The Mech Touch

By the time that Ves was ready to end his stay at the LMC's flagship store in the Commercial District, he was more than satisfied with the gains he made.

While it was easy for him to browse the galactic net for opinions and reviews on his commercial products, interviewing his customers in person was much more insightful and closer to reality.

Ves knew that once he completed his latest batch of projects, he should spend more time on rounding out the LMC's mech catalog even further.

Although his Design Department also needed to spend a lot of time on revising its existing second-class mechs into quasi-first-class mechs, he and his colleagues should be able to do both at the same time as long as he hired an additional batch of mech designers.

Both he and his wife shared knowing glances. The Living Mech Corporation was still the main foundation of their clan. Although their recent expeditions provided them with much more profit, these gains were incidental and far too volatile to rely on, especially in the long term.

Before they left, their children briefly visited the gift section of the store and eagerly browsed all of the mech figurines, dolls and plushies on sale.

"Wow, this cat plushie is so soft and furry."

"These mech figures suck. They're not alive and they don't have any glows. The ones that papa makes are much better!"

"Look, look! That's you, papa! There's a doll that looks exactly like you! It's so cute!"

"Wait, what?!"

All three children converged in front of a display stand that sold semi-realistic looking figurines that were modeled after every heroic figure in the Larkinson Clan.

Most of them were based on the expert pilots of the clan. They were the most prominent mech pilots among the Larkinsons and each of them performed dazzlingly in much of the battle footage that got posted on the galactic net.

However, aside from these obvious heroes that many people aspired to become, the display stand also featured figurines based on two different mech designers, namely Ves and Ketis!

Ves was the head of the Larkinson Clan and he looked suitably dashing and larger than life in his Unending Regalia.

Ves could see that the materials used to make this figurine came quite close in matching the look and feel of Unending alloy. Once he picked up one of the toys modeled after himself, he became satisfied with its heft.

"At least they did a good job at conveying the density of my armor. It's a shame they opted to make these figurines look a bit cartoonish."

The realism was fairly good but not to the point of being able to pass as an actual version of himself.

"Why doesn't the store sell a figurine based on myself? Ves! You need to call the Marketing Department right away and tell those idiots over there to correct this injustice!"

"Not now, honey."

If the toy based on Ves already looked impressive, then the one based on Ketis was much more exciting!

Andraste had already tossed the Ves toy aside and grabbed the one based on Ketis.

The swordmaster looked like a noble techno-barbarian in her own combat armor. No one would be able to imagine that she was a mech designer when she was armed and ready to chop up aliens with her Bloodsigner greatsword!

"It can even fight!"

Andraste pressed a hidden button and activated a few commands before setting it down on a surface.

She then picked up the doll based on Venerable Dise and did the same.

Just like the Ketis figurine, the toy based on Venerable Dise did not depict her in a piloting suit. Instead, the expert pilot wore a custom suit of armor Swordmaiden combat armor and wielded a greatsword of her own!

The toys began to speak their lines as soon as they activated.

[My Bloodsinger yearns to amputate your arms!]

[I am the ultimate hunter of exobeasts!]

Tiny projectors and other devices caused the toys to glow as if they were cartoon heroes. Their swords looked especially flashy as they glowed with the illusion of power.

The toys soon began to fight and spar against each other!

Although their moves weren't as sophisticated as that of real Swordmaidens, the fighting skills and acumen demonstrated by the AIs controlling the figurines were surprisingly accurate and realistic!

"Dise is going to win." Marvaine said. "She's older and has more combat experience."

Andraste objected to that and slammed her hand on the top of his head. "NO! My teacher is a true swordmaster! She's a much better fighter than Dise! I've seen them spar before!"

While this was going on, Ves looked on with a bemused and befuddled expression. He did not know what he should feel about the fact that his own stores sold toys based on himself and other Larkinson personalities.

He understood the logic behind it, but he did not really feel that this was appropriate. What the hell were the product designers thinking when they tried to make an action figure of their own patriarch!?

"Alright, that's enough, kids. We are on a schedule. We need to get back to our shuttle and head over to the next stop."

"The fight isn't over yet! Ketis is just about to beat Dise!"

"Papa, I want this and this and this and this! Oh this too!"

"Mama, please tell papa to give us these toys!"

"Miaow!"

Once Ves finally gave in and bought a couple of toys for them, he and his family headed back to the roof where they boarded their armored shuttle.

Their next destination was not too far away as it was located in the same district, so the vehicle soon touched down on a different landing pad.

The room was a little larger and broader than the previous one. This had to do with the architecture of the structure.

Unlike with the flagship store, Ves had a lot of mixed feelings about visiting this location. However, the reports he received as of late informed him that its popularity had skyrocketed as of late.

So many more people flocked to its halls and asked for guidance that the clansmen who staffed it were beginning to feel overwhelmed. New problems emerged that required more impactful decisions on how to proceed forward.

This was why Ves wanted to pay a personal visit here. He could not only take in the changes that took place recently, but also make decisions on the spot.

"I love cats~" Aurelia sang as she held her cat plushie.

"Swordmaidens are the best!" Andraste exclaimed as she struggled to hold the figurines of Ketis and Dise in her hands.

"Miaow."

