"Hey, Jin!"

Marcia's voice echoed through the deserted harbor as the fishermen were leaving.

"Not there. A little further."

We follow her directions.

A small boat for two people was sitting on the pier.

"Yes, that's it. You can get on it."

Marcia said from offshore, and Jin untied the rope and climbed into the boat. Reiko followed. The boat smelled slightly of fish, as it had been used to help with the fishing.

"Go ahead of me, I'll catch up with you later.

He said to Marcia,

Deodorant.

The smell was removed with deodorant, the magic word of engineering.

Then Jin processes the block of bronze that Reiko gave him.

"Forming. Hardening. ......"

The bronze was formed as if kneading clay with invisible hands.

The result is two small waterwheels with crank handles. They have crank handles.

"Now all that's left are the bearings."

Ball bearings are not possible now, so he uses ordinary flat bearings, which are quickly made.

"Okay, let's put this on.

What Jin built was in essence an outer-wheel boat. Waterwheels are attached to both sides of the hull and driven by handles on the left and right sides separately.

Of course, Jin is the one who drives it. No wonder it's ......, it's Reiko.

"Okay, Reiko, I'm sorry, but please turn this to move the boat.

Then Jin explains to Reiko. The reason why the left and right waterwheels are independent is to eliminate the need for a rudder. By changing the speed of the waterwheels, the boat can be steered at will.

However, this is only possible with Reiko, and an ordinary golem would be too inefficient. Even a golem's legs are naturally stronger than its arms.

"Yes, leave it to me."

However, Reiko, being a super automata, can get enough thrust just by turning by hand. The advantage is that she can change direction without the need for a rudder by changing the left and right rotations.

At first slowly, and then gradually faster as she gets used to it. Reiko maneuvered the small boat at will and headed out to sea.

There are several areas for practice and Marcia and her crew were in the eastern area of the harbor.

At this time of the year, the sea in this region is calm. This is where the competition takes place.

On the calm sea, there were many boats running around. One of them was Cygnus.

"Oh, Jin, you're here. ...... What's that?"

Marcia asked in surprise when she saw the paddlewheeler.

"Oh, I thought this would be better than the oars. It's not as efficient as a foot paddle, but it's good enough for Reiko.

When Jin said this, Marcia frowned,

"Hey, Jin, this may be unnecessary, but even if Reiko is your assistant and good at body strengthening magic, it's not very complimentary to use her like that, is it?"

"Huh?"

For a moment Jin didn't understand what was being said, but then he immediately understood what was being said.

"Oh, I see. I didn't tell Marcia about this.

What about?

Reiko is an automaton that I created.

"What?"

Now it was Marcia's turn to be taken aback.

"I didn't tell you when we first met, but now I have to tell you. We're teammates, right?"

"............"

"Marcia?"

"You're late, idiot!"

She seemed to have lost her temper.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but if I had told you the truth when we just met, it would have gotten complicated.

For the next few moments, Jin did his best to quiet Marcia down.

"......Well, it's true that now that I know what Jin is capable of, I'm not surprised by this level of surprise, so I don't understand his concern."

Then Marcia said,

"Well, well, anyway, it's thanks to Jin that I'm able to compete,...... so I guess this is the end of the story."

Let's stay positive and work for the competition, Marcia said. Jin is relieved.

At the same time, he decided to keep quiet about the possibility that Marcia might be targeted until after the competition.

I am not sure if she is really being targeted, and I want her to focus on the competition for now. In the meantime, I have decided to take as much precaution as possible for Marcia's safety.

（If we had been able to interrogate the intruder yesterday, we might have found out something.)

Reiko has abandoned her.

So, from now on, we will work on preparing for the competition.

In a golem boat like this one, it is important for the golem, who is in charge of propulsion, and the pilot to cooperate with each other. To use an analogy, it is like the relationship between a driver and a horse in a horse-drawn carriage.

The coordination between Golem's Arrow and Marcia was improving with each passing moment. Jin observed them, checking for any problems and making minor corrections at every pause.

This cycle completed the morning.

"After lunch, I'm going to pick up my swimsuit for the competition.

Marcia says. Jin says,

"Is that a competition swimsuit?"

"Yes. The entry fee includes the cost of the swimsuit.

It seems that the high entry fee of 10,000 dollars, or about 100,000 yen, included not only the operating expenses, but also the cost of such items. I see.

"Okay. I'll take care of the Arrow in the meantime.

"Yes, please."

So, after lunch, Marcia went to the competition office in the town hall.

Jin was going to check out the Arrow and give it a tune-up.

"After all, if you move it that much, the joints will wear out if you just harden the bronze.

So, he coated the sliding parts with adamantite that he brought from Horai Island. This is not against the rules.

"The magi crystals are also a little worn, so I'll replace them with new ones.

In addition,

"Bronze is resistant to corrosion, so I'll just apply a thin layer of mithril plating to the surface.

It's a hobby, but no one is going to stop him.

When the magical modification (tune-up) was finished.

"...... Jin, I'm back now."

Marcia came back ...... and Jin almost burst out when he saw her outfit.

"What ......!"

Marcia was wearing a navy blue one-piece swimsuit. Moreover, it looked just like the figure Jin had made during the registration screening. Or rather, the chairperson of the committee decided after seeing the figure.

"I heard that this is the design for this year. ...... Jin, what do you have to say?"

"Oh,......, I'm sorry."

First of all, Jin apologized.

"But it looks great on you!

Marcia looked at him with a stern look,

"You sound like you're just saying that ......."

"No, no, it's not that!　No, no, it's not that! Marcia's got great style, it looks good on her, really.

Marcia's cheeks flushed a little when she heard that.

"Really?　If ...... Jin says so, I guess it's okay."

Marcia has a little bit of a curvaceous figure, and all the men in the harbor area are glued to her swimsuit. But she only makes them feel depressed,

"Well then, let's start the afternoon practice!

With that, he got into Cygnus.

We practiced and adjusted until the evening, and then we just had to wait for tomorrow's qualifying round.

The only thing left to do was to wait for tomorrow's qualifying round.

Oh no!　I should extend my stay at the hotel.

Jin shouted as he remembered on the way back to the hotel.

"Don't worry, father, I extended it for three more nights when I came out this morning.

Reiko was very helpful.