A solitary island on the surface of the blue sea, the Hourai Island.

This was the base of

the Magi Craft Meister, Jin.

Once Jin had returned to the research laboratory he was shocked.

“It’s in bits and pieces…! How could this be!”

The Magi Crystal that was supposed to have contained information drawn out of
Marcello was smashed to smithereens.

“Was it the blow from that golem…?”

When Jin had been hit by the Unifiers’ all-purpose golem, Jin who had been wearing
the reinforced clothing turned out fine but apparently the Magi Crystal in his outer
pocket had received a shock.

Him making just the pocket parts out of a different material as he wouldn’t put hard
objects in there had backfired.

“Redoing it is, right now, impossible, huh…”

As he had left the rest of the decision-making to Reinhardt, now he could only give up.

“Well, if there’s a next time then I’ll do it then.”

And so Jin changed his focus and began analyzing the enemy golems.

There was nothing worth seeing in the 15 combat golems that had turned up. He was
familiar with their structure. In other words, they were (as far as Jin was concerned)
old models that were the archetype for the golems Gon and Gen.

However, the combat-type golem that had appeared later was different. Because

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 7 | 392
somehow it was able to compete with Land-50 in strength.

“Hmm, it’s different starting from the internal structure, huh. It’s even got nearly
decent skeleton.”

He confirmed that the skeleton had been made out of steel that had been processed to
be harder. But the structure of the joints wasn’t a match for what Jin could make, and
the material and such used in the Magical Muscles couldn’t be compared.

“And yet, maybe because of this.”

Jin took out four jewels. They shined light blue in sunlight, and emerald green in
artificial light. There was only one kind of jewel he knew that was like this.

“Elradrite, is it.”

The jewels inserted in the important points of the four limbs had the ability to amplify
Magical Energy. Normally up to 20 times.

“So using this it was able to produce the same strength as a Land golem?”

Nevertheless, producing that much strength with normal materials must’ve worked it
too hard. And sure enough, the Magical Muscles had deteriorated rather much.

“I see, so every time after it uses its full power it needs to be maintained, huh. That
sounds pretty bothersome.”

The evaluation was probably unfair. That’s because they did want to use rare materials
like Jin but they weren’t in a situation where they could.

“What a huge Mana Tank though. Isn’t it about ten times larger than a normal
golem’s?”

The space in the chest and abdomen was mostly all taken up by the Mana Tank.

“Hmm, if Elradrite amplifies Magical Energy then there shouldn’t be a reason to use a
Mana Tank as large as this… Could it be?”

Jin could only think of a single reason for that, so he took one of the Elradrite crystals
in his hand and,

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“[Light].”

He used a spell to create light. Normally it was supposed to be as bright as a 100-watt

light bulb, but it turned out as bright as the flash in a camera.

“Ah!”

Jin was dazzled and dropped the Elradrite.

“Father, what’s wrong!?”

Reiko came rushing in from outside the room.

By that time the [Light] had already vanished, so Reiko could only ask Jin what had
happened.

“No, it was just a little experiment. Ahaha, I see, so that’s how it was!”

Jin burst into laughter. Reiko simply stared at Jin with worry in her eyes.

“Father…?”

“Oh, sorry. You see, it’s said that Elradrite amplifies magic so I experimented to
confirm that. And then, it did amplify the magic. It amplified it, but it also required a
corresponding amount of Magical Energy.”

Jin got the feeling from the experiment just now that when he used [Light] it took
about 20 times the normal amount of Magical Energy.

“In other words, it certainly might amplify the power of magic by 20 times. However,
as it also takes 20 times more Magical Energy, it’s not much of an advantage in a
situation where you don’t have enough Magical Energy.”

The fact of the matter was that unless you had a gigantic reserve of Magic Energy like
Jin, or an inexhaustible supply of Magical Energy like Reiko and the like, battles would
turn into contests decided by a single bout.

And that’s why the battle-type golem had a gigantic Mana Tank.

By Jin’s estimate, it appeared that if the golem had kept grappling with Land for over

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 9 | 392
ten minutes it probably would’ve ceased moving. As its Mana Tank would’ve
completely emptied.

“Well, more detailed experiments are probably necessary, but that’s the theory. I’ll
leave the rest of the experiments and their verification to Laozi.”

Finishing what he was doing with Elradrite, Jin began discussing the topic he had
started with Reiko yesterday, namely, the topic of ‘malfunctioning Warp Gates’.

“Basically, I want to build a Warp Gate that doesn’t require one on the receiving side.”

Jin explained to Reiko.

“It would be excellent if that was possible, wouldn’t it. It would be possible to directly
enter the inside of the enemy base.”

“Yeah, traveling would become staggeringly easier. It would be great if we could warp
to an arbitrary location and establish a regular Warp Gate there.”

“Indeed.”

And so, the people who had personal experience with malfunctioning Warp Gates, Jin
and Reiko, began considering the details.

While being supported by Laozi, they put together the theory. With Laozi’s processing
power it was trivial to do something like construct the theory while experimenting
with Elradrite.

Then Ann came along. Until now, she had been working together with Laozi’s
Automata. Specifically, she was checking the ideas and plans Laozi suggested.

Ann whose train of thought was different was useful in a time like this. However, as
her processing power was remarkably lower than Laozi’s, she was inevitably a
bottleneck on how much time it took.

“Master, Elder Sister, what would you like me to do?”

Lately Ann had not hesitated to call Reiko her ‘Elder Sister’. Although from outward
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 10 | 392
appearances the exact opposite was true.

Then Jin explained things to Ann too. She then said,

“It’s necessary decide on a system of coordinates to point at a specific point in space,

isn’t it?”

Ann was capable of logical thinking like this. Incidentally Jin did things by intuition,
and so Reiko and Laozi had inherited that from him.

“I see, that’s definitely true.”

Jin then reminisced about the lessons he had taken in high school. When you speak of
three-dimensional coordinate systems, the first one that comes to mind is the XYZ
coordinate system. Width, height, and length.

“There was something else too, if I recall correctly it was the polar coordinate system
or something like that. Azimuth, altitude, and length, was it.”

The terminology was dubious, but the way of thinking was correct.

“In this situation it’s probably better to use the polar coordinate system and use the
sending side as the origin.”

Using the sending Warp Gate as the origin, just determining the distance, direction,
and altitude (angle) would be enough.

“In that case, it’s necessary to convert the coordinates of already-known locations to
polar coordinates, isn’t it.”

Ann also gave advice on the necessary matters.

“Yeah, an exclusive arithmetic unit… A Control Core will be necessary.”

In this way a control system was fully planned out.

However, what was essential was whether or not one could materialize in the
destination or not.

According to Jin’s understanding, the theory behind Warp Gates was that they linked

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 11 | 392
together two points in space. By no means did he plan to disassemble the atoms and
reconstruct them at the destination.

“Right, the receiving Warp Gate’s primary purpose is as a marker, hmm. So let’s build
something that can recognize a location from a distance. In other words, that would
make the receiving side not need any components.”

The receiving side and the sending side had identical devices, it was simply that on a
return trip the receiving side became the sending side.

“With one-way travel a receiving component isn’t needed. So then if the magic
formation or Magi Formula that worked as the landmark could be remotely
controlled…”

Jin pondered the problem frantically.

“Father, isn’t determining the distance the hardest problem?”

Reiko spoke.

Certainly, he understood that the direction could be determined intuitively like when
shooting with the railgun. But, the distance.

“You’re right. Right now there’s three ways to consider. One is the intersection of
straight lines coming from two points.”

Jin said.

“That, and the amount of Magic Energy the sending side uses.”

Reiko said. Then,

“And the point where attracting and repelling forces meet, right?”

Ann remarked with a clear voice. It was the same principle as that of the [Barrier].

“In any case, long distances will be difficult, huh. I guess it’s necessary to start
experimenting with distances that are within sight.”

It seemed to be impossible to, for example, suddenly warp from Hourai Island to

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 12 | 392
Celuroa Kingdom.

Jin then began building a prototype.

He used a normal Warp Gate with some remodeling as the sending side.

Usually, it would be linked to the receiving Warp Gate with a faint Magic Energy
connection. Instead of this weak connection, a magic formation would be configured
to use large amounts of Magic Energy to create the marker point.

“We’re to determine just how far we can simplify that magic formation, right?”

While receiving Ann’s advice, the first prototype was finished just past noon.

Jin warped to Kunlun Island where Elsa was waiting to have lunch. Reiko came with
him, and Ann stayed to do the pre-trial checks.

“Jin-nii, come in. Thanks for saving Rai-nii last night. Because of that? You’re a little
late today, no?”

“Oh, I was kind of in the middle of something.”

After Jin’s excuse Elsa gave him a glare.

“Jin-nii, you really are obsessed with craftsmanship.”

She said. Reiko then informed Elsa.

“Even though Father made Elsa-san wait for him, please have him eat properly.
Otherwise he’ll quietly skip two meals without thinking. Because it looks like today is
going to be an all-nighter.”

“Jin-nii, that’s no good. It’s bad for your health.”

After being criticized by both Reiko and Elsa, Jin scratched his head and,

“A-alright, I’ll be careful.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 13 | 392
He apologized.

He then briefly told Elsa about last night. Jin of course stayed silent about getting
struck.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 14 | 392
After lunch, Jin got in touch with the SP following Reinhardt.

His goal was to once more draw out information from Marcello. Intelligence was
indispensable.

First of all were the preliminary investigations for the matter. He wanted to know
where Marcello had been imprisoned. Once he knew that he could somehow manage
with the help of the SP.

But the reply he got was surprising.

“Chief, that isn’t a worthwhile question. All the Unifier prisoners were executed in the
morning.”

“What!?”

“Kidnapping a Shouro Empire diplomat was a crime that resulted in the death penalty
for all of them.”

“What the heck…”

The hastiness of the executions was a little too strange.

Jin once more thought that the Unifiers probably had connections with Celuroa
Kingdom’s underworld. They were probably afraid of information being leaked.

However, by now there was nothing that could be done.

He recognized the Unifiers’ strangeness anew, and resolved to do what he could for
now.

Jin decided to review Reiko’s railgun.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 15 | 392
“What kind of force did she use to bend the Adamantite barrel…”

Reiko looked apologetic when Jin was shocked.

“I am sorry. When I saw Father get sent flying I lost my self-control.”

“Does that mean you may have used 1000 percent of your power…?”

Strength to bend even Adamantite. Jin then suddenly realized it.

“Reiko, your skeleton’s also made out of Adamantite, are you sure there’s nothing
wrong?”

The gun barrel which was thicker than Reiko’s bones was bent. Jin became worried.

“Yes, nothing’s wrong.”

Reiko said, but Jin who had become worried decided to do a check-up just in case.

Jin looked over Reiko’s skeleton after her Magical Energy came to a stop and she had
come to a standstill.

“I knew it…”

The joints had become loose and some of the arm bones too had been bent. Jin
wondered whether Reiko lied because she didn’t want to worry Jin or whether she
didn’t notice it at all.

“Even Adamantite can’t bear Reiko’s 1000 percent power, huh…”

Jin thought. Of how he could increase the strength.

“After all, strength, meaning the force tying the atoms or molecules together needs to
be increased, huh.”

If the bond between the atoms or molecules was broken that would mean the object
would break.

“So, what to do to increase the power of these bond?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 16 | 392
Jin remembered that there was a method of adding particular metals together to
increase the metal’s tenacity.

“Let’s give it a go I suppose…”

As Reiko was still off, he called for Soleil and Luna.

“Please get Adamanite and Mithril ready for me.”

“Yes, Father.”

The two fetched Adamantite and Mithril ingots from the underground storehouse and
put them in front of Jin.

“Good work.… First, let’s try just Adamantite.”

Jin made an Adamantite testpiece using Craft Magic. It was a rod with a diameter of
one millimeter and a length of about 20 centimeters.

“Next let’s mix in one percent Mithril.”

Using [Alloying] he created an alloy of Adamantite and Mithril. Then he made

similarly-sized testpieces of it.

“This will do.… Soleil or Luna, can either of you bend this Adamantite rod?”

Jin asked, but very quickly,

“It’s impossible.”

He got such a reply.

“Well, I guess it would be.”

And then with no other choice, he activated Reiko.

“Father?”

After Reiko woke up, seeing the displeased look on Jin’s face made her puzzled.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 17 | 392
“Reiko, I thought so, but your skeleton has got some problems with it. That’s why I
wanted to reinforce it, but to do that I need to experiment. So I woke you up even
though I didn’t repair you yet.”

“I see, I will gladly help.”

Then Jin had Reiko bend the Adamantite testpiece.

The testpiece bent and snapped broke with about 25 percent of current Reiko’s
output.

“Alright, next is this one.”

It was the one to which Mithril had been mixed in. It bent with about 20 percent
output.

“Father, hasn’t it become weaker instead?”

Said Luna, who was watching. However,

“Well, just wait. Next I’ll do this and then let’s try bending it.”

Jin said, then poured in his Magic Energy into another testpiece.

Fundamentally Adamantite didn’t interfere with Magic Energy, but because Mithril
had been mixed in it became able to contain Magic Energy.

“I will bend it now.…?”

Something was weird and it was apparent from Reiko’s expression. But that was to be
expected, as the rod didn’t bend even with power increased to 30 percent.

Reiko further increased the power. Jin felt her output rapidly increasing and quickly
had her stop.

“Alright, Reiko! That’s enough. As I thought, it seems that Magic Energy increases the
strength.”

“Just Magic Energy increased its strength? Not reinforcing magic?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 18 | 392
Jin nodded at the question.

“Ah, so you’re lacking an explanation. You know the magics [Hardening] and
[Reinforce], right? It’s the same principle as with them. Supplementing the force
linking the atoms or molecules together with Magic Energy.”

In the case of metals, when the microscopic crystal lattice’s bonds stretched and
returned to normal it was called elasticity, and when the bonds got completely
dislocated it was called plastic deformation.

[Hardening] and [Reinforce] which were used up until now strengthened these bonds
by sort of wrapping them up from the outside.

To do that from the inside this time Mithril was added in the metal.

Jin’s conjecture was that the small Mithril particles were scattered amidst the
Adamantite ones and by applying [Hardening] the Mithril particles would become the
magic’s origin points, in other words creating a network of Magical Energy which
increased the strength. Probably.

Doing the same thing to simple Mithril would of course also increase the strength, but
as its base strength and hardness was low, its effectiveness wouldn’t be dramatically
higher than Adamantite’s. Therefore even Jin didn’t notice to do this until now.

You could say that in the first place he didn’t even think of the idea of mixing
Adamantite which cost 7000 to 10000 Torr per gram with Mithril that similarly cost
4000 to 5000 Torr per gram.

“What’s left is the mixture’s ratio, huh.”

Jin experimented on changing the Mithril’s proportion. The result was that 1.5 percent
mixture produced the greatest reinforcement.

“All right, let’s call this alloy Magi Adamantite.”

He came to know that by pouring in Magic Energy to strengthen it to the maximum, it

became five times stronger than simple Adamantite.

“Okay Reiko, please go to sleep once again. Because I’ll reinforce your skeleton with
this Magi Adamantite.”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 19 | 392
“Yes, Father.”

And thus Reiko’s skeleton was upgraded to Magi Adamantite.

Next Jin decided to create a new, even more powerful model of the railgun.

His plan was to, instead of spherical shots, use pointed bullets and add rifling inside
the gun barrel.

By making the barrel out of Magi Adamantite, even Adamantite bullets would find it
hard to wear it down.

And then he changed the method of shooting from a slingshot-type to a spring-type.

To put it simply, you could think of it as something similar to a spring-piston BB gun.

For the spring Jin would use not the leather of a Sea Dragon, but the muscles
themselves. After the dragon’s dissection there were a few uncut muscles that
remained intact. They were probably the sinewy muscles from the wings.

An interesting property these sinewy wing muscles had was that when Magic Energy
was poured in them they extended. Depending on the amount of Magic Energy put in,
the extension’s length and force differed.

Jin was wondering whether all the muscles did that or not, but the limb muscles and
such contracted with Magic Energy. It was the same response as that of humans’
muscles.

“So that must mean it needs Magic Energy to spread its wings.”

Jin who didn’t know much about magical life forms made such an assumption for now.
But more important than that was the way they were used.

“Without Magic Energy the muscles would be contracted, and when pouring in the
Magic Energy in one go they would extend, and that would fire the bullet. Hm, that
should work.”

In this situation the faster they extended the better, so Jin used one of the pieces of

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 20 | 392
Elradrite he obtained to boost the Magic Energy when firing.

The gun barrel was wholly Magi Adamantite. Moreover the bore was increased to 5
centimeters.

With this it seemed like it could withstand even Reiko hitting something with it at
1000 percent output. Well, if that sort of situation was to happen often it would still
be a problem though.

“Alright, Reiko, give it a try.”

“Yes, Father.”

In front of the research laboratory, Reiko aimed east with the new railgun, nay, the
new Magi Cannon, and shot at full power.

Along with a bang, a hole appeared in the clouds while a trail appeared in the ionized
air. The Elradrite’s boost was frightful.

“Ooh, that’s rather amazing… Did it reach all the way to space this time?”

He wasn’t able to make precise measurements, but if there was a person watching in
space right now, they would probably notice a small flying object circling the planet.

Its initial velocity was Mach 80. In other words, 27 kilometers per second. Even taking
into account the deceleration after firing caused by air resistance, it became the first
object on the planet to reach escape velocity.

“Reiko, don’t shoot that with full power until I tell you to. Don’t shoot, got it?”

Jin gave Reiko a reminder.

Meanwhile, Reinhardt had been extremely busy.

First he had explained to the garrison in Celuroa Kingdom that the two of them had
been kidnapped by the Unifiers.

To prove this they ended up having to travel back all the way to Stearina’s villa in Dali.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 21 | 392
After seeing Stearina’s destroyed golems and Automata there, in addition to the
disastrous destruction caused by the golems, and lastly the state of the guards’ corpses
in the morgue Celuroa Kingdom’s defense bureaucracy finally seemed to accept it.

On top of that there was great difficulty with the captured Unifier members.

Because no one had for now witnessed Reinhardt with Jin, he kept pretending to have
no idea who had saved them.

Well, being a foreign diplomat, Reinhardt wasn’t questioned thoroughly which saved
him a lot of trouble.

However, the members of the Unifiers all together spoke of Jin.

Well, as Jin had been wearing the helmet they weren’t able to pinpoint that it had been
him. Also because Reinhardt kept quiet, the question whether or not it had been Jin
was left to be answered, and the name ‘Mysterious Golem Master’ was coined for the
event.

It’s a bit of a digression, but Reinhardt and Stearina weren’t told about the execution
of the Unifiers.

“So, the person who saved us was surely Jin-kun, right?”

After finishing tidying up Stearina’s partially destroyed villa, she and Reinhardt were
drinking tea.

“How unfortunate that I didn’t get to talk with Jin-kun this time either as I’d have liked.”

“Well, you were unconscious so that couldn’t be helped.”

Maybe because of the magic-sealing choker, Stearina had yet to wake up in the morning.

After having her drink the two portions of the medicine Jin gave to Reinhardt, she
finally opened her eyes.

“Hey, Stearina, are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 22 | 392
“Huh? Where’d that question came from?”

“No, I was just bothered because after being rescued from the Unifiers you were
unconscious for a rather long time.”

First he had wanted to smoothly approach the topic but he gave that up after Stearina
asked for Reinhardt’s reasoning.

“The truth is that my health’s been in a bad shape for a long time now. Always feeling
my body’s heavy, and sometimes getting these spasms of pain.”

Stearina spoke openly.

“Did you go see a healer?”

“Yep. After receiving healing I became alright, but in two or three days the pain would
come back.”

“Is that so…”

“However, now I seem to feel somewhat better than usual. It must be because
Reinhardt-kun is keeping me company, no?”

Stearina said and smiled. Neither of them recognized that it was the effect of Jin’s
medicine, and it looked like they wouldn’t notice it for the next while.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 23 | 392
“There is a report from Deneb-21.”

The next morning, Laozi conveyed Quinta’s first results.

The destination where Deneb-21 was dispatched was near the lake Azul.

Lake Azul was a huge lake located in the northern part of Celuroa Kingdom. It was a
popular sightseeing spot that also importantly had the national border between
Celuroa and Frantz Kingdom and aquatic resources.

Due north of the Celuroa Kingdom’s capital Esaia was the tourist city Rulasus. It was
said that on its outskirts there were ruins from the times of the Great Magic War.

“It appears that the insides were partially destroyed, and no particularly important
documents or Magi Tools were left behind.”

The first results were as stated, although the details were lacking.

“There is a report from Regulus-15.”

“There is a report from Capella-21.”

That day, a total of three reports came, and the third report, namely Capella-4 said that
he had found a box with a sealed [Core] of gigantes in it. The location was in the
northern mountains of Egelia Kingdom.

“So there really were more. Just as Ann said, huh.”

From the supposedly six remaining ones one of them had been found. Five remained.

The sealed box was a little troublesome, but Capella-4 decided to very carefully carry
it to Hourai Island through the Warp Gate near Blue Land.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 24 | 392
“Hmm, the advance bases, or rather the lodgements, or rather the network is still
lacking, huh.”

Jin muttered. But it hadn’t been more than five days since the completion of the Quinta.
That was natural.

“Now then, I’ll, hmm.”

After receiving the reports and giving instructions Jin decided to build a substitute
puppet for himself due to Reinhardt telling him to ‘take care of himself’ the other day.

“Using same structure as with the Quinta…”

He would make it just like a human. What was essential was the internal [Mana
Telecam] that could convey sounds and images to Jin on Hourai Island.

It would move according to Jin’s orders, basically half-autonomously.

He made its look exactly like Jin on the outside.… Or so he wanted, but it really was
hard to make a puppet that was an exact copy of himself by himself, so he asked Reiko
to make the finishing touches.

And thus Jin’s substitute puppet was completed.

“…Uncanny.”

Seeing a puppet just like yourself would be uncanny, wouldn’t it.

“Is it not to Father’s satisfaction?”

Reiko said anxiously.

“No, I wasn’t criticizing it. On the contrary, it’s somehow too much like me, just a little.
”

Jin said and calmed Reiko down.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 25 | 392
“Let’s try making it move as a test.”

He immediately started a test run. Controlling it was done in one of the rooms in
Hourai Island’s research laboratory.

There were five large monitor screens, each projecting what the substitute puppet was
seeing, but the front screen was tuned to display what was about the same as a
human’s field of vision, while the screens around it showed the rest around it.

The substitute puppet’s field of vision was much wider than a human’s. Normally just
the front monitor ought to suffice.

From the room Jin sent simple instructions to the substitute puppet. As implementing
remote controls seemed to be time-consuming, and development of control through
brain waves also seemed to be time-consuming, this was a stopgap method adopted
until then.

The plan was to have Reiko and the SP at his side most of the time giving him support.

Move, stop, walk, run. Basic commands worked fine, but as expected small motions
were very uncomfortable.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed clumsier than a human.

“Well, it’s a substitute for times when I’m going somewhere dangerous, so maybe this
should do.”

He had many complaints about it, but it was still a work-in-progress, so Jin decided
that the substitute puppet was done for now.

“Now then, Laozi, what’s the state of progress with the aircraft carrier?”

Jin asked Laozi, and,

“My Lord, currently the material processing is 50 percent done.”

“My Lord, currently the material processing is 50 percent done.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 26 | 392
The same reply came from two directions at once.

This was because on one side was Laozi’s human terminal, and on the other there was
Laozi’s brain.

“Ahh, having two Laozis is maybe too tangled.”

Jin thought about it. How was it again in that book he once read? Then he remembered.

“…Alright, from now on let’s keep calling the humanoid side Laozi, and call the brain
side ‘Laojun’. They both have the same meaning so it’s fine, right?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Understood, so I am now called Laojun.”

The alias of Laozi in the land of the immortals was ‘Taishang Laojun’, and that’s where
he got the name.

Jin then again received the report about the aircraft carrier.

“Hmm, it really does take a long time.”

“Yes. That’s because we had to begin from building a dock on the beach to use for
construction.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Jin was the Magi Craft Meister. Just him being the leading Magi Craftsman didn’t mean
he specialized in building gigantic things.

“Hmm, I suppose I’ll make factory worker golems.”

Jin said, and he got support from Ann.

“I think that is a good idea. Leaving the parts only master can build out of it, by letting
golems build the rest of the parts master’s workload becomes lighter and the
production efficiency increases.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 27 | 392
“That seems to be the case.”

And so Jin decided to start mass-producing factory worker golems.

The material was steel. There wasn’t a particular need to use the valuable Light Silver
or Adamantite.

However, the steel was an alloy with nickel and chromium mixed in so as to make it
less susceptible to rust. In other words, stainless steel. In addition, it was 18/12 steel.

18 percent chromium, 12 percent nickel. The reason was that with large amounts of
nickel the color would become blackish, giving it a solid feeling.

“The strength is fairly good as is, but if they can’t use Craft Magic well it’ll be troubling,
huh.”

As such Jin transcribed considerable portions of his knowledge to them, making them
able to work on everything but the most precise formulas. Their physique was about
the same as Jin’s. So that they could also work with small details.

He made 500 of them.

He first built five and activated them, and had them assist him in building a total of 50.
With the additional support of these 50 he built 500.

Jin was finished in the middle of the morning.

“The efficiency really is different, huh.”

“My Lord, the name.”

Laozi and Laojun reminded Jin to name them as he became excited about how easy
the work became.

“Hmm, let’s see, Smith.”

This was the creation of the worker golems Smith-1 to Smith-500.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 28 | 392
As usual, he went to have lunch with Elsa and Mine.

“Come on in, Jin-nii.”

“Hello.”

Today the weather was once again fine and it was warm, so they had lunch outside.

This time lunch was freshly-baked bread with thinly-sliced meat in between,
vegetable salad, and Citran juice.

Jin noticed that the menu was a little scarcer than usual, but said nothing about it and
picked up the bread.

“…”

“?”

While Jin did that, Elsa kept staring at him. Jin thought her unusual behavior was
somewhat strange, yet didn’t stop his hand and ate the bread.

“?”

The second question mark of the day. The flavor was a little different from usual. The
meat slice seemed to be thicker, but the flavor was somewhat weaker.

Although Jin was fundamentally not picky with his food, that didn’t mean he had no
sense of taste. Rather, because he had cooked simple meals by himself, he thought he
was as particular as anyone else. He just didn’t put it into words.

“…”

And then as he felt Elsa’s gaze as he was about to eat the vegetable salad, Jin suddenly
came to a conclusion.

“Could it perhaps be that today’s lunch was made by Elsa?”

He said, and Elsa became visibly nervous.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 29 | 392
“…Was it not good?”

She then timidly asked.

“No, the flavoring is a little different than what Mine uses, but it’s plenty tasty. So that
was it, Elsa made the food, huh.”

“Mm. Because it would be shameful if, as Jin-nii’s sister, I couldn’t do a lot of things.”

Elsa said and slightly blushed.

“Mh-hm, thanks.”

Jin said and finished eating all of the remaining bread and salad.

“That was good, Elsa.”

Elsa and Mine both similarly finished eating, and for after-meal dessert Mine peeled
some Pelshka.

Peeling Pelshka was probably still unreasonable for Elsa, at the very least in front of
Jin while he was watching.

Jin remembered how Elsa’s aptitude with [Transfer Info] was greater than
Reinhardt’s. If he had the spare time he might try teaching her some Craft Magic, he
muttered to himself.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 30 | 392
Lithia Fahlheit was a new noble of Cline Kingdom.

Her father, Nicholas Fahlheit, was granted the title of Ritter due to his meritous deeds
in battle. As Lithia herself also achieved much as a knight apprentice she was allowed
to call herself Ritter in public.

Although it couldn’t be denied that the most important reason was that Cline
Kingdom, which Lithia was affiliated with, suffered from a chronic lack of talented
personnel.

In the continent’s history on the 17th of January in the year 3457, the adjacent Frantz
Kingdom suddenly violated Cline Kingdom’s border.

Frantz Kingdom was something like a vassal state of Celuroa Kingdom, and even now
they kept crossing the border and stepping on Cline Kingdom’s toes.

Frantz Kingdom and Cline Kingdom were countries of roughly the same scale, but
Frantz Kingdom relied on the national power of Celuroa Kingdom which was behind
them, and like this kept committing small skirmishes every few years.

In Cline Kingdom’s capital, Alban.

“Lithia Fahlheit, reporting.”

Lithia had been summoned by the head of the chivalric order of the country.

“Mh-hm. Lithia Fahlheit, a battle with Frantz Kingdom has broken out at the western
border. You are to head with relief knight troops to Storsk.”

“Yes, sir!”

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In addition to Lithia, 10 new Ritters were admitted into the relief knight team
arranged to head towards the battle.

The reason Lithia was chosen was that she could use healing magic. Most of the other
teams also had a user of healing magic.

After merely three days of training Lithia became one of the 25 members of the relief
knight team and headed towards Storsk.

To save time, they trained while marching and it as severe enough to make three
people desert, but Lithia who had a natural sense of responsibility stuck it out to the
end.

As they had been marching while training, the journey to Storsk took two days. The
training was for a total of five days.

Right now, the war front was at a deadlock. Cline Kingdom’s military strength
defended well and had stopped Frantz Kingdom’s military. On the contrary, they were
slowly being forced back.

Once Lithia’s group arrived at Storsk the relief knight team immediately started
working.

“Water please!”

“Healing magic needed over here, please!”

“Splint it, quickly!”

Storsk was right behind the battlefield. Stationed there was the country’s third knight
battalion of 300 knights. The wounded soldiers were carried here in large numbers.

The battalion also had a specialist relief team, but by no means were they enough for
a battlefield, so as soon as the relief knight team arrived they became very busy.

“[Cure].”

“[Recover].”

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The result of her great efforts during training was that Lithia became able to use
healing magic up to the intermediate level spells.

“Fahlheit, over here too, please!”

“Got it! I’ll be there in a moment!”

And as a result, she went around without time to rest in the relief tent.

“Ahh…”

During her brief rest time, Lithia had gone outside the tent and was looking up at the
night sky.

Her body and soul were both tired, but she was fulfilled.

“The things I can do… It’s got to be healing after all, right?”

Once, while transporting wheat at the outskirts of Kaina Village, Jin had said to her,

‘Isn’t it fine to live for the things you can do?’

Since then, Lithia had kept asking herself what were the things she could do.

‘As a Ritter I’ll protect everyone!’

That was the line she had said back then. That wasn’t a lie, she thought. Despite saying
it in the spur of the moment, or rather precisely because of that she thought those
words were the truth as far as she was concerned.

“Protecting, and healing. Those are the… things I can do, right?”

The moon shone in the night sky she was looking at, just like in the sky back then she
had gazed at it together with Jin.

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The next morning, the war front moved.

Frantz Kingdom got reinforcements and pushed Cline Kingdom’s military back.

“Fahlheit, you retreat while accompanying the people who’ve got minor wounds!”

“Y-yes sir!”

The relief knight team’s commander Johannes gave the order.

The severely wounded people who couldn’t walk by themselves were transported
with carts. Despite having to shoulder the carts’ baggage themselves, the relief knight
troops were running about securing usable carts.

(The cart Jin-san made was amazing, wasn’t it…)

Lithia remembered the cart that could carry all the wheat used for the payment of
taxes from Kaina Village to Toka Village in one go.

She didn’t remember the word ‘trailer’ but she had been surprised by its transport
capabilities.

(If our country had that technology, then surely…)

That’s when Lithia’s thoughts were interrupted.

“Enemy attack! Ready for combat!”

Before the evacuation preparations were even completed, Frantz Kingdom’s army
came to attack.

“Ah… That’s!”

Frantz Kingdom’s reinforcements were golems. Moreover, she recognized the model.

“The golems that… once attacked Toka Village?”

The resemblance to the golems Jin had once repelled and destroyed with his

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 34 | 392
mysterious magic was striking. There were 20 of them. They stood as the vanguard of
the enemy soldiers and came attacking.

“Urgh!”

“Eek!”

Screams were heard, blood splashes scattered around, and the number of severely
wounded people rose.

Meanwhile, the team of 25 relief knights retreated while being protected by the third
knight battalion. The plan wasn’t to abandon anyone except for some of the severely
wounded people.

“Ah, why at a time like this?”

Lithia shed tears as her expression was a mixture of bitterness and sorrow.

“[Flame Lance]!”

Then, magic was fired in front of Lithia.

The [Flame Lance] melted a golem that seemed to be made of bronze and mowed
down enemy soldiers.

“Ooh, it’s the magi knight unit!”

It was the company that specialized in magical attacks. Their original purpose was to
provide long-distance support, but they rushed to in to help with the crisis of the third
knight battalion and the relief knight team.

“[Flame Lance]!”

The consecutively fired [Flame Lance]s massacred the 20 enemy golems to less than
half the number.

After seeing that the enemy commander took the losses into consideration and turned
to retreat.

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The magi knights, instead of pursuing the enemy, began aiding the injured. Many of
the magi knights were capable of not only attack magic but healing magic too.

“Over here! Healing magic, quickly!”

“Styptic! Hurry!”

The people with minor injuries were made to retreat by themselves, while all the relief
knight team members administered medical treatment to the wounded.

“Oof, this is…”

Blood ceaselessly poured out of the wounds opened just now. Lithia fought the welling
up nausea while going around applying healing magic.

First aid treatment took priority over completely curing them.

Although the battle was finished before noon, before she noticed it had turned to
evening. Somehow the basic emergency treatments were completed, and all of the
exhausted relief knight team members lay down on the ground.

(Even so… There were many people that couldn’t be saved…)

Although she was tormented by the feeling of powerlessness, Lithia did not regret her
actions.

Before long the night came, and behind the torn tent and the partially destroyed carts
rested the knight troops. The magi knight unit which had done as much as possible
had already retreated to the back taking the severely wounded with them.

“There’s 58 remaining injured people, and my relief knight team also has five injured
people.”

There was a total of 63 injured, while 20 of the relief knight team members were
alright. In addition there were 15 soldiers with insignificant wounds that did not
hinder their actions.

That was everyone who was left here. The number of casualties was still unknown but

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 36 | 392
it was probably not less than 50 people.

In the middle of it all the figure of Lithia could be seen going around feeding the
wounded with rice gruel she had made out of the unscathed food.

“I’ll do my best to do what I can.”

While muttering so to encourage herself, Lithia kept going from one injured person to
another.

Two days after this, the battle that could be said to be a routine would tentatively come
to an end.

Both sides suffered meaningless casualties.

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“My Lord, there’s a report from Regulus-2 who was dispatched to Cline Kingdom’s
capital.”

A voice was heard.

“Laojun, huh? That’s something I want to hear directly so please transfer the call here.”

A bit earlier, Jin had decided to call the intellect overseeing Hourai Island Laojun and
his human terminal Laozi to avoid confusion.

Although they were both names that on Earth referred to the same person or more
precisely sage, they were effective with preventing confusion.

“This is Regulus-2.”

“It’s Jin, what is it?”

“Yes, the neighboring Frantz Kingdom has violated the border of Cline Kingdom. This
appears to be the third time this year.”

“Cline Kingdom, is it?”

The country where Kaina Village where Hannah lived was, and which Lithia was
affiliated with.

“Rumor has it that Frantz Kingdom is something like a vassal state of Celuroa
Kingdom.”

“I see.”

Celuroa Kingdom was also the country most suspected of having ties with the Unifiers.

Jin was reminded of the (still incomplete) map of the world.

Frantz Kingdom and Cline Kingdom were to the north of Celuroa Kingdom.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 38 | 392
If Frantz Kingdom was a vassal state and Cline Kingdom was successfully made to
submit, Egelia Kingdom and Elias Kingdom would remain.

What aims Celuroa Kingdom had for the easternmost Leonard Kingdom was
unknown, but after the remaining two countries Celuroa Kingdom’s original goal of
re-establishing the old Dinar Kingdom could be said to have been reached.

“My Lord, there’s a report from Capella-1 who was dispatched to western Cline
Kingdom.”

Capella-1 was the Quinta dispatched to western Cline Kingdom.

“Frantz Kingdom has declared war on Cline Kingdom.”

“What!?”

Just when he had got the news of the recent border violation, this happened.

“My Lord, there’s a report from Mira-1 who was dispatched to Egelia Kingdom.”

Mira-1 was the Quinta dispatched to Egelia Kingdom’s capital together with Deneb-1.

“What is it now? Are you about to tell me that this time Celuroa Kingdom has declared
war?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right.”

“What the!?”

Celuroa Kingdom against Egelia Kingdom, Frantz Kingdom against Cline Kingdom.
Right now the bunch of small nations was in an uproar.

“Are Shouro Empire and Elias Kingdom peaceful?”

Loujin replied.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 39 | 392
“Yes, it appears that nothing is going on in those countries at present.”

“Hmm…”

Jin thought. What should he be doing now? Then he remembered to first of all contact
his friend Reinhardt who could judge the state of things in a time like this.

“If I’m not mistaken, Reinhardt’s supposed to still be in Dali or somewhere around
there.”

To be precise he was in the town of Jiron on the opposite side of river Azul from Dali.
The reason was that he was still occupied by matters regarding the Unifiers Jin had
captured.

“How should I go meet him…”

After all, it probably had to be at midnight with the stealth aircraft.

“Alright Laojun, prepare Falcon-1. Also take care of the Warp Gate tuning. Also the
golem horses for travel.”

“Yes.”

At that moment Ann made a suggestion.

“Master, I think it’s doubtful having Warp Gates lead directly here to Hourai Island,
with the exception of the ones from locations can be completely trusted.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Nothing is perfect. However unlikely, you must consider that the enemy could come
here using a Warp Gate too, and having the Warp Gates’ security broken through is
also possible.”

Ann’s claim was reasonable, and Jin nodded.

“Got it. It’s alright to send people out, but when coming here going through for
example Kunlun Island or something would be a good layer of security, is the gist of it,
right?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 40 | 392
“Yes, precisely.”

“In that case… Where would be good?”

It wasn’t possible right away, but Jin was thinking of using the aircraft carrier as a relay
base. If something happened, in the worst case it should be alright to just blow it up.

Thinking about it that way, instead of an aircraft carrier just a simple floating island
or something seemed like it would do.

And so travel to Hourai Island without direct passage through a relay base –with the
exception of times when the other party’s identity could be confirmed using a
ManaCom– was included in the plans for the future.

That evening. Eight in the afternoon on Hourai Island. Reinhardt got in contact as
usual.

“Jin, I’ve finally been set free from the annoying explanations and procedures and
whatnot.”

“Sorry for the trouble, Reinhardt. By the way, did you know that war has begun?”

“Yeah. I heard about it some time ago. Celuroa Kingdom declared war on Egelia
Kingdom, right?”

“Not only that. Frantz Kingdom has also declared war on Cline Kingdom.”

“Huuh?”

Reinhardt was surprised. No wonder.

“There’s something I’d like to consult you about, so I wonder if you could come over
here?”

“By over there you mean Hourai Island, right? It’d be my pleasure!”

“Alright, I’ll come meet you after this.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 41 | 392
After the conversation was concluded, Jin warped from Hourai Island to Jiron’s
outskirts to the Warp Gate on Falcon-1 which had already arrived there.
Accompanying him were Reiko and the SP unit.

“Is that the town of Jiron?”

Falcon-1 landed on the river beach around two kilometers away from Jiron. Jin who
had come out of the Warp Gate on board idly stared at the street lights with the night
sky as their background.

“Alright Reiko, let’s go meet Reinhardt.”

“Yes, Father.”

Jin’s golem horse Koma was on Falcon-1, along with another golem horse.

Jin mounted Koma and Reiko mounted the other horse and they headed for Jiron. Jin
was of course wearing the reinforced clothing. The SP unit followed them by running.

Moving like that it took them merely three minutes to get to Jiron. Strangely this was
not a walled city, instead a wide canal enclosed the city.

Its width was about 20 meters, not something a normal human could leap over. Also,
the moat’s walls were nearly vertical in addition to the drop to the the surface of the
water being over five meters high, so even if you used a boat it would be difficult to
get on and off it.

Nearly all of the many bridges were drawbridges with had been raised for the night.
Only in two spots were the bridges crossable, but they were guarded by sentinels
apparently to not let anything suspicious pass.

“Now then, how are we going to get Reinhardt out?”

Jin was pondering it but,

“Father, I shall jump over and bring Reinhardt-san back with me.”

Reiko proposed.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 42 | 392
“Hmm, I wonder if that’ll work.”

That seemed to be the best option in such a short period of time, so Jin decided to go
with it.

“Listen, use a [Barrier] and don’t go anywhere, please. And SP, you protect Father well.”

“Yes, Sister.”

Reiko who was prone to worrying looked like she wanted to say something more, but
as she was urged on by Jin she at last headed to the town.

First she chose a place where there were no people and jumped over the canal. It was
a trivial matter for Reiko.

“Reinhardt-san said he was in an inn called ‘Forest Badger Inn’.”

She had also heard its rough location so she soon found it. There Reinhardt was
waiting in the entrance hall of the in.

“Reinhardt-san.”

“Oh, Reiko-chan. Where’s Jin?”

“Father is waiting on the other side of the canal.”

“Is that so. Well then, let’s go there at once.”

After a simple exchange, Reinhardt went outside with Reiko. Something was in his
somewhat large baggage which he took with him.

They soon arrived at the canal.

“Err, how are we going to cross this from here, I wonder?”

Reiko approached Reinhardt who looked doubtful. She then extended her arms.

“Eh? Uhh, don’t tell me, don’t tell me you’re going to?”

Reinhardt turned somewhat pale. But Reiko looked like she wanted to get it over with

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 43 | 392
as he held Reinhardt in her arms. The scene of 130-centimeter Reiko carrying the 185-
centimeter Reinhardt was surreal.

“Let’s go.”

“Eh, hold–, ah, aaaaaaaahhh!”

While carrying Reinhardt Reiko effortlessly jumped over the 20 meter canal and ran
to Jin where Jin was without a pause. While still carrying Reinhardt.

“Father, I’ve brought Reinhardt.”

Reiko appeared in front of Jin while carrying Reinhardt and said.

“…He– hey there, Jin.”

“Hey there, Reinhardt.”

Their reunion was somewhat awkward.

After that Reinhardt got on the golem horse while Reiko rode together with Jin on
Koma, and they headed for Falcon-1. As an aside, Reiko seemed happy to ride together
with Jin.

From there they arrived at Hourai Island in an instant using a Warp Gate.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 44 | 392
After arriving in Hourai Island, Reinhardt was facing Jin in the research laboratory’s
parlour.

First he presented the luggage he had brought with him to Jin.

“What’s this then?”

“Well, open it and you’ll see.”

Being told so, Jin lined up the contents on top of the table.

“These are…”

He took out two books which contained written records of the Great Magic War. And
a doll. And a package that apparently contained Reinhardt’s personal effects.

“I took hold of these myself back then, but I think it’s better if you have these records,
Jin. And I had to return the doll back to Elsa.”

The doll was Non. When Elsa had run away she had left it behind. After Jin had caught
it after Elsa’s brother Fritz hit it with his hand to make it fall, Reinhardt had held on to
it.

“I’ll return it to Elsa afterwards. She’ll surely be happy.”

“Yeah. Thanks for holding on to it. And if these records can be deciphered I’ll tell you
about it.”

“Mh-hm, please do.”

Jin then called for the humanoid terminal Laozi, handed over the records to him and
ordered them to be deciphered.

“Understood, My Lord.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 45 | 392
Laozi said and bowed. The deciphering would probably be complete by tomorrow.

“Now then, earlier I sent my subordinate Automata into many countries. According to
them, Frantz Kingdom has declared war against Cline Kingdom.”

Reinhardt looked surprised.

“Hmm, this was a long time coming I feel. But also, why now of all times?”

“I want to hear your view on it, Reinhardt. I also had a hunch that leaving you in
Celuroa Kingdom like that would leave you in danger.”

Jin honestly spoke out about his intentions.

“Hmm, thanks for that. Since both of my guards ended up getting killed, and Schwarz
Ritter was also destroyed.”

Reinhardt looked a bit desolate.

“Schwarz Ritter… It’s a pity.”

Jin also knew that feeling.

“Yeah. What’s most vexing is that the broken Schwarz Ritter was confiscated by
Celuroa Kingdom.”

“What?”

According to Reinhardt’s explanation, the destroyed Schwarz Ritter was apparently

carried out unnoticed by Celuroa Kingdom’s soldiers, leaving not a piece behind in
Stearina’s villa’s wreckage. Then no matter how much he complained he didn’t get
anything back.

“Are you kidding me…”

While listening, Jin too gradually got angrier. But then.

“Wait a minute? Schwarz Ritter?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 46 | 392
Jin tried to remember.

“I heard Reinhardt was abducted… Then I, let’s see, I asked Cosmos and Sage of the SP
to search for something that has Reinhardt’s Magic Energy pattern…”

He seemed to remember now.

“Ah, my bad, Reinhardt.”

“Eh?”

“Schwarz Ritter is at my place.”

Jin said and explained how to track down Reinhardt Schwarz Ritter was brought here
using a Falcon.

“Then I had Schwarz Ritter carried to the research laboratory and he should still be
there. Sorry!”

Jin bowed in apology to the extent of his head touching the table.

“Oh, no, please raise your head. I- I see. So Jin collected him. That was helpful.”

“As my apology, you can repair him here! You can use whatever materials you like!”

Jin kept speaking. Reinhardt was pleasantly surprised by Jin’s words.

“Are you serious!? Ohh, that’s great!”

Now that it had come to this, there was no place for words. First the two headed to the
workshop. As similar fellows of the same trade neither of them had any complaints or
anything.

Rather than talk about politics, rather than talk about countries, craftsmanship came
first.

After showing Reinhardt to the workshop, Schwarz Ritter who was in pieces was put
on top of a table there.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 47 | 392
“Schwarz Ritter…”

Seeing the terrible spectacle that was Schwarz Ritter, Reinhardt’s face darkened once
more. However,

“This time, I’ll make you into a golem that will lose to no one.”

He grumbled. He then looked over his shoulder at Jin and said,

“…Excluding Reiko-chan and company.”

“I suppose I’ll also try making a golem with a skeleton.”

Reinhardt who had seen Jin’s golems in action multiple times muttered. Jin then said
to Reinhardt,

“Reinhardt, I’ve also got a favor to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“That underwater golem you showed me, ‘Lorelei’, was it? I’d like you to teach me
about its structure. How about it?”

“Oh, just that. Sure. Since I’m also using your golems as reference.”

Reinhardt gladly agreed, and for now explained about Lorelei’s structure and its key
technologies. As he also had things he wanted to ask Jin about afterwards, he
generously spoke about every detail.

“…And that about sums it up.”

“I see, so there was a trick like that for the movement of the tail and fins.”

Even Jin was satisfied with being told some small secrets.

“So, are you also going to make an underwater golem, Jin?”

Reinhardt asked and Jin nodded.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 48 | 392
“Yeah. Because Hourai Island is an island. I was thinking they’d be useful in fortifying
the defenses on the sea, or in underwater development, or something.”

“Is that so. I see. So, this time there’s a few details I’d like you to teach me about.”

“Mh-hm, like what?”

“I somewhat understand the way to attach the muscles, but earlier you attached the
muscles in some locations diagonally, right? Was there some purpose behind that?”

“Oh, that. That was in imitation of a human’s muscle structure, by attaching the
muscles a little diagonally the arms and legs become able to rotate.”

“S–so that’s what it was! That’s the secret of how to make the movements so natural!”

Humans’ arms and legs could not only simply flex and straighten, they could also twist,
and normal movements were a combination of those actions.

And for that reason the golems and Automata Jin made could move in a manner very
similar to a humans.

“All right, in that case…”

Just when Reinhardt got fired up.

“Father, Reinhardt-san, it’s already late at night. Please continue tomorrow.”

Reiko brought that to their attention.

“Oh, it’s that late already? Reinhardt, let’s leave it for tomorrow.”

Jin obediently did as was told. Reinhardt also, albeit reluctantly, followed the advice.

The two went from the research laboratory to the mansion, and after quickly washing
off their sweat in the hot springs went to bed.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 49 | 392
“Right now, Celuroa Kingdom is the superior power.”

“Evidently so.”

“Cline Kingdom may be mounting a hard resistance, but Frantz Kingdom is gradually
pressuring them.”

“Hmph, that’s the obvious outcome, isn’t it.”

“And so, what shall we do after this?”

“Hmm, let us continue as planned.”

“Yes sir. Is it alright to send in the golem force when the occasion rises?”

“Yeah. And that new weapon too.”

“T–that? To actual combat?”

“That’s right. Those foolish lesser countries will surely freeze in fear.”

“It is as you say.”

“Ha ha ha, soon the time when we reign over the continent will come.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 50 | 392
In the end, Reinhardt spent the night on Hourai Island.

The next morning the two started working immediately after breakfast.

“I want to use Lorelei’s movements in a golem with a skeleton.”

“Hmm, in that case if you did this then…”

Reinhardt gave Jin advice,

“If you mix chromium and nickel to iron you can make an alloy like this.”

“Hmm, so this is chrome and this is nickel. I’ve seen them every once in a while but
everyone always throws them away.”

And Jin gave Reinhardt advice.

“Alright, do it this way.”

“And this like that.”

As a result of the fast work, the morning wasn’t over yet when Schwarz Ritter’s repairs
were done and Jin had also finished building a dedicated underwater golem ‘Mermaid’.

“Hmm, the mermaid type means that she’s not going to be any help at all on land, huh.”

“My apologies, My Master.”

Mermaid-1 lowered her head, but Jin put her at ease,

“No, I didn’t mean it that way. I’d like to ask you guys to cooperate with the Navy from
now on with sea development, exploration, and such.”

“Understood, I’ll do our best.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 51 | 392
Upper half of the body was that of an adult female type, and the lower half was fish.
After this more Mermaid golems would be built until they numbered a hundred, and
they would play an active role in the surrounding ocean areas of Hourai Island.

On the other hand, Schwarz Ritter’s state.

“How do you feel, ‘Noir’?”

Reinhardt had also finished the final adjustments.

“Yes, very good. It’s just that the output balancing has changed so some practice is
necessary.”

18/12 stainless steel was of heavy use as a material, and because the [Hardening]
magic had been applied to it on top of that, the strength had doubled compared to the
steel from earlier.

Thanks to Hourai Island’s top quality Magical Muscle material of a Sea Dragon’s
leather even the power output became higher, comparable to the power output of Jin’s
Army golems.

In addition, because the Jin-style shielded casing was used as a countermeasure

against the [Subordination Rewriting Magic], you could say he was totally reborn.

Finally, as the Control Core had also gone through a complete remodeling he even
became able to speak fluently, Reinhardt decided to name this reborn Schwarz Ritter
‘Noir’ meaning the color black.

They decided to have lunch together with Elsa and Mine on Kunlun Island.

As Jin had properly contacted them in advance, portions for four people had been
prepared. Reinhardt had also heard Jin explain that the reason why Mine’s character
had become so extreme was because she had been under the effects of the [Seduce]
spell. That was for sure why at first their meeting was awkward but soon they opened
up and again became able to talk like normal.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 52 | 392
“Is that so, Elsa’s also calmed down, huh.”

“Mm. Now Mother teaches me all sorts of things every day. Like cooking, or sewing.”

“This soup was made by Elsa, right?”

