Malin sat at the small table, watching the half-blood in the intense light, the silhouette holding a bowl of fragrant covered meat rice, tossed it onto the table, "Hungry, are you? If you’re hungry, you better start explaining why you have come to find our Matilda in the middle of the night."
Malin sniffed and let out a satisfied burp—he had eaten a bit too much at Mowish’s house earlier, and he wasn’t hungry yet; the meat there was really plentiful.
The apprentices nearby laughed themselves silly, and the silhouette turned off the intense light, then plopped down in front of Malin. As the young mentor began to eat, he examined Malin, "You took down that twisted armor by yourself."
"Ah, all thanks to Fio, Lorrin, and Blood Roar. Of course, Milani and Bippo also helped." Malin gestured toward his little helpers; Fio with Blood Roar, Lorrin acting out Bippo with Milani, the family of five was harmonious and happy.
The young man flicked the spoon in his hand, "...Then why are you looking for Matilda?"
"Someone said she needed me." Of course, Malin wouldn’t betray the Justice Maiden of The Capital. The girl must have snuck out; if he exposed her, he wouldn’t need her to find a spot to hang himself up.
The young mentor turned his head to his apprentices, "Listen up, you dolts, that’s why you don’t know how to chase girls. Look at his mouth; which one of you can compare?"
The apprentices all felt that was a bit harsh, while the mentor spit in their direction, then turned to Malin, "It seems Matilda doesn’t oppose what you’ve said, which looks like you haven’t said anything wrong, but how do you plan to deal with that armor?"
"What do you mean ’deal with’? Is this thing valuable?" Malin was quite curious.
"Of course. Such a complete autonomous armor; every part on it is a treasure. Half-humans, Dwarves, Elves, Mage Tower, and the Noble Union, they would all covet it." The young mentor said.
"I understand about Dwarves, but what’s the deal with the Half-humans and Elves?" Malin found Dwarves understandable, but what was the deal with Half-humans? What would they use it for?
"Have you forgotten about the Half-human Engineering Society, the biggest rival of the Dwarven workshops?" As the mentor said it, Malin slapped his forehead, "I totally forgot."
"Half-humans would cry if they heard you say that." After saying this, the young mentor began to introduce another group, "Elven Precision Industries, a large union workshop established by Elves to learn how to use machinery and firearms. The most skilled Elven masters are all there. Since Eternal Night Island is located in the far North overseas, far from the Dark Zone and the apocalyptic area, they haven’t been able to systematically collect various relics from before and after the great destruction. If their diplomats knew you had such a piece of armor, they would certainly exchange it with all sorts of good things you can’t imagine."
"So what use does the Mage Tower and Noble Union have for this thing?" Malin asked.
"The Mage Tower has always wanted to create autonomous armors that can protect Mages. Your armor is something they’ve never found complete. What do you think? The Mage Tower will definitely pay a sufficient price, maybe even offering up a Semi-Plane."
"So... what do the Nobles want to do with it?" Malin felt he still needed to get clarity.
"Isn’t it obvious? Autonomous armors are the most advanced relics of the era of destruction that we can find. They roam in packs in the Dark Zone, and nobody has had the chance to capture a complete one. The human mecha group under the Noble Union has always wanted to obtain a complete armor. With it, all components would be restored to blueprints, and if possible, humans could assemble a large number of armors to use against any enemy."
"Including you guys." Malin asked.
"Of course, including us." The young mentor continued eating, "But I don’t think they will be able to mass-produce such things. We of the Church of Justice’s workshop have obtained many parts, but to this day, we haven’t been able to pin down their material composition. Without the right materials, any testing is just an empty talk."
This statement made Malin respect them deeply—these guys had actually tried to build one!
It seemed the failure of the trial machines was due to subpar materials, but anyway, the Church of Justice was the one making a quiet fortune.
"Who do you think I should sell it to?" Malin asked with a grin.
"What do you think?" The young man didn’t give a direct answer but countered with a question of his own.
Smiling, Malin made his choice, "I won’t sell it to anyone. As for how to operate it, just wait and see. You can help me spread the news that in five days, I want to meet every person interested in acquiring this armor."
"Do you intend to use the autonomous armor as agricultural machinery? Honestly, that’s a good idea, but who would use such expensive war machinery... wait a minute..." The young mentor slapped his forehead, "If it’s for civilian use, there’s no need to work hard on the materials; we can use what we have. The problem is that autonomous armors aren’t human; they can’t do delicate work."
"But it can replace humans in some aspects, preventing them from getting injured. And you also haven’t guessed correctly." Malin smiled, "Once I’m done here, I’ll announce it. You can help me spread the message and say that in five days, I hope to see every aspiring guest who wants this armor."