Clixie followed after the kids while holding a figurine of Ves between her teeth. Due to its size, the cat had to bite Ves in the head in order to carry him around.

In the meantime, Ves had already walked forward and greeted a familiar woman in robes.

"Welcome to the Enlightened Church of Vulcan, sir. It is an honor for you and your divine children to grace our halls." Samandra Avikon greeted with utmost respect and devotion.

"Ahem!" Ves coughed as if he just sneezed. "This is not a church. It is the headquarters of the Davute Branch of the Creation Association. I do not recall it ever being named a church."

"That is where you are wrong, sir. Let me explain while we step inside."

The tale she told sounded simple. As the properties in the core districts of Kotor City drastically rose in value, the local government recognized the enormous potential to harvest a lot of revenue.

The government therefore raised its taxes and fees on the business activities conducted in this hot region, and the Commercial District suffered the most as a consequence.

It wasn't enough to drive out most of the companies who set up shop here, as the large number of customers with high spending power more than made up for the extra costs.

That said, no one looked forward to paying drastically more taxes, especially to a government that they mostly felt no attachment to. Davute was so young and new that not a single adult businessman had grown up in the colony.

"Many establishments in the Commercial District tried to study the colonial laws that the founders of Davute had set in order to find a loophole they could exploit."

Gloriana snorted. "The Davute Alliance is thorough in these matters. An army of lawyers, economists and other relevant experts are working for the government. There shouldn't be a way to avoid paying higher taxes."

"Ah, but that is not quite correct." The director of the Creation Association smiled at her. "Davute operates under laws that are derived from a standard code that is extremely mature and perfected over several thousand years. Many of the regulations concerning taxes and fees apply to for-profit companies. Non-profits fall under a different arrangement, among which churches and religious organizations enjoy the greatest exemptions and reductions. Since it is our duty to ensure we minimize our expenditures as much as possible, we tried to apply to reclassify this headquarters as a church."

"And it worked?" Ves asked as if he couldn't believe that this actually happened.

"Yes. The city administrator visited us and toured our fine halls for two hours before he personally approved of our request. The status of our organization changed the next day, allowing us to keep almost all of our revenue provided our profits do not exceed a certain threshold. We have no problem with that as we can reinvest much of what we earn into renovating and upgrading this church as well as construct new churches in different star systems."

"What."

This was way too easy! If any organization could claim to be a church that was not aiming to make a profit, then half of the stores in the Commercial District would turn into halls of worship the next day!

When the group finally descended to the ground floor and stepped inside the main hall of the enormous structure, they all became astounded by the sight.

Compared to the time when Ves last visited the headquarters of the Creation Association, it became clear that almost everything had been transformed!

Gone was the clean interior with gunmetal gray walls. Gone were the diverse and random works of craftsmanship that numerous master craftsmen had donated to the Creation Association. Gone were the rooms and floors that made this place feel like an actual trade association that was centered around different crafts.

Instead, whoever planned this renovation decided to knock down a lot of walls and remove entire floors to create an enormous hall with an exaggeratingly high ceiling!

The interior had been remodeled to accommodate bronze-like metal walls and floors that had been deliberately antiqued to convey a greater sense of age and solemnity.

The interior also gained a lot more complexity by shaping it with a combination of gothic and fantastical elements that made this hall look like a set out of a fantasy drama!

If that wasn't enough, the interior designers also amped up the religious vibe by borrowing a page out of the Vulcan Faith that once dominated a defunct dwarven state!

Murals, statues and ornaments centered around hammers, craftsmanship and most importantly Vulcan was everywhere!

"You could have at least used the human version of Vulcan." Ves grumbled.

Pretty much every depiction of the God of Dwarves, Mechs and Craftsmanship was a bearded dwarf who liked to hold a hammer!

Although Ves felt repulsed by all of these radical architectural changes, he had to admit that it succeeded in making an unforgettable impression to those who stepped into the cathedral-like hall for the first time.

He was most impressed by the interplay between light and shadow.

Curiously enough, much of the lightning in the hall was muted. The stained windows that depicted Vulcan engaged in different acts of crafting were not that large and did not illuminate much.

Projected candles that radiated soft light prevented the hall from descending into complete darkness, but the weight of shadows was still heavy.

This made the pockets of light that much more precious and dramatic!

Specific holes in the walls and ceiling shone much brighter and more concentrated light, allowing specific areas to look blessed and radiant.

From the enormous statue of Vulcan that was prominently placed in front of the pews to the hammer symbols that represented the forces of creation and destruction, each of them gained an enormous air of reverence.

The sights were enough to compel many visitors who had signed up to become members of the Creation Association to pray and prostrate before these religious symbols!

"Hmph! I told my friends that papa was a god." Aurelia arrogantly stated.

Ves wanted to palm his face. "I am not a god! Don't believe in the lies that others tell you! I am just a human!"

"Wow… you're so short." Marvaine said as he tugged Ves' hand. "Did you change your body so that you grew taller?"

"I am not a dwarf, Marvaine! In fact, Vulcan isn't supposed to be a dwarf either. Only a certain sub-section of dwarves believe that he is part of their own kind. He's traditionally a human, especially in the ancient myths!"

"Where is the Superior Mother? Where is Helena? More importantly, where are my statues? This church is not complete without its women!"