At the end of his meeting with the Empress, Jin decided to tell her that he was going back to Kunlun Island.

"Yes, that airship will make it easy for me to come and go. I look forward to seeing you again.

With these words, the Empress sends Jin and the others on their way.

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

At 3:00 p.m., Jin, Reiko, and Erza are seen off by Barrow and Behrle, and they take off in .

The altitude of the aircraft increased at once.

When they reach a height where they cannot be seen from the ground, Jin activates the that he received from the 700672.

The marker is the forecourt of the research institute on Horai Island. It was around 9:00 at night.

When the landed in the forecourt, which was illuminated by the magic lamps, Jin and the others were greeted by an unexpected person.

"Hey, Jin, Erza, welcome back. We've been waiting for you!

Saki?

Saki?

<

Jin nodded his head in agreement with the old man's explanation. Jin smiled, thinking that Saki would be happy to help him.

They went to the workshop immediately. Not the workshop on the first floor, which Jin usually uses, but the laboratory on the second floor.

"I've tried threads of ground spiders, wing membranes of sea dragons, crystals, cubic zirconia, gold, mithril silver, light silver, and adamantite," he said.

"Hmm, that's a good line of materials."

The materials were chosen for their strength and durability.

"On the other hand, the chemicals we tried were the body fluids of gigantopods, gigantopod ants, and dissolved fluid from <>."

"Wait a minute, how did you get the dissolving fluid of <> from ......?"

The old man answered.

<

"I see."

Sounds like something a mad scientist would say.

Let's put that aside for the moment and let Jin lead the way.

"The threads with the highest chemical resistance were those of the ground spider. As far as metals are concerned, adamantite is excellent, but it is still slightly affected by the body fluids of gigantopods and giant ants.

"Fuun......"

.

The old man's voice.

It means that the demons living in the ground defeated the demons in the water.

The concept of "土剋水" is based on the five elements, which started in ancient China.

It is based on the idea that earth conquers water, water conquers fire, fire conquers gold, gold conquers wood, and wood conquers earth.

Jin knew this concept a little because it is featured in manga and novels.

"Well, that's not so easy to say..."

"Brother Jin, why don't you ask <<700672>>?"

"......Oh, I see."

To be honest, Jin is reluctant to rely on others in times of trouble, but he can't say that if there are still dangerous monsters like these in the ruins of the old Leonard's Kingdom.

"Shall we go and ask them? ......"

As a matter of fact, powerful demons and monsters are mostly found in the north. Therefore, we hoped that the 700672 in the north would have a wealth of information about them.

Jin, are you going to this 700672?

"Yes, I want to thank him for the transporter he gave me, so I'll go there tomorrow.

I'll be there tomorrow.

The next morning.

Jin and the others finished breakfast in a hurry.

"I'd like to visit ...... too, but I think I'll pass on it this time."

Saki said a little regretfully.

"Well, that's probably a good idea. Well then, Reiko and I will go with you."

"Okay, see you later."

Erza and Saki saw him off, and Jin and Reiko went to the warp gate room.

On the way to the warp gate room, Jin receives a glass of Persica juice as a gift from the old man.

The two then enter the warp gate.

<

"Welcome, master."

Everything's fine, sir.

Thank you.

A brief exchange takes place, and Jin puts his hand on the door of the . The door opened upon recognizing Jin.

"Jin-sama, Reiko-san, welcome. You wanted to see my father?"

"Yes, Neige, hello. I wanted to ask you a few questions today.

While I was having this conversation with Neige, the 700672 showed up.

"Oh, Mr. Jin, welcome."

"Hello."

Jin hands her a glass of Persian juice.

"Oh, thank you. I've just run out of the last one you gave me.

I'll send it to you regularly.

"That would be great."

Outside the room is packed with craftsmen. If you have them carry it outside the door, Neige will receive it in a timely manner.

It reminded Jin somewhat of a milkman delivering milk.

"So what's the matter with you today?　Did something occur to you that you wanted to ask me?

Jin nodded at the sharp insight of No. 700672.

"Yes, I did. As a matter of fact, ......"

Jin tells the story of the remains of the old Leonard's Kingdom and the demons that come out of the underground. He also talks about the melting of Reiko's skin, which was made from the wing membrane of a sea dragon.

"Fumu......"

After listening to the story to the end, interspersed with occasional questions, No. 700672 folded her arms and pondered.

After less than a minute of thinking, he untied his arms and opened his mouth.

"It is true that many of the demons that live underground are powerful. They have evolved in terms of magic in order to live in a poor environment. That is probably why the wing membranes of the sea dragons were also melted.

Jin nodded.

"I imagine that in addition to the usual acidic substances, the free magic element (ether) may also work to weaken the bonds of matter."

"I understand."

"Well, that's enough preamble. ...... is winter now, right?"

Yes, it is.　Yes, it is.

"Yes, it is." "Hmm, that's convenient. Jin-dono, have you ever heard of an ancient dragon?

Jin tried to remember, but he had no idea.

"No, I don't know it.

"I see. It is a gigantic dragon that lives at the northern end of this continent. It is a magical beast that is probably at the top of all life forms on this planet.

The apex of life on ......?

"Mm-hmm. Of course, it's a living creature, so it can be defeated. But they're docile and they don't come south. It lives in extremely cold regions and feeds on high concentrations of free magical element (ether).

This is a powerful-looking dragon.

Generally speaking, carnivores tend to be more powerful than herbivores, and carnivores tend to be more powerful than carnivores in terms of free magic element (ether) consumption.

There are various degrees of power, such as longevity and physical strength.

"The ancient dragons, however, shed their skins in the middle of winter. If we can get its skin, it will be one of the strongest materials.

"Yes, sir!　Thank you very much."

Jin thanked him for the valuable information.

"Are you going to go looking for it?"

"Yes, that's the plan."

"I don't need to tell you about the cold weather, but there is another powerful magical beast that lives in the northern boundary. Be careful with that.

Another hexenbiest?

"Yes. <

"Well, that's ......."

If so, there is a very high possibility that they will run into each other.

"Ancient dragons are few in number. There are probably no more than 10 of them. In contrast, there are probably three times as many frost dragons.

I'm sure we'll encounter them.

"I think so. So be sure to take all possible countermeasures.

From the name, frost dragons use magic to freeze people, don't they?

"Yes. It's said to be able to freeze a small volcano. Be careful on your way.

I understand. Thank you for your help. I'll come back and tell you if I succeed in collecting it.

"I wish you success."

And so, Jin returned to Horai Island.