Chapter 480: Then, A Conclusion (1/2)

“Barrier.”

Reacting to the falling ship, Jin quickly deployed a barrier. Although invisible to the eye, the Covert Units who protect Jin and Elsa also set up a barrier and nestled up to Jin and others.

Then, Jin took out the weight-reducing Magic Tool that was still in his pocket, and just when he was about to activate it…

The ship, which was supposed to have fallen by that moment, flew off toward the other side with a roaring sound.

Some wood chips fell on the barrier, but it was as if nothing happened.

“W-What just…”

The words simply escaped the mouth of the dumbfounded, yet still pale Eckert.

Which wasn’t surprising, since the 40-meters long ship had been utterly shattered into small pieces.

“Are you okay, Father?”

Of course, the one behind the ship’s destruction had been none other than Reiko. In order to protect Jin and the others, she delivered a powerful kick at the collapsing ship, using almost all of her strength.

As a result, the structural materials such as the ship’s core structural beam, which was 50 cm square, were blown apart from their joints as the force of Reiko’s kick was carried over to one side of the ship, causing all of the planks on that side to be shattered and sent flying all over the place.

“Yes, I’m okay. But I think you put too much power into your kick…”

What remained no longer looked like a ship. It was just a pile of rubble. Though the ship was still under construction, Reiko’s kick had been so strong that it had left it in that state.

“We’ve also found the culprit.”

“What!?”

“Someone had tampered with the platform that was holding the ship.”

At the same time as Reiko’s report, Neon dragged a fainted man along.

This time, Eckert’s face turned red with anger.

“You! You’re the manager, aren’t you!?”

Eckert immediately had an attendant report him to the town guards.

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After contacting the town guards, the magistrate in charge of the entire town of Coupu himself arrived, bringing soldiers along with him. That was how influential Eckert was.

During that time, Jin and the others couldn’t leave, so they instead offered their testimony in response to Eckert’s request.

“Hm, so you’re friends with Vivian, huh? Wait… Aren’t you Stearleana Beta!?”

Stearleana was quite the celebrity in the Celuroa Kingdom. And the news that she had gone into exile or opposed her kingdom’s nobility had not yet reached the southernmost parts of the kingdom.

Though it could end up leading to some trouble later, at the moment Stearleana simply explained that she had already left her homeland.

“I don’t know where to or for how long I’ll be out, but I’m still Stearleana, the Magi Craftswoman.”

Stearleana then explained everything they had seen on behalf of the rest of the party, and after hearing her entire explanation, the magistrate started to nod in understanding.

“So you used your golems and automata to rescue the people injured in the accident, huh.”

The testimony given by the renowned Stearleana Beta was convincing enough for him. Jin and the others were relieved since they hadn’t been asked for their names.

After regaining consciousness, the fainted man was subject to a brief cross-examination on the spot, where he eventually confessed having been sent by one of Eckert’s competitors.

All that was left from there was simply the administration of justice.

“I’m sorry for having detained you here for so long. Please, stay here tonight.”

By the time the magistrate and his soldiers left with the apprehended culprit, dusk was already drawing near.

So, taking up on Eckert’s kind offer, Jin and the others decided to stay for the night.

After a bath, dinner was served.

Without delay, they were served miso soup again, but this time it had been made using a soup stock. The chef seemed to have remembered how Jin had prepared it earlier, and though it was loaded with leafy vegetables such as cabbage, this time it was delicious enough.

The rest of the meal included venison steak, grilled dried fish, salad, and fruit.

It wasn’t a very extravagant dinner, but it had been prepared with high-quality ingredients.

“…Truly, miso soup goes great with rice…”

Jin couldn’t remain silent.

“If you’re looking for something that goes great with miso, you should really look into the grains they harvest in the southern region of the Shouro Empire.”

Eckert rejoiced at Jin’s advice.

“My, my! I can’t thank you enough for all the great things you’ve been teaching me so far!”

After the fact that his presence in the dock had caused the destruction of the ship that was being built there, Jin felt a little relieved by Eckert’s words. Although Jin himself hadn’t caused it, Reiko destroyed the falling ship to save Jin and the others from getting crushed under it.

Eckert laughed heartily and cheered on Jin, almost as if he had read his mind.

“Mr. Jin, please think nothing of it. I don’t think there was anything else to be done in that situation. Of course, it’s a shame that the ship was destroyed, but all I have to do is build it again. I’m just thankful that everyone was rescued and no one died.”

“…Thank you very much. You saying that makes me feel at ease. Though I must apologize if anything I’ve said has come across as rude. Please forgive me.”

“Oh no, I really appreciate your frank opinions, and not just about miso. In fact, I’m glad that now I’ve learned how to properly prepare miso soup.”