Magi Craft Meister

Magi Craft Meister 613

18　Further Progress Arc

18-33　The Turmoil’s Conclusion

“The giant Golem… is turning red hot!?”

The situation could be clearly seen from the sky.

“That black box!”

It turned out just as Jin had feared. At this rate, the giant Golem would either explode or melt. Whichever the outcome, the precious Artifact that that giant Golem was would be lost forever.

“’Magic Canceller’!”

Reiko immediately activated her bracelet’s Magic Canceller…

But the armored plating on the giant Golem’s chest still continued to get redder and hotter.

“It seems that the distance is too far!”

The downside of Magic Canceller, which caused Mana back into its Ether form, was that its range was rather short.

The one mounted on Pegasus 1 had a powerful source of magical power specifically to extend its range, but Reiko’s bracelet would only be effective if her target was right in front of her.

And the giant Golem was a little too big.

“It should work if I add my own Mana to it…!”

Judging that the bracelet didn’t have enough power to do the job on its own in this scenario, Reiko immediately increased the output of the Magi Reactor inside her body and poured a large amount of Mana into the bracelet.

With that, the intensity of the waves generated by the Magic Canceller increased tenfold, finally stopping the giant Golem’s black box.

Its red -hot exterior gradually darkened, which signaled that its temperature was dropping.

“…Well done, Reiko.”

“Jin, thanks to your Automata… no, thanks to your daughter, our country’s treasure was saved from destroying itself… I dare not ask how she did it.”

The giant Golem’s exterior turned black. It seemed that its recent overheating had oxidized the mithril plating on the surface.

At that moment, Reiko’s bracelet shattered. Apparently, a tenfold output increase was too much for it to handle.

<Ether supply restored. No longer in danger. Self-defense Level 0. Stopping last resort measures.>

<40% upper arm malfunction. 30% forearm malfunction. 20% malfunction of both legs. Further progress is still possible, zero remaining obstacles.>

The giant Golem slowly started walking again.

“It still hasn’t stopped!?”

Seeing this, the Empress’ voice came out like a half-broken scream.

“‘Activate'”

Then, Jin operated the Magic Tool that he had just finished working on.

“Adjusting frequency… hmm?”

Jin had started comparing the magical power emanating from the giant Golem’s Control Core and the Magic Tool’s own resonance, but then he felt another resonance level fluctuating slightly while he was working on that.

It had been a slight ripple that he had only been able to feel because he had been holding the Magic Tool with his hand, but its most curious aspect was that what (or rather, who) had caused it was standing right next to him.

“…Your Majesty?”

There seemed to be a common point between the magical power that the giant Golem was emanating and the Empress’ inherent magical power.

“…Could it be…?”

Then it dawned on Jin. This would explain why they were never able to find anything that looked like a control device for those giant Golems.

“Your Majesty, I’m going to bring the blimp closer to the ground. Once I do, could you please give the Golem the order ‘Stand Still’?”

“Huh? Wait, Jin, does that mean…?”

“Lord Jin! Are you willing to put Her Majesty in danger!”

“Flora, don’t interfere.”

However, Jin had to concentrate on piloting the blimp, so he was in no condition to explain anything. When the Empress saw Jin’s behavior, she set aside her doubts and waited for the right moment to do what Jin told her to do.

The blimp descended to an altitude of 30 meters. At this altitude, the giant Golem’s arms would be barely able to reach it.

“Your Majesty, please.”

“’Stand Still’!”

More than a command, it sounded like a chant.

<Order to stop received. Stopping functions. Transitioning to standby state.>

The giant Golem stopped three meters away from the castle wall.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“…That was close.”

Having confirmed that the crisis had been averted, Jin landed the blimp on the courtyard and went to the ground together with the Empress and the female knight.

After tidying up most of the superficial damage that the giant Golem had caused on the courtyard, the situation was finally put under control.

“…It’s no wonder that we couldn’t find any kind of control device. Perhaps only those of your lineage can give orders to those giant Golems, Your Majesty.”

Jin then explained that by using the magical power measuring device he had prepared, he had found that the Empress’ inherent magic power and the one emitted by the giant Golem’s Control Core were of the same wavelength.

