The Mech Touch

Ves and Gloriana emerged from the secret workshop with much less joy than they should. After all, the two of them succeeded in creating their second collaborative masterwork mech!

Yet the thought of giving it up was still painful, regardless of any high-sounding arguments that Ves put forth.

At least the Quint completely belonged to the Larkinson Clan. If he ever felt the desire to check up on it in order to make sure it was being treated right, he could always stop by the Avatars of Myth and inspect Joshua's assigned machine.

This wasn't possible for the masterwork mech that Gloriana impulsively named the Little Angel. Every Blessed Squire mech belonged to the Hexadric Hegemony. At most, Ves and Gloriana deserved remuneration proportionate to the worth of the exceptional mech.

Ves had already adjusted his mentality towards giving up his masterwork mechs. His Devil Tiger was still wandering in the depths of the Nyxian Gap. At least he could reassure himself that his father was piloting one of his best works.

However, Gloriana still required a lot of time to accept this inevitability. Though she wanted to spend every single moment with the Little Angel, Ves forced her to leave.

"You have stayed awake for four days straight." He told her while he grabbed her arm. "Your body will fail if you push yourself further. Go to bed. You can return to the Little Angel tomorrow. It isn't going anywhere for awhile."

"Miaow."

Clixie pawed at Gloriana's foot in concern.

"See? Even your pet is concerned about you! I know the Little Angel is very fascinating, but there is a time and place for everything."

"Okay, fine… I'll go."

When the pair of mech designers finally returned to their accommodations, the clansmen they passed all noticed their downcast emotions.

Ves looked stoic as if he was holding something in. Meanwhile, Gloriana's tear streaks were still visible.

This caused a lot of Larkinsons to conclude that they had failed to produce another masterwork!

It was no secret that the two always worked hard to replicate their previous success. The Quint not only raised their stature, but also brought a lot of pride to the Larkinson Clan!

Many other family organizations boasted mech designers, but few of them had reached as far as Journeyman.

Of this group, only Ves and Gloriana could boast of producing a masterwork mech! The Quint was living proof that they had the potential of producing greater mechs in the future.

Of course, the odds of making another one was very small. Every Larkinson knew that. So they did not think too much about the disappointment shown by the two. It was a given to feel crushed when met by another failure.

Though the conclusions made by the clansmen initially took Ves aback, he quickly decided to roll with the situation.

The Blessed Squire design and the Little Angel both had to remain hidden! Calabast already told him that DIVA could achieve the strongest effect if it revealed the design and the masterwork mech at a time and place of its choosing.

While Ves agreed with this statement, he had one more reason to mislead the public that their attempt had failed.

He wanted to avoid Master Willix!

Ves had become aware that the MTA would dispatch very capable experts whenever someone created a masterwork mech. It was the only way for the people responsible to receive their coveted masterwork certificates.

Though he admittedly desired to receive another masterwork certificate to his collection, he did not relish the thought of entertaining Master Willix in person! He liked it even less when she dissected his mech and design from inside out. There was just something about this rational mech designer that made him feel afraid that she would be able to crack his secrets any day.

If Ves was able to keep the surprise under wraps for a decent period of time, he could leave for the Nyxian Gap and let DIVA inform the MTA afterwards!

By then, even if the MTA wanted to interview the mech designers responsible for creating the masterwork, Moira Willix would only be able to reach Gloriana!

As for Ves, he would be long gone in the Nyxian Gap, which was an anomalous region of space that even the Big Two couldn't tame!

Ves wanted to break out a laugh. This plan sounded brilliant! All he had to do was to make sure that everyone in the know sold the illusion that the attempt had failed.

Not a lot of people were actually aware of the truth. Aside from Ves, Gloriana and Calabast, he only had to worry about the lips of their bodyguards.

Nitaa was loyal to him to a fault while the guards dispatched by the Glory Battalion were loyal Hexers who would never harm the interests of their state.

Though the MTA possessed very powerful spying capabilities, Calabast had already made sure that the workshop they had just used was as secure as possible. The odds that the MTA had been pointing some powerful scanner that was both capable enough to penetrate a lot of shielding but also stealthy enough to avoid tripping any sensors was very unlikely!

Ves did not believe the local branch on Cinach VI possessed such advanced capabilities. Their local mech evaluators couldn't even make heads or tails of the Doom Guard!

As they returned to their bedroom, Gloriana instantly went out like a light. The exhaustion of the last couple of days had finally caught up to her. Ves was feeling a bit tired as well.

The next day, Gloriana woke up and dressed herself as quickly as possible. She wanted to return to the Little Angel straight away in order to study its exquisite structure.

Though Ves felt tempted to join her, he had to take care of other matters.

Gloriana leaned in and happily kissed Ves on the lips. "Thank you for lending me that gem. I couldn't have made my Little Angel so perfect if not for your help. I was a bit too tired yesterday, but I'll be sure to reward you tonight!"

She winked at him before she hopped away, leaving Ves with a goofy grin!

"Ahem." He coughed. "I should meet with Calabast."

