Aurelia and Andraste ran around and laughed as they played a game among themselves.
Half a minute later, their cats joined in as well.
"Meow."
"Miaow!"
The two running daughters made for a stark contrast with the grim environment.
Ves meanwhile sat down and held Marvaine in his lap.
The boy eagerly wanted to learn what made the Minerva Mark II so powerful.
"There are many reasons why the Minerva Mark II has become so impressive, but I cannot fully explain it to you all. What is important for you to know is that you should stick to your own ideas and have the courage to pursue them. Reality will try to push back, but if you are strong enough, you will be able to resist all of the pressure."
"Ohhh…"
"That said, you should only make risky design choices if you are strong enough to absorb the consequences of failure." Ves gently taught his son.
"How do I become stronger as a mech designer?" Marvaine asked.
"Do not fight by yourself. Humans are capable of extensive cooperation, and it makes a lot of sense to join forces. Our clan invests a lot of resources into building up the camaraderie between fighting troops. These are the soldiers who will be protecting you in the following years."
Ves felt a little concerned about Marvaine. His two daughters gave him the sense that they could rely on their good sense to avoid a lot of potential trouble.
Whether it was reliable or not was quite substantial.
Marvaine was not satisfied with the answer, though.
"Is there a way for me to fight directly?" The boy asked.
"Absolutely not."
"What about becoming a phase lord? Can I become a phase lord like you, father?"
Marvaine looked so cute when he wanted to plead with Ves to obtain the necessary knowledge and materials.
Ves coughed. "I do not recommend you to follow this path. We do not fully understand the nature of phase lords. Not many humans can turn into phase lords. If you really want to gain a giant True God and start to smack stuff around, then there are many alternatives that are better."
Mech designers were never supposed to take action in the first place. Ves' insistence on avoiding anything too serious meant that he gained a unique qualifier that he could be dangerous when startled.
"The Minerva moved!" Marvaine exclaimed.
"So soon?! We haven't fully synced everything correctly. What is it doing?"
The Minevera… has taken a few steps forward." Marvaine described. "I don't see anything wrong with its movement. The ace mech hadn't toppled over or anything."
"For now."
Ves quickly put down his work and raced towards a nearby terminal.
He could observe many different sensor readings. Much of them produced results that vastly exceeded what they originally expected.
"I… am… free!"
The Saint Commander felt much more at ease when piloting the ace mech.
Her growth was no longer constrained by other factors anymore!