Chapter 372

It was just about lunchtime by the time they returned to Kaina Village .

“Jin-sama, Elsa, welcome home . ”

Mine comes out to greet them . The smell of freshly baked bread drifts about in the air .

“I’ve just baked some bread . ”

Thinking about how they’ve arrived just in time, Jin and Reiko enter Martha’s house .

“Oh, Jin, what does Reiko-chan have there?”

Martha asks Jin as she sees the saucepan that Reiko is holding .

“It’s bean paste . I’m having this with my bread . I’m not sure if I’ll like it or not, but this is how I used to do it back in my home town . ”

“Ah, onii-chan, welcome home!”

Hanna smiles joyfully as she comes to the dining room to wash her hands and finds Jin already there .

“Hey, Hanna! …Hey, want to try this?”

Taking the initiative, Jin takes a slice of bread and smears some bean paste on it with a spoon .

The others imitate Jin and smear bean paste on their own slices of bread .

Those who took a bite were taken aback by the sweetness .

“Mmmm!”

All that Jin wanted to see the most was Hanna’s smiling face .

He had been worried about not being able to bring her a souvenir .

“Jin-nii, it’s so tasty!”

“It’s so sweet! You only need to put a little of it on bread . ”

“So this is bean paste, Jin-sama? It doesn’t look too good, but it’s really tasty!”

They were having sweet bread with their salty soup . Jin was relieved that they all seemed to like the bean paste .

(But it would be impossible to cultivate sugar cane in Kaina village . I would need to find sugar beet instead . )

Sugar is a valuable commodity, so it is not eaten very often unless one cultivates it oneself .

(But that might be a good thing when it comes to preventing cavities . )

That’s what Jin thinks as he sees Hanna’s face, which is missing a front tooth .

After their meal, Jin went back to Hourai Island together with Elsa .

(Tomorrow I’ve got plenty of time, so let’s spend some with Hanna…)

That’s what he was thinking .

“Well then, Elsa . ”

At the workshop, with a workbench standing between them, Jin spoke to Elsa about her new task .

“Try to make an Automata . ”

“…Huh?”

Elsa could not believe her ears . Could she already make one by herself after just having started with Magi Craft not too long ago?

“You’re already capable of doing it, Elsa . You only lack experience . I’ll be watching, so go ahead and give it a try . ”

“…”

Having heard what Jin told her, Elsa could not refuse .

“Okay, I’ll try . ”

As she nods, Jin begins to explain the procedure .

“… Skeleton, Magi Device, muscle fiber, head, skin, Control Core…”

“Right, that’s the gist of it . Since it’s your first one, don’t make it too big . Just try to do something that’s about Reiko’s size . ”

Jin pats Reiko’s shoulder, who was right next to him .

“…Got it . ”

Still not feeling entirely confident, Elsa begins gathering the necessary materials .

“The first thing you need to do is getting used to working with aluminum . ”

That’s Jin’s first advice . Since Elsa normally processes aluminum, she’s already used to working with it .

However, neither Jin nor Elsa know that aluminum is not a material that beginners would normally use .

The reason why Jin advised Elsa to use aluminum is its simplicity . To get used to a material is to reduce the amount of magical loss when processing it .

Jin doesn’t have any problems, but due to Elsa’s surplus of magical power, if she uses up all of her magic, she will start to seem ill .

A few days ago they had to remember using “Genesung” .

Following Jin’s advise, Elsa decides to use aluminum . Since Jin himself always uses aluminum, there’s always a large amount of it already prepared .

“Forming . ”

Elsa begins processing right away . Apparently, she already has something in mind .

Jin watches silently, but the thoughts of the time when he was first rebuilding Reiko (before she was even given a name) are filling his mind .

After processing several times, Elsa finishes the automata’s skeleton . It feels as if she has made something that looks like a mascot doll .

“…How about it, Jin-nii?”

Elsa timidly asks Jin . Jin nods with a gentle smile, and answers .

“It’s a pa.s.s! You’ve gotten quite better at this, Elsa . ”

Hearing those words, Elsa smiled cheerfully .

“Well, now that this is done, here’s a little trick to help reduce wear in its joints . ”

Bringing a little of Adamant.i.te…

“Plating . ”

Jin produces a plating on the surface .

“This will reduce friction and increase its durability . Give it a try . ”

The rest of the joints were left for Elsa to finish . And Elsa was able to meet that expectation, demonstrating that she is familiar with this technology .

She continued on working for 4 hours with Jin overseeing her work .

“…I made it . ”

At last, Elsa finished her first automata . Jin also checked its every detail and gave his approval when he found no problems with it .

It is a boy model, with the same platinum hair Elsa has . They are closed now, but its eyes are blue .

“…How long does it take you to make one of these, Jin-nii?”

Elsa’s question had a hint of relief after having finally finished .

“Hmm… about 1 hour, maybe?”

That is a rather modest estimation . If he were to put all of his effort into it, it wouldn’t take him more than 30 minutes .

However, since Laojun and Smith have finished their preparations, Jin almost never has to start working from scratch .

“…I’ll do my best . ”

Jin gently tapped Elsa’s shoulder and said:

“Well then, you’re almost done! Try starting it up . ”

Cheering Elsa on with his words .

“Yes . …Start . ”

Responding to the keyword, the automata slowly gets up .

“Nice to meet you, Creator . ”

“Elsa, give him a name . ”

“Yes . …Your name is Edgar . ”

“Understood, my name is Edgar . ”

Thus, Edgar was born as Elsa’s first automata .

Reiko seems to be pleased as she watches the scene . Perhaps it brings her memories of the time when she was created .

Elsa is not aware of it, but Edgar’s Control System is the same that Soleil and Luna have .

Thanks to the TransInfo conducted for Jin’s official disciples, it’s possible to use the Adriana System’s Control System .

Elsa does not know what this means, though .

Similarly, Jin doesn’t know either . That’s why Reinhart had told them that it’s important to know the world’s standards .

Such similar people had become teacher and student .

Now, returning to the story…

“Well, time to get him dressed . ”

Edgar was still naked .

“Well, you might not be too familiar with men’s clothing, plus I haven’t got much more time . Let me make his clothes for you, Elsa . Just as a way to celebrate you finis.h.i.+ng your first automata . ”

Jin fetches some Ground Spider silk from the shelves and quickly produces some trunks . Then he makes a T-s.h.i.+rt out of knitted fabrics . He also makes sure to apply some rubber to the trunks .

This takes him about 5 minutes, by the way .

After looking at Jin’s display, Elsa began to feel her self-confidence wavering . But she soon got back on her feet .

“…One day, I’ll be able to do that too . ”

Elsa’s ability to not be discouraged might be her strongest point .

The jacket is black and looks like a blazer . The bow tie makes him look like the son of a lord .

“Well, that’s done . ”

“…So cool!”

Elsa’s first automata, Edgar, was standing there like looking like a young boy from the Showa era .

Black blazer, black trousers . A black bow tie over a white s.h.i.+rt . And white socks under the black shoes .

“Thank you very much, Jin-sama . ”

Edgar bows as he says that . It seems that his behavior has been established .