamed to turn to him just because I don’t know. I don’t want to become dependent on him.”

“Father, isn’t this time an exception?” Reiko suggested. “This concerns the very core of our world.”

“Indeed, my lord—I agree. You can’t leave a question of this magnitude unanswered,” Laozi said.

Prompted by Reiko and Laozi, Jin glanced at Elsa, who nodded. His mind was made up.

“All right, I’ll go now.”

They already knew where to find No. 700672—inside the Sky‐soaring Vessel, the “White Room.” Jin had installed a Warp Gate there, so they could reach it instantly.

“Brother Jin, may I come too? If it weren’t for No. 700672, I wouldn’t have cured my magical‐energy overload.”

“All right. Let’s go.”

Jin took a bottle of Persica Juice as a gift and, accompanied by Reiko, Elsa, and Edgar, stepped through the Warp Gate.

***

“…So this is the Sky‐soaring Vessel…”

The Warp Gate stood just outside the door to the “White Room.”

When they warped in, they were met by Craftsmen Smith 32 and 33, who maintained the Warp Gate and studied the Sky‐soaring Vessel—they took turns coming here.

“Welcome, my lord.”

“Thank you. Any changes?”

“None at all, my lord.”

“I see.”

After that brief exchange, Jin laid his hand on the door to the White Room. The door recognized him and slowly swung open.

“…Lord Jin?”

Standing beyond the door was a girl in white—Neige.

“Ah, Neige, long time no see. I’ve come to see your father.”

“Yes—please, do come in. It’s good to see you, Reiko… And who is that?”

Neige eyed Elsa and Edgar warily.

“She is Elsa, and that is Edgar.”

“Elsa? Edgar?”

“Yes,” Elsa nodded.

“Because of your father, I was cured,” Elsa explained. “I wanted to thank him in person.”

Neige’s face broke into a smile as soon as she heard that. Her mood brightened immediately.

“All right! Father! Father!”

Neige called out in a clear voice toward the back of the room. It seemed No. 700672 had recovered from his bedridden state.

“What is it, Neige? …Ah, Lord Jin.”

The homunculus No. 700672 walked forward slowly, pleased to recognize Jin.

“You’ve come at just the right time. I have something to show you.”