The Mech Touch

With just one day left until the wedding commenced, the entire Cinach System grew tense.

The locals had long become engrossed in the mania surrounding the grand occasion. It didn't matter whether Ves was a former Brighter. The Sentinels even put down their disgust towards Hexers in order to take pride that their state had been chosen as the venue for this enormous event.

Many Sentinel nobles had arrived long ago. Even King Barameuth XXIV, the monarch of the Sentinel Kingdom, had arrived a few days ago in a slightly more noteworthy fashion.

Of course, forget about the counts and dukes, even the king couldn't secure a meeting with the Miracle Couple!

Though the Larkinson Clan still needed time to replace its third-class ships and mechs with second-class equivalents, everyone already knew it had effectively reached this level.

Ever since the survivors of the Nyxian Gap Campaign returned with the Gravada Knarlax in tow, only fools doubted the combat prowess of the Larkinson Clan! With at least five expert pilots serving under its wing, the upstart clan had already risen far above other attempts to gain independence!

If that wasn't enough, then the rising fortunes of the Living Mech Company greatly caught the imagination of those who valued the power of money. With an estimated revenue that surpassed that of many companies led by Seniors, the money pouring into the coffers of the Larkinson Clan was more than enough to make even Hexers green with envy!

All of these reasons and more aroused the interests of many distinguished guests from many different second-rate states.

Managing all of these guests was difficult. Rivals and enemies came in close contact with each other. Fortunately, the Hexers brought troops to give anyone second thoughts about starting up trouble.

Still, incidents did take place regardless, giving the security guards a lot of headaches. Ves thought that people at this level were supposed to be calm, thoughtful and rational like Senator Tovar.

In actuality, the wedding drew envoys ranging from hotheads, intellectuals, introverts, militarists, believers and more. Part of it was because many organizations and states dispatched representatives rather than their heads. Another part of it was that successful people tended to possess forceful personalities.

In order to climb the ranks, it wasn't enough to be quietly competent. Faced with brutal competition, those who wanted to rise above their station had to be proactive.

As Ves spent some time with meeting some of the more important guests, he gained a better sense of high society.

Personally, he did not particularly enjoy entertaining these snobs. They all wanted something from him. Of great importance was whether they could get their hands on his rumored expert pilot-producing mechs. No matter how much he denied their requests, the people who approached him always seemed to think they had a chance.

"Do they think they're special or something? Do they really think the rules don't apply to them? How dare they demand something as controversial as this under Master Willix's nose!"

Aside from this, the visitors also made other inquiries. Some wanted to invest in the LMC. Others wanted to obtain easy passage to the Red Oceans. A few sought to partner up with the Larkinson Clan.

Ves rejected all of them. The offers simply weren't sincere enough. While the benefits they promised might be interesting to the current Larkinson Clan, what about the future?

A decade from now, most of these local tyrants wouldn't be qualified anymore to approach him! Unless they put up something that would interest him in the future, Ves politely rebuffed the greedy bastards who thought they could take advantage of his supposed lack of awareness.

Just because he was an average third-rater a decade ago didn't mean he was easy to fool!

"The hardest person to scam is another scammer!"

One of the hidden advantages he possessed was his spiritual perception. Every prominent guest who met with him possessed strong personalities. This made it relatively easy for Ves to read their overall moods. Even if he couldn't get a precise read on their dim spiritualities, he could get a faint impression of their emotions.

Far too many of the distinguished men and women either felt smug or looked down on him. While they respected his accomplishments, they thought he had risen far too fast to fit into their circle.

Ves wasn't interested in partnering up with those who lacked sincerity. Trust was in short supply, so establishing mutual benefits was necessary to make any deal work. If the people who approached him ignored even that, why should he entertain their offers?

Only a handful of visitors were different.

The Cross Clan was willing to put in 25 million MTA merits to partner up with the Larkinson Clan. Not only that, they brought out the personal journal of an ace pilot as a bargaining chip.

This was enough to catch the Larkinson Clan's attention!

Talks had already begun some time ago. Before any of the leaders met, their underlings cautiously explored each other's stance. They slowly learned what they sought from each other and what they truly needed.

An hour before Ves was scheduled to meet with Patriarch Reginald Cross, Ves studied some documents as a pair of cats claimed a third of his desk.

"Meow~"

"Miaow~"

Lucky and Clixie hardly stayed apart these days. The two cats had taken their months-long separation hard. Now that they were able to keep each other company, they often sought each other out or snuck off to boss around the new pets!

"Nyaaaa!"

Of course, Goldie couldn't be left out either. Though she couldn't manifest herself for long, the spiritual cat eagerly played with Lucky and Clixie.

In some way, the ancestral spirit could be regarded as their offspring. Ves had created the Golden Cat by using the two older cats as her model.

It was a bit more complicated than that, though. He threw in several other ingredients as well.

Ves wasn't inclined to explore this topic any further.

A few minutes later, Calabast entered his office in order to bring him up to speed.

"What have you discovered?"

