The Kingdom of Egelea seemed to be waiting for Jin's arrival.

Two hot-air balloons welcomed Jin and guided him to the outer palace square in the royal castle.

Prince Ernest was waiting there, and upon seeing Jin's face, he ran up to him.

"Jin!　It's been a long time!　Erza and Reinhardt!　I'm glad to see you're doing well!

You too, Your Highness.

Hello.

"It's been a while."

We exchange brief verbal greetings. This unconventional greeting is allowed because Ernesto has not yet reached adulthood.

It is only the beginning of the new year, but next year he will turn 15, and the coming-of-age ceremony will be held.

(......When that happens, there will be a marriage with Princess Rieschen (......))

) Jin thinks such a thing.

* * * *

After the unconventional welcome was over, Jin and the others were ushered into the king's office.

"<> Sir Jin Nido, it has been a long time. Ehime Reko is as lovely as ever.

Harold Luan Autoclase, the unchanged King of Egelea, opened his speech and called Jin Nido <>. He also seemed to recognize Reiko as a squire.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Yes, and all the best to you as well. ...... Sir Reinhard Randall, it's been a while. This is Miss Elsa ......, or as I call her now, Elsa Randall Ehime. You look well.

King Egelea called out to Reinhardt and Erza as well.

The fact that the king approached them indicates that he considers this visitor to be of exceptional importance.

After the greetings, the Prime Minister, the Marquis Boyd Norse Galuelli, also greeted the guests with a smile, and spoke of the purpose of the meeting.

"<>, you are aware that a survey team from our country has been dispatched to the former Leonard's Kingdom?

Yes, I have heard.

They are bringing with them a recently developed magical tool. ...... No, it is more of a than a development, is it not? I would like to know your opinion on ...... the magic tool."

The Prime Minister spoke in a respectful manner to Jin, who was an honorary knight but a small lord of the Kunlun Kingdom.

Jin is intrigued by the magical tools. Reinhard and Erza did the same.

"Secondly, we are talking about ships as a transportation force, and thirdly, ......."

Since Reinhardt is also present, there is some talk of diplomacy. Jin, being the , tries to maintain a neutral position, but it seems to be difficult.

The meeting began with the unveiling of the world map Jin had brought with him.

Jin-dono," he said. I am in awe of your observation from the sky.

Here in the Kingdom of Egelea, as in the Kingdom of Elias, everyone was amazed at the precision of the map.

The locations of cities, the flow of rivers, borderlines, etc. can be seen at a glance.

Because of its large scale, the details of villages and settlements cannot be seen, but the main roads are recognizable, so even without the longitude and latitude lines, the map is more than sufficient, or even practical.

The Prime Minister bowed when he received the map.

"I would like to thank you for this map, and I would like to discuss with you about what to do next.

Jin said that would be fine.

The next topic was the ship. At this point, the participants moved to the Prime Minister's office.

"We are planning to build a large ship in our country in terms of shipping. We are now building a special dock in Nalneka. We are also building a small boat for the river.

Nahrnecka is the port that welcomed <>. It is a small bay with calm waves, making it suitable for a dock.

"So, I've got a ...... for you, Mr. Zinn."

"A propulsion unit, right?"

Jin spoke up, anticipating the Prime Minister's reluctance to say anything.

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

Jin then decided to explain his concept first.

"Before I tell you about it, there is something I would like you to hear.

"Well, let's hear it.

"The Naudaria River is wide but shallow, isn't it?"

I'm sure this is the result of the 5th column (Quinta) survey, but just to confirm, Hitoshi.

"Yes, I heard that the deepest depth is about 5 meters.

After confirming this, Jin's plan was finalized.

"Okay, I understand. So, as for the boats, would it be correct to consider riverboats and large boats separately?"

"Of course.

"In that case, I would recommend using a <> for the riverboats."

A <>?

Yes, a pole.

Jin then explains.

"The boatman...... who is in charge of steering the boat pokes the bottom of the river with a pole longer than the depth of the water. The reaction makes the boat go forward. Easy, isn't it?"

Jin showed them how to poke the pole by imitating his hands. The principle was so simple and clear that he did not even need to draw a picture; everyone seemed to understand it.

"If we use a golem as a boatman, we can go forward at night.

"I see, it is suitable for the river."

