Steel and Mana

Chapter 154 – Little Explorer

"Is this all we learned?" I asked with a half-smile, sitting on my throne while reading the report that Merlin passed onto me. "This is pathetic... At best, it is good enough for you to base your next story's villain on someone real."

"There was nothing much else in his head. First, it was General Oleg who interrogated the bandit before I also conducted a second round, using magic this time. It turns out he told us pretty much everything from the start. Our guess is that it is the Lion's side-effect because he witnessed it move and speak."

"See? Psychological warfare is a thing!" I answered with a laugh, looking back at the document in my hand.

"Should we do a mind alteration on him? It was already easy to break him for the truth; his defenses are low."

"No. He is trash and someone I won't bother with redeeming. Yuri, even though she was ruthless when it came to negotiating, at least bargained for her gang's future and wasn't only looking out for herself. This one escaped the first moment of trouble, leaving everybody behind. Use him for your tests; I don't need someone without any loyalty."

"Can... can I?" He stopped dead in his tracks, looking at me stunned, his eyes widening. 

"Yes. I don't need the details; I just need results, so don't waste the opportunity and don't get used to it! This... stays between us. Got it?"

"I will do it well, My Lord! You don't have to worry! I will need to decide which test I want to use him for..."

Watching him murmur to himself while he walked away made me sigh, thinking that I may just let out the genie from its bottle, but oh well. It was already too late. It was an opportunity I also didn't want to waste, and I wouldn't shed a tear if our intruder died an inhumane, horrible death.

Leaving the throne room, I returned to my study and continued reviewing the rest of my ministers' reports and signing their works or denying some incoming requests as we needed all the materials to build a second mech. I was just finishing a stack of papers, pressing my stamp on them, when the door opened, but looking up, I saw nobody entering.

"Ga!" 

"No way..." I mumbled, standing up, and sure enough, it was my son waddling in, taking unstable steps, wearing nothing but her cloth diaper, and holding a long, hooked stick that he used to reach the doorknob.

"Gaaaa!" He shouted again, happily announcing his arrival and making me twitch my mouth while smiling back at him.

"Exploring, huh? You... The moment you learn to walk, you are escaping. You do know that this will make your mother spank you, no?"

"Ga?"

"Protecting you? Son, you need to take responsibility for your actions! I can't defend you, not when your mother is right to be angry."

"Ga..." He mumbled, lowering his head, looking troubled, trying to act as the victim here.

"Where's your sister?" I asked with a shrug, walking forward and lifting him up while he automatically hugged my neck, giggling and kissing my cheeks.

"Ga! Gagaga-gu!"

"You-! You used her to escape without being seen?! You two, little... Uuuu!"

"Gau..."

"Sorry?! You will have to say that to Luna!" Just as I exclaimed, there she was, rushing in, her face overwhelmed by pure panic until she saw Arthur in my arms. 

"Thank the Gods! I looked away for a moment because Leyla began crying, and he was gone! He can teleport! It wasn't my fault! Please don't tell Sasha!"

"I won't." I answered, crouching down, rubbing her head, and letting her calm down. "Where is Leyla now?"

"With... Mikan... hauh..." She sniffed, her mismatched eyes filled with tears.

"Gauuu..." 

"Hmph! They are devils! You are a little monster; I won't forgive you for this for... two days!" She grunted, scolding Arthur and pointing at him with her index finger.

"Gau... Gu...? Gagu?"

"I don't care! You scared me to death! Hmph!"

"See?" I shrugged, looking at my son, "I may not tell Sasha, but you still need to deal with the consequences of your choices, my son. It is up to you and not to me!" I exclaimed, giving him back to Luna, who kept resisting Arthur's pitiful gaze, his hugs, and kisses.

"I'm going to take him back... And... You really won't tell Sasha about it?" She asked me again, looking pitiful, making me lean forward, gently kissing her lips.

"Don't worry. I won't. It wasn't your fault anyway."

Of course, Sasha found out about it by dinner thanks to Leyla babbling merrily, proud of how good she played the role of a tantrum-throwing, spoiled brat... so Arthur can sneak out and come to me, demonstrating how good he is with walking by himself. Before Luna could plead for mercy, Sasha grabbed the little imps and made sure they would remember how it felt to be royally spanked.

"You are too soft on them." She snorted, glancing at me, never once scolding Luna.

"Um... how is it my fault this time?" 

"You are their father. Discipline them!" She added, raising her voice and making me twitch my mouth. 

"O-okay... okay! I will... next time."

"Do it well, so there is no next time! Hmph! You are too soft!"

"Just give up..." Yuri whispered, quickly looking away when Sasha's head snapped onto her, "Nothing, nothing... nice weather, we have, huh?"

"We do!" Mikan interjected, happy to change the topic during our dinner. "But the winds are already turning colder; winter should come soon. By looking and feeling the weather, at least this time, it won't be like last year!"

"That doesn't mean it won't be cold, so we must prepare." I answered, making her ask a question, turning all heads toward me.

"Will you be at the Pass this time too?"

"When needed. Yes. I must observe how my father uses the mech. Speaking of, we are about to arm it for real! Are you coming to watch?"

"Ga!"

"No." Sasha scoffed, shooting down our little twins, who raised their hands at once, wanting to say they would surely come along. "Act like a fool; get treated as such! None of you will come along, and you will stay back here with me! Hmph!"

