Magi Craft Meister

Chapter 701: 21-12 Search Party

21-12 Search Party

“What did you say? Marcia is… shipwrecked!?”

Upon hearing Arrow’s explanation, Rodrigo shot to his feet, kicked back his chair, and tried to rush outside.

It was Jin who stopped him.

“Rodrigo, calm down.”

“Jin, how can you expect me to calm down? My daughter is shipwrecked! I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead!”

“Your daughter!?”

“She’s your daughter!?”

Jeremy and Bacchus, overhearing his cry, looked shocked.

“Ah, this isn’t the time to explain, but yes, Rodrigo is Marcia’s father. Anyway… let’s go!”

Jin went to the back of the workshop and called Bacchus over.

“Bacchus, do you have any materials for golems stored here in the workshop?”

“Huh? Y-yeah, we have a few…”

“Show them to me! Quickly!”

Startled by Jin’s urgency, Bacchus led him to the semi-basement storage area at the back of the workshop. This was where valuable materials were stored.

“Ah, there’s bronze… and this? …The skin of a Death Sea Serpent! That’s enough. And here, a magic crystal! Perfect. These will work.”

Jin took out the necessary materials and let Reiko help him carry them out.

“Arrow, I’ll fix you.”

With that, Jin deactivated Arrow again and immediately started working at full speed.

He fabricated the skeleton of the damaged arm, attached magical muscles and laid the magical nerves.

He installed an auxiliary Ether Converter to increase the power output by 1.5 times. Finally, he ran a full maintenance check to complete the repairs.

It took less than 10 minutes – a display of sheer skill.

Rodrigo, Jeremy, and Bacchus watched with open mouths.

“All right, ‘Activate!'”

“Yes, Creator.”

“How do you feel, Arrow?”

“Very well, Creator. Thank you.”

Hearing this, Jin nodded in satisfaction.

“All right, Arrow, you’re ready to take the Cygnus and go to the area where Marcia was shipwrecked, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. Then take the Cygnus at full speed and look for Marcia.”

There was an extremely weak magical connection between Arrow and Marcia. Jin decided to rely on it.

“Understood.”

Of course, Jin had no intention of leaving everything to Arrow.

“Reiko, contact Laozi. Deploy the Mermaid Unit and the Air Force. The Air Force will search from high altitudes without using invisibility.”

Invisibility would limit visible light and reduce visibility, so Jin ordered against its use.

After giving instructions to the forces on Hourai Island, Jin prepared to begin his own search.

First, Jin instructed Reiko and Arrow to lift the Cygnus, which had been propped up outside the workshop as a signboard, and carefully lower it into the sea.

He confirmed that its condition hadn’t worsened.

“All right, Arrow, go!”

As Jin gave the order, Rodrigo called out.

“Jin, can’t I come with you?”

Jin shook his head.

“No. The Cygnus is a two-seater. If Arrow rescues Marcia, it will exceed its capacity.”

“I… I see.”

Rodrigo slumped in disappointment, but Jin reassured him.

“Rodrigo, let’s hurry back to the guesthouse. We’ll take my airship and search from above.”

“Oh! That’s a good idea!”

Energized, Rodrigo looked ready to take off. Jin turned to Jeremy and Bacchus.

“If we find Marcia, we’ll bring her back immediately. Stay here and wait.”

“Y-yes!”

To avoid distractions, Jin gave them clear instructions.

“Now, Rodrigo, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

The group started running.

Jin’s body, thanks to the cell activation, could show superhuman endurance when needed. Reiko, of course, was in a league of her own.

Rodrigo, on the other hand, was an ordinary middle-aged man.

“Huff… huff…”

In less than five minutes, Rodrigo was out of breath and slowing down noticeably.

“Reiko, this is taking too long. Carry him.”

“Yes, Father.”

“S-sorry… Wait, wha-!”

Reiko picked up Rodrigo and carried him effortlessly. Jin then accelerated and ran at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Being flesh and blood, Jin couldn’t risk running faster through the city.

Still, they covered the nearly 8 kilometers in about 15 minutes, hastily arriving at the guesthouse and heading to the courtyard where the airship was docked.

The steward, who had been contacted by Laozi, had already prepared the airship for departure.

“Good work. Rodrigo, we’re leaving!”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Still pale from being carried at unprecedented speed, Rodrigo looked half-dead. But the thought of searching for his daughter brought him back to his senses.

When the guards, alarmed by the commotion, asked what was going on, Jin simply replied:

“We’re going to rescue someone shipwrecked at sea.”

With that, they took off.

The airship, flying at its maximum speed of 100 kilometers per hour, would reach the area 60 kilometers away in just 36 minutes.

Meanwhile, Arrow, piloting the Cygnus, was racing across the sea at nearly 50 kilometers per hour. Given the time and speed difference, their arrival would be perfectly timed.

“Marcia, where are you…?”

Rodrigo, worried sick about his daughter, looked down at the sea the whole time, his concern overwhelming any amazement at flying for the first time.

Jin had also ordered reinforcements from the Hourai Island Mermaid Unit, which was deployed via transfer devices.

The airship passed Io Island and approached Tryu Island.

“This should be the area where the shipwreck happened…”

Even from the sky, nothing could be seen. Not even Arrow on the Cygnus was in sight.

“If that’s the case, it must have been carried away by the ocean current…”

Jin assessed the situation calmly, in stark contrast to Rodrigo, whose bloodshot eyes were glued to the sea.

“Marcia!”

Rodrigo, uncharacteristically agitated, leaned dangerously out of the gondola, forcing Jin to have Reiko tie a lifeline around his waist to prevent him from falling.

Jin then steered the airship north.

Five minutes later.

“There! The Cygnus!”

Rodrigo, who had been scanning the sea below, pointed and shouted.

Indeed, it was the Cygnus.

Furthermore, there was a figure on board that seemed to be Marcia.

The arrow had successfully found its master. Jin’s gamble on the magical connection between them had paid off.

“Way to go, Arrow.”

Arrow looked up at the airship and waved.

“She is my younger sister, after all,” Reiko said proudly.

Maybe she remembered the time when she had searched the world for Jin herself.

Jin lowered the airship’s altitude to approach the Cygnus.

“It’s definitely Marcia,” Reiko confirmed, her keen eyesight leaving no doubt.

Jin brought the airship closer.

It was indeed Marcia, but her right leg was soaked in blood and she seemed unconscious. Immediate treatment was necessary.

At that moment-

“Marcia!”

Rodrigo, who had somehow untied his lifeline, jumped from the gondola toward the sea below.

The gondola was still about 10 meters above the water.

It happened so fast that Jin had no time to stop him.