On the evening of the same day, a large party was held in the hotel's hall.

The previous day's party was an informal affair, but this time it was a large party with the town's prominent figures, soldiers, and menial laborers, as well as the hotel's employees.

A podium was set up at the front of the room, and first Prime Minister Jung Faulus, then Minister of Magic and Technology Degausz, and then Christoph, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic and Technology, gave brief remarks.

Next, the Prime Minister took the podium again and announced that a few people would be recruited to join the ship's crew. The crowd cheered.

The captain, officers, and sailors are already selected, but I will also recruit engineers and others from the general public. I would like anyone who feels like me to come forward for this first attempt of its kind in our country. We will accept applications until the end of tomorrow morning.

The idea is that public input is important in its own way.

Once that was done, it was time for the party.

"Let's have a party to celebrate this good day!

The party was held in the form of a standing buffet, so the attendees were mingling with each other here and there.

Elsa was very popular among the attendees.

"Dear Elsa, my name is Derikel Rabad, mayor of the neighboring town of Suar.

"My name is Godronus Berntsam von Narlad, captain of the 2nd platoon of the 1st knighthood, who was sent to escort you this time, Erza-sama. As a token of our acquaintance."

Erza, please accept my cup.

Lady Elsa.

Lady Elsa.

......

Excuse me, my Lord seems to be a little tired.

Sensing that Erza was fed up, Edgar said no to the attendees surrounding him and led them out of the hall.

They went out to the garden of the hotel. There was a large lawn that sloped gently down to Lake Wass.

The rising moon was just hanging in the sky, reflecting on the ripples on the lake surface, as if it were sprinkled with gold sand.

"...... wind"

Everyone pours wine for Elsa, who is a little drunk from all the wine. Her footing is a bit dazed.

"......<>"

She casts a detoxification spell on herself to sober up, and returns to a mildly intoxicated state.

With his eyes a little clearer, he looked through the window at the party hall.

He found Reinhardt immediately, but Jin was not there.

"...... Jin brother?"

I muttered the name to myself. I didn't expect a reply.

"Erza?"

I heard a reply in the darkness.

A figure slowly approached. It was Jin, accompanied by Reiko.

"What, Erza has slipped out too? I'm not so good at that kind of atmosphere.

Jin was not as bad as Elsa, but he was also a bit disheartened when he heard the name "Magecraft Meister" and several people came up to him, talking to him and offering him bottles of wine to pour.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

The moon shining over Lake Wass, though smaller than the one we see on the earth, is still bright enough to stand out from the other stars.

"Hmm. Beautiful."

The wind coming across the lake is cold and feels good on my tipsy face. But Jin thought that Erza might catch a cold, so he took off his jacket and tried to hang it up. At that moment.

"Father, Miss Elsa, the night wind is poisonous to your body. Here, take this."

Reiko thoughtfully brought two pairs of shoulder straps. She said they were provided by the hotel.

"Oh, thank you, Reiko."

"Thank you for ......."

I thanked him and put them on my shoulders, which made me feel much warmer.

"Father, the moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

Jin, Reiko, and Elsa looked up at the moon for a while. Edgar stood behind them and followed them silently.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning, as soon as Jin finished breakfast, he went to see the Prime Minister.

"Oh, Sir Jin Nido, welcome. Christophe told me that you have helped us in many ways, and I would like to thank you.

Yes, I'm glad you had a good time with the ship.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Since there was not much time, Jin decided to speak briefly.

"I will return to Leuthart after Bernstein finishes his examinations in Lake Wass and goes out to sea. After that I haven't decided yet, but I would like to go back to the village of Kaina or to the Kingdom of Egelea.

The Prime Minister nodded.

"Yes. You have done a more than adequate job as my advisor. I will return to Leuthart tomorrow and report to His Majesty in detail. I am sure that there will be a reward for you, including Reinhardt and Miss Elsa."

Jin honestly did not need such a reward, but he was not foolish enough to mention it.

"One last thing. If you are going to make a long trip on the ship, please prepare some vegetables or fruits, even dried ones."

