Magicraft Meister Part 1

Georg, Elsa's father, laughed at Reiko's words as if he were mocking her.

"What are you talking about, a doll?

"Like a doll?

Jin shouted angrily at the mockery of Reiko. Reiko is so surprised that she forgets her anger for a moment and stares at Jin's face.

Then Markus said,

"As usual (・・・・・), you are a doll, pretending to be a daughter.

He said something like that.

"As usual?"

Jin, curious about the line, parrots it back, but Markas does not answer,

"If you think you're on your own, let's see you prove it, Viscount.

He then implored the viscount with these words.

"...... I see. Interesting. Marcus, how many golems and automata did you make, the latest ones?"

"Yes, five besides the giant golem. Two automata and three military golems.

Georg smiles when he hears this.

"...... Jin Nido, if Erza is your apprentice, show us your skills as a master. If you can compete with the golem Marcus made and win, I will reconsider Erza.

"......What does my skill have to do with Erza's ability?"

"Of course it does. A student of an apparent magical engineer can hardly be called a full-fledged apprentice.

"If you are not confident, you can run away, can't you?

At least until Jin is recognized by Viscount Georg Randall, it is unlikely that he will even listen to what he has to say.

In addition, Jin was quite annoyed with the Viscount for calling Reiko a doll. So he decided to accept the challenge.

"......Okay. How?　What is the date and time?

"Well, you're going to take it. You've got some nerve. The way is that we each send out a golem or an automata and let them compete in the Gonkrenz. The date is tomorrow. There will be spectators, so it's perfect.

"Gonkrenz"?

You've never heard of it? It's a golem competition held in the Shoro Kingdom. Ask the man there for details.

What?

Reinhardt, who had heard the commotion and was unaware of it, came to Jin's side.

"Uncle, if you challenge Jin, you will be humiliated, won't you?"

Reinhardt admonished him in a roundabout way, but the viscount did not take it well.

"Well, which one of us will be humiliated?"

Meanwhile, onlookers heard this and made a commotion.

"Oh!　A magic puppet competition!

It's been a year and a half, hasn't it?

Jin Nido and Marcus are competing!

Then Christoph Bardet von Tharnat, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Magic and Technology, who was a member of the committee organizing the technical fair, heard the commotion and flew in.

"Viscount, Mister Gin!　What's going on?

"A member of the executive committee. Nothing, it's just that tomorrow our Magi Engineer, Marcus, and Gin Nido will be competing in the Gonklentz!

"What? ......!"

"I can prove it to those around me that I have declared that Jin Nido and I are going to compete in the Gonkkurrenz. We can't back out now."

According to the laws of the Shoro Kingdom, if you declare that you are going to hold a Gonklentz competition in the presence of five or more witnesses, it will be publicly recognized.

"Just tomorrow is the last day of the technical exposition, it will be a suitable presentation.

"Yes, yes, ......."

"......, so get ready for the Gonklentz competition. Erza, come on."

Viscount Georg Landl grabs Elsa's arm again.

"Ah ......"

Erza's face is distorted with sadness. Jin saw this and shouted.

"Wait!"

"What?　I'm Elsa's father. What's wrong with a father taking his daughter?　Isn't that right, Elsa?"

"...... yes."

Georg stared at her and Erza nodded, drooping her head. Everyone had heard that Erza had said . In the public eye, Jin could say nothing more.

"If you win tomorrow, I will reconsider Elsa as I said before. I promise you that. Good bye."

With these words, Viscount Georg Randall, who had made his way through the crowd of onlookers, walked away, dragging Erza along with him. Marcus followed.

Jin was left behind, and Reinhardt was stunned.

"...... Jin-dono, I am sorry, but could you please explain the situation?"

Christophe, a member of the technical exposition committee, said a little apologetically and invited Jin and the others to the conference room.

"...... and that's why ......."

Jin explained the situation on behalf of the others.

"Well, from what I've heard, it seems that we have no choice but to hold a magic puppet competition, regardless of the circumstances.

What's this Gonkwrenz?

