June 25.

First thing in the morning, Elsa casts a healing spell on her father Georg.

Even so, Georg's condition does not seem to have changed.

"I'm sorry..."

Seeing her father, who had lost his arrogance and could only speak in faltering tones, Erza was inconsolable and ran out of the room.

There she met Jin.

"Ah, Jin, my brother.

"...... is it still no good?"

Looking into Erza's tear-filled eyes, Jin could tell that the treatment was not going to be successful.

"They say you have to be patient with brain damage. First we have to deal with the Marquis."

"...... yeah."

After breakfast, Jin and the others left the Randalls' house in Exi and rode in Jin's carriage to the Eschenbach residence.

Using the warp gate hidden in the barn there, they moved to Horai Island.

Jin and the others, who were welcomed by the same old voice as usual, first went to the cafeteria. The reason why they went to the cafeteria is because there is no suitable meeting room.

"Ah, there is a problem in an unexpected place.

Since a meeting with many people was unthinkable in my predecessor's time, such a room was not prepared.

Leaving that for a later time, Jin reiterated the concept of <.

"Basically, the warp gate would be placed in the capital of the country.

Reinhardt started.

"Yes, preferably in the royal castle. If it is a person who has been approved by the government, it would be safer or more trustworthy.

At the very least, it would be a first level of security.

"We are thinking of a research institute and a residential building. Horai Island had a residence in the research center, but I'd like to keep it separate on Fuso Island."

"I think that's a good idea. It's a good idea to have a clear distinction between research and daily life.

Bertsche glanced at Reinhardt who was sitting next to her.

"Are you going to provide hot springs, toilets, and bedding?"

This is Elsa. Those three things are non-negotiable.

"Oh, the hot springs and toilets are good, but what about the bedding? The material is special, so it might be better to use something more common. Let's put that aside for a moment. I've been thinking about something."

"Something you're thinking about?"

"Yeah. I'd like to talk about it when Saki is here, if possible. It's something to do with materials.

Jin said so, and the group stopped prying further into the matter.

The topic returned to Fuso Island.

"I'd like to install a control magic brain that would be a smaller version of the old man's and have it manage the whole island, what do you think?"

"That's a good idea.　I'd also like to have a golem to help me."

"If we have a lot of researchers coming, we'll need a maid golem to take care of the housework."

Various opinions were expressed. Jin decided to ask about the progress for the time being.

"Old man, how is the progress?"

"Oh, we're making good progress. As we were talking about, please consider the management system.

Leaving the maintenance of Fuso Island to the old man, Jin recommended Erza to make an automata.

"For the Marquis?"

"Yes. He said Reiko was pretty. I was trying to deflect, so to speak.

Although the arsenic in his liver was removed, the Marquis Theoderic's cirrhosis was not completely cured. Dead cells cannot be regenerated by magic.

The current situation is that the liver is being healed little by little by activating the few surviving liver cells to the maximum extent.

It is said that a healthy liver can regenerate even if 70% of it is removed, but in the case of cirrhosis, the entire liver is damaged, so there are only a few surviving cells, and those cells are hardly healthy.

Therefore, it takes a long time to cure the disease.

Jin was not affected by the Marquis' decision to give up Erza as a wife in accordance with Jin's wish. In fact, he wanted to do something for her because he is Saki's grandfather.

In addition, by having Erza create an automata to take care of him, Jin hoped to alleviate her anger when she found out that it was Erza's father and his men who gave the Marquis the poisoned liquor.

"Basically, it's the same as Edgar's. It's just for care. But since it's for care, it should also have a sense of touch."

"...... eh?"

Erza is surprised when the bar is suddenly raised. Jin, however, reassures Erza that he will teach her well.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Reinhardt is working on modifying his black knight (Schwarzlitter) to have a sense of touch.

Or, more precisely, he was making a remodeling plan. With the occasional advice from the old man.

"...... I see, I knew it. It would be difficult to mount a sense of touch on a black knight (Schwarzlitter) because it is a golem and not an automaton. ......"

<<

"I see. ......"

