The Mech Touch

Chapter 6500 A Small Confrontation in the Family

"You made the right call, Ves. You have earned my respect."

Ves looked up from his daily paperwork as a certain ace pilot strode into his main office. Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson possessed a special status in the Bluejay Fleet. He was the ultimate guard and protector. He was also an honorable soldier who abided by his promises. For that reason, he gained the authority to enter almost every compartment of the Tarrasque without needing to ask for access permissions.

That was why he was able to enter the office compartment despite the fact that Ves specifically ordered it shut and prevent anyone from coming in and disturbing his work. There were moments when Ves needed to be alone, or at least alone enough to be able to let down his guard and ponder about all kinds of problems without getting bothered by distractions.

The only people he permitted in the compartment at this time were the two silent but fairly unobtrusive Apocalypse Wardens that stood guard.

Even Lucky had scurried off after getting bored.

Ves looked forward to spending a bit of time to plan out his schedule for the next couple of months, but it appeared he had to set that side in order to placate the strongest and most important ace pilot of the Larkinson Clan.

"You did right by Saint Isobel." Tusa continued as he leaned against the desk and stared at Ves. "I did not expect you to let go of your desire to cling to her at all cost. You have changed too much over the years. They say power corrupts, and spending time with you is like seeing those words of wisdom unfolding right in front of me. I don't particularly like what you have become. I vastly prefer to hang around with the Ves of the past. Yet we cannot choose the relatives we have. Besides, even if I like your old self more, he was so weak and incapable that he can't help anyone. Your current self may have grown a lot more deplorable than before, but at least you have gained enough power to protect your clan. The fact that you still have enough heart to care about the lives and wellbeing of all of the Larkinsons that have signed up to your dream is your redeeming factor."

Ves resisted the urge to sigh. He had heard about incidents like these. When expert pilots and ace pilots grew powerful enough, they began to question the people and organizations they served.

If there were any flaws, the high-ranking mech pilots would not be able to ignore them forever. There came a point in time where the stubborn soldiers became increasingly more sensitive towards the faults that tarnished their masters.

So long as the expert pilot or ace pilot perceived that his employer was too corrupted, dishonorable or a detriment to people, it was not unusual for the powerful champion to decide to quit!

The mechers always maintained a standing invitation to ace pilots that possessed an upright reputation and demeanor.

Saint Tusa Billingsley-Larkinson could easily join the MTA and become one of its honored standard bearers if he wanted.

He would have to break his oath to the Larkinson Clan, but ace pilots tended to have ways to break their promises without suffering the consequences.

The ace pilot could sufficiently discredited the other party.

He could also try to reason that continuing to serve a corrupt institution would only perpetuate injustices.

As long as the reasons sounded valid enough, they could be used as proof to convince the brain-damaged, self-righteous fools to betray their employers.

This was also one of the reasons why so many parties worked hard to uphold their reputation and honor. They had tangible value, and there were serious consequences to losing them both.

Ves knew that he had engaged in a lot of controversial behavior in the past. He had no intentions to adjust his behavior, so it was a given that he would continue to engage in 'deplorable' behavior in the future.

Just the fact that he was working on the Rule Breaker Project which had great implications for a huge number of innocent civilians in the Milky Way proved that Saint Tusa was right to feel concerned!

Was it truly honorable to continue to offer his strength to the current patriarch of the Larkinson Clan?

An ace pilot with justice in his heart should never compromise too much, or else he would only end up corrupting his ideals and the convictions he held dear.

High-ranking mech pilots were the strongest idealists among their peers.

Their stout hearts and their unwavering commitments to their causes literally sustained their extraordinary power and status!

From the perspective of Ves, high-ranking mech pilots were not entirely human anymore. They had magnified their obsessions to the point where it controlled their minds and bodies like puppets.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the road to no return was so difficult to traverse was because ace pilots needed to shed or convert all of their remaining humanity into the obsessions that had grown monstrously more powerful.

Whatever the case, Saint Tusa had become one of the many ace pilots who aspired to survive that dreadful transition.

So long as he was serious about becoming a god pilot, he had to abide by all of the demands that could help him survive a transition that killed far too many promising heroes.

In that sense, a conversation like this had long been overdue. Saint Tusa must have harbored his doubts towards Ves a long time ago, but there was no hurry to bring forth a confrontation.

Tusa still had reasons to stick with Ves. There was no better pair of mech designers that could help the Dark Zephyr reach his full potential than the Miracle Couple.

Even so, if Ves crossed too many lines, then there came a point where an ace pilot had to let his conviction take precedence over his greed to obtain a better living mech. "No matter what you may think of me, I am a mech designer. I am a service provider. Everything I do is to help mech pilots such as you fight your enemies better and benefit the people around us." Ves said in a tired voice.

