The scene in the laboratory made the mercenary who was originally angry with him forget all his thoughts for a moment, and he didn't even hear the sound of Apaya closing the door behind him.

"That's a ......," she tried to find a word to describe it, "it's ......"

There was still a shockingly large space in front of her, but it couldn't move her anymore. What really struck her was all the fighting machines that were placed against the walls.

"They're carved into those magic circles, aren't they?" Reins had already walked over to one of them, reaching out and touching it gently, "Unbelievable...... You can actually do this. ”

"If I don't have enough ideas, how can I become a lead engineer?" With a smile in his voice, Apaya slowly walked towards Rheins, "However, these are not the most proud works. ”

"'Isn't that the most proud work'?" The mercenary's fingers were still on the magic array, "Oh my God...... A magic array that can completely isolate the interference of the natural environment, you even carved it on a metal with the juice of the most effective Ittigrass without letting it slip away, not to mention the formation drawn by the juice of the Episis fruit that increases the strength of the attack attached to those weapons, and much more...... And these are not the most proud works that you actually say? ”

There was a subtle annoyance in Reins' voice, which even most excellent mages could not do, they could only guarantee that they were most effective when they were first made, and over time, these powerful and special magic arrays would gradually lose their effectiveness.

"I just put a protective layer on the outside of them, you feel it carefully." He gently took the mercenary's hand and led her to caress the magic arrays, and the other hand naturally rested on her shoulder, "Although it is difficult to find materials that will not conflict with them or obscure their effects, we have a lot of people...... And magicians always figure it out on their own, right? Even if you knew about it, you wouldn't use it, because it's only mechanical, and it's not very useful for you, is it? ”

“…… That's true. Suddenly aware of their current distance and posture, she quickly withdrew her hand and changed the subject, "So what's your latest proud work?" ”

"Well, over here." Appaya took her by the shoulders and led her to the other side, "Guess what it is?" ”

Reins gave up breaking free from the Engineer's grasp, who seemed to have suddenly become fond of physical contact, and she looked at the ...... in front of her objects, began to immerse themselves in thinking.

"It doesn't look like a combat machine...... "it looks more like ...... Some pieces of armor, large armor...... Humans can't wear this unless they're giants......"

She looked at it closely, then suddenly turned her head to look at the fighting machines from earlier, and then at the object on the other side again.

"Looks like you've already guessed it."

Appaia smiled, and Reins couldn't help but walk forward, touching the "armor" again.

"Defensive armor on the outside of the machine?" She glared at the armor pieces, "I don't know why, those magic arrays have enough resistance to nature, if these armor pieces have more tough physical defense, then they can be directly crafted as materials for the body - but they are magical!" ”

"Yes, that's what inspired me a while ago when I was going to explore the ruins so often." Apaya slipped her hands into her trouser pockets, "We'll always need some anti-magic machinery, but if it takes too much cost and time to build a device that can only fight magic for this purpose, it will be very cumbersome to maintain, since there can only be one magic array against magic and physics at the same time...... Can I make a set of armor that creates magical protection, and wear it when I need it? In fact, I'm also working on setting up some grooves inside the fighting machine to store armor, so that they can be replaced directly during battle. ”

He noticed that the mercenaries were starting to stare directly at him.

"Really...... He is worthy of His Excellency the Chief Engineer. She looked like she was grinding her teeth, "If the family were all people like you who can combine technology and magic, the mercenaries should have perished a long time ago...... No wonder ......"

"What's the wonder?"

"No wonder your subordinates have such respect for you." She smirked, "She can't even accept that you're here with a member of the opposite sex, can she?" ”

Apaya blinked.

“…… Are you jealous? ”

"You ——!" Reinse's face flushed at a speed visible to the naked eye, "What nonsense are you talking about!" If you have this time, you might as well get down to business—"

As she turned her back to the Engineer and was about to walk back to the combat machines, a weight came over her shoulders that kept her from stepping, and the temperature of her body came from behind her.

"Mavido is a mechanical fanatic." Apaya's voice rang in her ears, his hands resting on her shoulders, and the breath he exhaled as he spoke even gave her ears the illusion of being burned, "though she looks like a very sane person...... But she couldn't accept that there were people in the institute who had nothing to do with engineering and mechanics, no matter who was like that, even the leaders, who didn't understand engineering, she would be very unhappy. You see, when she knew that you were the one who always gave us advice, her attitude changed immediately. ”

…… If it goes on like this, her heart will probably explode.

Reins tilted her head in embarrassment, but this only allowed her neck to feel the other's breath.

“…… I see, can we look into something else? She didn't even realize what she was talking about, "If you continue to make changes to the 'bounty', you'll have to wait for Hermiria to help you." ”

"But you haven't published your evaluation yet." Appaya said dissatisfiedly, "You haven't given a direct opinion on what I'm currently the most satisfying work. ”

Are you a child!