Ah, Mister Jin, you wouldn't know. I will explain it to you.

Gonkrenz is a duel between golems or automata.

Although it is a duel, it is not a battle of destroying each other, but a competition of performance.

The events are as follows

1. 500-meter race

2. weight throwing (throwing a specified weight and competing in the distance)

3. long-distance swimming (probably to Lake Tosmo and back in this case)

4. search and dive (search for something underwater)

5. combat skills (using a sword or a wrestling-like empty-handed combat sport).

The competition consists of five types of events.

On rare occasions, the opponents may add other events after consulting with each other.

"You can have a separate golem or automata for each of them, or you can have a single golem or automata for all of them.

Reinhardt added.

"You were the champion last time, weren't you, Reinhardt? You said the Black Knight (Schwarzritter) and Lorelei, didn't you?

He said that Reinhardt had won the Gonkrenz competition held before Reinhardt and Erza left on their trip.

"Lorelei won the long-distance swimming and search-and-dive, and the black knight (Schwarzlitter) won everything else, didn't he?"

Jin asked, and Reinhardt nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., we will hold the outdoor presentation in the plaza where we held the outdoor presentation today. The long-distance swimming and exploratory diving will naturally take place at Lake Tosmo, so please plan accordingly.

After reminding Jin, Christoph Bardet von Tharnat left the conference room.

"......Goodness gracious, the Marquis is all settled."

Jin blurted out.

I should have put on my disguise and left the room, but it was too late to regret it now.

The plan was to come forward after the third day was over and the evaluations of the participants had been announced.

Once she was officially recognized by the Emperor, there would be no one who would doubt that Erza was a full-fledged member of the team.

However, as of today, it would be difficult to resist Georg's claim to paternity. Georg's presence here was unexpected in the first place.

I am sorry. I guess I did not gather enough information.

To begin with, Reinhardt did not know that Erza's father was going to be at the expo.

He had thought that his eldest son, Moritz, would be there. This was because Viscount Georg Randall had never attended a technology fair in the past.

Therefore, even the old man could not include the countermeasure against Georg.

"I should have been more careful since I saw him in the arena earlier. ...... Well, it's his own father's place, so it's a relief that I don't have to worry about him doing something to me or anything like that."

Nothing can compare to being trapped in the Unification Party (Unifiler).

Letting out one sigh, Reinhardt mentioned one more thing that had been bothering him.

"So, Jin, did everything go well with the Marquis?"

"Yes."

Jin explained to Reinhardt.

"Well, that one turned out better than I thought it would. But poison. ......"

It is easy to forget about Erza, but there is a strong possibility that someone may have poisoned the Marquis. That was also a problem.

"Oh, that's a problem. ......"

"Indeed. ......"

For a while both Jin and Reinhardt were silent.

Then Jin broke the silence.

"Hey Reinhard, I think Erza's father is acting a little crazy.

Reinhardt agreed with Jin's words.

"Yes, I think so too. I wonder if he's under the same kind of as Fritz?"

"I don't know. ...... Reiko, what is your opinion?"

Since Reiko was there, she might have noticed something that Jin did not.

"There was nothing wrong with Viscount Georg Randall. But I felt that there was something a little strange about this man Marcus.

"Marcus?"

"Yes. I don't know how to say it: ...... yes, it's as if my memory has been tampered with. The magical patterns that sometimes leak out are worm-eaten.

"Worm-eaten?"

I understand the expression, but I have no idea why it is so.

"I have just contacted the old man and asked him about it. According to the old man, it might be caused by using a forbidden spell to erase memories and then giving them new memories."

"What?"

It's not easy to erase memories of experiences, let alone knowledge, and then give them new memories. Inevitably, there will be gaps.

The old man guessed that this lack of knowledge might be a cause of instability and might be reflected in the magic power.

"If that's the case, then who was the one who tampered with Marcus' memory?"

Reinhardt asked the obvious question. But we don't know.

So, Jin instructed the old man through Reiko to have the SP, who was supposed to be attached to Erza, check it out.