Chapter 499: Jin’s Thoughts (1/2)

“Brother Jin, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Elsa asked Jin as he pondered what to do with Reiko.

“Why haven’t you tried making another Automata similar to Reiko?”

Reiko shivered when she heard that question.

“Don’t get me wrong, Reiko. It’s just something I’ve been curious about, that’s all. I’m not denying you or anything like that.”

Jin called Reiko towards him and gently stroked her head.

“I can’t bring myself to do it. It’s that simple. There can be only one Reiko for me.”

Then Jin hugged Reiko and had her sit on his lap.

“It was Reiko who called me to this world. To be exact, it was Reiko’s predecessor. According to her predecessor’s will, Reiko has been searching for me for 1000 years. And it was Reiko who desperately searched for me when I went missing after a Warp Gate went haywire. I’m here because of and thanks to Reiko.”

While saying that, Jin kept on stroking Reiko’s head. Reiko had her eyes closed and seemed to be very happy about it.

“She’s more of a daughter than I’ll ever deserve. That’s why I can’t, I don’t want, to build more Automatas like her.”

“…I understand. Sorry Brother Jin. Sorry, Reiko.”

Elsa deeply bowed at them.

“I remember thinking how close you seemed to be even back when I was just starting my journey.”

“Ah, back then…”

That was back when Elsa had mistaken him for someone sexually attracted to dolls.

“A-Anyway, that’s why I’ve decided that Reiko is unique to me.”

“I understand. Sorry for asking such a silly question…”

Jin held his hand forward as if asking her to stop.

“…Elsa, please don’t worry about that anymore.”

Like Jin, Reiko also felt that it was water under the bridge.

“Well then, really, what should I do?”

Jin resumed his thinking.

“I don’t want to simply make something only to leave it dormant once I no longer need it…”

Unable to just watch Jin worry himself sick about it, Reiko voiced a suggestion.

“If you promise not to leave Hourai Island, Father, I’ll go with the Substitute Doll.”

“I-I see. It would be great if you could do that for me.”

More than anything, Reiko wanted to be useful to Jin.

“Okay, in that case, let’s upgrade you with the latest materials and technology we have.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Jin had Reiko lie on the work table. Elsa would be assisting Jin, while Edgar would be watching the process and learning.

“Let’s start with the skeleton.”

The Magi Adamantite was replaced with Hyper Adamantite. Its relative density was about 10 times higher, but it was also 20 times stronger, making it an ideal material. Jin presumed that the reason for this was that the distance between its atoms had been shortened due to its compression, increasing its bonding force. He also assumed that the reason why it hadn’t gone according to a simple calculation before was because of the influence of Ether.

Using this, Jin would be able to make her twice as sturdier without altering her weight.

“Will we be using the usual Magical Muscle?

“No, we’ll also replace that for muscle that has been impregnated with Ether.”

“Impregnated?”

“Yeah. I’ve been wondering if by curing something inside an Ether Box, its Ether contents could rapidly increase.”

It would be as easy to use as ever while also being able to draw more than double as much power as before.

“The downside to this is that it’s going to eat through her Ether reserves, but I still think it’s effective since the northern region seems to have a high concentration of Ether.”

“I agree.”

“Also, we’ll be adding an ‘Ethenol Tank’ so she has something to fall back on in case of an emergency.”

It would be more efficient than the “Mana Tank” she used to have installed. This was because the magical density of Ethenol, which contains Ether as a liquid, is higher than that of the gaseous Mana.

“I have to make it so that she can use Gravity Magic as part of her base kit.”

Various magic tools for activating spells were built in so that she could do so without the need for chanting.

“I also have to increase the capacity of both her Ether Converter and Mana Driver.”

With that, each of her auxiliary features had been completely rehashed.

(Brother Jin’s work is very diligent. I can really see how much he cherishes Reiko.)