The princess nodded broadly to Jin, who said he had a condition for the golem's production.

"Yes, of course. Price?　The time and effort?　This work is not for me, but for my father. You can tell me anything you want.

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No, it's nothing. As long as you promise not to take us into custody.

Of course, the princess promised on her honor. Jessica and Gloria did the same.

"If you antagonize us, it will be the end of our country.

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The princess laughed jokingly, but no one in the room knew that she was not joking. Not even Erza knew the true strength of Horai Island.

"Well then, I'm sorry, but could you please come back to the royal castle after this?"

"I don't have a choice.

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Considering the conditions, returning to the village of Kaina was not an option. If someone asked me where I was going, I would be at a loss for an answer.

If I tell the old man, he will tell the village of Kaina in some way.

"Elsa, Hannah, I'm going to be gone a day or two longer, is that all right?"

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Jin asked them with an apologetic look on his face. Erza and Hanna both laughed and agreed.

"It's my brother Jin's decision.

"Are you going back to Oujisama's place again?　That's fine!"

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Jin was relieved to hear that.

"Well, you can ride in the carriage again. ...... Gloria, I'm sorry, but stay here and watch out for the bandits. I'll send someone right away."

"Yes."

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* * *

Jin and the others get back into the carriage and head back to the palace they had just left.

They were taken to a guest room, served tea, and waited for 30 minutes.

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In the meantime, Jin instructed Reiko to explain the situation to Lao-kun in the village of Kaina.

He would contact the village of Kaina, probably by using Lao-kun or Butler.

When he had done that, Erza asked him a question.

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"Brother Jin, I also have a question. What was that black golem that saved Hannah earlier?

"Oh, yes, Onii-chan, I want to know too!"

Jin knew he would be asked at some point, so he gave a simple explanation.

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"It's a guardian golem that usually doesn't show itself, but is always by your side.

"Hmmm!　I see. Thank you, Onii-chan."

Hannah seemed convinced by this explanation,

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"Can it disappear?"

Erza seemed to be curious about that.

"Yes. Reiko uses it too, right?　It's an advanced version of Hide magic."

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

Jin was about to say something in response when Reiko pulled his sleeve.

"Reiko?"

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"Father, the village of Kaina is in trouble. They just received a draft order.

"What?

Jin remembered that he had heard through the old man that the Kingdom of Klein had declared a state of emergency and ordered the nobles who owned lands to form an army. That is why I am now at .......

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The only relief is that the war is over.

"Oh, my dear ......?"

Hannah looks worried when she hears the words "Oh my God. The same goes for Erza.

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Jin explains the situation to them.

He says that the war is already over and that there is no danger even if they are drafted.

He also said that they would be released soon.

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Hearing this, Hannah looked relieved.

"But you can make better use of the fact that I'm here. ......"

Just as Jin started to think about what was going on, the door opened and Princess Rieschen walked in.

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"Jin, rejoice!　My father is going to meet you now!"

"What?"

Jin hesitated for a moment, but then thought that if the king would meet him in person, he could make a lot of demands quickly, so he stood up.

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"Oh, and my sisters, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait here. I'll ...... guarantee your safety. I won't do anything."

Jin didn't say anything, but as if reading his mind, the princess patted him on the back and said so. She implied that she would not threaten Jin as a hostage.

"I will not do anything to make an enemy of you. I will do it out of pride.

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So Jin took only Reiko with him from the palace to the royal palace. Jessica accompanied him. Gloria, who had just returned, was to follow Hannah and the others.

There was a covered corridor that led to the palace grounds in about five minutes' walk.

After another five minutes' walk, Jin arrived at a magnificent door.

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This is the office of my father, the king. The Prime Minister is with him now.

With these words, Princess Rieschen had Jessica open the door and announce that she had brought Jin.

A voice called out from inside the room, and the princess urged Jin to enter. Reiko was leaning over Jin like a shadow.

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"Father, I have brought Jin-dono, Honorary Magical Craftsman of the Kingdom of Egelea, Honorary Magical Craftsman of the Kingdom of Egelea.