"Yes, in shallow and wide rivers we use a pole. For deeper areas, we use a propeller.

Jin then explains that the aqua thruster is better for small boats.

"Well, the river is less prone to algae, and because of its small size, it can be cleaned easily even if it gets clogged.

The Prime Minister seemed to understand.

"Shallow-bottomed vessels are used in many of the lakes of the Shoro Empire, such as Lake Tosmo."

Reinhardt explained about the hull of the ship.

"The basic shape is 10 meters long, while the ones that carry carriages are about 20 meters long. They are used as ferry boats to carry people and small cargo."

"Well, I think it's safe to start with the basic form.

With the firm idea of first focusing on the basics, and then applying and developing them, the hull of the boat was also discussed.

"If we combine Jin-dono's propulsion method with a shallow-bottom ship, it might be better to build a separate dock for that purpose.

The Prime Minister seemed to have realized the dangers of navigating the sea in a shallow-bottomed boat.

Shallow-bottomed boats are easily affected by waves. A shallow-bottomed boat like the one used in the Golem boat competition, which is only 4 meters long, is fine, but if it is 10 meters long, the strength of the bottom of the boat will be a problem.

A competition boat would be able to use a lot of high quality materials, but for a mass-produced commercial boat, the manufacturing cost must also be taken into consideration.

"Is it realistic to transport the boats by sea in large vessels and transship them at the mouth of the Naudaria River?"

"Yes, I think so.

Jin agreed.

"Well, then we need to build a separate dock from the big ships in the town of Okosso.

Okosso is located at the mouth of the Naudaria River, near the border with the Kingdom of Serroa. This would be a good opportunity for the town to develop.

"If transshipment is a prerequisite, wouldn't it be more convenient to specify the size of the cargo?"

Here, too, Hitoshi said, "It is necessary to build lighthouses along the coast,

Necessity of constructing lighthouses along the coast.

Standardization of containers for cargo.

The communication of information by means of flags and signals, and international standardization of such communication.

Establishment of shipping routes and development of ports.

Establishment of a system of maritime rescue.

He mentioned the same things that he had proposed in the Elias Kingdom.

After that, the details were explained and the details of assistance were agreed upon, and the discussion on the ship was completed.

The day's meeting ended with a discussion as the ambassador of the Shoro Kingdom.

* * * * * * *

"In the end, the magic tool that you say you have recreated will be delivered tomorrow. ......

We stayed at the guest house for the first time in a while. It's been a long time since the <.

We were told to stay in the guest room in the royal castle, but Jin insisted on staying in this more informal room.

"But Jin, <>. I hadn't noticed. If the river is slow, the golem's power should be enough to steer the boat.

Jin and Reinhardt were relaxing in the bath and talking about various things.

"I'm sorry I'm the only one who gets the gratuity while Reinhardt doesn't. ......"

"Haha, I'm totally on official business. Jin is following me voluntarily ...... or rather, as a favor, and now <, I'm independent.

Yes, for his help in the Kingdom of Elias the other day, Jin had received a reward of five million dollars.

As for Jin, he has a very extravagant problem that he cannot spend all the money even though he has more and more money.

However, Jin cannot afford to waste money.

"Father!"

When Jin finished bathing, Reiko was waiting for him outside.

Reiko was outside because she had taken a bath with Reinhardt.

"Ah, Elsa."

"Brother Jin."

I met Erza in the hallway, who had just come out of the women's bathroom.

We went back to our rooms side by side. They were still in separate rooms, but Jin invited Erza to his room.

"Mmm."

Erza follows him.

"Would you like something to drink?

"Yes... Citran juice.

The two of them sit on chairs in Jin's room, drinking cold drinks after taking a bath.

It's been almost a year since then. The last time I stayed here I didn't think you and Elsa would get engaged.

Me neither.

Back then I thought of Elsa as a slightly dangerous little sister.

Tonight Jin was unusually light-spoken. He has left his antidote off in order to take a bath, so the wine he drank with Reinhardt before taking a bath seems to be making him drunk.

"...... now?"

Elsa, her cheeks slightly stained, looked up and asked Jin.

"...... precious, family. ...... No, that's not polite either. I'm a very important <>."

Erza turned not <> red at those words and kicked her chair to get up.

"......I'm going to bed. Good night."

Then she hurried out of the room.

"......Thank you," she said.

She left the room with these words.