"Oh, ...... Vitamins, I think it's called. That's the deficiency, isn't it?"

This is also the knowledge of the < given by Jin. It seems that they are making good use of it in the Shoro Kingdom.

"Yes. That's all from me.

"Mm. We're going to be testing a lot of new ships. I'm looking forward to it."

And finally,

"This is something that His Majesty the Emperor asked me to tell you directly and orally..."

The Prime Minister then said

"For the time being, the new ships will be treated as , but please do not misunderstand me. But please do not misunderstand me. The military is the only organization capable of operating large vessels at present. In the near future, we intend to set up a new organization. Peaceful, of course."

"I see. ......"

"Please do not misunderstand me. It's only a temporary measure."

Jin imagined that the Prime Minister, knowing that he disliked conflict, had given this additional explanation to the Prime Minister.

As Jin and the Prime Minister left the room together, they bumped into Reinhard and Erza.

"Oh, just in time. The Bernstein's test cruise is about to begin. Shall we go see it together?"

"Yes, sir."

Yesterday, the crew was made up of temporary crew members, but from today, the official crew will be on board. Today, however, is a day of practice to familiarize ourselves with the ship's controls.

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

"Line up!"

The captain of the new ship Bernstein is Lugaria Gaskar von Alkois. He is the commander of the 3rd navy of the Shoro Empire, and has experience in naval warfare.

The ten sailors in the row are also members of the 3rd navy. They are young and motivated.

"As of today, this new ship, the , will be the flagship of the Shoro Imperial . You are the first class of students. I hope that you will learn shiphandling skills quickly and contribute to your country.

A morning meeting was held in front of the pier. The Prime Minister was participating in the ceremony, but Jin and the others were watching from a distance as bystanders.

"Oh, so it's going to be the Navy's after all. ......"

Jin recalled what the Prime Minister had just told him.

"Really, I hope they will create a public organization that is not the military in the near future. ......"

Then, he suddenly remembered Eckart Tekles, a large merchant who was building similar large ships in the town of Kupu, in the southern part of the Kingdom of Selroa.

(Come to think of it, they had just finished the launching ceremony there, too.)

) He regretted that the ship had been destroyed by sabotage by his business enemies when Jin and his group visited there, and he had sent Altaf and Gjenner, the fifth row (Quinta), to support the ship.

(That means it was completed just a few days ago, right?)

It seems that it was November 30, the day Jin and his team started to build the new ship.

(When Bernstein goes to Potrock, he will surely pass through the town of Kupu. Maybe the two ships will meet then. We could go see them on an airship (......).

It was a little bit exciting for Jin.

Meanwhile, the Bernstein has departed with a new crew. They have been taught all the controls and just need to get used to them.

The new crew includes Magecraftsmen Claire and Xenelos, and Shipwright Rodrigo, so they should be able to handle any problems that may arise.

The Minister of Magical Technology, Mr. Degauze, and the Undersecretary of State, Mr. Christophe, are also on board as guests.

Since it is difficult to see the training and test cruises from the shore, Jin decides to launch the airship. He called the Prime Minister, and he came on board happily.

So, a total of seven people, including Jin, Reiko, Erza, Edgar, Reinhard, the Prime Minister, and Steward, the golem in charge of piloting the ship, boarded the ship. The ship is slightly overweight, but gravity magic is being used to minimize the effect.

The Prime Minister did not notice such a thing, and simply thought that Jin's airship had a large capacity.

Looking down from the sky, one can clearly see the ship.

"Oh, it looks good. "Thank you, Mr. Jin.

"That's good, but don't fall too far out of the water.

Yes, sir.

Jin's airship was watching Bernstein from about 50 meters above the ground.

"Brother Jin, the waves are still big.

As Erza said, the waves kicked up by Bernstein were so big that a small ship would be tossed about by them if it was nearby.

"Yeah, it's called wave-making resistance. We have to think about reducing it.

Reinhard agreed. From above, you can clearly see how the ship makes waves.

The Prime Minister observes the operation of the ship, and Jin and the others observe it from a purely technical point of view.

At their feet, the new Bernstein continues its navigation tests without a hitch.