The Mech Touch

During the evening, Ves watched the news broadcasts in order to get an idea on the overall sentiment of the Protectorate.

The excitement hadnʼt died down at all. Billions of Ylvainans were convinced that Ves was the Bright Martyr!

This was a frightening amount of people, and this estimate only encompassed the most ardent believers!

”The Ylvainans have always revered the Martyred Followers.” Gavin commented from the side. ”Each Martyr was a personal companion of Prophet Ylvaine. Accepting you as the Bright Martyr implies that you possess a personal connection to the most revered figure in their faith. Itʼs a way of convincing themselves that their dead prophet is still watching over them through your eyes.”

”I know. Itʼs human psychology at work. Even if they arenʼt comfortable about foreigners, theyʼre willing to pretend that Iʼm the Bright Martyr if that means they can feel great about coming into touch with the prophet himself during the tribunal.”

Even now, many scientists, priests and theologians puzzled over what exactly happened when Ves spoke out at that moment.

They could scratch their heads all day. The longer the mystery remained unsettled, the longer the belief in the Bright Martyr settled into the minds of the Ylvainans.

By now, Ves was pretty much resigned to his awful nickname. Even Calabast who came up with it couldnʼt do anything to rein it in anymore.

”What does the Bright Republic think about what happened in the Protectorate, Benny?”

Gavin adopted a weird expression. ”Well.. not a lot of Brighters paid attention to the events that took place here. Itʼs only when you managed to upend the entire Protectorate that a lot more foreign news portals started to report on the matter. While they arenʼt as gullible as the Ylvainans, theyʼre very amazed at your ability to cause such a huge change. I donʼt know what the other states think about you, but the reaction from the Bright Republic is rather mixed.”

Ves sighed. ”Getting involved in this religious mumbo jumbo hasnʼt done my reputation any good, right?”

”You already built up a considerably controversial track record. Adding this crazy incident on top of your previous famous moments has pretty much solidified your image as a celebrity mech designer.”

What?!

”That makes it sound like Iʼm famous because Iʼm an attention grabber rather than a good mech designer!”

”Iʼm sorry, boss, but no other mech designer can come close to the amount of controversies youʼve incited in recent times. I think what has happened here in the Protectorate put the final nail in the coffin.”

”Goddammit!” Ves let out a frustrated grunt.

”Itʼs not all that bad, boss. Youʼre more famous than several Senior Mech Designers. You donʼt have to exert too much effort to attract a lot of publicity. This can be very useful whenever you want to promote a new mech model!”

”Thatʼs true, I guess. I still prefer to be known for my excellent mech designs. Canʼt I at least enjoy some respect?”

”Celebrity mech designers sell a lot more mechs than regular mech designers, boss. A lot of mech designers want to be in your shoes. Thereʼs only one problem.”

Ves narrowed his eyes. ”Whatʼs the matter?”

”Famous mech designers are often referred to by a nickname. While some of the Brighter media outlets started calling you the Bright Martyr, in general that has fallen flat. Our people arenʼt superstitious like the Ylvainans. Therefore, the gossipers reporting on our stories tried a variety of nicknames before they all came to a consensus.”

From Gavinʼs reluctance, Ves had a feeling that his new nickname wasnʼt very flattering.

”Get out with it, Benny.”

”They decided to call you the Devil Tongue.”

”...”

Ves froze for a couple of seconds. If the Brighter publications wanted to come up with a nickname for him, they could at least emphasize his strengths as a mech designer!

Calling him the Mech Artist or the Pilot Whisperer or something at least gave his customers a good impression of his products!

A name like the Devil Tongue did nothing to help him promote his mechs! Ves thought that being known as the Bright Martyr was bad enough, but being known as the Devil Tongue was worse!

Who wanted to buy a mech designed by a mech designer called the Devil Tongue!?

”At least the Skull Architect sounds classy!” Ves loudly lamented. ”Why the hell did the publications settle on this stupid nickname? It doesnʼt represent who I am at all!”

Gavin shrugged. ”From what Iʼve learned, the journalists focused on the times when you verbally scorched your opposition. The times when you defended yourself against Professor Pendleton and berated the Ylvainans were so remarkable that youʼve gained a reputation as the worst person to get into an argument! No one is able to win a debate against you! It seems that everyone who tried got burned!”

”And thatʼs the reason for calling me the Devil Tongue? That makes it sound as if Iʼm evil!”

”To some Brighters, you are. Not only did you verbally humiliate a Senior in his face, but you also managed to manipulate the beliefs of the Ylvainans and swindled them into believing that youʼre their Bright Martyr! Calling you the Devil Tongue is quite generous compared to the other nicknames theyʼve bandied about. Be glad they didnʼt call you the Great Deceiver!”

Okay. From a marketing perspective, being known as the Great Deceiver was a lot worse, Ves had to admit that at least!

”So what does this mean for the LMCʼs business prospects? Are people still as eager to buy my mechs when itʼs led by someone who is known as the Devil Tongue?”

”As I said, your status as a celebrity mech designer is very valuable. No matter how many controversies youʼre involved in, youʼll always be able to sell more mechs than your peers. As long as your mechs arenʼt awful, I donʼt think youʼll have any difficulty outperforming competing Journeymen.”

