Development Code: Slippery Power
"It's fast, but it can't properly transmit the power..."
That was a simple way to sum up the issue Reina had pointed out.
Applying the new friction-reducing coating from the alchemy department to the joints had sped up the reaction time, but it backfired—the reduced friction meant the force that should have transferred to the mech's arm was slipping away instead, spinning uselessly. Output and mobility had improved over the Cyclops, yet in a direct strength contest, the Cyclops paradoxically came out stronger.
"Let's list out what I can do right now..."
He jotted down ideas as they came, methodically piecing together realistic solutions. Sure, this world had unexpected tech and genuine geniuses, but when it came to piloted golems, he knew more than anyone—and coordinating that knowledge into results was squarely on him. He had to think hard and experiment thoroughly.
Guess I won't be sleeping for a few days. As that thought crossed his mind, Mina appeared behind him, peering down with a grin.
"Even Aizen fails sometimes, huh."
"I'm human too, y'know. Nobody succeeds every time."
He flashed a grin back at Mina, whose expression screamed she was here to tease.
"The Caterpillar Golem went through a ton of trial and error too. It was a mountain of failures before that finally worked."
"Phew, good. I was worried you'd go all dramatic, like life-or-death over a big flop."
Mina let out a small sigh of relief.
"Can't admire someone who just keeps failing, but someone scared of failure? That's no good either."
"You ever tried comforting anyone?"
"The church wouldn't pay up if I did. Figured you didn't need it anyway—half relieved, half bummed."
That "half bummed" was probably because she couldn't squeeze some cash out of it. Seeing he wasn't shrinking from the failure, Mina fully relaxed, smirking as she spoke.
"Anyway, got anything to report to your investor?"
"Gonna tweak the arm structure a bit or add some bracing first. Testing with my magic for now."
He gestured to one corner of the workshop, and Mina nodded. Several rock arms modeled after the tech demonstrator's structure sat there, formed by his earth magic. With her backing, he could go straight to metal, but prototyping with magic first—then metal if it panned out—was the efficient routine everyone in the workshop was used to.
"Golem magic's seriously handy."
"That's what I don't get—why haven't joint researchers used golem mages before now?"
"You're the weird one. But saying that means there's another snag, right?"
Mina was sharp as ever. She'd already clocked the new realization from this flaw.
"Yeah, mass-producing and selling these won't be easy."
The tech demonstrator alone was giving cost estimates. Improvements could cut prices, but there were limits.
"Unless we minimize the coating, big structural changes mean rethinking things."
"Can't a little change be okay?"
"Can't spin up new factories every tweak."
Having seen mecha production lines in his past life, he really wanted to avoid massive redesigns and separate lines. Sure, if it were feasible, he'd love to—but with investors on board, he couldn't burn cash recklessly. Not when Cyclops factories were just breaking ground.
"Stubborn streak."
"If it's something I love, sure—but I know when it's a bad idea. Gotta cut losses if needed."
"Say that to Reina, and she'll verify if you're really Aizen."
...But if it might work for golem dev, his body moved first—he couldn't say that. It'd been ages since Reina last walloped him. Mina looked even happier, though.
"So, improve as much as possible, but keep it low-burden for me?"
"Can't piss off the investor and lose dev funding."
"Smart kid. That's why you're easy to deal with."
Mina plopped down casually beside him.
"Just common sense."
"Varies by person. Plenty think investor cash is free money."
She grinned wickedly.
"Lucky you get that it's someone else's money—handle with care."
"Looks like someone hit you up with a sketchy loan pitch lately."
"Lost an eye already; now I wanna see a solid plan I can actually buy into."
Mina, Noel, and Erica dropped by the workshop daily, but as big names, they sometimes ran late. Mina's merchant duties delayed her, and apparently some pushy noble had soured her mood with a loan beg.
"...Ah, that's why you were grumbling about sharing potatoes you usually ignore."
"Shut it."
She was pretty chill overall, rarely nickel-and-diming, but bad moods brought out the gripes. Living together revealed those subtle shifts.
"No rush with palace stuff—show me a plan when it's ready."
"Got a rough draft; just need to polish and outline options."
"Looking forward to it."
Mina paused, then added as if it just hit her.
"So, how long you calling it the tech demonstrator?"
"Till it's finished. ...Oh, gotta slap a dev code on it."
Why bring up naming now...? She must want a proper mech name early.
Sticking the great name as-is would be tough.
To him, it held the soul of a space federation's glory—but to locals, it'd sound like monster howls. Needed something evocative yet plausible...
"Dev code could be Lam—"
"Dunno what 'dev code' means, but call it Knight. Yours always twist weird; no thanks."
Naming rights? Firmly denied.
Gilford was trembling.
"That monster... doesn't even fail...?"
He'd watched Reina in the Cyclops battle Aizen's mech. Too risky to approach—might get blocked or stir trouble—so he'd spied from afar via a scrying orb, leveraging his fading authority to access an observation tower overlooking the dueling grounds.
With aides, he'd witnessed the fight, plunged into shock.
"Even faster than back then...?"
The Cyclops had stunned him with golem-defying speed; this new one was way quicker. Alchemy tech and boosted engines made it so, but ignorant Gilford just saw another Aizen speed upgrade.
His aides whispered as Aizen got crushed.
—"At least he failed. Even Aizen can't beat Reina."
—"Same piloted golem class means Aizen, its maker, might win next time?"
—"Without Cyclops..."
Aizen lost one-sidedly, never seizing momentum. Everyone saw it that way.
But not Gilford. Aizen had improved something. Proven worthy of Reina's duel—in her Cyclops, no less. With three profs watching, high nobles like Noel and Erica, even the saintess always around. That mattered more.
Inhuman freak...!
After Cyclops's triumph, dread of another win fueled jealousy anew.
But stepping up? No way.
Palace has me blacklisted—what can I do...!
The duel fiasco cost a royal manasteel mine, plus abusing power against Aizen—harsh reprimand. No big moves left. Just seethe at Aizen's wins.
Still, gotta curb him somehow...!
But how? The monster didn't know failure.
Then an aide approached cautiously.
"...Your Highness. Speaking of, the Abatus count house sent a proposal..."
"Proposal?"
His maternal relatives? Gilford flinched.
Why them, of all people?
Honestly, he wanted no ties to Aizen-like messes... but no veto power.
Forcing calm, he smiled. "...What kind?"
"Advice on the duel mess, but long story short..."
The aide hesitated, then handed a ornate envelope sealed with the Abatus crest.
"An invitation?"
"Yes."
Cautiously, almost pleading rejection, the aide continued.
"Invite Aizen Arclight to the party in a few days... for an apology. Proposed by your cousin, Cardio Abatus."
Cardio Abatus. The current Abatus heir was baring fangs at Aizen Arclight.