Chapter 258: Negotiation 1
Soon, Tolle brought Kudelia, Orga, Biscuit, and Eugene aboard Naze's heavily armored assault battleship, the Hammer.
After they arrived at the lounge, Orga, who had been observing the whole way in disbelief, leaned toward Tolle and quietly asked, "Why are there only women on this ship? I didn't see a single man. What's going on?"
Before Tolle could answer, Naze spoke first with a laugh. "Of course there are only women. This ship is my harem. In other words, everyone working on this ship is one of my women."
Except for Tolle, who remained calmly sipping tea, everyone else froze in shock—including Kudelia.
Eugene was stunned with envy, eyes wide and unfocused.
Biscuit, unable to resist confirming, nervously asked, "All… all of them?"
Kudelia was somewhat better, though still visibly overwhelmed. She hesitated before asking, "So… they're all your wives?"
"Pretty much." Naze nodded, confirming their assumptions. After thinking for a moment, he added casually, "Mm, and there are about five kids too."
Everyone looked even more shaken—like their spirits had taken critical damage. To them, he suddenly seemed like a complete degenerate who didn't even spare children.
Tolle, watching their expressions, was moments away from laughing out loud. If they reacted like this a few more times, he wouldn't be able to hold it in.
Still trying to process reality, Orga continued his questioning. "When you say 'kids'… you mean—?"
Naze proudly replied, "Of course they're all my children. My biological children. Just not from the same mother."
Only then did everyone finally understand—they had misunderstood completely. Kudelia turned bright red, embarrassed.
First wife Amida couldn't watch anymore and burst into laughter before interrupting, "Okay, enough useless chatter. What about business? Tolle came here for something important—you'd better not corrupt him any further. Get the real discussion done first. You can talk all you want afterward."
Tolle could only smile helplessly and reply to her, "Big Sister, you're always the nicest to me. Thank you."
Lafter immediately puffed up her cheeks unhappily. "Oh? So I'm NOT nice to you? I've always taken good care of you! When I heard you were in trouble, I was the FIRST to ask darling to come help you. And you don't even care! You didn't bring a gift, and that machine you promised me still isn't here!"
Tolle walked over to coax her, resigned. "Lafter, how could I forget you? Don't worry, the unit you want is already ready. As soon as we rendezvous with Spark No.1, I'll hand it over."
"Heh. That'll depend on your performance. And don't think you're getting out of the simulator battle later. Amida and Aji have been waiting a LONG time."
"No problem. I'll train with you as long as you want. Actually, I might as well just stay on the Hammer and keep you company every day."
"Ha! You wish. What next? Want a few more of us to keep you company at night too? Hmph. No staying here until that gift arrives!"
Tolle felt helpless. Lately she had been urging him nonstop about the new machine.
Giving her three Graze units would seem too plain and insincere. Maybe he should give them his Zaku II units instead?
But those already had PS armor installed… removing it now would be a waste.
PS armor consumed massive energy when active, and when unpowered the armor surface turned gray — far too noticeable. If someone investigated and reverse-engineered it, that would be disastrous.
Meaning: if he wanted to gift them machines, the armor needed disguising.
Perhaps he should build a TP armor system — an improved PS system.
TP armor didn't reveal activation state based on color, making it impossible to tell whether the defensive system was active. Normally it stayed idle, conserving energy and greatly extending operating time — giving it major strategic advantages.
And replicating TP armor was simple: embed instant-response PS triggers or reactive armor under the nano-composite plating. When hit, a physical projectile would first need to pierce that layer.
Since Ahab-nano composite armor already had some anti-ballistic ability — not strong, but enough — the sensors would be triggered on impact, activating PS armor in time to neutralize the attack.
Once he reached that conclusion, Tolle acted immediately. He ordered Nami to modify every Zaku II in his storage into high-mobility Zaku II units equipped with his custom TP armor.
He even upgraded his other machines the same way — including the newly built Bael Demon.
As for how to deliver them — same method as before. He'd have Spark No.1 prepare three empty MS shipping crates. Personally escorting the machines would show sincerity.
Amida spoke again, pulling everyone back on topic. "Alright, Lafter. Keep this up and you'll scare Tolle away. Let's discuss business."
Tolle glanced at Kudelia, then spoke seriously. "Right. We want to escort Kudelia Aina Bernstein safely to Earth. To do that, we need one or more guides familiar with safe Earth routes.
So we'd like to request your help in finding suitable personnel within Teiwaz."
———
High-Mobility Zaku II
B-Rank Unit
Terrain Compatibility: Sea C / Land A / Air – / Space A
Fixed Armaments: Rocket Launcher x1; Heat Axe x1; Machine Gun x1
Optional Weapons: Triple-Barrel Shoulder Missile Pod x4; Large Heat Axe x1; Assault Rifle x1
Special Equipment: Ahab Reactor; Ahab Nano-Layer Armor; TP Armor; Auxiliary Targeting System