“I see…”

Her Majesty the Empress, Chancellor Jung, Minister of Magi Technology Degauss, Magi Engineer Maestro Gebalt Ackermann, and Marcus, who were all there listening to Jin’s explanation, acknowledged it and nodded in response.

“I can’t thank you enough, Sir Jin Nidou. In the first place, it was our decision to leave these giant Golems out in the courtyard despite your better judgment.”

The Prime Minister nodded in response to the Empress’ regretful voice.

“Exactly. We never imagined that they could have such a function.”

The fact that the giant Golem had become red hot, which indicated that it could either self-destruct or melt itself down, had come across as a surprise.

“I’d imagine that it was implemented so that, should one of these giant Golems fall into the hands of the enemy during a war, the secrets of their technology would be protected while causing as much damage as possible.”

“Such a function is unthinkable with our current Magi Technology…”

“Can’t it be removed or disabled?”

Chancellor Jung muttered while looking straight into Jin’s eyes.

Only the lineage of the Empress could command those giant Golems, which meant that the country itself would be in danger if the lineage were to die out.

It would have been disrespectful to openly say “if the Empress’ lineage were to die out”, so he used a different expression, but what he was trying to say was perfectly conveyed not only to Jin, but to everyone present.

“That’s right… Now that I have all the necessary information about it, I think I should be able to make an emergency shutdown Magic Tool.”

“Oh! In that case, yes, please do! I beg of you!”

The Prime Minister jumped at Jin’s answer without hesitation.

Jin promised to make it as soon as he had the necessary materials.

Thus the giant Golem turmoil came to an end.

Gebalt and Marcus repaired parts of the Golem that were damaged by the overheating caused by its “last resort measures”. It seemed that they would be repairing the severely damaged “Goliaths” after they were done with that.

Later that same day, Jin completed an emergency shutdown Magic Tool for the giant Golems.

And this time, the giant Golems were stored underground.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“Sir Jin Nidou, your service during this crisis was splendid. Therefore, we will recognize your achievements and make you an ‘Imperial House Honorary Advisor’.”

“Imperial House Honorary Advisor” was a position that the Empress and the Chancellor came up with after much thought.

Being an honorary position, it had no binding force. However, its status was worthy of a treatment above that of an Earl and just below that of a Marquis.

In other words, Jin now had the right to enter and leave the Imperial Palace without an appointment.

Jin would be the first person to be ever given such a title, and it was so special that the Empress had no plans to give it to anyone else..

After listening to the Empress’ explanation, Jin bowed at her with the highest respect.

“I’m honored.”

Seeing this, the Empress felt relieved.

She had considered the possibility of making Jin an honorary Earl, giving him territory, and so on, but after considering that Jin would probably feel bound by the responsibilities related to those rewards, she ended up opting for this title instead.

And it turned out to be the correct answer to the question on how to properly reward Jin for his service on this day.

“This is the robe that shows your status.”

The crest Jin had decided to use as his family crest, the “two lines across a circle” was embroidered on the left side of the robe’s chest with silver thread over a black background, while the crest of the Shouro Empire was embroidered on the right side of its chest. This robe would be a one-of-a-kind item as well.

“Thank you very much.”

Wearing this robe, Jin would be able to enter the Imperial Palace almost as if he had a free pass.

“’Almost’ meaning, of course, excluding in times of war and martial law.”

“Ah, of course.”

“Ah, but those times are when your presence is most important, Jin. …I wonder if we should get rid of the ‘almost’ part.”

She was the Empress in all respects, after all.

“And to you, Reiko Nidou… I give you the title of Honorary Squire.”

“Ah, I…”

Just when Reiko was about to open her mouth to refuse, she heard Laojun’s voice.

(“Reiko, please accept it. After all, it will be an honor for My Lord.”)

“…I will gladly accept it.”

Reiko did a curtsy lunge and bowed her head.

Then, a black cloak with Jin’s family crest was placed over his shoulders.

An Automata being awarded an honorary title was something completely unprecedented.

News of the incident with the giant Golem and its aftermath reached every country through the Mana Phone, and the names “Magi Craft Meister Jin Nidou” and her Automata “Reiko Nidou” became widely known.