The same day that Jin and his crew departed Tatsumi Bay on the cruiser , the scene was again at .

The deus ex machina III and Elena's group were still in residence.

"...... Is that true?"

Tomax Bartmann, the Chief Administrator of <>, asks Elena while suppressing a pain in his stomach.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"......umm......"

Elena told him that former Superintendent Graham Darby was a member of the <>.

"This information came to light from the documents we secured when we took back the headquarters from the League of Magic.

Likewise, such information had been passed on to the heads of state and, as a result, the influence of the League of Magic was being removed from the governments of various countries.

"The reason for the delay is that all this information was encrypted.

Elena explained that important information had been encrypted before being stored in storage.

It took a long time to decipher it.

"......Please understand that I told you this after Marikka and the others had left because I was concerned about them."

Elena bowed lightly. Tomax took Elena by the hand.

"No need to apologize. ...... I would have done the same."

Graham Darby was another of Maricka's students. He must have been a very difficult student, Tomax Bartmann recalled, because he was disobedient and self-righteous.

Maricka had taught Graham carefully ......, but that was why she had taught him carefully and cared about him.

"If he knew that he was actually working for the enemy, he would be very sad," she said.

Graham and Tomax were classmates.

"Sure, there are a lot of things that could be explained if he was working for the League of Magic," he said.

Still, he was somewhat ...... reluctant to accept the fact that his classmate with whom he had studied together was a spy for a hostile organization.

However, Tomax Bartmann is now a top administrator. He is capable of thinking logically and without personal feelings.

"So this Avalon is still under his influence?"

Elena nodded.

"Yes. That is precisely the subject of today's discussion, and the reason why I asked you to join us."

"I see. To put it a little more bluntly, the very survival of is at stake.

Makina nodded in an exaggerated manner.

The who is controlling Makina III has apparently set Makina's characterization to be somewhat pompous.

"......, I think we need to question many of the members, including those who were in close proximity to that Graham Darby."

"Yes, that's right. But we can't interrogate them one by one. It would take too much time and effort, and it would shake the unity of the group.

"I understand that."

Implicitly, Tomax Bartmann wants to know if there is a better way.

Elena, apparently sensing this, spoke up.

"I don't think it's a good idea to find out all at once, since it would be difficult to do so and might cause friction.

"Ummm ......"

Tomax's stomach is still in knots.

* * * *

Meanwhile, Jin and his crew were enjoying the sea aboard the cruiser .

"Wow ......, the horizon is round after all!"

"The sea breeze feels so nice!"

Katya and Eira were looking out at the sea from the observation deck next to the bridge.

"It's a very special view from this high up."

"It's different from a small ship, isn't it?"

Theon and Marikka also seem to be enjoying the view.

"It's a nice view, Mr. Rhodes!"

Ludmilla is standing on the edge of the boat with Rhodes, looking out to sea.

"I am so happy to be here with my grandmother!

Vita was enjoying the boat ride flanked by Sion and Marikka.

"......An all-metal ship 100 meters long? ......It would be a lot of work just to build a dock that could make that. ......"

And Groma seems to have a lot on his mind.

After having enjoyed themselves to the fullest, they set a table on the deck for tea.

He served sencha green tea and yokan (a sweet bean jelly),

What's this?　It's so sweet!　It's delicious!"

Eira seemed to like the yokan very much.

"It is sweet. ...... It is delicious. ......"

Of course, Katya liked it, too.

And Groma too,

"The yokan is delicious, but this tea is also delicious. ......"

In the end, the tea and the yokan were very popular among the three of us.

Jin warned them, "If you eat too much, you won't have enough for lunch.

Jin warned, but Eira's hands did not stop. KaChea looked like she wanted some more, but stopped eating. .......

On the other hand, Zion, Marikka and Rhodotos had eaten it before, so their reactions were not that exaggerated, but their faces showed that they liked it.

"Yummy!"

"It's delicious ......!"

But Vita and Ludmilla seemed to have eaten it for the first time and their faces were beaming with delight.

"Ah, but Jin got this from his predecessor, didn't he?"

"Well, yes."

Jin built the cruiser 400 years ago, so it is safe to say that he is the predecessor.

"It originally started when the first Magecraft Meister, Adriana Barbora Zetsi, who was active 1,400 years ago, found Horai Island and maintained it. But you know what?"

"Adriana Barbora Tsezi, ...... that's too long ago for me to imagine."

Eira smiled and drank the rest of the sencha tea.

"But it's all those years of experience that made it possible to build a ship like this."

Gromma muttered in a tone of voice that sounded both impressed and moved.

"Gromma is from Fusor, isn't he?"

Rhodotos called out to Gromma.

"Yes, Master. But I haven't been back for more than 20 years now.

"Is that so?"

Eira asked in surprise. This was the first time they had ever talked like this.

"Yes, that's right. I was orphaned when I was a child, and I asked a peddler who had just arrived to take me to Mitsho. From there I asked another merchant to take me to the Shoro Empire, and after a few more things I was able to learn from a master."

"......Groma must have gone through a lot of hardship."

Eira looked a little surprised.

"I don't have any relatives either."

Just as the conversation was about to turn somber, the captain, Marine 31, a Navy golem, came in with a report.

<

At the sound of this voice, everyone stared out to sea from the starboard side.

A black dot is indeed visible just in front of the horizon.

"Is that Bowall?　"Is that Bowall? I'm not sure.

Gromma said,

"You can use this one," he said.

Marin and the other crew members handed out binoculars to everyone.

"What's this?"

"This is how you use them."

Eira and the others did not know how to use the binoculars, so Jin showed them how to use them.

"Here, you adjust the focus ...... to see what you want to see."

"Here ...... it is, it looks good. So this is Bowall!

Magnification is 7x. This is the magnification that can be used by hand. If the magnification is too large, the field of view will be unsteady due to camera shake.

Incidentally, there is also a golem-type telescope, which has an anti-shake function.

"Oh, is this a Bowall?"

We all enjoyed the occasional "Bowall Watching.