"Guuu..."

Well, my dear little pumpkins... this happens when you anger your mother. Be it a lesson for you two!

...

....

......

Since getting his hands on the finished mech and naming it The Lion, my father hasn't been idle at all. Maybe he would have been a great modeler in my time; who knows? But for sure, he painted the machine perfectly, given its size. Its basic, dark, rough iron color was gone, replaced by a silvery primer that was then painted on further using blue and gold colors.

With its plating completed, it now looked more menacing, like a soldier wearing his complete armor set, glinting blindingly in the late autumn sunshine. Even more, I let my father hang a massive banner from the bottom of the machine, displaying his personal heraldry of a roaring lion. As for weapons, besides the two cannons on its shoulders, there were weapons added for close-quarter battles.

To ensure it can't just lose its weapon, we made multiple arms that could be switched out before every sortie, testing my design's modularity. Right now, the Lion's right hand was formed to end in a blade, the largest that was ever made by any blacksmith in this world. Was it sharp? Not really; it was more about busting the giant monster's skull in. It was much too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. It was a heap of raw iron.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Father chuckled, standing beside me, slapping my shoulders, and catching my grin.

"Yeah. It is." I nodded, deciding not to quote loudly what I had just thought about. Instead, I turned my eyes to the empty left hand of his machine.

"What about the shield? It isn't ready yet?"

"Young Merlin said that it still needs time for the formation to become ready but should be done by the first snowfall. I tested the sword, and swinging it is different than doing it for real; I can't use the same techniques I developed."

"Naturally. This hunk of metal is not as mobile or agile as you are, Dad! You need a completely different approach to battle."

"There is where you are wrong, son!" He smiled, squeezing my shoulder, his blue eyes burning in such light that it amazed me. "It helps me break through! I have always been thinking about where to advance my fighting style. My martial arts were stagnating, but right now? I can feel myself improving thanks to piloting this machine! I needed this... I really did."

"What do you mean?"

"Simplicity. My technique became too complicated as I always added and changed moves and tiny movements within it. Finally, I can strip all the unnecessary elements I incorporated into my combat style and return to the origin where it all came from. It is as if I suddenly saw the light, and I feel that when I succeed, I will elevate my style to the next level!"

"I don't get it... But I believe you! I'm sure you can do it!" I grinned, patting his back, "Speaking of combat, I was thinking of adding smaller cannons onto the chest plate; what do you think? We need less powerful weapons to bombard fast-moving targets heading towards the wall."

"I was about to advise you about it. I also wanted to make another request of you."

"I'm listening."

"I want a hot air balloon. We could use it to send scouts high up into the sky, higher than any of our towers, and keep watch. Warning us ahead of time. Would that be possible?"

"Hm... I think." I mumbled, looking towards the freshly rebuilt tower that was destroyed in last year's attack. It was now back up once again, thanks to our professional workers. "We could tether it to the walls and use a spell to make it function as we have no natural gases to use and burn it at the required temperature and intensity..."

"What I am hearing, my son, is that you can make it work."

"Yeah. I can. Give me a few days, and we will set it up with Sasha!"

...

....

......

"Good... you are very good at organizing, my dear!"

"T-thank you, My Empress." Milan stuttered, bowing, standing next to Mirian as the two were all alone in a giant ballroom, easily just as big as his own home's multiple bedrooms put together. "But... is it a good idea to let me read such sensitive information? These are... for your eyes only!"

"Silly!" She giggled, looking up at him standing next to her, enjoying his troubled expression. "You are going to marry me, don't you? Then it is fine! Look, I knew you were good; you helped me organize all of these reports in just a day!"

Deep down, Milan wanted to argue, telling her he had no other options after being summoned and led into this massive room. He was met with a fifty-meter-long table and thousands of hand-written reports stacked on top of it and told to get ready before being left alone. He had to go through and organize them by the rank of the sender and deeming which were important and which weren't, putting those that came from the newly occupied territory at the very top of the list before presenting it to his Empress.

"I need a capable husband~! Come, I'll let you relax a little; your face is so tired!" She giggled, standing up and hugging Milan from behind while one of her hands disappeared in his pants and the other slipped under his shirt, "Good boy~ Just let it go; I'll always reward you well for your efforts!" She whispered, taking deep breaths, enjoying his scent while losing herself in playing with Milan's body.

It was an hour later when Milan finally returned home, meeting with his father in his office, collapsing into one of the chairs, looking conflicted.

"You look-"

"Just don't, father. Please..." he mumbled, rubbing his forehead. "That girl has something loose within her brain! She frightens me..."

"She is from the royal bloodline; they are all a bit mad."

"Tell me about it. I didn't believe it before, but now? For sure!" he moaned, making his father smile. "Let me recollect my thoughts, and then I will tell you what I managed to memorize. We got a lot of reports from the annexed Kingdom of Scorc, and the ones sent there are already asking for military aid. It was a good decision to not accept the offer!"

"Good boy..." Duke Kustov smiled, watching his son proudly. "Take your time, and when ready, start your report. Don't forget, you are doing this to save our family!"

"I know. We do not have a choice in this, and don't worry, Dad! I finally... I think I finally understand what you meant when you told me to never trust the Imperial Bloodline. I thought you were dramatic, but... they do give me the creeps..."

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