"You sure have the nerve to claim that you are a servant of the people when you clearly harbor dangerous intentions towards the people of the Milky Way."

"Hey! When a god pilot and a terrible qi cultivator True God orders me to design a bunch of Carmine mechs, I can't say no. I am not responsible here. If you have any problems with my Rule Breaker Project, you can take it up with the aforementioned powerhouses in the old galaxy."

"Heh, not so easy now, right? Not only can they kick your ass, there is no feasible way you can travel to the Milky Way at the moment. I don't mean to belittle you, but please don't try to accuse me of stuff when I am not in charge. Until you can become a god pilot, you will continue to remain under the thumb of more powerful individuals who

hold actual power."

Tusa stubbornly crossed his arms. "Nice attempt to use your Devil Tongue on me. I can accept your arguments, but that does not mean you can escape all culpability. You cannot shake my misgivings towards you that easily. However, you are family and you care for the Larkinsons. You don't brazenly abuse your power or engage in unnecessary acts of cruelty... mostly. You have also begun to care more for the big picture and become more aware of how your actions can affect the lives of many others. Even your intentions towards the people of the Milky Way are not too bad. I can accept your excuses, but there is a limit to my tolerance."

This was a warning from Tusa to not go too far.

Ves most definitely got the message.

"I am not going to change the way I solve my problems." Ves spoke from his own heart. "We do not live in an ideal society. Perfect solutions do not exist. I can only make sure to do what is right for myself, my clan and occasionally red humanity as a whole. I am not capable enough to do more than that. I am not even a Master Mech Designer yet. Don't listen to all of the hype. I can't singlehandedly bring down society by myself. Don't try to place too many expectations on me when I am just one man"

"You are not just 'one man"." Tusa rejected the patriarch's description of himself. "I do

hold high expectations for you, because you have proven many times that you are more than an ordinary mech designer. You are like the second coming of the Polymath. There is no way I can treat you like I treat your wife or any of the other mech designers working for the clan. I do not think it is unfair to hold you to a higher standard as you have way more power and influence than any Senior Mech Designer in this galaxy. I am not the only one who is paying attention to you. There is no need to mention anything about Jannzi, and the other expert pilots are observant as well. You have founded the clan on the basis of honor and kinship. I hope that you can still stay true to your own intentions and words after spending so long in a high position."

Ves grimaced but leaned back in his chair.

"This is how the game is played, Tusa. I don't make the rules. Until I become powerful

enough to flip the board, I can only play along with everyone else. Perhaps one day I will become a Star Designer that can dictate an entirely new set of rules to others, but I will still have to rely on strong and dependable helpers such as you to build a better society. You don't have to offer your service to me for free. I will make sure you are amply rewarded for your continued assistance. Do you think that ordinary ace pilots can obtain a masterwork ace mech as good as the Dark Zephyr? I think my intentions to deliver a strong machine like that to you is enough to prove my sincerity."

"It does. For the moment. As I have said, Ves, my tolerance has a limit." The tension in the air grew stronger. Though Tusa did not pose a physical threat towards

a phase lord like Ves outside of the cockpit of his mech, a halfgod with a domain field should never be underestimated.

Ves deliberately clapped his hand. "Okay. Is the show over now? I have already made arrangements with the mechers to pick up Saint Isobel Kotin from the medical care facility and ship her over to wherever the Evolution Witch can be found. Her treatment is out of my hands from that point. Whether she returns in a healthy state or chooses to

come back at all is up to Isobel herself. You know what I think?"

"What is on your mind?"

"I think the Evolution Witch can't resist the urge to recruit Isobel. However, our ace pilotn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

will not be tempted to defect to the RA." Ves began to grin. "Do you know why? Isobel is

a loyal soldier. More than that, she believes in me. I have brought her out of the Sentinel Kingdom and allowed her to rise to a height unreachable by many others at record time. I may not be too powerful at the moment, but I am growing quickly. She can grow just as fast as long as she continues to remain in my service. While I admit that I have many flaws, can you always rely on the fact that I offer the greatest care to the mech pilots who depend on my services. That is because I am a mech designer, and serving the needs of the strongest mech pilots of our clan has always been my first priority." "Hmm... you are not wrong."

Ves steepled his fingers together. "I also think that any mech pilot who thinks that

others will invest more care and attention towards servicing the needs of mech pilots. such as you is delusional. The Red Association is already filled with many talents. The mechers will never appreciate ace pilots such as you and Isobel as much as our Design Department. You are the Larkinsons who we have painstakingly nurtured and enabled. Our commitment to you goes beyond transactions. We are all family in the end. Just as I am willing to tolerate your insolence, I would please ask you to give me the same courtesy and continue to tolerate my... own actions."