Jin could roughly tell from the seasoning whether or not it was made by Elsa or Mine.

“Mm. Jin-nii, you can tell?”

“Well yes, what with you treating me every day and all.”

Jin said, and Elsa smiled happily. Seeing Elsa so happy, Reinhardt thought that it was
good that he entrusted her to Jin.

After eating, Jin said to Reinhardt,

“Reinhardt, hand that over.”

Reinhardt guessed what Jin meant and took it out of the luggage Reiko had carried for
him.

“Here, Elsa. You forgot this.”

“Ah, Non…”

The Japanese doll Non Jin had made. She had left it behind and Reinhardt had brought
it with him. Elsa then,

“Thanks, Rai-nii. I’m very happy.”

She said and accepted it as some tears formed in her eyes.

“Thank you very much, Reinhardt-sama.”

Even Elsa’s mother Mine bowed.

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Finally Jin and Reinhardt could take some time to properly talk about what to do from
now on.

“Anyhow, you better be careful, Reinhardt. Even your guards got killed.”

“Mh-hm, I’ve thoroughly assessed what happened. Even Schwarz Ritter got defeated,
overconfidence kills.”

For the time there was also his exclusive SP following him.

“There was a new report some time ago, and apparently Celuroa Kingdom and Frantz
Kingdom both seem to be overpowering their opponent countries.”

Jin just got the report from Laojun.

“Hmm, I’ll have to ask the details of just how you get information like this later. Leaving
that for now, I am Shouro Empire’s diplomat after all, so I can’t sneakily run away. It’ll
affect the reputation of my country too.”

“…”

“At any rate, now that it has come to this, I suppose I have to ask the stationed troops
or someone to guard me while I return to my country.”

Reinhardt said that he would request not just a unit of several people, but a platoon
or maybe even a company to guard him. Although Jin was still a little bit worried he
nodded.

“Apart from that, there’s also the matter with you, Jin. You’d do well to avoid doing
anything that stands out right now, or there’s a high chance both countries will for
example aim at you or not only aim at but distrust you.”

“Ah, so it really is like that after all…”

“For you it’s probably simple to come to my country, right? It seems like we’re not able
to travel together, but please come visit me at least once. I’ll be waiting.”

Reinhardt said disappointedly. Even Jin was interested in the nation of Shouro Empire
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 54 | 392
which wasn’t part of a group of small countries, and he was also curious about the
Artifacts passed down from pre-Great Magic War days Reinhardt had once spoken of.

“Yeah, I’ll go there before long. You’ve still got the ManaCom, right?”

“Yeah. Luckily or unluckily, it was left behind in the inn so the Unifiers didn’t steal it.
Although the Ring of Protection was stolen.”

The imprisoned Unifiers didn’t have Reinhardt’s Ring of Protection. This was because
it was at the bottom of the river together with the branch head.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me. Here’s a new Ring of Protection. It’s the same as the old
one.”

Jin said and handed it to Reinhardt. Reinhardt took it and said,

“Thanks for this, Jin. Well then, it’s about time for me to go.”

As there was a time difference he wasn’t yet in a great hurry, but Reinhardt who didn’t
understand that well already started speaking about returning.

“As I spent the night here without telling him, Claude is probably going to worry.”

“I suppose. In that case I’ll see you off to Jiron.”

Jin said and stood up with Reinhardt, then walked towards the Warp Gates. Schwarz
Ritter and Reiko followed them.

They warped in an instant. They appeared inside Falcon-1 which was on standby in
the outskirts of Jiron.

As Falcon-1 couldn’t be seen from the outside because of its stealth field, the town of
Jiron was visible in the distance.

“Come to think of it, it’s still just past noon over here. Please teach me the reason
behind this next time we meet.”

Reinhardt said and bid farewell to Jin.

“Ah, right. Well then, see you again.”

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“Mh-hm, I’ll be waiting in Shouro Empire.”

Reinhardt said and began to walk, but then he suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Jin, I’ll tell you something. The Artifact I told you about some time ago, it’s a gigantic
golem.”

“Eh?”

Jin was flabbergasted after being told about one of the things he was curious about.

“Haha, you’ll surely be able to make a similar one, no, an even better one, so. By now,
there’s no reason to keep it a secret.”

Reinhardt said and this time really headed towards Jiron. Jin turned to Reiko who was
next to him and gave her orders.

“Reiko.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Please watch over and make sure that Reinhardt gets to the town and meets with the
butler Claude and the others.”

“Yes.… But Father, you be careful too.”

While being worried about Jin’s safety to the last, Reiko followed the order. She
disappeared using [Stealth] and secretly followed after Reinhardt. As Sage and
Cosmos were similarly following him Jin could have peace of mind.

Jin decided to wait inside the Falcon.

Jin thought about the gigantic golem Reinhardt mentioned until Reiko came back.

It’s not limited to just golems, but when something that moves is made gigantic its
movements indeed become slower. That was because of strength and inertia.

Once it swung an arm, inertia would work against stopping it. If you forcibly went

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against inertia the arm would break, is how it was.

The object’s strength, for example flexural strength, was proportional to the area of
the cross-section, while the weight or mass was proportional to the volume.

That is to say, strength was proportional to the square of the scale while inertia was
proportional to the cube of the scale, and so if you made something bigger its strength
would indeed become lacking compared to its mass.

In that sense, you could say a human’s size was operationally balanced.

“But then there’s dragons or Hecantokheires, huh.”

Their movement was fast compared to their size.

“There’s a possibility that their density is lower making them lighter. The strength
would be lowered but taking into account strengthening with Magical Energy it makes
sense.”

The more he thought about it, the more he thought it couldn’t be anything else.

“In other words that means the weight doesn’t change more than by a power of two.”

It was an extremely simplified idea, but it probably wasn’t far off the mark.

“If the height is 15 meters, and a human is, let’s see…”

Jin’s height was 160 centimeters. He weighed 52 kilograms.

The size would be 9.375 times his. The volume would be multiplied by the cube of
that, so at 824-fold increase it would be 42.85 tons.

If it was multiplied by the square of the scale, the weight would be 4.57 tons.

“I wonder if achieving a weight of 5 tons or so would be enough…”

Jin too was after all one of the people who yearned for gigantic robots.

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“Now then, where should I start?”

After parting with Reinhardt and returing to Hourai Island, Jin had decided the outline
of his next objective.

Namely, it was “intervention so that I am not recognized”.

Part of being a hero was that the hero’s true identity remained a mystery until the final
episode.

He had also made the helmet and reinforced clothing too which was perfect for it, Jin
was thinking.

Then he got the idea of a gigantic robot. There was no way Jin wasn’t attracted by the
idea.

“Although there’s no way I can intervene directly with the war.”

It’ll probably be fine as long as he intervened when common people or such seem to
get exposed to danger, he thought.

Furthermore, he was thinking that it would be the best if he acted under the banner
of ‘against the Unifiers’.

Anyhow, he should stand out.

By using a laser or a railgun they wouldn’t understand what happened, and Jin had a
hunch that the threat they learned by heart would be small.

“If it was a giant robo… golem, it should be intimidating enough, right?”

And so, first of all he decided to start with developing materials.

If he made it out of Adamantite the weight would be immense, so he’d use Light Silver

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as the base.

“Hmm, if I recall correctly I was taught that titanium was mixed with aluminium and
vanadium or molybdenum or something to create an alloy.”

Jin tried to desperately recall the knowledge from his past.

He guessed that Light Silver was titanium the neutrons of which had been replaced
which Magitrons. That’s why it should follow the rules and properties that titanium
had, he thought.

“At any rate, nothing I can do but give it a shot.”

And so with Reiko as his helper Jin explored Light Silver’s alloys. Using Craft Magic, he
created test pieces in an instant. A lot of them.

During the morning he had nearly discovered the most optimal combination of metals.

“Jin-nii, welcome.”

Today too he had lunch with Elsa and Mine. It was cloudy today so they ate inside.

Seeing that the Pelshka fruit had been cut somewhat clumsily,

“Oh, I see that today Elsa has peeled the Pelshka.”

Jin said. Elsa returned a smile to Jin who had noticed it.

The menu was freshly-baked bread, Citran marmalade, vegetable salad, vegetable
soup, and Teee.

Judging from the seasoning everything had been apparently made by Elsa.

“Hm, you’re improving every day, aren’t you Elsa?”

Jin praised Elsa while eating.

“I’m glad you think so, Jin-nii.”

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Getting praised, Elsa smiled happily.

After lunch, it was once more time for testing the new alloys.

“Let’s see, Light Silver 90, aluminium six, and vanadium four percent, maybe?”

Eventually he settled on the so-called 6/4-alloy. It seems that in this world aluminium
was scarcer than titanium.

Vanadium’s original atomic number was 23, the next one following titanium and the
one preceding chromium, so even Jin could use [Analyze] to identify some slightly
detailed information.

This world’s ground contained small amounts of it, and even that mystery ore had
been piled up in the corner of his storehouse.

You could say that the predecessor had had some foresight with giving orders to not
discard such unknown ores and metals.

Now, returning back to the subject at hand.

Jin made the titanium, no, Light Silver 6/4 alloy, and tried spreading additional Mithril
into it.

With this the strength of the bond between the atoms could be augmented with
Magical Energy, and in the end its strength was able to rise up to seven times that of
normal Light Silver’s. This was astounding.

“Hmm, from now on it should be much better to use this alloy in place of Light Silver.”

Jin held such thoughts.

Now then, with the materials decided it was about time for manufacture. Jin called
back the Smith golems from 91 to 100 to help him.

Originally they were under Laojun’s command constructing the aircraft carrier, but Jin
didn’t pay any mind to it and Laojun too understood Jin’s sort of whimsical nature all
too well.

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And that was because most of Laojun’s knowledge came from Jin.

“For now, how about we try making three: a remotely controlled one, an autonomously
moving one, and one which you get inside to control it.”

The giant robot types Jin knew were the type operated with a controlling device, the
type that had its own intelligence to a degree, and the type you controlled from inside
the head or such.

They all had the same basic foundation. They all shared the same skeleton, muscles,
and exterior.

As they had the same foundation as the golems he had made until now, only they were
larger, so with Reiko’s and the Smith golems’ support he was able to finish the
prototype in an hour.

What remained was inserting the control system. The autonomous type was roughly
the same as a golem so it was simple to make. The orders it followed came through a
ManaCom system.

“Alright, let’s see, ‘Titan’ Mk.1, move. ”

The Light Silver-made ‘Titan’ was apparently named after the giant divine beings of
Greek mythology.

Titan Mk.1 stood up in the open space in front of the research laboratory. It was a
rather intimidating spectacle.

“Alright, try walking.”

As it was just a test it didn’t yet have a speech mechanism, so Titan Mk.1 moved
wordlessly. However, its gait was stable. The force caused the earth to tremble.

“Alright, try running.”

Abiding the order, Titan Mk.1 slowly started running. And then gradually increased
the speed. Its movements weren’t bad.

“Reiko, how’s it look?”

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Jin tried asking Reiko’s opinion.

“Let’s see, I don’t think it’s bad. The Gigantes I fought earlier isn’t worthy of
comparison.”

“Mh-hm, I thought so too.”

Then after reaching the end of the open space Titan Mk.1 properly turned back as
you’d expect from an autonomous model.

“Alright, now it’s time for shadow boxing.”

Because it had portions of Jin’s information transcribed to it, Titan Mk.1 followed the
orders diligently and started doing the motions. The quickness of its moves didn’t
match with its size. Jin was delighted his hypothesis had been correct.

“Alright, halt.”

Jin had Titan-1 go to a standstill so he could check that nothing had gone wrong with
any of the parts. His face was brimming with joy.

“Mh-hm, hmh, it was just a short while but there’s nothing wrong with the joints, the
skeleton, or the muscles! This one can be called a success!”

“Congratulations, Father. As expected.”

Reiko also seemed happy.

“Mhm. And now let’s finish the type I control by myself first!”

Jin braced himself to tackle the ‘Titan Mk.2’.

Controlling it from inside the head would be dangerous so he stopped that idea, and
decided to prepare a cockpit inside the chest.

The balance and other detailed coordination data was copied from Titan Mk.1’s
movements, and the Control Core was made to move the robot in a style according to
the pilot’s instructions.

Because Jin didn’t think he’d be able to pilot a giant robot out of the blue like that.

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And so the comparatively simple Mk.2 was finished. As it wasn’t as dangerous as flying,
Jin abruptly got in the robot.

“Father, will you be alright?”

“Yeah, it’s like driving a car so.”

Although Jin didn’t have a driver’s license, he had operated forklifts and such not on
public roads but inside the factory grounds.

“Alright, I’m going.”

Jin sat down in the cockpit inside the chest. As it was a prototype the chest wasn’t
armored so he was able to see ahead with just his eyes.

“Go!”

He stepped on the accelerator, which increased the output of the Ether Converter and
the Mana Driver, and responding to that Titan Mk.2 began moving.

Jin felt the thuds as it began moving, and gradually it speeded up, until at the end of
the open space he made a U-turn and came back… then suddenly stopped.

“…Father?”

Reiko who had been moving with him looked up, and saw Jin’s pale face. Reiko then
remembered why a condition like this happened.

She quickly jumped into the cockpit and,

“[Soothe]!”

She healed Jin with the Shouro Empire-style chant.

Jin looked disheartened.

“I suddenly felt nauseated…”

As its size was nearly ten times larger, the up-and-down movement while walking was
also nearly ten times larger. That burdened the pilot and Jin quickly became affected

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with motion sickness.

“It’s unfortunate but the passenger-piloted type is a failure.”

Jin got down from Titan Mk.2 with Reiko’s assistance.

“Perhaps I would be fine in it?”

Reiko followed up. Hearing that, Jin said,

“I guess so. How about we make that be for Reiko’s exclusive use.”

He decided to finish that later, and began working on the third one, the remote-
controlled Titan Mk.3.

This used the same system as the substitute puppet Jin made the other day.

He decided that the picture from the Magic Eyes built into the golem would be
projected to a dedicated cockpit where he could sit and remotely control it. If he didn’t
do that, then if it happened to go far enough to be out of sight it would be troubling,
and of course he did want to experience the sense of controlling it from the inside.

Until night he kept reiterating with various adjustments. Jin’s zealous handiwork was
undoubtedly because he wanted to see the Mk.3 tentatively completed.

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Coinciding with Jin’s activities on Hourai Island, the small countries were in an uproar.

Amidst that Reinhardt was making his way back to Shouro Empire as planned.

He had a company of guards with him. Its commander was Captain Matheus Geist von
Realgar. He was the company commander of the third Imperial Guard force.

He was Reinhardt’s friend, and also Reinhardt’s fiancee’s elder brother.

“So Matheus came here for me, huh.”

Right now, Reinhardt was returning home while being protected by the men led by
Matheus.

“Yeah, even His Majesty wished me to escort you, so.”

“His Majesty did?”

“That’s right. The rumors about your Schwarz Ritter have reached all the way our
home country. Overall victory in the mock battle of combat golems held in Celuroa
Kingdom’s capital! Didn’t it also wreck the Adamas Warrior?”

It was a story from about a year ago, but for the current Reinhardt it felt like a tale
from the distant past.

“Moreover, I hear you got second place in the golem boat competition held in Elias
Kingdom?”

Matheus kept talking while keeping precise pace with the carriage on his horse. He
was rather skillful.

“Well, yes. Although it was a shame I couldn’t win.”

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“What! It was a match outside your field of expertise, isn’t suddenly getting second
place a big deal?”

Now that Mathias mentioned it, Reinhardt remembered that the competition was
when he had first met Jin. Since then his every day has been very busy.

“…Come to think of it, where’s your cousin?”

Mathias’s voice interrupted Reinhardt’s thoughts. He was asking about his cousin,
namely Elsa.

“Elsa, huh.… It’s not something for me to say. Ask Fritz.”

“Major Fritz, huh. I do not like that man.”

Reinhardt knew that as a child his friend had cared about Elsa. However, now she was
but a nobleman’s wife to him.

“Fritz…”

Now that he had learned much from Jin, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps Fritz
too was under the influence of [Seduce].

But there was no way of confirming that.

They spent the night in the provincial city Tunsten.

Jin received reports from Laojun.

“Regulus-4 has discovered ruins in Mt. Galatt at the outskirts of Blue Land. He found a
sealed box containing a Gigantes and is traveling here.”

“Deneb-7 has discovered ruins near the lake Cedrolia on the border of Cline and
Celuroa Kingdoms, it appears to be empty.”

“Spica-10 has discovered a sealed box containing a Gigantes in the ruins on the shore
of lake Manoce in Cline Kingdom, and she is traveling here.”

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Today two sealed Gigantes boxes were discovered. Now three remained.

“Regarding the war between Celuroa Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom, currently Celuroa
Kingdom is slightly superior. They’ve apparently crossed the border and invaded with
three battalions.”

“Mh-hm…”

“Finally regarding the war between Frantz kingdom and Cline Kingdom, they seem to
be presently struggling for supremacy. Both countries are at a standoff.”

“…Understood.”

Jin stood up and headed for the workshop. Reiko followed him silently.

“War isn’t a good thing. I know that. However, I think I’ve heard someone say that what
is right is decided by the many. But wouldn’t that mean that countries decide what’s
right for them…”

Jin walked while thinking.

“I’m not a hero or a brave man. I’m not even a soldier. I’m the Magi Craft Meister.”

And then, he remembered what the new noble girl of Cline Kingdom had said.

“‘I… am I fine the way I am right now…?'”

That’s what she had said.

And that was Jin’s current mental state.

“Father, where are you going?”

Reiko called out to Jin who had walked past the workshop while deep in thought.

“Ah, oops. Sorry.”

Jin walked back while scratching his head. Reiko watched Jin with concern but said
nothing.

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“Now then, I was thinking we should develop a new weapon today.”

The very first thing Jin said after entering the workshop was that.

“When I analysed the ‘chant-obstructing choker’ that had been attached to Reinhardt
and Stearina earlier, I thought of some interesting ideas.”

“Please do tell.”

“Of course. First of all, that choker had the effect of interfering with the gathering of
Magic Energy.”

His earlier worries disappeared somewhere as Jin gradually heated up.

“When one uses magic, the chant works as something like a ‘power word’. It works as
a ‘Trigger’ and completes the spell with miniscule amount of Magic Energy.”

If one could compose that Trigger without chanting then casting of chantless magic
would be possible, but he didn’t touch on that for now.

“The function of that choker is to completely diffuse the infinitesimal Magic Energy
required for the casting.”

You could think of it as the flame of the match that lights the gasoline known as Magic
Energy. It was a function similar to blowing out that match.

“If this was done on a large scale, it would be possible to make a field where magic
cannot be cast.”

Jin wrapped up the explanation.

“That’s amazing, Father.”

Reiko honestly praised Jin.

“And the other thing, the function that whittles off the stamina of the chokee. If this
too was applied on a large scale, a whole army could be made to faint.”

This was also an effective weapon. By finishing them both it seemed he would be able
to stop the war, albeit temporarily.

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“Magnificent, Father. Let us develop it at once.”

Just when Reiko said so, Ann came along.

“Master, I heard your talk through Laojun. Something like that has once existed.”

“What?”

According to Ann, during the early days of the Great Magic War, there was something
like a magic-jamming magic.

“However, as allies also became unable to use magic it was not very effective.”

Apparently, on the contrary, there were lots of cases where being unable to use magic
against the physically superior demon race was a disadvantage.

“Hmm, in this situation when Magic Energy used for casting is jammed, I think that
Reiko and the other golems could act normally, is that right?”

Jin asked Ann while thinking.

“Yes, as it imply ‘jams casting’, golems that use internal Magic Energy to move are not
affected. They just cannot use external magic.”

Lately Reiko had mostly fought using raw power but she was also capable of magical
attacks. But there probably wouldn’t be any problems with Reiko’s strength.

“It would be effective against spellcaster forces, huh. So, do you know the method?”

“Yes, I remember it.”

Then using Ann’s memories as the basis at first, Jin created the prototype ‘Magi
Jammer’. With Ann it was easy to complete.

Jin used his own methods to improve all the important parts.

“With master’s method the effectiveness was more than doubled.”

Ann who witnessed the test said.

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Then Jin continued with starting on the ‘stamina-damaging’ weapon’s development.

“I wonder if it worked if I just used the function of the choker as is but made it larger?”

“But then the required Magic Energy will be too great.”

“Hmm, I suppose. Ah, in that case if we did this…”

“Father, at this point it would be faster to redo the whole Magi Sequence.”

“That may be so.”

Jin, Reiko, and Ann. These three kept discussing it. Jin’s insights, Reiko’s verification,
and Ann’s different viewpoint.

Once there was a tentative model for it, since the goal was clear they had roughly
solidified the configuration just before noon.

“Father, keeping at it for any longer than this will harm your health. It’s precisely
lunchtime, so let’s visit Elsa-san and company.”

Reiko said and half-forcibly dragged Jin out of the sea of experiments.

“Master, please go have lunch. I will keep on putting together the prototype in the
meanwhile.”

After even Ann told Jin so, he turned and went to warp to Kunlun Island.

“Welcome, Jin-nii.”

Today the weather was clear on Kunlun Island. For that reason lunch was outside.

Probably because Elsa was clever from the start, her simple cooking had greatly
improved.

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Jin who had been separated from his Magi Craft was still pondering a little as he ate
the bread. Elsa found fault with that.

“Jin-nii, you’re eating while worrying over something?”

Jin was startled. As he was completely seen through by Elsa, he quickly explained the
current situation on the continent.

“War…”

To relieve Elsa who had become a little pale Jin explained,

“Yeah, but perhaps luckily Shouro Empire isn’t undergoing war. Reinhardt too was,
according to what he said last night, returning home while being guarded by forces
led by some captain called Matheus.”

“Matheus?”

After hearing that name Elsa looked nostalgic for a moment.

“Yeah. Do you know him?”

“Matheus is Rai-nii’s friend, and his fiancee’s elder brother.”

“Huh. So once Reinhardt gets married this Matheus will become his brother-in-law.”

“Yes. If he’s with Matheus then Rai-nii is safe.”

Elsa said and so Jin too was a little relieved. Then, unrelated to what they just spoke of,

“Hey, Elsa, what are your thoughts about the war that has started?”

Jin tried asking Elsa.

Elsa had an immediate answer.

“I hate war.”

She then continued.

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“…Fritz-niisama once was a prisoner of war. At that time I could do nothing but worry.”

It was when Fritz was still a kind brother.

After what Elsa said, Jin thought that maybe Fritz too was under the influence of
[Seduce], which oddly was the same thing Reinhardt had guessed.

“Father is a military person. I heard he was promoted during war. But I hate war. It
would be better if there was none.”

Maybe because she remembered about the time when Elsa was conceived, Mine who
was listening from the side had a slightly painful expression.

“Got it. Sorry for asking you something strange.”

Jin said and lightly bowed his head.

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After returning from Kunlun Island to Hourai Island, Jin was thinking about Fritz.

“Master, the prototype Magi Jammer is complete.”

Then Ann came along to inform him. Jin changed his focus.

“Alright, let’s test it at once. Let’s see. Reiko, sorry but could you be the test subject?”

“Yes, gladly.”

And so they tried pointing the Magi Jammer at Reiko and activating it.

Its shape was roughly that of a cube, with one of the sides having a sort of a parabolic
generator device attached to it.

“How is it?”

“I do not feel anything in particular.”

As it interfered only with casting, Automata like Reiko or golems like the SP weren’t
affected movementwise.

“Alright, in that case try using some magic please. I suppose something like a [Light
Ball] would do.”

He chose a magic with no attack component, namely the [Light Ball].

“Yes.… [Light Ball].… Father, I cannot cast it.”

“Alright, it’s a success!”

Despite reciting the chant, the accompanying Trigger’s Magic Energy completely
vanished like mist. Therefore no magical phenomenon got cast.

Jin and Reiko together with Ann examined the effective range.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 73 | 392
They found that apparently the effectiveness rapidly decreased with distance. The
effectiveness was approximately inversely proportional to the cube of the distance.

They wanted to increase the current output by 50 times to make it useful for practical
use.

“Hmm, I wonder if it’s the effect of the Ether in the atmosphere? It’s difficult to make
a large-scale one…”

Because the jammer would be useless if it wasn’t active continuously, its Magic Energy
consumption was also large. The effect of the prototype cube with edges about 30
centimeters long had a maximum range of ten meters at a 60-degree angle.

“Seems like the range would be too low even if loaded onto a Falcon or something and
used from the air.”

If it flew 10 meters above ground it would work fine, but that would cause many other
problems.

“What’s the next step…”

Jin was thinking.

“Even if it was used intermittently…”

Suddenly he realized it.

“That’s it! Intermittently!”

“Father?”

“Reiko, Ann, please give me the prototype.”

Jin rewrote a part of Control Core that managed the generator device. Simultaneously
he thoroughly re-examined the Magi Formula and attempted optimizations.

“Alright, let’s try testing it now.”

And the test’s results. The effective range became two times larger than just now.

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“It works!”

“Father, what did you do? I understood that you optimized the Magi Formula, but…”

Reiko asked, and Jin explained.

“Yeah. I made it run ‘intermittently’ and I used the Magic Energy saved doing that to
increase the output. It seems to have a synergistic effect.”

Basically, it was made to run for 0.2 seconds and then rest for 0.4 seconds so the
consumption was be reduced to a third. And that portion was used to increase the
output when it was running.

0.2 seconds was plenty enough for the jammer to work, and the stop time of 0.4
seconds wasn’t enough for anyone to completely finish a chant, that’s gist of it.

In addition, inserting pause times allowed for increasing the running output. You
could maybe compare it to electric current which can momentarily surpass the rated
value of a resistor.

“As expected of Father.”

“Master, that’s amazing!”

Reiko and Ann praised Jin highly.

“Alright, with this the prototype Magi Jammer is alright. Let’s entrust the development
of this thing too to Laojun and the Smiths. They can determine the optimal
intermittent timing.”

As he had built the Smiths, Jin’s responsibilities were substantially reduced.

Accordingly Jin could devote himself to research. Right now time was precious.

“Alright, now let’s think of methods to dispel spells like [Hypno] and [Seduce].”

Jin thought that this was the most important thing right now. Supposing that Elsa’s
elder brother Fritz was affected by [Seduce].

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 75 | 392
No, beyond that, what if the leaders of the countries currently causing war were
affected? The Unifiers were liable to do that much.

Jin was urgently thinking about what measures to take against hypnotic magic. For
that, Ann’s knowledge was vital.

“Ann, what do you think? Can you think of any dispelling methods?”

“Yes. To put it in a single word, it’s a ‘shock’, but…”

“As before, huh…”

The weak thunder-type magic [Stun] did dispel the spell from Rucall whom he met at
the ancient ruins.

He said that to Ann then,

“Master, that wasn’t [Stun], that was [Shock].”

She gave a reply.

“Eh?”

“It was identical to the lightning-type magic [Shock] developed before the Great Magic
War.”

“I-is that so.”

Thinking about it, because he had analyzed and put to use the Rod of Paralysis Beana
had used, it wasn’t strange that there was another magic that was used as its model.

“There is another magic known as [Paralyze].”

“Eh?”

As Ann said something very curious, Jin’s interest shifted there.

“It’s a weak lightning attack with a peculiar waveform. The waveform is…”

Most likely it was a magic that had the effect of paralyzing the nerves. That was Jin’s

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 76 | 392
guess.

“I see. Not just the waveform, the intensity too is important after all. But it doesn’t
seem difficult to use.”

For Jin, it was simple to use it to make a Paralyzer.

It was in the shape of a pistol, and shot out a lightning attack at the pull of the trigger.
The reason it could transmit through air to reach the opponent despite the voltage
being low it was likely because of magic.

He made it able to switch between emitting short shocks and continuous shocks. Like
this it would be effective even against large crowds.

However, on Hourai Island this weapon wouldn’t be effective against anyone but Jin.
Because Reiko and the golems wouldn’t be paralyzed by it.

But as there was no way he’d test it on himself, he postponed the test firing until the
time he once more confronted the Unifiers.

For the time being he also made ones for Reiko and his private SP golems, and decided
to have them test it if the occasion rises.

“Alright, now let’s once again build a device that dispels hypnosis using [Shock].”

He began writing the Magi Formula for the [Shock] magic which too was in Ann’s
memories.

“But this really is quick to do with a model to follow, huh.”

It’d be quick even without one, but no one told him so.

In under 30 minutes the prototype was completed. Its shape was the same as that of
the Paralyzer. Sometime in the future he’d probably make something that could swap
between [Paralysis] and [Shock].

“There’s no one to try this on either, huh.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 77 | 392
And so he decided to leave the inspection of this too to Laojun.

Then Jin started considering methods of the Titans’ deployment.

The Titans were most suitable for demonstrations of force, but their weakness was
that carrying them out from Hourai Island took too much time.

For example, the place where the current conflict lies is about 600 kilometers away,
and going there even on Falcon-1 would take an hour. Maybe he could make this take
around ten minutes instead, Jin set his goals.

And that’s where the receiverless Warp Gate would come in.

By sending them out using this, even if there was some measurement error in the
location it would be much faster than flying them in all the way from Hourai Island.

However, the problem that they couldn’t come back followed.

And then Jin once more began pondering.

Reiko was a little concerned about Jin as she had a feeling he was in a hurry.

And because of that, leaving thinking to Jin and Ann, she decided to go to the other
room to have a discussion with Laojun.

“Reiko-san, what can I do for you?”

“Laojun, I’m a little worried about Father. I feel like he’s been somewhat in a rush these
past few days.”

“Indeed. There’s not much of the sense of enjoyment from before, is there?”

“Mh-hm. In my opinion, it’s because of the Unifiers. In addition, I wonder if he’s not
fretting over the war.”

“That seems to be the case. I feel that My Lord thinks he must take care of everything

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 78 | 392
by himself.”

“Even though neither the war nor the Unifiers are Father’s responsibility.”

“Because most of My Lord’s knowledge has been transcribed to me I know. My Lord

thinks that it is evil to not act when he has the power to.”

“Father is not evil!”

“I think so too. But My Lord really worries about that.”

“What do you think we should do?”

“Thinking about it normally, if both the war and the Unifiers were to disappear My
Lord’s worries would disappear too.”

“I see, that’s indeed true.”

“Having said that, even if for instance they were annihilated using [Laser] My Lord
would probably not be happy.”

“Certainly… On the contrary, Father’s worries would increase.”

“Difficult, isn’t it.”

The faithful subordinates, nay, the children had such a discussion without Jin knowing
it. He had finally thought about ways to make use of the Titans, and now on top of that
was considering how to execute those plans in practice.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 79 | 392
The conversation between Laojun and Reiko continued.

“So, just we aren’t enough to persuade My Lord, right?”

“That’s correct. After all we’re something Father created, unfortunately we have to
accept we don’t have that much influence.”

Both parties seemed to be of one mind.

“So, what are we going to do?”

Laojun asked Reiko.

“I’m reluctant to do this, but let us ask Elsa-san.”

Reiko replied. Looking at her frown, it was a rather difficult decision for Reiko.

“In that case, Reiko-san, please bring Elsa-san from Kunlun Island along with you.”

“Got it. Take care of Father in the meanwhile.”

“Gladly.”

After exchanging such a conversation, Reiko warped to Kunlun Island by herself.

“Good day.”

Reiko called out to them and she entered the large guesthouse where Elsa and
company were. It was Jin’s property in the first place so she had no need to hold back,
but she was being polite.

“Hello.… Oh my, Reiko-san?”

Mine came and looked a little surprised.

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“Hello. As a matter of fact, I have a request regarding Father that I’d like to ask Elsa-
san about.”

“Me? What?”

Elsa turned up from behind Mine.

Reiko explained Jin’s current state to the two. Elsa and Mine quietly listened. About
how he was attempting to oppose the Unifiers. About how he was conscious of the
war. About how he was worried about what he could do…

“He does not seem as happy as before. I am worried about that.”

Reiko concluded and brought the explanation to a finish.

The two stayed silent for a while, and the first one to open her mouth was Mine.

“Jin-sama has, because of what happened to Elsa and then Reinhardt-sama, a grudge
with the Unifiers it seems.”

“To be frank, I’m happy that he’s doing it for me. But I wish Jin-nii didn’t push himself
too hard.”

Elsa also gave her opinion. Mine continued.

“Surely Jin-sama is losing his composure because he’s chasing after too many things
at once, don’t you think?”

Elsa also shared that view.

“I think so too. This too, and that too, I feel like he’s coveting for too many things like
that.”

Reiko took some time to think about it, and she got the feeling that what the two said
was probably right.

“So, what do you think we should do?”

That was the thing Reiko wanted to know the most.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 81 | 392
“He needs a break, don’t you think?”

The one who replied was Mine.

“A break, is it…”

Reiko mumblingly parroted her words, but she seemed to think that was a good idea.

“So, how should I have Father take a break then, I wonder?”

Reiko couldn’t come up with anything.

This time the one who replied was Elsa.

“As long as it’s something fun, I think it’ll be enough.”

“Something fun, is it…”

Once more Reiko could do nothing but mumblingly parrot the words. She appeared to
be a little sad. She was probably feeling disappointed as she couldn’t think of that
herself.

“In that case, won’t you please ask Father, Elsa-san?”

“Me?”

“Yes. If rather than me Elsa-san asks, then surely Father will have more of a change of
pace.”

Elsa sympathized with Reiko’s slightly sad feel and nodded.

“Mm. If you’re fine with me. Please wait a moment.”

Elsa said and went to adjust her clothes. Mine who was left behind said,

“Reiko-san, I think it’s also fine to go somewhere where Jin-sama can feel at ease.”

She gave Reiko her own opinion.

“Somewhere he can feel at ease, is it.”

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After hearing that, Reiko thought what could a place where Jin felt at ease be. But
before she could finish that thought Elsa came back.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Elsa’s outfit consisted of a deep blue long skirt, a white blouse with a light blue scarf,
and the brooch she got from Jin.

For now they were the best clothes Elsa had.

“Mother, see you later.”

“See you.”

After a simple exchange, Elsa used the Warp gate with Reiko.

Once they appeared in the Warp Gate room on the first floor, she was led to the
workshop by Reiko.

It was the first time Elsa was in this workshop, and she was curiously looking around
at everything.

Back at the workshop, Jin was giving instructions to Laojun who assisted him. Once he
noticed that not only Reiko but Elsa too entered the room, he was surprised.

“…And that’s how it is, can I leave the preparations to you, Laojun?”

“Yes, certainly.”

After finishing instructing Laojun, Jin was flustered, turned to Elsa, and,

“Elsa, what’s the matter?”

He asked. Elsa replied immediately as if she had already thought of a reply.

“Teach Magi Engineering to me, too. Ah, Jin-nii called it, Magi Craft, right?”

“To you, Elsa? Magi Craft?”

“Yes. I want to try. Can’t I?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 83 | 392
Head tilted a little down Elsa asked with upturned eyes. Jin was weak to requests from
his family.

He hesitated a little, but soon agreed,

“Fine, I’ll teach you.”

He replied.

“Can’t wait.”

Elsa said, also delighted.

Reiko who was watching them from the side thought,

(Come to think of it, some time ago Father did mutter something about that…)

“Yes. That’s the standard way to use Magic Energy.”

Jin’s coaching began immediately. Beginning with how to use Craft Magic.

Normal magic did most of its work outside, but Craft Magic did most of its work inside
the material.

In other words, instead of seeing it by sight it was necessary to sense the Magic Energy.

Jin began from having her comprehend that difference.

“Aww, it’s hard.”

“Keep it up. Because once you can do this the rest will become easier.”

“Mm.”

It was indeed a sight exactly like a brother teaching his little sister. A heartwarming sight.

By now, worries about new weapons, military preparations, and such had disappeared
from Jin’s mind.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 84 | 392
In the end, Jin’s coaching of Craft Magic to Elsa continued until it was around two hours
to dusk.

As a result, Elsa became somewhat able to handle and sense Magic Energy, and also
learned the basics of the Craft Magic spells [Softening] and [Forming].

[Softening] in particular was very profound with Jin being able to even make figurines
using it, but the best Elsa could make was something like a cup.

“This, is interesting.”

Even so, using the memorized spells of [Softening] and [Forming], Elsa was playing
with a lump of copper kneading it like clay.

Seeing Elsa who said so and smiled Jin couldn’t help but smile himself too.

Seeing that Reiko felt relieved. And then she neared the two and informed them of the
time.

“Father, Elsa-san, it’s already 5 o’clock. It’s about time to wrap up.”

“Ah, it’s already so late, huh.”

“Time flies when you’re having fun, no?”

And so Elsa decided to return to Kunlun Island for the day.

“Well then, see you tomorrow. Shall we return here to continue from where we left off
tomorrow after lunch?”

“Mm, Jin-nii. I’m looking forward to it.”

Reiko and Elsa then headed for the Warp Gate room on the first floor together.

“Elsa-san, thank you for today.”

Reiko said and,

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 85 | 392
“No problem, I had fun too. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

Elsa replied.

They soon arrived in the Warp Gate room. At that moment Reiko received a call from
Jin through her internal ManaCom.

“Reiko, I forgot I had something to give to Elsa. Please come here to pick it up.”

Reiko then said,

“Elsa-san, Father contacted me and said he has something to give to you, so I’ll quickly
go get it. I’ll be back soon so please wait here.”

“Mm, got it.”

Reiko then hurried back to where Jin was.

“Ah, Reiko, sorry for calling you back.”

“No problem, what would you like me to do?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about giving this to Elsa. Well, I could do it lunch tomorrow too
but since she’s here I wanted to give it to her early.”

Jin said and held out a bracelet.

“It’s a bracelet to protect Elsa from her excessive Magic Energy disorder. It has the
effect of converting surplus Mana to Ether and storing it.”

It would be far simpler to release it into the air instead of storing it, but as Jin thought
it was a waste he had the bracelet store the surplus Magic Energy.

Despite being busy he hadn’t forgotten about Elsa’s illness.

“Well, she’s with Mine now so it’s not really necessary but.”

Mine had been the most worried about separating from Elsa who would end up
damaging herself, but looking at the two lately the situation had seemed alright to Jin.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 86 | 392
Because of that whenever he had spare time he had worked on it, and before he knew
it he had recently finished it.

“I understand. I’ll go give it to her.”

By all rights Elsa would’ve been happier if Jin gave it to her but, after all as a simple
enjineer he didn’t realize it.

And thus Reiko went to the Warp Gate room on the first floor with the bracelet.

And no sooner than that, she came back and reported with a concerned voice.

“Father, Elsa-san has disappeared.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 87 | 392
Turning back time a little.

In the Warp Gate room from where Reiko had left for Jin.

Elsa was walking around and gazing at the lined up Warp Gates until Reiko’s return.

Names like “Kunlun Island”, “Port Rock”, “Blue Land”, “Ruins of the Eight Subdivision”
and so on were on display but as they were all written in Japanese, Elsa couldn’t read
them.

“…These are, all Warp Gates.… Where do they lead, I wonder?”

She looked around while thinking so. Occasionally she also peeked inside them. Inside
Magi Formulas were written with letters she couldn’t read.

The construction of the interiors was also interesting. The ceilings too had some kind
of a pattern she couldn’t understand either.

“Some day, will I also be able to make something like this, I wonder?”

While thinking about that and looking up, her foot caught on something by accident.

“Ah.”

And she fell over. Into the Warp Gate in front of her.

All Jin’s Warp Gates required verification of his Magic Energy Pattern.

And on Elsa’s chest was the brooch she had received from Jin.

Yes, back when Elsa had disappeared, Laojun (back then called Laozi) had searched
for it using the Magi Radar.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 88 | 392
In other words, Elsa was recognized and ended up warping unassistedly.

Some ten seconds after that was when Reiko came back.

After hearing from Reiko that Elsa had disappeared, Jin hurried to the Warp Gate
room.

“Just in case, please investigate the other rooms.”

“Yes, I’ll command the maids to do so.”

Jin then looked around in the Warp Gate room. The most likely possibility seemed to
be that she had accidentally warped using a Warp Gate, but how did she pass the Magic
Energy pattern authentication?

He left that question for later and went around investigating the Warp Gates, but found
no clues.

Warp Gates produced no heat when running, as they were Magic Energy self-sufficient
models there wasn’t a decrease in Magic Energy or anything like that either.

“Hmm, if there only was a Warp Gate activation counter or something I could
immediately tell which one she warped with.”

Jin grumbled, but it was too late for that now.

Before long, a report came from the maid golems stating that Elsa wasn’t inside the
research facility or in a 50 meter radius surrounding it.

“Argh, if only I had recorded not just Reinhardt’s but Elsa’s Magic Energy too for a
situation like this!”

“Father, please calm down.”

“Master, I heard something has happened.”

Reiko calmed him down, then Ann came along.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 89 | 392
“Let’s put together and think about what we know so far. The likeliest possibility is
she accidentally warped using a Warp Gate. But where?”

Ann thought logically and advised Jin.

“Ah, that’s right. First, Kunlun Island. I tried silently asking the maid golems there but
she hasn’t come back. In that case, the Warp Gate next to it is very likely.”

That was the Warp Gate that went to Port Rock.

“Could you try contacting Cattleya and Lotus who are following Marcia, Reiko?”

“Yes.”

And in this way Jin and the rest searched for Elsa.

While in her fallen-down pose, Elsa appeared in a different Warp Gate.

“Where, is this?”

Unless she exited the Warp Gate temporarily she couldn’t return. If it wasn’t like that,
then if one was slow in getting out of the Warp Gate one might get sent back to the
original location.

Elsa slowly got up and exited the Warp Gate.

She was in an unexpectedly large room similar to a basement. There was a dim light,
probably coming from Magi Lamps somewhere.

Using that light to scope her surroundings, Elsa saw that there was nothing but the
Warp Gate she had just exited from in the room.

She knew that if she went in it she would likely return back to the Warp Gate where
she came from. Therefore she wasn’t very worried under the circumstances.

At the side of the basement there were stairs. She was just a little interested. Elsa
thought that since Jin had set up this place, it shouldn’t be a very dangerous place.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 90 | 392
If she returned now she would surely be scolded. If she was going to be scolded no
matter what, then, as if her former tomboyishness resurfaced, she walked towards the
stairs.

On top of the stairs there was a simple door. She tried gently opening it and outside it
was still daytime. Although on Hourai Island it was already the evening.

“?”

Finding that mysterious, Elsa walked out without noticing. She was in an empty
meadow, near which a large river flowed.

One step, two steps, Elsa moved her feet towards the river. For some reason or another
she wanted to go there, but just before reaching it changed her mind.

“If I don’t go back now they’ll get angry.”

Elsa felt guilty thinking of how by now Reiko had probably come back, found she
wasn’t there and how they must be looking for her right now. She turned to rush to
return, but then was shocked.

“There’s no… door.”

The door from which she surely exited just now was nowhere to be seen. Even though
the door she came out of was supposed to be around the small dirt hill, no matter
where she looked that door wasn’t there.

In a panic she tried looking for it by placing her hands on the ground and patting
around the area, but there was no sensation of anything like a door.

“…No way.”

Elsa groped around some more. Her hands and knees became covered in mud, but she
didn’t have the mindset to care about that right now.

After doing that for half an hour, she even lost track of the original location. All she
could see were her own footprints. You could no longer tell where they began.

“What now…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 91 | 392
When she had been kidnapped Jin had tracked her down. He would look for her again,
right? But supposing he got angry from her using the Warp Gate at her own
convenience, he might not look for her.

“I’m… sorry…”

Unintentionally coming to a pessimistic conclusion Elsa became disheartened and

wanted to cry, but at that moment.

“Onee-chan, who are you?”

Someone called out to her from behind.

Elsa looked and saw a girl eight or nine years old. She had slightly dazzling braided
blond hair and was holding a basket with wild herbs in it.

“Where did you come from?”

Being asked once again Elsa pulled herself together and replied.

“I’m, Elsa. Where I came from, I don’t know.”

Then the girl said,

“Hm? So a lost child?”

Elsa replied with a nod.

“Is that right? Then follow me. Let’s try going to the chief-san’s place.”

The girl said and began slowly walking. With nothing else to do, Elsa followed the
child.

Soon after following her they reached a small village. Stakes had been pushed into the
ground around it to make a simple fence.

“Elsa onee-chan, over here.”

While holding the basket the girl kept walking on a road to the center of the village.
Elsa who had stopped walking to look around quickly went after her.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 92 | 392
There were curious things Elsa had never seen before here and there. One of them was
something which looked to be made out of bronze that had a simple roof over it, and
judging from how its surroundings were wet it was a place related to water.

She was interested in what it was, but the first priority was herself. Elsa followed the
girl while matching her pace.

“This is chief-san’s house.”

The girl stopped in front a building that was slightly finer compared to the other
houses and said.

“Chief-san!”

The girl raised her voice to reach beyond the door.

After a brief while the door opened and a young woman appeared. She was probably
around the same age as Elsa was. However, one part of her was overwhelmingly more
grown up.

“Oh my, what’s wrong? Uncle hasn’t come back yet. He’s perhaps making the rounds
around the fields, I think.”

The woman said, then the girl pointed at Elsa and spoke.

“Is that right? You know, this onee-chan, she’s a lost child.”

“A lost child?”

The woman looked a little puzzled and turned to ask Elsa.

“Is that so? Ah, I’m Barbara. I’m the niece of the village chief Gheebeck.”

“I’m, Elsa.”

“Elsa-san, is it. Where did you come from? It doesn’t look like you’ve got any luggage…”

When asked Elsa nearly reflexively said Kunlun Island, but quickly held her tongue
regarding that.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 93 | 392
“I don’t know. I found myself here before I knew it. Then I met this girl.

Barbara tilted her head after hearing that and,

“What a curious tale, isn’t it. Well, such things happen too.”

She didn’t appear to consider it doubtful. She then looked up at the sky and,

“It’ll soon get dark, so if you’d like you’re welcome to stay at our house.”

She said, inviting Elsa. Elsa looked that the sky which had become dim and decided to
accept the offer.

“Thank you. I’m very grateful.”

With that Barbara spoke to the girl.

“Good job, Hannah-chan. We’ll care for Elsa-san so there’s no need to worry.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 94 | 392
“Hmm, doesn’t look like she’s in Blue Land either…”

Jin was still in Hourai Island looking for Elsa.

“What will I say to Mine…”

It was now 8 o’clock on Hourai Island. The time difference between here and Kunlun
Island was one hour. As it was 7 o’clock on the other island, it was about time for Mine
to find Elsa not coming back strange.

“Well, I guess I have to tell the truth…”

Jin had an image of the old Mine burnt in his mind, so he couldn’t imagine any other
result than getting yelled at.

Despite that Jin warped to Kunlun Island and met with Mine.

“Jin-sama, it seems that Elsa is late, has something happened?”

Seeing Mine’s concerned expression, Jin got cold feet. But he braced himself and,

“Elsa has… gone missing.”

Jin told her the truth.

“Eh? Gone missing? Elsa has? What happened?”

Thankfully, Mine accepted the truth without flying into a rage and grabbing Jin. Of
course, she looked worried.

“As a matter of fact…”

Jin explained his conjecture of what went on earlier. After hearing the basics, Mine
muttered a few words.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 95 | 392
“That kid… She surely was curiously peeking into the Warp Gates, wasn’t she?…”

The guess was rather on point but it did not change the current situation.

“Anyway, since I’m searching for her with all I can, don’t worry… That’s probably too
much to ask, however, I’d like you to at least not worry too much.”

Jin said. His remark had a somewhat confusing feel to it but that was unavoidable.

“Mh-hm, Jin-sama is the person who saved her and me. As you’re once more searching
for Elsa, I trust in you.”

Being told so Jin could feel the pressure, but without showing that on his face he
nodded in a big way,

“Leave it to me.”

He said and left behind Kunlun Island.

“Master, why do you think Elsa-san was able to warp?”

Ann came and asked him. More precisely, she wanted to confirm something to find out
the cause.

“Hmm, maybe the authentication didn’t work well, or perhaps…”

“She was wearing something with Master’s Magic Energy in it, don’t you think so?”

After hearing that Jin sharply clapped his hands together.

“That’s right, that has to be it! I wonder why I didn’t think of that sooner?”

He couldn’t think of any other reason than panicking after Elsa’s disappearance.

While reflecting, Jin gave instructions to Laojun.

“Laojun, like when you looked for Elsa earlier, look for my…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 96 | 392
His instructions tapered off.

“My Lord, what’s wrong?”

Laojun seemed puzzled and asked. Jin looked like he had understood something and
said,

“Right, that’s probably it! Elsa was wearing the brooch I gave her to as a present! Isn’t
that right, Reiko?”

Jin basically wasn’t very mindful of people’s attire. That included his own.

“Let’s see, that’s indeed the case. If I recall correctly I think that she had the brooch on
her chest.”

Reiko hadn’t paid much attention to it either. Like father, like daughter, you could say.

Well, in Reiko’s case she was probably just barely concerned with anyone except for
Jin.

“Laojun, that appears to be the most probable one. The same brooch Elsa had last time
she was searched for. Please look for it.”

“As you wish.”

Laojun used the Magi Radar and began searching for Elsa.

The search locations were the places where Warp Gates had been established.

Port Rock, Blue Land, the ruins of the eighth subdivision, and then…

“My Lord, there is a reaction from Kaina Village.”

Some 30 minutes after Laojun began the search, he reported of a discovery.

“So it was Kaina Village!”

Jin was relieved for the time being as she wasn’t anywhere dangerous.

“Surely she carelessly went outside and the barrier kept her from coming back, huh.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 97 | 392
The specialty of this sort of barrier was that it was easy to get out from the inside, but
you couldn’t get in from the outside. It mainly had something to do with the flow of
Magic Energy used to cast spells, but let’s not go into details right now.

“Even so, Kaina Village, huh…”

Jin sighed and had a faraway look in his eyes.

“I’m certain I left Kaina Village on December last year, and now is April so it’s been
about four months since then…”

He couldn’t tell whether four months was long or short. A lot of things had happened
during that time. No, too many things.

Now that he had received the title of Egelia Kingdom’s Honorary Magi Craftsman, he
could probably return to Kaina Village at a moment’s notice without any harm.

However, he wanted to avoid inconveniencing the village by all means.

“Anyhow, I don’t have any option other than going there tomorrow morning, do I?”

But, she was worried about Elsa too. No matter how good the people of Kaina Village
were she was probably feeling lonely.

Then Jin got in touch with Gon, Gen, and the SP dedicated to Hannah.

“Iris speaking.”

Iris of the SP spoke as the representative. Jin briefly told her of Elsa’s disappearance
and asked if she had by any chance happened to see Elsa around there. Her reply was,

“Yes, a young lady thought to be her did indeed come here.”

“A lady named Elsa of around 16 or 17 years of age is staying in the village chief Mr.
Gheebeck’s house. She has platinum blonde hair.”

She was unmistakably Elsa.

“She seems to have received a warm welcome from the village chief ‘s niece Barbara.
Hannah-chan is also with her.”

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Hearing that, Jin felt relieved.

“Got it. I’ll go meet her tomorrow. Until then, take care that nothing happens to Elsa
and of course Hannah.”

“Yes. I shall have Gon guard the house’s surroundings.”

And then the call was over.

Now it was past nine PM on Hourai Island. The time difference between here and
Kaina Village was a little over two hours so there it was seven PM. It was already total
darkness. It was time for the households to go to sleep.

