Jin participates in the of the Kingdom of Elias, and spends the next three days commuting to and from the project.

He returned to the village of Kaina using a warp gate and spent the night with Erza and the twins, under the pretense of staying at a friend's workshop in Marcia.

The time difference between Potrock and the village of Kaina is about 20 minutes, so it is very easy for Jin to get around.

June 17.

Jin, Elsa, and the twins are staying at Nido Castle tonight. Anne is there to help with the babysitting.

"How are you doing with your project?

Erza asked Jin on the third night after putting Yu and Mio to bed. Elsa had also participated in the development of and was somewhat intrigued by the project.

"Yes, it's quite good, they are all very motivated, so it's progressing very fast.

The progress of projects in this world is faster than in the modern Japan where Jin was. The magic is there, and the people are, shall we say, a bit impatient.

This can be a good thing or a bad thing.

In this case, Jin thought it was a good thing.

"It's a 50-meter class ship, so it's not as bad as the <>."

"Hmm."

Elsa took out a bottle of <> from a special cabinet. It is the sake reproduced in Horaijima. Junmai sake, of course. It is more refined than the sake served at Avalon in the past.

"You will drink some, won't you?

"Yes, I would. Thank you.

Jin took a wooden sake cup from the cupboard. It was sake, so he was in the mood.

Erza poured him some sake, which he tasted first by sipping it, and then took a sip.

It's delicious. You drink too, don't you, Elsa?

"Yes, a little."

Erza is not much of an alcoholic, but she drinks just for company. Jin produced another sake cup, filled it and offered it to Erza.

"Thank you."

Erza took it with a smile and took a sip.

"Delicious."

The sake was classified as a ginjo sake and suited Erza's palate.

"......It's so quiet."

"...... hmm."

The two of them are in the bedroom of Nido Castle.

The night in the village of Kaina passed quietly.

* * * *

On June 18th, the project was interrupted.

"Are you armed?"

The man who came first thing in the morning and made such a request was named Gaudino Granata, the Admiral of the Kingsguard Navy.

Jin thought that he must be a military officer under the direct control of the king, since he was called "Konoe.

About 60 years old. Gray hair, blue eyes. He was solidly built.

"Our kingdom of Elias is a maritime nation. We need armed ships to defeat demons. I hope this ship can be used for that purpose.

I've heard it's a cargo ship.

That was the original plan. Now we need a fleet of armed vessels to intercept the hordes of Death Serpents coming from the north!

Gaudino insists.

"But, Your Majesty, do you know about this?"

Sergio, the leader of the fleet, asked.

"I have been told that this project was personally ordered by His Majesty."

"...... Of course!　You don't believe me, the General?

No, it's not that.

At this point, Jin decided to interject.

"Sir, there are many types of armaments. What kind of armament do you have in mind?

Depending on the type of armament, it may affect the design of the ship. On the other hand, if the armament does not affect the design of the ship, we can proceed with the project as it is now.

"<>.

"A ballista?

Jin could not believe his ears.

The ballista is a huge crossbow. It shoots out chunks of rock or pointed logs.

It was one of the lost technologies used in the time of the Great Magic War.

Being a purely physical weapon, it is powerful, but at the same time it has many drawbacks.

The recoil is large, and the power depends on the mass of the projectile. These are the two major problems in this case.

"There are a lot of problems in putting that on a ship.

Jin countered.

"Yeah?　You look familiar from ...... somewhere, don't you?"

My name is Jin Nido. I have been invited by the Marquis of Florenziano to participate in this development project.

A foreigner. What can you teach me, Mr. Nido?"

The snickering attitude made Jin furious, but he kept it to himself for the moment and began to explain calmly.

The ballista is a huge bow, so to speak. To make it powerful, it needs to shoot out heavy objects.

"I don't need you to tell me that, I already know that.

That's a good point. A ballista that can shoot a Death Serpent would have to be quite large. That means the recoil will be correspondingly large.

"And?"

"Considering the way they attack, I'd like to put a few on the port side, but unfortunately that doesn't make sense."

Why not?

"If we mount large ballistas on the port side, like the ones used on the Death Serpent, they will capsize from the recoil of the shot."

"......"

Gaudino was absolutely mortified by this.

"The only places where the ship would not capsize would be at the bow and stern, but in that case we would only be able to use one of them for the attack."

"Ummm ......"

"Please, could you at least reconsider the armament?"

"......"

At Jin's suggestion, Gaudino thought for a moment with a frown,

"...... got it."

With a scowl on his face, he accepted Hitoshi's argument.

"Let's not install a ballista."

The General seemed to understand what Jin had said. But...

"So, you are okay with magical armaments?"

He seemed to have not given up on the idea of armament.

"Yes, well. But against the Death Serpent it would have to be a very powerful magic.

"You don't need to tell me. Then, I will be back!

With these words, Gaudino left.

"......."

Jin sighed.

"Thank you, Jin-san.

Sergio thanked Jin.

"If we had to install a ballista, we'd have to redesign it, wouldn't we?

"That's for sure."

Jin, however, was a little concerned.

Four hundred years later, the fleet of ships that surrounded Horai Island had a shape similar to the ship he was currently planning.