But that's where Reinhardt comes in. He came up with an idea.

"Then, why don't we limit it to only the necessary parts?　Specifically, the palms and soles of the feet.

It was his desperate idea to place highly sensitive sensors in the minimum necessary areas, or to place many sensors in the minimum necessary areas to ensure sensitivity.

The old man was secretly impressed. The method was similar to the modification that he has been doing to all the golems in Horai Island.

By the way, his modification is to put <> leather on the soles of his palms and feet, and to detect the magical pressure generated there.

Death Serpents had been killed in large numbers by Jin and Reiko in Potrock. The leather of the Death Serpent does not decompose in water, so the Mermaid team had retrieved it from the bottom of the sea by the old man's order.

It was a little less powerful than the feather membrane of the pseudo dragon (Siamese dragon) used in the early days of Reiko, but it was practical enough in terms of both strength and detection.

"Hmm, what should we use for the sensor ......?"

By the way, Reinhard was wondering about the material of the sensor.

The old man thought that it would not be good for Reinhard and he himself would not be pleased if he gave a simple answer.

Meine and Bertsche were learning a new dish from Peridorfer.

Flour, eggs and milk. There ...... what is this powder?"

"Baking soda."

Baking soda?

Yes. It can be found deep in the mountains further north of the village of Kaina. ...... Well, I would say it's a seasoning."

It is obtained by refining the water from a baking soda spring that was discovered in an unnamed glacier-covered mountain north of the village of Kaina.

Now that the plant was completed, it was possible to obtain 500 grams of baking soda per day.

"If you put a small amount of this in the water, it makes it fluffy," he said.

Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, decomposes when heated, producing carbon dioxide gas. This is what makes dough such as bread and pancakes puff up.

Without baking soda, baking powder, or other expanders, pancakes tend to be more like crepes than pancakes, but this makes it easier to bake fluffy ones.

"It's best to use only a little bit, as it can become bitter if added in large quantities."

When baking soda is heated, it turns into carbon dioxide gas, sodium carbonate and water. The carbon dioxide gas expands the dough, but the remaining sodium carbonate is bitter.

Normally, an acidic substance such as tartaric acid would be mixed in to neutralize it and remove the bitterness (baking powder), but tartaric acid is not yet available.

Aside from that, baking soda is useful in the kitchen as well as for metal polishing, so Peridot is taking this opportunity to teach Bertsche and Mine a few things.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Detection of the magical outer covering and its deformation?"

"Yes. It's too much work to process data from the whole body, so I think we should focus on the palms and leave the rest of the body as it is."

"...... got it. So you want to concentrate on the areas that require the most subtle force, is that correct?"

"That's right. That's great."

Jin explained to Erza the principle of the tactile sensor using the magical potential generated by the deformation of the magical outer skin.

Erza has a good grasp of the basics, and sometimes shows a level of understanding that amazes even Jin.

"Okay, let's try to improve Edgar, and if it works, we can finally start making an automata. Do it."

"Yes."

Thus, Elsa started to modify Edgar to have a sense of touch.

Meanwhile Jin left the workshop and went to the basement hall to talk with the old man.

"How is Marcus doing?"

"You said that you checked his memory by knowledge transfer, but he is about level 4, isn't he?

Jin ponders.

"Well, I think there might be something left in your subconscious or something. I'd like to have some information about the demons now.

>

"If possible."

As a Magecraft Meister, Jin can copy even the subconscious mind up to level 8.

<

"Yes!　That's great!"

>.

Jin had ordered the old man to mass-produce a precision craftsman (smith).

>.

The mini craftsman (Smith) was 10 cm tall and the inch craftsman (Smith) was 2.5 cm tall. The mini craftsman (Smith) is about 5mm.

.

"Oh, yes!

1,000 each of the small craftsmen (smiths). They seem to be quite useful.

This is an excellent accuracy. Jin was satisfied.

Using this, he and Pegasus 1 would go to the town of Taki to take care of some business, and then Jin would come back via the warp gate provided, which would save a lot of time.

"Okay, let's go now. Use that ......<>."