"Yes."

On the other side of the massive wooden desk sat Alois III, King of the Kingdom of Klein.

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The princess whispered her name to Jin.

My name is Jin Nido. This is Reiko, an automaton.

Jin bowed deeply. Reiko stood still beside him. No one said anything, as if they did not expect courtesy from an automaton.

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"This is Alois III, King of the Kingdom of Klein.

King Alois III introduced himself.

Alois III is 50 years old, 175 centimeters and 75 kilograms. He has a sturdy physique of 175 cm and 75 kg.

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He has dark brown hair similar in color to that of Princess Rieschen. Her eyes are gray with a stern look in them.

Standing to her right is a thin middle-aged man. To his left stands a muscular man with the air of a warrior.

"This is Prime Minister Powell. And this is Glen Doubleday, the Commander of the Kingsguard.

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The Prime Minister bows, but the man introduced as Glen Davrode only slightly pulls back his chin.

But Hitoshi does not have the personality to be bothered by such a trivial matter. In fact, he had no regard for the Knight Commander.

A moment of silence fell.

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The princess, standing in between them, was about to say something when Alois III finally spoke up.

"...... I thought I'd finally meet you, but I didn't realize you belonged to the Kingdom of Egelea."

"What?"

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"What?" "First of all, I'm sorry. I apologize for the misunderstanding that led to your expulsion from the village of Kaina.

Saying this, Alois III bowed his head, lightly but definitely. The Prime Minister and the Commander of the Kingsguard were flustered.

The king of a country, even an honorary magician, apologized and even bowed to the common people.

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"You built the pump, developed the stove, and fought off the golem that interfered with your tax payments, is that correct?"

"...... yes."

Jin had to nod. The pump is known not only to Licia but also to Gloria, so there's no use in fooling around.

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"Yes, of course. Licia Faarheit told me about you. We had hoped to welcome you as the Royal Magi Craftsman, but through an unfortunate mistake, or rather, inadvertence on our part, we have inconvenienced you."

He was probably referring to the fact that Count Walter had come to take Jin away as if he were a criminal.

"So you went to the Kingdom of Egelea as a result. I heard rumors that there was a disturbance in which a golem went on the rampage?　I heard that there was a magical craftsman (magecraftsman) and his golem who were very active at that time."

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Princess Rieschen then added.

"Father, I heard it from the mouth of Jin. She also told me that the automaton who played an important role at that time was Reiko, who is there.

"Oh, of course. She looks like a pretty girl, but she has tremendous power.

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The King looks at Reiko with an impressed face. Reiko is unperturbed by his gaze.

"Thank you, Reiko. Reiko is unperturbed by his gaze. I heard that you neutralized 50 bandits and a golem who were trying to attack this city.

Reiko opened her mouth for the first time.

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"I was only following your father's orders.

"Well, I am grateful to Jin for that."

Then the king finally got down to business.

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"Jin-dono, I want you to use your skills to create a high-performance golem for our country. As you may have already noticed, we are short of manpower and talent. The conflict with the neighboring Kingdom of Franz was finally over the other day, but we were still short of manpower.

He then looked at the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister nodded lightly and looked down at the note in his hand,

"According to the report, we have 100 tons of steel, 100 tons of bronze, and 25 tons of light silver, According to the report, 100 tons of steel, 100 tons of bronze, 25 tons of light silver, a little adamantite and mithril, etc. have been supplied by a certain source and are on their way from Tetrada to here. They should arrive tomorrow or the next day.

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Then he looked at Jin,

"In other words, the use of equivalent materials will not affect the national stockpile," he concludes.

He concludes, "That means that the national stockpile will not be affected by the use of equivalent materials. However, Jin knows that this is not accurate. Because some of the materials being transported are metals that were used to arm the soldiers of the Kingdom of Klein.

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Then the king takes over again.

"So, Jin, I'm asking you to make 100 steel swords and 20 battle-hardened golems of a general-purpose type.