The Mech Touch novel Chapter 5313

Although Ves requested the Terrans to make the reception ceremony as subdued, small-scale and restrained as possible, his hosts had a very different interpretation of what that meant.

The Terrans were steeped in ceremony and traditions. Everything from the length of the carpet to the various greeting rituals had thousands of years worth of weight to them. That made it difficult for these people to deviate from these steps.

While It was not a big deal to make minor deviations, any enemy or rival could easily exploit any major break from the established script. This was why the Devos Ancient Clan took great care to hold a formal and proper reception under the circumstances.

Ves mostly ignored all of this useless pomp and circumstance. He practically ran on autopilot as Master Laila Devos introduced him to a variety of high-ranking figures that governed the territory, port system and planet.

Although Ves did not care about these people at all, it was still useful to get introduced to them as he could get a lot of useful stuff done if he contacted them in the future.

As Ves smiled and stood like a dummy while dozens of important Devosans bowed, spoke elaborate words and made other weird actions, they were finally able to move on to a more suitable venue.

After waving and addressing the enormous crowd of students one last time, he along with hundreds of Important figures all moved ro a large and elaborately decorated dining hall.

Ves was able to loosen up a bit as the atmosphere allowed for more relaxed actions.

The children sat down and began to squeal in delight as they partook In the specialty dishes of the Devos Ancient Clan.

A bunch of women seated at the same table greeted Gloriana and politely conversed with her. While she had much less accomplishments than Ves, she still possessed a lot of masterwork certificates in spite of her rank and age, and that made her worthy of respect.

They even showed their modest appreciation for her borrowed handbag!

The cats meanwhile attracted a lot of appreciative glances as they ate their customized meals from dainty porcelain-like bowls.

Though Clixie did nor attract as much popularity due to her known Rubarthan lineage, It was already enough that the Terrans did nor show any open contempt due ro her breed.

Lucky on the other hand attracted a lot more attention, especially from mech designers and anyone else with a technical background?

"Is that mechanical cat... made out of genuine archemetal?"

"That... that is impressive! This is one of the rarest and most difficult alien materials to reverse engineer, but the enterprising mech designer did nor hesitate to upgrade his pet at rhe first available opportunity. What a power move! It completely fits his character as well! The depth of signals that he has conveyed through this exorbitant action is profound."

"The technological sophistication of that mechanical cat exceeds that of every other mechanical pet in this star system, no, territory. 1 told you not to underestimate the Larkinsons. They may be upstarts, but under the leadership of their rising star, they may become our equals sooner than you think. Professor Larkinson is here to stay."

As the banquet proceeded, many people still paid attention to the protagonist of this Important occasion.

Ves had conversed with Master Laila Devos for a while now as he took a few bites off a sausage that admittedly did not taste the best, but was supposedly made based on an authentic recipe that originated from the distant past.

Personally, Ves would have preferred it if the Terrans didn't insist on sticking to old and inferior products all of the time, but this was an unfortunate part of their identity.

"What Is your Impression of our institution now that you have stepped foot on our campus in reality?"

Ves smiled back. "I have yet to explore enough of the grounds and facilities to make a definitive judgment. 1 am impressed by what little 1 have been able to see. 1 have toured the virtual campus several times in the past, but the gardens are livelier and more vibrant in reality."

"Our institution is named after lhe mythical Garden of Eden. Il would not be lor us lo do less than our utmost in this regard." Master Laila beamed in unrestrained pride. "You will have plenty of opportunities lo explore our expansive campus during your extended stay. New Constantinople VIII also offers many other sites that are worth your lime to visit. Our ancient clan is more than happy to grant you near-unrestricted access to any location that holds your interest."

"Thank you, Master. I will likely take your offer on that. It has been a longtime since ray family and I have spent time on a beautiful civilized planet."

'Will you be teaching your classes in person now that you are physically able to stand in front of the classrooms?"

"Of course. I prize personal interaction a lot. I think it would benefit my students a lot more if I can teach them and guide them in person. As a teacher, I think it is important to soak up as much experience in this as possible. I might not have the luxury to do this often in the future. What I will gain from here will shape my approach towards teaching for the rest of my life."

The two continued to chat a bit about fairly light and innocent topics, but they eventually veered towards slightly more serious business,

"Do you have any intentions to settle on our planet and apply for Terran citizenship?" Master Devos asked in a gentler tone.

Ves plainly shook his head. "1 have not changed my mind oil these issues. My clan and 1 do not belong to any state, but we are more than willing to serve all of them If they will have us. While I have great appreciation for your Terran Alliance, there are many more humans that deserve to make use of the entire array of my diverse product lines. The more red humans I can servo, the greater the chance that our civilization remains standing five decades in the future."

"Thai is a noble purpose. Lei us toast to that professor."

It took a remarkable amount of effort for Ves to come op with answers like these. He knew that he had to be extra careful about stating his position.

He couldn't be too chummy with the Terrans or else he would be seen as one of their own citizens.

He needed to disclose his intention to sell his products to all of red humanity, which obviously included the Rubarthans as well, without sounding as if he was expressing explicit favor to the latter.

Ves had to emphasize his stance of neutrality without making it seem as if he had fallen in lockstep with the Red Association.

It was a lot harder to do all of this when he lacked the training and education to handle himself in these high-level social situations!

Fortunately, Ves gained more allowances than usual due to his unusual origins and outsized accomplishments.

A bit of eccentricity and lack of refinement was expected from a fairly young individual who rose up rapidly through the ranks.

As long as the Terrans continued to care about what he could do for them as opposed to how he behaved, relations would continue to remain friendly.

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