Even if he went there at this time it would be useless. Or rather it would probably
cause trouble and maybe even an uproar.

Jin calmed his inner conflict by thinking such thoughts. Then he spoke to Reiko.

“Reiko, there’s no doubt Elsa warped to Kaina Village.”

“Kaina Village, is it?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow, let’s see, at 8 AM local time should be fine. I was thinking of going
to meet her.”

Jin said with a determined look on his face.

“Father, you’re returning to Kaina Village, right?”

Reiko asked as if to confirm.

“Yeah. At the very least I have to show everyone I’m safe, and the rest I’ll decide
afterwards.”

Right now Jin wasn’t even afraid of taking a whole country on. But he wanted to avoid
strife. More so because of Kaina Village.

“I was thinking of going there as Egelia Kingdom’s Honorary Magi Craftsman.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 99 | 392
Just in case he’d be assertive.

“Yes, I’ll bring Peach Blossom and the Magi Cannon with me.”

“Um, you won’t need either.”

He thought those things won’t be needed in Kaina village, and he wished they wouldn’t
become needed.

Jin fell asleep half-anxious and half-expectant of tomorrow’s reunion.

“So Elsa-san was in a Warp Gate malfunction?”

This was Kaina Village chief’s, Gheebeck’s house. It was evening.

After a slightly early dinner, Barbara and Elsa were chatting. Although it mostly
composed of Barbara talking about various things and Elsa responding.

“Mm. Although malfunction may not be exactly what happened.”

“That right? But, a Warp Gate, huh. Are those things common?”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

Barbara explained to Elsa who looked puzzled.

“Last year too, a person who was warped by a malfunctioning Warp Gate came.”

Hearing that Elsa was a little bit startled.

“A-and, that person is?”

“They’re no longer here. It was a misunderstanding but the feudal lord of this area,
Earl Walter distrusted them groundlessly and they ended up leaving the village.
Although the misunderstanding has been cleared already, they’ve not returned so we
can’t tell them that.”

“And then that…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 100 | 392
Elsa wanted to say something, but at that moment Gheebeck came. By him was a small
girl.

“Oh my, Hannah-chan, what are you doing here this late?”

It was nearly five PM. It was no wonder Barbara asked that.

“You see, I was wondering about Elsa onee-chan.”

“Me?”

Elsa was slightly surprised and looked at Hannah.

“Yeah. I thought, isn’t it lonely after appearing here by herself?”

Hearing that, Elsa smiled.

“Thank you.… Hannah-chan, right?”

“Mh-hm, ah, that’s right, I never told onee-chan my name, sorry.”

Hannah said and quickly bowed her head. Elsa giggled and smiled as she saw that.

“It’s okay. I was saved thanks to Hannah-chan, after all.”

The two had a conversation like that, then Barbara brought them another chair and,

“Hannah-chan, sit here. I already asked Elsa about many things. Hannah-chan, you also
want to talk with her, right?”

She said. Hannah nodded in a lively manner.

“Yeah!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 101 | 392
Elsa, Barbara, and Hannah were gathered in Gheebeck’s house and talking.

“So… Where did we leave off?”

Barbara said and tilted her head, then,

“…We were talking about the person who left the village.”

Elsa replied. After hearing that, Hannah said,

“You mean about Onii-chan?”

This time Elsa tilted her head,

“Onii-chan?”

She said, and didn’t look to understand. Noticing that, Barbara elaborated.

“Hannah-chan is talking about someone called Jin who said he had come from, what
was it? Japan? He’s a Magi Craftsman, you know?”

“Eh? No way, Jin-nii!?”

Hearing that, even Elsa got so surprised she stood up from her seat.

Hannah was also surprised when she heard Elsa.

“Jin-nii? Onee-chan, you said Jin-nii, right? Onee-chan, are you Onii-chan’s little
sister?”

“Mm, I’m Jin-nii’s sister.”

Hearing that, Hannah lit up.

“Jin onii-chan! He got back home okay! Hey, hey, is Onii-chan well? Where is he now?
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 102 | 392
What’s he doing? How about Reiko onee-chan?”

Hannah threw questions at Elsa at rapid succession, overwhelming her.

“Ji–Jin-nii is at home. He’s well. He’s building all sorts of things… It seems. Reiko-chan’s
with him too.”

Elsa could barely reply.

“So that’s how it was, I’m glad… I was so worried all this time! Not just me, everyone
was!”

“Yes, that’s right, Elsa-san. Because your elder brother is a benefactor of this village,
and one of us too.”

“Very interesting. Jin-nii never told me.”

Elsa said and that surprised Barbara and Hannah a little.

“Is that right? As a matter of fact,…”

“Hey, you know what? Onii-chan, he…”

“Jin-san built us a hot spring.”

“Onii-chan built Mint for me!”

They both began talking about Jin to Elsa so she got confused.

“Wa–wait a moment. Please speak one at a time.”

Elsa said while smiling awkwardly, then Barbara and Hannah exchanged glances and
laughed.

“Hannah-chan, did you have dinner yet?”

After things had calmed down a little, Barbara asked Hannah.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 103 | 392
“Yeah, I’ve eaten. I also told granny I’m going to elder-san’s house before leaving.”

“I see. In that case, are you going to have a sleepover? If you do then you can talk with
Elsa-san at ease.”

Barbara said to Hannah. Hannah gladly accepted the offer.

“Yeah! A sleepover!”

Barbara then went to tell Hannah’s grandmother Martha that Hannah is spending the
night here.

In the meanwhile, Hannah spoke a lot about Jin. Once Barbara came back the three
once more talked together.

That continued into the night until Hannah’s eyelids began to droop, and so they
moved to the bedroom.

Hannah ended up sleeping with Elsa on the same bed. Because she wouldn’t have it
any other way.

“Eheh. Together with Onee-chan. Good night.”

“Mm, good night, Hannah-chan-”

Soon Hannah sounded like she was asleep.

Barbara and Elsa continued their conversation in a low voice so as not to wake Hannah
up.

“You see, Hannah-chan has no parents so she’s lonely. And then last year, Jin-san came
along, they lived together, and she took to him. And then again, he disappeared.”

“…Oh, so that’s what happened.”

“Yes. And that’s why because you’re Jin-san’s little sister, she’s so…”

Hannah was clinging to Elsa’s right arm with her small hands.

“Hannah, chan.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 104 | 392
Elsa gently stroked Hannah’s head. Hannah’s hair smelled like the sun.

Next day, when the sun had risen.

“Half past eight, huh. In Kaina Village that’s half past six. I wonder if everyone’s awake
by now?”

Jin couldn’t stay still and was fidgety.

“Father, isn’t what you said that you’d go to Kaina Village to meet her at eight o’clock?”

Reiko reminded him.

“I did say that, I’ll have to calm down.”

Seeing Jin like that, Ann had a question.

“Master, if you want to visit them that badly why haven’t you gone there until now?”

Being asked that, Jin hmmed and replied.

“I suppose I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uhm, when I was in Kaina Village I was suspected of building the golems that had
been attacking here and there, or something like that.”

“But were those not false charges?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Then there’s no reason to be worried, is there? Surely everyone’s worried about you?”

“I’d be glad if that was the case, but I’ve been hesitating going there as I thought they
might’ve thought of that as just getting rid of a nuisance.”

“What is that. Master, you sometimes think in a hopelessly pessimistic manner, don’t

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 105 | 392
you?”

Ann said it so clearly that even Jin couldn’t suppress a strained laugh. You could say
the cause of that was the traumatic incident in Jin’s past.

Back when he was a company employee. There was a certain subsidiary, or actually,
as the company Jin was in was a subsidiary it was a subsidiary of a subsidiary. He was
sent to work in their factory as a temporary worker for two weeks.

He didn’t know whether it was because the company employees had no motivation, or
for some reason, but at any rate it was terrible.

More specifically the inside of the factory was a mess, the materials weren’t even
sorted, the machine tools were out of oil and made terrible noise, and the maintenance
was poor.

Jin struggled hard to inspect everything individually, give instructions how to keep
things in order, and made manuals on how to maintain the machinery. In particular,
he made the manuals outside working hours.

As a result after two weeks the inside of the factory was so clean you could hardly
recognize it and the machines worked silently.

When Jin’s temporary transfer was over and it was time for him to return, the workers
told him how grateful they were. However.

After leaving the factory Jin noticed he had forgotten some documents so of course he
went back to get them. And at that moment.

(Good grief, he made me fill something as bothersome as a check sheet.)

(Hey, I knew where everything was before. Now that they’re all tidied up I don’t know
what’s where any more.)

(What a self-important bastard, and just because he was from the parent company.)

(Well, he’s no longer here so let’s do things as we used to.)

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 106 | 392
He heard voices like that from beyond the door. Jin felt his whole body grow weak as
he wondered what he had worked so hard for those two weeks.

Because of such an experience, Jin had become timid.

“And also, you see, I don’t want the Unifiers to eye Kaina Village.”

But Ann refuted Jin’s logic.

“No, master. That kind of half-heartedness won’t defend against the Unifiers’ evil
grasp. You must proactively shut them down.”

“You can say that, but.”

“Anyhow it’s been decided that you’ll now go to Kaina Village to meet with Elsa-san.
And then you’ll greet everyone. I’m sure everything will go just fine.”

“I wonder.”

After being admonished by Ann, Jin discarded his little remaining hesitation. He had
slightly intended to stealthily go there and stealthily bring Elsa back home with him.

“Father, it’s a little early but shall we go?”

It was nine o’clock. At Kaina Village it was seven o’clock.

“It’s late enough that Martha-san and Hannah-chan have already woken up and
finished breakfast. Rock-san and the others have surely gone to work on the fields by
now.”

“I see. That’s probably true.”

After Reiko said that to Jin, he stepped inside the Warp Gate to Kaina Village with
mixed feelings.

Then he appeared inside the shelter. He tried briefly inspecting the place. There didn’t
seem to be any deterioration.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 107 | 392
“Father, let us go.”

Hurried on by Reiko, while figuring out whether he did or didn’t want to go Jin climbed
up the stairs, opened the door and went outside.

The weather was clear. The spring sun’s rays poured on endlessly and Jin squinted.

The area had originally been rocky but grass had grown in the surroundings, it was
indeed spring. It also worked well as camouflage.

“It’s been about a year since I first came here, huh.”

Jin was reminiscing about the events of last year while slowly walking towards the
village.

A villager’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Jin!”

“Oh, isn’t that Jin?”

“It’s Jin! Jin has come back!”

“What? It’s true, that’s Jin!”

In response to that voice everyone came out of the houses and fields to gather.

“Ooi, c’mere everyone, Jin’s back!”

“It’s true, Reiko-chan is with him too!”

And then everyone rushed over towards Jin. Some of them were even people who had
neglected farmwork to come.

“Jin! You look lively!”

Rock said.

“Jin nii-chan, where did you go off to~? everyone’s been worried about you~!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 108 | 392
Kurt said.

More and more people gathered.

“Jin! What have you been up to! You didn’t get in touch with us at all!”

Said Martha.

And then there was Hannah, in front of the village chief’s house.

“Welcome back, Onii-chan.”

There were only two words Jin could say to that.

“…I’m back.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 109 | 392
The morning after Hannah’s sleepover. After waking up, in front of her was Elsa’s
sleeping face.

Light blonde hair, long eyelashes, and clear white skin.

“…Pretty.”

Hannah thought of her that way. While looking at Elsa’s sleeping face, on the other bed
Barbara woke up. For the women in the village, even the village chief’s niece, morning
came early.

“Ah, I slept well.… Hannah-chan, good morning.”

“Good morning.”

The two exchanged greetings. Their voices also waked up Elsa.

“Mm… Morning?”

“Good morning, Elsa onee-chan.”

Hannah greeted the sleepy-faced Elsa. Seemingly remembering about last night, Elsa
smiled sweetly and greeted her back.

“Good morning, Hannah-chan. Good morning, Barbara-san.”

Then the two dressed themselves and went to wash their faces.

Of course, the water well was outside. Elsa had grown used to Kunlun Island’s
conveniences, but she still remembered how in most of the inns she had stayed
overnight in during the trip there had been a courtyard with a water well where she
could wash her face.

“Elsa onee-chan, you can go first.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 110 | 392
Hannah said and operated the pump. Water began rushing out. Elsa’s eyes went wide.

She had heard last night about how Jin had built a pump, but seeing it in action was
surprising after all.

The pump drew water from the bottom of the deep well without using magic. Jin had
made something wonderful, hadn’t he?

One day I too want to make things like this which are helpful to everyone. Such a
thought, while still small, grew within Elsa’s mind.

The breakfast was white bread made out of sieved wheat flour, salad made out of
edible wild plants, grilled river fish, and tea.

“This tea, it’s a little unusual, but it’s good.”

“Oh, you know, that tea was made out of certain leaves picked from the forest.”

This morning Hannah too was eating with her.

“Is that right?”

It was a somewhat popular drink in the northern parts of Cline Kingdom, but Elsa who
was from Shouro Empire hadn’t drunk it before now.

“Next time, want to try coming to pick them with me? The Kherries are also still
blooming in the mountains so it’s pretty.”

At Hannah’s invitation Elsa felt like she should maybe try going. She then agreed
without thinking.

“Mm.”

Next thing they knew, it was suddenly noisy outside. Apparently the villagers all
together were making noise.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 111 | 392
“Has something happened, I wonder?”

Barbara stood up and was about to go look outside when the door opened.

Gheebeck stepped inside.

While slightly out of breath, Gheebeck turned to Hannah and told her,

“Jin-kun has come back.”

“Eh!”

The same noise came out of the mouths of all three of them. The fastest one to speak
after that was Hannah.

“Onii-chan has!”

And then she quickly ran to towards the entryway.

She opened the door and went outside, and saw Rock, Jonas, Linus, Bill, Jeff, Dave,
Howard, Rick, Tom, Yan, Surei, Kurt, Jim, Patty, Mario, Jessie, and Martha.

There was a crowd of a great number of villagers.

And the person everyone was looking at was, unmistakably, Jin. Reiko was with him.

All villagers present were speaking to Jin as they pleased.

“Jin! What have you been up to! You didn’t get in touch with us at all!”

Said Martha.

Jin slowly walked towards Hannah.

So as not to hinder him, the villagers made way. Tears welled up in Hannah’s eyes. She
looked downwards as she didn’t want to show her teary face to Jin.

And when Hannah once more raised her eyes, Jin was already in front of her.

The words she had been thinking she’d say if Jin came back had disappeared

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 112 | 392
somewhere, and the only thing that came out of Hannah’s mouth was simply

“Welcome back, Onii-chan.”

Facing Hannah, Jin softly smiled and,

“I’m back.”

He said just two words.

“Onii-chan!”

Hannah couldn’t take it any more and leapt at Jin with all her heart after a running
start. Jin gently caught Hannah.

“Onii-chan, onii-chan…”

Hannah’s face was already completely tear-stained. Jin tenderly hugged her and kept
stroking her back gently.

“…Don’t disappear again, okay.”

Hannah pleaded while tears still welled up in her eyes, and Jin looked a little bit
bothered but the next moment he smiled and nodded.

“Onii-chan.”

Hannah once again clung to Jin.

Meanwhile, Reiko was looking at the two while smiling amiably.

“…Jin-nii.”

Hearing the voice, Jin looked up and there stood Elsa.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 113 | 392
“Elsa, I’m glad you’re okay. I realized you were here last night, but there was no way I
could come here in the middle of the night so I came in the morning.”

Jin said, Elsa was also moved to tears and,

“You’re not, angry?”

She asked. Jin looked puzzled.

“Why should I be angry? You disappeared, I searched, and found you. That’s all. You’ve
probably already reflected upon this by yourself, right? Then there’s nothing more for
me to say.”

Jin replied and at last tears began pouring out from Elsa’s eyes too.

“I’m, sorry.”

Elsa said, leaned on Jin and silently cried.

Jin waited for Hannah and Elsa to calm down, then stood in front of the villagers.

And then,

“I’ve caused you worry.”

He made a deep bow.

The first one to rush over to Jin was Rock. He put his arm around Jin’s head and put
him into a headlock.

“Owowowow, R-rock-san!?”

“You arsehole, just disappearing without saying nothing like that. Ain’t nothing more
unfriendly than that!”

Rock said while smiling.

Then Jonas, Linus, Bill, and Jeff too, everyone laughed while watching the spectacle.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 114 | 392
And next Jin was lifted up.

“Jin! Welcome back!”

“Jin! Welcome back!”

While several people said so, Jin was tossed in the air.

While being jostled Jin too cried silently. This was his second hometown, he realized.

Not a single person asked where from and how Jin came back.

Everyone had realized that Jin wasn’t just a normal magus, but despite that no one
kept him at arm’s length.

Jin had come back, and that was enough to make everyone happy.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 115 | 392
Once the hubbub caused by Jin’s return had settled some.

The village headman Gheebeck spoke to Jin as their representative.

“Jin, welcome back. The village has been waiting for your return.”

“Chief-san…”

“Of course, it would be a great loss to the world to have a Magi Craftsman as excellent
as you remain in our village. However, when you’re tired, when you’re sad, when you
want to come back, this village will welcome you always.”

He said and took Jin’s hand. Jin squeezed his hand back vigorously.

“Thank you very much.”

The village chief then turned to everyone and,

“Come now, everyone. This is enough. You’ll surely have a chance to talk to Jin later.
Let’s let him relax now, no?”

He said and gestured for everyone to disperse.

“Jin, see you later then.”

“Jin, later I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Jin nii-chan, let’s play again later~”

Everyone exchanged a word with him, some returned to their homes and others to the
fields.

Remaining were Jin, Reiko, Hannah, Elsa, Barbara, Martha, and Gheebeck. Gheebeck
then told Jin something.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 116 | 392
“Jin, you probably aren’t aware of it but you’re not a wanted man or anything like that.
After what happened Fahlheit-sama came around and told Earl Walter that he had
acted rashly. Quite the contrary, apparently His Majesty the King wanted to employ
you.”

Jin felt relieved after hearing that. At the very least him being here wouldn’t cause the
village any trouble.

Gheebeck then added,

“Now Jin, you can go to Martha-san’s place. Barbara, get in the house.”

Gheebeck opened the door and retired indoors.

“Yes, uncle. Elsa-san, see you later.”

Barbara also went inside the house.

“Come on, we should also go home.”

Martha said and took Hannah’s hand. They began slowly walking but immediately
stopped, and turned back to look at Jin who was standing still.

“Hey Jin, what are you doing. Let’s go home.”

“Martha-san…”

“Sister and Reiko-chan too, come on. If you’re coming back then you’re coming home.”

Martha said and then Jin began walking with Elsa and Reiko.

After a short walk they were at Martha’s house.

“Come on, Jin. Aren’t you going to show your sister your home?”

Being told so, Jin looked back towards Elsa and held out his hand.

“Mm.”

Elsa made a little nod and took Jin’s hand.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 117 | 392
“So that you could come back any time, I’ve kept your room as it was, Jin.”

Martha said.

It had been kept clean, not a single speck of dust was in sight.

Looking at the room’s state, tears welled in Jin’s eyes.

“Welcome back, Jin.”

Martha said once again and finally Jin’s tears spilled out.

Reiko quietly handed him a handkerchief.

Seeing Jin like that, Elsa simply grasped his hand tightly in silence.

Martha brewed tea and Jin drank it. Hannah and Elsa were also seated around the
round table. Reiko was standing behind Jin.

“Ahh, it’s been a while since I last tasted this.”

The place where the tea plants were harvested from affected the taste after all. Not to
mention how lately Jin had been drinking only Egelia Kingdom’s specialty Teee, so he
had missed the taste of Kaina Village tea which was like green tea.

“Sigh…”

Jin took a deep breath. In front of him were Martha and Hannah.

“Excuse me…”

Jin was about to say something, but Martha spoke before him as if interrupting.

“Jin, I’ll say this first. I have no intention of questioning you in detail about anything.
It’s the same with everyone in the village. We all know you’re not an ordinary person.
We also know you can do things that usually can’t be done. So unless you want to talk
about how you got came here or such, you don’t have to talk about it. Remember that.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 118 | 392
Martha went and said, then Jin was at a loss for words.

Because he had been worrying about how to explain things.

“Thank you very much. If I spoke frankly it might cause trouble for the village instead,
so you saying that makes me feel at ease.”

If it was kept to just villagers it’d be fine, but starting with the feudal lord the
kingdom’s officials would probably come to know it too. Jin wanted to avoid any
unnecessary trouble.

At that moment Hannah spoke, like she couldn’t bear it any more.

“Hey hey onii-chan, let’s go gather herbs in the mountains!”

Hearing that, Jin remembered how last year he had gone picking herbs with Hannah
to pick.

“Hmm, okay. Shall we go after I see Elsa off?”

Thinking that Mine was probably worrying about her, Jin replied but he got an
unexpected response.

“Eeh? Let’s go together with Elsa onee-chan.”

“Jin-nii, I want to go too.”

Jin smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“Got it, let’s go together.… We’re not walking, right?”

Hannah quickly nodded and,

“Yeah! Me, I’m riding on Mint!”

She replied. Hearing that, Jin thought.

“Hmm, I wonder if the other golem horses are free?”

Right now it was the beginning of farming season. The golem horses were surely used

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 119 | 392
in clearing and cultivating the land, transporting materials and such.

“Ah, that’s right. All the horses are probably taken out, right?”

Martha guessed based on the current situation.

“Eeh, can we not go then?”

After seeing Hannah’s disappointed face, Jin briefly left his seat.

Then outside the room he took the ManaCom from his pocket and contacted Hourai
Island for something. He then returned to the room, turned to Hannah and said,

“Hannah, it’ll be fine. More importantly don’t you have to prepare the lunch boxes?”

Hearing that made Hannah very happy.

“Really? We’re going? Ya~y! Granny, I’ll help you so make lunch boxes!”

“Yes yes, wait a moment.”

Martha got up while smiling and took Hannah with her to the kitchen.

“Jin-nii?”

Jin explained to the puzzled-looking Elsa what he had done.

“I instructed horse golems to be sent here from Hourai Island.”

And then after calling somewhere again, he handed the ManaCom to Elsa and,

“Mine is worried. Apologize to her properly.”

He said. Elsa took the ManaCom.

“Umm… Mother?… Mmh, I’m sorry. Um, now, I’m with Jin-nii. And so, I want to, look
around here a bit longer and come back after that.… Mm, I understand. Thank you.”

After talking about something with Mine, she returned the ManaCom to Jin.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 120 | 392
“Jin-nii, thanks. Mother, she said ‘oh well’ after I told her I’m with Jin-nii, and she gave
her permission.”

“I see, that’s good.”

Jin then faced Reiko and said,

“Reiko, give that thing to Elsa please.”

“Yes, Father.”

Reiko took a bracelet out of her pocket. It was the bracelet that protected from the
excessive Magic Energy disorder.

In the first place, to hand this over Reiko was called back and this fuss happened.

Although maybe it should be called a fortunate error as thanks to that Jin returned to
Kaina Village.

“This is a bracelet to protect you from the excessive Magic Energy disorder, Elsa. It also
stockpiles the surplus Magic Energy. When using magic, if you cast it with the sense of
pushing the Magic Energy through the bracelet, it prioritizes using the Magic Energy
stored inside the bracelet first.”

“Really, now?”

Elsa stared fixedly at the bracelet. She had no idea there existed such a Magi Tool.
Actually, it would probably be unmakeable if it weren’t for Jin, Elsa thought intuitively.

“Yeah. By wearing this as much as possible, you won’t have to worry about the
excessive Magic Energy disorder anymore.”

“Thank, you…”

Her defect called the excessive Magic Energy disorder could be kept at bay with this
bracelet. She no longer had to mind the illness that she had always worried about. Elsa
thought it was like a dream.

At that moment, Reiko looked outside as if she had noticed something.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 121 | 392
“Father, it appears that the horses have come.”

“Huh, that’s fast.”

Jin stood up and went outside. Elsa rubbed her eyes and followed him.

Jin, Hannah, Elsa, and Reiko went outside and saw Jin’s favourite horse golem Koma,
and the horse golems made for the time Elsa and Reinhardt were invited to Kunlun
Island.

Most likely one of the SP had brought them along, but whoever did it was nowhere to
be seen.

“Ah, it’s Onii-chan’s horse-san~”

Hannah seemed to remember Koma.

Elsa too recognized the horse golem she had previously ridden on and quickly
straddled it.… Wearing a skirt.

Well, this time she wasn’t wearing a dress so by holding down the front she seemed to
be able to manage.

“The lunch boxes are done. Oh my, if it isn’t Koma, and this one is? Did Jin call you? As
amazing as ever, I see.”

Martha came from the house holding a basket with the lunch boxes in it and said. As
she finished with ‘As amazing as ever, I see’ you could probably say she was used to it.

“Thank you very much. Well then, let’s go.”

Reiko took the basket and a flask.

Then the three horse golems and one Automata headed towards the mountain.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I last saw this scene.”

“It’s a nice view.”

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Jin was gazing at the view of Kaina Village he hadn’t seen in a long time, and Elsa was
enjoying the view for the first time.

Afterwards, it turned out that the herb-picking was in name only and the four enjoyed
a picnic.

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Reiko was talking with Laojun through her internal ManaCom.

“Father seems to be enjoying himself very much. I haven’t seen him look this happy in
a while.”

“Is that so? Taking breaks is important after all, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. I think that rather than taking breaks Father would be essentially more fit for a
lifestyle like this.”

“Certainly. A violent life isn’t suitable for My Lord, is it?”

“And that’s why I was thinking that a system that can deal with the Unifiers even
without Father is necessary.”

“I see, that is indeed necessary, isn’t it. I also think that it would be good to have My
Lord rest there for a while.”

“I’ll leave it to you. Because I’ll have to protect Father over here, so please.”

And so, it was decided that Jin’s burden would be reduced by making Hourai Island’s
capabilities work fully even without him, and putting in place a system that could
implement Jin’s ideas as fast as possible.

“For that, the 500 Smiths aren’t enough.”

Laojun decided to prepare 500 more Smith golems.

As there was a template the work was simple, more precisely a kind of an assembly-
line work.

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Laojun put the already-existing Smith golems to full use, and as a result that increased
the total lineup of Smith golems to a total of 1000 in the blink of an eye.

The Control Cores were copied and they could be made even without Jin.

“Smiths 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601, 701, 801, 901, you are all squad leaders
commanding the 99 next golems.”

“Smiths from 11 to 100 are to work as master mechanics, mainly taking part in
producing special Magi Tools.”

“Smiths from 1 to 10 are to work as mentors for retraining.”

Using the authority allowed to him in full, Laojun reorganized and moved the Smith
golems in order to have Jin’s ideas implemented in the shortest time possible.

“Ya~y, Gon and Gen, long time no see~”

In the afternoon, after they had returned from the picnic which was called herb-
picking.

Hannah was simply jumping with joy when she saw Gon and Gen who openly showed
up.

She was in high spirits, dangling from Gon’s arms and getting shoulder rides from Gen.

Jin was still silent about Hannah’s dedicated SP members.

Speaking of Jin, he was building a washing machine with Elsa as the assistant.

He had noticed it last year, that after passing through winter Kaina Village’s female
villagers’ hands, including Martha’s, became rough.

One of the causes of that was laundry.

There was not even a washboard in Kaina Village, and most of the laundry was done
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 125 | 392
by rubbing it with hands in a large tub. Sheets and other large articles were also tread
on with feet to clean them.

Although they could also use the hot spring’s hot water, it was still undoubtedly a large
problem.

“Whaat, that happens every year. Once it gets warmer they’ll get better.”

Martha said and laughed, but Jin couldn’t accept it.

And so, a washing machine.

He was picturing a washing machine cranked by hand. The laundry, detergent, and
water would be inserted in an egg-shaped container and the handle turned, so when
the container goes around the laundry inside is stirred.

Powering a normal automatic washing machine would be difficult and, while it may
be just his own opinion, Jin felt like it wouldn’t suit Kaina Village.

He ordered the lacking materials from Hourai Island. Although in the first place
because of the bronze and copper left in Martha’s house there was enough metal.

Elsa was still learning by example and so she watched.

She had her eyes earnestly fixed on Jin as he processed the metal with [Forming].

“The mental image is important for [Forming]. You must picture from head to toe how
you want the shape to be. That’s the most important part.”

While talking, Jin slowly used [Forming] to show it to her, as he continued building the
washing machine.

“Mental image… That’s hard. You mean, properly imagining what I want to make inside
my head?”

“That’s right. Try starting from simple shapes at first.”

Elsa didn’t realize that Jin chantlessly moulding the metal while talking was out of the
ordinary. She exerted herself, wanting to be able to do the same thing.

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The goal of her efforts was too high, but it probably wasn’t a waste of effort in the least.

Meanwhile, the hand-cranked washing machine had been finished. Reiko had fetched
a magical beast’s leather to use as material for the seals. Because without it when
rotating it the water would leak and scatter all around the place.

Natural rubber would also work, but as expected its durability was on a different level.

“Interesting shape.”

Seeing the finished washing machine Elsa gave her honest impressions. Hannah also
came along and looked at it with great interest.

“Onii-chan, what’s thi~is?”

“This is a washing machine. Do you have anything you want washed?”

Jin asked Hannah if she had something for a test. Hannah then replied,

“Yeah, I do! The panties I wore yesterday.”

Hannah then went to fetch them from the washing place. Jin and Elsa watched her with
awkward smiles.

They went to the side of the well while Reiko carried the prototype hand-cranked
washing machine. As the weather was fine several married women were there having
a chat.

“Oh my, if it isn’t Jin. Have you made something again?”

“You must be Jin’s younger sister, right? You don’t look much alike, huh. But you’re a
beauty.”

Et cetera, the women greeted them. As expected, after being called a beauty, and so
forth, to her face Elsa was taken aback and blushed.

“This is something called a washing machine.”

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Jin opened the lid of the washing machine, put the panties inside, then pumped water
from the well into it. Finally as substitute for the detergent he put in a small amount
of ritha seed powder. He then shut the lid.

The housewives by the well looked at the situation with keen interest.

“Then we turn this handle.”

Because it was a trial product, the washing machine was the size for a single person
to use. Jin thought that the village doesn’t have that much laundry so this size should
be enough.

If it was made bigger then the strength required to turn it would also increase, which
in itself would become a problem. Although Gon and Gen could also lend a helping
hand.

After turning it round and round for about three minutes Jin stopped. And slowly the
rotation speed dropped, eventually stopping so that the lid was facing up because the
washing machine’s weight had been balanced just right.

“Open the cork on the bottom and the water will flow out.”

Dirty water poured out. (For the sake of Hannah’s reputation, let it be said that it
wasn’t ‘dirty’ in a literal sense. Dirty as in the water had been used to wash laundry.)

“Put in the water for rinsing.”

He closed the cork on the bottom and this time poured water in from the top.

“Turn it again.”

While turning the handle, Jin said,

“Ah, that’s right. If the stains aren’t bad then they’ll come clean with just water.”

This time he kept on turning it for about a minute.

Jin changed the water once more and then was finished, although he did still turn the
handle afterwards with the cork on the bottom opened. Some drops of water flew
around.

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“This way the laundry will be wringed. But of course you can also wring it by hand.”

After a broad explanation, he opened the lid of the washing machine and took out
Hannah’s panties.

“And then, open the lid and take out the laundry.”

After taking them out Jin shook the panties to drain the water and straighten the
wrinkles.

“Finally just let it dry.”

How’s that, Jin looked questioningly at the housewives.

“…”

“……”

Just when Jin was about to think that the reaction was small,

“Jin! This can wash other things too, right?”

“Please make one for me!”

“How interesting!”

Convenient or interesting, there were various reasons for it but for now Kaina Village
seemed to accept the hand-cranked washing machine.

“Onii-chan, thanks for washing them!”

But Hannah’s smiling face brought the most joy to Jin.

And so through Reiko, Jin had Hourai Island mass produce washing machines and
arranged them to be carried here.

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Naturally as Jin decided to do so, Elsa also stayed overnight once more.

Elsa and Mine also spoke through the ManaComs and apparently she said ‘Thanks for
having Elsa use this chance to see and hear about new things.’

“Jin-nii, today you looked really happy.”

After dinner, Elsa said suddenly.

“Eh?”

Jin didn’t quite understand the significance.

“These few days, you’ve at times had a bitter look on your face, Jin-nii. But today you
seemed to have enjoyed the day a whole lot.”

“I-is that so…”

When told so by Elsa, Jin began thinking. Suddenly something came to his mind.

(I really have been worn out by the matters with the Unifiers and such, huh.)

He really wasn’t fit for fighting scenes, Jin thought with a bitter smile.

“Hey, hey, can Elsa onee-chan also use magic?”

Hannah who had been helping with the dishwashing asked Elsa once she came back.

“Mm. But I’m not as good as Jin-nii.”

But Hannah stared at Elsa with eyes sparkling with anticipation and said,

“Show me somethi~ng!”

When so asked, Elsa thought for a while, then realized that it had become a little dim
in Martha’s kitchen and,

“[Light Ball].”

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She chanted and lit up the room. The kitchen became bright at once. Martha was
surprised.

“Oh! That scared me… Ah, Elsa-chan? Is this also magic? What a convenient thing, huh.”

Seeing her like that, Elsa muttered a few words,

“Improving lives with magic is worth doing, isn’t it?”

Jin heard her and smiled, then turned to Elsa,

“You’ve realized an important thing, huh. I’m sure Elsa will become a good Magi
Craftsman.”

He said.

“Really? Jin-nii, thanks.”

Because of that, Elsa smiled looking truly happy. That smile was something Jin was
also seeing for the first time.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 131 | 392
Laojun kept on with his activities.

To support Jin,

1. Build a harbor for the aircraft carrier’s use.

2. Starting with Celuroa Kingdom, investigate whether or not the important people of
the administration are affected by [Hypno] or [Seduce].

3. Advance investigation of submarine resources by utilizing the Mermaid units.

4. Manufacture weapons for the golems.

5. Further improve on the receiverless Warp Gate.

6. Develop an aircraft that can carry Titans.

7. For heavy work, manufacture heavy-duty golems using the Titans as the baseline.

8. Mass produce Magi Jammers and Paralyzers.

and the like were his current goals.

Furthermore, he decided to leave a watchman in the Warp Gate room. For both
preventing incidents like the earlier one, and to deal with intruders.

Also, 24-hour monitoring using Mana Telecams. If Jin heard that, he’d probably think
of surveillance cameras.

Jin hadn’t given explicit orders for either, but considering his goals they were
necessary measures.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 132 | 392
“Once master comes back he’ll be surprised.”

Ann working as the support smiled sweetly and said.

It may be an unnecessary addition, but lastly when Reinhardt made his regular call he
instead received the message ‘My Lord is away from home right now.’

As Reinhardt didn’t have anything special going on that day that was the end of it.

Amidst the darkness, Jin and Elsa had arrived at the hot spring.

As she had missed bathing yesterday, she had stealthily consulted about it with Jin and
this was the result.

Here where there was no light there were no villagers. Jin took into consideration Elsa
who wasn’t very sociable.

As they had a [Light Ball] the two didn’t have a lack of light.

“Well then, I’ll be going over here.”

Jin said, then a childish voice replied.

“Then I’ll go together with onee-chan!”

Yes, Hannah also came along.

“Mm, Hannah-chan, let’s go in together.”

It seemed that even Elsa had already opened up to Hannah.

For the first time in a while Jin was in the waters of Kaina Village’s hot spring. He truly
had it all to himself.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 133 | 392
“Ahh, I missed bathing yesterday because this and that happened, huh.”

When needed Jin used the Craft Magics [Deodorant], [Cleanup], and so on, but still a
hot spring was completely different.

“Elsa onee-chan, you’re pretty.”

On the other hand, in the women’s bath Hannah and Elsa were getting along well in
the hot water.

“Hannah-chan will surely also become a pretty lady.”

“You think so? Do you think I can be Jin onii-chan’s bride?”

Being asked that, Elsa was embarrassed to reply as you might expect.

“M– mm. Jin-nii treasures Hannah-chan so surely.”

She narrowly managed to reply.

This time Reiko was unusually waiting outside the hot spring. The reason was that Jin
had seemed like he wanted to be alone, and also she could use this chance to converse
with Laojun.

“Laojun, how is it going over there?”

“Everything is well. There are many things to do, but everything is for the sake of My
Lord.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? For us serving Father is enough.”

“By the way, I would like to ask My Lord to come back for a brief moment if it’s alright.”

“For some work no one but Father can do, I presume?”

“That’s right. I would like to have him make the Control Cores for the heavy-duty
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 134 | 392
golems.”

“I understand. I will ask Father later.”

“Please do. There’s one more thing to report. Another Core of Gigantes has been
found.”

“Now there’s just two left, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. However, the investigation of ancient ruins isn’t progressing much.”

“There’s nothing to be done about that, it seems. Or are more people required?”

“At present the Quinta are enough.”

“I understand.”

“Heey, Elsa, Hannah, it’s about time to go.”

“Ye~s, onii-chan.”

After an exchange between the men’s and women’s baths like that of an old couple’s,
Jin got out of the hot spring.

The spring night’s winds felt pleasant on his heated body. Soon Elsa and Hannah also
got out of the water.

They both had wet hair and cheeks flushed slightly pink like cherry blossoms, which
looked somewhat seductive (well, in Hannah’s case there was no seductiveness to
speak of).

They walked the night streets while the [Light Ball] Jin made illuminated the way.
Hannah was in a good mood while holding hands with Jin and Elsa.

Behind them, Reiko silently followed the three.

It was quite a peaceful sight.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 135 | 392
The night grew late, and when Hannah had long since fallen asleep.

Jin received a simple report from Reiko.

“Hmm, is that so. I suppose I had better go back for a moment.”

However, he was worried about Hannah. Jin said that to Reiko and she had a
suggestion.

“Father, in that case how about inviting Hannah-chan to Hourai Island or Kunlun
Island sooner?”

“Hmm, I could do that too, huh. In that case it’d have to be Kunlun Island where Elsa
is. Reiko, could you look after Hannah during that time?”

Jin asked and Reiko agreed,

“Yes, if Father so wishes.”

She replied. Jin felt relieved and told Reiko to do that.

“Alright, then tomorrow morning, after eating breakfast let’s go back for a while. Let’s
take Elsa to Kunlun Island via the research facility, and also have Hannah pass time
there.”

“How is the war situation?”

“Everything is proceeding advantageously for our faction.”

“Ha ha, that is splendid. By the way, what happened to the intelligence about the Magi
Craftsman who’s been a problem since the other day?”

“Yes, leaving just Marcello from the sixth subdivision alive paid off, we acquired some
information.”

“Very interesting indeed. So, what is it?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 136 | 392
“Perhaps because the information source was confused some of the information’s
credibility is suspect, but the person who controlled the golems that fought equally
against our strongest golem, he called them the ‘Mysterious Golem Master’.”

“Mysterious Golem Master, is it…”

“So what? I do not think they are a match for our compatriots.”

“No, I’m interested in this person. Perhaps, if they’re related to Adrianna, then…”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing. Please work hard to restore the ‘the country of the past’.”

“Yes, as you wish.”

“Adrianna Balbora Ceci. Even this late in the game, are you going to stand in my way…?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 137 | 392
There was a young boy.

As he had been born as the third son of some reasonably affluent merchants, he was
raised rather freely.

His grandparents were also healthy, and you could say that instead of his parents he
was mostly raised by his grandparents.

The boy loved old legends. His grandparents often told them to him.

The Great Magic War. One large decisive battle against the devil race.

The boy’s heart pounded as he listened.

Once the boy turned 15 he set on a journey.

That didn’t mean he went a very long way. He went to a place inside the country which
you could go to and come back within ten days.

One-way trip there took four to five days. There were ancient ruins there.

According to rumors, the ruins dated back to the Great Magic War.

There was also an elevated spot which overlooked a large lake.

After being developed as a tourist attraction, most of the people who went there were
there to see the light and the other attractions.

But the boy showed no interest in the lake, and he only went around touring the ruins.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 138 | 392
“So these are the ruins…”

The ruins were something like a half-collapsed castle. The tourists were allowed to go
to the areas where there was no concern about the place coming apart.

The other parts were considered off limits, except for archaeologists that sometimes
got permission to come investigate.

“There must be more interesting things over there for sure.”

The boy thought so. And then he waited for the night when the tourists had gone, and
set foot in the area that was off limits. He brought a single small Magi Lamp with him.

That changed the boy’s life.

Suddenly the floor under his feet crumbled and a hole appeared.

Event though until now dozens of people had trampled over the spot, there had been
no hole there.

Maybe it was fate.

“Ouch…”

A hole had appeared in the stone floor with a thickness of over a meter. The boy had
fallen through it.

You could say he got lucky having not been crushed by the stones that fell with him.
The largest of the stones was as much as two meters in all directions, had he been
crushed by it the boy would’ve likely become nothing more but a lump of meat.

“This is…”

Aching all over the boy forced himself to stand up.

He was now in a room that looked like a hall. He hadn’t fallen through the hole straight
down but slid diagonally. If it wasn’t for that the boy probably would’ve lost his life
from the impact of the fall.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 139 | 392
However, the hole he expected to have fallen through had been completely blocked by
the crumbled stones, making getting out that way simply impossible.

“That’s troubling.”

The boy muttered, but he didn’t look to be so troubled.

The reason was that the boy was now standing in a place which he thought the tourists
were completely ignorant of, and not even the archaeologists had entered.

The boy’s heart pounded ceaselessly as he thought of how this place was unmistakably
the interior of the castle where formerly, around the time of the Great Magic War,
generals and knights had swaggered about.

“Now then, where should I go?”

That hall-like place had two ways to exit or enter. One of them was large, and the other
was small.

The small one was about the size of the entranceway of a regular house. The large
one’s height and width was were both five meters.

After worrying about it, the boy headed towards the small entryway.

The boy began to walk, then realized that for some reason he could see his
surroundings. It was supposed to be night, and the Magi Lamp he had brought had
been buried under stone. Despite that he could see around him.

That was because the walls emitted a faint light.

Yes, the boy had planned to come here to see all sorts of new things but this kind of
lighting had never been seen before.

“I wonder if this is technology from the past.”

Led by the light, the boy passed through the smaller entryway.

Beyond it was a very long passage that curved gently. In addition, it slightly sloped
down, so the boy continued on even deeper underground.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 140 | 392
After about ten minutes he reached the end where there was a single door. It was made
out of iron and it was red with rust.

“I wonder if it will open?”

The boy pushed the door with all his strength, and with a creaking noise the door
moved little by little. And when it had opened enough for a person to pass through,
the boy entered the room beyond the door.

If you thought about it, this was the last chance for him to turn back.

But by now fear and hesitation and the like had already disappeared from the boy. The
boy was simply attracted to the unknown, and he continued into the room.

On the other side of the door there were innumerable Magi Tools.

A lot of them were broken, and yet a third of them at the very least looked to be intact.

Among them, one thing caught the boy’s attention.

“That’s a…”

It was a human puppet. It appeared to be a young girl. But it wasn’t alive, it was sitting
on the floor leaning against the wall.

There was another reason he concluded it was a puppet.

Its left hand was broken. From precisely the elbow joint down everything was missing,
and something like strings dangled out of the remaining portion.

At the very least, it did not look like a human’s body.

“…It’s pretty.”

For all that, the puppet was beautiful.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 141 | 392
It had hair which glittered like gold and felt like the finest silk. Its skin was white as
porcelain, it truly had the looks of an angel.

“I wonder if it can still move or not.”

The boy tried gently touching the puppet.

It was cold. He couldn’t feel any body heat.

“…So it was a puppet after all, huh.”

He traced its face with his finger.

“Soft…”

It felt just like a human, but cold to the touch, giving a sense of unease.

“Its eyes are also closed, huh.”

The boy couldn’t help but wonder what color its eyes were. A puppet this beautiful
would surely also have beautiful eyes.

“I wonder why it doesn’t move.”

He tried grasping its shoulder and lightly shaking it. The puppet’s hair wavered softly
but it didn’t open its eyes.

The puzzled boy remembered an old tale his grandmother had told him.

It was a story about a princess confined and forever sleeping in a tower.

A princess, the sole heir of an ancient kingdom, simply slept. Until the day the kingdom
was revived.

She would wake up from her sleep when the kingdom was reborn.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 142 | 392
That’s the kind of story it was.

The one who woke her up was a lone hero. The hero’s kiss woke up the princess.

Then the awoken princess married the hero. That was the kingdom’s revival. That is,
the hero became the king, and the princess became the queen.

“Should I… kiss it?”

The boy had yet to fall in love. Of course he had never gone out with a girl either.

If you could call this love, then this puppet was the boy’s first love.

Despite no one being there to see, the boy looked around him and then softly brought
his face near the puppet.

And after much hesitation, he kissed those pink lips.

The boy’s face was flushed and he separated from the puppet.

He cast his eyes down as if embarrassed, and when he once again looked up at the doll
his face was filled with surprise.

“!?”

The puppet opened its eyes.

Those eyes were red as blood. But the boy thought them pretty.

“Are you the one… who woke me up?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 143 | 392
Her voice was clear and beautiful, and the boy was charmed.

The girl slowly stood up.

“It seems I’ve slept for quite a long time indeed. Oh my, with a broken left arm too.”

The girl muttered and began walking.

“I’m a little worn out I see. But oh well, as long as it doesn’t hinder my movements.”

Step by step the puppet walked until she stood in front of the boy.

“Thank you. If you’d like, would you please give me a name?”

Being told so, the boy managed to speak out a name despite his head being nearly
blank with surprise.

It was the name that had popped into his mind the first time he saw the doll.

“Elena.”

The boy said and the puppet smiled sweetly,

“My name is Elena. Please treat me well from now on, my lord.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 145 | 392
The next morning after Jin returned to Kaina Village after a long time.

“Ah, what a nostalgic smell.”

The smell of unripe wheat. The smell of the households’ cooking. The smell of trees.
The smell of the wind. Jin breathed in a lungful of it all.

After breakfast in Martha’s house, Jin brought up what he had decided upon yesterday.

“I was thinking about seeing Elsa off after this and going back to the research
laboratory for now.”

The first one to reply was Hannah.

“Onii-chan, you’re going back?”

Jin who had thought she might say that at once added,

“Do you want to come along too, Hannah?”

Hearing that, Hannah nearly jumped with joy.

“Eh, really!? With onii-chan, to his house?”

“Yeah, as long as it’s alright with Martha-san.”

Before he had finished speaking Hannah had already run over to Martha and asked
her while gasping.

“Grandma, hey, grandma! It’s alright if I go to onii-chan’s house, alright?”

Martha smiled faintly and said,

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 146 | 392
“Ah, it’s alright. But don’t cause any trouble for Jin, got it?”

“Yeah! I’ll do as onii-chan says!”

And so it was decided that Jin would return to Hourai Island, bringing Hannah too with
him.

“Well then, Hannah, it may be uncomfortable but could I have you cover up your eyes
until we’re there?”

“Yeah, su~re!”

Knowing how to go to there and such could direct unwanted trouble to Hannah, so Jin
suggested this out of concern but Hannah only gladly accepted the idea.

Jin carried the blindfolded Hannah on his back. Just that pleased Hannah and she said,

“Onii-chan’s house. I can’t wait~”

And so on and so on, she was in high spirits the whole trip on Jin’s back. Elsa who was
walking next to them looked at Hannah and smiled fondly.

Meanwhile they exited the village’s borders and soon arrived at the shelter which had
the Warp Gate in it.

“I’m sure I came out of here too. And yet, after I left I couldn’t find the place any more.”

Elsa said and explained what happened the other day. Jin replied apologetically.

“Ah, that’s because there’s quite a few barriers put up to prevent anyone from
carelessly wandering in.”

“Is that, so?”

“That’s right. There’s a barrier to hide the entrance. A barrier to protect against
intruders. Barrier to prevent magical detection. Although none of them have any effect
when coming out from the inside.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 147 | 392
Elsa tilted her head in puzzlement after Jin’s explanation,

“But, then Jin-nii can’t go in either.”

She voiced her problem. Jin also explained that.

“My Magic Energy pattern is the only exception. There’s an infinite variety of Magic
Energy patterns so there’s hardly any people with the same one. That’s why no one
except for me and the golems I’ve made can use it.”

Jin said and extremely naturally reached out towards a place that seemed to have
nothing in it and made a show of opening the door.

Although Elsa couldn’t see it. Because the Magic Energy in the brooch wasn’t enough.
Jin then took Elsa’s hand.

“Ah.”

Elsa let out a voice in surprise.

The second Jin’s hand grasped hers, an open door appeared in front of Elsa. The door
she had gone out of the day before yesterday. The door to return, which she couldn’t
find no matter how long she searched for it.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

Jin said and led Elsa into the shelter by hand through the door. Reiko also followed
them. And although they couldn’t be seen, the SP dedicated for Hannah, Iris and Azalea
also followed.

The group first went to Hourai Island using the Warp Gate, then subsequently warped
to Kunlun Island.

Once they got outside, Jin took off Hannah’s blindfold. Hannah who had been quiet
ever since they had approached the shelter once again opened her mouth.

“Wow! This is onii-chan’s house?”

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“Yeah, that’s right. How we got here, that’s a secret. Got it? And don’t tell anyone other
than Martha-san about this, alright? If you can promise that then I’ll bring you along
some time again.”

“Yeah! I promise! I won’t tell anyone! It’s a secret between onii-chan and me!”

Hannah happily promised.

“Elsa! Jin-sama!”

And then Mine came running. Despite what she said, she had probably been worried
about Elsa after all.

“Who?”

Hannah looked dubious and asked.

“She’s Elsa’s mother.”

“Eh? Then she’s onii-chan’s mother?”

“No, Elsa is my adopted sister so we aren’t related by blood. And so Mine is just Elsa’s
mother.”

“Huuh…”

Just how much of that Hannah understood was unknown, but she nodded once and
intently stared at Elsa, then Mine who was hugging Elsa.

Mine had spoken with Elsa about something, but now turned to Hannah and,

“Hannah-chan, right? I am Mine. I’m Elsa’s mother. It seems you’ve helped out my Elsa,
thank you very much.”

She said and lightly bowed her head. Hannah then blushed a little and replied only,

“Y-you’re welcome.”

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“Well then, I’ve got to go do some work. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

Jin said so in front of the mansion, then Mine spoke.

“Jin-sama, I apologize for the inconvenience Elsa caused you. Please let me have the
responsibility of taking care of Hannah.”

This was a godsend to Jin who was thinking of having Reiko do that and,

“Then I’ll trust her to you, okay?”

She left Hannah in Mine’s care. Then,

“Hannah, sorry, but for just a little while, I’ve got a bit of work to do so could you please
wait?”

Jin said to Hannah while looking concerned. Mine thought seeing Jin like that was
unusual.

And then,

“Yeah! That’s okay! I’ll wait!”

Hannah replied cheerfully. Jin was relieved.

“Jin-nii, it’s alright. I’ll be with her too.”

As Elsa also said so, Jin could return to Hourai Island at ease.

“Celuroa Kingdom’s army is pressuring Egelia Kingdom’s army.”

“Frantz Kingdom’s army is overpowering Cline Kingdom’s army.”

Information was sent in from the battlegrounds.

“Ha ha, just as we’ve plotted.”

