Steel and Mana

Chapter 165 – Merlin’s Intervention

"Is this... what did you call it... a chainsaw?" Sasha asked, sitting on my lap and looking at the drawings scattered atop my office table.

"Mhm. Yuri wants a spear, but she needs secondary weapons for that to work. These will be dagger-sized, well, dagger for a mech's proportions. With the formation placed on the hilt of the two, if she holds onto them, they can be activated, and the chains start rotating around the blade. My hope is that it would help penetrate the shell of some of the more hardy bastards."

"What about the spear? It also doesn't look like a regular one."

"It isn't. I am working on improving the mechanic systems we created within the mech, making them move faster than the original to give Yuri more thrusting strength behind her attacks. I also want to make them faster than what my Father's machine is capable of. To facilitate this, I also designed her chosen weapon differently than how normal spears work."

"It's telescopic." She mumbled, flipping them over, making me smile, leaning over her shoulders, enjoying her sweet scent.

"Yep! Its length is between eight and ten meters, with sufficient reach and without being unwieldy. I considered the simple fact that when not in battle, it needs to be holstered so it can retract to half its size with the hydraulics and mechanical latches hidden within it. Also, the spearhead is detachable, and she can put on these!" I chuckled, searching for a different paper and showing them the formations on it, which were derived from the mines we developed.

"Oh? Will they explode?"

"Exactly. Two versions are going to be made. One is self-activated, so let's say she stabs it into a beast and then triggers it... BOOM. Surekill."

"Or she throws it, and when it lands, it decimates the enemy."

"That's why you are my Sasha!" I laughed, kissing her cheeks and making her giggle. "I do have the idea to connect the shaft with the arms, so make it possible to throw it and yank it back with a 'rope' but... So far, I have not seen any strong or flexible material available for us to make it a reality. I am thinking of telling some of our blacksmiths to try and make new alloys and experiment more with combining them... I will foot the bill; we are pretty well off, so investing in my own country doesn't hurt! The main reason I make the tip exchangeable is that I know how quickly it may wear down and break. Replacing only one part of it is much easier than making a whole new spear every time a battle ends."

"No decorations?"

"Nope. Practical functionality over appearance. She can decorate her mech when it's done, hang down tapestries of her butthole if she wants."

"Geez, no, I won't allow that! Make it pink, okay, but that's where we will stop!"

"Your call." I grinned, "You are my harem's figurehead, so she has to listen to you!"

"Hmph, she will!"

"I also have a second design variant." I murmured before we diverged from our main topic. "It is more like a twin-blade."

"Two pointy tips?" She asked, looking it over, "No... The second is more... blade-like."

"Yeah. One is for piercing, and the broader one is for slashing. The central shaft will remain extendable and retractable, just the same with all the locking mechanisms inside. I am also thinking of making it possible to split into two... but for now, I shelved that idea."

"It would weaken its structural integrity... it is already less durable if it is being used to block attacks, thanks to the telescopic feature it has."

"Very true. Anyway, this one allows for a more versatile approach to combat, enabling Yuri to effectively handle different scenarios with both piercing and slashing capabilities. I will make both. I think... Well, when they are done, she can try them out. Tell me how it feels, and then we can modify and change anything that feels off."

"Will the mech look different?"

"It will be smaller." I nodded, "Not by much, though. I would say it would be lighter and tighter with a slimmer frame. A head shorter at most because I try to make it move quicker."

"What about its protection?"

"Here comes the neat part!" I exclaimed, and my excitement was palpable. "Merlin came through, tapping into that old life of his!"

"..."

"Worried?" I asked, seeing her remaining silent, nodding her head in the end. "I understand... should we sit down with him? I was thinking about it."

"I do believe that is a good idea."

"Mhm... Intervention for our little genius..." I mumbled, showing her what he had brought forth for me.

"Is this... A shield spell?" After more than ten minutes of studying, reading the different runes, and putting their functions together, she asked me, making me sigh. She was fast. It took me an extra ten minutes to crack it!

"I asked the same question, and he said yes. It should be similar to what that ice-breathing monster had. We can incorporate this into the 'backpack' we put on our mechs and have them properly shielded against magical attacks. Although their energy drain is enormous, I don't dare to connect them to the main CC within the machines, or they may sap them dry. It is one of the problems he is working on solving at the moment."

"Knowing Merlin... he will be able to solve it! If nothing else, we will need to use them sparingly."

"Most likely... but before that, you are right. We should talk with him."

...
....
......

"Um... Did... Did I make a mistake?" Merlin asked, feeling nervous, sitting with us in the study with me and Sasha. Nobody else was around, and I asked Oleg and Mikan to keep the two gossippers at bay, meaning that neither Luna nor Yuri was allowed near us right now.

