Magi Craft Meister

Chapter 717

21-28: Lord of Kunlun

“First of all, the Kingdom of Elias wishes to formally bestow upon Sir Jin Nidou the title of Magical Engineer, as well as an honorary knightly rank.”

It was Chancellor Godfarr Marquis who opened the meeting. The matter had been discussed beforehand with Marquis Firenziano, so this served as the official proclamation.

“I respectfully accept,” Jin replied with a bow.

“And with that,” he continued, “there is a request I wish to make.”

“Oh? Speak,” the King prompted.

“There is an island far east of the Elias Peninsula, known as Kunlun Island. That is… my base of operations.”

“Oh?”

Jin finally set the matter before them. He had discussed the topic repeatedly the previous night with Reinhardt, Elsa, Lao-kun, and Reiko before deciding to reveal it today.

“To be precise, it lies directly east of the old Leonard Kingdom,” Jin added, supplementing his explanation.

“Hmm… Your Majesty, I see no problem. If it is an unknown island and one unrelated to our kingdom, then recognizing his ownership should be acceptable.”

Indeed, the island held no strategic value for Elias at this stage. But once sea travel developed, such matters could quickly become complicated — which is exactly why Jin’s group agreed that now was the right time, before the world expanded.

“Very well. Sir Jin Nidou, our kingdom officially recognizes ‘Kunlun Island’ as your territory. …Let this be put into writing.”

“Thank you. And, if possible, I would be grateful if you could inform the surrounding nations via Manaphone.”

“Hm. Very well. I shall announce it during the midday diplomatic broadcast.”

King Blitzhen Scala Elias XII accepted without hesitation.

With that, Jin had cleared the first hurdle, and let out a breath of relief.

“Additionally, as a MagiCraft Meister, I would like to present your kingdom with a hot air balloon. It left Kunlun Island yesterday, so it should arrive around noon.”

“Oh! That is wonderful news!”

Half the motivation for acknowledging Jin as a MagiCraft Meister had been precisely this — the desire for such technology. The King and Chancellor both looked delighted.

This marked the end of the first audience; the second would take place after the midday communications.

Jin and the others waited in the guest chamber.

“Jin, it’s going smoothly,” Reinhardt said with a smile.

“Yeah. We prepared well last night.”

The King’s personality and tendencies were unknown to Jin, so Reinhardt’s counsel had been crucial.

“There are two hours until the midday report…”

Because of the time differences, Elias’ noon corresponded to about 9 AM in the Shouro Empire, slightly past noon in Klein, and around 10 AM in Cellroa — convenient for all major nations.

“In that time, we’ll have the balloons brought over.”

They planned to present two balloons, identical to those used in Shouro, Egelea, and Klein. In reality, they would use the Transfer Machine — but officially, the balloons would be said to have flown in from Kunlun Island.

The distance between Kunlun Island and the Elias capital, Borjia, was about 500 km. At 30 km/h, that was roughly 17 hours of flight — a believable explanation.

They would be piloted by Smith-type golems.

“One more hour,” Reiko announced after conferring with Lao-kun.

“I believe the other nations will accept the existence of Kunlun Island,” Reinhardt said quietly.

“At present, no ship can reach those waters. Elias loses nothing by acknowledging it,” Elsa added.

“And since the investigation of the old Leonard Kingdom is still unresolved, Elias’ approval will set the tone for all other nations,” Jin concluded.

Even Cellroa and Franz would have no grounds to object, Lao-kun had predicted.

“Though… they might want to name Jin a Meister just to get hot air balloons,” Elsa teased.

But Reinhardt shook his head.

“No, Cellroa is too prideful for that. The influence of the Unifier Faction still lingers; they won’t beg publicly.”

Jin remembered the old hot air balloon used during the Klein King’s treatment — a relic operated by Delegate Hanks, former Minister of Industry.

“True. They already have a balloon — an old one, but still.”

“Well, it’s not a problem for me,” Jin said, leaning back in the sofa.

That afternoon, Jin and the others met the King once again.

“During the diplomatic broadcast, all nations — the Shouro Empire, Klein Kingdom, and Egelea Kingdom — agreed without issue. Even Cellroa and Franz had no objections.”

The Chancellor’s announcement brought visible relief to Jin.

“Additionally, all nations concurred in awarding you the title ‘Kunlun Lord’.”

Here, Lord signified the ruler of a territory.

Thus, the second hurdle was cleared.

“Thank you. And… the balloons should be arriving soon.”

No sooner had Jin spoken than a knock came at the door.

“Your Majesty, two hot air balloons are approaching from the eastern sky,” reported the guard.

“I summoned them,” Jin explained.

“Oh! Then we must see this!”

Surprisingly — or perhaps naturally — not only the Chancellor but also Marquis Firenziano and the King himself proceeded out to the palace courtyard, protected by their guards.

Two balloons descended slowly and landed before them.

“Well done, Smith.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The people stared in astonishment — the golems spoke fluently, moved naturally, and aside from their metallic sheen, looked much like humans.

“These are the balloons I present to your kingdom. These Smiths can teach your personnel how to use them.”

“V-very well…”

A capable mid-level official was summoned to begin learning the operation procedure.

With that matter handled, Jin moved to the final part of his plan.

“There is one more gift. It should be shown indoors.”

Carrying a cylindrical bundle handed to him by a Smith, Jin returned with the others to the previous chamber.

“Well then, Sir Jin — what is this?” the Chancellor asked eagerly.

Jin unrolled the large parchment on the table — nearly one meter square.

“Th-this is…!”

It was a map — created on Hourai Island — spanning from Kunlun Island on the far east, down to the Elias Peninsula and its southern islands, up north toward Klein and Kaina Village, and west to the Shouro Empire’s Roizart region.

“This is an aerial map, drawn from above. I am gifting this to your kingdom. I intend to give identical copies to the other nations as well.”

It was simplified compared to the internal version used on Hourai Island — major cities only, no grid lines, and no elaborate projections — but its accuracy was astonishing.

For a long moment, the King, Chancellor, and Marquis were speechless.

“Sir… Sir Jin,” the Chancellor finally said, “may we truly have this?”

Jin nodded.

“Yes. Safe travel by balloon and by sea requires proper charts. Please forgive the areas I could not survey fully — it is, after all, only my personal work.”

“No — this is extraordinary! There is nothing like this in the world. We are deeply grateful!”

Jin only hoped it would reduce accidents and help connect the world more safely.

Thus, on this day…

The MagiCraft Meister, the Lord of Kunlun — Sir Jin Nidou — was officially born.