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 finishing your first automata . ”
Jin fetches some Ground Spider silk from the shelves and quickly produces some trunks . Then he makes a T-shirt 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 shirt . 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 .