"No, you did not, but there is something important we must discuss." I started, exchanging a glance with my wife first. "It is about reincarnation."

"Another one?! It isn't Mikki-2, is it? She didn't return?!" He asked, almost jumping up from the couch.

"No, Mikan is healthy, and everything is alright." Sasha calmed him down quickly, "But we may have something similar; we just don't know yet."

"Not every reincarnation is the same." I started, "Mine was different."

"I guessed as- Huh?" He gasped, staring at me after repeating it a few times in his head.

"Why do you think I have so many ideas? I am from a different world. I died in a freakish accident, got pushed around in death, ending up here the next moment. Weird, huh?"

"You are joking... My Sovereign..."

"Am I?"

"..." I could see it in his eyes, remembering all the things we did and all the weird ideas I kept bringing up just so he could give them that little magical touch to be applicable here. "You aren't..." He whispered, lowering his head.

"Disappointed?" I asked with a smile, expecting something similar because I knew he looked up to me. I can't lie; I felt terrible seeing him react like this, feeling I was disappointing him.

"Your world clearly had no magic..." He mumbled, biting onto his thumb.

"Nope, none."

"It's so cooooool!" He blurted out the next moment, raising his head back up.

"Huh?" We both asked, flinching, seeing as he stared right at us with sparkling eyes,

"This is so badass! This means there are multiple worlds, with different rules, with different magic and all! There are so many things to discover and adapt! Tell me more! I want to know more about interesting concepts, Leon! We can bring everything over and do so much!"

"Woah, woah, woah, slow down, kiddo!" I laughed, needing to push him back to the couch with both hands. "We can talk a lot about what it was like in my world. I bet you would be interested in it. Hell, you can use it for your novels!"

"Yes! Awww, that's so cool, you are so cool!"

"As I said, take a deep breath and slow your horses; we are not finished!"

"There is more? You too?" He asked at once, snapping his head at Sasha, who quickly shook her head.

"I do not think so! I have no weird dreams nor memories of a previous life."

"Oh..." He flinched, finally putting two and two together.

"Yeah, Merlin. We are talking about you. One is an accident. Two? That is a freakish accident. Three? That's a pattern. Maybe my appearance had some effect on it, drawing other reincarnations to me? I don't know, but the way you are, Merlin... you are also one."

"Those dreams..." He mumbled, getting nervous, playing with his finger, "They are becoming commonplace. The shield... I saw myself working on it, wanting to make myself invincible. It was weird because I discarded it in my dream, thinking that it was too bothersome and that developing something that breaks through the shield is much more efficient..."

"I guessed as much. Your dreams are why you are constantly coming up with spells. You are reinventing things you have already done in your previous life."

"But they help you!" He added at once, making me smile at him before standing up and sitting right next to his slightly trembling body, patting his head.

"They do, but I value you way higher than some magical inventions."

"We looked into it." Sasha nodded, copying me, taking the empty seat next to him, "We are pretty sure you were once The Emperor of Magic, ruling over Ishillia."

"I was an... Emperor?"

"Want to become one once again?" I joked, making him shake his head vigorously.

"No! I wouldn't! I like how it is now... I can study, explore, and make everything better! I have friends, I have you, and I am in a school where people respect me for what I did and not for who I am. I also like it when they call me Headmaster Merlin, not Minister Merlin! Then there is Elena... I like how it is now... I don't want it to change!"

"Glad to hear." We both said, hugging him, noticing his eyes were filling up with tears.

"I don't want to change into someone else... I enjoy how it is now. I do..."

"Then you won't." I said reassuringly, looking into his eyes. "From what I can tell, this differs from Mikan's case. It was you, well, the old you, who made it happen. This means you are still you and in control. You can look at your old life as distant memories and keep them as they are, continuing your life as is. There was a saying in my world that everyone is their own masters, and they forge their own destinies. If you appreciate your current life the way it is now, doesn't that mean your old self also likes it this way?"

"I... well... maybe? You think so?"

"We do think so." We answered him in tandem, "You are still you, Merlin. You were once an Emperor, but your life took a different path this time. If you are satisfied with it, is it bad? Or... if you want, we can put you back on the throne of Ishillia!" Sasha joked, repeating my words, but Merlin's answer stayed the same.

"No!" He yelled, looking terrified, "Don't send me away!"

"Relax!" I laughed, hugging him. "It is not our intention. You are family."

"Family..." He mumbled, "I should visit Mom and Dad more..."

"Agreed." Sasha whispered, gently stroking his head. "You are already counted as an adult, but... Family is still family! The most important thing in the world!"

"Family..." He repeated again, smiling while small tears rolled down his face, hugging both of us back. "I like that..."

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