On the morning of December 23rd.

Jin, Reiko, Elsa, Edgar, and Reinhard were in the square in front of the palace in Leuthart.

"Well then, Sir Reinhard Randall, I hope you will fulfill your duties safely, Elsa Randall Ehime.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Empress herself handed a letter addressed to the Kingdom of Elias to the ambassador, Reinhardt.

"Sir Jin Nido, please take good care of them. Reiko will be with you, so I don't think you'll have to worry.

"Ah, yes."

The emperor's tone suddenly changed to a frank one.

"One more thing. I think that <> will probably arrive at Potrock this evening. So Jin, you and the others should arrive a day later tomorrow, on the 24th.

"What?"

Jin was surprised at the unexpected words of the emperor, thinking that he was supposed to meet Bernstein at the other side.

However, he was convinced by the explanation that followed.

"Jin, I know your airship is fast. But I think they will be disappointed if we leave later than the new ship and arrive earlier than the new ship.

It is true that it is not honorable to show off our performance unnecessarily. Jin nodded.

"Okay. I will arrange a time for you to arrive at Potrock.

The emperor smiled when he heard Jin's reply.

In fact, as a result of further modifications, with the use of the wind deflector and the force field generator, we can safely reach a speed of about 150 kilometers per hour.

* * * *

Jin and his team departed from Loisart on an airship.

After gaining altitude, they move to Horai Island through the warp gate.

The airship is headed to the Kingdom of Elias by the pilot, Steward.

We will say to the outside world that we camped in the mountains or fields of the Kingdom of Cerroa that day.

So, what are we going to do in Horai Island?

"Oh!　So this is the Orca!"

The plan was to take Reinhardt on a submersible.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Saki was also there, so I naturally invited her to join us. She would not refuse, and this time Jin, Erza, Reinhard and Saki get on the boat. Reiko is in charge of piloting.

Since then, the air conditioning and oxygen supply have been improved.

Specifically, we recognize that the oxygen content of the moisture H2O in the humidity is mostly derived from exhaled air. In other words, they realized that simply recovering oxygen from CO2 was not enough.

So, they improved the system to recover oxygen from the moisture of humidity, and in case of emergency, they improved the system to be able to obtain oxygen from seawater.

If you feel distress, tell me immediately. Then use the warp gate to escape: ......."

After a brief explanation of the emergency equipment, we were off.

"Oh!　This is a novel view!"

Reinhardt had the same impression as Jin did the first time he boarded the ship. Saki is curious to see what's on the bottom of the ocean.

"Kuh, I couldn't have imagined last year that I would see such a view one day.

The orca is now traveling at a depth of about 100 meters. The gently sloping continental shelf is gradually getting deeper.

"What?　What's that?"

Reinhardt shouted at a depth of about 200 meters. Reinhardt looked in the direction he was pointing and saw...

"Ah, it's an undersea resource mine."

"Heh. ......"

<, we found submarine resources, but when we seriously searched for them, we found excellent deposits here and there, including in shallow water.

The work is led by the Mermaid team. Here, ten mermaids from 21 to 30 were mining.

The mined ore is sent to through a warp gate floating on the sea.

<, and they sort and refine the ore before sending it to Horai Island.

The tailings (ore scraps) were sent back and used to backfill the holes that had been dug out.

"Wow, that's a great thing."

Reinhardt is impressed by Jin's explanation.

"Have you found any interesting ores?"

Saki seemed to be more interested in the ore.

"I just started, so I haven't found any minerals like that yet. ......

Since it is not interesting to look at them up close, we will look at the mined ores later, and <> moved on.

The depth of the water is over 200 meters, and about 300 meters. It was quite dark because of the lack of sunlight. As we proceeded with our searchlight on, we never got tired of watching the fish running away as if startled by the light.

"Well, this is interesting. ...... but I should probably get back to it. ......"

A disappointed Reinhardt. He is not in a position to be playing around.

"Back to it?"

"Yeah."

So the orca carrying Jin and the others made a U-turn and returned to Tatsumi Bay. It returned to Tatsumi Bay.

* * * * "Well, Jin, it was a short time, but I had a good time.

"Well, Jin, it was fun, even if it was only for a short time!

"Yeah, yeah, I had fun too."

Reinhard and Saki are in a good mood after returning to Horai Island.

Saki went to the warp gate where undersea resources are sent to see if there are any rare materials there.

"Saki is the same as ever."

Reinhardt looked at her with narrowed eyes as he looked off behind her and said, "You're still the same, Saki.

"Let's stay at the pavilion tonight and transfer to the airship tomorrow morning.

Jin said while writing the timetable on the whiteboard.

The island of Horai is located east of the destination Potrock, so we need to calculate the time difference properly or we might have trouble later on.

"Yes, I understand. I'm looking forward to eating at ...... Hourai Island."

Soleil, Luna, and Peridor have become good cooks, and they have a firm grip on the Jin family's stomachs.

Reinhardt and Saki took a sip of the miso soup on the table,

"Wow, it's delicious!

"It's delicious!

It's different from what I usually eat!"

Jin explains with a smile.

"Yes, it's because I made a proper soup stock with dried bonito flakes.

It is incomparably better than what they serve at Reuthert's.

"......Another ethnic group......No, <>, I think it was. Do they have a culture to make such things?"

"Yes. I heard they have more and more things."

I'm curious.

Reinhardt looks a bit curious, but he has already decided to go to the Kingdom of Elias.

"Well, I guess I'll find out more soon enough."

John Dinney has been infiltrated. More information was to be sent.

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

Jin and the others left Horai Island at noon on December 24th, as scheduled.

Jin, Reinhard, Erza, Reiko, Edgar, take care. I'm having fun sorting through the ore.

With Saki seeing them off, the group steps into the warp gate.

They were instantly transported to the airship piloted by Steward.

Steward, where are you?

"Yes, we are passing over the kingdom of Egelea and approaching the kingdom of Elias.

Looking down, we can see the blue sea and a large peninsula.

All right, drop a little altitude.

Okay, sir.

The plane drops to an altitude of 400 meters, so low that it can be seen from the ground.

The airship arrived at Potrock at 3:00 p.m. local time without causing much commotion, since there were few people looking up at the sky.

As the airship descended to the nostalgic central square, a welcoming ceremony was being prepared, as if the emperor had been informed of the arrival.

"...... people are here."

Jin is a bit nervous.

The square was filled with people, except for the landing space.

"Well, of course. We were the first ones to fly in the sky.

The Kingdom of Elias had not experienced the previous Unifiler uprising. Therefore, they have not seen their << hot flying ball> either.

"Ah ...... surely, if we had arrived earlier than <>, their greatness would have been lost in the haze. ......"

Once again, Jin was aware of and impressed by the attention paid by the female emperor.

The airship landed slowly in the center of the square to the cheers of the assembled crowd.