It is the evening of April 22nd.

The Knights were gathering in the fortress city of Tetrada.

The 2nd and 4th Knights of the Kingdom of Klein, the Rescue Knights, and the 2nd Magical Knights.

All of them, though not as many as the 3rd Knights in Tetrada, were forced to end the battle without understanding what was going on.

The lack of a fortified city around them made it natural for them to gather in Tetrada.

"It appears that the Franzian army has now retreated to the border area.

The scouts report that the Franzian army is not much different from their own, and that they are still without weapons and armor.

"I see."

Viscount Bernard Nephra Foster, Commander of the 2nd Knights, affirmed. He is now in command of the mixed forces.

"At any rate, we can't fight a war without weapons and armor. Whether we retreat or march, we must wait for an answer from King's Landing.

Yes. Also, after interrogating those prisoners of war, it is clear that the Unification Party (Unifiler) was the mastermind behind this.

Niklas Fahlheit answered.

"Yes, I heard that. And you are escorting them to the capital, right?

Yes.

Well, there's nothing more urgent than making emergency repairs to the damaged sections of the city walls. We'll be working through the night. Take turns resting the men. You commanders too!

Sir, thank you. Fall back, sir.

Thank you.

Leaving the lord's mansion, which was being used as a temporary command center, Niklas went alone, unaccompanied by his second-in-command, to the garrison of the Guardians of the Rescue.

There his daughter, Licia Faalheit, was supposed to be.

"Is the baronet hurt?

asked a young guard knight as Niklas approached. The rescue knights themselves were not very skilled in combat, so they were accompanied by a group of knights to protect them.

No, I'm off duty. I came to see my daughter. Is Licia Faalheit here?　If she's still on duty, I'll leave.

The guard smiled, then straightened his back and assumed an alert posture.

"Ah, you must be Licia's father!　My name is Pascoe Rush. I am the third son of the Rush family. I would like to thank you for healing me the other day!

He bows deeply.

"Licia should be resting by now, so please come through. The third tent from the back."

"Okay, thank you."

Niklas thanked him and went to the tent where his daughter Licia was.

The night is about to fall.

In a room of the royal castle of Asunto, the capital of Egelea, the king and the third prince were talking as the darkness of night was falling.

"So, Ernest, you say that the mysterious golem that came to rescue you was made by Jin?

"Yes. It has distinctive movements. It looks a lot like Lotte's."

Prince Ernest the Third replies confidently. But the king has no idea how the golem's movements differ.

"Well, I don't know, but if you say so, I guess so.

The king acknowledged Ernest's words with a difficult look on his face.

"But then, who exactly is Jin?　He can create a golem that can easily defeat that enemy golem that we couldn't even get our hands on. ...... That automata called Leco seems to be an ancient relic (artifact), so that makes sense, but this time.... ..."

"Don't even think about it. Jin is my friend, the Honorary Magi Craftsman of this land. That's all right."

"Yes, that is true, but perhaps the Prime Minister will not agree."

Alas, the prince is almost right, but it is a bad habit of those involved in politics to want to know what is going on behind the scenes.

"Never mind. I'm going to have a talk with the Prime Minister now. I want you to stay with Catherine."

"Yes, I'm sure your mother will be very anxious."

Ernesto nodded and left the room. He was replaced by the Prime Minister, the Marquis Boyd Norse Galuelli.

"Where is His Highness Ernest?"

"He went to see Catherine. He's been in hiding ever since that fiasco.

The Prime Minister nodded knowingly.

"Well, Your Highness is very fond of Her Royal Highness, Queen Catherine."

"Yes. Catherine is also very fond of my daughter. As a father and husband, I'm relieved.

"So it must be. ...... Now, Your Majesty, let's get down to business."

The Prime Minister spread the documents he had brought with him on the table.

"I understand. It's about those puppets of the Unification Party, isn't it?

"Yes. Unfortunately, the information was true.

* * * *

The old man checked the images sent by Raptor and said to Anne, who was also watching the images.

"Yes, my old man. You were right, weren't you?"

<

"Still, the Goshujin may be concerned."

"Yes, sir."

And the next topic is the Unification Party (Unifiler).

"Where is it?"

<

The old man has << Lao Tzu> at his work terminal unfold a map of the area.

"Uh, yes, I see. There could be a base of the former Dinaric Kingdom in that area. They must have modified it to their advantage.

Anne has a memory of the early days of the Magic War. The old man has the same data, but he seems to be able to use the same information better than Anne because it is directly connected to his thoughts.

If we find out that this is the home of the Unifilers, we may be able to end the conflict between the small groups in one fell swoop.

"Yes, it's quicker to crush their heads than to attack their limbs.

<<< That's right. And last but not least, it seems that Mr. Reinhardt is at the supply depot without incident.

"I see. In that case I have a proposal.

The old man was curious to hear this proposal from Ann.

> "Yes.

"Yes, I would like to take this opportunity to obtain, through Mr. Reinhardt, the battle patterns of soldiers, preferably of knight class.

The old man considered the proposal.

<

So the old man called for the fifth line (quinta) that was available and sent them to Reinhardt's place. If it works out, it will strengthen the forces of Horai Island.

And Reinhardt readily agrees.

* * * *

After leaving Astan with Golem 457 and Elena, Donald spent a day to get to the nearest secret base and took a secretly hidden to the headquarters.

The hide spell was cast, and few people would notice. And it was nighttime.

Elena was communicating with the headquarters of the Unifiler through a built-in device similar to a manacam.

When she finished, Elena was silent and thoughtful.

"Elena, what's going on?"

Donald wonders, seeing the unusual Elena.

"Are you thinking about that Reinhardt?　He was a good man, but he was no match for me. Besides ......."

"Shut up, shut up for a second."

"Okay, okay."

Elena was thinking about Sage and Cosmos of the Covert Task Force (SP).

She had decided that it was a bad idea, but in fact, she recognized that they were strong opponents.

And now I heard about this golem-user called Jin.

There was much to think about.

"Numbers, you know."

Elena recalled how she had been forced to retreat before, before the strength of the group.

"Donald, I'm going to activate the whole golem squad when I get back."

"Okay, Elena."

The speed of the hot air ball is about 15 kilometers per hour. They'll be back in a few hours.

* * *

"Oh, it's so good when we eat together!"

In the plaza in front of the village chief's house in Kaina Village, everyone was enjoying the barbecued mountain lion they had just caught and chilled sake.

When a large catch is made, it is shared by all, and this was the Kaina village way.

"This is delicious!

"Right!　Erza, Meine, try this one too.

The freshly made smoked fish was still too smoky and not quite as tasty as the others, so the smoked fish that had been left on the table was served.

"It has a nice flavor. The smoky aroma is very appetizing.

Elsa and Meene joined the group and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

In the midst of this atmosphere, Reiko quietly overhears Jin's words.

"Father, the old man has something to report.

"I see. Is it about what happened after that?

Jin quietly exits the square. He took out a manacam from his pocket and called up Mr. Mana-kun.

"Old man, I want to hear your report.