Magicraft Meister Part 1

Here you go.

"Thank you."

While Jin and the others were waiting for Marcia in the reception area, a girl from the store served Koohe.

"Are you from the workshop too?"

Jin asked, and the girl nodded.

"Yes, my name is Jeremy. I've been working here since this summer.

"And the man who just came in?"

I decided to ask her about the man who answered the door.

"That man is Mr. Buckles. He's in charge of sales.

"Thank you."

When Jin thanked her, the girl named Jeremy stared at him and asked an unexpected question.

I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but are you Jin-san by any chance?

"Sure, I'm Jin."

When Jin affirmed the question, Jeremy's face instantly turned happy.

"I knew it!　I was watching the competition!　That's why I remembered your face!　It's an honor to meet you!　And you must be Reiko!

Yes, that's me.

Yes, sir.　I knew it!"

Jin looked at the excited Jeremy and thought that the competition she was talking about must be the golem boat competition, or at least that's the only way to describe it.

"You worked on the Cygnus on the front, didn't you, Jin-san?

"Ah, yes."

"Yes, I did!　...... Mr. Buckaroo, Mr. Buckaroo!"

Jeremy walked out, excited.

"...... What a lively boy you are."

"Yes, sir."

Jin and Rodrigo were left behind.

But soon the owner of the noise returns.

"Oh, it's really Jin-san!

"What?"

It is the man from before. He has dark blond hair and green eyes, and looks about Jin's age.

"My name is Buckaroo. I am in charge of sales, but I would like to become a shipbuilder (shipwright) someday.

Bakkals introduces himself.

"But I'm thrilled to have you here, and of !

Even Buckarus says something like that. He told us that he and Jeremy had been watching the Golem boat competition and admired the way they won.

"It was great to get a clean sweep on the way back from Io!" he says.

"Once you took the lead, you never gave it up!　I was very impressed!

"Thank you for ......."

We listened to their compliments and answered their questions for a while, and then realized that it was noon.

"......, you're late."

Jeremy and Buckles start to get a little concerned, as you'd expect.

"What do you mean by going out?"

Rodrigo opened his mouth. Jeremy and Buckals looked at each other once and then turned to Jin.

"Um, Jin-san, who is this person?"

"This man is an acquaintance of mine. ......"

Jin tried to explain, but Rodrigo was the first to introduce himself.

My name is Rodrigo and I am a shipwright. <."

"What!　!　That's a big ship from the Shoro Kingdom!

"I knew it from Jin-san's acquaintance!"

Both of them seemed convinced by this explanation, and they told us more about the ship.

"Just to be clear, this is still a secret, so please don't tell anyone else.

After reminding them that it was still a secret, Bacchus began to speak.

Buckles then began to speak.

About three months ago, a rumor circulated.

It is said that a huge ship is being built in the Kingdom of Selroa. It is said to be capable of sailing long distances, long periods of time, and carrying a great deal of cargo.

When Marcia heard this, she was indignant.

I don't know how far a private workshop can go, but I can't lose!

I don't know how far I can go in my own workshop, but I can't let them beat me!

He spent about a month designing the new ship.

It took Marcia another month and a half to build it.

He has been testing and improving the prototype for the last half month.

"Well, may I ask what kind of ship it is?"

Bacchus looked at Jin and then at Rodrigo. He was clearly hesitating.

"Do you know who was the first to design a catamaran?"

Jin boldly asked.

"What?　Yes, no. Wasn't it manager Marcia or Mr. Jin?"

Apparently, Marcia had not told the clerk about her father, Jin thought.

"No, actually, it's Mr. Rodrigo here."

"What?　Is that so?

I've never heard of him before!"

They were surprised. However, it was the right thing to tell them, and Bacchus showed them the blueprints of the new ship.

Jin and Rodrigo look at the board on which the plans are drawn.

"This is ......."

It was a trimaran. It is similar to the < that Jin put to practical use on Horai Island.

"Powered by ...... waterwheel drive?"

A waterwheel attached to the rear of the hull in the center. It is driven by a golem, as seen in the drawing.

The idea seems to be that it can be used as a power source and as a sailor.

"Well, it's about ......8 meters in size. It has a cabin where you can take a nap.

"Mister Jin, is it possible for a single golem to move such a large ship?

Rodrigo's natural question.

However, Jin knows the performance of the golem that he created for Marcia.

And when they parted ways, he had doubled its output.

"I can move ......."

So Jin replies, "Yes, I can. However, he was not at ease.

"However, if we use this structure to drive the waterwheel, the belt will not hold up, let alone the waterwheel and bearings," he said.

When I mentioned this, Buckarus replied.

"Yes, that's why we have two belts and a spare.

"I see. But ......"

But that's not the only problem.

"How do you drive the spare?"

If the waterwheel breaks down, is there any way to move the boat?

In Jin's case, he once transformed a waterwheel into a paddle by engineering magic when the axle broke on an improvised outer-wheel boat. Jin thinks that this was only possible because of Reiko's presence and that it is usually necessary to have a separate propulsion system.

Otherwise, a lifeboat would have to be on board.

But what about Marcia?

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

From Jeremy's and Buckarth's hesitancy, Jin guessed that there was no means of emergency propulsion.

"That's dangerous. ......"

I don't mean to assume that there will be an accident, but I am worried about it.

"No, we've been getting back on time so far!"

Jeremy follows up, but this only makes him more worried about his late return.

"Jin-dono, Marcia is at ......."

Rodrigo is also worried. Then Reiko spoke up.

"Do you know about the ocean currents?"

And the answer came back.

Ocean currents?　Ocean currents?　...... No, I don't know.

"The ocean only waxes and wanes, doesn't it?"

Jin heard this and was surprised. Jin was shocked to hear that.

There is a warm current that starts near the equator, passes near the peninsula where the Elias Kingdom is located, and flows northward through the sea area where the Kunlun and Horai islands are located.

However, the current is twisted by the islands located further south of the equator, south of the Elias Peninsula, and the current is so weak that it cannot be felt until just around Io Island.

However, east of Io, where Marcia is thought to have been heading, the influence of the warm currents increases sharply.

In other words, there is a warm current flowing from south to north in the waters around Io, where Marcia was probably headed.

"If she was swept away by this thing ......"

Even Jin's Arrow would have a hard time navigating an 8-meter ship against the warm currents. And with a drive mechanism that would not allow the Arrow to reach its full potential.

Jin had a bad premonition and jumped out of the boat without saying a word.