But damn, the pilot of that mecha would really have to forget the meaning of covert operations and camouflage.

Killian certainly hadn’t been exaggerating when he compared it to the sun.

The thing was bright.

Ridiculously bright.

Possibly brighter than his future.

Then again, it seemed to compensate in other ways. Hiding while piloting that thing would be nearly impossible, but at least whenever a flash-bang was needed, all the pilot had to do was show up and the problem would solve itself.

Naturally, those were thoughts Killian kept entirely to himself, especially when faced with those who had already chosen to train their eyeballs to see otherwise.

With such people standing behind Luca and Ollie like guard hounds, voicing those thoughts out loud felt like an excellent way to end up with his head mounted on a pike somewhere.

But little did they all know about a little nifty thing about Zelunium.

A characteristic that would later result in one blonde screeching loud enough to rattle a carefully sorting D-29.

See, normally, Ollie only needed to walk through the door to spot the prototype mecha they’d been working on.

That thing was impossible to miss.

Even half-finished, the mecha reflected enough light that it practically announced its presence from across the room.

It was pretty cute and sparkly like that.

And while he still had plenty of reservations about the entire licensure exam, hearing his good brother sincerely declare that the material was perfect for Ollie because it sparkled just like him left the blonde considerably more pliable when it came to building a respectable mecha.

After all, if his brother thought so highly of him, then he couldn’t very well go and disappoint those expectations, could he?

Besides, how could something modeled after his likeness be allowed to look ugly?

Which was precisely why the blonde froze the moment he stepped inside and saw absolutely nothing where the prototype should’ve been.

"...?"

The blonde blinked.

Then blinked again.

Because the space where several finished components had been mounted was empty.

As in na-da!

"!!!"

The mop practically jumped.

For a place that was more secure than the Imperial Palace itself, his first thought was definitely not theft.

No.

His first thought was that the prototype was gone.

And if that thing was gone, then so was all the work that went into it.

If so, wouldn’t they have to repeat all the work AGAIN?!

Suddenly feeling the sort of panic only an inherently leisurely mechanic could understand, Ollie rushed deeper into the workshop.

The lights activated one by one as he moved through the room, illuminating his path toward the assembly area where the mecha was supposed to be.

Then, just before he reached the mounting platform, he abruptly stopped, the soles of his boots practically skidding on the ground.

Something was there.

A massive silhouette?

No. Wait.

A pitch-black mass so dark that Ollie almost walked straight into it.

The blonde’s eyes widened.

Slowly, he lifted his head.

His gaze traveled upward from the ground.

Past two thick poles that, unbeknownst to him, were the legs.

Past a solid slab.

All the way to the top where a much smaller bit extended.

And the longer he looked, the more horrified he became.

Because where a brilliant golden mecha had once stood was now something that looked as though it had been carved from darkness itself.

The surface reflected no light.

None.

The workshop lamps illuminated everything around it while the mecha simply remained there, impossibly dark and completely untouched by the glow.

It looked less like metal and more like a hole cut into reality.

By the time Ollie finished processing what he was seeing, he could no longer hold it in.

"BROTHER!"

His screech echoed throughout the workshop.

"THE MECHA’S BURNT!"

The accusation rang out with complete conviction.

After all, what other explanation could there possibly be?

The thing was black.

Not ordinary black.

Not dark gray.

Not soot-covered.

The darkest black Ollie had ever seen.

The sort of black that seemed to swallow light itself.

And as far as the increasingly distressed mechanic was concerned, there was only one logical conclusion.

The mecha must have been toasted!

__

Meanwhile, far from the workshop and right by the bridge, the aforementioned brother, Luca, suddenly sneezed.

Achoo!

The sound immediately caught Xavier’s attention.

The Prince looked up from what he had been doing—which was helping load new products into the vending platforms—and frowned slightly.

"Luca?"

"Hm?"

"Are you feeling unwell?"

The question came so naturally that Luca couldn’t help but smile at the fuzzy feeling brought about by his husband’s concern.

It was really amazing how he’d always notice the smallest things even he would tend to ignore.

However, this time, there was really nothing to be worried about. He’d been busy, but he felt great overall.

The grueling part of purifying the ore that had almost drained them was over with the children’s timely discovery, and since then, things had been going great.

Of course, saying that didn’t mean that figuring out the right process had been easy, because it really hadn’t been. But it sure reinforced the idea that this build likely wouldn’t be replicated as easily as the others assumed.

And that was the main thing they were really going for.

Moreover, with the build being adjusted to his brother’s pace and spiritual energy level, he definitely wasn’t taxing himself as much.

Not that anything could build up in him when his husband was thoroughly religious in helping him discharge any sort of buildup.

It was even during this period that the normally upright Luca first snuck into a closet with his beloved so they could have a little time and a lot of power smooches to themselves.

Just thinking about that got him flustered, and thankfully, no one could see the reddened tips of his ears.

Ahem.

But in more formal news, things were well enough that he’d finally found the time to start vending once again.

How exciting, right? If they played their cards right, they might even get to unlock the next [VENDING] level!

So, all things considered, and provided they didn’t talk about what was happening outside the dungeon space, he was really doing more than fine!