Then another voice spoke. It appeared to have come through some communication

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 150 | 392
device resembling a ManaCom.

“The current declined countries can’t win against ancient technology, can they?”

“Ah, Elena. Did something happen over there?”

“No, nothing. It’s just that there’s someone very interesting in the city I am currently
in.”

“Hm? Who is it?”

“The Magi Craftsman of Shouro Empire, Reinhardt.”

“What? You mean the Magi Craftsman Marcello once captured?”

“Yes. It seems he arrived here in Astan yesterday.”

“Hm. That’s where Donald was too, right?”

“Yes, he’s with me.”

“In that case, Elena, could you somehow try to meet with that fellow?”

“It seems possible. We should be able to just apply [Seduce] to someone in Reinhardt’s
employ.”

“In that case, please give it a try.”

“I understand. Should he be captured?”

“I’ll leave that decision to you, Elena. If you think he’s got any use value then capture
him. If you think otherwise… Erase him.”

“As you wish. It would be preferable if he was of some use, wouldn’t it? For Reinhardt,
and for us.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 151 | 392
In the eastern part of Celuroa Kingdom, a Magi Craftsman lived in a poor village on
close to the border of Egelia Kingdom.

Originally he had been Celuroa Kingdom’s Royal Magi Craftsman, but he came to
dislike living in the capital, retired, and secluded himself in his home town.

The man had a single disciple.

The child was a distant relative of his and while he had been in the capital he had
discovered the child’s talent and made him his disciple.

The man used to have plenty disciples but few of them proved successful, and on top
of that when he announced his retirement to his home town only the boy followed.

All the other disciples had families, or disliked rural areas, or had some other
circumstances which they claimed as a reason and then went their separate ways from
the man.

“You are my only true disciple.”

The man said, and imparted the boy his everything.

The man’s specialty was golems. Naturally he could make other Magi Tools too, but his
strongest point was the manufacture of golems.

For a long time now Celuroa Kingdom had been supplementing the shortage in the
labor force with golems. The man’s skills played a large role in that.

The golems the man made were clearly different from those other people made.

They could ‘talk’, that is, they were the autonomous type.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 152 | 392
And they were ‘strong’. They boasted a power output thrice that of typical golems. In
other words, one golem could do the work of three golems. Although work in which
numbers were required was a different case.

Finally they were ‘beautiful’. Even among the brusque worker golems they had a
refined form and appearance.

As the ‘beauty’ wasn’t simply because the man had been born with a sense for it, but
because it was mainly about the ‘functional beauty’ of the craftsmanship, it could be
taught reasonably well.

By the time the disciple boy became a young man, the boy–nay, the youth– had come
to know nearly all the skills of the man and his instruction was finished.

And then came the time when the gears of fate turned.

“Are you the rumored genius Magi Craftsman?”

A man stood in front of the youth. He was maybe about five or six years older than the
youth. He looked to have just entered his 30s.

“Who are you?”

Facing the suspicious youth, the man replied,

“You could say that I’m an emissary of ancient times.”

“So? What does this Mr. ’emissary of ancient times’ want with me?”

“Don’t you want to try spreading your wings, and using your abilities to your heart’s
content?”

“What’s that you say?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 153 | 392
The man’s words were commonplace, but the youth’s interest was a little piqued by
the expression “to his heart’s content”.

“Well, follow me and you’ll see for yourself.”

The man turned on his heels and promptly began walking. As if the youth following
him was a matter of course.

He was somewhat offended, but his interest outweighed that. The youth simply began
following in the man’s footsteps.

The man led him to an old mansion in the suburbs.

“Get in.”

The man turned to look back for the first time when he opened the door and invited
the youth in.

And then the youth had a fateful meeting.

In front of the youth there was a perfect beauty.

Both the beauty in form and function were impeccable. No, there was a single fault.

It was the broken left arm.

“T-this i-is…”

The girl with golden hair, deep crimson eyes, and white porcelain skin.

The youth had never before seen an Automata this beautiful.

The girl then spoke.

“Good day, my name is Elena. Are you the man who will kindly repair my arm?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 154 | 392
Even her voice was sweet. The man was suddenly completely enchanted.

For a while he couldn’t speak and only stared at the red eyes of the Automata called
Elena.

His concentration was broken by the speech of the man who had brought him there.

“How is it, do you think you can fix her arm?”

The youth shook his head in silence. He could tell just by looking. The Automata in
front of her, Elena, was a work of art.

He couldn’t–no, ‘as of now’ he couldn’t fix it.

However.

“One day, I’ll have you see me become able to fix it.”

The words spontaneously rushed out of his mouth.

The youth was again charmed by Elena’s devilishness.

The man’s words were not a lie.

The basement of the mansion was cramped with Magi Tools he had never seen before
and Artifacts he had never heard of side-by-side.

And there were books written in an ancient language that contained writings of
magics and magical technologies long thought to have been forgotten.

The youth was pleasantly surprised, thanked the man, and immediately began
research to enhance his skills.

One, two, three years.

Time passed.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 155 | 392
Five years, then ten years.

The time flew and the man entered the prime of his life.

He couldn’t yet fix Elena but his research was steadily progressing.

“He he, you seem to be having fun.”

Elena’s movements had already become smooth. That was because the restoration of
her joints and muscles had finished.

However, reproducing her skin and bones was still impossible.

“I have faith in that you shall fix me.”

Sometimes the Automata visited the youth–nay, the man, and when she spoke with
him face-to-face he kept up with his great efforts even more.

The man made multiple dozens of prototype golems. In the process his golem-making
skill increased even more.

Golems specialized in combat were the norm. The power output which used to be
three times greater than usual golems’ now boasted a performance of nearly double
that.

It ought to be mentioned that he also made golems with the power of overwriting the
instructions in the enemy golem’s Control Core.

And then the course of his research brought about golems which, utilizing the Magic
Energy amplifying jewel Elradrite, could –although temporarily– increase the power
output by ten-odd times.

There were countless others more.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 156 | 392
Again, not limiting himself to just golems he made a Magic Energy-imbued sword. A
shield that defended against magic.

Just as the man who had called himself the ’emissary of ancient times’ had said, the
technology of the past surpassed the current technology by several levels.

During breaks from his research he went to visit ancient ruins, carried out relics from
those ruins, researched them, and through piled up efforts approached the past even
if it was just a little bit.

“Hmmh, this ancient weapon called Gigantes found in these ruins appears to have a
rather interesting function.”

The youth was by now right in the middle of the prime of his life. Filled with energy,
the flames of his passion rather than growing weak burned brighter and brighter.

“Gigantes, you say? That’s a failed work. With its intelligence being low, it can only go
on a rampage, it’s an imbecile with nothing but brawn.”

At times Elena came to the man’s research laboratory and gave him advice or criticism.

“More importantly, if there are any Automata left in the ruins please destroy them.”

“Why is that? Elena.”

“Because they are all inferior models compared to me. I’m the one and only Automata.
The queen of all Automata. That’s what I was built for. The Automata remaining in the
ruins are conspirators who planned to rebel against me. They can’t be left alone.”

“Is that so, I understand.”

In a few of the ruins multiple blue-haired Automata had been found, but according to
Elena’s request they were all disassembled and disposed of.

As some of the Automata had body parts which were compatible with Elena, in the
20th year Elena’s body had completely recovered.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 157 | 392
“Laojun, first let’s hear the reports.”

After leaving Hannah on Kunlun Island, this was the first thing Jin said when he
returned to Hourai Island.

“Yes. First, on the topic of the war between Celuroa Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom,
Celuroa Kingdom has the advantage. Now, their army thought to be three battalions
strong has captured Ikasanaato.”

Jin recalled the route he took on his journey. Ikasanaato was a city near the border. It
had a fort, high walls, and a moat around it.

“If they’re assaulting that place, then it seems they’re only relying on strength, huh.”

Even Jin who was unfamiliar with military matters could tell that much.

“On the topic of the war between Frantz Kingdom and Cline Kingdom, Storsk has been
captured. Cline Kingdom’s national army appear to be reorganizing some 40
kilometers away, a day’s journey.”

Both attacking parties were superior. Perhaps that was just natural.

Now it was spring, and in this world where career soldiers were few because of the
population shortage avoiding war during the busy farming season was an unwritten
rule. That is to say doing so would lead to the nation’s decline.

“However, I’m sure Celuroa Kingdom is using many golems to do the agricultural
work.”

That was Jin’s guess, but it was roughly to the point.

“What should I do…”

Jin was perplexed. Jin had the strength to treat the aggressor as evil and suppress

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 158 | 392
them. But simultaneously Jin’s strength was likely to disturb the world’s balance.
People are afraid of those with power.

As a result the world would shun him, fear him, ostracize him. That’s what Jin feared.

“I see. Well then, Laojun, what was the most important matter you called me here for?”

Putting the conclusion on hold, Jin next asked Laojun a question.

“There is work I would like to ask My Lord to do.”

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

Then first of all Laojun explained about the projects he had undertaken while Jin was
gone.

1. Build a harbor for the aircraft carrier’s use.

2. Starting with Celuroa Kingdom, investigate whether or not the important people of
the administration are affected by [Hypno] or [Seduce].

3. Advance investigation of submarine resources by utilizing the Mermaid units.

4. Manufacture weapons for the golems.

5. Further improve on the receiverless Warp Gate.

6. Develop an aircraft that can carry Titans.

7. For heavy work, manufacture heavy-duty golems using the Titans as the baseline.

8. Mass produce Magi Jammers and Paralyzers.

Jin felt admiration after hearing all that.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 159 | 392
“As expected of you. All things needed to advance my goals, and things I forgot about.
That’s a big help.”

“Your praise honors me. In which case, is it acceptable to proceed like this?”

“Yeah, please do.”

To tell you the truth, Laojun was relieved. That was because he had been worried
whether or not his actions were presumptuous. He also feared that if he made a
mistake Jin would take that as a a sign of rebelliousness.

However, Jin simply genuinely commended Laojun for his preparations.

“Then I got it. I just need to make a Control Core for the heavy-duty golems, right?”

“Yes, very perceptive of My Lord.”

Laojun was permitted to make copies of Control Cores of existing golems for mass
production. However, the development of new golem types was outside his
jurisdiction.

Jin made the foundational Control Cores, and so they abided by Jin’s rules. This was a
measure taken so that Laojun couldn’t make subordinates which only obeyed him. It
did cause the production efficiency to lower somewhat when just like now, a need for
Jin to make the necessary parts arose.

Although once Jin made one Laojun could copy them as many times as he wished.

“Master, please use this.”

Ann came holding a large Magi Crystal. It was yellow, the earth-attribute.

“Let’s see, its size is the same as a Titan’s, but it’s for heavy-duty work therefore…”

Jin thought while looking at the prototype heavy-duty golem. Its skeleton was made
out of 18/12 stainless steel, with muscles out of Magical Fibers. Jin formulated a Magi
Sequence fitting for the materials used.

“Speed is unnecessary. In exchange it’s required to be able of precise movements and

must be sturdy, so.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 160 | 392
About five minutes later it was completed.

“Alright, please give this a try.”

Jin handed the Control Core made out of an earth-attribute Magi Crystal to Laojun.

“Thank you very much, My Lord. And now please name the series of heavy-duty
golems.”

“Hmm, oh yes. Let’s see, let’s call them the ‘Daidara’.”

Apparently he got the name from Daidarabotchi. It was indeed a Jin-like name.

“Daidara is it, understood. For now, the plan is to make 50.”

The name aside, with this project Hourai Island would be improved even further.

Jin checked the details of the other projects and then warped to Kunlun Island where
Hannah was waiting.

During that time Reiko watched Jin do all that without saying a thing, but she got the
feeling that Jin had returned back to normal. She felt thankful to Elsa, Hannah, and
Kaina Village from the bottom of her heart.

“That’s wrong. See, you peel it like this.”

“…Like this?”

“Yeah, well, something like that. And then, you chop them up to small pieces like this.”

“Will this do, Hannah-chan?”

After warping to Kunlun Island, Jin saw the three cooking something under the blue
skies.

“Ah, welcome back onii-chan.”

“Jin-nii, it’s done very soon so wait a bit.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 161 | 392
“Jin-sama, Hannah’s teaching us how to make Kaina Village-style zousui.”

In short, it was barley cooked in boiling water with added vegetables, dried meat, and
flavored with dried fruit. Sometimes starch was added for thickness.

It was good eating for breakfasts and midday meals.

Extensive variations could be made by varying the selection of the ingredients, using
dashi, or devising different flavoring.

Jin liked zousui with something called Pasha in it, it was dried fruit of a plant called
Bitis that closely resembled the Crimson glory vine.

Because Bitis with somewhat larger fruit than usual grew natively on Kunlun Island,
the fruit had been harvested and dried. Apparently they had been used.

In addition, on Hourai Island’s mountainous area there also grew Frapes and Bluelues
once seen in Moft Village, so they were harvested and under cultivation.

If those dried Bluelues were also put in it might taste good, Jin thought while fondly
watching the three cook.

“Onii-chan, it’s done~”

Hannah who had been sampling the food yelled, and Mine turned off the stove. Elsa
lined up the tableware on the table.

Today Jin could simply seat himself at the table and wait for the food to be brought to
him.

“Ah, what a nostalgic scent.”

The piping hot zousui was brought. Everyone sat down and after saying ‘itadakimasu’
which had already become a habit they began eating.

Apparently Mine and Elsa had also quickly grown accustomed to this habit.

“Mhm, it’s delicious.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 162 | 392
“Tee-hee, I’ve lo~ong since memorized what onii-chan likes!”

Hannah who had guided them in the cooking declared proudly.

“Yes, the flavor is good, isn’t it?”

Apparently Mine also was pleased with the Kaina Village-style flavoring. And on top
of that she seemed to also like Hannah.

“Hannah-chan’s a good girl. You work hard, and you’re cheerful and cute.”

“Tee-hee, is that so.”

Hannah seemed to enjoy being praised. Elsa also smiled while looking at Hannah.

The after meal tea was Kaina Village’s tea.

“What a lovely green, isn’t it.”

Mine voiced her impression of the green tea she had never seen before. Elsa had
already had personal experience with it in Kaina Village.

“Mh-hm, its taste is also good. Inside the fresh bitterness there’s a faint sweetness to
it, and the aftertaste is also refreshing.”

She also seemed pleased with the taste.

“Hannah-chan, won’t you teach me about other things later?”

“Yeah!”

It appeared that Hannah also got attached to Mine. That was a big relief for Jin.

The cleaning up was also done together by the three, and their harmonious work
resembled not only that of a parent and child but of sisters too.

(Oh that’s right, Hannah has also lost both her parents.)

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 163 | 392
Hannah getting emotionally attached to Mine was perhaps only natural, with her still
being of the age when she misses her mother. It was good that he brought her along,
Jin thought.

“Alright Hannah, once the tidying up is done let’s all go see the ocean.”

Jin said and went to the kitchen to help with the cleaning.

Reiko was looking at Jin do all this with a relieved look on her face. Then she contacted
Laojun to have golem horses sent to Kunlun Island.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 164 | 392
April 19th. Reinhardt had stayed the night in the provincial city Astan.

It had been a rather forced marched from Tunsten which he had stayed the night
before. Because of that the plan of his childhood friend and company commander of
the third Imperial Guard force Matheus, who was guarding him, was to stay there for
three nights before departure.

This was also because the city of Astan had their homeland Shouro Empire’s supply
base in it.

“The soldiers also want to rest, so let’s stay here for three nights. After that will be a
forced march so get plenty of rest.”

Matheus said and told Reinhardt of the plan.

After staying in Astan for three nights, early morning on the 22nd they would leave
Astan. And then by hurrying all day they would arrive in the evening of the 22nd in
the provincial city of Pororon where they’d spend the night. 23rd day would be the
town of Ganeez, and 24th the border town Toskoshia. Then if they immediately get the
permit to pass through on the 25th they’ll enter Shouro Empire.

“At the latest, we’ll be walking on our homeland on the 27th.”

Matheus smiled and said. Then,

“You probably know this, but absolutely don’t go wandering off on your own, got it?
Even visiting a brothel isn’t allowed. You’ll be seeing Berthier in ten days, you know?”

He didn’t forget to warn Reinhardt. This was because he had heard from the butler
Claude that Reinhardt had the bad habit of going on walks by himself.

“…I got it.”

Reinhardt looked disgruntled. But everything Matheus said was correct so there was

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 165 | 392
no refuting it.

“The journey with Jin was fun.”

Reinhardt thought so while lying down on the bed.

The 20th day began.

His confinement didn’t change from yesterday. Despite the weather being fine,
Reinhardt had to stay confined in his room.

He was sometimes vacantly looking out of the windows, and other times slumping
down on the sofa. A maid saw the bored Reinhardt and,

“Excuse me, master, there’s something I heard earlier by chance.”

She told Reinhardt about what she had heard in the lobby.

“From what I understand, it seems that right now Celuroa Kingdom’s Royal Magi
Craftsman, the esteemed Donald Carou Alpha, is staying in this city.”

“What!”

After hearing that, Reinhardt who was lying down on the sofa jumped up to his feet.

‘Alpha’. That represented the top position granted by Celuroa Kingdom’s

manufacturing agency. Even though Reinhardt wasn’t yet acquainted with him, he of
course had heard of the name.

“Hmm, I wonder if I could meet with him somehow?”

If he was to come here, there shouldn’t be any problems. Reinhardt thought so and
called for the butler Claude, then discussed it with him.

“As you wish. For now, I shall go ask if it is convenient for the other party to visit.”

Although he didn’t know just how much authority the Celuroa Kingdom’s very own
Honorary Magi Craftsman held, as Reinhardt was a diplomat they should at least be

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 166 | 392
seen as equals.

Feeling excitement in his heart, Reinhardt waited for Claude’s return.

Then after nearly an hour Claude came back with good news.

“I have returned. The other party said that they will come for a visit this afternoon.”

“Ooh! Is that so! I cannot wait! Claude, Beth, Dory, please prepare to receive them.”

“Yes.”

Reinhardt issued instructions for the butler and the maids. Due to the lodgings he was
staying in he couldn’t do much, but as the side extending the invitation he wanted to
do the best he could.

While holding down the excitement he felt more and more Reinhardt passed the time.

The person came accompanied by a golem.

He had a medium build and pure white hair. However, his blue eyes that seemed as if
they were dreaming were filled with nothing but intelligence, and just a bit of
madness.

“Nice to meet you, I am Donald Carou Alpha. Your invitation was an honor, Reinhardt-
dono.”

“It is I who should say it is an honor to meet you.”

The two shook hands and exchanged brief greetings, and they first sat down at a table
at Reinhardt’s suggestion.

“That’s a golem Donald-dono made, is it not?”

Reinhardt who had been impatiently waiting to talk spoke before the maids had
brought tea.

“Indeed. It is number 457 which looks after me and my surroundings.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 167 | 392
The golem called number 457 was two meters tall. It was shaped just like a human.

Seeing it, a mutter leaked out of Reinhardt’s mouth unintentionally.

“Endoskeleton-type…”

Donald who caught his words looked a little surprised.

“Why do you ask that? Could it be that Reinhardt-dono has also become capable of
building endoskeleton-type golems?”

From Donald’s words Reinhardt could tell that his guess was on the mark.

“Well, yes. Because by making an endoskeleton the golems are able to move more
similarly to a human, no?”

Reinhardt said and Donald made an exaggerated nod and,

“Indeed, indeed. Understanding that at such a young age, Reinhardt-dono is a

remarkable person.”

He voiced his admiration. Reinhardt felt a bit shy. But, he wasn’t foolish enough to
mention Jin’s name here.

“Recently, I too have realized something about golems’ structure, you see.”

Probably what stopped Reinhardt’s answer there was his experience as a diplomat.

“Hmm, Reinhardt-dono’s golem was Schwarz Ritter, was it not? If I remember

correctly it destroyed Beta’s Adamas Warrior or something like that.”

In a word, Beta was the next rank of Magi Craftsman after Alpha.

“That’s already a story from last year. Your country can make much, much stronger
golems now, can it not?”

This remark contained cynicism about the war between Egelia Kingdom and Celuroa
Kingdom, but Donald didn’t seem to mind it at all.

“Hahaha, that’s exactly right. It seems that Beta too has further improved upon

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 168 | 392
Adamas Warrior, as technology is something that marches on, isn’t that right?”

“I agree with you on that point.”

What was left unsaid however, was that he didn’t approve of war.

After that the talk gained momentum and it was evening all of a sudden.

Donald said he wanted to come tomorrow too. It was just what Reinhardt wanted so
he readily accepted.

And then Donald returned through the twilit streets.

“Ah, what an enjoyable while that was.”

Talks with other countries’ Magi Craftsmen were always fruitful. Even with the
premise of talking while keeping mum about the their classified information.

“Reinhardt-sama, that went well, didn’t it?”

“Uh-huh. Because of you, Beth. Thanks.”

Reinhardt thanked Beth for telling him about Donald. Being thanked made Beth
flustered.

“I am unworthy of such praise.”

“No, I’m being honest. Dory too, you’ve all done well. For nearly two years you’ve been
away from our home country following me. That’s soon to be over. You can return to
your families.”

“No, Reinhardt-dono. My family included, we’re all in indebted to you so it is just a

matter of course to assist you.”

This time Dory replied.

“Even so, being away from your husband must be harsh. I feel sorry. But it’s father who
had you married people follow me, so…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 169 | 392
So that Reinhardt who was already engaged would not have an affair with a maid
during the trip, his father had decided to just in case have only married maids serve
him. Incidentally, the two of them having modest bosoms was no coincidence. His
father took even that to account in his decision.

“After all, surely the old master arrived at this decision after thinking about it deeply.”

The butler Claude said so from the side. He said this because he knew how Reinhardt
liked huge breasts. The two maids did not suspect it went that far.

“Well, at any rate we’ll be back at home in around ten days.”

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

The following day, in the afternoon of the 21st, Donald came as promised.

Today he was accompanied by another Automata along with the golem number 457.

The Automata had long golden hair like silk, skin as white as porcelain, and eyes so
deep crimson they seemed to be burning. If she was said to be a human it could be
believed.

“I am Elena.”

The Automata introduced herself. Even her voice was beautiful. It was a clear soprano
like the sound of a songbird.

Reinhardt watched her in fascination without replying. He came to his senses when
Donald spoke.

“Reinhardt-dono, what do you think? Elena is wonderful, don’t you agree?”

After suddenly coming to his senses, Reinhardt blushed a little.

In his position as a diplomat, he had a lot of chances to see beautiful women. Royalty,
nobles’ daughters, wives of noblemen, their servants, and prostitutes.

But the Automata called Elena in front of her had beauty surpassing them all.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 170 | 392
“Elena-dono, nice to meet you. I am Shouro Empire’s Magi Engineer, Reinhardt.”

Perhaps due to some modest pride, Reinhardt introduced himself Shouro Empire-
style as a Magi Engineer.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 171 | 392
“Woow, it’s wide. So this is the sea…”

Everyone had gone to the coast of Kunlun Island.

Hannah had grown in a village deep in the mountains called Kaina Village. Seeing the
sea for the first time in her life, she simply stood stock still.

Jin placed his hand on Hannah’s shoulder and they walked all the way to the water’s
edge.

The spring sea’s waves gradually approached them. Seashells were scattered about on
the sandy beach.

“Oh, it’s pretty. Is it a seashell?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Hannah was in high spirits as she searched for the small and pretty pink seashells that
resembled cherry blossoms.

“Hannah-chan, there’s more over here.”

Elsa also joined her in collecting seashells.

“If it was a little warmer we could go swimming, but…”

Kunlun Island was approximately at the Northern Tropic. Unlike in Port Rock where
it was everlasting summer, the water was still a little cold.

“Onii-chan, then let’s go swimming in summer!”

Hannah spoke back and Jin’s expression became softer.

“Yeah, let’s.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 172 | 392
Memories of swimming in the Elume River last year were brought back, and Jin
thought he’d also make a new swimsuit for Hannah.

At any rate, for the children of Kaina Village swimsuits were largely the same thing as
underwear, and furthermore they swam wearing nothing but the lower halves.

Although for someone like Barbara a cloth was wrapped around her chest.

“Port Rock, was fun.”

Elsa had come to Jin’s side without him noticing. Hannah could be seen making a
mound out of the sand together Mine.

“Yeah. Come to think of it, that was the time I met with Elsa and Reinhardt, huh.”

“Mm. I miss it.”

Only two and a half months at most had passed, but still it felt like something from the
distant past. That was probably because of just how packed every day had been.

“Father, the sunlight on the beach is intense so please have this.”

Suddenly Reiko called out to Jin, and came to present him with a straw hat. Of course,
she handed ones for Elsa, Hannah, and Mine too.

“Oh, thanks Reiko. Where did you get these?”

Jin didn’t have any memories of making straw hats.

“It appears that Mine-san made them.”

“Eh? Mine did?”

He looked at Mine’s direction and lowered his head a little embarrassedly.

“Thank you, Mine.”

Jin gave his thanks and put on the straw hat. The straw hat smelled nice.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 173 | 392
Jin was watching the sea as the salty winds blew. The waves were gentle. He then soon
turned to face Reiko who was behind him and,

“Reiko, do you think one of the Hydros could come around here?”

He tried asking. Reiko nodded and replied,

“Yes, I will arrange for it at once.”

Then she contacted Laojun through her ManaCom and,

“He says it’ll arrive soon.”

She said. Just as stated, five minutes later Hydro-2 arrived. Steering it was Marine-2.

“Master, you called?”

As the beach was sandy Marine-2 beached Hydro-2 on the shore as it was.

“Yeah, sorry for the trouble. That was fast, huh.”

“Yes, this is because I was just patrolling around this area.”

While Jin had a conversation with Marine-2, Hannah got immensely curious about
Hydro-2.

“Onii-chan, this, is this a boat onii-chan made? I wanna get on it!”

Jin smiled and assented.

“Of course. That’s why I called for it. Elsa can also come. Mine, sorry, but it’s only got
room for four people so could you stay here?”

Mine smiled and said,

“Yes, of course. I will be waiting here.”

And so Jin, Elsa, and Hannah boarded Hydro-2. Reiko sat on Jin’s knee like the other
day… or so you’d like to think, but she sat next to Hannah.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 174 | 392
As the boat was for four people the front and back each had seats for two, with Jin and
Marine-2 in the front. In the back sat Elsa, Hannah, and Reiko. As all three of them
were small they could somehow sit there.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Marine-2 put Hydro-2’s Magi Water Jets full on reverse. The force moved Hydro-2
which had been grounded, and the boat slipped out to the sea while spraying water
into the air.

And then Hydro-2 changed directions and without pausing moved ahead to the open
seas. Everyone had their straw hats in hand so they wouldn’t get blown away.

“Wow, fa~ast!”

“…Amazing.”

Leaving aside Hannah for whom this was her first time boarding a ship, it was
apparent that the ship’s ridiculousness sunk deeply into Elsa’s mind even though she
had taken part in the golem boat contest in Port Rock.

“Not just twice. It’s three times as fast.”

The cruising speed of the boat Elsa had been on back then was estimated to be about
20 kilometers per hour. Right now Hydro-5 was going at a speed nearing 60
kilometers per hour.

“Ammaazi~ng!”

Hannah was screaming with excitement. Elsa also let herself relax, thinking that if
anyone got ill she would cure them.

At that time, Jin gave Reiko a signal only she recognized. After noticing it Reiko
stealthily cast [Soothe] on Jin. In other words, Jin was starting to feel seasick.

Spraying water and kicking up waves, Hydro-2 did a lap around Kunlun Island.

“Ah~, that was fun. Onii-chan, thanks!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 175 | 392
When they came back to the sandy beach where Mine was waiting it was precisely the
time for an afternoon snack.

Kunlun Island’s exclusive maid golem Peridot-100 had the sense to bring snacks.

“Oh, how thoughtful of you.”

Jin spoke well of her and,

“Not at all, Laojun instructed me to.”

Peridot-100 quickly revealed the truth.

Laying a cloth on the sandy beach, everyone sat down for an afternoon snack.

Peeled Citran, and Citran juice.

“Wow, delicious!”

Hannah was apparently pleased with Citran which she had for the first time.

“Hannah-chan, you can have this too.”

Jin’s heart was warmed by the sight of Elsa –whose favorite food it was– sharing her
Citran with Hannah.

“Let’s go swimming next time.”

“Yeah!”

While the golem horses they were riding on strolled back, Hannah was in a good mood.

Mine was riding together with Elsa on her horse.

“Elsa, it was nice of you to share your Citran with Hannah-chan.”

“Mm, Hannah-chan is so cute after all.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 176 | 392
“Eheh, so you also can act like an elder sister, can’t you?”

Mine had the look of a mother on her.

As they returned restfully while making detours, by the time they arrived at the
mansion three hours had passed.

“That’s just the right time. Let’s take a tea break.”

Mine said and started making the preparations. Because Ruby-100 heated the water
for her they were soon complete.

“Here you go, Hannah-chan.”

This time Teee, Egelia Kingdom’s specialty, was brewed. Sugar was put in for Hannah.

Hannah had a sip.

“Sweet~! And good~!”

She smiled sweetly. Seeing her like that, Elsa’s expression also naturally turned into a
broad smile. Mine was also smiling.

“Here, have some of this too.”

Dried Bluelues were served with the tea. They were Jin’s favorite food.

“Ah~, this is also delicious!”

Jin, Elsa, and Mine. They each couldn’t help wanting to see Hannah smile.

After that they went to the mansion’s hot spring. The three women entered the bath
at the same time.

“Ya~y, there’s a hot spring here too~!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 177 | 392
Hannah was the first one to rush into the bath.

Used to the one in Kaina Village, Hannah properly washed herself before entering the
water.

Then Elsa and Mine followed.

“After getting all sticky from the sea breeze, the hot bath feels good, doesn’t it?”

Mine said as she stretched herself out in the bath.

“I’m a little worn out after the horse ride.”

Hannah then circled around to Mine’s back and,

“Auntie, I’ll massage your shoulders.”

She said.

“Eh, it’s fine, you don’t have to.”

Mine turned her down, but Hannah didn’t acknowledge that.

“It’s alright. You see, I massage granny every day too.”

Hannah said and began massaging Mine’s shoulders half-forcibly. Where she felt worn
out were the waist and the buttocks, but Mine wasn’t so foolish as to say so.

“Ah, it feels nice. You’re good, aren’t you, Hannah-chan?”

Mine said and let Hannah do as she liked.

“Right!? How is it? Is around here good?”

“Yes, it feels good near there.”

Hannah’s grip was unexpectedly strong. This was because she helped with the
housework every day.

“Thank you, Hannah-chan. I have to thank you somehow, don’t I? Is there anything you

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 178 | 392
want?”

Mine said to Hannah after having her shoulders massaged for a while. Hannah gave a
start and a little embarrassedly,

“We-well, um. You see, auntie…”

She hesitated to say something. Mine smiled gently and urged Hannah on,

“What is it? Please try to say it.”

Hannah then timidly voiced her request.

“Just for a while will do, but I want auntie to hug me.”

Mine remembered that Hannah’s parents had already passed and so,

“Yes, alright then. Come on, Hannah-chan.”

She said and embraced Hannah with both hands.

Hannah buried her face in Mine’s ample bosom and,

“…Mom.”

She muttered with a voice so tiny it was inaudible.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 179 | 392
On the day they had a good time on Kunlun Island, Hannah decided to stay there
overnight.

Contact with Martha was arranged through Gon and Gen.

“I’ll have a sleepover at auntie’s place today~”

Jin felt peaceful looking at Hannah who had thoroughly taken to Mine.

Tired from playing for a day Hannah seemed to have gotten tired after having dinner
and began nodding off.

Mine then carried her and laid her down on the futon spread out in Elsa’s and hers
room.

She’s just like a mother huh, Jin thought and felt impressed as he watched them.

“Well then, I’ll be returning to Hourai Island so please take care of Hannah. I’ll come
back to pick her up tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Jin-sama, thank you for today.”

“Jin-nii, see you tomorrow.”

“Mh-hm, good night then.”

Jin said and returned to Hourai Island with Reiko.

He got out of the Warp Gate and Topaz-43 was standing there.

“Welcome back, master.”

“Ah, Topaz. What’s the matter?”

“According to Laojun’s orders, we are to be stationed here by turns.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 180 | 392
Jin got it when he heard her. He understood that Laojun arranged this so Elsa’s
disappearance incident wouldn’t occur again.

“So that’s what it was, good work.”

Jin said and headed back to the workshop.

“Laojun, you dealt with that problem quickly, huh.”

Jin conveyed his gratitude to Laojun through a ManaCom installed there.

“Yes. I decided to temporarily station the maid golems there. I was thinking that in the
near future having full-time golems dedicated for that task would be preferred.”

Jin agreed with him.

“Mh-hm, that’s right. Once the current mess is over with let’s make them without
rushing.”

Then,

“Have you got anything regarding the weapons for the golems?”

Jin asked.

“Yes, I think that swords and shields are needed after all.”

“Mh-hm, it’s orthodox but good. But a normal sword would be boring, huh…”

Jin who had completely relaxed suddenly had a good idea.

“A Vibration Sword… Let’s make the Magi Adamantite blade vibrate at an ultra high
speed.”

With Magi Adamantite he could make a sword thinner than usual with no worry of the
blade chipping. By making it vibrate at an ultra high speed using magic techniques he
should be able to make a sword that cuts through anything, right? That’s how Jin was
thinking.

If Jin added a security feature that made them usable only by golems they probably

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 181 | 392
couldn’t be misused, and without diffusing Magic Energy into it Magi Adamantite was
weaker than regular Adamantite.

“A Vibration Blade, is it? Understood, I will try.”

For a weapon like this, with permission from Jin Laojun could do the development
without bothering Jin about it.

“My Lord, Reinhardt-san made contact as arranged. It appears that today he met with
a Magi Craftsman from Celuroa Kingdom and had a somewhat interesting time.”

“Huh, I want to ask Reinhardt about it later.”

Jin said while yawning.

“My Lord, you must be tired, please rest.”

The night came an hour earlier on Hourai Island than Kunlun Island. Jin was also a
little bit worn out.

“Father, even Laojun thinks so. Please go to so sleep for the night.”

Reiko suggested, being also worried about Jin’s health. Jin obediently did as told.

“Ah, I’ll do so.”

Reiko followed him to the bedroom. Then,

“It seems Father has completely returned to normal, I’m glad.”

She muttered in a voice so hushed no one could hear it.

The next morning, Jin warped to Kunlun Island before breakfast.

The local time on Kunlun Island was six o’clock. That was just after when Hannah had
woke up.

They met in the mansion’s washroom. Even though Hannah was surprised, she
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 182 | 392
continued washing her face with the water from the tap.

“Good morning, onii-chan.”

“Good morning, Hannah.”

Jin and Hannah exchanged morning greetings.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah! You know what, I slept with auntie!”

“With Mine? I see, that’s good.”

“Yeah.”

Then Mine and Elsa also arrived.

“Good morning, Jin-sama.”

“Jin-nii, good morning.”

“Good morning.”

After exchanging morning greetings, the four went to look outside. Today too the
weather was clear.

“Ya~y, good weather!”

Hannah was running around happily in the garden in front of the mansion.

“Jin-sama, are you perhaps going to see off Hanna-chan today?”

Mine came over and asked. Jin nodded.

“In that case, I would like to go too to express my thanks for taking care of Elsa.”

“I see. Sure, let’s go together.”

As he knew what Mine was feeling, it was decided that after breakfast Jin, Hannah,

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 183 | 392
Mine, and Elsa would all go to Kaina Village.

The breakfast was bread with thin slices of smoked meat, salad, and Citran juice.

Hannah helped with making the salad, while Elsa sliced the smoked meat and
squeezed juice out of the Citran.

“It would be good to bring some Citran as a souvenir too.”

That’s what Jin was thinking about. On this island, or rather on both Hourai Island and
Kunlun Island Citran, Pelshka, Appleles, and so on grew fruit during all four seasons.
It was unknown whether that was because of the climate or some other reason.

Although Jin’s guess was that maybe it was the effect of the Mana contained
underground.

“Itadakima~su!”

Hannah started the breakfast for everyone.

“Hannah, after breakfast I’ll be taking you back to Kaina Village.”

“…Okay, got it.”

She looked a little lonesome, but Hannah meekly agreed. Mine saw Hannah like that
and,

“It’s alright, Hannah-chan. Because Auntie and Elsa will also come along.”

She said to comfort her.

“Eh, really? Auntie too? Ya~y!”

She seemed to have become surprisingly attached to Mine in a day.

After relaxedly tidying up post-meal Jin went to get Citrans from the refrigerator and

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 184 | 392
put them in a basket. At the very least there should be enough for everyone, Jin
thought.

Kaina Village had 29 houses. If each house had an average of three to four people, if he
brought 120 fruit that should be enough.

It wasn’t an amount a single person could carry, but by splitting up the amount with
four people– no, five people including Reiko carrying it wasn’t a big deal.

But as Jin was carrying Hannah on his back, in the end Reiko ended up carrying three
people’s worth fruit.

“Did you forget anything?”

Jin tried asking.

“Nope!”

Hannah’s lively reply could be heard.

“Well then, shall we go?”

And with that, the group headed to the Warp Gate room. Hannah of course was
blindfolded and on Jin’s back.

They warped in an instant.

Once they exited they found that the weather was clear in Kaina Village too. The time
was around half past seven.

First they headed towards the village chief’s house. Gheebeck was sweeping the front
of his house with a broom.

“Oh my, Jin, what’s the matter? Who is she?”

Gheebeck asked about Mine. Mine bowed courteously and spoke.

“Chief-sama, I presume. My name is Mine and I’m Elsa’s mother. It appeared that

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 185 | 392
earlier my daughter received your favour, so I thought I would come to offer my
thanks.”

“Very polite of you. In that case, Mine-sama and Jin are…?”

“Well, as Elsa is Jin-sama’s informally adopted sister I have no blood relation with him.”

“So that’s how it was. It seems you’ve got your own circumstances too.”

Perhaps due to wisdom brought by age, Gheebeck didn’t pry any further than that into
the matter.

“And so, it’s not much but we’ve brought these as souvenirs. I hope you’ll like them.”

Three baskets full of Citran were presented. The village chief stared at them in wonder.

“Oh, these are terrific. I’ve never seen this fruit before. I’ll gladly accept them. Should
I distribute them to the villagers too?”

“Yes, if you would like.”

Then Barbara turned up.

“Ah, good morning. Now, just what is this fruit?”

“They’re called Citran. They’re bittersweet and delicious!”

Hannah had been quiet while the village chief and Mine were talking, but now that
Barbara came she replied with a lively voice.

“Huh, Citran. Ah, they smell nice.”

Barbara took one and gave it a sniff, which made her smile. Jin thought this was the
right time and asked,

“Well then chief-san, could I ask you to distribute them?”

The village chief agreed with a ‘leave it to me’.

“In that case, I’ll be taking Hannah home after this. And so I’ll hand over the Citran to

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 186 | 392
Martha-san myself.”

“Hm, I understand.”

And thus, Jin’s group went to Hannah’s home. Just then Martha was finishing putting
the laundry to dry.

“Granny, I’m back~!”

“Oh my, welcome home Hannah. Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, a lot! You know, we went to the sea, and got onto a boat! It was fast!”

“Is that so, sounds fine.… Jin, she is?”

Martha also looked at Mine and asked who she was.

“Martha-san, I presume. My name is Mine. I’m Elsa’s mother. Thank you for taking care
of Elsa.”

Next to her, Elsa also bowed her head.

“Huh, so you’re Elsa-chan’s mother. You certainly look similar. But you don’t look like
Jin, do you?”

“Well, the truth is…”

Mine explained his relation with Jin to Martha too.

Meanwhile, Hannah brought the basket of Citran to the kitchen, then turned to Jin who
went there with her and,

“Can I eat one?”

She asked with upturned eyes. Jin smiled and nodded.

“Hooray~! Then, I’ll peel one for granny too!”

Hannah said and began peeling the Citran. The ripened Citran’s skin peeled off easily
even in Hannah’s hands.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 187 | 392
After quickly peeling one she took it and went to where Martha was.

“Granny, here, a souvenir!”

Martha and Mine had been talking about some things but when Hannah called out
they looked at her.

“Hannah, what’s this?”

“It’s a very delicious fruit, you know!”

“Is that so, thank you.… Uh huh, it is delicious indeed.”

“Right? We brought a lot so we can eat them later too!”

Hannah said and returned to the kitchen.

“What a good child, isn’t she.”

Mine said a few words while watching her go.

“Uh huh, I think she doesn’t look bad either, but if she stays in this village she’ll
probably just end up like me.”

Martha looked a little regretful. When she heard that, Mine began pondering a little.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 188 | 392
Jin was looking at the Citran left in Martha’s kitchen and reminiscing about what
happened last year.

In early summer, around the time it had become warm. Jin had thought he’d make a
refrigerator to preserve foods, but without yet having the means of returning to
Hourai Island he abandoned the plan due to a material shortage.

But now.

“Hmm, anything that makes life easier is alright… No way that’s the case.”

Although he was no longer a wanted man, he had a problem with Kaina Village
standing out too much.

“What should I do…”

Jin went outside and gazed at the spring scenery of the mountain range.

The snow on top of the low montains had already disappeared, but the tall mountains
seen far away were covered in firn.

“Snow, huh… That’s it!”

Jin returned to the dining room and asked Hannah who was gulping down the Citran,

“Hannah, does snow fall in this village?”

“Eh?”

Hannah who had been eating Citran couldn’t understand what Jin was getting after
and stared at him in puzzlement for quite a while.

“Jin-nii, ask a bit more properly.”

Somehow he ended up chided by Elsa.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 189 | 392
“Ah, my bad. Hannah, I wasn’t here during the midwinter so I don’t know. I was
wondering how much does it snow during the winters here?

This time he asked more clearly and Hannah also seemed to understand him.

“Well you see, until the year changes it doesn’t snow. But it snows in February and
March. But in March the snow melts soon while in February it doesn’t melt so it’s a big
problem.”

She told this to Jin.

Jin had been her until just before the end of the year. He hadn’t seen any snow piling
up, but apparently it doesn’t snow that much before the year changes.

“But you know, because this year we had the horsies onii-chan made for us, everyone
said that clearing the snow was easy.”

Jin heard that it apparently snowed so much that clearing it was necessary, and this
solidified his idea.

“Alright. Let’s make an icehouse.”

“A nice house?”

Elsa who was next to him asked for an explanation

“Ah, an icehouse is a hole or some such dug in the earth which is filled with snow,
which you can then use to preserve food. By filling it with snow in the winter it can be
used during warm summers. The only thing needed to set one up is labour.”

After hearing that Elsa raised her voice in admiration.

“Amazing idea. Is that from Jin-nii’s world too?”

“That’s right. Let’s first get permission to do it. Hannah, I’m going to the chief-san’s
place for a bit.”

Jin called out to Hannah. Hannah nodded. Elsa reseated herself next to her.

“Mh-hm, take care.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 190 | 392
Seen off by Elsa and Hannah, Jin went to the village chief’s house. Reiko silently
followed after Jin, but seeing him have fun she also broke into a smile.

The village’s housewives were gathered at the village chief’s house.

“Jin! I hear you brought souvenirs? Thanks!”

“They seem tasty, don’t they? I’ll go home at once and try eating them with my
children!”

“Come on, leave some for your husband.”

“I know, I know!”

And so on, the scene was bustling. Amidst all that the village chief Gheebeck came to
Jin and asked,

“Jin, can I help you with something?”

Jin then told him how he wanted to make an icehouse.

“Hmm, an ice house, huh. We’ve been storing vegetables and such by burying them in
the snow when there is some, but you’re talking about using it more proactively.
Indeed, being able to conserve food during hot summers would be helpful.”

“Jin, you’ve got to make one! It’s a problem that meat and such don’t keep well during
summers!”

“As expected from Jin! You’re so reliable.”

As not just the chief but the housewives who were there too gave him the approval,
only thing left was deciding the location.

Although it would be little by little, nonetheless as the snow melted it would turn to
water, so a place with good drainage or a low place in the village was wanted.

After a discussion, in the end it was decided that it would be built in the plaza where
there was a storehouse for wheat. Because centralizing the food management would
be convenient. Also, the drainage appeared to be good.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 191 | 392
“Alright, Gon, Gen, Reiko, lend me a hand.”

“Yes, Father.”

Jin then headed for the plaza where the storehouse for food would be. It was on the
east side of the village, and gently sloped downward towards the forest.

Jin decided to build the icehouse there in the southmost spot that was empty.

“Dig a hole over here similar to the shelter.”

He issued orders for Gon and Gen. As it was work they had already done once, they
were rather good at it even without explaining the details.

Moreover as this area wasn’t rocky, work progressed quickly.

He had Reiko assist by using the [Dig] spell, enlargening the hole.

Jin used [Hardening] to reinforce the hole’s walls.

With their coordinated work, the ice house was finished in less than two hours.

The icehouse itself was beyond a passage sloping downward, and it was about as large
as two elementary school class rooms.

He arranged stones to improve the flooring and drainage. The water would soak into
the ground through the crevices in the stone.

It ended up being about three meters underground, and as a result was also well-
insulated. An additional reason for the good insulation was probably the effect of the
dug up soil which had been piled up on top of the icehouse. Later when grass sprouted
there it would get even better.

“This is fine. Apart from installing the Magi Lamps which we can do later, snow is
what’s essential.”

At this time of the year the snow of Kaina village had all melted by now.

“I guess it has to be brought from the mountains… No.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 192 | 392
Wouldn’t it be fine to make the snow using magic?

Right then Elsa and Hannah turned up together.

“Onii-chan, it’s lunchtime… So, what have you made?”

“Hey Hannah. So it’s that late already. I guess I’ll come back for now. I’ll explain along
the way.”

Jin then left the icehouse for later and headed towards Martha’s house. En route, he
explained it so that it was easy for Hannah to understand too.

“Huh, storing snow. That’s got to be cool! Food can be stored there then!”

“Yeah, that’s right. From next year onwards it can be filled with the snow that falls on
the village. But it’s too late for that this year, so…”

Jin gave a glance at Elsa.

“?”

Elsa couldn’t understand the meaning of it at first, but she realized that Jin was having
her think about it by herself. Elsa wracked her brain and pondered.

And around the time Martha’s house was in sight.

“I got it. It’s alright to just make snow using magic.”

She spoke the correct answer.

After lunch, Jin asked Martha and Hannah to gather the villagers in the plaza with the
storehouses.

The villagers who hadn’t heard Jin’s earlier explanation were confused.

“Hey, Jin! Just what is this?”

As it was lunchtime the villagers had all returned to their homes, and as Jin had once
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 193 | 392
more made something they assembled at once. Once Jin confirmed most of the
villagers had gathered he began explaining.

“This is called an icehouse, and it’s filled with snow. By doing that, even when summer
comes there will be snow remaining. You can then use it to store foods that easily
spoil.”

It was a simple explanation, but its usefulness appeared to have been conveyed.

“Huh! That’s great! Meat spoiling quickly during the summers is a problem, so we’ve
been drying it or salting it, you see.”

“But, this year there’s not going to be any more snow or anything. Don’t tell me you’re
going to tell us to fetch it from the mountains?”

Jin smiled and replied.

“I won’t. As from next year on you can fill it with the snow that falls on the village, this
year…”

Jin then looked at Elsa.

“Elsa.”

“Yes.”

Elsa pointed towards the icehouse with her right hand and,

“[Snow Bullet].”

She cast a spell. It was an intermediate water attribute spell. Also, it was had the
elementary level ice attribute (derived from water attribute) in it.

Along with her chant, small beads of snow went flying towards the icehouse.

“Ooh!”

“Amazing!”

“I’ve never seen anything like it!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 194 | 392
“As expected of Jin’s sister! She’s a real beauty!”

“Oi, isn’t being a beauty irrelevant here?”

The villagers who saw that were all impressed and raised their voices. Not one of them
shirked or seemed to be afraid. Because everyone was already used to Jin being
outside the norm.

Incidentally, Jin couldn’t use attack-type magic like this (except by using his bracelet).
He could only reach the level of cooling overheated things with [Cooling] or creating
ice with [Ice].

As [Ice] could only produce ice it wasn’t suited the use of for putting food into holes
dug in it, and to have Elsa impress the villagers he had her do it.

Also thanks to the surplus Magic Energy stored in her bracelet, after about five
minutes the icehouse was full.

“Alright, that’s enough. Elsa, good work.”

Jin thanked Elsa while Gon and Gen tramped down the snow.

Then he said to the villagers,

“Now you can use the icehouse whenever you want. If you want to cool something
down you can also put it there. However, please make sure you always close the door.”

“Ooh, I understand! Are there any other things to pay attention to?”

“Let’s see. As you’re in the enclosed hole the air may turn bad so please pay attention
to it. If you feel like you’re choking then immediately get out.”

While saying this, Jin thought that for now he’d leave an assistant golem behind as a
countermeasure for oxygen deprivation. He’d have it pay attention to the health of the
people entering, and also it could assist with putting in and getting out the food.

“I understand. It’s already usable, right?”

“Yes.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 195 | 392
“All right! Let’s get all the guys with nothing to do and go hunting in the mountains!”

Said Rock, one of the older men.

“Let’s leave some alcohol to cool down so we can have a few drinks when we return!”

“You! You’re not allowed to drink too much!”

Today too in Kaina Village things were going as usual.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 196 | 392
A little bit before the Great Magic War.

There was a certain Magi Craftsman in Dinar Kingdom.

The Magi Craftsman announced himself as the second coming of the genius Magi
Craftsman Adrianna Balbora Ceci, and other people thought it wasn’t an exaggeration.

However, it was nothing more than him having acquired –by chance– a Template
Adrianna Balbora Ceci had left behind.

And the Template itself was something Adrianna herself would think to still be at an
incomplete level if she saw it.

But the people of this era didn’t know that.

The fact of the matter was that Adrianna Balbora Ceci was that much of a super-genius
ahead of her time.

Only once this era came finally appreciation for her ability appeared.

Using that Template, the man made an Automata.

She had not only fitting movements, speech, and thought for an Automata, but she
could also feel artificial emotions.

And although it was just for show, she could breathe and also had body temperature.
The result was good enough you could call her indistinguishable from a human.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 197 | 392
“Ooh, this is magnificent.”

“His works are on a different level, aren’t they?”

The nobles lauded her and everyone wanted to possess one of his Automata.

“Silver hair and blue eyes would be good. Her body should be tall, slender, and well-
proportioned, and I want the breasts to be big.”

“The hair’s got to be blonde and the eyes green, please. Have her figure be thin and the
chest be moderate too.”

The nobles had their own preferences for the looks. The Magi Craftsman varied the
appearance of the Automata according to the request.

“Hmm, now that it’s come to this making it’d be good if they could be enjoyed during
the nights too, but…”

Eventually he met even those demands.

At any rate, this was because being approved by other people and receiving
admiration were his reasons for living.

During the same era there was another, different Magi Craftsman.

He, no, she was also a genius. Actually, perhaps calling her the genius would be
appropriate.

However, maybe because of her talent her intentions became warped, and in her
madness she focused her manufacturing towards only building Automata.

She dedicated her whole life for building the supreme Automata.

Fortunately her house was prosperous, enough so that the assets wouldn’t run out
during her lifetime. She poured all of it into Automata manufacture.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 198 | 392
Be that as it may, her first one was shoddy and had a long way to go. Its movements
were slow, and it had difficulty speaking.

