"Jin, I'm sorry then, but I have to go somewhere right away."
Marcia took Jin's arm as he thought about it,
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"You have to register today or you won't be able to join."
"Well, that's not good. Okay, let's hurry up."
Jin was forced to hurry when he heard the deadline for registration.
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Marcia, Hitoshi, and Reiko, in that order, run down the street. They arrived at the central street of the port town, where a large stone building stood out.
This is the town hall of Potlock.
Marcia opened the door and went inside, followed by Jin and the others.
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"Oh, isn't that Marcia? Did you find the magecraftsman?
The person who called out to us was the same age as Marcia or slightly older, with brown hair and gray eyes. He was dressed in a dowdy outfit, probably of noble birth, and was accompanied by two guards.
"Ah, you've been found.
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When Marcia replied, the man gave a small click of his tongue. But he did not care,
I'd like to participate in the golem boat competition.
Marcia applies at the special reception desk.
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"Yes, then we will confirm your membership.
The receptionist says, and Marcia beckons Jin to join her.
The shipwright is me, Marcia. The magecraftsman in charge of making the golem is him, Jin.
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"Yes, then, how do you prove that you are the Magi Craftsman?"
Marcia asks Jin.
Jin, are you a member of a guild of magecraftsmen or something?
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"No, not really."
When Jin answered that he was, the staff member said,
"Then all you have to do is to show us your work or solve the problems we have prepared for you," he said.
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Reiko heard this and went forward. Hearing this, Reiko stepped forward.
"In that case, I can do it myself at ......."
Jin hurriedly pulled Reiko back,
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"What is your assignment?"
She managed to ask him. Then the staff member said,
"If you could make something out of the materials we have here."
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He pointed at the door to the next room. Jin said,
"Oh, I'll get right on that."
With that, he and the staff member headed for the room. On the way, he turned around,
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"Marcia, Reiko. I'll be right back."
Then the door was closed. At that moment, no one saw the man who called out to Marcia with a dark smile on his face.
The room was filled with another room, a room that had been used as a bedroom for the next day's guests.
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There was another attendant in the room,
"Now, show me what you can make with this."
The attendant put a block of copper on the table and said to Jin.
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"Okay. Now let's see what you can make.
The block of copper was smaller than a clenched fist and not much could be made of it. A cup, a plate, a candlestick. ......
"Okay."
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Having decided what to make, Jin immediately puts magic power into his hand.
"Hmm?"
At that time, he felt a slight sense of discomfort,
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"Forming."
He invoked the magic without any care.
The magic was activated regardless of the situation.
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"Marcia, how did you manage to find a freelance magecraftsman?
Meanwhile, in the hall of the mutual aid guild, the disturbed man from before was talking to Marcia.
"You were lucky," he said.
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"But if the Guild doesn't approve you, you won't be able to qualify for the competition after all.
What do you mean?
What do you mean? What if he's just a man of his word and not a magecraftsman or something?
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Marcia was indignant.
"Don't be silly. Jin is not that kind of a man.
Marcia forgets to use honorifics and yells at him. But the disturbed man didn't care,
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"I don't know. We'll soon find out."
While I was saying this, the door opened and the officer and Jin came out.
"How was it?"
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asked the disturbed man.
"......"
The officer kept quiet and held up the object in his hand.
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"What?"
"Oh?"
It was a bronze statue about 10 centimeters high. Or should I say a doll?
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"Sorry, Marcia. I couldn't think of anything to make right away, so I made your figure ...... doll."
Jin once helped to make a prototype of a figure sculpture as part of his part-time job when he was in an orphanage.
Although he was not good at original design, he was more skillful than others when he had a model to follow. His skills were also demonstrated in Magecraft.
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"That's fine, but why are you wearing such a swimsuit?
Marcia complained, her cheeks flushing. She was wearing a one-piece swimsuit.
"No, I didn't have time. No way, I couldn't be naked.
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"But how did Jin know I was wearing a bathing suit?
"No, you have to use your imagination."
No, he's just using his imagination.
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Marcia turns bright red and Jin answers without hesitation. Reiko is just praising Jin.
"Well, then, I admit that Jin-san is a magecraftsman.
"You did it, Marcia!"
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So Marcia pays the entry fee of 10,000 Tall.
Please register your team name later.
Marcia accepts the entry badge offered to her and clutches it to her chest.
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"Thank you, Jin.
But Jin said,
"You can thank me after we win.
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Jin, however, smiled wryly, "You can thank me after you win.
The first time I saw her, I thought, "I'm not going to thank you for that.
Meanwhile, the disturbed man pulled the attendant into the shadows and said, "Hey, what's going on?
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"Hey, what do you mean?
"No, no, I let him work at that table, just like you said! But he made that statue so fast. The guy in charge of the examinations saw it too, so I couldn't fool him.
"That's a table with a magic circle built in to block magic activation, right? You didn't change it to another table, did you?"
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"No, it wasn't. I checked the markings.
"d*mn it, did you get a defective product?"
The crazy guy looked frustrated, but then he changed his mind and smiled sarcastically,
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"Well, there's still a way."
* * * * * *
Extra.
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Mayor Potlock, the head of the competition committee, looked at the figure of Marcia made by Jin. And then he said.
"Yes, this will be the official swimsuit for this year's competition!