The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4541

Both Saint Sandro Gemini and Saint Kaia Gemini understood that they were dealing with a tough customer.

Of all of the talented and combat capable expert pilots they had met over their long careers, Venerable Joshua Larkinson presented them with a unique problem case.

It wasn't often that expert pilots developed too much sympathy and care for their enemies.

Most mech pilots tended to get rid of those sentiments over the course of their careers, especially after fighting a couple of actual battles.

Employers also tried to do their best to guide and steer the mentalities of their mech pilots in a direction that was meant to turn them into obedient killing machines.

This could clearly be identified among the gathered Larkinson expert pilots.

The more militaristic among them that had received expanded education or served in professional military units all knew better than to take the enemy's side.

One of the reasons why Venerable Joshua was noticeably softer than his peers was because he never got to serve in a professional mech army like the Bright Republic's Mech Corps after graduation.

He instead fell into the hands of the Larkinsons as soon as he graduated from a reputable mech academy.

This was great in that Joshua had yet to be instilled with strong institutional biases from the Mech Corps, but it was also detrimental because the man missed a lot of essential guidance.

Venerable Joshua would have never been able to become the expert pilot of today if not for his unique life trajectory. It was highly doubtful whether he would have been able to develop a life domain that allowed him to perfectly match the living mechs designed by the clan patriarch if he got stuck piloting generic military mech models for several years.

He was ultimately a product of his circumstances. Venerable Joshua's unusual sympathy towards both human and alien lives was a natural result of developing a close appreciation of living mechs.

"Your clan has been remiss in neglecting to address this problem of yours." Saint Sandro Gemini said with a clear expression of disapproval.

"I don't feel I have a problem." Venerable Joshua said. "I feel I am more human among all of you. Each of you think that killing humans and aliens is somehow normal, but why can't we question whether this is even right?"

"Here he goes again." Venerable Orfan contemptuously muttered. "Joshua is indulging his inner cosmopolitan again. Why don't you grow up and take your duties as a soldier seriously?! Newsflash, boy, you're a guardian! Hundreds of thousands of Larkinsons are depending on you to keep them safe in battle! The more you doubt your responsibilities, the more you allow our enemies to slip past your guard and harm our friends and family. Do you want to have the blood of fellow Larkinsons instead of the blood of our nemies on your hands?!"

Venerable Joshua almost stood out as his willpower surged with fury. "I DON'T WANT ANY BLOOD ON MY HANDS! I WANT TO LIVE IN A GALAXY WHERE NO ONE IS FORCED TO SPILL ANY UNNECESSARY BLOOD! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK FOR EVERYONE?!"

A few expert pilots wanted to open their mouths and press Joshua's foolish ideas down, but Saint Kaia Gemini leveraged her powerful Saint Kingdom to suppress them from escalating the argument.

The forced silence imposed by the Gemini ace pilot caused the temperature in the lounge to cool.

Joshua recognized that he had lost control over himself again and used this moment of forced silence to rein in his temper.

"I'm sorry." He eventually said after half a minute had passed. "None of this is your fault. I don't want to impose my struggle onto you all. I'm just a fool."

"We do not think you are a fool." Saint Sandro said with a smile. "You are, as you have said, more human than any of us. That is rare and maybe precious. Each of us here are killers. Some of us are even guilty of murder. While few people are willing to cast judgment on our actions, you are a rare breed of expert pilot that is willing to challenge the status quo because your heart is compelling you to do so. You are being braver than anyone else for asking all of the uncomfortable questions that everyone wants to avoid."

"It doesn't seem like anyone else besides me is interested in answering them, though." Joshua sardonically said.

"That is the reality that not just you but any expert pilot with a cause has to contend with. We all have our dreams and goals. Visionary expert pilots like you tend to have it worse than most, because your driving goals entail imposing your opinions not just on yourself, but every other human. You will not be happy unless you are able to convince everyone to adopt your brand of justice. Is that an accurate description of your ambition?"

"It is not an ambition, per se." Joshua replied. "I just think that everyone is wrong or at least led astray. The more we get pulled into this endless spiral of death, the more we lose our humanity. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to turn myself into a monster that is willing to kill people at the drop of a hat."

Some of the Larkinson expert pilots began to look uncomfortable after Joshua prompted them to look inward.

Each of them had become aware of how much they had changed compared to when they were just starting out as mech pilots.

They were much weaker but also much more human back then. So much had happened after that time that caused them to become increasingly stronger while shedding the parts of themselves that they thought of as burdens.

Were they truly burdens, though? What if the elements they had wiped away from their psyches were instead vital to maintaining the most precious parts of themselves, which was the ability to connect with other humans?

Joshua knew from his close relationship with Ketis that she turned into a much more ruthless woman if she let her 'companion spirit' into her mind.

Saint Sandro Gemini raised his palm, quieting the low discussion that had erupted after Joshua made his outbursts. _{free𝑤ebnovel.com}

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