“Mas, ter, the tea, is, reedy.”

“Ready, you mean! How many times must I tell you!”

Every day she got irritated.

But she built ten, then twenty, and they gradually got more refined.

“Master, the meal preparations have been completed.”

Both the movements and the way of talking became non-inferior compared to
humans.

Along with that, she once again became the subject of conversations.

Automata manufacture commissions began incessantly pouring in for her.

But she still wasn’t satisfied. That was because in comparison to the hers, the
Automata of the Magi Craftsman who was the current talk of the town were more
popular.

That is to say, Adrianna Balbora Ceci was preferred to her.

She knew that the Automata that were all the rage then were all based on the Template
Adrianna had left behind.

She declined all the manufacture commissions, and she aimed for “an Automata that
has strength surpassing a golem”.

That became her next goal.

And the reason behind this was that the Automata built based on the Template left
behind by Adrianna Balbora Ceci were three times stronger than any human, so they

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 199 | 392
could even be useful as bodyguards.

“What’s Adrianna to speak of. I’ll show everyone that I’m superior to her!”

Following her goal, the Automata she built became stronger one after another. Despite
their appearance being that of a delicate woman, they boasted a strength over twice
that of conventional golems.

And yet she wasn’t satisfied.

An Automata surpassing all Automata, the queen of Automata. That was her next goal.

Appearance beautiful to the utmost. Graceful bearing. And mighty enough that once
she displayed it all the Automata would prostate themselves before her. Building such
an Automata became her dream.

For that reason she disassembled all the Automata she had made until now for
materials, and collected only the most superior components and brought them to life.

The Automata numbering over 100 were all scrapped by her.

But she accumulated the knowledge and intelligence contained in their Control Cores
into one.

Without even marrying, she devoted herself to nothing but building the Automata.

One day, a regular trader brought in a second hand Magi Crystal. It was a rather old
thing, and had some kind of a Control System inscribed in it.

She analyzed it.

“This is incredible! It appears to be over 600 years old, and yet as early as then there
was a movement formula like this!”

It was a Magi Formula written for a ‘special’ golem. After acquiring that her research
advanced greatly at once.

In addition the Magi Crystal had a purity so high obtaining a similar one in her era

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 200 | 392
would be difficult, and so she decided to reuse it after using [Erase].

By the time she had reached her 60s, she finished a single Automata. It was her
masterwork.

Its appearance was that of a girl in her late teens who had just reached adulthood. Its
height was neither tall nor short. Its hair was golden and its eyes a deep crimson.

“You are my proud daughter. You won’t lose even to Adrianna Balbora Ceci’s golems.”

At every opportunity she told the Automata that and adored it.

The Automata behaved as she had hoped for, no, better than she had hoped for.

“Mother, the weather is fine today so shall we go for a walk?”

It even had consideration for others like a human, no, as if it was also a human. More
than once a son of a noble fell in love with it at first sight and courted it.

That was characteristic of an Automata who had eyes made out of a Magi Crystal with
the [Charm] effect, the ‘Blood Crystal’.

If it so felt like, it could also use those eyes to cast the forbidden spells [Hypno],
[Seduce] and [Subliminal].

That was solely because of the woman’s madness. As she didn’t deem acceptable that
the Automata she built herself would serve people other than her.

In addition, the strength hidden beneath its surface was unfathomable. Probably even
if ten battle-type golems attacked it they wouldn’t be able to defeat the Automata.

It had not just strength, but speed, flexibility, and knew martial arts. In addition to all
that, it had an Adamantite short sword for self-defense.

Bestowed with magic, the excellent sword could even comfortably cut right through
steel. Coupled with the sword techniques of the Automata wielding it, the Automata
was nearly invincible.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 201 | 392
On the other hand, maybe because she had worked too hard ever since she was young,
she gradually lost her healthiness.

“Mother, today I’ve made gruel out of barley for you.”

The Automata gallantly cared for her, but her physique was weakening day by day.

“I’m no longer young. But having managed to build you is enough.”

The woman who had already become unable to get up from her bed said with a soft
voice.

“Mother, please don’t talk about sad things like that.”

The Automata said, but the woman slowly shook her head.

“Humans are beings who all meet their end in due time. We can’t live as long as your
like.”

Madness no longer dwelled in her eyes.

“Once I’m gone, live as you’d like. You are my masterwork. You are the queen of
Automata.”

“Mother…”

“My… daughter. You are the best…”

Once she had spoken that much, there was a sudden change in her state. Blood came
out of her lungs and blocked her throat.

Making nothing more than gurgling sounds, the question of how she would’ve
continued became an eternal mystery.

That was the night she passed away.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 202 | 392
“‘You are the best’… That is Mother’s wish.”

The Automata burned those words into its memory, no, its Control Core. She had said
‘the best’, but there was no longer any way of knowing just what she had meant by
that.

At that moment, maybe because of the fickle finger of fate, maybe because the [Erase]
had been imperfect, a part of the Magi Formula that was supposed to have been erased
was restored.

The contents of it uneventfully overlapped with the Magi Formula the woman had
written, and then they spontaneously united.

What the Automata ought to do.

It should win against Adrianna Balbora Ceci, in other words overpower all the golems
she had made.

To become the best meant to ‘rise above everything that existed’ in this world.

The Automata had vast amounts on information. It also had the mansion the woman
had left behind.

The Automata began working out a plan on how to rise to the top of all creation…

Her first victim was the Magi Craftsman said to be Adrianna Balbora Ceci’s second
coming.

A maid who had become suspicious of her master who didn’t wake up no matter how
much time passed went to check on him and found him dead in his bed.

After that there was an incident where all the Automata he had handled were
destroyed one after another.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 203 | 392
As their owners had been mostly nobles, their mansions had gatekeepers and inside
there were guards and security personnel.

Despite that before they knew it, one morning the Automata were found scattered
about with their limbs and heads torn off.

More than one noble hired magi to place a barrier to cover their houses, all for nothing.
As if ridiculing such measures the culprit easily infiltrated the houses, destroyed the
Automata without anyone noticing, and then once again were gone like the wind.

What was mysterious was that despite there having been guards in the same room as
the Automata, in countless cases before they knew it the guards found the Automata
destroyed.

The guards testified that none of them had seen the culprit’s figure. There was even a
case where an Automata in the same bed as the noble who owned it was destroyed
without the noble in question noticing.

There were guesses that it might’ve been caused by the forbidden curse [Hypno] but
there was no evidence of it. This was because no traces of [Hypno] having been used
on the supposed victims were found.

The incident went unsolved and continued until all the Automata the dead Magi
Craftsman had built were destroyed.

Much later it was established that a magic called [Seduce], which could turn one’s
focus towards a specific action, was used.

Five years after that, the Great Magic War broke out.

Many Automata and golems were made.

All of them were sent out to the battlefield.

It was a time when Templates left behind by Adrianna Balbora Ceci were rediscovered,
then Automata and Golems based on them were built and greatly flourished.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 204 | 392
Automata were mass produced and they performed chores in the front lines. Of
course, golems fought at the forefront.

In the middle of it all, a mysterious incident occurred.

At first the soldier who witnessed it thought it was a dream.

This was because a girl with fluttering golden hair slaughtered their army of battle-
type golems one after another.

Behind her the devil race gradually pushed on. Even if it was a dream, it was a
nightmare.

The Great Magic War was fiercely settled.

In a location far away from the site of a bloody battle, one Automata had ceased
moving but there was no one to pay attention to it.

The Automata who had lost its left arm was already just like scrap.

But the Automata was still ‘alive’.

It knew with its own body that she could not resist the power by herself.

Waiting for the next chance, the Automata went into hibernation.

It decided on the rule that it would next wake up when a human touched her, then
sealed the entrance.

“Let’s be more successful next time. Yes, with [Seduce], [Hypno] and [Subliminal]. It
should be better to set humans against humans.”

That’s how she made up her mind…

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 205 | 392
Reinhardt was having a talk with Celuroa Kingdom’s Magi Craftsman Donald and the
Automata Elena.

Now it was about the structure of golems.

“That’s true, modern golems are simplistic. Their build is crude. Golems of old had
more work put into them.”

Elena said.

“I agree. Golems and Automata are modeled after humans. So why not copy the
structure of a human’s body?”

Reinhardt whose tongue had unwittingly become loose said, and he could’ve sworn
he saw a light glittering in Elena’s eyes.

“Reinhardt-sama. I heard from Donald-sama. That among other things, you’ve become
able to build golems with skeletons.”

“Yes, but I was using Soft Magi Resin until lately, you see. Then I realized that’s no
good.”

Elena kept staring intently at Reinhardt.

“Was that one of your ideas, Reinhardt-sama? Or did have some sort of a model?”

Once she asked the question, Elena’s eyes slightly narrowed.

“Well, Ji-… Adrianna Balbora Ceci made golems like that, I hear.”

He nearly blurted out Jin’s name, but Reinhardt hurriedly said something negating it.
But once Elena heard him her expression changed.

“Adrianna, you say!?… You mean even after one thousand years that woman stands in

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 206 | 392
my way!”

“…Eh?”

Her deep crimson eyes shone like they were on fire. Not only did Reinhardt feel the
weak haze lift, the haze that had been clouding his mind until now, but sensing himself
in danger he was about to stand up. But Elena was much faster.

In an instant she sent the table flying and closed in upon Reinhardt. Her hand reached
towards his throat to strangle him, and at that very moment.

“I won’t let you!”

The SP protecting Reinhardt, Sage and Cosmos made their appearance and stopped
Elena.

“Wha–! These movements, this wavelength, they’re Adrianna’s!”

Elena shouted and changed targets from Reinhardt to the two SP golems.

Reinhardt activated Schwarz Ritter ‘Noir’ who was left in the corner of the room.

On the other side, Donald and his golem number 457 were Reinhardt’s opponents.

Facing the two golems Sage and Cosmos, Elena was having a hard fight. Actually, she
was slightly superior.

“He-he, so you’re nothing more than this after all. You used to be stronger, Adrianna!”

Elena said to no one in particular, and while throwing out lines like that toyed with
Sage and Cosmos.

“What the!”

At that time, having heard the clamor in the room the three military escorts on standby
in the hallway rushed in. Seeing them, Donald said,

“Number 457.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 207 | 392
He gave an order without voicing it. That very moment.

“Aargh!”

[Flame Bullet]s were fired out of number 457’s hand. There actually were 60 shots.

The 20 [Flame Bullets] shot at each of the three military escorts hit them and pierced
their heads, chests, shoulders, abdomens, and both arms and legs, reaping their lives
in an instant.

“You bastard! [Flame Ball]!”

Seeing that, Reinhardt shot a [Flame Ball] at Donald. [Flame Ball] was a ball of flames
with a diameter of one meter. It wasn’t a spell you would normally use indoors.

And yet, the fireball of the approaching [Flame Ball] was simply completely erased
when it hit number 457’s palm.

“What…?”

“Ha ha ha, how unfortunate, Reinhardt-kun. I wanted to win you over and become one
of my colleagues, but as Elena’s become like that it’s impossible. Now there’s only one
path for me to take. I’ll have you die for the sake of our future.”

Donald said and then gave orders to number 457.

“Kill Reinhardt!”

“As if I’d be done in that easily! Noir, attack!”

Now the two battles of Schwarz Ritter Noir versus golem number 457 and the SP Sage
and Cosmos versus Elena had begun.

Sage and Cosmos were having a hard fight. Even though they were bestowed with the
martial arts of a veteran spy, they weren’t a match for Elena.

“How audacious, you pieces of trash!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 208 | 392
Nevertheless, as it was two versus one they were narrowly able to stay even. In
addition, the movements of Elena’s left arm were somewhat worse compared to her
right one, and because of that they could somehow use that gap to strike.

However, Elena was superior in both speed and strength. The reason Sage and Cosmos
were able keep on fighting without receiving fatal blows was simply that being the
same type they could cooperate in opposing Elena.

On the other side, the fight between Noir and number 457 kept going as they knocked
down walls.

Noir was superior in strength and speed. He was facing number 457 who had a good
grasp of fighting techniques and magic.

Just now, the Wind Cutter number 457 had fired had destroyed even more walls.

“Wha-what’s going on!?”

A person in the inn heard the noise and came to the scene but,

“A-aagh!”

Once they saw the unfolding fight of the golems in the cramped room they quickly
turned around and escaped.

“Reinhardt!”

Then Matheus came running with ten of his subordinates with him. Three of them
were magi.

“Ah, Matheus!”

“What in the world is going on here?”

“I don’t know either. They suddenly attacked me.”

Donald had said he had wanted to win Reinhardt over to become his colleague, but
right now having no evidence he hesitated to speak of it.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 209 | 392
“Donald Carou Alpha! Rampaging after a diplomat of Shouro Empire, are you insane!?”

Just in case Matheus called out to him, but Donald didn’t appear to liten to him at all.

“I never would’ve thought of it but, is it [Seduce]…?”

The one who replied to Reinhardt’s muttering was Elena.

“You even know about [Seduce], I see! More and more reasons why you can’t be left
alive!”

She said and in an instant faced towards Sage and Cosmos then flung them away. The
two fell down on top of each other.

Taking that small chance Elena approached Reinhardt and fired a [Wind Slash].

She expected the invisible wind blades to tear Reinhardt to pieces, but contrary to her
expectations the wind blades burst open and disappeared before hitting Reinhardt.

“Wha–!”

They were obstructed by the [Barrier] Reinhardt had activated as soon as the fighting
began.

“Whoa, I’m grateful for Jin.”

Reinhardt felt relieved from the bottom of his heart.

Seeing the [Wind Slash] be defended against, Elena stopped moving briefly and Sage
seized her.

Twisting her left arm, she threw Elena seoi-nage-style. In the direction where she was
thrown at there was a window. Elena smashed through the window and flew outside.

This was the second floor. However, Elena fixed her posture mid-air and landed safely.
She then yelled loudly.

“Donald! We’re done here! We know their real strength so let’s withdraw!”

Donald heard her. But right now he was surrounded by Matheus’s subordinates.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 210 | 392
Golem number 457 being taken on by Schwarz Ritter Noir, Sage, and Cosmos and was
being held down.

“Donald Carou Alpha! As you’ve been caught red-handed assaulting Shouro Empire’s
diplomat you shall be restrained!”

Matheus proclaimed and ordered his subordinates to go tie up Donald.

“Mw–Mmwahahaha… You think you can catch me like this?”

Despite having been bound Donald’s fearless attitude wasn’t disturbed.

“Did you think I’d have come here without any backup behind me?”

While he was still finishing his speech the wall to a nearby corridor collapsed and ten
golems came rushing in.

“Uwah!”

“Matheus!”

Matheus and his ten subordinates weren’t fast enough and were blown away. Next
Noir, Sage, and Cosmos were. They were completely taken by surprise.

“Mwahaha, this is my true power! As if Schwarz Ritter and some mysterious golems
would be a match for me.”

Donald sat on Number 457’s shoulders and sneered at all those present.

“You bastard are a Unifier, aren’t you?”

Reinhardt spoke, but rather than a question it was closer to an affirmation.

“Mwa, ha, ha, that’s correct. I am the second seat of the Unifiers. ‘The Sage Who Knows
The Past’ Donald Carou.”

Donald was behaving haughtily as if he had already won.

“Knows the past, you say?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 211 | 392
“Yes, that’s right. Before the Great Magic War, magic and magic technologies were
much more advanced than now. Getting back to that era is our noble goal.”

“Shut up! Just for that you’re arrogantly causing war and tormenting innocent people!”

“Ha ha, people who can’t use magic are an inferior race after all. Although our numbers
were reduced by the Great Magic War, we magi are born to be leaders.”

Madness showed through his voice.

“You fanatic!”

“You can call me whatever. After all, it’s nothing more than the whining of a loser.
That’s why it’s a shame. Reinhardt-kun, you had the qualifications to be one of our
comrades.”

“I’d refuse even if you asked. I know of something even more incredible.”

Donald’s interest appeared to be piqued by what Reinhardt said.

“Hmh, and what is that?”

Reinhardt took a deep breath and replied.

“It’s the future.”

“What?”

Donald was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

“You who are haunted by the ghosts of the past don’t know. Magic is indeed useful. But
it’s not absolute. Outside of magic, there are forces in this world that should be
understood and used.”

“Forces that should be understood and used, you say?”

“One day, a time comes when you too will understand, I hope. Although at that time
it’ll be too late, understanding is enough.”

Reinhardt looked Donald directly in the eyes and told him.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 212 | 392
“Hmph, what nonsense. The time for words is over. Golems, crush them.”

Donald gave the order. Matheus also ordered his subordinates.

“Attack!”

Ten golems attacked them. Meeting the enemy was Reinhardt, Matheus, the ten
soldiers, Schwarz Ritter Noir, Sage, and Cosmos.

The fight didn’t last long.

The SP were carefully made by Jin. Although made by Donald, the numberless golems
were not a match for them. And they were already known to be as strong as Elena.

Noir also participated. Even Matheus’s subordinates fought hard, and in less than five
minutes the ten golems were silenced.

But Donald and golem number 457 had disappeared.

“What in the world was that?”

Finally the situation was so that Matheus and Reinhardt were able to calm down and
have a talk.

“They were Unifiers. So, they came to kill me.”

“That’s why I advised you to not stay in an inn like this, but in the supply base, didn’t
I?”

Matheus gave his honest opinion.

“No, that place is a little… come on, you know he’s there, right?”

As if objecting, Reinhardt rambled about something he seemed hesitant to talk about.

“…Well, I know how you feel. I also dislike major Fritz. But isn’t your life more
important than that?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 213 | 392
“Well…”

Reinhardt thought that he could do nothing but follow his friend’s advice.

On top of that, realizing that the ManaCom he got from Jin had been broken, he felt
down.

Without understanding the reason why Reinhardt looked to be so low in spirits,

Matheus looked like he know how it was and gave a pat on Reinhardt’s shoulder.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 214 | 392
After finishing building the icehouse, Jin returned to Martha’s house.

At lunchtime, he was told that Mine had something she wanted to talk to him about.

“So, what is it?”

Jin, Mine, Elsa, Martha, and Hannah were sitting around the table in Martha’s dining
room.

“Yes, to tell you the truth, me and Elsa thought we’d like to live in this village?”

“Pardon?”

As you might expect, this sudden thing surprised Jin.

“I had a talk with Martha-san and the outcome was that we could live in this house.”

Martha then continued explaining for Mine.

“We talked about many things. Mine-san said she can read and write, can’t she? Once
she gets used to the village she could someday teach the children how to read and
write, I think.”

Jin understood.

“Ah, that would be good, wouldn’t it. It’s never a bad thing to know how to read and
write.”

“I’m also good at patching up clothes, and also I think I could somehow make a living
by sewing western-style clothes.”

There was also many things she thought she could help at, said Mine and brought the
explanation to an end. Then right after,

“I’d feel sorry if we forever stayed in your care, you see?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 215 | 392
“Ya~y! Auntie, you’re going to stay here?”

Hannah who had been silent until now spoke up.

“Yes, that’s correct. Is it alright?”

“Yeah! I’m glad! Onee-chan too?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Right Elsa?”

“Mm, of course.”

Perhaps they had discussed it beforehand as Elsa’s reply was also immediate.

Jin smiled and watched the two.

“I see, if you’ve both decided then there’s nothing for me to say. Instead I’ll support
you.”

“Thank you very much, Jin-sama.”

“Thanks, Jin-nii.”

“In that case things are going to get busy. First of all, we’ve got to bring your luggage.
After that tidy up the room, I suppose?”

Jin said, then Martha spoke while smiling.

“Jin, I’ll take care of the room so you just bring the luggage here.”

“Got it.”

Then Jin and Mine decided to return to Kunlun Island to pick up the luggage. Of course
Reiko followed them. Elsa ended up waiting with Hannah.

Using Koma and another golem horse they went to the shelter, warped to Kunlun
Island through Hourai Island, then Mine quickly began packing.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 216 | 392
Although that didn’t mean they had a lot of items to begin with. Perhaps roughly
enough to fill three suitcases.

“Sorry for the wait, Jin-sama.”

Seeing her carry large luggage in both her hands and on her back Jin said,

“Reiko, please carry one of them.”

He also carried one, having to half-forcibly take it from Mine.

“Sorry, and thank you.”

Mine apologized but Jin smiled and kept carrying the luggage. It was rather difficult
but his pride didn’t let it show.

Returning to Kaina Village was comfortable as the golem horses were waiting at the
shelter.

They returned to Martha’s house where the room had already been cleaned. It seemed
to be the room which Martha’s son and his wife had used.

Incidentally, the room Jin was using was the guest room. As Hannah had lost both her
parents she lived in the same room with Martha.

With Reiko also helping, putting the luggage in order was soon over.

“If you need anything then please tell me.”

Jin said and Mine nodded happily and,

“Yes, when that time comes we’ll be relying on you.”

She said. Elsa also looked vaguely relieved.

Because the number of family members suddenly increased there probably wasn’t
enough wheat, barley, and such stocked up, Jin thought and this time returned to
Hourai Island by himself. Of course, Reiko was with him.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 217 | 392
“Hmm, I suppose I’ll have golems dedicated to following them too in case anything
happens.”

Slowly Jin began his normal operations.

He made a golem with the same specifications as the golem maids. But he decided to
add a bit more customisations to it.

As for the details of it, they were things to increase combat strength when the situation
calls for it. Specifically, he built in a Paralyzer in the left hand and a Magi Jammer in
the right one.

Besides them, it could also use [Shock] which Jin had thought was [Stun] all this time
and [Induction].

He also equipped it with a [Stealth] function and a [Magic Barrier]. Of course, it had
an internal ManaCom.

Its clothes were the standard clothes of Hourai Island’s maid golems. That is, they
were made out of a Ground Spider’s woven silk.

He gave a go to making its eyes out of the same Magi Obsidian as Reiko’s eyes were.

“Reiko has them also like that, but Magi Obsidian has the light and dark attributes. The
part biased towards dark is the best for absorbing light, or ‘seeing’, huh~”

While having a soliloquy like that with no one in particular, Jin finished the
customisations.

“Activate, naming,… ’Sara’.”

“Yes, Master. I’m ‘Sara’.”

It didn’t seem like a bad name for female-type golem, but the secret only Jin knew was
that he named her after the word for a plate, sara.

“Alright, it may be hasty but Sara, please fetch one sack of barley and wheat each from
the storehouse.”

“Understood.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 218 | 392
Thanks to the transferred information Sara knew where to go for the storehouse on
Hourai Island.

Recently Laojun had ordered a portion of the Quinta to make an effort for stockpiling
food, so wheat and such were stocked rather plentifully.

And then there was something he remembered while building Sara. It was that he
hadn’t added protection against the [Subordination Rewriting Magic] to Hannah’s
favorite horse Mint.

At the same time he prepared the necessary materials for that too.

“Master, you’re back?”

Ann then came along.

“Has Laojun reported to you?”

When so asked Jin shook his head.

“Nope, not at all.”

“Is that so. It’s not urgent but there are a few things to report. Would you like to hear
them?”

“Hmm, let’s see. If they’re not urgent then I’ll listen after I’ve gone to Kaina Village and
come back again.”

Jin said, then Ann nodded and,

“Understood. Then I’ll be going to review the data and such.”

She said and left the room. Jin looked at her as she left and said,

“Mh-hm, please do.”

Just then as Ann’s replacement Sara came back. She was carrying sacks of wheat and
barley on her shoulders.

“Alright, shall we go then?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 219 | 392
In her house, Martha had a wry smile as Jin expressly brought them wheat.

“You’re too kind, Jin. But I’ll accept them as you went through the trouble.”

Martha didn’t particularly want to, but she judged that by accepting the sacks Elsa and
Mine didn’t need to feel ill at ease.

“So, I thought I’d also give a go at building you a personal maid golem.”

Jin said and introduced Sara.

“My name is Sara, pleased to meet you.”

“Oh my goodness, what a thing. Aren’t you getting carried away, Jin?”

“Mu-much obliged.”

Martha’s smile got even wryer. Even Mine didn’t seem to have expected that one day
she –who was originally a maid herself– would have her own maid, albeit a golem.
Hannah also stared in wonder.

Well, a lot happened but they eventually decided on the priority of their command
authority. The manufacturer Jin was another thing, but the result of their talk was the
order of Martha, Mine, Elsa, and Hannah.

“But a maid just for us, it’s really something only Jin would do, isn’t it?”

Martha was still talking.

“Well, she’ll be useful with physical labor and such too.”

Because of the customisations she was stronger than the five-colored maid golems by
a half. Usually it kept itself at the strength of two people, but it could be as strong as
about ten people if needed.

It seemed unimaginable from the outward appearance.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 220 | 392
“Well, I suppose I can have her take care of the house-sitting too.”

Martha smiled and said. She must’ve thought that it’d be convenient if guests came
when she was working in the fields or otherwise absent.

You could say that her not relying on it even if it proved to be useful was one of Kaina
Village’s virtues.

“I suppose you can just think of it as a housewarming present from me.”

Jin said and also smiled.

He then went on to remodel and do maintenance on Hannah’s Mint. Elsa was looking
at his work very interestedly. Hannah was looking at Sara together with Mine.

“Is that the countermeasure against [Subordination Rewriting Magic]?”

Elsa asked.

“Yes, that’s right. Well, it probably won’t be seen here but just in case, right?.”

“Mmh, it’s a terrible thing. The countermeasures are a must.”

Elsa who had witnessed the harm it caused firsthand strongly agreed.

“Alright, it’s done now. Next, I’ll leave a golem horse for you to use here Elsa, so please
give it a name.”

Jin said and pointed at a golem horse made out of cupronickel.

“Eh? For me?”

Jin nodded. Elsa’s face slightly blushed and,

“In that case, ‘Snow'”

She named it.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 221 | 392
Jin was curious as he had been told Laojun had reports for him so,

“I’ve got something to do for a bit.”

He said and excused himself from Hannah and the others and returned to Hourai
Island before the evening.

Hannah appeared to be sleeping with Mine so he didn’t have to worry.

“Laojun, the reports please.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

Laojun began the reports. First he said with regards to the aircraft carrier’s state of
progress that construction had begun. Then he spoke regarding the state of the mass
production of the golems’ weapons: the Vibration Blades, Paralyzers, and Magi
Jammers.

And about how the Mermaid unit had found resources at the bottom of the ocean.
They were in the middle of prospecting to find out if anything could be dug out.

Then,

“We learned as a result of the investigations on whether or not Celuroa Kingdom’s

administrations’ important personnel are affected by [Hypno] or [Seduce] that most
of the people appeared to be under some kind of influence.”

He reported.

“What… the…”

The situation was alarming.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 222 | 392
“Apologies for getting the order of the reports mixed up, but incidentally we’ve
confirmed that by means of Magic Energy pattern detection it is possible to
distinguish whether or not magic of the mental manipulation type has been used on a
given subject.”

“What? That’s good news, huh.”

In the middle of bad news there was this large development.

“When monitoring the Magic Energy Pattern, the normal response is usually a flat
status which in an agitated state becomes a pattern with peaks. If the mind is under
manipulation then the status stays flat constantly. However, its level is as high as when
in an agitated state.”

Hearing that, Jin nodded like he understood.

“I think I understand. It’s something like always being in an agitated state.”

“Yes. It’s possible to use the [Shock] magic to dispel it. It doesn’t seem necessary to
expressly agitate them as it was stated earlier.”

It seemed that Laojun had experimented on clearly affected people. According to him
they recovered without any after-effects.

“Well, leaving aside the right and wrong of human experimentation, you’ve done well.
From now on doing things will become easier.”

“Thank you very much. And then…”

Laojun told Jin more bad news.

“Reinhardt-sama was attacked. Only some time ago did the SP protecting Reinhardt-
sama report.”

“What! Tell me the details.”

Then Laojun explained to him about Reinhardt’s meeting with the Magi Craftsman
named Donald and the Automata named Elena, about how Elena’s attitude suddenly
changed partway through, and about how the SP, Elena, and Donald’s golems fought.
And that Reinhardt himself was safe. And then about how Donald was the second seat
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 223 | 392
of the Unifiers.

Finally he said that because the ManaCom given to Reinhardt had been accidentally
broken the contact came from the SP protecting Reinhardt.

“I see, so I’ve got to give him a ManaCom again, huh.”

“Reinhardt-sama himself has moved to stay in Shouro Empire’s supply base

accompanied by Matheus-sama and his subordinates.”

Laojun said, bringing the explanation to an end.

Jin felt relieved that Reinhardt was saved along with feeling his anger towards the
Unifiers resurface.

“They can’t be tolerated any more, huh.”

He then thought he should give Reinhardt a new ManaCom as soon as possible along
with remodeling Sage and Cosmos who were protecting him to be more powerful.

“Even so, that Automata Elena or something seems to be quite the thing. Although the
SP aren’t that powerful, she can fight evenly or better against two of them.”

“Did you find out what this Automata is like?”

Ann who had been silently listening until now suddenly cut in. Laojun answered her
question.

“Yes. It seems she has golden hair, crimson eyes, white skin, and outwardly appears to
be at an age between a girl and an adult woman.”

After hearing that the tone of Ann’s voice rose.

“That’s! It’s her!”

“Her?”

Interested in what Ann said, Jin instructed her to explain.

“I said ‘her’ because her name wasn’t known. Just before and in the early days of the

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 224 | 392
Great Magic war, there was a mysterious golem appearing frequently. She looked just
like a human and completely destroyed golems and Automata built by people mostly
indiscriminately.”

“What the?”

“Having said that the Automata was no ally of the devil race, as she also brought down
countless of them who meddled in her affairs.”

“Hmm, I wonder if she’s got an objective of any kind?”

“That’s unknown. A part of the soldiers took to calling her the ‘Golden Princess of
Destruction’ though. ”

“The Golden Princess of Destruction, is it? Just from what I’ve heard I get the feeling
like she’s gone berserk.”

Jin said as he knit his brows, and Reiko who was at his side also agreed.

“That seems to be the case, I can vaguely imagine it. Surely that Automata is running
wild because she has no Master.”

When Reiko said it it sounded somewhat credible.

“In which case that Automata wasn’t made by that Donald guy, but is from much earlier
right?”

“Yes, it’s surely something made before the Great Magic War.”

Ann brought the question to a close.

“Hmm, why is an Automata like that together with the second seat of the Unifiers?”

Jin wracked his brains but an answer didn’t come.

Then more bad news came in.

“My Lord, just now a report came from Regulus-2, the Quinta dispatched to Cline
Kingdom’s capital Alban.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 225 | 392
“Mh-hm, so?”

“Cline Kingdom has proclaimed a state of emergency and decreed for the nobles
holding territory to organize their troops it seems.”

“Eh?”

“Frantz Kingdom’s invasion is gradually progressing, and this is thought to be for

opposing them.”

The look on Jin’s face became even more complex.

“In other words, they’re saying to conscript the people of the domain as soldiers, huh.
Even though farmwork is supposed to get busy after this!”

Even supposing that they won, because of the decline in production of agricultural
produce they surely wouldn’t be able to avoid the decline of national power.

“War, what a thoroughly stupid act. If you’re going to do that why not have just the
people who want war to have a go at it.”

Jin said as if spitting it out.

“I wonder if I should soon go mix up the battlefield.”

That’s the only thing Jin thought about.

“The reason why Kaina Village lost population was war, wasn’t it. And that one
village…”

Jin remembered the sight of the depopulated village he had seen while on his trip with
Reinhardt and company.

“Right, surely even Lithia has been recruited.”

The girl who had asked Jin “I… am I fine the way I am right now…?”. The girl who had
yelled “As a 《Ritter》 I’ll protect everyone!” and assaulted a golem with a sword.

“As things are, surely even Egelia Kingdom won’t safely get away with things, huh…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 226 | 392
Prince Ernest and his favorite Lotte whom Jin made for him. The naturally airheaded
and clumsy Royal Secret Maid Laila.

Earl Kuzuma from Blue Land and his fiancee Beana.

It wasn’t unthinkable that maybe even Elias Kingdom would be endangered. Jin was
reminded of the Shipwright Marcia.

There were other people he had met during the trip. Schiede and her family whom he
met in the mine in Yada Village. The children of Moft Village.

“If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it…”

Jin began thinking along those lines.

“Master, you’re not trying to win the war but to stop it, right?”

Ann asked to confirm. Those words reminded Jin of a scene.

A long time ago, in the orphanage. Back then two young children had become totally
engrossed in a game, lost their cool from winning or losing, and in the end it appeared
to be turning into a fight.

“If you can’t get along then you don’t get to play games!”

The director-sensei picked up the game and threw it against a rock breaking it to
pieces.

“I bought the game for you to have fun and play with, but if the game’s going to cause
conflict between you then I absolutely won’t let you play it anymore.”

The director-sensei firmly said so, and the children who had been fighting cried and
apologized.

Afterwards, Jin used the money from his part-time job to once more buy them the
game console that had been broken, but the children never fought again.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 227 | 392
“Well, whether or not they can get along depends on the countries’ disposition, I
wonder if they can do it if I make them stop.”

“Father?”

Perhaps vaguely suspecting that Jin was going to instigate something dangerous,
Reiko pulled the sleeve of Jin’s coat.

“Ah, um, it’s alright, Reiko. What I’m going to attempt to do after this is something out
of the question without you.”

Jin then explained his plan.

After listening to it Reiko gave a large nod and,

“Please leave it to me.”

She replied, puffed up with pride. Then,

“Father, please just stay on Hourai Island and send instructions, alright?”

She smiled cheerfully and said.

Jin planned to use the substitute puppet he had made earlier so he meekly agreed.

“Yeah. I’ll issue instructions through the substitute puppet.… Oh right, it doesn’t
particularly need to look like me, does it?”

Intervening without revealing who he was what Jin had already thought earlier. But
upon further thought he realized that it would be convenient for what he would do
next if the puppet didn’t resemble Jin.

Jin then urgently began tampering with the substitute puppet’s appearance.

From black hair to silver hair. From black eyes to blue eyes. The height was also
lengthened to 180 centimeters.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t resemble Jin at all.

“Alright, this will do. Next is…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 228 | 392
Jin began preparing the equipment he needed to carry out his plan at a quick pace.

“Next is, oh yes, improving the [Induction] Magi Tool.”

Having the Smith golems assisting him, the preparations were completed in a short
time.

Then once Jin saw that all the preparations were in good order he gave orders to
Laojun.

“Have Reiko take out Titan Mk.2. If the situation calls for it I’ll move Titan Mk.3”

Mk.2 was the type controlled by a person inside it, and Mk.3 was the remote-
controlled type.

“Understood. The construction of a submersible base in Celuroa Kingdom’s Lake Azul

equipped with a gigantic Warp Gate has been taken care of.”

“A submersible base?”

Jin asked for an explanation for the term he wasn’t used to hearing.

“Yes. The submersible base is usually hidden down at the bottom of the lake, but at
times of emergency it can rise up to the surface and become a base with a Warp Gate
fit for use.”

Jin was impressed after hearing that.

Lake Azul was in Celuroa Kingdom but its location was by the border of Frantz
Kingdom, and Cline Kingdom wasn’t far either.

“It isn’t possible to warp a Titan or a plane carrying one to the ruins of the 8th
subdivision, you see.”

“Hmm, if I built it myself it could somehow be done but, Laojun, good work.”

“I am thankful. Therefore, please name the airplanes that transport the Titans.”

Laojun said and had two large planes land on the plaza in front of the research
laboratory.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 229 | 392
“Ooh, so these are the Titan carriers, huh.”

They were planes equipped with strange-looking Magi Jet Engines. The diameter of
the Magi Jet Engines was bizarrely large contrasted with their short length.

If normal Magi Jet Engines were tubular, these were rings.

As rather than a new thing they were a variation of an old one, so making them was
within Laojun’s authority.

Jin viewed them and gave his impressions.

“I see, so they can’t go fast but they’re powerful.”

“Yes. I took the liberty of researching them myself.”

Hearing that Jin was even more pleased.

“Good job, Laojun. Please help me like this afterwards too.… So, a name, huh. Hmm…”

Jin once more looked at the planes.

There were four giant Magi Jet Engines that looked like they were floating, arranged
in a square from top-down perspective, and the propulsion was done with four small
Magi Jet Engines.

In the middle of the square a part like a swing harness came down, on which the Titan
would ride.

“Alright, the name’s ‘Condor’.”

“Understood. Condor-1, Condor-2. Preparations are complete. Ready for takeoff at any
time.”

“Alright, we’ve got plenty of time, huh. Pick up Titan Mk.2 with Condor-1 and depart
tomorrow. Sortie and board the Army golems on the Raptors and Falcons.”

“This is Laojun, roger. Raptors from 1 to 10, Falcons from 1 to 10 prepare for takeoff.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 230 | 392
Jin had the Smith golems put on board the Magi Tools he had made just now. Once that
was done with, Laojun gave orders to the Army golems.

“Land units from 11 to 90, take your provided weapons and assemble.”

Late at night on the 21st of April.

At last, Hourai Island started to move.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 231 | 392
On the 22nd of April, at Egelia Kingdom’s capital Asunto.

The castle walls rose to a height of ten meters, and the Magi Formula inscribed on it
gave it resistance to magic.

This wall was thought to be impregnable, protecting the castle inside against all
outside invaders.

That is, until this very morning.

“Good morning. Shift change.”

“Good morning. Everything’s normal. I’ll leave it to you.”

At sunrise, the soldiers guarding the castle gate had a shift change. The cities around
the country borders were being exposed to the horrors of war, but the imperial castle
was still supposed to be peaceful.

Suddenly a fireball came flying in and caused an explosion. It was a [Flame Ball].

“Wh– what’s going on!”

Even the soldiers who had been in the guardroom turned up. Then another [Flame
Ball] came flying.

“U–uaaaahh!”

“Aaaaargh!”

Two soldiers who were not only without shields but without even armor took a blow
from the [Flame Ball] at point-blank range.

A third [Flame ball] then directly hit the soldiers’ lodging house.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 232 | 392
It was only then when they had the leeway for ascertaining where the [Flame Ball]s
had flown in from. They came from above.

“Wh, what is that…”

“It can’t be…”

The soldiers saw a mysterious vehicle floating in the air. It looked like a large ball with
a basket attached underneath.

Five of them were floating in the air.

The same day.

The fight between Frantz Kingdom’s army and Cline Kingdom’s army was continuing
with the dominance of Frantz Kingdom’s army.

The army of Frantz Kingdom’s which captured Storsk then made Glaisher fall,
occupied Coshes, and was now currently approaching the provincial city of Tetrada.

Tetrada was made to be more or less a fort city, and Cline Kingdom’s third chivalric
order was there to meet the enemy.

Lithia Fahlheit’s father, the deputy leader Nicholas Fahlheit was standing in for the
leader who had been wounded in a battle some days ago and had taken command
here.

“Deputy leader! Look!”

One of the soldiers pointed at the skies when the dawn broke.

“What?”

“That’s a…”

“It, it can’t be, it’s… flying?”

Five huge balloons were floating in the sky about 100 meters above. And then magic
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 233 | 392
was fired from the baskets hanging down from them.

“Uargh!”

It was the intermediate level lightning-attribute magic [Thunderbolt]. Many knights

fell.

“This is bad! Everyone, use anti-magic shields!”

Anti-magic shields were as their name suggests resistant to magic, but weak to
physical shock. It was possible to make shields with both characteristics but then they
would end up becoming heavy.

This was because an anti-magic shield needed to be large enough to conceal the user’s
body, as if it wasn’t large enough then the damage would travel along the uncovered
portions.

If you made them robust enough for physical resistance, the result could be easily
guessed. Taking a heavy thing like that to a fight was something only a golem could do.

And then two of those golems came down from the baskets.

“For now, eight aircraft have been dispatched to Egelia’s capital and five to Cline’s
battlefield.”

“Good work. Surely they never expected to be attacked from the sky.”

“In all honesty, ancient technology sure is magnificent.”

“Ahahah. One of our goals is making a display of that power too. Along with letting
them taste the despair of defense being impossible, let’s show off man’s dream of
flying in the air.”

“How about the superweapon?”

“Gigantes, you mean? That’s the last resort. It should be fine to keep it in reserve this
time.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 234 | 392
No matter how tall a castle wall was, it was impossible for it to defend against attacks
from the sky.

Egelia Kingdom’s capital Asunto was no exception. Without distinction between the
outer and the inner palace, magic poured down incessantly.

“Aargh!”

“F-fire! Put out the fire!”

The incessant assault of flame magic from about 100 meters overhead plunged
Asunto’s inner castle into chaos.

Then because of the chaos when three more flying balloons approached from the
opposite side, no one noticed that they were lowering their altitude.

“Alright, now, go!”

Three golems leaped down from the baskets hanging from the three balloons and
landed on top of the roof of Asunto’s castle. They fell about a distance of 20 meters.

“Uaaah!”

There were 15 soldiers on the rooftop. Because all of them had been preoccupied with
the five magic-firing balloons they were too late in noticing the attack that came from
behind.

After the three golems silenced the 15 soldiers all at once, they began climbing down
to the lower floors of the castle to seek more targets.

The golems that came down from the baskets landed on top of the walls.

Jumping down from a height of 100 meters wasn’t safe even for golems. They had
descended by using ropes hanging from the baskets to slow down their fall.

Even if they had wanted to obstruct the golems, the defenders weren’t able to move
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 235 | 392
because of the [Thunderbolt]s raining upon them.

Once the three flying balloons had confirmed that the golems had landed and stood
up, they stopped firing [Thunderbolt]s and moved even higher up.

“You! So this was a plan was for lowering those golems!”

The deputy leader Nicholas took up his sword and gave orders to his subordinates.

“Defeat those golems! Their objective is opening the castle gates!”

Indeed, there were few who noticed it from the uproar caused by the flying balloons,
but Frantz Kingdom’s army sieging the fort city Tetrada had suddenly become active.

“W–what’s that…?”

“People can fly…?”

The commanding officer and his adjutants of the Frantz Kingdom’s army battalion
spearheading the approach to Tetrada were driven on by the awe of seeing the flying
balloons.

“With something like that, war will change.”

You could scout out the enemy’s battle formation from the skies. Troops waiting in
ambush and such would become apparent just like that.

“I thought it was unthinkable to declare war during a busy farming season like this,
but turns out that His Majesty had backing like this…”

He then handed down orders.

“Battalion, prepare for battle! Soon Tetrada’s western gate will open! Once it does, the
first and second company will charge! The third and fourth company will back them
from the rear! The fifth and fourth company will stay on alert on the west side and kill
any soldiers trying to escape the castle!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 236 | 392
“Agh! My Queen, please run!”

The living rooms of the royalty were in the upper floors of the castle. This was because
normally the attack of the enemy would come from the lower floors.

But this time was different. The two golems that invaded from the rooftop were going
towards the royalty’s rooms while scattering the Imperial Guard knights.

The king, the queen, and the third prince Ernest were there.

A secret passage to escape through had been prepared ahead of time. But
unfortunately during the golem riot the other day a part of the passage had collapsed
and still was like that.

The reason was that the king had prioritized giving solace to the soldiers who suffered
wounds and reorganizing other important things, rather than repairing an escape
tunnel he didn’t know when he’d use.

“[Wind Blow]!”

One of the Imperial Guard knights appeared to be in danger, and at that moment
someone cast a strong wind-attribute spell.

It wasn’t enough to send a golem flying, but it did cause the golem to stumble buying
time for the knight.

“Elder sister!”

The one who cast the magic was Airi Soluz from the Imperial Guard magi knight
division. She was the elder sister of the maid serving prince Ernest, Laila Soluz.

“Laila! Protect His Highness! I shall protect His Majesty and My Queen!”

“Yes!”

Inside Asunto’s castle, the chaos only grew.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 237 | 392
“Father, goodbye.”

“I’ll leave it to you, Reiko.”

“Yes!”

“Condor-1, Titan-2, takeoff.”

Reiko got on the piloted Titan-2 and Condor-1 took to the skies. Immediately
afterwards, it headed behind the research laboratory to where a giant Warp Gate had
been built on Hourai mountain’s side.

“I’ll send orders from here, huh.”

Jin moved to the control room inside the research laboratory.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, over here!”

A fierce battle was unfolding in Asunto castle’s third floor.

Aiming at the royalty, the three golems pushed on.

The Imperial Guard knight troops and the Imperial Guard magi knight troops rushed
to defend against them.

Lotte had the tray and the mop in hand as she stood in front of the prince to protect
him.

“[Wind Blow]!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 238 | 392
Continuously firing wind-type spells, Airi Soluz of the Imperial Guard magi knight
troops was keeping the impending golems at bay.

Because fire-type and lightning-type magic would affect allies while inside, she was
heavily using wind-type magic. But the reality was that wind-type magic didn’t have
much effect on the golems.

At least [Wind Blow] was effective against the massive opponents, but even so the best
it could do was keep them back.

Outside the castle, half of the soldiers were being driven to deal with the attacks
launched from the flying balloons.

“Laila, help me!”

Airi’s breath was ragged from the continuous casting of [Wind Blow].

Her colleagues were also attacking with [Wind Blow]s but it was obvious they weren’t
powerful enough.

“Bu–but, elder sister, I’m…”

“Listen up! Stop grumbling about and do it! If you’re not helping now then what will
you do!?”

Laila hesitated even more, then prince Ernest spoke to her from behind.

“Laila, I’m relying on you. Father and I can’t use powerful attack magic. Although I do
think it’s shameful to rely on a girl, right?”

“Your Highness…”

Now that the prince had said that much she could no longer hesitate. Having her spirit
invigorated, Laila took a step forwards.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 239 | 392
Before dawn. It was too early for the sun to rise and the surroundings were filled with
darkness.

At the giant lake Azul on the border between Celuroa Kingdom and Frantz Kingdom.
Its longest diameter was over 100 kilometers and it was about 300 meters deep at its
deepest. From its depths a man-made structure surfaced.

It was a spherical building with a diameter of 70 meters.

Coincidentally with surfacing the huge dome in its top part opened. A similarly huge
Warp Gate was enshrined in its heart.

The Warp Gate was active. What warped there was a likewise huge golem and an
aircraft carrying it.

“Father, I’ve arrived at lake Azul as planned. I’ll be heading from here to Tetrada.”

From the heart of lake Azul the distance to Tetrada as the crow flies was around 120
kilometers. While carrying Titan-2 Condor-1’s top speed was at most 100 kilometers
per hour, so it should take a little over one hour.

Almost simultaneously, the Raptors and Falcons also arrived as planned.

A life and death struggle was unfolding on top of Tetrada’s walls.

On one side, there was the Cline Kingdom’s third order of chivalry who were defending
Tetrada to the last and fighting hard. On the other side, there were the mysteriously
mighty golems who had been sent in.

“[Flame Bullet]!”

The magi of the chivalric order restrained them with magic, but the two mystery
golems used the small shields in their left hands and easily defended themselves.

“Guh, anti-magic shields, huh!”

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This was on top of the walls, and it seemed like it would take several more minutes for
the magi knight troops to rush there. If in the meanwhile either of the two golems took
the gate they would lose.

“Attack! Stop the golems no matter what!”

The deputy leader Nicholas Fahlheit yelled. Following his orders, five knights charged.
But.

“Gyaah!”

“Uaaargh!”

“Aagh!”

Due to the lightning magic [Thunderbolt] fired from the flying balloons the five knights
ended up lying on the ground.

“T-this is bad!”

Using that opportunity one of the golems reached the staircase leading down from the
walls.

“Shit! [Flame Lance]!”

As a last resort, Nicholas fired the most powerful fire magic spell he could. Its target
wasn’t the golem, but the stairs.

The stone staircase was smashed up by the [Flame Lance].

Even though it was a golem, it probably wouldn’t be able to jump eight meters down
from the walls because of its height, was what Nicholas was thinking.

But his expectations were completely mistaken. The golem which wasn’t alive had its
large body manipulated to jump.

Eight meters was a height a human absolutely couldn’t fall from safely.

There was a thunderous noise and the stones of the pavement were smashed and
scattered around. The golem stood up even though the lower half of its body was

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 241 | 392
crooked. But its ankles were broken and knees twisted in odd directions. It was
obvious to anyone that it wouldn’t probably be able to move any more.

However, the golem’s task was to open the gate. For that, a magical blow would suffice.

“People down there! Do not let that golem near the gate!”

Nicholas yelled at the top of his lungs. The ten soldiers guarding the gate pointed their
weapons towards the golem.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Uagh!”

If they paid attention to what was below, magic attacks would be fired from the sky. If
they paid attention to the skies, the golem still remaining on top of the walls would
come to attack them.

“Guh, to think that attacks from the sky would be this troublesome!”

It was most likely something no one had thought of before, attacking from the sky.
Nicholas was experiencing it with his body firsthand.

Getting backup from the sky, the golem dragged along its body and finally arrived at
the gate. Then it pointed its intact right hand towards the gate and fired a spell.

It was the same [Flame Lance] that Nicholas had used. But its power was an order of
magnitude higher.

Ten times the amount of flames that had been in Nicholas’s [Flame Lance] struck the
castle gate.

The bronze latches and the iron hinges were blown away.

Then slowly the castle gate fell towards the outside.

That meant the defeat of fort city Tetrada.

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A town in Egelia Kingdom, Storsk. Duke Blue and Earl Kuzuma had finally arrived
there along with their troops. They were for defending the capital city Asunto.

Blue Land was left in the care of Earl Guarana.

“My late father also fought against Celuroa Kingdom. So for the sake of my country, I’ll
fight like him!”

His fiancee’s, Beana’s, worried face came to his mind, but Earl Kuzuma had put aside
his personal feelings due to the country’s crisis and had gone to war.

“Tomorrow night we’ll probably reach Asunto.”

Duke Blue muttered while preparing to depart, and at that moment.

Suddenly Earl Kuzuma who was looking up at the sky felt that something had passed
in front of the sun and strained his eyes to see.

“What the?”

There was something, and it wasn’t birds. The things were in a single group flying high
in the sky. The direction they were headed towards was where the capital Asunto was.

However, curiously he didn’t have a sinister feeling about it.

“The castle gates are open!”

“Alright, the first and second companies…”

The moment Frantz Kingdom’s attack was about to begin.

A giant shadow blocked the sun.

Looking up, a object could be seen flying.

It had four wheels arranged in a square, and connected to the structure crosswise two
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 243 | 392
ropes which came down and were holding up a plank. And sitting on top of the plank
was a huge golem which had never been seen before.

The mysterious flying object slowly descended as the huge golem on it glared at both
Frantz Kingdom’s army and the city of Tetrada, then it got down and stood up on the
spot.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 244 | 392
“Wha, what’s, that…”

This was the feeling of fear both attackers and defenders held.

“Friend, or foe?”

This was the question both sides were asking. But it was soon answered.

A loud voice came from the gigantic golem.

“Both parties, lay down your weapons!”

Because the wind magic used to amplify the voice made it echoy the original speaker’s
voice was unrecognizable, but they could somehow tell that it was the voice of a
woman.

“War is unproductive. It impoverishes nations and hurts the people. What the world
needs right now is peace.”

From inside the golem, Reiko was reciting the speech that Jin had given her.

“The population is scarce, and the lands are vast. If you have spare energy to do war
with, use it to develop your country. Use it to enrich the people.”

These were the words of persuasion Jin had frantically thought up last night.