Some time later, he entered her office. While Ves sat on a chair and started to pet Lucky's head, Calabast switched off her terminal.

"Ves. It's to see you here early. I conferred with DIVA yesterday on a secure channel and managed to convey the good news to them. The reaction I've received is very positive."

"Are you sure?"

The spymaster smiled. "DIVA fits in a different mold than you think. Unlike many other Hexers, the agency is fully capable of appreciating the competence of boys. My former superiors agree with my suggestion to make use of the Little Angel to introduce the utility of your work to the decision-makers of the Hegemony. DIVA has already notified me that a secure transport convoy is on the way to pick up the Little Angel."

"That's rather slow."

She shrugged. "While DIVA has stationed assets closer to the Sentinel Kingdom, they're not strong enough to defend something as valuable as the Little Angel. Don't underestimate the significance of its existence. In my opinion, the addition of your glows to the Hex Army is enough to tilt the balance of the Komodo War in the Hegemony's favor! The biggest hindrance we face is the rejection from our own side. Parading your masterwork mech is a powerful way to neutralize their core justification for rejecting mechs designed by boys."

"The stuffy matriarchs who decide which mechs to approve always believe that male mech designers like me are incompetent." Ves ruefully smiled. "I can see how the existence of a masterwork version of a Hexer mech design, a male one no less, can collapse their entire logic!"

The logic of those biased matriarchs and Hexers were flawed to begin with. Let alone Ves, many other male mech designers produce just as much masterworks as their female counterparts.

It was just that the Hexers always discounted the works of male mech designers for lame reasons. The fact that not a single male Hexer mech designer had been able to make a masterwork mech, as far as the public was aware of, had always supported the existing policies.

Though DIVA was not an organization that specifically advocated for increasing the rights of boys, right now it was to their benefit if they carved out a place for someone like Ves. There was no female alternative to a mech designer with his specialty!

Calabast noticed his look. "Don't read too much in this development. Female Hexers aren't about to improve their treatment of boys due to this change. Even with the help of the Little Angel, it will take a lot of lobbying and political maneuvering to carve out an exception for you. You're an outlier as far the Hexers are concerned, so it is not impossible to give you a pass on account of the substantial difference you can make to the war effort. The same does not necessarily apply to their domestic male mech designers. Even if they are given more liberties, they will hardly nudge the direction of the war."

"Mhmm."

He wasn't a part of the Hegemony. Even if he plotted to change the mindset of Hexers by exposing them to the Superior Mother, this was a long-term plan that took years to come into fruition. There was simply too much institutional opposition towards giving the males of their society more space and opportunities.

"In any case, I do have some good news for you." The Black Cat Commander continued. "DIVA has put a very generous valuation on your masterwork mech. "In general, the perceived value of a mech is multiplied by as little as 10 to as much as 100 or more. Some even go as high as 1000 times more. Since the Little Angels is based off a premium military second-class mech design, multiplying the value by 100 sounds fair."

"What is the estimated market price of the Blessed Squire?"

"200 million hex credits. This is what the analysts at DIVA have concluded after studying its design for several days. Do you have any objections?"

"No." Ves shook his head. "Considering the performance, proprietary tech, materials along with the added value of the Superior Mother's glow, that is a reasonable sum to pay for a single copy of the Blessed Squire."

This meant that the Little Angel, which was hardly distinguishable from a regular Blessed Squire at first glance, was worth 20 billion hex credits according to DIVA!

If it was before he released the Doom Guard, this sum would have been enough to make him wild. Nowadays, this windfall sounded extremely paltry!

His disappointment was apparent on his face.

"You think the multiplier is too low?"

"It's hard not to think so. If I submit the mech to the MTA, I could get a lot of merits in return."

He was already starting to contemplate whether he should leak the existence of the Little Angel to the MTA.

Someone as astute as Calabast immediately guessed what he was thinking. "I advise you not to spoil your relationship with DIVA. My former agency is one of your few supporters along with the Wodin Dynasty. I have already managed to negotiate a better deal with DIVA on your behalf. Its director is not going to demand the Little Angel from you without a hefty reward. What do yo think about receiving a state-of-the-art second-class factory ship built according to your specifications?"

Ves immediately straightened his back. "Those ships cost way more than 20 billion hex credits! In fact, not even 200 billion is enough in some cases!"

Factory ships, especially the higher-classed ones, were enormous investments. They were not only capable of pumping out as many mechs as a manufacturing complex, but were also tough enough to withstand at least some attacks without falling apart.

That latter was very crucial and one of the main reasons that proper factory ships were so expensive!

In truth, Ves highly doubted that the Little Angel was enough to pay for a modern factory ship!

"It's not as straightforward as you think, Ves." Calabast stretched her arm. "As long as the Blessed Squire takes off in the Hegemony, DIVA wants to extend and renew its cooperation with you. As long as you fulfill additional commissions, the agency will pledge to deliver a brand-new factory ship to you within a year."

Ah. So the factory ship was part of a package deal. This was a lot more complicated than he thought. As excited as he was to obtain the most important ship of his grand expedition, this was not the time to make an impulsive decision!