"Nothing much. The talks between our two clans haven't been too revealing, and our inability to snoop on them is rather vexing."

"Did you manage to accomplish anything, then?"

She grinned. "Just because we can't investigate the Crossers in this star system doesn't mean we are prohibited from looking elsewhere. I've been contacting some information brokers based in Majestic Teal. They offered me some juicy intel for a price. Don't worry. I didn't go over budget. Some of them had the gall to ask for your special mechs."

"Ugh. This is going to be a recurring phenomenon, right?"

"Yes, so get used to it." Calabast smirked as she leaned her hip against his desk. She casually brushed her hand in Clixie's fur while eying the Golden Cat. "That's new. You're lucky that I'm already used to all of the oddities that happen around you, but you should do a better job of hiding this golding cutie."

She cautiously ruffled the Golden Cat's body. The sensation was unlike anything she had ever felt. The warmth of the Larkinson Clan flowed directly through her touch!

"Nyaaaa." Goldie licked her fingers.

"It's fine. Anyone who glimpses her will merely mistake her as a physical projection. I'm not stupid enough to show her off in public."

They went back to the main topic. After handing over a data pad that contained her report, she began to explain the highlights.

"There's a problem with their former warlord and ace pilot."

"Every Vicious Mountainer has a problem in my opinion."

"It goes beyond their cultural obsession for war. While I don't have any insider knowledge, outside observers have studied Saint Hemmington extensively and noted some abnormal clues."

Ace pilots were no longer referred to as Venerable. Instead, they were called Saint, though Ves wasn't sure why the MTA would standardize a term that was normally tied to religion. Was the Association attempting to replace traditional faiths with mech pilot worship?

"Let's hear it, then."

"Before the Saint advanced to ace pilot, he was considerably more reserved. Maybe you can chalk this up to his lacking strength, but the Hemmington back then was much more restrained. He often abided by the recommendations of his council and his inner circle."

"And all of that changed one day?"

"Yes. While Hemmington had always been seen as one of the hopefuls who could make it to ace pilot, once he did, his entire personality had shifted. He became more aggressive, pushing for attacks on other tribes regardless of the state of his own forces. He also became harsher towards his own tribe and clan. He regularly berated them when they did not support his decisions. He no longer became open to compromise. He pushed his men hard so that they could keep up with his ambitions."

That sounded very problematic. From what Ves knew of ace pilots, it wasn't unusual for them to change after they attained this rank. In most cases, this was merely a consequence of reaching their goals and attaining a new level of power. They still retained much of their original personality.

This sounded entirely different. Did Lord Hemmington suffer a mishap when he advanced to ace pilot? Did he progress through improper means?

If this was so, then the value of his personal journal was not as great anymore. Who wanted to follow the footsteps of a Saint who basically destroyed himself? Ves did not want Joshua to lose his pleasant personality!

"Have you found the reason why Lord Hemmington deviated to this extent?"

Calabast shook her head. "No. It's something that the Cross Clan simply doesn't talk about at all. They have far too much respect for ace pilots in general and especially one that came from their own ranks. They're all too willing to overlook Saint Hemmington's flaws in order to feel good about themselves. You should be careful about that when you finally talk to Reginald Cross. He's the second son of Hemmington and worships his father immensely."

He grimaced at this news. It turned out the Cross Clan's problems were greater than he realized. Even though the Cross Clan was apparently secular, Ves suspected they were actually religious with how much they idolized their former ace pilot!

"Well, I'm feeling less and less enthusiastic about cooperating with the Cross Clan. Aside from what we already know, is there anything they can offer to us that is worth tolerating their flaws?"

"You'll have to ask Reginald Cross himself. I'm not sure whether they can make concessions. Their clan has lost almost all of its foundations upon fleeing Vicious Mountain. They may be sitting on an enormous pile of cash, but they aren't doing much to replacing their missing income streams."

This was unsustainable. Once their savings ran out, how would the Crossers be able to operate their enormous capital ships?

Perhaps they had a plan he didn't know about, but the lack of foresight was disconcerting. Ves wasn't eager to partner up with a clan that wasn't able to wipe it's own butt anymore. If his worst fears came true, then the Cross Clan might actually ask Ves to do the job!

Calabast imparted some more details to him. There weren't any signs the Cross Clan intended to settle anywhere in the local regions. The Crossers were quite eager to travel far away in order to start anew in a completely different environment.

"They're not interested in taking revenge. I'm not sure why."

"Maybe they just want to distance themselves from their greatest shame. Saint Hemmington's death must have dealt a devastating blow to the Crossers."

It was difficult to understand what the Crossers thought. They did not entirely behave as stereotypical Vicious Mountainers. Ves half-expected them to clamor to take revenge. Maybe they made too many enemies for them to believe they stood a chance.

Time quickly passed. Once Calabast finished her briefing, she ruffled Lucky's head one last time before departing. Ves stood up as well. He wouldn't be meeting with the Cross Patriarch in his office.

"Come on, cats. Let's go and see some Vicious Mountainers."

"Meow!"

"Miaow!"

"Nyaaa!"