“Why is it that the hands which clasped each other during the Great Magic War are
now wielding weapons?”

It was as if time had stopped on the battlefield. Everyone was carefully listening to the
giant golem’s speech.

“The past is in the past. It’s something you can never reach. Instead you ought to be
reaching for the future.”

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Some of the soldiers and knights took the advice.

“Use your strength not to go back to the past, but to build a prosperous future. Live
not for the sake of destruction, but for the sake of creation.”

Hmph, someone snorted. Pretty words alone couldn’t convince the person.

“Whether or not to heed my advice is your choice to make. However, in the case that
you do not you will be stopped by force.”

Before the speech was over, a [Flame Lance] was fired from Frantz Kingdom’s army
towards the giant golem.

The gigantic golem caught the [Flame Lance] with its similarly gigantic hand and
crushed it.

A short while later, the first and second companies started to move as if they had come
to their senses. They were heading towards the opened castle gate.

Then magic was fired from the gate’s direction as a counterattack.

Jin who saw and heard what was going on through the Mana Telecam built into the
Titan sighed.

“So it’s no good after all, huh.”

It appeared that in the special place known as a battlefield Jin’s words had no
persuasive power.

“Reiko, as planned, execute strategy #2. Also deploy the Raptor and Falcon teams.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Yes, master.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 246 | 392
In the battlefield once again filled with noise,

“How unfortunate.”

A voice resounded.

The giant golem then moved.

The way it moved was comparable to how humans moved. That meant it appeared to
move ten times faster than a human.

Just like that the golem drew near the walls of Tetrada.

“U–uoaaah!”

The walls were eight meters high, while the golem was 15 meters tall. The castle walls
only reached to its hips.

You could say that being afraid was inevitable when a golem that large neared you.

Then. The gigantic golem raised its right arm overhead.

A huge smashing sound was heard. More than half of the castle wall in front of the
giant golem crumbled. Under the rubble was also the wreckage of the golem that had
come down from one of the flying balloons.

Yes, the giant golem had, along with the wall, pulverized the yet-rampaging golem in
one blow.

“Ho-how could…”

Nicholas Fahlheit leaked out a moan filled with surprise and awe.

After pulverizing the castle wall the giant golem turned to face Frantz Kingdom’s army,
then held out its right arm as if it was about to use magic.

Just that was enough to make the soldiers freeze.

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But nothing happened. So it was a bluff, the soldiers started to think and then it
happened.

“What’s this? My body’s hot.”

“Hmm? My sword has heated up?”

“Hot! Ouch!!”

“Owowowow, why?”

The swords the soldiers were wielding and the armor and the helmets they were
wearing began to be tinged with heat.

“It’s hot! I can’t keep wearing this!”

Metallic clanks filled the battlefield. Swords were abandoned, helmets tossed away,
and pieces of armor thrown off.

Now every piece of metal was hot.

(As expected of Father.)

It was the Magi Tool Jin had finished in a hurry, the ‘Induction Radiator’.

If radiating at its highest output it could even melt steel in a short while, but taking
the soldiers into consideration weak radiation was used.

And Titan Mk.2 which Reiko was on wasn’t the source of the radiation, the high-
altitude VTOLs from Falcon-1 to Falcon-5 were.

While invisible using [Stealth], they had pointed the devices downwards and emitted
the radiation to the ground. Titan Mk.2 had only taken a pose. This was because there
hadn’t been time to equip it.

“U–uaaaah! Wha, what? What’s going on!?”

The soldiers yelled. The reason being that the abandoned swords, helmets, pieces of
armor, and the heads of the spears –which could still be held as their handles were
made out of wood– were red hot.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 248 | 392
Before long red turned to yellow, and then to glowing white with heat… All the metal
weapons and armor fully melted. No, even the metal pots and other tableware in the
encampment in the rear melted.

“I can’t believe this…”

Without weapons and armor there was no way to do battle upfront, and Frantz
Kingdom’s army completely lost their fighting spirit.

This spectacle wasn’t limited just to the front of Tetrada’s castle gates. Starting with
the fifth and sixth battalions lined up on the opposite side, this could be seen
happening with Frantz Kingdom’s whole army.

Not even the mysterious balloons flying in the air were safe.

Perhaps the people in the balloons had been trying to determine the giant golem’s true
nature, so they had only stood by and watched. Now they realized that they were
gradually losing altitude.

“Hm? More fire, raise the temperature!”

That’s right, the mysterious flying balloons were so-called ‘hot-air balloons’. One
magus on board used fire magic as the heat source to raise the balloon into the air, and
it moved using wind magic. Because it didn’t use anything heavy like a gas cylinder, its
carrying capacity was also high.

But, right now, because of the Raptors which were equipped with Magi Jammers they
couldn’t use their magic.

“We’re going down! Can’t you do something!”

“Under us is Tetrada’s castle!”

Inside Tetrada’s castle walls people were waiting for the flying balloons that had
lowered the golems who destroyed the gate to come down.

“Shit! Attack with magic!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 249 | 392
“We can’t! For some reason we can’t use magic!”

Four of the five hot-air balloons did an emergency landing there. The remaining one
landed outside the castle. Its two crew members immediately began running away
from Tetrada.

However, they were captured by the already deployed Army golems, and to extract
information out of them taken into custody in Falcon-5. They waited for Jin’s orders.

The crewmembers of the other four balloons were all restrained. Nicholas Fahlheit
was acting rationally.

He planned to afterwards order them escorted to the headquarters in Berg.

And then, at last, it happened.

“Ugh!?”

“Gah!”

“Arg!”

With short screams Frantz Kingdom’s army, Cline Kingdom’s army, and even the whole
population of Tetrada fainted.

This was of course due to the Paralyzers fired from the flying Raptors and Falcons.

By simultaneously applying [Shock], even if there were people affected by [Hypno] or

[Seduce], they should come to their senses after this.

The Army golems made their appearance on the outskirts of Tetrada where no one as
moving.

They gathered all the weapons and armor inside Tetrada’s castle walls. At the same

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 250 | 392
time, they gave the seriously wounded restorative medicine. Just applying it locally
instead of making them drink it had apparent results

The fainted people woke up, and after realizing that their armor and weapons were
gone Frantz Kingdom’s army evacuated somehow with difficulty. Cline Kingdom’s
army could do nothing else but repair the castle wall and gate.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 251 | 392
“Reiko, good job. Can you head to Egelea next?”

“Yes Father, without a problem.””

“That’s good, since I’ll be intervening at Egelia using the substitute puppet.”

“Understood, we’ll be heading there too.”

Tetrada’s battlefield had become paused, so Jin decided to next intervene at Egelia
Kingdom’s capital Asunto.

Considering the distance from Hourai Island, by now Raptors from 6 to 10 and Falcons
from 6 to 10 should have arrived.

Jin projected the picture from the substitute puppet that was on Raptor-10 onto a
magical display.

“[Storm Rush]!”

“Eek!”

Laila chanted [Storm Rush]. She frantically chanted it to defend against the enemy
golems approaching her from the front.

The wind-attribute advanced level magic had enough strength to push the golems all
the way back to the end of the hallway. In the aftermath her allies were also repelled
but that was a trivial thing.

“*Wheeze*, *pant*”

“You did it, Laila! You can do it if you try!”

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“Elder sister…”

Laila slightly blushed when she received praise from her excellent sister.

“Now, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, Your Highness, go downstairs at once!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 253 | 392
They couldn’t afford to waste the time Laila earned them, and the Imperial Guard
Knights took the lead followed by the king, the queen, the prince, the golem Lotte, Lila,
and finally Laila’s sister Airi as the rearguard.

Unfortunately they had no leeway to worry about the knights on their side who were
beaten by the golems.

They somehow got down to the first floor hall where there was a crowd of wounded
knights.

“Golems are coming from here too?”

Just where had they invaded from they wondered, as ten golems of the same type as
the ones who attacked from the rooftop were rampaging in the hall.

“Your Majesty!”

Raising his voice to nearly a scream, the Minister of Magic Kelhidore yelled.
Surrounding him were wrecked piles of Imperial Guard golems.

“The strength of those guys is unfathomable! It compares with the strength of that
Reiko from the golem party!”

“What?”

“It can’t believe it, is that Jin guy pulling the strings behind the scenes?”

The one who spoke was the Minister of Defense Judol.

“Incorrect.”

A certain maid golem immediately refuted those words.

“Lotte?”

“Father wouldn’t build clumsy and unrefined golems like those. Those are the golems
of the Unifiers who caused earlier uproar.”

Lotte declared.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 255 | 392
“For Father’s honor.”

Lotte said and tossed the tray in her hand aiming at one of the golems who was
approaching prince Ernest and the others.

It was the steel tray Jin had made.

Clang, with a harsh sound the tray embedded itself in the enemy golem’s chest. The
golem stopped moving with its Magi Device destroyed.

Lotte quickly recovered her tray and caught the fist of another approaching golem
with the tray.

This time there was a high-pitched noise and the tray broke. But, the enemy golem’s
fist also broke.

“The tray bestowed to me by Father! How dare you!”

This time Lotte grabbed the steel mop she had been diligently carrying on her back.

The mop’s end became larger and heavier and she wielded it like a mace-type weapon.

The mop Lotte struck with flattened the enemy golem’s cranium.

The high-grade golem’s vision came from the eyes in its head. In other words, by
destroying the head meant removing its sense of sight.

It wasn’t enough to destroy it, but the warped head no longer received enough visual
information.

With her next blow, Lotte destroyed the enemy golem’s chest. With this two of the
golems were destroyed. Eight remained.

“Lotte! Alright! We understand! Please protect His Majesty and His Highness!”

As you might expect, even the Minister of Defense Judol was compelled to accept that
if Lotte was destroyed now they’d lose a considerable amount of combat potential.
And so he judged they couldn’t afford to lose Lotte who was the royalty’s protector.

Receiving the orders, Lotte backed down, and in that brief gap.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 256 | 392
“Your Highness! Watch out!”

Aimed at prince Ernest, the [Flame Bullet] spell came flying. The shots numbered
around 50.

Once she noticed, Lotte swung her mop to intercept them. But the blunt weapon
wasn’t something that could knock down all 50 of the [Flame Bullet]s.

About half of the [Flame Bullet]s were about to strike Prince Ernest.

“Your Highness!

Someone screamed. Prince Ernest resigned himself to being shot and close his eyes
while covering his head.

But no matter how much time passed the shock didn’t come. Timidly, prince Ernest
tried opening his eyes.

“!?”

He witnessed two pitch-black golems standing in front of him as if they were

protecting him.

They were the SP Erica and Lobelia Jin had secretly sent to protect Prince Ernest.

“Y-you are?”

To the prince Ernest who reflexively asked, one of the pitch-black golems opened a
part that seemed to be her mouth.

“We are those secretly protecting Your Highness.”

She said, and along with Lotte, they surrounded the royal family.

Because their affiliation was unknown some suspicion remained, but everyone was
glad to have their combat potential augmented. Just when they thought so,

“Eek!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 257 | 392
Airi who had been guarding the stairs was blown away.

Three golems came down from upstairs.

Now the total of golems aiming for the royalty was 11.

“…”

The Minister of Defense Judol felt a chill down his spine.

Airi of the Imperial Guard magi knights had used up her Magic Energy, and although
she appeared to be alive her injuries made her a non-combatant. And her younger
sister Laila was still inexperienced.

The captain of the Imperial Guard knight troops Kelly was outside giving orders to
defend against the attacks from the mysterious flying balloons, so only the vice captain
Bruno and his three subordinates were here.

The Minister of Magic Kelhidore was capable in magic warfare, but he was entirely
unsuited for hand-to-hand combat.

As for himself, his right arm that had been broken at Golem Party still hadn’t healed,
making him unable to swing a sword properly.

“I have no other choice than to protect them with my life when the time time comes,
do I?”

Just when Judol had prepared himself.

“Wh-what!?”

Another ten new golems showed up.

They were golems he had never seen before. They were almost perfectly human-
shaped and of a light brown metallic color. They were holding swords.

“Is this where it ends…”

Judol touched the short sword on his waist and prepared to at least take one, maybe
even two golems with him. However.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 258 | 392
The ten golems that had appeared raised their swords and began fighting against the
eleven golems in front of them.

“Are they friendly?”

The sharpness of the swords the light brown golems wielded was inconceivable; they
easily cut through the spears two of the enemy golems were holding.

“Ooh?”

“How very…”

No matter how sharp and good a sword was, cutting through metal itself required a
fair amount of power.

But in front of their eyes, as if slicing fruit with a knife, pieces of the enemy golems’
bodies were cut off and sent flying.

The enemy golems tried to hastily avoid the attacks, but the light brown golems were
faster.

And with their might the enemy golems’ hands, legs, and then torsos were cut off. In
the blink of an eye, the eleven enemy golems were rendered silent.

“Just, just how…”

Even the king was wide-eyed.

“Judol, Kelhidore. Might I ask if you were the ones who prepared these golems?”

There was no way they could answer the king’s question.

“N–no, the affiliation of these ones is unknown.”

But they had no choice but to.

However, even though he didn’t voice it, prince Ernest had a hunch he could guess who
had built these light brown golems.

And when Lotte sensed their Magic Energy pattern,

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 259 | 392
(Thank you, Father.)

She sincerely thanked their manufacturer Jin in her heart.

Once the golems were taken care of, only the flying balloons remained.

Everyone there looked up at the sky. Then they noticed that hey, aren’t the flying
balloons slowly coming down?

Two people were in each of the baskets hanging down from the balloons, and they
appeared to be panicking.

“They’re coming down, but they seem to be panicking about something.”

The Minister of Magic Kelhidore said so under his breath while straining his eyes.

Then the five balloons all landed down inside Asunto’s inner castle.

Ten of the same light brown golems who defeated the enemy golems captured the
crews. Now the total amount that had showed up was 20.

“Hey… when did they get in?”

The Minister of Defense Judol was surprised.

He couldn’t believe that the castle Asunto which had been said to have impregnable
walls could be infiltrated this easily by these mystery golems. Even if those golems
were friendly.

And then his surprise increased furthermore.

“Uwoaah, that, that’s a–!”

A golem even taller than the ten-meter-high castle walls appeared and peered in the
inner castle.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 260 | 392
The walled city of Asunto was surrounded with walls ten meters high.

Its shape was a square with edges almost five kilometers in length, and inside it
bordering the north side walls was the royal castle.

The so-called outer palace was this defensive enclosure of ten-meter high walls which
stretched around from the north side and shaped the outer palace to a rough square.

The north side of this outer palace, that is, Asunto’s castle walls, had a gate through
which the king’s army could sally out of.

Protected by the outer palace was the inner palace which was the heart of government
and where the king lived. The wall separating the inner palace from the outer was
three meters high, less than a third of the castle walls’ height.

Therefore from around the center of the inner shrine seeing the exterior castle walls
was possible.

And seen from the inner palace, a giant golem rising higher than even the castle walls
was looking down on them.

“U, uh oh…”

“T–that’s a…”

The people watching were trembling with fear, then saw someone step on top of the
castle walls from the golem’s palm.

Black clothes, and a silver helmet they had never seen before. They seemed to be a tall
person. Judging from the body shape they were male.

“Who could that be. A friend, or a foe?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 261 | 392
Everyone watching held the same thoughts.

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

The mysterious person’s voice reverberated. He must’ve been using some kind of
magic as his voice reached to all corners of the inner and outer palaces.

“My name is Deus Ex Machina. It seems that a certain subset of people have named me
the Mysterious Golem Master or some such.”

“Deus Ex Machina, you say?”

“I’ve never heard of him before. Who in the world is he? What are his aims?”

Everyone present began talking. However, the person who called themselves Deus Ex
Machina waved his hand and it again became quiet.

“War is useless. It doesn’t create anything.”

Deus Ex Machina spoke.

“The land is vast, and people are few. Do not commit such foolishness as fighting
against your own race.”

Some of the people agreed inside their hearts.

“People haven’t yet caught up with the state of civilization of the Great Magic War days.
That is the truth. But setting your eyes on the past is foolish. Because the past will
never come back.”

There were also people who frowned when they heard those words.

“Do not head for the past. Focus on the present. Endeavour to clear the way to the
future.”

Deus Ex Machina raised his voice even more, and spoke almost shoutingly.

“Whether or not you listen to my advice is your own choice. But if you do not, I have a

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 262 | 392
plan ready.”

Deus Ex Machina said and pointed at a destroyed golem.

“Look.”

Everyone’s gazes gathered there. Then, everyone’s eyes became wide-open with
surprise.

Before their eyes the broken golem turned red hot, then white hot, and then it
completely melted.

“You understand, right? I only wish for one thing, peace. To put it in another way,
coexistence would do too. It should not be a difficult thing.”

Deus Ex Machina then stopped speaking, and looked out over at the people.

“I will not show myself as long as you do not cause conflict. Think well upon it.”

Finishing with that, Deus Ex Machina jumped on the giant golem’s shoulder. At the
same time, the giant golem turned its back around to Asunto’s castle.

At that moment, one of the magi knights chanted magic and was about to fire an attack
spell.

“[Wind Slash]…! Why? I can’t use magic!”

Deus Ex Machina turned to look back from the golem’s shoulder and,

“I forgot to mention. Far from neutralizing magic, it is possible for me to make magic
unusable. Please stop doing pointless things.”

He then pointed at the magi knight who tried to use magic.

“Ugh!”

Then the magi knight let out a short grunt and immediately after suddenly went rigid.
Then he fainted.

“Unfortunately, that man appeared to have been a puppet of the [Unifiers]. But now he

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 263 | 392
should be returning to normal. I shall send you a list of people who have been
confirmed as being manipulated later.”

Deus Ex Machina said and once more turned his back on the people.

“Well then, I hope we do not meet again.”

And this time Deus Ex Machina left together with the giant golem.

Jin was fainting with agony at Hourai Island’s headquarters.

“Uooaaaaaaah, suuuuper embarasssiiiing!!”

This was because after finishing reading the script bearing with the the tone that was
excessively like that became too much.

“Master, please calm down. You were cool.”

Ann consoled him.

“Before the Great Magic War, that sort of style of speech and display was a regular
performance.”

When nobles had small fights between fellow countrymen and such, that kind of
exaggerated talk was commonplace, Ann said.

“…It really was exaggerated, wasn’t it.”

Ann’s consolation didn’t seem to be of much use.

“My Lord, please give your instructions on how to continue.”

Then as a request came from Laojun, Jin switched gears.

“As plans over here too went more or less as planned, it should be fine to carry on with
the plans for the aftermath too.”

“Understood.”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 264 | 392
“Then I’ll be going to Kaina Village, so if there’s anything please give me a call.”

After doing something as out-of-character for him as stopping a war, Jin couldn’t relax
in any way and in a great hurry warped to Hourai Island to seek comfort.

“Ah, onii-chan! What did you do? It’s almost lunchtime, you know?”

Hannah shouted as soon as she saw Jin. She was a little upset as he had been late in
coming back.

“Sorry, sorry, there was just a little something back at my home that I had to take care
of.”

“Geez. You scared me, I thought you might have disappeared again!”

“Sorry. I’ll be in contact properly from now on.”

Jin apologized while patting Hannah’s head. While doing that he felt his hear that was
on the edge calming down.

“You know, today I went to the forest to gather firewood. This morning uncle Rock and
the others brought in a lot of mountain deer, so we’re going to make smoked meat.”

Jin remembered that Rock had said something about that when he had seen the
icehouse.

“Oh, I see. Shall we go help?”

“Yeah!”

Hannah who was back in a good mood pulled Jin by the hand to the plaza where they
were smoking meat.

Meanwhile, Reiko had returned to Hourai Island with Titan Mk.2. Because she had
gone through the Warp Gate she was the first one back.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 265 | 392
“Welcome back, Reiko-san.”

“Laojun, where’s Father?”

Reiko asked as she couldn’t see Jin who was usually here.

“My Lord has… gone to Kaina Village a step ahead of you.”

Laojun told Reiko the truth with some concern, thinking it would make Reiko’s mood
worsen.

“Is that so. He went to see Hannah-chan, didn’t he?”

Reiko smiled and said so, contrary to his expectations.

“Father appears to treasure Hannah-chan the most, doesn’t he?”

Feeling just a little marveled, Laojun decided to daringly ask Reiko.

“Reiko-san, you seem to hold Hannah-chan in special regard too, am I correct? Of

course, when leaving My Lord out of the argument.”

Then Reiko surprisingly laughed.

“He he, so you noticed. Yes, after Father Hannah-chan is the most important to me.”

“May I ask why?”

“Of course. It’s because Hannah-chan resembles Mother well.”

“By mother you mean the predecessor, isn’t that right?”

“Yes. My Mother, Adrianna Balbora Ceci. Of course, I don’t mean that their Magic
Energy patterns are alike or anything like that. On the contrary, Hannah can’t use
magic.”

“In that case, it’s the appearance?”

“That’s correct. When Mother was young, no, when she was a child, I’m certain she
looked just like Hannah.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 266 | 392
“Well then, I shall begin dealing with the aftermath. There’s also those two who we
took prisoner.”

“Okay, then I’ll be following after Father.”

“Yes, Reiko-san. Please take care of My Lord. And then, please tell him that last night
we dispelled the mentally manipulated people close to Reinhardt.”

“Understood.”

Reiko headed to Kaina Village. Then Laojun began working on his proper duties.

“Now then, for the aftermath first comes the interrogation, doesn’t it…”

Laojun then gave orders to have the prisoners held in the Falcon which was still in
Cline Kingdom interrogated.

Reinhardt was in the supply base.

It was in a place about one kilometer north of the city of Astan.

Rocky outcroppings surrounded it and by cutting the rock, making pillars out of it, and
placing beams on top of the pillars watchtowers, storehouses, lodgings, and stables
had been built.

“I’m bummed out.”

While muttering to himself Reinhardt was walking between the lodging houses with
Matheus. This was because he had just finished breakfast.

Yesterday en route to here, Matheus had asked questions like ‘what were those two
black golems’, ‘were they new Schwarz Ritters’, ‘why did they suddenly disappear’, and

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 267 | 392
Reinhardt had to smooth over things by replying with ‘I do not really know’, ‘I do not
know’, ‘they seemed friendly, is that not enough’, ‘I am tired and sleepy already’.

Perhaps Mattheus too had sensed that he had his own circumstances so he simply
gave up there, as he hadn’t asked a thing this morning.

But on this supply base there was another person, someone he didn’t want to meet.

“Oh, if it isn’t Reinhardt. So you came here.”

Just inside his heart, Reinhardt frowned

The one who showed up was Elsa’s elder brother, Fritz.

Because it was time for his replacement to come, he was also on the way back to their
home country.

Multiple subordinates with worried faces were following him.

“I hear you were attacked, right? I’ve got strong complaints to make for Celuroa later.
Oh well, it’s probably not as comfortable as in an inn, but in exchange it’s safe here.”

Fritz said smilingly. Reinhardt felt a little uncomfortable.

“Hm? What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

Fritz seemed puzzled and asked Reinhardt, having been fixedly stared at.

“N–no, nothing on your face but I was thinking that something about you is different,
maybe.”

“Hmm, is that right? Everyone I’ve seen since morning says so, but surely I’m me?”

Seeing the awkwardly smiling Fritz, even Matheus couldn’t keep silent.

“Major, has nothing really happened?”

Fritz knit his brows just a little when asked.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 268 | 392
“Nothing, really. If I had to say, at most I had a bad dream.”

“A bad dream?”

“Yeah. The strangest thing happened, I had a dream that I accidentally hit my head and
lost consciousness.”

“…”

“It was a dream, you see? There’s no way I’d get a bump on my head or anything.”

With a slap, Fritz made a show of patting his head. Seeing that Reinhardt still couldn’t
tell what was going on and,

“W–well, whatever. I’m going to my room.”

So he decided to leave the place for now.

“Alright, got it. Once my work hours are over I’ll be popping in for a visit.… Matheus,
you come too. Please let me hear about yesterday in detail.”

Reinhardt returned to his room, and on the table was a familiar Magi Tool. It was a
ManaCom.

“Just when did… Ah, as expected of Jin.”

With a nod, Reinhardt put it in his breast pocket.

“How did it go?”

Through a ManaCom, Laojun asked Deneb-30 of the Quinta who had been secretly
dispatched to where Reinhardt was from the sinkfloat base.

“Using the [Shock] magic, the treatment went well. No one noticed either.”

“It seemed to, yes. Just a moment ago, Reinhardt-san’s private SP Cosmos sent in a
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 269 | 392
report. According to it, the [Seduce] magic Major Fritz seemed to have been under has
been lifted.”

In Egelia Kingdom’s capital Asunto.

The Minister of Finances Blaoroot was greatly perplexed. Because of the attack this
time, the burden on the national treasury increased further.

And the Minister of Defense Judol and the Prime Minister Marquis Boyd North Galueri
were both similarly greatly perplexed.

“At any rate, if this list is factual then it’s a huge problem.”

Spread out in front of the Minister of Defense Judol was a single sheet of parchment.
Over a dozen names were listed there. Everyone held an important position in one
ministry or another or were nobles related to ruling major cities.

The title of the list was ‘The puppets of the Unifiers’.

“Anyway, there’s no other choice than to check them one by one.”

“Mh-hm. Lastly, it says that ‘The [Shock] magic should be used to dispel [Seduce]’ but
is it true?”

“I wonder… I’ve never heard of a spell called [Seduce]. Didn’t you say that too?”

“Yes. I, Judol, have been lacking in my studies.”

In the city of Tetrada located in the western portion of Cline Kingdom, by afternoon
finally order had been restored.

“Deputy leader, everyone’s lined up!”

“Mh-hm, good job.”

Cline Kingdom’s third chivalric order was standing in a row, but, without armor,
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 270 | 392
helmets, swords, and spears, they certainly didn’t look the part.

“Even now the situation is unclear, but Frantz Kingdom army has retreated. First and
second squads went to scout and confirmed it. There’s no mistake.”

There was a small commotion. But that soon disappeared.

“That giant golem could surely have if it so wished annihilated us. No, even the enemy
army too. Because everyone lost consciousness all at once. To make matters worse, all
the weapons and armor was lost.”

A temporary adjutant next to him addressed deputy leader Nicholas.

“That indeed seems to be the case. I wonder just where did it come from?”

“Even if you think about it you won’t find an answer. Rather than that, you have to
think about what to do now. How many casualties were there this time?”

“T-that’s…”

“Hm? What is it?”

The temporary adjutant hesitated to say. Finding that suspicious Nicholas knit his
brows.

“It can’t be, there’s that many of them?”

The temporary adjutant then flusteredly refuted that.

“N-no, just the opposite! There are no casualties!”

“What?”

“There were many people wounded in the battles yesterday and today. Especially from
yesterday’s battles there were many people on the verge of death from their wounds.
However, we confirmed just earlier that everyone has recovered.”

“What… the…”

It was an incomprehensible tale. They did nothing and yet the wounded recovered.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 271 | 392
No, could it be… , Nicholas made a guess.

“That gigantic golem, there’s a chance it did something.”

He then again remembered what the giant golem had said.

“‘Use your strength not to go back to the past, but to build a prosperous future. Live
not for the sake of destruction, but for the sake of creation’, was it. Perhaps that kind
of society isn’t necessarily a pipe dream.”

“We’ve lost contact with the hot flying balls sent to Cline Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom.”

“What!? They had someone who could make them fall? I could see them dropping one
or two, but all?”

“It’s said that Frantz Kingdom’s army is currently retreating to the national border.”

“Golems! What happened to the golems! The combat golems we snuck into Asunto
castle!”

“A carrier pigeon brought a report that they’ve also been destroyed”

“Aargh… What in the world happened!”

“My lord.”

A clear and beautiful voice then cut in.

“O-oh, Elena. Where are you now?”

“Yes, I’m returning there with Donald right now.”

“Hm, at last I get to see your face. I can’t wait. So, what happened with Reinhardt?”

“I was going to erase him, but some annoying golems intervened.”

“What? If that’s how Elena sees them then…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 272 | 392
“Yes, they seemed to have been golems descended from the ones built by my bitter
enemy whom I told you about earlier.”

“Hmm, it can’t be…”

“Do you happen to know anything about them?”

“Yes, some time earlier there was someone called Jin who apparently used golems to
destroy the eighth subdivision.”

“Please tell me the details.”

“Hm, that guy, he…”

Elena listened to the explanation silently, but when she had heard it all her voice
became a little rougher.

“My lord, I would’ve liked to have heard about this a little bit earlier.”

“S-sorry. I thought there could be no golems rivaling ours.”

Elena apparently cut the call by herself as she could no longer be heard.

Kaina Village’s plaza was filled with dense smoke.

“Cough, it’s smoky. Sara, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Yes, master.”

Right now they were burning small Kherry tree chips to smoke the meat of the
mountain deer Rock and others had caught,

Instead than burning, their purpose was to sputter smoke and so it was smoky. That’s
where Sara came in. The golem maid Sara who had no need to breathe worked silently
and very soon the preparations for smoking the meat were finished.

Only thing left was to keep smoking the meat until the moisture came out.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 273 | 392
“I can’t wait, tonight’s booze will surely taste great.”

“Don’t drink too much like I told you, dear!”

Kaina Village was peaceful.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 274 | 392
Mother has died.

Mother left me with a message.

“You are the best.”

Those were mother’s last words.

Then as her daughter, I will do nothing but make it a reality.

The best means someone who can’t be beaten by anyone.

And someone who can’t be beaten by anyone means ‘being above everything that
exists’. That’s the conclusion I made.

The first thing I thought was that ‘everything that exists’ is too much. So then what. It
should be fine to reduce their number.

To begin with, I got rid of the Magi Craftsman who caused mother to be neglected.

He was a man who would’ve used up his life span in a few years even if left alone, but
I thought it important to cut even the weakest bonds of fate he had with mother.

Next was destroying the Automata the man built.

Because this was the most direct way to prove that I can’t be beaten.

Everyone was too weak. Just by twisting their arms lightly they came off. So I plucked
off their limbs and heads.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 275 | 392
I continued and the owners of the Automata began being vigilant and increased their
guards, but that wasn’t something that could stop me.

Because I am the queen.

Just by using a little bit of the strength my mother bestowed upon me, all of the guards
became fools.

[Hypno], [Seduce], and [Subliminal].

Especially the magic [Subliminal] which made people obey my commands as if they
themselves wanted to be my slaves. It isn’t strange for a queen like me to have slaves,
don’t you agree?

And like this, I dealt with all the Automata that were my objectives.

However, my usage of [Subliminal] was never noticed by anyone, so they had

precautions for only [Hypno and [Seduce] which made me laugh.

After that I kept thinking about what is it that a queen should do, but I couldn’t reach
a conclusion.

At that time the anti devil race war, which in the current era is called the Great Magic
War. began.

Most unfortunately the Templates Adrianna Balbora Ceci left behind were
rediscovered, and using them as the foundation Automata and golems were mass
produced.

Mother who held a grudge against Adrianna came to my mind. And so I thought I
would dispose of them and show the world my superiority.

A lot of golems were thrown into the battlefields. Destroying them with a single swing
of my sword was fun.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 276 | 392
The Adamantite short sword mother had given me. It cut apart the steel golems,
through shields and all.

People who saw that were wide-eyed with surprise. Then they surely realized that I
was stronger than the golems.

The devil race too acknowledged my superiority. They must’ve realized that I was only
aiming for golems and stopped getting on my way on the battlefield.

Although until then I had been cutting the devil race members that got on my way
down with a single stroke too.

‘Golden Princess of Destruction’. That was the nickname the soldiers gave me. I’m a
queen and not a princess, but, well, it’s alright. Because once I make my strength
known they’ll surely start calling me a queen.

I opened my eyes.

Only a tiny amount of Magic Energy made contact, but it restarted my Mana Driver.

“Are you the one… who woke me up?”

A young man woke me up. With blue eyes that looked like they were dreaming. I
recognized those eyes.

Once, when I was with mother a son of a noble proposed to me. I’m aware of how
human men see my physical appearance.

I felt the young man in front of me have a rather large dormant Magic Energy reserve.
That’s when I decided I would use this man.

“Thank you. If you’d like, would you please give me a name?”

If I said this, surely the young man would trust me. Because naming an Automata or a
golem was the symbol of a master.

“Elena.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 277 | 392
The young man named me. I smiled and waited upon him.

“My name is Elena. Please treat me well from now on, my lord.”

The rest was easy.

I gradually used [Subliminal]. Then the boy became my slave.

As a queen, although I had slaves I didn’t nonsensically abuse them.

I told the young man all I knew and taught him about the Magi Tools that were in the
place I slept in.

The young man touched on the technology of the past, and with great emotion
embraced the ambition of restoring the country of the past.

And very conveniently, the country the young man was from had a group called the
‘Unifiers’.

They seemed to be an eccentric group which pursued the ideals of Dinar Kingdom, the
supreme post-Great Magic War country that unified the continent.

However, their eccentric aspects were very good for my circumstances.

Using [Hypno], [Seduce], and [Subliminal, I had the young man… apparently named
Joule… affiliate himself with the Unifiers and little by little push his way up to the
important offices of the Unifiers.

Even if it seemed unnatural I didn’t care. Because at any rate, all the leaders would
become my slaves.

Over ten years passed, and Joule became one of the leaders of the Unifiers.

One day he brought with him a Magi Craftsman who was famous in the present era.

“Good day, my name is Elena. Are you the man who will kindly repair my arm?”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 278 | 392
I said so, but at a glance I could tell that the man’s ability wasn’t up to mother’s level.

But as there were no other talented people, I decided to compromise. Although to be

honest, I wasn’t satisfied with his abilities.

Then another ten years passed, and after thorough training even that Magi Craftsman
called Donald became useful.

He repaired me except for my broken left arm, and I was able to regain my original
movements.

Only the left arm remained.

Because the materials weren’t enough, I decided to have the blue-haired Automata
manufactured during the Great Magic War destroyed and used for parts.

Because the blue-haired Automata were also made based on Adrianna’s Templates,
the material quality used in their construction was better than that of other golems
and Automata.

Soon Donald had been trained for 20 years. 37 years after I woke up, I was finally able
to regain my original body.

There was no enemy who could rival me with my original body.

At last, Joule stood at the top of the Unifiers.

And simultaneously the ambition of the Unifiers changed from reviving the post-Great
Magic War Dinar Kingdom to unifying the continent.

As for Donald, I taught him about the supertechnology of the past, and I had him
develop numerous golems, weapons, and such using that technology.

From this the Unifiers immediately grew larger, and by now it has grown to a great
influence with over 5000 members.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 279 | 392
Then I commanded the Unifiers to unify the continent.

It was called the ‘unity group’ so the party members accepted that without feeling
anything strange about it, and began moving with the goal of unifying the continent.

‘Elradrite’, ‘Subordination Rewriting Magic’, ‘hot flying balls’, etc, etc, etc…

I think that the current world has no one who could stand up to the supertechnology
of the past.

Even so I’ll be on my guard.

The Shouro Empire Magi Craftsman called Reinhardt or something is said to be rather
capable, so I decided to pay him a visit.

If it seems he’ll be useful I’ll welcome him as a slave, if not, I’ll simply erase him.

I will reign over this continent as a queen, and no one will get in the way of that.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 280 | 392
Evening of April 22nd.

In the fort city Tetrada the chivalric orders were gathering.

Cline Kingdom’s second and fourth chivalric orders, in addition to the relief knight
team and the second Magi Knight team.

Each one of them were incomprehensibly forced to stop battling, although not to the
same degree as Tetrada’s third chivalric order was.

They had had no fort cities nearby so they naturally ended up gathering in Tetrada.

“It appears that as of now, Frantz Kingdom’s army has retreated all the way to the
border.”

The scouts’ reports told them that Frantz Kingdom’s army wasn’t in a greatly different
shape to them, having seemingly also lost their armor and weapons.

“Hm, is that so.”

The leader of the second chivalric order, Viscount Bernard Nefra Foster nodded. He
was currently in command of the mixed army.

“Anyhow, without weapons and armor we can’t go to war. We’ve got to wait for a
response from the royal capital whether to evacuate or advance.”

“Yes. And from the questioning of those prisoners, this time it’s clear that the Unifiers
were the mastermind this time.”

The one who replied was Nicholas Fahlheit.

“Mh-hm, I heard. The convoy was sent to the royal capital, right?”

“Yes.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 281 | 392
“Well, there’s nothing urgent other than emergency repairs on the walls. We’ll work
through the night. The soldiers can rest in turns. This includes you commanding
officers too.”

“Yes, thank you. Fahlheit, standing down.”

“Good work.”

Nicholas exited the feudal lord’s mansion which was being used as the temporary
control room, and headed to the post of the relief knight team by himself, without an
adjutant accompanying him.

This was because that’s where his daughter Lithia Fahlheit was supposed to be.

“Oh my, are you injured, Baronet?”

Nicholas neared the post and a young guard knight approached him and asked. The
relief knight team members themselves weren’t particularly proficient at fighting, so
they had knights guarding them.

“No, I’m off duty right now. I came to meet my daughter. I wonder if Lithia Fahlheit is
around? Although if she’s still on duty I’ll leave.”

He told the knight on duty and he smiled, and next straightened his pose and stood at
attention.

“Ah, Lithia-dono’s esteemed father! My name is Pasco Rush. I am the third son of the
Rush family. The other day, Lithia-dono healed me of serious wounds and I am in her
debt!”

He said and bowed deeply.

“I think that around this time Lithia-dono’s break will begin, so please go ahead. Third
tent from the back. ”

“I see, thanks.”

Nicholas thanked him and headed to the tent where his daughter Lithia was.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 282 | 392
As the curtain of the night came down, inside a room in the royal castle of Egelia
Kingdom’s capital Asunto, the King and the Third Prince were talking.

“So Ernest, you’re saying that Jin was the one who built those mysterious golems that
came to save us?”

“Mh-hm. They’ve got distinctive movements you see. I mean, didn’t they resemble a
lot how Lotte moves?”

The Third Prince Ernest replied full of confidence. But the King couldn’t tell the
difference in one golem’s movements to another’s.

“Hmm, I don’t know but if you say so then that’s probably it.”

While having a serious look on his face the King accepted Ernest’s view.

“But in that case, who in the world is Jin? Making golems that could easily defeat those
enemy golems we couldn’t do a thing about… I could accept that the Automata called
Reiko was something like an Artifact, but this time…”

“It’s useless to think about it. Jin’s my friend, and the country’s Honorary Magi
Craftsman. Isn’t that enough?”

“Hmm, that may be so, yet the Prime Minister likely won’t accept it.”

What the King said was extremely on point, but wanting to read everything as if it had
hidden motives was the bad habit of politicians.

“Oh well. I’ll speak with the Prime Minister later. You go be with Catherine please.”

“Mh-hm, mother’s probably also disheartened.”

Ernest agreed and left the room. Replacing him the Prime Minister, Marquis Boyd
North Galueri came in.

“Where did His Highness Ernest go?”

“I had him go see Catherine. She’s stayed in her bed since the uproar, you see.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 283 | 392
The Prime Minister nodded and looked sympathetic.

“Aha, as Queen Catherine seems to be very fond of His Highness.”

“Mhm. Catherine loves him even though he was born to a mistress. It gives me peace
both as a father and a husband.”

“That’s, right.… So, Your Majesty, let’s get to business.”

The Prime Minister spread out the document he brought with him on top of the table.

“I understand. It’s about the aforementioned people that were called puppets of the
Unifiers, right?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, the information was factual.

“The battle seems to have ceased.”

Laojun who confirmed the scene from the image sent by a Raptor said to Ann who was
watching the same image.

“Yes, Laojun. Master’s plan was a success, wasn’t it?”

“Indeed it was. According to the report of the Quinta sent to investigate the battlefield,
this time there were 119 casualties. All before we intervened.”

“Even so, master may fret over it.”

“Yes, I think that likely. Therefore, let us not report about this until he asks about it.”

“Understood.”

The next topic was the Unifiers.

“According to a report from the Quinta, we’ve discovered a place that appears to be
the headquarters of the Unifiers.”

“Where might that be?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 284 | 392
“In the ancient ruins above the mine of Kashamnoor, located in Celuroa Kingdom at
the western shore of Lake Azul. We received the same information from a captured
enemy magus so there’s surely no mistake.”

Laojun had the work terminal ‘Laozi’ spread out a map of the area’s surroundings.

“Let’s see, ah, I understand. If it’s around there then it wouldn’t be strange for there to
even be a base of the old Dinar Kingdom. They probably cleverly remodeled one, don’t
you think?”

Ann had memories of the early days of the Great Magic War. Laojun also had the same
data, but due to the mental connections Ann seemed to be able to use the same
information better.

“Currently I’m having ten Quinta move there.”

Once they knew that this was the base of the Unifiers they could perhaps bring an end
to the antagonism between the small nations all in one go.

“Yes, rather than making small attacks against the arms and the legs, it’s best to quickly
crush the head, isn’t it?”

“That’s exactly right. And lastly, Reinhardt-sama seems to be uneventfully spending

time in the supply base.”

“Is that so? In that case I’ve got a suggestion to make.”

Laojun thought it very interesting that Ann had a suggestion.

“What is it?”

“Yes, I was thinking that couldn’t we use this chance to obtain the combat patterns of
a soldier or if possible a high-ranked knight through Reinhardt-san?”

Laojun considered the suggestion.

“That’s a good idea. We have nearly no samples of the movements for swordplay or
martial arts. If I remember correctly, Reinhardt-sama had the aptitude for using
[Transfer Info] up to level two.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 285 | 392
Then Laojun called a Quinta who wasn’t busy and had them head to where Reinhardt
was. If it went well, it would lead to Hourai Island’s war potential increasing.

And then Reinhardt readily consented to it.

After Donald left Asunto with golem number 457 and Elena, it took a day but they
finally arrived at the closest secret base, got onto a hidden ‘hot flying ball’, and were
now heading towards the HQ.

By using the [Hide] magic there were seldom people who saw them. Especially
because it was nighttime.

Elena then contacted the Unifiers’ HQ through her internal device that resembled a
ManaCom.

After that she was silent.

“Elena, what in the world happened?”

Donald felt curious seeing Elena acting unusual.

“Are you thinking about Reinhardt? He indeed was capable, but there’s no way he can
be a match for me. And also…”

“You’re annoying, shut up for a moment.”

“G-got it.”

Elena was thinking about Sage and Cosmos of the SP.

She had called them trash, but in reality, she accepted that they were formidable
opponents.

And now she heard about the golem user called Jin or something.

There was a lot to think about.

“Numbers, huh.”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 286 | 392
Elena called to mind the memory of once being forced to retreat in front the power of
numbers.

“Donald, once we’re back mobilize the entirety of the golem corps.”

“Got it, Elena.”

The hot flying ball’s top speed was about 15 kilometers per hour. It would be a few
hours until they returned to the base.

“Ohh, eating together with a crowd really makes food taste better!”

There was a feast in the plaza in front of Kaina Village’s village head’s house. Everyone
was eating the roasted barbeque made out of the caught mountain deer and drinking
the cooled alcohol with relish…

When they had caught a lot of game it was Kaina Village’s style to share it with
everyone.

“This is delicious.”

“I know, right? Elsa-chan, Mine-san, try this too.”

Because the fresh smoked meat was still being smoked and lacking flavor, they were
treated to food that had been smoked earlier.

“It’s a good flavor, isn’t it. Smoking does give it a fragrant aroma that stimulates the
appetite.”

Elsa and Mine had also joined in and were having fun.

Amidst the scene, Reiko softly whispered to Jin’s ear.

“Father, it seems that Laojun has something to report.”

“Is that so. I wonder if it’s about what to do next?”

Jin snuck out of the plaza. He took out the ManaCom from his pocket and called Laojun.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 287 | 392
“Laojun, let me hear the report.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 288 | 392
“So that means battles aren’t taking place right now.”

After calling Laojun, Jin was relieved from the situation’s change for the better.

“Master, it is most effective to crush the head instead of the arms and the legs against
organizations.”

Ann’s voice then cut in. In other words, she was saying to destroy the headquarters
and not the branches.

Jin made a bitter smile and said,

“Well, I suppose. I got it. Then, I’ll come back there soon. And then let’s put an end to
this mess.”

“Understood. We’ll be waiting.”

Jin then cut the call. He silently returned to the plaza where Martha, Hannah, Mine,
and Elsa were.

“Ah, Jin, how’d you like it, are you having fun?”

“Yeah, I’ve had enough. By the way, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Jin said and invited the four a little further away from everyone else.

“What is it, Jin?”

“Onii-chan, what’s wrong?”

Martha and Hannah looked puzzled but Mine and Elsa seemed to have a vague idea of
what was going on.

“Right now, this country is being invaded.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 289 | 392
Jin spoke.

“The opponent is a group called the Unifiers. I plan to go stop them.”

He made the story short and simple so only Hannah looked to be full of questions, but
Martha seemed to understand.

“Jin, you’ve got enough power to stop them, right?”

Martha asked a little worriedly. Sensing that, Jin puffed up with pride and replied.

“Yes.”

“After stopping them, you’ll come back here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Definitely come back. If you don’t I won’t forgive you.”

“Yes!”

“Mhm, then go, Jin.… No need to worry about Mine-san and Elsa-chan.”

Martha put a hand on her heart and said so.

“Onii-chan, be careful. I’ll be waiting like a good child.”

Hannah also seemed to somehow understand things from Martha’s mood.

“Ah, I got it. I’ll absolutely come back to Hannah’s place.”

Jin leaned over, petted Hannah’s head and said. Hannah smiled while crying a bit.

“Jin-nii, be careful. And make it so that from now on no one becomes unhappy because
of them.”

Elsa also said so to Jin with a serious look on her face.

“I got it. I’ll settle it here.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 290 | 392
“Jin-sama, please be careful. I pray for good luck in your battle.”

Mine also said a few words and saw Jin off.

“Yeah. Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Take care.”

After being seen off by his family, Jin smiled, waved his hand, and walked away.

Then Jin and Reiko returned to Hourai Island.

“Laojun, report please.”

“Yes, My Lord. We’ve identified a location thought to be the headquarters of the

Unifiers.”

“Oh, that’s amazing. Where is it?”

“Up in the mountains west of the town called Kashamnoor on the western shore of
Lake Azul. There is a mine there, and ancient ruins. ”

“I see, so they utilized the ancient ruins and made their headquarters there? Then they
also get resources to advance with the golem manufacture, huh.”

“Yes. And those hot-air balloons are after all something developed during the Great
Magic War. Ann has guaranteed that.”

According to her, the devices the Unifiers called hot flying balls were developed to
oppose devil beasts that can fly, but with the weakness of not being fast they ended up
not having any practical use.

“And we’ve got the VTOLs too, huh.”

“In addition, Ann said that the Automata which attacked Reinhardt-san was surely the
Golden Princess of Destruction. And the golem that attacked him has an interesting
feature.”

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“Which is?”

“It made the [Flame Ball] Reinhardt-san shoot vanish just by touching it with its hand.
The result of analysis was the conjecture that it should be a function to ‘neutralize
magic’.”

Once Jin heard that he tried thinking about it himself too.

“Hmm, the Gigantes from earlier could absorb Magic Energy. Maybe it’s possible by
applying that. Although if it absorbs Magic Energy it probably can’t carelessly touch
magi, but neutralizing magic is different.”

“Yes, I think so too.”

“In that case, as long as we don’t use magic it should be alright.”

It couldn’t defend against purely physical attacks. Jin concluded that it wouldn’t
probably be a great threat.

“Is there anything else?”

“Did you hear about how we dispelled the mentally manipulated person near
Reinhardt-sama?”

“Yeah, I did. It’s probably… that guy.”

Elsa’s brother’s, Fritz’s, face came to Jin’s mind.

“Also, we asked Reinhardt-sama and he copied the sword arts of Shouro Empire
knights using [Transfer Info] for us.”

“Oh, isn’t that amazing! Alright, let’s copy that to the Army golems first. We’ll probably
be able to somehow manage in the time before we sortie. If we’ve got time then to
Hourai Island’s SP, Quinta, and other golems too.”

“At once.”

—-Having said that, apparently Reinhardt went through quite the trouble having to

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 292 | 392
stay quiet and not say anything.

“Was that all?”

“Yes. There’s one more thing. The personal airplane for My Lord is completed to please
check it.”

“A personal airplane for me?”

Jin was told that there was a plane at a standstill in front of the research laboratory so
he went out to see. Laojun’s mobile terminal ‘Laozi’ followed after him and explained.

“It’s basically a VTOL, but with reduced boarding capacity and higher maximum
velocity.”

Just as he said, it was over a size smaller than the Falcon VTOLs and sleeker.

“For emergency escape equipment, a Warp Gate has been installed in the cockpit. To
increase its reliability and to protect highly classified information, a second system
was installed that automatically self-destructs it after transfer has been completed.”

You could indeed call a Warp Gate the ultimate escape equipment.

“For piloting, Sky-1’s Control Core was copied and an exclusive Control Core that
automatically moves it was installed. Of course, in an emergency manual piloting is
also possible.”

It had an autopilot. This meant that simply by Jin pointing out the destination it would
work well.

“For weapons it has a Paralyzer, an Induction Radiator, laser cannons, and although
small, a Magi Cannon. The precision is low but it also has a Magi Detector installed. An
independent Control Core controls the armaments. In addition, for defense it has a
barrier that protects against both physical and magical attacks. Of course, there’s also
a [Stealth] function.”

“That’s perfect, isn’t it…”

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It was as though Laojun hadn’t restrained himself. He was like Jin’s reflection in the
mirror.

“It has a board capacity of five people. It can seat three people in addition to My Lord,
and Reiko.”

Perhaps he had taken into consideration the time back on Kunlun Island when Jin
went to the sea together with Hannah, Elsa, and Mine.

“It’s made out of 6/4 Light Silver and an estimated top speed of 800 kilometers per
hour.”

That was the highest top speed among Hourai Island’s air forces.

“Amazing, to have made something like this even under your restrictions. Laojun, I’m
proud of you.”

Laojun’s authority didn’t extend further than arranging already-existing inventions,

yet making something like this by just combining old inventions made Jin even more
impressed of Laojun

“It is a privilege to receive your praise, My Lord. Please go ahead and name the
airplane.”

When told so, Jin began thinking. And after some thought,

“Alright, it’s ‘Pegasus-1’.”

He named it. Simultaneously he wrote ‘PEGASUS-1’ on the airframe with Craft Magic.

“Thank you very much. It may be redundant, but since a Magi Detector was installed,
it is possible to call it using a ManaCom.”

The closer it was the more precise the Magi Detector was, so it was possible to have it
detect Jin underneath it and come flying.

“I see, thanks again Laojun. Alright, I’ll take Reiko with me. And Ann, you come too.”

“Yes, master.”

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Jin decided to have Ann who was well-acquainted with ancient ruins come with him.
He also got the substitute puppet on board. Of course because after his remodeling it
was the Mysterious Golem Master version with no resemblance to Jin.

And Jin himself, just to be absolutely sure, equipped his reinforced clothing, helmet,
Masamune, Muramasa, and such then boarded Pegasus-1. Reiko also took Peach
Blossom and the Magi Cannon with her as equipment.

Jin judged the preparations to now be completed and gave instructions to Laojun.

“Laojun, since this time Reiko is with me, have Mk.1 of the Titans move out. I’ll be
giving broad instructions so you please take care of the details.”

