The Mech Touch

The only concession the MA deigned to give us was to return our personal mechs! Two mechs! That ’s all! ”

Both Imon and Casella gritted their teeth at the thought of this result.
They only regained a fraction of what they lost, and the MA seemed unwilling to cede them anything else!

Ves shook his head after hearing this sad tale.
”If you ask me, the Mercenary Association protected you and gave you a lifeline. ”

”What?! ” Casella burst out.
”That ’s absurd! The MA totally sided with the thieves! They wanted to shut us up by handing back our mechs in exchange for acknowledging we ’ve lost the right of possession of our remaining mechs and ship! ”

Ves chuckled, which seemed to make the Ingvar pair even angrier.
”Let me explain how I see it.
House Ingvar is no more.
Their own superiors, the Royal House of the Black Poppy, crushed your house themselves.
All Ingvar assets should have been formally seized by Black Poppy. ”

”Except for ours! ” Imon protested.

”Says you. ” Ves raised his hand.
”Let me continue.
Suppose what I said has happened.
Now, your household mech company should have been the property of your house.
Neither of you own the assets of your former mech company, correct? ”

Both Ingvars reluctantly nodded.

”So properly speaking, the assets of your household mech company actually belongs to Black Poppy.
Now, if you continue to annoy the Mercenary Association with your useless demands, who says they won ’t confiscate your mechs and send them back to their rightful owners at the Kingdom of the Three Flowers? ”

”They can ’t! We will never allow the murderous Black Poppy to take what little we possess! ”

”Have you ever heard the saying that possession is nine-tenths of the law? ” Ves raised.
”Well, from what I ’ve learned, the Mercenary Association often defaults to this rule when it handles arbitration in cases like these.
House Ingvar is no more, and while Black Poppy probably claimed all of your fallen house ’s assets, it ’s customary that a few bits and pieces fall through the cracks.
If we count your household mech company among them, then they were technically ownerless. ”

”It should have still belonged to us then! We are the remaining surviving heirs of House Ingvars! ” Imon exclaimed.

Yet Ves shook his head.
”House Ingvar is dissolved.
It doesn ’t exist in any legal sense.
Its estate and all of its assets has been absorbed by Black Poppy.
What this means is that your last name has become worthless! ”

This revelation came as a huge shock to the two! Both Imon and Casella possessed a lot of pride in their house! Even if it had fallen, they still harbored ambitions to take revenge and restore their house!

However, such an endeavor was much harder to do if no one recognized their house and in turn their noble status!

”In the perspective of the Mercenary Association, a deckhand aboard your carrier has as much of a claim to your ship than the two of you.
It all comes down to who can manage to claim and secure possession of the ownerless assets first! ”

Most likely, the former household mech pilots each claimed their own mechs.
Meanwhile, the spacers collectively split the ownership of the carrier, with the captain claiming the largest proportion.

The former soldiers and retainers of House Ingvar probably left no room for Imon and Casella Ingvar in registering their ’salvage ’ claims.

Likely, the only reason Imon and Casella regained their personal mechs was because the Horseless Riders hadn ’t recruited mech pilots and assigned them to the mechs fast enough!

The brutal truth had been laid bare to the ignorant two fallen noble scions.
Both Imon and Casella appeared devastated!

”Apart from your mechs and some backup funds, the two of you have nothing left, right? ”

Imon listlessly nodded.

”Well, far be it for a stranger like me to advise you, but I suggest you pick yourself up.
You may have fallen to your lowest point, but at least you are still better off than most.
What has been lost can be regained, but you won ’t come close to doing so if you keep moping around.
Move forward.
Think about what you can do in the future, rather than beat yourself up over past decisions that have already been made. ”

”What ’s it to you? ” Casella narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
”Why are you trying to help us? Are you pitying us? ”

”I only paid attention to you two because my cat thinks you ’re interesting. ” Ves patted Lucky ’s back.

”Meow! ”

Lucky seemed pleased at Ves ’ recognition.
The cat always prided himself for his observation ability!

”I don ’t see anything worth paying attention to, if I ’m being honest.
I suggest you rethink your current actions and evaluate whether you are doing something productive.
I hope you ’ll wake up and move forward.
At that point, I hope you consider working for me.
I ’m a great boss and as a mech designer, I can provide you with some great mechs. ”

Ves had Gavin pass their contact information to the Ingvars before they left.

Kelandra spoke up now that they had walked out of earshot from the fallen nobles.
”I don ’t see why those foreigners are worth your time.
Nobles who have lost their houses are some of the worst mercenaries imaginable.
They constantly pretend they are still special when they are no different from a mercenary! In fact, even our worst Kinner mercenaries are better than those two crybabies! ”

”It is true that the two Ingvars don ’t make for good mercenary material. ” Ves conceded, though a grin quickly plastered on his face.
”Though it ’s a different story if I can manage to persuade them to join my Avatars of Myth! ”

Only when he came in close proximity and studied the pair up close did he manage to perceive what Lucky had already sensed.

There was something special about the two Ingvars!

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