"Welcome, Ambassador of the Shoro Kingdom, Sir Reinhard Randall, Elsa Randall Ehime. And Magecraft Meister, Sir Jin Nidor and his valet, Reiko Nidor Ehime.

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They were greeted by the Marquis Dominique de Firenziano, the ruler of the province of Xaus in the southern part of the Kingdom of Elias, which includes Potrock.

Reinhard and Elsa greeted the guests in the Shoro imperial style. Jin followed suit.

* * * *

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After the lively ceremony, Jin and the others were escorted to the guest house in the northwestern part of the Potrock. The airship was moved into the courtyard of the guest house by the steward.

"It has been a long time, Mr. Reinhardt.

The Marquis of Florenziano greeted him in a friendly manner, offering him a cup of kuhe, since he was no longer in a formal setting.

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"I congratulate you on your new baronetcy."

The Marquis is much higher in rank than the Marquis, but Marquis Firenziano is still very low to the ground.

"And I hear that you have also been made a baronet. Congratulations."

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The Marquis then turned to Jin.

"You too, Jin-sama, are now renowned as the world's only . In addition, I hear that Reiko has also been given the title of Knight.

He then bows to the group,

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"It is amazing to see how many people I have met in the past have risen in the world.

He smiled.

"Marquis, I don't mean to be rude, but since you are higher in rank than me and we are not strangers, it would be easier for us to work together in private. ......

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Reinhardt says gingerly. Jin thought so too, so he nodded his head in agreement.

"Is that so?　If you say so, can I call you ...... Reinhardt-kun, Jin-kun, and Erza-san?"

All three nodded. Reiko called him Reiko, as she had called him Reiko earlier.

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"Well, then. Welcome to the Kingdom of Elias. And to Potlock."

The Marquis welcomed them in a much friendlier tone.

"The new ship that arrived yesterday, the Bernstein, was wonderful. I'm sorry to say, Potlock ......, that the Kingdom of Elias does not yet have a ship of that caliber."

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The Kingdom of Elias had been confident in its shipbuilding abilities, as most of its surroundings are by sea, but now it was falling behind.

"But I am sure that our country will begin to regain its footing from now on.

The Marquis smiles. It is true that the Kingdom of Elias has many excellent shipbuilders (shipwrights), so Reinhardt and his men cannot afford to lose hope.

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"More importantly..."

The Marquis looked at Jin.

"Jin, your , it's amazing! It's a marvel!　You're making people's dream of flying come true.

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His voice was pure admiration.

"I received a message by pigeon this morning that our country would like to honor Jin as a and an honorary knight.

"That is ......."

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As a friendly nation to the Shoro Kingdom, to the neighboring Kingdom of Egelea, and to the Kingdom of Klein, the Kingdom of Elias would like to have a friendly relationship with Jin.

At that moment, a lady-in-waiting arrives to tell them that dinner is ready. Everyone moves to the dining room.

The spacious dining room was filled with sumptuous dishes. Jin noticed some of the dishes.

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"Oh?"

The Marquis of Florenziano noticed his gaze and smiled.

"Since Jin taught me how to make topopo chips, I've been studying how to cook topopo.

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On the menu were fried topopo, topopo salad, and hashbrown topopo.

"You can make a lot of different dishes with topopo. And it can be a staple food. I thought why not take advantage of such a wonderful crop?"

Jin had heard about it from the fifth column (Quinta), but he had not expected the Marquis to be so passionate about topopo cuisine.

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"This year's topopo harvest has tripled," he said.

Jin told him about the topopo chips at the end of February, and soon after, he gave him instructions to increase the acreage.

"It's an honor."

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It is good news that a new major crop has been established. Still, it was a wise decision to increase the area by three times, Jin thought.

"It seems that the other small groups have had a poor harvest this year," he said.

The Marquis seemed to be aware of this.

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"If there is a request, I would be happy to export it to you, along with the recipe.

I would be happy to do so.

Jin felt that it was not reasonable for him to intervene, so he simply said, "I will be happy to do so.

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But it seemed to me that this would help with a portion of the food problem.

After that, we had a lively conversation on light topics.

In particular, the Marquis' emphasis on topopo cuisine.

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"Thanks to him, people call me the Marquis of Topopo," he said.

But despite his words, the Marquis's face was bright.

(He seemed to have plumped up a little. ......)

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) Jin thought something like this, but he did not say it out loud.

Toward the end of the conversation, Jin decided to ask him boldly.

"Marquis, do you remember Marcia?"

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"Marcia?　...... Oh, the girl who teamed up with Jin and won the championship?　Yes, I remember her. I think I heard that she opened a store in the next town over and it's thriving.

This is Potlock Town, Potlock City. Marcia had been a shipwright in the next town for generations, Jin recalled.

"She said it was in Portoa, the next town over.

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The Marquis, who had checked with the butler, told Jin about it.

"It seems to be famous, so you can easily recognize it if you ask. It is located on a street facing the sea.

"Thank you very much."

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Jin was planning to go see him the next day.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jin and his friends stay in a three-room apartment. The bedroom is a private room and leads to a large room that corresponds to the living room.

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Jin, Erza, and Reinhardt were relaxing there.

"Elias is getting desperate, isn't he?"

Reinhardt suddenly spoke up.

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"What?"

"You said you wanted to make Jin a , right?　You want a hot air balloon, don't you?"

"Oh, I see."

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Jin gave the hot-air balloon only to those countries that had participated in the technology exposition held in the Shoro Kingdom and had certified him as a .

The Kingdom of Elias missed out because it did not participate.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with the gift itself..."

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"Brother Jin, you have to get the proper reward.

Erza nailed Jin as usual.

"Hot air balloons are a world-changing technology. It's not a good idea to take it so easily.

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"Haha, Erza told me first. ...... Jin, Erza is right. You are too easy-going.

"Hmmm. That's one of the good things about my brother Jin. But that's one of the good things about my brother Jin.

Reinhardt looked at Erza with surprised eyes when she started to say this.

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"Oh come on Erza, you're already in love with him?"

Erza's cheeks turned red at these words, but Reinhardt turned serious and said to Jin

"Jin, anyway, why don't you try this?"

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"So, do you have any idea?"

"Yes. ...... Jin has received an honorary knighthood in the Kingdom of Klein. That means he's related. So ......."

Jin understood what Reinhardt meant when he said that.

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"Oh, I see. You're asking us to export ...... to the Kingdom of Klein, or rather, to help you."

"That's what I mean. But we'll have to talk to the Kingdom of Klein, too."

I see. ......

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So, why don't you leave the diplomacy to me?

Reinhardt can be counted on for this kind of talk. Jin entrusted him with the task.