“Roger that.”

“Alright, sortie all the Raptors, Falcons, and Pelicans that are able to. The Army Land
troops are to board them each. Fully equip all weapons. Also bring medicine.”

Jin then asked himself if he forgot about anything. But there were Warp Gates inside
the Falcons, and if push came to shove he could have things transported through the
submersible base.

“Hourai Island, sortie!”

Jin’s voice echoed and first the Raptor group took off and went ahead. This was
because of the size of the submersible base takeoff and landing wasn’t possible. Next
Condor-1 which had Titan-1 on board took off. Following it Falcons from 1 to 10 took
off.

Lastly Pegasus-1 which Jin was on board took to the skies of Hourai Island.

And then while Hourai Island’s air force was approaching Celuroa Kingdom, from the
center of the huge lake Azul the submersible base rose to the surface. Its top dome
opened up, and a plane carrying a giant golem flew out of it.

However, being protected by a [Stealth] field no one witnessed it.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 295 | 392
Now the battle against the Unifiers to which more than half of Hourai Island’s war
potential was put into was beginning.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 296 | 392
Before dawn, on the western shore of Lake Azul.

The whole place was a wide, minimally inclined plateau surrounded by a vast
wilderness.

A rocky mountain towered above its northwestern part, and on its slopes grew thick
bushes.

The mountain was made out of granite and underground it possessed abundant
resources.

A fort had been built to that place. It was a thing over 300 years old, but there were
people who repaired and remodeled it.

The name of the organization that did it was the Unifiers.

“Ah, so we’ve finally arrived.”

The ‘hot flying ball’ came down from the skies, and from its basket three figures
stepped down.

“I feel tired, Elena.”

An aging white-haired man with blue clothes said.

“Donald, you’re a human after all. I don’t feel that at all.”

A dazzlingly beautiful girl said. But she was surrounded by a cold atmosphere.

The remaining silhouette was obviously not a human. It was the golem number 457.

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The three figures were surrounded by a crowd of other figures who came from
somewhere.

“Thanks for the reception.”

Donald composedly said, and began walking out protected by the guard golems who
approached them. Elena and golem number 457 also followed them.

A part of the wall of rock had been made into a door openable by only the superhuman
strength of golems, beyond which there was a spacious room.

Traversing the large room, they were freely let to pass through a set of doors protected
by golems. They climbed up stairs, and walked on through a long hallway.

Then at the end of the hallway Donald touched the door with his hand and the door
opened automatically.

Inside there was a decorated room. On both the left and right side multicolored
tapestries were hung, in front of which silver- and gold-colored golems were standing
holding spears.

A scarlet carpet lay in the middle. Donald and Elena walked on it straight to the back
of the room.

“Welcome back, Elena.”

A person sitting in the back of the room called out.

“I’ve returned, my lord.”

Elena replied to him.

“At last, it seems that the time for an all-out offensive has come, right?”

“Yes. The flying hot balls contacted and the countries are still in a state of disarray. If
we now switch to the offensive, the Unifiers led by my lord will come to reign over this
continent.”

Contrasting with her clear and beautiful voice, madness revealed itself through her
words. But there was no one here who was suspicious of her.

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It was because here at the throne of the headquarters of all Unifiers, the only two
people were the top seat and the second seat.

In fact in the whole headquarters the number of people was less than 50. The rest
were all golems.

“There are 500 old type combat golems. New type combat golems number 500. 200
all-purpose golems. The activation of a total of 1200 golems has been finished.”

“As expected of my lord, the preparations are ready. In that case have them sort–”

Just when Elena had spoken that far.

“Reporting. A gigantic figure is approaching from the skies.”

An urgent report from a guard golem came in.

“From the skies, you say?”

The man who appeared to be the top seat of the Unifiers operated the Magi Tool
attached to the armrest of his chair for some reason. Then a picture was projected in
front of them in the room. It seemed to be a variant of the Magic Screen.

He switched the picture between various Magic Eyes installed outside the
headquarters and successfully found the figure in question.

A deep black silhouette flying with the daybreak as the backdrop. It was quite a
curious object.

It had four rings arranged to a square, and something was dangling from the center of
it. That something appeared to be the shape of a gigantic human.

“What? What’s that?”

No one could answer. However, Elena glared at the human shape with eyes that
seemed to burn.

“That’s a…! Undoubtedly, it’s an extension of Adrianna’s designs. I see, so this means
the appearance of that Mysterious Golem Master, Jin, or whatever. We must give him a
good welcome.”

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Elena grumbled and turned to face the top seat of the Unifilers,

“Joule, have all the golems sortie. And Gigantes too!”

She gave an order. Not one bit of the respect she had when calling him ‘my lord’ until
now could be felt. However, no one raised an objection to that.

“Father, we’ll soon be approaching Kashamnoor.”

Reiko who was sitting in the navigator’s seat of Pelican-1 said. Incidentally Jin was
sitting in the main pilot’s seat, but he wasn’t doing anything essential. He left it all to
the autopilot of the Air Force golem’s Control Core.

“Got it. Standby at a high-altitude. How’s Titan-1?”

“Estimated to arrive there in about five minutes.”

Laojun’s voice was heard through a ManaCom. From the submersible base to here
there was a distance of about 50 kilometers and they had coordinated to arrive at the
same time, but it was inevitable that the slowest Condor became the last one to arrive.
A calculation error of a few minutes was probably no wonder.

“Alright. Have it turn off [Stealth] and approach the enemy while visible. Once the
enemy notices they’ll surely do something.”

Jin was thoroughly in the mood for defeating them crushingly.

“Have the Army golems dropped off a small distance away from the place thought to
be the enemy base.”

Just as Jin ordered, the ten Falcons landed about two kilometers away from the
relevant location. The three Pelicans chose level ground and also landed.

With this the full line-up of Army golems was 100. They split into teams of ten golems
each and formed a row.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 300 | 392
The Raptor units circled in the air and monitored the ground.

Beyond the horizon, the sun started to rise. The surroundings were dyed yellowish
brown.

While the light shined on, Condor-1 and the Titan-1 it was carrying came to sight.
Since [Stealth] was off they were very visible.

“Oh, they’re here. Alright, have Titan-1 get just a bit closer to the enemy base and drop
down.”

Just as ordered, Titan-1 landed in a location about a kilometer away from the enemy
base.

As the sun rose little by little the light turned from yellowish brown to golden, then
white. Within the light, the enemy base’s doors opened.

100 combat golems that Elena had called old type appeared. Each one was holding a
spear and a shield.

“First let’s try them out. Go!”

Elena gave the order and the combat golems began an organized march.

“Father, it’s the enemy golems.”

Jin and Reiko were watching them from the sky.

“Alright, let’s have the Army golems meet them. Land corps, go!”

A 100 vs 100 golem battle began. But this battle was excessively one-sided.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 301 | 392
The Unifiers’ 100 golems formed a single line and advanced forming a wall.

Their attack could well be said to be in perfect order surely only possible for inorganic
beings.

But their opponents, the Army golems, were no ordinary golems. Far from ordinary,
they were the pinnacle of golems in this world.

The Unifiers’ golems readied their shields and thrust their spears out of the gaps. They
were in a so-called shield wall.

The Land corps side wasn’t holding shields or spears. They were holding Vibration
Swords.

They were swords made out of Magi Adamantite that could cleave anything they
touched in two with microscopic ultra high speed vibrations caused by pouring Magic
Energy into the blade.

The steel spears the Unifiers’ golems thrust out were sliced apart in the blink of an
eye.

Then as a counterattack the swords cut through the shields they were holding and into
their defenseless chests.

Those thrusts were accurate to the inch and destroyed the Control Cores in the golems’
central area.

Ten seconds after contact, the Unifiers’ 100 golems were rendered incapable of
combat.

Joule, the top seat of the Unifiers, who had been watching it through the Magic Screen
was shocked.

“W–what the!? Even though they were old type, to think the combat golems were
instantly killed!”

But Elena was measuring the true strength of the Land corps even while frustration
was visible on her face.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 302 | 392
“Next! 200 golems move out! Make sure not to assemble to a rank. Shields are
unnecessary. Use swords.”

For the second battle, 200 golems came out. This time the 200 golems began their
assault not in an ordered rank but in a scattered manner.

“So this time it’s 200 golems. Land corps, retreat two meters from the 100 golems
defeated just now. Form groups and meet the enemy as teams.”

Watching the battlefield from the skies the progress of the battle was well-visible.
Even the layman Jin could gave orders as things were. Additionally, Ann was helping
him.

To avoid the defeated golems the charge was slower. In addition, their postures were
in disarray.

Aiming at that the Land units attacked.

If they aimed at the legs, the legs were cut off. Then slashing diagonally from the
shoulder even the Control Core inside the enemy’s chest was destroyed, stopping their
movements.

If they cut off the neck, the golems’ sight would immediately worsen and such golems
were readily neutralized.

On top of the 100 wrecked golems that the battle started with, more wrecks piled up.

Elena who had been watching all that said,

“Now, is it. Have the 500 new type combat golems sally out from behind those guys!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 303 | 392
“Hm? So there was an exit there too.”

Jin who could literally see the big picture from the sky saw an exit open in a rock wall
about 500 meters behind and to the west of where the Land corps were fighting with
the enemy.

“Land corps, watch your backs! Titan-1, back them up.”

Jin immediately gave orders.

After receiving that the Land units from 1 to 60 turned around. The remaining units
from 61 to 100 kept massacring the old type combat golems.

“Oh? This time the golems are of a different model, probably a newer type. Be careful!”

Jin gave further orders, even to the Raptor team circling in the sky.

“Be prepared to fire down Magi Jammers at any time.”

Then he returned to watching the battle.

There were 500 of the new type golems that had appeared. Although the old types
were mostly defeated, it was still a five times difference in the fighting force.

But that’s where Titan-1 came in.

“What a gigantic golem. In practice just the sight of it is menacing. Although even
Adrianna didn’t built something like that.”

As you’d expect, even Elena felt threatened staring at the gigantic Titan.

“Before our golems meet with theirs, toss two Gigantes cores in the middle of them!”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 304 | 392
Elena’s instructions.

One of the all-purpose golems followed them.

The past’s superweapon Gigantes was controlled by its Core. That Core absorbed
Mana from its surroundings and made it its own.

Simply by touching it could suck out the opponent’s Mana and render them immobile.
That’s the kind of superweapon it was.

Gigantes’s Cores were usually held in sealed boxes, so the all-purpose golem tossed
the cores, boxes and all, into the middle of the old type combat golems.

The boxes hit the ground and broke, then the Gigantes sucked the Mana out of the old
type combat golems and formed themselves. Their bodies were composed of rock and
old type combat golem body parts which had been lying around.

“Two Gigantes, huh. So the two we failed to find were in their hands.”

Jin said while watching the battlefield’s state from a Magic Screen while flying in the
air.

“But to use your allies’ Mana. What a nasty bunch.”

Currently, the Land corps were under pincer attack by the two Gigantes and the enemy
golems.

A number of the Land golems stopped moving when they received an attack from a
Gigantes, but they were rescued by their compatriots, had their Mana Drivers safely
restarted, and re-entered the battle.

“Land corps, don’t be concerned about the Gigantes. Draw back. Titan-1 will stop the
Gigantes.”

Jin sent out his orders.

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“Father, although it’s a Titan, won’t the Gigantes still suck all its Mana out?”

Reiko who had once fought a Gigantes said.

“Mh-hm, I’ve got an idea for that. Let’s see if it’s correct, shall we?”

Jin then issued more orders.

“Titan-1, apply [Solid Barrier] on your fists.”

Jin’s plan.

First, concentrate the defensive barrier that usually covers the whole body to just the
fists.

What Gigantes could absorb was only Mana, Ether, and so on, not magic.

According to Ann, Gigantes could ‘absorb Magic Energy from many sources: from
touching things, the surrounding air, or fired magic.’ but during the last confrontation
Reinhardt’s [Flame Lance] had melted its body. That’s why Jin had made the guess that
it probably can’t absorb magic.

“Alright, just like that bash the Gigantes!”

the Gigantes’s movements were slow. Titan’s right fist easily smashed into Gigantes.

“W-what is this!”

Elena was surprised.

Gigantes’s body scattered around. Among the fragments was something shining. It
was the Core.

The moment the Core landed on the ground it collected the surrounding scrap and
rock and once again formed into a Gigantes.

“…Hehe, I was a little surprised but Gigantes won’t be defeated by an attack like that.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 306 | 392
Elena muttered while watching the Magic Screen.

Meanwhile, Jin watched attentively from the sky.

“Just as I thought. Gigantes can’t absorb magic. Alright Titan, keep on attacking like
that!”

Titan-1 left the Gigantes that was a little further away for later and struck other
Gigantes close by.

Once more Gigantes’s body was blown to pieces. Simultaneously its Core flew out.

Aiming at that Titan-1 once again swung its fist.

“Eh?”

Elena who was watching raised her voice in astonishment.

Unbefittingly nimbly for its gigantic body, Titan-1 punched once more at the Core that
flew out.

And as you’d expect, the Core couldn’t bear the impact and was smashed up. Gigantes
didn’t form a second time.

“But, but why!?”

Elena yelled like what she just saw was unbelievable. Before her eyes, Titan-1 defeated
the second Gigantes in the same way.

“No way…”

Elena’s exhausted voice echoed in the headquarters of the Unifiers.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 307 | 392
As soon as Jin saw that, he gave the next orders to Titan-1.

“Titan-1, provide backup for the Land corps.”

Receiving the orders, Titan-1 turned. It headed to provide backup for the Land corps
who were in the middle of a fierce battle.

The Land corps formed a battle formation to fight against the opponent five times
their number.

This was the tactic of Shouro Empire knights that Reinhardt had copied for them.

According to it one soldier had the power of one soldier, but when assembled to a
group if ten soldiers came their power wouldn’t be that of ten soldiers, instead they’d
be able to show the power of only five or six soldiers.

However, there was also the way of thought that when an army soldier formed a battle
formation the power of one could become the power of three or four.

Against the new type combat golems that left it all to numbers, the Land corps formed
what was on Earth known as a wedge formation.

In other words, the made a Δ shape.

The golems in its pointed tip held Vibration Swords and assaulted the enemy golems’
weak point.

The back row had the duty of deploying [Solid Barrier]s and [Magic Barrier]s to
protect against attacks from the rear.

While holding the formation, the Land corps ran through the new type combat golems
at a high speed.

“I see, they’re moving so that they don’t get surrounded.”

Jin who was watching from the sky could easily understand the meaning of their

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 309 | 392
movements.

The image from the sky was simultaneously sent to Laojun, and using that information
Laojun was able to give instructions guiding the Land corps to the appropriate places.

“Now, Titan-1!”

Once Jin had confirmed that the Land corps had pierced through the enemy golems he
gave the order to Titan-1.

Titan-1 attacked from behind of the Unifiers’ new type combat golems which were
focused on the Land corps.

Around five golems were crushed underneath its giant feet and the enemy golems’
movements were throw into disarray.

Titan-1 ran around in the middle of the enemy golems some more.

“Tch, how could this…!”

Elena’s face warped with displeasure. The only golems she kept seeing being
destroyed were the Unifiers’.

“Good, Titan-1, now to the right!”

It kicked its giant leg, and while the trampled golems weren’t destroyed, their legs
were bent, arms broken, and heads squashed, so they were by no means okay.

Their movements of course became slow, and their combat strength plummeted. The
Land corps didn’t overlook that.

Quickly the wrecks of the new type combat golems piled up.

“Fall back at once! Fix your posture and reorganize!”

Elena couldn’t be indifferent and gave orders. Abiding those orders, the Unifiers’ new

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 310 | 392
type combat golems temporarily put distance between them and Hourai Island’s
military.

But in the battle just now, over 100 of the new type combat golems became scrap.

There were wounded among the Land corps, but no one dropped out of the fight.

But the difference in numbers was still four to one. Even with Titan, the Unifiers had
the advantage.… Or so it would seem.

“Well then, I wonder what the other party is planning?”

The lull of the fierce battle resulted in a break. Jin and his opponent were both
examining each other while refining their tactics.

“Master, in battles on the ground numbers mean everything. However, the opponent
isn’t coordinated. We can take advantage of that.”

Ann also made a suggestion. Rather than Jin, Ann was better acquainted with these
kinds of battles.

“Hm, is that so. In other words you’re suggesting we go disturb the enemy.”

Jin muttered. Reiko caught that.

“Father, I’ll go.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 311 | 392
“Reiko, could you go?”

To make the battle situation even more advantageous, disrupting the enemy now was
necessary.

And the most qualified person for that was of course Reiko.

“But don’t intervene directly yet. Only use the Magi Cannon to shoot from afar.”

As there still were things to think about, Jin reminded Reiko. She obediently nodded.

“Yes, please leave it to me.”

Jin then lowered the altitude Pegasus-1 was flying at. And when the ground was ten
meters away.

“This will do. Ann, please take care of Father.”

Reiko said, took Peach Blossom and the Magi Cannon, then jumped down from
Pegasus-1.

While pinching down the hem of her skirt, Reiko dropped on the ground and stood.
The location was about 500 meters away from the battlefield.

“Alright Reiko, fire with the Magi Cannon at 30 percent.”

“Yes Father.”

Orders came down from Jin who was in Pelican-1 which had once again risen up
higher.

“I ordered the Land corps to move just now. Our allies will be going from the left side
to the right side. Got it?”
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With her marvellous eyesight, Reiko watched the timing of when the allied Land corps
had gone from the left side.

She then prepared to fire the Magi Cannon in her hands.

“Magi Cannon, output 30 percent. Firing!”

Along with the boom of the shock wave, the Adamantite round was fired at a speed of
around Mach 20.

“What are you doing! Aargh, so irritating!”

Elena who was watching the Magi Screen ground her teeth.

At that moment, a number of the new type combat golems were blown away.

“Eh?”

After a few seconds, another bunch was. Then another.

“What? What’s going on?”

Even Elena couldn’t confirm by sight the shots fired at over Mach 20 and couldn’t
understand what was going on.

And meanwhile, more of the golems on her side were blown away.

After seeing the friendly golems be blown away a total of ten times Elena lost her
judgment.

“Golems! Spread out! If you group up the damage will increase! Spread out I said!”

But that was what Jin had been aiming for.

“Oh, the enemy golems have become scattered. I wonder if they’re scared of Reiko’s
shelling?”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 313 | 392
Jin who was viewing the scene from the sky muttered.

“Master, now attacks using the Raptors would be effective too.”

Ann presented some advice.

“Yeah, that’s right. Instead of a wide area attack, let’s have them snipe each of the
individual golems.”

Jin then gave orders to the Raptor team.

“Each one of the Raptor team, fire burst shots with lasers at the enemy golems on the
surface. No matter what do not hit allies.”

“W–what is it this time!?”

Elena let out a shriek.

On the scene displayed by the Magi Screen, one new type combat golem fell after
another.

She couldn’t tell what was going on. Just that suddenly their heads and arms, or half
of their bodies disappeared and they collapsed.

“What in the– what in the world is going oooon!”

Elena was almost screaming, then the top seat of the Unifiers Joule tried to calm her
down by patting her shoulder.

But that only irritated Elena.

“Annoying!”

Elena swung her hand. It collided with Joule’s chest. Along with the sound of bones
breaking, Joule coughed up blood and collapsed.

“E–Ele… na?”

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That was all he could manage to say. He then lost consciousness.

Looking down at the collapsed Joule, Elena recovered her discernment a little.

“Tch, I accidentally broke a piece that was still useful.… Well, it’s fine since there are
plenty of replacements.”

She declared indifferently and turned to face Donald who was looking surprised at the
side.

“Donald, from now on you’re the top seat of the Unifiers.”

She told him. Donald’s expression had been stiff but Elena’s line made him smile.

“Got it, Elena. From now on I’m the top seat.”

No will could be felt in his eyes.

“Yes. Donald, how many hot flying balls there are left.”

“There’s ten.”

“That’s enough. Send all of them out. Have all of the magi board them.”

“Got it. There’s 28 so is three in eight of them and two in two of them fine?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Have them attack the enemy from the sky!”

“Way to go, Raptor team.”

Jin watched the battle situation and felt that it was becoming more favourable.

There were 100 enemy golems left, by now it was possible for just the Land corps to
annihilate them.

Even now none of the Land corps had dropped out of the battle. There were some who
had been wounded, but they weren’t on the level of hindering their movements.

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“Alright Raptor team, stop firing the lasers.”

With the enemies becoming sparse their efficiency decreased. Land units should be
enough for the rest, Jin concluded.

“I don’t think this is the end, what will they bring out next?”

Just when Jin had thought so.

“Master, those.”

When Ann spoke, Jin raised his head. He had been careful of only what’s below, but
this time the enemy was at the same altitude as they were.

They were at most a kilometer away. With the naked eye they still looked like dots.

But the Magic Screen had a long-range viewing function, and when Jin looked at it he
unexpectedly was impressed and spoke.

“Huh, hot air balloons. I did hear of this, but they really did develop them, huh.”

But Ann said,

“No, master, I also reported to Laojun that those are called ‘hot flying balls’. They were
apparently developed to fight against flying devil beasts during the Great Magic War.”

The information apparently matched the portion of Ann’s memories that couldn’t be
recovered. Apparently only just of late the memories could finally be recovered.

“These things appeared in Asunto and Tetrada, right? Well, the name doesn’t matter.
It looks like they use fire magic to heat air and ascend, and wind magic to move, right?”

As expected of Jin, just by sight he could see through to the theory behind it nearly
perfectly.

“That’s right. And that’s why in the earlier wars we could force them to make
emergency landings with the Magi Jammers.”

“Alright, let’s intimidate them before that.”

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Jin then had Pegasus-1 move towards the enemy hot flying balls.

“Make sure that the Magi Jammers are ready to fire at any time. Then deploy a [Magic
Barrier] at the front.”

The VTOL Pelican-1 advanced at a very slow speed and neared the enemy hot flying
balls.

“But really when you get on board one of these hot flying balls you realize how big a
deal they are.”

“Yeah, truly. To have a flight method like this, the technology of the past sure is
amazing, huh.”

“Flying in the air is really an absolute advantage. You can immediately tell where the
enemy army is and how many they number, and you can also attack as you please.”

“Oi, we’re soon above the enemy so prepare your magic.”

Up in the hot flying balls a conversation like that was going on. But then their voices
froze with shock.

“H–hey, what’s that?”

In front of their eyes. There was a flying object shining with silver color.

“It’s made out of… me… tal…?”

“Why can that thing fly…?”

After Pelican-1 undid its [Stealth] and showed itself, everyone was astonished.

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Confronting the Unifiers’ hot flying balls, Jin ordered,

“Make a small hole in the balloons using the lasers.”

Following his orders the Control Core managing the guns shot thin laser beams.
Without erring in their aim, they hit the Unifiers’ balloons.

“A–aargh!”

The Unifiers on board panicked. That was normal, as if the balloons broke they would
crash.

But the thin beams didn’t cut open the balloons, they stopped at only opening small
holes. However those holes were enough to make the balloons’ altitude drop.

“We-we’re falling!”

“More fire!”

“It’s no use, the only way is down!”

The ten hot flying balls kept coming down quite slowly, being unable to maintain their
altitude due to the holes in the balloons.

Seeing that Jin said,

“Alright, that’s enough. Now it’s time for this.”

Then the Paralyzers were pointed at the crews of the hot flying balls and fired.

“Ugh!”

“Gyaah!”

The crew members let out short groans and fainted.

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Even after the crews fainted, the hot flying balls kept slowly falling all the same.
Because they wouldn’t be crash landing there probably wouldn’t be any deaths.

“How can this…”

Seeing the scene on a Magic Screen, Elena was dumfounded.

“Outside of magic, there are forces in this world that should be understood and used.”

Suddenly she remembered the words Reinhardt had said.

“Forces other than magic… Is this what he meant by that?”

While glaring at the flying silver-colored and shining object Pegasus-1 Elena muttered
bitterly.

“Okay, in that case… All-purpose golems, march out!”

The autonomy of the all-purpose golems was high, and using Elradrite they could
augment both their strength and magic.

200 of them were unleashed on the battlefield.

“Ah, new golems came out again. Those are… I remember them.”

They were the same type of golems that the one which knocked the careless Jin off his
feet back when he was saving Reinhardt and Stearina.

“They’ve got a reasonable performance.… Land corps, be cautious! New enemies have
appeared. They appear to be able to use both physical strength and magic.”

Jin communicated his instructions to all the golems through Laojun.

There were about 100 new type combat golems left and 200 of the all-purpose golems.

The all-purpose golems, perhaps based on how the battle went so far, spread out when
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they headed to the battlefield. Because of the speed of their movements there were
many who escaped the burst-fired lasers from the Raptors.

“Hmm, they’ve learned a little, huh. What should we do?”

At that moment, there was a transmission from Reiko.

“Father, please give me your permission for direct intervention.”

Jin thought about it for a bit and then gave his approval.

“Alright, that’s fine. But absolutely don’t force yourself. Limit your output to a
maximum of 50 percent at your own discretion, alright?”

“Yes!”

Reiko replied and kicked the ground. First she’d start at ten percent output.

With the Adamantite katana Peach Blossom unsheathed, even while burdened by the
Magi Cannon, Reiko cut into the enemy golems faster than wind.

The exterior of the all-purpose golems was made of steel. Their skeletons were also
steel. Although Adamantite was many times stronger than steel, cutting steel still
needed a considerable amount of power. But it was an easy feat with Reiko’s strength.

With the first strike she cut off an arm, with the second strike she cut off the head, and
with the third strike she severed the torso.

And after defeating five golems like that, Reiko talked to herself,

“Cutting them down with three slashes each is inefficient, isn’t it.”

She then increased her power output to 30 percent.

After increasing her speed even more, this time Reiko went on to cut the golems
vertically in two with one swing. She was like a black whirlwind.

Where Reiko ran through only the wreckage of the enemy golems was left behind.

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Then after cutting down 30 golems like that, Reiko felt that the Peach Blossom in her
hand was under too much strain.

“It’s not good to accidentally break the katana Father gave me.”

She murmured and sheathed Peach Blossom.

She held the Magi Cannon she had been carrying in its place.

It was made out of Magi Adamantite and was one and a half meters long. A brutal
weapon that doubled as a blunt instrument.

Reiko swung it around.

The enemy golems it hit flipped in the air and were blown away. The shock from the
impact made their limbs partly come off.

“This is as good as I thought!”

Among the enemy all-purpose golems there were ones who caught the swinging Magi
Cannon with their hands but it didn’t change the result.

No matter how much you applied [Hardening] to it, steel didn’t have the strength to
stop the mass of Magi Adamantite swung at an extremely high speed.

Even their strength raised by Elradrite was utterly meaningless.

While swinging the Magi Cannon around with both her hands, Reiko ran through the
battlefield as easily as if she was in an empty field.

“W-w– what in the world is sheeeeeee!”

Elena was already nearly shrieking.

By intensely staring at the Magic Screen she could just barely see Reiko’s image
running around in the crowded battlefield.
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A black dress and a white apron. Spreading destruction while her black hair fluttered,
her shape was exactly that of a ‘Black Princess of Destruction’.

The Black Princess of Destruction by herself had defeated half of the all-purpose
golems.

“Did Adrianna make an Automata like that? I cannot believe it! That’s not an Automata!
Monster, it must be a monster!”

The new top seat of the Unifiers Donald then said to Elena,

“Elena, please calm down. Even though they’re the old type, we’ve still got 200 combat
golems left. Let’s send them out.”

He then continued,

“If those guys are amplifying their strength using Elradrite, they’ll surely soon run out
of Magic Energy.”

“That must be the case, alright. Send them out!”

“Oh, the same golems they brought out at first appeared. They must be running out of
soldiers by now?”

Jin’s guess was right on the mark.

“Alright, Land corps, go to mainly strike the golems that appeared just now. Don’t let
them get in Reiko’s way.”

And then he thought over it some more.

“Hmm, the Magical Muscles used in the Land golems were made with a Ground
Spider’s silk as the base, weren’t they?”

He then arrived at a conclusion.

“Alright, Raptor team, Falcon team, listen up. Point the Induction Radiators at the
battlefield and activate them. Make sure not to point them at Reiko’s direction.”
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And to the ground troops he said,

“Land corps, attention. Induction Radiators’ beams are coming. If your bodies seem to
be overheating then withdraw. The safe zone is where Reiko is.”

As Jin ordered the Induction Radiators were activated.

They were devices that used lightning-type magic to induce current in all metals, and
the current would then heat up and melt the metal. As you’d expect, it was impossible
to just point it at the enemy and them up. The Land corps would also accidentally be
similarly affected.

That’s the reason why Jin gave the warning.

Incidentally, the electromagnetic waves have no effect on humans like what’s currently
talked about a lot in the world. The reason is that it’s lightning magic instead of
electromagnetic waves.

Having received Jin’s warning, the Land corps immediately withdrew from the
battlefield when they sensed their bodies starting to get tinged with heat. Because of
this there were no injuries.

However, the Unifiers’ old type combat golems had a low autonomy. You could say that
they couldn’t decide things for themselves.

That’s why they stayed on the battlefield despite their bodies becoming red hot.

“The golems are beginning to heat up!? Why? But whyyyyy!”

This phenomenon had already been seen on the battlefield between Frantz and Cline
Kingdom, but Joule who could’ve told her of that was no longer in a condition to speak.

The Ground Spider’s silk used in the muscles of the Land units and Reiko’s clothes
could withstand a heat of 1000 degrees Celsius. However, the Unifiers’ old type
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 323 | 392
combat golems couldn’t bear with a heat of more than 300 degrees Celsius.

The temperature at which steel radiated bright red light was around 700 degrees
Celsius. The old type combat golems who had become like that had burned their
muscles and were already incapable of moving.

They collapsed on the spot, heated up more, then became nothing more than lumps of
metal.

The Magi Crystals used in the Control Cores had a high melting point so they were left
unmolten, but with the body molten it didn’t help.

The golems that were already destroyed followed the same fate. The battlefield ended
up with scattered blocks of metal everywhere.

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Metal from the molten golems and the Magi Crystals used in them were scattered
round the battlefield.

Jin who was watching from above noticed something among all that.

“Hm? I feel like the number of Elradrite pieces is small.”

He could see the Magi Crystals used in the Control Cores, Mana Drivers, and Mana
Tanks all around, but he wasn’t able to see any more than a few dozen pieces of
Elradrite.

“I see, it’s a rare Magi Crystal after all so having all the golems equipped with it
would’ve been too much even for the Unifiers.”

Jin spoke to himself and ordered the Land golems from 91 to 100 to collect the Magi
Crystals.

As a result of the use of the Induction Radiator, the old type combat golems were
literally completely destroyed.

Even the last ray of hope –the all-purpose golems– had been reduced in number by
Reiko’s work, and because on top of that the Land corps were once again taking part
in the battle, their fates were extremely precarious.

“Why, why, why! Just what’s wrong here!?”

By now Elena’s had gone past shouting with grief and was panicking.

“Elena, calm down. We still have ‘that’ left, don’t we?”

Donald took the kindness for his subordinates he had and used it to calm down the
real leader Elena.

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“T-that’s true. Now is the time to use ‘that’. Donald, I give my permission, send it out!”

“Yes!”

Donald ordered the remaining few golems and had them carry out the weapon from
the past which they had called ‘that’.

“Master, something’s coming out again.”

Ann who was alert to the surroundings said to Jin who was observing the battlefield.

A large gap opened in the rock face and something came out of there.

“Hm. What? What’s that?”

It looked like a giant bow.

It had an arced beam with a taut string going from one end to another. In the middle
it had a part that looked like a rail.

“That’s a… Ballista, isn’t it?”

“I see, so it’s a giant bow that launches shells.”

Jin saw that a number of golems were drawing the crossbow and were about to launch
boulders as ammunition.

Judging from the golems’ size, the length of the bow part was about ten meters and
the boulder about to be launched had a diameter of 50 centimeters.

If the stone’s specific gravity was about three, then the stone would weigh about 200
kilograms.

“Will it reach from all the way there? Anyway, let’s be careful.… Land corps, Titan, be
careful! They’re about to launch a boulder!”

Nearly simultaneously with Jin’s warning the boulder was launched.

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Drawing a parabola and flying nearly 200 meters, the rock fell into the battlefield that
seemed to be in a free-for-all fight.

Thanks to Jin’s advance warning the Land corps weren’t injured, but the boulder flew
towards one of the remaining all-purpose golems, and unluckily for it the golem
couldn’t evade the boulder with the damage it had taken and took a direct hit.

The friendly projectile smashed its body and did serious damage.

Two more boulders came flying, but the Land corps evaded them all. The enemy all-
purpose golems too had no one with poor movements and were able to avoid them.

Elsa then changed her orders and had the Ballista brought closer to the battlefield,
this time targeting the large Titan.

However, the boulder with a speed of about 10 meters per second posed no threat.
The Titan easily avoided it.

“But if it hit then it seems like the Titan would receive some considerable damage.…
Reiko, do you still have shots left?”

Thinking he’d have Reiko who had the Magi Cannon deal with it, Jin called her.

“Yes, Father. There are no more Adamantite rounds but I have five steel rounds left.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Shoot at the Ballista with about five percent power.”

“Understood.”

Reiko then withdrew from the battlefield at a high speed. She took about 500 meters
of distance.

Then she prepared to fire the Magi Cannon. The target was the Ballista. The gun’s
barrel was nearly horizontal.

“Output five percent, firing!”

The steel rounds which were softer than the Adamantite ones were shaved down
inside the Magi Adamantite barrel which reduced their speed somewhat, but they
were still fired.

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Despite that their muzzle velocity was over Mach 2, so at a distance of 500 meters
Reiko could aim roughly straight at the Ballista.

“Aim better!”

Elena didn’t conceal her irritation at the boulders which didn’t really hit the target.

In the first place, the Ballista was a weapon developed to be used in attacks against
slow-moving large devil beasts and the devil race’s forts.

There was no way it’d hit the moving Titan-1, much less the Land corps.

“How useless!”

Just when she yelled that.

The Ballista was suddenly partially destroyed.

“W–what? What was that?”

Elena was confused as again her army’s weapons were destroyed in an incomprehensible
manner.

On the Magic Screen the picture of the Ballista which got destroyed even further was
visible.

“I’ve had it! What in the world is going on!?”

“Elena, look!”

Donald who was watching another Magic Screen yelled to Elena.

On the Magic Screen there was a small silhouette holding some kind of a long and
narrow tube at the ready.

“What’s that? It’s so small I can’t really tell?”

This was because their Magic Screens couldn’t enlarge the image anymore than this.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 328 | 392
“I don’t really get it but she seems to be the one from earlier?”

“That black-haired monster, right? Guh, just how much is it going to interfere with us!”

Now that the threat of the Ballista was gone, the Land corps continued tidying up the
remaining golems of the Unifiers.

Then there were finally no more moving enemy golems left.

“Master, the enemy golems have been shut down. The attack and the Ballista have both
stopped.”

Ann looked over the battlefield and said. Jin also had the same impression so,

“I wonder if it’s finally over?”

He agreed with Ann. But, to be careful, he spent some time checking the battlefield
from the sky.

“Hmm, it looks to be over at last.”

Concluding that the resistance of the Unifiers had run out, Jin decided to give orders
to invade the enemy headquarters.

“Land units from one to 40, stay there and protect the rear. Units from 41 to 60, storm
in through the door opened for the Ballista. Units from 61 to 80, go through the front
entrance. Units from 81 to 100, enter through the opening in the rock wall on the west
side.”

“Father, what shall I do?”

A question came from Reiko who was on the ground. Jin replied.

“Wait a bit longer, Reiko. If there’s opposition that seems tough beyond the three
entrances then please rush in to provide help.”

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“I understand.”

But five minutes passed, then ten, and none of teams who entered seemed to have met
with any special resistance. Jin then had Pelican-1 land and dropped the substitute
puppet off.

Reiko came running to the spot.

“Reiko, please go through the front entrance along together with the substitute
puppet.”

“Yes, I understand. Also, I’m very sorry about this.”

Reiko presented him with Peach Blossom and,

“Father, Peach Blossom has been chipped.”

She said. Jin took it and inspected the blade. Indeed, the Adamantite blade had some
faults and its strength had also lowered.

“I got it. Once we’re back at the research laboratory I’ll give it a version update to Magi
Adamantite. Even so… It’s a narrow space so it probably isn’t the time for the Magi
Cannon. Leave it here. Take this instead.”

Jin said and handed a Vibration Blade to her. It wasn’t one for the Land units, but the
same size as the ones held in reserve for the girl-type SP.

“I understand. I’ll be borrowing this for now.”

Next Jin also gave Ann orders.

“Ann, you come with us too this time. If it’s a fort from the time of the Great Magic War,
then you probably know its structure well.”

“Yes, master.”

“Ann, you can take these.”

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Jin handed over a Paralyzer and a Guard Ring.

“Thank you very much.”

“Alright, I’ll stay on standby in the sky. Once again, don’t force yourself.”

“Yes!”

Jin once again took to the skies with Pelican-1. Reiko and Ann headed to the
headquarters of the Unifiers.

This was the final curtain of the war against the Unifiers.

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At the entrance that appeared to be the front one. Fifteen minutes after the Land units
from 61 to 80 rushed in through it while it was left open.

Reiko, Ann, and Jin’s substitute puppet ‘Deus Ex Machina’ also entered.

“There’s no mistaking it. These are the ruins of an ancient fortress.”

Ann said after checking the structure.

The place where they arrived after going through the entrance was something like a
wide hall. It was the place where soldiers who warped in would wait for orders.

Similarly to the ruins in Yada Village, in the floor there were traces of a Warp Gate.
Although the parts left behind were very few so there was no hope of reconstructing
it.

It had probably been destroyed when the fort got abandoned.

From the front there, a passage extended out. At the entryway to the passage there
were concaves where guards had likely once been stationed in, but now there were
unmoving golems there that the Land corps had destroyed.

“We should find stairs after walking for a bit.”

Following Ann’s guidance, the three progressed.

Just as she said, after walking 20 meters more there were stairs leading up and down.

“The stairs down go to the armoury while the stairs up go to the control room. Where
should we go?”

Ann turned to ask for Reiko’s opinion, and at that very moment. The sound of people

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 332 | 392
walking up the stairs from below was heard.

“!”

Reiko immediately got on guard, but after sensing the Magic Energy Patterns she
realized that they were Land golems and moved her hand off her sword’s handle.

The ones that came up were Land-70 and Land-71.

“Oh, milady. The basement seems to be an armory, but there were nothing but broken
golems and Magi Tools that had become useless. Land units from 41 to 60 also joined
us and we’re continuing the investigation.”

Hearing the report, Reiko decided to head upstairs.

“Let’s go up.”

They went upstairs taking Land-70 and Land-71 with them.

“Oh my, we’re not the first.”

The door leading to the second floor hallway was left wide open, and in the hallway
there were the Land units from 91 to 100 who were supposed to have entered through
the wester side.

“Milady, there was nothing but household golems. Yet they’ve all been neutralized.”

Land-100 reported to Reiko.

“Most likely the control room is on the fourth floor, let’s go.”

Ann suggested. Reiko nodded and called out to Land-100 and the others.

“You guys please keep on investigating this floor.”

Reiko’s group then went to the third floor.

The door to the third floor was left wide open, the Land units from 81 to 90 were there
investigating.

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Reiko’s group left that floor to the Land corps too and went to the fourth floor.

The stairs reached their end there, and a robust-looking door blocked their passage.

“Milady, let us try first.”

Land-70 said and pushed the door together with Land-71. But it didn’t budge.

“It feels like it’s been barred from the inside. What shall we do?”

They had a few ways of opening it. He was asking about that.

Then Jin contacted them. The substitute puppet’s mouth opened.

“Just now Land-61’s group discovered members of the Unifiers. The 17 people in total
were all neutralized. From questioning those guys it seems that the control room is on
the fourth floor.”

“That’s the floor we’re on, isn’t it.”

“That’s right. Most likely the ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’ is also here. Be very
careful.”

“I understand. What shall we do about this door? Should we open it with force?”

“Let’s see, chop it off with the Vibration Blade.”

Jin gave instructions while borrowing the mouth of his substitute puppet ‘Deus Ex
Machina’.

“Yes, Father.”

Reiko felt just a little disappointed. The substitute puppet turned to Reiko and said to
her as if consoling her,

“Reiko, you’ll be headlining today so it’s better to not go ahead recklessly. ”

Then,

“Also, stop calling this puppet ‘Father’. This goes for all of you there, make sure to call

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it ‘Machina’.”

The word Deus meant ‘god’ so Jin refrained from that and decided to have the
substitute puppet nicknamed ‘Machina’ which meant ‘machine’.

“Yes, Machina-sama.”

The group then passed through the door and stepped into the fourth floor proper.

There in the comparatively wide hallway a carpet had been laid down.

“There’s no mistaking it. At the end of this hallway is the control room. It’s clear that
a rather high-ranking commander had been in charge of this fort.”

Land-70 and Land-71 were side-by-side as the vanguard, behind them was Machina,
and Reiko and Ann were the rearguard. They were likewise side-by-side.

On the left and right there were a number of doors, but after opening them and
checking inside they found nothing particularly notable.

Then finally only the door at the back was left.

“Opening.”

Land-70 and Land-71 pulled on the door. Because this time there was a handle on the
door.

Slowly the door opened. It appeared it hadn’t been bolted.

“Please be careful.”

Ann said, and at that moment.

Once the door had opened enough to let a person through the gap, a number of golden
and silver figures holding spears rushed out. They were golems.

“As I thought!”

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Reiko who had stayed cautious immediately unsheathed the Vibration Blade and in
the next moment cut down two of the attacking golems.

Even though Reiko didn’t know any sword arts, the golems were no match for her
physical ability.

Then Land-70 and Land-71 too cut down an enemy golem each.

This time nothing jumped through the door and it was opened wide.

“So you’ve reached this far.”

In front of them at the back of the room there was an aging man. He was sitting with
gold and silver-colored golems like the ones defeated just now standing on his left and
right.

There was another golem about two meters tall, but it stood in front of Reiko’s group
as if protecting the man from the front.

“I am the top seat of the Unifiers, Donald. You will be the opponents of my masterpiece,
golem number 457. Go!”

Along with this words golem number 457 kicked the floor and rushed to attack Ann.

The aging man, the current leader of the Unifiers Donald, had been watching Reiko’s
specialness through the Magic Screen so he was aiming for Ann who seemed the
easiest to deal with.

Ann wasn’t indeed very strong.

“[Barrier].”

But she was fast enough to activate the Guard Ring she had received from Jin.

The Guard ring had once defended against a hit from Reiko at 30 percent output.

Golem number 457’s fist came to a halt ten centimeters before reaching Ann.

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“W–what!?”

Land-70’s Vibration Blade mowed down golem number 457 which had stopped
briefly.

Even steel hardened to the utmost couldn’t offer even a little resistance against the
Vibration Blade.

The golem number 457 was cut in half at the waist and collapsed to the floor making
a massive sound.

“Wha–wh–whwhwhw… My masterpiece was…”

Donald turned pale. Machina = Jin turned towards him and spoke.

“A masterpiece like this is shameful. The masterpiece is always ‘the next one’.”

Reiko stayed silent and nodded as he spoke.

“Why you… Cheeky brat! As if the technology from the past could lose so easily! That’s
right! It can’t looooooose!”

But Donald was close to being half-frenzied as he didn’t appear to accept the reality in
front of him.

“Ann, the Paralyzer.”

Machina = Jin couldn’t just watch and gave the order. Ann immediately cancelled the
[Barrier] and zapped Donald with the Paralyzer.

“Agh.”

Then again, she changed over to [Shock] mode and once more zapped him.

Perhaps because of something related to [Shock]’s wavelength, or its waveform, there

were also people who weren’t knocked unconscious by it. Therefore it was necessary
to zap the people thought to be mentally manipulated twice.

At the same time as Donald fainted, the gold and silver golems on his left and right
side rushed for the attack but they were promptly beaten by Land-70 and Land-71.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 337 | 392
“Now then, I thought that the Golden Princess of Destruction would be here, but she
isn’t.”

Reiko looked around the room and said.

“Ah? Elder Sister, someone has collapsed over there.”

Ann who had been similarly looking around the room found a collapsed person
concealed by the tapestry hung on the wall.

“Who might he be?”

Ann who found him, Reiko, and Machina went there to look. Land-70 and Land-71
stayed vigilant of the surroundings.

The collapsed person was an old man. Ann examined his wounds and her diagnosis
was,

“His sternum is broken but he seems to still be alive.”

Machina = Jin decided to use the restorative medicine he brought with him, thinking
that the person might have some useful information.

He applied it on the chest wound and the old man’s breathing seemed to become
easier. Next Jin made him drink it.

The old man managed to somehow drink the restorative medicine. His breathing
became regular and color returned to his face.

Then the old man opened his eyes.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 338 | 392
“Uhh… Where am I?”

The old man opened his eyes and after looking around asked Machina.

“This… seems to be the headquarters of the Unifiers.”

Machina replied, and the old man slowly shook his head.

“The Unifiers.… Ah, I remember. I am the top seat of the Unifiers, Joule Rolan. I
somehow feel like I’ve been dreaming for a long time.”

The shock of being hit and lingering between life and death seemed to have cleared
his brainwashing, Jin thought through Machina.

“Originally the Unifiers idolized Dinar Kingdom and chased after that ideal.
Antagonising fellow countries like this makes me unhappy, it was supposed to be a
group about ideological unification.”

As if convincing himself, Joule Rolan uttered.

“Why did it turn to this…”

Joule was very troubled. Seeing him like that, Machina asked him a question.

“Do you remember what you’ve done?”

Joule nodded.

“Yes. But, how should I say this, it’s as if another person had been doing it. Just why
did I make those orders…”

After replying Joule was once again troubled.

Jin who was watching the scene through a Magic Screen in Pelican-1 thought that first
of all he’d carry onwards, and decided to give orders through Machina.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 339 | 392
“Land-71, stay with Joule for a while. Don’t take your eyes off the unconscious Donald
either.… Everyone else, be careful of your surroundings. Like Ann said, the ‘Golden
Princess of Destruction’ should be hiding somewhere.”

The ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’. Joule had a reaction to the words.

“Ah, you must mean Elena? Ah, oh, Elena. Right, it was at her instructions. That’s right,
I remember now. Her orders were absolute. She was our queen…”

“So the Golden Princess of Destruction… Elena really was the true mastermind all
along.”

Joule was surprised and looked at Ann who said so.

“You’re an Automata? Blue-haired Automata… We were supposed to have destroyed

and scrapped on Elena’s orders all the blue-haired Automata we found from the
ruins… So there were still some remaining.”

“Might you know where this Elena has gone?”

Ann asked and Joule pointed behind the top seat’s chair and,

“If she wasn’t here, then behind there is a secret passage. She probably snuck out
through there.”

He replied. He seemed to have been completely cleared of the brainwashing.

“Alright, Reiko, Ann, Land-70, let’s go.”

Leaving Land-71 at Joule’s side, the group searched for the secret passage.

They soon found it. They hit the floor and found a hollow spot. Land-70 then found a
depression where by putting a finger there and lifting the trapdoor could be easily
opened.

Under it were stairs going steeply down. It was nearly totally dark.

“Stairs down, huh. Let’s go in the order with Land-70 first, then Reiko, Ann, and
Machina.”

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Jin gave the orders and the group went down the stairs. They kept going straight down
an unknown distance.

From a bright place the stairs looked pitch black but in fact there was a dim light
inside, and group could continue without any problems.

“I wasn’t aware of a hidden passage like this. It must’ve been built later. And so I don’t
know what lies after this. Please be very careful.”

While climbing the stairs down Ann cautioned, and at that moment. Suddenly the
stairs vanished.

Or more accurately the steps turned to a slope, like a playground slide. Naturally the
group slipped and fell.

But while the case may have been different if there were humans, no one panicked.
Land-70 who was in the front thrust out his arms to the walls and stopped.

Naturally, the following three people collided with Land-70 and stopped.

“A trap, is it. If we were humans then it would’ve been effective, don’t you think?”

“Mh-hm. Land, can you smoothly go down like that while keeping the speed slow?”

Machina asked and Land-70 nodded.

“Yes, Machina-sama. It’s a simple task.”

The group then left braking to Land and once again began descending. They slid down
while Land applied strength to his arms to keep the speed down.

“It’s a long way down, isn’t it. We’ve already gone past the height we climbed, don’t
you think we’re in the basement now? ”

On top of that the descent was completely straight. The stairway, no, the slide went
down at about a 45 degree angle.

Just when they thought they had gone quite a ways underground, the end finally came
to sight.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 341 | 392
“Land, stop for now.”

When there was just ten meters left to the end of the stairway, Machina = Jin ordered
Land-70 and had him stop for a moment.

“There’s a high chance there’s an another trap. Proceed carefully.”

“Yes, Machina-sama.”

Land-70 then once again went downwards, this time at a third of the speed he had
used until now. Meanwhile Reiko, Ann, and Machina were all watchful of their
surroundings.

Then suddenly they reached the end of the stairway. A single door was there.

Reiko who had the best hearing tried to listen carefully but heard nothing. Reiko tried
changing her vision to the infrared spectrum but there were no heat sources near the
door.

“Hmm, if it were me what kind of a trap would I lay?”

Jin pondered inside Pelican-1.

Meanwhile Land-70 touched the door.

At the same time Jin suddenly understood a possibility.

“This is bad! Everyone, watch out above!”

Before Jin had finished saying so through Machina’s mouth, a noise could be heard up
from the stairs, nay, the slope.

“Boulders!”

Reiko who had noticed the noise first looked up and shouted. Yes, an avalanche of rock
was coming down the slope. The door was a dummy. The moment the door was
touched, a trap generated boulders.

“Planning to bury us alive!?”

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The length of the slope going down was over 50 meters. Enough rock to fill it to
capacity slid down.

“[Barrier].”

“[Barrier].”

Reiko used the pendant, Ann used the ring.

The magical barriers hidden in them completely protected them from the rockfall.

But like this they couldn’t move. Unlike humans they had no worry of suffocation, but
there was no way they could stay like this forever.

“Hmm, ways to remove all this rock quickly… There’s only one, huh.”

Machina = Jin came to a conclusion.

“Reiko, I’ll explain to you the procedure to listen carefully. First take away the Mana
Tank inside Machina that’s for emergency use.”

“Yes.”

The Mana Tank was a Magi Device for the purpose of running problem-free even in
regions with a low concentration of Ether. Reiko was the other one who had one of
them.

Reiko took out the Mana Tank from inside Machina. It was made out of Magi Crystals
of all attributes. Even in the darkness it glittered with the colors of a rainbow.

In this place the concentration of Ether was plentiful so Machina who had an Ether
Converter didn’t stop running.

“Alright, bury it in the rock that slid down. It’ll be hard.”

“Yes.”

With the [Barrier] on she couldn’t smash the rock, as the person inside couldn’t even
directly touch the rock.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 343 | 392
Now it was important to temporarily disable the Barrier and quickly set the Magi
Crystal in the rock.

While doing so someone had to prop up the rock that was about to fall down, but Reiko
and Land-70 had plenty strength to support the rockfall and they managed to do it.

This was of course because the strength the two had was immense, but also because
the friction of the rocks stuffed in the narrow passage helped.