Although she roared in her heart, in order to get out of the current situation, she could only answer according to the other party's wishes.

"It's very good, it's just wonderful, and no one else will invent anything more than that."

But the other party obviously heard her perfunctory, so he expressed his dissatisfaction.

"It's not sincere at all."

Reins felt as if there were green tendons beating in her head.

"Do I need to write you a thousand-word letter of praise to praise your talent! Appa—"

Her voice stopped abruptly. When the mercenary turned around angrily to vent his anger, a slight accident occurred - she didn't expect Apaya's face to face hers, which caused their lips to rub lightly.

“……！”

The excessive startle caused Rhines to push Apaya straight away, and she couldn't control her strength, causing the Engineer to fall to the ground and herself take a few steps backwards into the clearing. She didn't need to look in the mirror to feel how congested her face was at the moment, and her brain was even blank. But when she saw that Apaya seemed to be about to say something, she quickly spoke up to stop the other party.

"I ...... I think we need to revamp your mechanical defenses. She hurriedly turned her back to Apaya and walked in the direction of the workbench, "I'm going to tell you the type of 'bounty' and the amount of damage it can do......

Apaya exhaled softly, allowing herself to stand up. He touched his lips with his hand, and his light brown eyes glowed with an unusually bright glow.

Afternoon.

When they received the news that the clergy were about to return to Morfi, they decided to move the machine, which had been modified to a certain extent, to an outdoor practice area - forget about the mercenaries, it was really not suitable for the clergy to enter the institute - and wait for the others to come.

The atmosphere between the two was still surrounded by an awkward ambiguity, and this embarrassment was only for Rhine, and Apaya looked very relaxed.

Yes, of course, at this stage, it's a bonus. Apaya thought to herself. After this little accident just now, he was thinking about whether to let her go and let her relax, or continue to maintain such a close distance as now, and finally chose the latter. While that might make her nervous, if he chooses the former, who knows if the mercenary will think he's distancing himself from her for some inexplicable reason? …… For example, I think he likes Shao or something.

The engineer secretly rolled his eyes inwardly. The mercenary's stubborn cognition made him really want to educate the other party well, but ...... It was as if he could do it.

He could vaguely sense that Rhines had another reason to reject the meaning of his actions today, and she reacted very strangely when it came to the side effects of the "Gift", as if she was very familiar with the consequences of the "Gift...... Maybe someone you once knew was controlled by a "gift"? Or is it ...... She herself was once controlled by the "gift".

But is it possible? He pondered. As Hermiria had said, if the mind was controlled by the "gift", it would become a killing machine, but the mercenaries now look nothing out of the ordinary.

"Apaya, I need to remind you that according to the information given by Sanger, their fighting methods are crisp and rigorous, they will not hesitate to kill people, and they are very good at some special knowledge, most likely after rigorous training. And before the mercenary group was formed, even Sanger couldn't find out their information...... I think you need to be mentally prepared for the worst case scenario, if they were the killers they were raised to be, or worse, would you be able to accept her? If you're going to leave her after knowing that, I suggest you don't go near her from now on. ”』

The best friend's words of admonition rang out again at this time, yes, if he decided to leave after learning that she had a dark side, it would cause more serious harm to the other party, and he might not be able to forgive himself just thinking about it.

Come on, what if you were really controlled by the "gift"? Now she is no different from a normal person. But...... Could this really be a reason for her refusal to recognize his feelings? Looks like we need to talk to the clergyman...... Or the members of Filly.

"Oh, Lord Reins, you're here!" The sudden voice was full of surprise, and the two looked up, and the brown-haired man walked quickly in front of them, "Can I take a moment of your time?" Just a little. ”

Reins looked at him suspiciously.

"What do you want to do, Ganiro? I think you should have been called here for the sake of the gentleman in the church, and not for anything else. ”

Although the only leaders at the meeting were Jura and Huck, it was clear that they had informed the other leaders of the matter after the meeting, and that the "Gift of God" might not be in anyone's house.

"I ...... I have some personal questions that I would like to ask. Iro's expression was even like that of a poor large dog," about ...... About Leanne, is that okay? It won't delay you for long. ”

"......" Reins wanted to refuse, but since it was about Lillian, she should get involved anyway, "Okay, you say." ”

"If you don't mind, can we talk about it alone?" Iloh looked very embarrassed, and then he turned to Apaya, and said, "Oh, Apaya, don't worry, I'm just borrowing time a bit, I'll keep my distance—"

"I don't think you need to account for anything when you borrow my time, Ganiro."

Rhines narrowed her eyes at Iro, who blinked.

"Oh yes, of course." He said in a kind manner, "Then Your Excellency Reins, can you take a step to speak?" ”

The mercenary nodded and followed him to the side, not giving the person next to him a single look. Appaya shrugged her shoulders and stared at the figure of the two men talking not far away.