It turned out that the public didnʼt take the moniker too seriously. Everyone treated it in a playful fashion, as if Ves was just a little devil instead of a big devil.

Most people could avoid the scorching ire of the Devil Tongue as long as they remained friendly. Only his enemies suffered the brunt of his tirades!

”Well, that doesnʼt sound so bad.” Ves muttered.

”Itʼs a great development. Your public persona is a very powerful asset as long as you manage it properly. Celebrity mech designers enjoy a lot of advantages. Itʼs too bad that most of your fame is confined to the Bright Republic and Ylvaine Protectorate.”

Overall, the fame or rather infamy he gained cemented him as a fire spitter in person, but didnʼt change the perception of his mechs. Ves felt a small amount of relief at that. It meant he wasnʼt pigeonholed into a certain style of mech design.

”What do you think about what happened here, Benny?”

”Me?”

”Yeah.”

”Hmmm…” Gavin paused for a bit as Ves idly watched the muted local media broadcasts. ”I think you did everything you could to beat the accusations. If I was in your place, I wouldnʼt have been able to do anything to prevent the inquisition from executing you. One of the reasons why the journalists from the Bright Republic have started calling you the Devil Tongue is that you managed to reverse an impossible situation by opening your mouth! One of the underlying ideas behind it is that only a devil can distort the faith of so many devout believers!”

That still painted him as evil!

”I hope this trend will fade.” Ves whispered.

”I donʼt think youʼll be able to get rid of it. A lot of mech designers who received unflattering nicknames were stuck with them for life. You might as well embrace it and take advantage of the notoriety it conveys. You donʼt have to worry about facing any hecklers anymore in your future announcements and product reveals.”

That didnʼt amount to much. Ves was always confident in his mech designs. Even if a heckler tried their best to disparage his products, they would always be useful to someone.

”What do you think about our business prospects in the Protectorate?” Ves asked.

”Youʼve definitely opened up a lot of business opportunities in the Protectorate. So much so that I donʼt think we should take advantage of all of them. I think at this time itʼs better to show some restraint.”

Ves raised his eyebrow. ”Why?”

”First, as great as your mechs currently are, you donʼt offer anything close to a full range of products. A lot of Ylvainans want to buy your mechs, but they donʼt fully realize what theyʼre actually getting. The mechs youʼve designed so far are only applicable in very specific situations. Some of the customers who are caught up in the hype might end up regretting their purchase when they obtain a mech they donʼt actually need.”

”What else?”

”Youʼre just a recently-advanced Journeyman. While that puts you on top of the vast majority of mech designers, it doesnʼt give you a distinct advantage against other Journeyman and Seniors. While the Ylvainan mech industry is rather peculiar, they are very entrenched in the local mech market. If we grow too quickly and eat up enough market share to threaten their dominance, weʼll be making a lot of enemies in the process. Bright Martyr or not, some of the Ylvainan mech designers will be so dissatisfied that they might resort to drastic action!”

Ves chuckled when he heard that. ”Some mech designers can be like that. I think the local mech designers are even willing to kill Prophet Ylvaine himself if he threatens their market share!”

”Please donʼt make those kinds of jokes, boss.”

The two returned to business. They discussed the plans to develop the joint venture owned by Ves and Calabast.

Now that his reputation in the Protectorate had been redeemed, the joint venture possessed a lot of promise!

Gavin noted something important. ”Madame Cecily has been very proactive about recruiting staff for the joint venture. While this will help us lift the subsidiary from the ground, it also means that our local partner will be able to exert a disproportionate amount of control. If we donʼt want the joint venture to become immune to our control, then we should really hire a number of Brighters and preside over the joint venture.”

”I trust you to take care of this matter.” Ves dismissively waved his hand. ”I donʼt care who the LMC assigns to the joint venture. If there are any visa problems, you can contact Madame Cecily or her staff to sort it out. Sheʼs got enough pull in the government to solve these kinds of problems.”

After passing on his instructions concerning the joint venture, Ves focused his attention back home.

”Has anything remarkable happened to the LMC while I was indisposed?”

”Sales have spiked since your exploits here became known.” Gavin reported. ”Your new celebrity status is already showing its value. While our production lines are already running at full capacity, the extra orders provide the company with a lot more certainty for the future. It would be even better if we offer a greater variety of mech models.”

”Soon, Benny, soon. It takes time to design a good mech. I donʼt plan to rush my designs, especially when we are so close to the next mech generation.”

Now that he advanced to Journeyman, Ves began to realize that he should really do something about his anemic mech catalog.

”Oh yeah, I just remembered something.” Gavin recalled. ”Calsie told me that a ʼmysteriousʼ visitor had arrived at the Mech Nursery a month ago. The man insists on meeting you in person in order to pass along a confidential message. Calsie has reason to believe this isnʼt something trivial.”

A mysterious message?

”What makes Calsie believe that this message is worth my attention?”

”The visitor is supposedly a ʼfriendʼ of yours from the frontier.”

”Ah. I understand.”