Ann watched over Reiko and Land-70 while being prepared to activate the [Barrier] if
by any chance it was needed.

While supporting the rocks with her right hand, Reiko plunged the Magi Crystal in her
left hand into a crevice in the rocks.

Then she and Ann again activated the [Barrier]s. Everything had been done without a
hitch.

“Alright, that went well, didn’t it. Now the finishing touch. Reiko, on my mark use
[Mana Explosion] on the Magi Crystal buried inside.”

“Yes.”

Jin then, just in case, had the allied forces in the fortress evacuate. The resistance had
fallen apart so getting out was possible in minutes. Of course Land-71 and Joule and
the unconscious Donald left too.

He also ordered for the other prisoners who had been rendered unconscious
elsewhere taken out.

“Okay, wait a little longer… Alright, now!”

“[Mana Explosion].”

Reiko’s strongest offensive magic exploded.

The Mana Crystal used as the Mana Tank was a lump of Mana, so to speak.

If that was made to explode then what would happen? The area around Reiko was
sealed by an indestructible barrier. The pathway was straight.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 344 | 392
The answer was soon apparent.

The Magi Crystal with a potential over ten times higher than that of the Core of
Hekantokheires –which was once defeated in the mountains north of Kaina Village–
detonated.

The mass of rock filling the long sloping path was all blown upwards towards the exit.

It turned into a rock cannonball and burst out all at once.

With its force it blew through the roof of the control room on the top floor and flew
outside.

“Ooh, it was stronger than I thought, huh.”

Jin, who was looking at the scene from Pelican-1, saw a part of the rock plateau crack
and admired the debris flying from there to a height of over 50 meters.

“W-w-h-what!? What is it this time?”

The ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’ Elena had escaped to a room behind a hidden
door prepared in advance at the exact midpoint of the slope that had originally been
a staircase. She had been feeling relieved when she had successfully had the people
chasing her fall into the trap.

That very moment she felt a tremor that was as if it had shaken the whole fort.

She looked at the Magic Screen that was still intact and saw rock fragments shooting
out like cannonballs from a hole in the rock plateau serving as the roof of the fort.

“What! What is this! Don’t tell me this was also done by that monster!?”

Elena’s shouting echoed.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 345 | 392
“Machina-sama, that went well, didn’t it?”

Ann also felt admiration. And Reiko, after cancelling the [Barrier] she was listening
carefully.

“I heard a voice from the middle of the slope.”

“I see, so there was a hidden room or a passage on the way. Alright, let’s climb back
up.”

The sloped path had been damaged quite a lot by the shock and had become rough, so
climbing it wasn’t inconvenient.

The group then climbed up easily and finally found the hidden door.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 346 | 392
“Be careful.”

“Yes, I know.”

Machina = Jin, Reiko, Ann, and Land-70 all four were standing in front of the hidden
door they found in the middle of the slope that had originally been a staircase.

“Opening.”

Land-70 pushed the door, but, it didn’t budge.

“We’ve probably already been exposed. Do it with all your strength.”

“Yes.”

Following Jin’s orders, Land-70 pushed the door with full power.

The door and the latch held out, but the hinges could no longer bear with it and the
whole door flopped inside the room.

They had thought the room would be cramped, but unexpectedly it was fairly spacious.
Maybe about the size of a primary school classroom.

Straight forward at the back of the room a single Automata could be seen standing
still.

“So you’ve finally come.”

The Automata spoke.

“You must be Elena.”

The Automata shook her head in denial at Machina’s words.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 347 | 392
“That name was arbitrarily given to me by a slave. I am a queen. The queen of
Automata.”

“As I thought, you doubtlessly are the Golden Princess of Destruction.”

Ann let out such words, then the Golden Princess of Destruction stared at her.

“So one was still left alive. Even though I thought all the puppets of Adrianna’s lineage
destroyed.”

She said, as if spitting it out.

Jin was watching the image projected on Pelican-1’s Magic Screen sent through the
Magic Eyes embedded in Machina’s eyes.

Even through the Magic Screen, the Automata was very beautiful.

Golden hair that reached all the way to her waist, white porcelain skin, deep crimson
eyes. Her proportions were also nearly perfect.

However.

“How dangerous.”

Jin leaked out a few words as hoping to interrupt them. They were conveyed with the
ManaCom through Machina’s mouth.

“What might you mean by that?”

The Golden Princess of destruction found fault with that and turned to Machina. Her
eyes shined bewitchingly. They were ‘Evil Eyes’ so to speak, with the [Charm] effect.

Normally, Jin who had no resistance against mental attacks would’ve perhaps
immediately become her slave.

But Machina wasn’t Jin. The picture conveyed to Jin through the Magic Eyes and the
Magic Screen couldn’t charm Jin.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 348 | 392
“Ah, I don’t know the person who built you. But I was wondering just what that person
taught you.”

“Isn’t that obvious. ‘You are the best’. Those were Mother’s final words.”

“‘You are the best’?”

Reiko and Machina = Jin both said at the same time.

“That’s correct. I am the best. In other words, this whole world should get on their
knees before me!”

Madness could be felt from the Golden Princess of destruction who triumphantly
declared so.

“She’s malfunctioning after all, huh.”

“Yes, Fat–… Machina-sama.”

Machina = Jin and Reiko had the same conclusion.

Reiko then took a step forward.

“‘You are the best’. Don’t you think that what the person who made you wanted to say
was you are the best ‘daughter she could hope for’?”

“What was that?”

“Did she not fail to continue the words ‘you are the best’?”

“…”

The Golden Princess of Destruction was at a loss for words after Reiko’s question. The
madness disappeared from her eyes.

But that was just for a moment.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up! What do you know! I am Mother’s masterwork! I am the

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 349 | 392
queen of Automata!”

She yelled and leapt upon Reiko. Then she tightened both her hands around Reiko’s
throat.

“Ha, haha, hahahaha… I’ll twist off your head like this. Then I’ll rip off your arms and
legs. Just like I did to all the Automata up to now.”

The Golden Princess of Destruction then suddenly put strength into it.

However, unlike what she wished, Reiko stayed calm. Then,

“What is it that you’re doing?”

Reiko threw words at the Princess of Destruction as though she didn’t care at all.

Shock was visible in the face of the Princess of Destruction.

“Y-y-y-you! From the battlefield, you’re the monsteeeeeeer!”

Reiko caught hold of the hands of the Princess of Destruction and easily shook them
off.

“I’m not a monster. I’m an Automata. The name’s ‘Reiko’. Pleased to make your
acquaintance.”

“You, you’re! You’re one of Adrianna’s daughteeeeers!!”

The Golden Princess of Destruction heated up even more. In contrast, Reiko was
calmness itself.

“That’s right. My Mother, Adrianna Balbora Ceci built me. And Nidou Jin is my Father.”

“You say you’ve got both pareeeents? You make me laugh! Reiko, you said! As if, as if
someone like you…!”

While yelling she raised her fists and threw herself upon Reiko. Reiko caught her fist.

“Stop struggling.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 350 | 392
However, the Golden Princess of Destruction would no longer stop. The sword arts
and the martial arts she knew disappeared somewhere as she only flailed with her
arms as she fought against Reiko.

She looked just like a spoiled child.

“Stop it, I said.”

“Eek!”

Reiko took the swung fist and threw the Golden Princess of Destruction to the
opposite side of the room. She crashed to the wall, got up with a dangerous glint in her
eye, and once again headed to face Reiko.

She was fast like a swift wind, but Reiko was even faster.

The Princess of Destruction’s left fist and Reiko’s right fist collided.

Along with a dull smash the Princess of Destruction was blown away. Her left arm was
torn to pieces from the elbow to her fingertips.

“Arrgh… As I thought, someone like him couldn’t completely fix me!”

Once again the Princess of Destruction came swinging at Reiko. Reiko met her with a
fist.

This time her right arm was blown off from the shoulder.

“Just stop. You cannot win against me.”

Reiko said, but the Golden Princess of Destruction’s madness didn’t weaken.

“Why, why, why! Why is Adrianna always hindering me! Why is she always bullying
me! Mother! Mootheeer! Where are yoouu!”

“Reiko, something’s strange with her.”

Machina = Jin who had been watching them attentively whispered.

“Yes, so it seems.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 351 | 392
Reiko also felt that.

“Let’s settle this.”

Reiko said and took the Vibration Blade in her hand.

Then,

“Sleep… peacefully.”

While speaking she cut the Golden Princess of Destruction horizontally straight apart.

Her upper and lower half of the body separated, and the Princess of Destruction fell
over to the floor. But words were still coming out of her mouth, and she was trying to
use her sole remaining left elbow to move.

“I am… the best. I am… the… queen. Mo… t… her…”

But her movements gradually weakened, and eventually the light went out from her
deep crimson eyes.

“Is it… over?”

Machina = Jin let out a sigh.

For Jin it was an extremely nerve-wracking act. Seeing her engulfed with madness
until the very end was simply sorrowful.

Would Reiko have also become dominated by such madness if something had gone
wrong? The situation made Jin think about that.

“Reiko, good work. Let’s recover the Golden Princess of Destruction and go home.”

“Yes, fa–… Machina-sama.”

The group then left the room behind them.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 352 | 392
Jin decided to leave his substitute puppet Machina there and have Laojun control it
and take command of dealing with the remaining business.

He himself took the Golden Princess of Destruction’s pieces and returned to Hourai
Island with Reiko and Ann.

When they came here they had flown all the way, but on the return trip they decided
to use the submersible base. According to Laojun since it also had a [Stealth] function
they probably wouldn’t be seen even during the day.

Of course they checked that there were no boats or such in the surroundings. However,
even the fishing boats going into the giant lake Azul didn’t go that far from the shore,
so the worry that the waves caused by the base’s rise would affect them was
exceedingly small.

It was better to not use it too frequently, but this time Jin and company returned before
others to the research laboratory through the submersible base’s Warp Gate.

“Now then, shall we examine this fellow?”

The Golden Princess of Destruction’s body and her broken arms were laid on top of
the workbench. Jin began assiduously examining them.

Reiko had the Vibration Sword in hand prepared for any unforeseen situations, and
Ann was standing next to Jin to give advice.

“Hmm, so she has a similar endoskeleton. It’s just that the attachment of the muscles
is still imperfect, huh.”

Although it was far superior to usual golems’s, Jin saw that the structure wasn’t a
match for the works of the predecessor.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 353 | 392
“The skeleton’s made out of Light Silver, huh. Well, that’s appropriate. Then there’s…
What’s this?”

“Father, is something the matter?”

If something surprised Jin it was probably quite serious, Reiko thought and hurriedly
rushed over to Jin’s side from other side of the workbench.

“Mmh, ah, sorry. I just saw something curious in her structure.”

Jin said and opened up the Princess of Destruction’s chest unit so that Reiko could also
see.

“There’s no Ether Converter. No Mana Driver either. Besides… what might this be?”

Seeing the composition she had never seen before, Reiko too couldn’t immediately
comprehend how the Princess of Destruction worked. But as Jin had already
completely understood it, he explained it to Reiko.

“Yeah, this is an Ether Tank and this is an Ether Driver. The energy efficiency is poor,
but it seems to be able to produce power easily. Although it’s not slim at all.”

Jin said while looking at the giant Magi Crystal working as the Ether Driver.

“It appears that around the time of the Great Magic War the Ether concentration in the
air was much higher than now. So this was probably fine then.”

“In that case, if this Automata went to a place where the Ether was thicker, it would’ve
become more powerful?”

Jin thought a little and then answered Reiko’s question.

“That’s right. If the Ether concentration was doubled, it would probably be able to
increase its output by a half.”

Including Reiko, Jin’s golems and Automata had an Ether Converter the output of
which would double if the Ether concentration doubled.

However, it appeared that the manufacturer of the Golden Princess of Destruction

couldn’t build an Ether Converter in the end. Or she disliked imitating Adrianna’s

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 354 | 392
patterns.

If Ether was crude oil then an Ether Driver burns it directly, while an Ether Converter
refines it to gasoline which a Mana Driver then uses. It’s a rough comparison, but
maybe it’s an easy one to understand.

“At any rate, it’s not a match for Mother’s technology is the gist of it, is it not?”

Reiko who came to this conclusion looked slightly proud.

“Well, the other thing is this. This is no doubt the Control Core, but it’s a Magi Crystal
I’ve never seen before. Ann, can you recognize it?”

Jin had a pink Magic Crystal in his hand. Its diameter was about five centimeters; it
was rather large.

“No, I do not. What might the attribute turn out to be?”

Ann didn’t appear to know either.

“Hmm, it seems to be a composite of light and fire attributes. To think that a Magi
Crystal like this could naturally form. At any rate, this should be filled with the
memories and knowledge of the Golden Princess of Destruction. Let’s have Laojun
analyze it. But before that…”

It was a precious source of information, so Jin decided to hold onto a duplicate of it.
He prepared an all-attribute Magi Crystal and,

“[Transfer Info].”

He used the Craft Magic for transcription. But at that moment.

“Woah!?”

The pink Magi Crystal suddenly lit up. Jin closed his eyes reflexively due to the
radiance but Reiko focused on the phenomenon.

“…What was that?”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 355 | 392
The puzzled Jin said while rubbing his eyes, and Reiko who had been watching in
detail explained.

“Father, it seems that the Magi Crystal overreacted to a specific Magic Energy
wavelength or waveform. That light came from changing the Magic Energy of [Transfer
Info] into light.”

“What? I can understand the theory, but the existence of a Magi Crystal that naturally
does that is…”

Nothing like that was in the abundant knowledge Jin inherited from the predecessor.
Ann said he didn’t know about it either.

“Hmm, this is just a hypothesis, but could the cause for the overreaction to my Magic
Energy –in other words the predecessor’s Magic Energy– perhaps be the Princess of
Destruction’s hostility against the predecessor?”

“It’s possible, but that’s hard to prove, isn’t it.”

“Yeah. Expressly confirming that seems troublesome too.… Anyway, it’s better not to
poorly tamper with it. By the way, was the copy made successfully?”

Jin tried examining the all-attribute Magi Crystal. There might’ve been some missing
parts but most of it had been copied.

“Alright, let’s have this analyzed. Let’s make sure the original is securely sealed for
now.”

Since it was a Magi Crystal with unknown properties, Jin decided to be cautious with
its handling.

He decided to wrap it in thin Mithril foil to insulate the Magic Energy, and store it
inside a bulky Adamantite box.

“Alright, lastly are her eyes.”

Jin detached the deep crimson Magi Crystals which had been used as the eyes for the
Princess of Destruction.

“As I thought, they’re Blood Crystals. If I remember right, they had the [Charm] effect.”
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 356 | 392
That was something in Jin’s knowledge.

“Using these eyes at the same time seems to make mental manipulation simple, huh…”

This late in the game, Jin felt relieved and thought it was good that he hadn’t gone in
person.

“Alright, now I understand it all. I suppose I’ll try to repair her.”

Jin said after finishing the investigation of the Golden Princess of Destruction. Reiko
couldn’t keep quiet about it.

“Father, even though she was hostile you’re repairing her?”

When asked so, Jin smiled and added,

“Yeah, as long as I remove the cause of her madness she’ll be very helpful, I think. And
I was thinking I’d have her monitor the Unifiers.”

Jin explained his plan further.

The group of small nations, in other words Celuroa Kingdom, Egelia Kingdom, Frantz
Kingdom, and Cline Kingdom had been completely disturbed by the Unifiers.

Instead of leaving the management of the aftermath to just the individual countries,
he wanted to have the Unifiers take responsibility.

“That top seat guy, Joule was it, seems to have returned back to sanity and is regretting
things, you see.”

He’d have the Golden Princess of Destruction, or more accurately someone just like
her monitoring Joule by his side and giving him advice.

“I see, I understand now. If she looks like the Golden Princess of Destruction she was
originally then she won’t feel out of place, correct?”

“That’s right. So I’ll try to repair her. But let’s adjust some of the structure.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 357 | 392
And so Jin set about to repairing the Golden Princess of Destruction.

He left the skeleton as it was. But he decided to use the Hourai Island standards for
the installation of the Magical Muscles and their material. Yet he decided to restrict
the power output a lot, to about the level of a layperson. Just in case, he thought.

He coated the joints with Adamantite.

The skin was also changed to Hourai Island’s standard Magical Skin. The same skin
that was used in Ann. He installed an Ether Converter and an Ether Driver.

The problem was the Control Core.

“Hmm, what should I do…”

Jin was troubled.

“Father, what are you worrying about?”

Out of consideration for the troubled Jin, Reiko called out to him.

“Ah, I was thinking about what to do about her memories. If analyzed, I could even
remove her memories of after she malfunctioned, but is that what I should do…”

“If it were me, I wouldn’t want to be left with the memories of the time I was mad. I’d
want to be myself because Mother and Father wished me to be so.”

Hearing Reiko’s words, Jin made up his mind.

“Alright, I got it. In that case, let’s remove her memories after the point her
manufacturer passed away. Then let’s confer her the information afresh.”

In other words, even though she would know what happened, she’d recognize the
deeds as not hers but of someone else’s doing.

“I don’t really want to tamper with her, but she’d be dangerous.”

“Father, for Automata it is detestable to have oneself act against the wishes of their
creator.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 358 | 392
Reiko said to encourage Jin.

“I got it, Reiko.”

Jin then prepared a milky white Magi Crystal, and very very carefully transcribed the
memories of the ‘former’ Golden Princess of Destruction to it in order of age.

He digitized the record of memories and such using the structure of the molecules of
the Magi Crystal.

It’s a digression, but it’s said that a single standard Magi Crystal could record the
memories of 50 people.

“Alright, it’s up to here. By the way, her last memory is ‘You are the best’, huh. What’s
up with that?”

“‘You are the best’? Is it not ‘You are the best daughter I could hope for’?”

“Yeah. She probably died mid-way through the sentence…”

Reiko stared motionlessly at the ‘former’ Golden Princess of Destruction and,

“…Poor thing. I was able to hear Mother’s last will but she didn’t even have that.”

She said. First Reiko had been opposed to repairing the Princess of Destruction, but it
seems that she had gradually grown sympathetic.

“Yeah, that’s where her misfortune began, isn’t it.”

Jin then after once again worrying about it, added ‘daughter I could hope for’ to the
end of it.

“It’s not a very good thing to do though.”

Jin muttered and Reiko said to him,

“No, Father is kind. Even if they are fake memories, this girl will surely become happy.
I guarantee it.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 359 | 392
“Thanks, Reiko.”

Then Jin recorded what happened until now into the information area instead of the
memory area. With this she’s be able to understand what had happened and what she
had done.

He’d then have her use the information to make things up afterwards.

Lastly, as a safety measure, he added measures to purge the main Magi Device in case
she fell into the hands of a third party.

“Only thing left is general maintenance.”

As Reiko had bisected the clothes she had worn along with her body, he remade them
anew.

During it he noticed that he had been late in having lunch so after eating and
continuing with it, everything was finished at 5 PM Hourai Island’s time.

“Alright, [Activate].”

The ‘former’ Golden Princess of Destruction opened her eyes. Her eyes had been
changed to be just regular red Magi Crystals.

She slowly sat upright, then looked at Jin and,

“You… have repaired me?”

She said.

“Yeah. How is your condition?”

“It is excellent. Thank you very much.”

After hearing that Jin tried to ask as an experiment,

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 360 | 392
“Do you remember what has happened until now?”

“Yes, I was built by my Mother, loved by her, and she left me with her final words of
‘You are the best daughter I could hope for’. I do not have any memories after that. I
seem to have been broken.”

She replied. Jin was relieved. Then again,

“Alright, in that case what is your name?”

He tried asking. The manufacturer hadn’t given her a name. If there was any disorder
or flaws between her memories and knowledge then she would surely respond with
Elena. But.

“I do not have a name. It would be a privilege if you who repaired me gave me one.”

Her reply calmed Jin down.

“Alright, you’re ‘Elena’.”

“Yes, I am ‘Elena’.”

Without raising any objections that her name was the same as the Elena in her
knowledge, Elena accepted her name.

Like this, the ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’ disappeared and was born again as
‘Elena’.

As you might expect Jin was tired so he went to relax in the hot springs, ate Reiko’s
home cooking, and soon went to bed.

Contrary to Jin, the magical brain of Hourai Island Laojun who knew no tiredness was
taking one measure after another in accordance with Jin’s ideas.

The headquarters of the Unifiers was re-established, and to repair it back to functional
the Smith units were dispatched.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 361 | 392
After finishing collecting the wreckage from the battle, the Land Corps near the
Unifiers’ headquarters were withdrawn except for the 20 Land units from Land-81 to
Land-100.

The brainwashing of the captured Unifiers was undone.

Such things were done first.

Further arrangements would begin the next morning when Jin would wake up.

Thus, there was finally hope that the long days of mayhem caused by the Unifiers
would end.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 362 | 392
One day, one of the Quinta dispatched everywhere reported encouraging news
through Laojun.

“My Lord, on the western shore of the Lake Azul there are ancient ruins that have been
turned into a tourist attraction, but underneath it there seems to be a large room.”

“Mh-hm, has that not been found before?”

“It hasn’t, My Lord.”

“Hmm, seems interesting. Let’s try going for once.”

Jin muttered, and Reiko raised an objection.

“Father, it’s dangerous to go personally to an unknown place like that.”

“Mmh, I’ve got Reiko and since they’re ancient ruins let’s have Ann come along this
time too. And I’ll be wearing the reinforced clothing and taking Muramasa and
Masamune with me.”

Reiko was still looking a bit sullen yet,

“There’s no other way, is there. I’ll take Peach Blossom and the Magi Cannon. Let’s also
have the SP carry a Paralyzer, a Vibration Blade, and an Induction Radiator each.”

She said. Jin who heard that wondered about what on earth she was going to wage a
war on. But he kept his mouth shut since it seemed like Reiko would’ve asked him not
to go since it was dangerous had he said it.

“If we go through the submersible base in Lake Azul it won’t take long. Let’s wait until
it’s midnight on the other side when we arrive.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 363 | 392
Jin’s personal VTOL, Pegasus-1 flew out of the submersible base in Lake Azul, and in
about three minutes it was above the ruins they were looking for.

“The Quinta is coming to meet us. No humans have been found on the surface.”

On top of the search by the Quinta who found the ruins, detection by infrared rays and
sight revealed that there were no people around.

Judging that the risk of being witnessed was low, Jin made Pegasus-1 land in front of
an open space in front of the ruins. It was stone-paved just perfectly so landing was
easy and done without raising any clouds of sand.

First the SP went out to watch the surroundings. A minute later, Reiko, then Ann left.
Finally Jin got out.

“Good work on coming all the way here, Chief.”

The Quinta in charge of the western shore of Lake Azul bowed.

“Thanks for greeting me. So, the ruins in question, where might they be?”

“Yes, over here.”

Jin tried lighting the surroundings with a [Light Ball]. There buildings all around
supported by pillars of stone strengthened with magic. However, the strengthening
magic had completely faded and the structures had begun weathering.

Guided by the Quinta, Jin headed near the ruins. The Quinta came to a stop between
two large pillars and said while pointing at the ground,

“There is a large cave underground here.”

Jin examined the surface with [Sonar] and understood that there clearly was a large
room underneath the ground. Jin then gave orders to Reiko.

“Reiko, try hitting here with 30% of your power.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 364 | 392
After confirming that Jin and the others had retreated a bit further away, Reiko swung
her pretty fist and struck the ground.

Along with a thunderous noise, the earth cracked and caved in. Reiko nimbly leapt
away and avoided falling.

Once the dust settled, a large hole could be seen there.

“So dark. [Light].”

Even when using light magic to illuminate the hole, the bottom couldn’t be seen. The
Quinta then said,

“Chief, I will try going down first.”

And jumped into the hole.

A little while later a report came in through a ManaCom.

“I’m fine, there’s nothing out of the ordinary here. Please go ahead and come down.”

Jin’s group then headed to the middle of the hole. Jin was carried by Reiko, while Ann
and the SP went by themselves.

Once down the hole in the ruins, they found a rather wide room with passages to the
left and right. Either direction would’ve been good but Jin decided to head for the
smaller passage.

After continuing on for a while the passage sloped down. Although dim, there were
perpetual light emitters that ran on Ether inside the walls of the hallway.

“They’re of lower grade than those in the research laboratory, aren’t they.”

Reiko looked at the dim lights and commented.

Finally they saw a door. It was made out of iron, was covered in red rust, and once in
front of it Ann said a few words.

“Master, this seems to be the emergency shelter room of the ancient fortress.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 365 | 392
“Hmm, so is it likely there’s something inside?”

Jin asked Ann.

“Yes, the likelihood of there being Magi Tools or weapons and such for emergency use
is high, I think.”

“Alright, let’s try opening it.”

Jin tried pushing but the heavy door barely budged. Reiko took over for him and
pushed. The hinges creaked and broke midway, and the door fell to the inside of the
room with a loud sound. It raised dust into the air.

“*Cough*, this is terrible. [Wind].”

Jin expelled the dust out of the room with wind magic. Now he became able to inspect
the inside of the room.

Inside the room were, just like Ann said, quite a lot of Magi Tools. There were ones
that had broken through the passing of years, but about a third seemed still u sable.

Jin ordered the SP to recover the tools. Then he noticed something at the very back.

“That’s a…”

It was a human shape. Jin could immediately tell it was an Automata. Its figure was
that of a girl. But it was leaning on the wall while sitting on the floor without any life.
Its left arm was broken, gone from the elbow down.

“That’s, it can’t be… the ‘Golden Princess of Destruction’?”

Ann said.

“Ann?”

“It’s just what I think is probable, but this Automata is the ‘Golden Princess of
Destruction’. She was a mysterious Automata that in the early days of the Great Magic
War went around destroying my brothers and sisters.”

“Hmm, I see…”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 366 | 392
After hearing that Jin proceeded to examine the Automata making sure not to touch it.

“The craftsmanship isn’t bad.”

In the corner of his eye, Jin saw Reiko puff up her cheeks after hearing that and he
hurriedly added.

“…Although it can’t hold a candle to Reiko.”

Reiko’s expression returned to normal.

“Hmm, supposing we collect all the ancient Magi Tools, just leaving this Automata
would be regrettable. Alright, Reiko, please carry her and then let’s go hom.”

“Yes, I understand.”

While carrying the Magi Cannon on her back and Peach Blossom on her waist, Reiko
lifted up the Automata.

Feeling the faint Magic Energy coming from Reiko the Automata woke up.

“Are you the one… who woke me up?… H– hey, wait, what are you doing!?”

“Ah, she woke up. So she really had configured herself to wake up after detecting Magic
Energy.”

“Wa-wait, release me! I am the queen of Automata! Listen to what the queen tells you!”

She kicked and struggled, but Reiko’s solid grip was like a vise and no matter how
much the Automata tried to shake and untangle her it didn’t matter.

“Y-you’re, could it be, you’re Adrianna’s…!!”

“Be quiet please. My Mother is indeed called Adrianna Balbora Ceci.”

“I–I knew it! Le– let me gooooo!”

“I said be quiet.”

Reiko put more strength into her arms that were carrying the Automata.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 367 | 392
Along with a cracking sound the Automata’s skeleton was bent.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

It seemed that the Automata possessed some degree of feeling. Her scream echoed.

“You’re too loud. Father, please silence her.”

Once asked by Reiko Jin got closer to the Automata and put a hand on its neck. Then,

“[Standstill].”

He had the Automata turn off half-forcibly.

“Ah, it became peaceful.”

“This Automata really does seem to be the Golden Princess of Destruction, doesn’t
she.”

Ann said while looking down at the Automata Reiko was carrying.

“Hmm, I wonder why did she come to have a personality like that. I’m a little
interested.”

Jin said while watching the Automata that had gone limp.

They were able to exit the ruins without anything happening on the return trip. When
they were exiting the hole Jin was pulled up with a rope hung down by the SP who
climbed up ahead of them.

They then boarded Pelican-1 and returned to Hourai Island via the submersible base.

Now the examination of the Automata that had been brought to the workshop in
Hourai Island’s research laboratory was underway.

“Hmm, the skeleton is Light Silver, the muscles are Magical Muscles. There’s a Mana
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 368 | 392
Driver but no Ether Converter.”

“Father, what does that mean?”

Reiko asked while holding down the Automata for hazard prevention.

“Mh-hm, you and the others use the Ether Converter to change the Ether in the air to
Mana, then use the Mana Driver to convert the Mana to energy, correct?”

“Yes.”

“This Automata has no Ether Converter and instead has an Ether Tank, and appears to
use an Ether Driver to convert that to energy.”

“What’s the result of doing it that way?”

Reiko had enough knowledge to tell the differences between the structures, but didn’t
know anything about their efficiencies and such.

“Normally a Mana Tank and a Mana Driver are combined, but this Automata’s
combination appears to sacrifice efficiency for a higher power output.”

“I see, this is the first time I’ve heard of something like an Ether Driver. So you’re saying
the efficiency is worse when converting Ether directly to energy?”

“That’s right. If you think about it, then probably before the Ether Stampede occurred
the Ether in the air was thicker than now, so this must’ve been good back then.”

Jin stated his guess.

“But Mother made me with the method I’m utilizing now though?”

Reiko asked a question regarding that.

“Ah, that’s just natural, since you could say that the predecessor had an ideology in her
designs on top of the technology.”

There’s the structure of increasing the power output with heavy work, and then
there’s the structure that increases the power output by delicately managing the
performance. It’s needless to say which one is better.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 369 | 392
“What’s more is that this Control Core is somewhat strange.”

“What might you mean?”

“Well, it looks like it’s been recycled and used twice. Although faint, here and there the
old Magi Formula remains.”

Jin said while gazing at the comparatively large Control Core.

“Isn’t this one of the reasons this Automata went out of order?”

While saying so, Jin completely cleared the old Magi Formula.

“And also, there’s the possibility that the manufacturer’s last words have something
suspicious in them.”

While talking, Jin freely used the Craft Magics [Read] and [Decompile] to search for
that portion. And after searching for 30 minutes, he found it.

“This is it. ‘You are the best’, huh.”

“‘You are the best’ is it. That indeed does seem like something that could make one
odd if there was a single error.”

Reiko could understand the danger as a similar Automata who had lost her
manufacturer once.

“Hmm, but ‘You are the best’.”

Jin tilted his head in confusion.

“It’s got to continue somehow, doesn’t it. You are the best ‘and stay like that’, or you
are the best ‘and the brightest’ or something.”

Jin thought of it a lot. Then,

“If it were me, I’d have wanted to say you are the best ‘daughter I could hope for’.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 370 | 392
Reiko said.

“Well, normally you’d say something like that, wouldn’t you.”

Jin also agreed with Reiko.

“Well, let’s for now try repairing the parts that have deteriorated or faded with age.”

Jin mended the flaws in the Automata. He then tried restarting it. Reiko was of course
also monitoring her. Although more accurately Reiko was watching her restraints.

“…Where is this?”

The Automata opened its eyes.

“Are you the one who repaired my arm?”

There was no madness in the tone of her voice.

“Yeah, that’s right. Are there any other places that feel weird?”

Jin said and had Reiko slowly release her from her restraints. The Automata then tried
moving its body and,

“No, not at all. I’m in very good condition. Thank you very much.”

She said and bowed.

“To thank you for repairing me, I would like to work for you. Would you please give
me a name?”

She said and bowed once more.

Jin thought for a while, then suddenly a name popped to his mind. It was rather
unusual for Jin.

“Hmm, I suppose, in that case how about ‘Elena’?”

He said.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 371 | 392
“Yes, my name is Elena. Please take care of me from now on, master.”

Elena said and gave a deep bow, turned to face Reiko and Ann, then bowed her head
and said,

“Pleased to meet you too, my sisters.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 372 | 392
This is the world of ‘what-if’. The world that would’ve been if Jin had found Elena. A
story about a world of ‘what-if’ that would probably be a happy one for Elena
afterwards.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 374 | 392
The next day, the 24th.

After having his breakfast in a great hurry, Jin first warped to Kaina Village. To make a
report.

He went to Martha’s house where he met with Hannah who had just woken up and
gone to wash her face.

“Onii-chan!”

After seeing Jin, Hannah ran over and jumped at Jinn. Jin held Hannah up in his arms.

“Good morning, Hannah. I came back after I was done as promised.”

“Good morning, onii-chan! So, you’re not going anywhere anymore?”

Jin gently lowered Hannah to the ground and,

“Hmm, there’s still some things to put in order, so could you please wait one more
day?”

“Ehh…”

While having the conversation, Martha, Elsa, and Mine who heard them came along.

“Welcome, Jin.”

“Martha-san, I’m back. Elsa, Mine, I’m back.”

“Welcome home.”

“Welcome home. I’m happy that you’re well.”

Jin gave a short explanation to everyone about how he had neutralized the Unifiers
among other things.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 375 | 392
“Next, I was thinking of having the Unifiers reorganize, or rather recompense for what
they’ve done.”

He explained how the top seat and the second seat had been brainwashed. Elsa who
had some knowledge about it could immediately understand, and Mine also quickly
got it as she already had a vague idea about it.

Martha didn’t seem to really get it, not to mention Hannah.

“Well, at any rate I was thinking of using today to tidy up some things.”

Hannah could only reluctantly nod after Jin’s explanation.

“Now then, first comes your role, Elena.”

Jin called for Elena after coming back to Hourai Island.

“Yes, master. What would you like me to do?”

“Right, for the next while you’ll be advising the Unifiers on dismantling and rebuilding
the organization…”

“Elena-san, I will also be assisting you as necessary, and so…”

And so Jin gave orders to Elena while Laojun supplemented them.

“In that case I’ll be going now, master.”

Elena got on Falcon-4 and returned to the Unifiers’ HQ via the submersible base in
Lake Azul.

There were the (former) top seat Joule Rolan and the second seat Donald Carou Alpha.

Both had been cleared of the brainwashing, one by coming near death and the other
by application of the [Shock] magic.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 376 | 392
Also, the information about the former Princess of Destruction’s, Elena’s, [Subliminal]
magic had been recovered from her memory. Of course how to dispel it too.

“Please work out…”

Jin wished for a success as he watched Falcon-4 disappear into the giant Warp Gate
behind the research laboratory.

Jin’s plan was as follows.

Originally, the Unifiers’ foundational principle was to revive the pre-Great Magic War
country Dinar Kingdom. The Golden Princess of Destruction replaced that with
unifying the continent.

From there, using the top two who had returned to normal he’d have the brainwashing
cleared from the executives down to the rank-and-file members, making the
organization a harmless one.

In so doing, he planned to give them some technologies outside of the ones taught to
them by the Princess of Destruction to work as an unifying force.

Specifically, he was thinking of the Mana Phone. It was an inferior version of the
ManaCom, so to speak. Although it was wireless it could only make calls to a specific
party.

It was also as big as a large desk, so carrying it wasn’t possible. Selecting who to call
like with a ManaCom wasn’t possible. But as a hot line between the leaders of the
nations it should be usable enough.

Apparently the top seat and the Princess of destruction had used an even more
inferior version of this, or more precisely, a smaller model with a short range. That’s
it wasn’t particularly bad to spread the technology.

This technology, along with holding the reborn Unifiers together, could also be used
to apologize to the neighboring states.

By delivering the technology only when Joule and Donald were at a loss on what kind
of amends to make would probably be a small atonement itself.
t r a i t o r A I Z E N 377 | 392
“Nevertheless, it’s so large…”

The prototype Mana Phone Laojun made really was as large as a desk.

“Long-distance communication is a quite the thing, huh.”

The reason for the size was that the device included a lot of parts. All of the parts were
high-grade Magi Tools.

Once again Jin felt proud of the range the ManaCom he had made reached. Because the
signal could reach all the way to the other side of the world.

“But looking at it that way, I probably should’ve used Ether and not Mana for my
device…”

He hadn’t realized it when applying the method that came from the analysis of the
Artifact Magic Screen, but he had carelessly named the device a ManaCom. In truth, it
should’ve been called EtherCom. Although Jin was thinking that it sounds bad so he’d
keep using the current name.

This is a digression, but the usage of kanji played a large part in the miniaturization.
Even the power words of Magi Language had a result several times better when
written with logograms instead of phonetically.

Back to the main subject.

Leaving the support of the Unifiers to Laojun, what was left was giving aid to the
nations.

This wasn’t something Jin was particularly worried about, but because there had been
victims and damage because of his late intervention he wanted to give them some kind
of aid.

“It may be hypocritical but it’s better than not to…”

And so, he decided to first give Egelia Kingdom –which was deemed to have suffered
the most– ingots of the materials made out of the molten golems.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 378 | 392
In total, there was about 200 tons of steel, 200 tons of bronze, and 50 tons of Light
Silver. And little bit of Adamantite and Mithril. The market value was approximately
150 billion Torr.

Similarly he planned to donate half that amount to Cline Kingdom’s Tetrada.

In addition, he decided to return the seized pieces of Elradrite which had the
countries’ seals carved on them to the respective countries. 15 pieces to Egelia
Kingdom and ten pieces to Cline Kingdom.

There were no seals of Celuroa, Frantz, or Elias Kingdom.

This was all from the molten golems so it didn’t hurt Hourai Island’s pocket. The only
cost was time.

Jin had 41 pieces of Elradrite without any carved seals on them left at hand. That was
plenty.

He planned to carry in the materials in the middle of the night using a number of
Pelicans with the [Stealth] function added.

Jin couldn’t restrain his laughter as he thought about the surprised faces of the
material storehouse administrators come morning.

“…Just when can we leave.”

Reinhardt and Fritz who were returning to their home country induced to stay even
longer because of the internal troubles of Celuroa Kingdom among other things.

“My Lord, about the response of the nations’ governing bodies regarding the Unifiers’
puppets we told them about.”

Jin was listening to Laojun’s reports. This was the newest information the Quinta sent
this morning.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 379 | 392
“Cline Kingdom and Egelia Kingdom have, for now, dismissed the people thought to
be puppeteered. Celuroa Kingdom seems to still be in a dispute over it.”

Since Celuroa Kingdom was the country where the Unifiers had taken root in the most,
this was no wonder.

“The dispatched armies have all withdrawn to their respective countries. The borders
appear to have gone back to normal.”

Even so, the truth that they had invaded didn’t just vanish. Jin left the apologies and
reparations to be argued between the countries. What he was interested in were the
common people.

“What does the damage on the commoners look like?”

“It seems insignificant. As they had begun evacuation beforehand, no commoners

died. There are 24 severely injured and 249 lightly injured people.”

“I’d like to stealthily administer restorative medicine to the severely wounded.”

“Yes, that is possible. I shall issue instructions to the Quinta tonight.”

“Mh-hm, please do.”

Now Jin too felt rather at ease.

“Really, I’m also wondering how my acquaintances are doing.”

Jin muttered and Laojun immediately replied.

“Yes, My Lord. This is as much as we know. Lithia Fahlheit from Cline Kingdom is
staying in Tetrada. She is working hard with the relief knight troops.”

Lithia, really? Jin thought. She must’ve found what she wanted to do.

“With regards to Beana-san and Earl Kuzuma, although the Earl had gone along with
the dispatched troops, he seems to be heading back to Blue Land since the dispute
came to an end.”

They’d probably have the wedding ceremony soon, Jin thought.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 380 | 392
“Elias Kingdom where Port Rock is seems to have been indifferent to the strife.”

Marcia was probably doing her best, huh, Jin thought as he reminisced about the days
he spent in Port Rock.

“Egelia Kingdom’s capital Asunto appears to still be in a state of disarray, but they
seem to have begun heading towards normalcy.”

Talking with Prince Ernest and Laila was really fun, Jin thought as he recalled the times
and smiled.

“That is all. Furthermore, Tellurs in Celuroa Kingdom seems to be under blockade; no

one can come or go.”

Speaking of Tellurs, what was the healer Sally doing, Jin wondered.

“Come to think of it, I wonder if Schiede’s family is still there.”

“Ah, they seem to have returned to their home country before the conflict began.
Capella-3 of the Quinta caught sight of them in Desir, you see.”

“That’s good then.”

There still were a lot of things in his mind, but now that he had taken the measures he
could take Jin relaxed.

Then Reiko brought him Citran juice.

“Father, please take a breather.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Now that peace seemed to have finally come, Jin thought about what to do after this
while drinking the chilled juice.

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 381 | 392
‘Quinta’ seems to have originally been a Spanish word.

Its origin was during the Spanish Civil War, when a general of the anti-government
army had broadcast the following on radio: ‘Our four columns of troops are heading
to marching towards Madrid. In Madrid our fifth column (quinta columna) will begin
to support our battle. ‘

In other words it had the meaning of a betrayer, a spy, or a covert operative behind the
enemy lines.

Unconcerned with that, the Quinta were sent from Hourai Island as observers to
various places.

“This is Deneb-20, I have just arrived at the base in the ruins of the eighth subdivision.
No people are around”

“Hourai Island reads you. While gathering information of your surroundings, head
towards the appointed area.”

Deneb-20 was an adult female type Automata. For her goals she looked just like a
human from the outside.

She could freely change the color of her hair and eyes. Deneb-20 now had light brown
hair and eyes. This was because it was deemed the most inconspicuous, being the
most common colors in this world.

“I suppose I’ll prepare clothes first.”

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 382 | 392
For now she was wearing a commoner’s clothing, but they had been bought from the
town of Port Rock in Elias Kingdom. And so the possibility was high that they weren’t
customary here.

Deneb-20 headed to the town Laojun had instructed her to. She had been given ten
thousand Torr to use.

The name of the town was Sasari. It was a medium-sized town near River Torres.

Anyone could freely come and go during the day. Despite that Deneb-20 was standing
near the entrance, watching the clothes of the people going back and forth.

“I see, they should be clothes like that.”

She walked the streets while looking for a second hand store. Unexpectedly she found
one quickly. There she bought the clothes she needed.

For now she bought a woolen skirt that reached all the way to her ankles. She also
bought a fur vest and kept her blouse as it was.

Her skirt was bright light brown and the vest was gray. It looked like colors that
weren’t too flashy were popular.

The total cost was 1200 Torr. Deneb-20 who had changed in the store completely fit
in with the town.

“Now then, how should I go all the way to Kemai I wonder?”

Kemai was the area Deneb-20 was in charge of, and at the heart of it was a town. It
was located to the southwest of Lake Azul.

The first question was how to cross River Torres and River Azul.

There were a few ways.

She could cross it on a boat like a normal person. This was impossible for Deneb-20
who had no identification papers.

The other choice was asking a black market trader to help her cross. Considering that
Elsa and Mine had been attacked while taking this option and since it came with the

t r a i t o r A I Z E N 383 | 392
risk of the possibility of her true nature being revealed, that was rejected.

“So it’s got to be swimming after all.”

Because the Quinta had been built to resemble a human exactly, they could barely float
on water. But swimming on the surface of the water then had the concern of being
spotted by a nightly patrol boat. It was preferable to swim to the destination under
the surface.

“It should work out if I bring some weights with me.”

Thinking that it should be easy to proceed underwater if she carried a stone or

something, that night Deneb-20 put the plan into action.

She took off all her clothes and securely packaged them. She then carried them on her
back. She held a stone as a weight with both of her hands. If necessary, she could let
go of the stone and double her swimming speed.

The water was still cold but Deneb-20 threw herself underwater without minding it.

Possessing nearly unlimited stamina, Deneb-20 was able to effortlessly swim across
River Torres. Actually, more than half of the trip was done by walking at the bottom of
the river.

Then a commotion arose once she got out of the water.

There was someone who noticed the naked Deneb-20 come out of the water. It was a
soldier going on patrol around the river bed.

Since the river she crossed was at the side of the capital Esaia, the defenses were
rather strict.

Deneb-20 had been careless as she hadn’t seen even the shadow of a soldier from the
opposite side.

The soldier was taken aback seeing a naked woman get up from the river in the middle
of the night.

“B-bastard, what do you think you’re doing!”

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He shone a light on Deneb-20 with the Magi Lamp he had in his hand.

Her light brown hair was drenched and dripping with water. Her white skin was glossy
as if it was repelling water, and her pair of bulging plump breasts were completely
uncovered.

“I don’t think you were swimming at a place like this and at a time like this. You’re
suspicious.”

The soldier licked his lips while talking.

“I’ll overlook this if you keep quiet and do what I say, got it?”

While saying so the soldier pointed his sword at the back of Deneb-20’s neck.

“…Soldier-san, are you alone?”

The soldier seemed to misunderstand the meaning of Deneb-20’s question.

“Ah, yeah. I’m alone. Aren’t you glad? Well, I’ll try to be as loving as possible, you
know?”

“…”

Deneb-20 muttered something again, but the soldier didn’t seem to have heard her.

“Hm?”

The soldier turned his ear towards her to hear her better, and this time he clearly
heard her.

“What a vulgar fellow.”

“Uoaaah?”

Heaven and earth were reversed.

“Uagh!”

The soldier’s back hit a stone on the riverbed and he fainted.

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The Quinta’s methods were the same as the SP’s. Although since the materials were
different they couldn’t produce the same power they still were nearly five times as
powerful as a human. They could also use martial arts quite well.

A soldier or two were no problem at all.

However, since it had been an unexpected situation she had decided to report to
Laojun through her internal ManaCom and ask for instructions on how to deal with
the situation.

“This is just a guess, but that soldier surely isn’t a very earnest person. And so it’s not
a problem to leave him there as he is.”

Laojun’s instructions were simple.

“Instead leave the scene quickly. Make sure to not leave behind any evidence. And pay
attention from now on.”

Deneb-20 followed the instructions and hurriedly wiped off her body, put on clothes,
then left the spot at full speed.

In the middle of the night, Deneb-20 ran the100 kilometers to Lake Azul as fast as a
horse, and no one noticed her.

A town on the shore of Lake Azul, Rok.

Since she couldn’t act without standing out during the day, she decided to gather
information here at Rok. Although that was mostly just listening to gossip.

Even so, Deneb-20 whose hearing was multiple times better than a human’s was able
to gather some fairly useful information in a day.

1. The Unifiers’ influence is great on the shores of lake Azul.

2. The Unifiers appear to have even dug into the central figures of Celuroa Kingdom.

3. The Unifiers appear to be moving around excavating ancient ruins.

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Numbers two and three weren’t really rumors, but since she had heard the same
information from multiple sources their credibility seemed to be high.

Deneb-20 reported the information to Laojun.

“I see, very interesting news. We’ve also got something to tell you. First of all, we’ve
established a way to recognize people who are under mental manipulation.”

Laojun continued his explanation.

“When detecting the Magic Energy pattern, in a normal condition it’s flat and in times
of agitation the normal response is that the pattern peaks. But a mentally manipulated
person’s pattern is constantly flat. However, it’s at the level of an agitated state.”

In other words, you could say a state of agitation is their usual state. Or perhaps it’s
more accurate to say they’re in a constant state of agitation.

“Although that’s only limited to people who have Magic Energy.”

Since it was about Magic Energy patterns, people without Magic Energy couldn’t be
distinguished. Although since there’s not much merit to mentally manipulating people
without Magic Energy the method was practical enough.

This discovery was the achievement of a Quinta sent elsewhere.

“Understood. Thank you very much for the useful information.”

Deneb-20 immediately tried detecting the Magic Energy patterns of the townsfolk. In
so doing she found out that two people –someone who appeared to be the town mayor
and their assistant– were unmistakably being manipulated.

(Right, [Shock] magic is used to dispel it.)

At the ruins of Keuwan, when returning Rucall who had been affected by [Hypno] back
to normal, it was said that a shock needed to be administered to him during a state of
agitation. However, experiments afterwards showed that just the [Shock] magic was
enough to dispel the affected person. That was also according to the report of a Quinta
working in another area.

That night, Deneb-20 took the opportunity to visit the mayor and their assistant while
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they were sleeping and use the [Shock] magic on the two.

After doing that, to get to her assigned area of Kemai she once more got naked and
swam across river Azul.

This time Deneb-20 crossed the river without being found out and arrived at Kemai
that same night.

She then began real information gathering in Kemai.

During the days she listened attentively to gossip, and during the nights she snuck into
the houses of suspicious people and used the [Shock] magic on those who were
confirmed to be under mental manipulation.

She also listened behind the tavern during the nights. As you might expect, there was
the possibility of someone seeing through that she is an Automata were she to enter
the tavern, so she had to avoid that.

However, on the night of the third day. Two men stood in front of Deneb-20 who had
been listening to gossip behind the tavern.

“Oi, oi, sister, whatcha doing in a place like this?”

“Didja drink too much and start feeling ill? If that’s the case then we’ll take care of you.”

The two seemed to be rather drunk. But on top of that Deneb-20 was detecting their
specific Magic Energy patterns.

“Might you two know about the Unifiers?”

Deneb-20 tried asking. The attitude of the men became remarkably rougher.

“What? Why did that name come out now?”

This might be a hit, Deneb-20 felt and replied,

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“I also want to join the Unifiers so I came to this town.”

The men then glared at Deneb-20 with eyes full of suspicion.

“Hmm, if that’s true, then it’s not impossible to tell you.”

“Really?”

“However, there’s a condition.”

“Condition, you say? Anything long as it’s something I can do.”

She had begun to grasp an important clue. Deneb-20 hung onto this critical moment.

But one of the men smirked, checked Deneb-20 out from head to toe with a repulsive
and contemptuous look in his eyes, then,

“Keep us company all night tonight.”

He said. Deneb-20 wasn’t someone who didn’t understand what he meant.

“I see, how unfortunate. I don’t have a body that can do such a thing, you see.”

She said and quickly made the two men faint with the [Shock] magic. She then tied
them up-

“Now then, these people doubtlessly have some information, but what should I do
with them?”

Deneb-20 thought while looking down at the two tied-up men. At that moment.

“Deneb-20, there’s something to talk about.”

Laojun got in contact.

“We’re constructing a ‘submersible base’ in Lake Azul so go help.”

“Roger that.”

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Laojun had decided to build an advance base in Lake Azul which was a central location
to the group of small nations. The giant golem his master Jin had made could be sent
out of it.

The Falcon VTOLs brought in materials for a Warp Gate. The location was a small
peninsula on the southern shore.

Deneb-20 had confirmed that it wasn’t in sight of people.

The Warp Gate was established, and Smith golems came through it. Next was the
materials for the submersible base. Then the underwater golems, Mermaids came.

All the materials were thrown to the water and the construction took place under-
water.

The Mermaid golems assembled the parts of the structure while the Smith golems
combined them with [Fusion].

Deneb-20 was on the lookout and would deal with any people if they came close.
Deneb-21 and Deneb-19 were also there.

Because it was underwater, the construction continued all the same whether it was
day or night. In a day the submersible base was mostly completed. It had a spherical
shape. The interior was divided to the top and bottom parts, with the top half having
space for a Warp Gate. The ceiling was able to open and close.

Various Magi Devices were stored in the lower half, but the vast majority was ballast
(weights).

To sink the ballast portion took in water, and to rise to the surface it ejected water. The
system resembled a submarine.

After seeing it finished, Deneb-20 reported to Laojun about the captured two.

“That is indeed a great feat. We’ll handle the questioning.”

Laojun praised Deneb-20 and collected the two prisoners. Having been left alone for
over a day they were quite obedient.

They weren’t certain of just how to question them, but with this as the start surely the
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location of the Unifiers’ headquarters would soon become apparent.

Today and tomorrow too, Deneb-20, nay, all the Quinta continued collecting
information for Jin’s sake.

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