Magicraft Meister Part 1

For the next two days, Jin spent time at leisure in Potrock.

He felt bad for Reinhardt, who seemed to be busy as a full ambassador, but he enjoyed swimming and went to greet the proprietress of for the first time in a while.

Erza, who is not as busy as Reinhardt since she is the deputy ambassador, was in a good mood since she could spend about half of her time with Jin.

Marcia also returned to the store, although she was not yet able to work as hard as she used to. She took Rodrigo with her and introduced him as <>.

Jeremy and Bacchus were surprised when he told them that they would be working together from now on.

Nevertheless, since Jin had told them beforehand that he was the designer of the catamaran, they seemed to accept him easily.

From now on, father and daughter would run the workshop together.

"Sir Jin Nido, may I have a moment of your time today?"

On the morning of December 29th, after breakfast, the Marquis of Florenziano approached Jin.

"Yes, I'm fine.

Jin replied.

"Sir Reinhard Randall and Elsa Randall, too."

"Yes, I understand."

Since none of the three had anything urgent to do, they decided to go with the Marquis to his office in the guest house.

This is the room where the Marquis of Florenziano, the lord of the estate, holds his office when foreign dignitaries, such as ambassadors, visit the estate, and can also hold short ceremonies and receptions.

I will begin by informing you of my business.

The marquis held up a document in his hand for Jin and the others to see.

"We have received a request from the Kingdom of Klein to support Topopo, including its recipe.

It seems that the advice that Jin and Erza had given to the King of Klein when they had gone to treat his illness had been effective.

This information was probably a consideration of the fact that Jin had received an honorary knighthood from the Kingdom of Klein as well. Reinhardt and Erza are present because they are friends of Jin.

"However, considering the distance between the kingdoms of Elias and Klein, and the situation of the roads, ......"

Reinhard muttered with a difficult look on his face.

"Yes, really."

There are two kingdoms, Egelea and Cerroa, sandwiched between the kingdoms of Elias and Klein, and to make matters worse, there are no roads between the kingdoms of Egelea and Klein.

"So the idea was to use ships."

"What?"

Even if we transported them by ship, there is no sea in the Kingdom of Klein. Jin thought that even if they landed in the former Leonard Kingdom, where the distance was the shortest, it would be extremely difficult to transport them. Reinhardt and Elsa seemed to think the same way and looked at him with a difficult expression.

However, the Marquis's words made the scales fall from the eyes of the three of them.

"Use the river.

"...... Oh!"

A river. In other words, they were to use the Naudaria River, the great river that flows along the border between the kingdoms of Cerroa and Egelea, to go north.

The Naudaria River divides into the Asur River and the Torres River south of Esia, the capital of the Kingdom of Cerroa. If you continue up the Torres River until you reach Lake Cedrolia, Alban, the capital of the Kingdom of Klein, is just a stone's throw away.

There should be no waterfalls or fords along the way, so boats should be easy to navigate.

Jin vaguely imagined that the problem would be the propulsion system, which would only propel the boat against the current of the river.

Roughly calculated, the boat would have to sail a long distance of 600 km.

Food and water would be minimal, since coastal towns could be relied upon.

However, since it is a river and not an ocean, a shallow-bottomed boat may be more advantageous.

The total length is less than 10 meters. Dozens of vessels will sail in a row. .......

Jin had been thinking about this when the voice of the Marquis brought him back to himself.

"...... we in the province of Xaus intend to place great importance on this trade for the future. I would like to ask the three of you to advise me on ships that can be used for this trade.

With these words, the Marquis bowed his head.

"I have already spoken to the Shoro Empire during our regular contact the day before yesterday. I would appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Reinhardt and Ms. Erza. And Jin-sama, please contact us at ......."

"Yes, of course."

Without letting the marquis tell everyone, Jin readily agreed.

"Thank you very much. I think the honorarium will be sufficient.

The Marquis Florenziano made a proper distinction between business and official business.

* * * *

After the conversation was over, everyone relaxed over a cup of kuhe.

The Marquis was the first to speak.

"By the way, what are your plans for the New Year?

Today is December 29th. According to the custom in the Lesser Antilles, the 30th and the 1st of January, the New Year, are off for official business. The actual official work will start on the 3rd, since the 2nd is for meetings and so on.

"......I'm going back to Kaina village."

Jin's answer was obvious.

"I see. What about you two?"

"......I,......"

Erza glanced at Jin with a slight blush on her cheeks. Jin noticed her gaze and answered on her behalf.

Erza is with me."

The Marquis was a little surprised by this answer, but did not show it on his face. Then he realized the significance of the ring on Elsa's left ring finger.

"Well, that's what it means, isn't it? That's nice."

"I'm thinking of taking Reinhardt with me."

Jin replies for Reinhardt.

"Of course, I'll be back in the morning of the 3rd.

Of course, I'll be back in the morning of the 3rd," he adds.

"I see. Jin-sama's airship can do that, can't it?

The marquis is convinced.

In fact, Jin is thinking of sending Reinhardt back to Bertsche secretly through the warp gate, or else he is going to call her.

Reinhardt sensed this and said nothing.

"Okay, I understand. So you will leave this afternoon?"

The Marquis is very attentive. In fact, there was no need to rush, since he could use the warp gate on the airship, but it would be bad to let his concern go to waste.

Yes, if you would like.

"Yes, of course.

The Marquis nods his head smilingly.

< will indeed celebrate the New Year here in the Potrock.

After the talk with the Marquis Florenziano, Jin, Reiko, Elsa, Edgar, Reinhard and the others went to Marcia's store.

"Ah, Reinhard!　Thank you for coming!　I wonder if ...... is the wrong word to use?"

Reinhardt laughed at Marcia who had just said something like that.

"Haha, don't worry about it. I would be happy if you treat me as a friend."

"Oh, really?　Thank you."

"Oh?　Mr. Reinhardt, I see you're here too.

Rodrigo came out from the back of the store.

"Hello, Rodrigo. I'm glad to see you.

"Yes, thank you for everything you've done for us."

"No, no, no, it was nothing serious."

The conversation was friendly. Seeing the smiles on Marcia's and Rodrigo's faces, Jin was glad to see them.

"Rodrigo, you are getting off the ship, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am sorry, but my home ...... is here."

Rodrigo answered Reinhardt's question with some trepidation. But Marcia, behind him, looks pleased.

The captain has already given his permission. Thank you, Ms. Jin, Ms. Erza, and Mr. Reinhardt, for all your help.

Rodrigo bowed deeply. Jin stopped him.

"It's okay. Marcia is my friend who participated in the golem boat competition with me. It's only natural that I should help my friend's father.

"Thank you, Jin. Elsa, Reinhard. I thank you too.

Marcia, who had remained silent until now, bowed her head to the three of them.

Even though it was the middle of winter at the end of the year, the wind in Potrock was somewhat gentle.