The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1391

Once Lady Miralix left with her cat Genevieve and the box containing the P-stone, Ves informed his staff of what transpired.

He received a mixed reception.

\"Just after you decided to go for the Dragon Cat, you suddenly consider hunting Zeigra again because a lady asked for help?\" Gavin asked.

\"She didn’t seduce me, if that’s what you’re implying, Benny. The equation is simple. Hunting the Dragon Cat is fairly safe but yields little return. Hunting a Crown Cat is a lot more dangerous, but I won’t necessarily get anything better than the previous choice.\"

\"If that is true, why did you reopen the door to hunt for Zeigra?\"

\"Because Lady Miralix is desperate.\" Ves grinned. \"She needs a skilled mech designer to modify her mechs, and for now her only choice is me. Considering her situation, I don’t think she can afford to hold out for another mech designer, not without losing her standing within her noble house.\"

\"So it’s a seller’s market! You can essentially dictate any price you want as long as it doesn’t cross her bottom line!\"

Both of them knew what it meant. Because of time and opportunity constraints, Lady Miralix appeared to be in dire need to enhance her mechs!

Ves had tested out her resolve by presenting an unyielding attitude. If she already had some alternatives in mind, then she wouldn’t have accommodated him to this extent.

This clued Ves in that Lady Miralix really had no choice but to continue to negotiate with him! Though she maintained her composure as an eminent lady of House Laterna, she’d actually been begging him throughout the entire negotiation!

\"Do you really think you can negotiate more concessions out of Lady Miralix, boss? Nobles tend to be very proud. If you go too far, she might retaliate!\"

Ves waved away the issue. \"I’ve gotten a good measure of Lady Miralix, and I don’t think she’s stupid enough to let pride get in the way of completing a life-changing coming-of-age ceremony. This hunt is important to her. There is no way she’ll attempt to screw me over while she still requires my earnest cooperation.\"

His judgement of the woman and his intuition both pointed towards this direction. This made him feel more at ease with playing hardball.

\"Still though, Ves. Zeigra is a very dangerous cat. A lot of bodies ended up in his stomach. I can hardly see whether all of the concessions you’ve managed to secure from Lady Miralix is worth exposing yourself to so much risk!\"

\"That’s why I intend to be unabashed in setting my demands. My cooperation won’t come cheap, that you can be assured of.\" Ves grinned like a shark.

The other people in the room said their piece as well.

Predictably, Nitaa objected the most. \"I highly suggest you stick to your original plan, sir. Hunting the Dragon Cat is a safe and secure course of action, as you yourself have described. Why are you throwing all of that out of the window as soon as the noble you wanted to avoid the entire week appealed to your greed?\"

\"It’s all about weighing risk against reward.\" Ves reiterated. \"I’m making a rational decision here! As long as Lady Miralix coughs up enough goodies, then participating in an attempt to hunt Zeigra is no longer a ludicrous choice!\"

Both Gavin and Nitaa looked at Ves as if he had lost his mind!

\"No offense, boss, but that’s the stupidest risk assessment that I’ve ever heard! You’re basically pressing the muzzle of a faulty gun against your head while betting that it will misfire when you pull the trigger! Is it really worth it to pull the trigger when the chance of shooting yourself in the head is significant?!\"

Ves did not see anything wrong with that analogy as long as he added something.

\"If I get to win a huge prize if I win the bet, then sure I’ll pull the trigger!\"

\"You!\"

Gavin palmed his face. \"Don’t you realize how ridiculous you sound?! How many times can you pull the trigger before the gun eventually fires off?! You might win a gamble once or twice, but the chance of lethal discharge can’t be staved off forever! It only takes one wrong gamble for you to lose your life!\"

Ves shook his head. \"The problem with analogies like the one you’re using right now is that they are grossly oversimplified. The chances of encountering a mishap while hunting a Crown Cat is significant, but I can do a lot to stack the odds in my favor. As long as I improve the mechs assigned to the hunt to an impressive degree, then the chance I’ll get gobbled up by Zeigra is much lower!\"

The argument continued to rage between Ves and his staff.

Nitaa and Gavin heavily disagreed with what they saw as a suicidal course of action. Crindon expressed opposition as well, but to a lesser degree.

As for the Ingvars, they surprisingly took the opposite side!

\"Hunting a Crown Cat is a prestigious accomplishment.\" Casella declared. \"While I’m familiar with Mr. Larkinson’s colorful wartime record, his bravery is confined to only a single conflict. Perhaps the citizens of the Bright Republic have a different opinion, but to foreigners like us, his wartime accomplishments are so impressive that we can’t help but doubt they are even real!\"

\"What does doubting his record during the Bright-Vesia War have to do about hunting Crown Cats?!\" Gavin asked in a heated manner.

\"To prove that Mr. Larkinson’s earlier accomplishments aren’t hogwash! A successful hunt on a reputable hunting ground in Felixia conveys a lot of prestige, especially if we can return with a trophy in hand! While it’s a shame that Lady Miralix insists on claiming the head, the other parts can still be used to show off the perils that our boss has gone through!\"

The perspective of highborn scions differed from that of common-born citizens such as Gavin, Nitaa and Crindon.