This was no ordinary cadet.

This was a young man who had advanced the entire mecha manufacturing industry faster than anyone in the last five centuries.

They were dumbfounded. Completely and utterly dumbfounded.

Luca took a deep breath after his long explanation and smiled shyly. "So, My Lord, My Lady, what we really auctioned were the rejected parts that didn't make the cut for the base mecha models or some of the early experiments for the custom combination mechas. As for the weapons, they were just trials for the ones we are actually developing. We also made sure not to sell anything that had beast cores."

The child sounded pleased with their concessions. Then again, when their version of standard was perfection, how could he blame them for thinking that anything other than that was a reject?

To think these were the standards maintained by Luca, the youngest officially licensed mechanic who was really in a league of his own.

The minister stared at him, his eyes wide, then slowly tilted his head as if his neck had forgotten how to function. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then opened it once more.

The laughter that came out was not the sane kind.

"Ha… ha… ha ha ha ha!"

It was the sound of a man standing at the edge of reason. He pressed a hand to his forehead and looked like he was about to cry.

As someone who could clearly remember the chaos of the auction earlier, he could already imagine the Empire collectively fainting if they ever found out that the so-called "masterpieces" they had fought for were actually rejected parts. Worse, he could just imagine how the people of the Federation would react to practically revealing their hands out of their earlier desperation.

He laughed harder, the kind of laughter that came from a soul breaking and then deciding to stay broken for peace of mind.

Just as he was attempting to pull himself back together, his wife struck again.

"Luca," Marquise Evelyn asked gently, "all these mechas, while you said that Oliver had started learning to make biomechas… did you actually make all of them?"

"Oh no, My Lady!" Luca waved his hands quickly. "While I've made all the biomechas we currently have, as well as the custom combination ones, I only designed and built a few of the base models myself. I couldn't possibly make them all in such a short time. The other mechanics, including my brother, were all skilled and learned how to make them according to the standard."

He said it so shyly at first, then smiled with pride as he added, "It really was a team effort."

"??!"

Marquise Evelyn's elbow slipped. "L-Luca, are you saying that the mechanics of House Kyros, and even little Oliver, are capable of building perfect combination mechas now?"

Luca nodded, thoughtful. "Oh, well, I wouldn't know about perfect mechas because I don't even know what would make a mecha truly perfect, but yes, My Lady. They can make combination mechas that pass the standard on their own now. That's why we've been able to replace the base mecha models of our House at a much faster rate."

The entire room fell silent.

The Nox couple were frozen, their expressions a perfect mix of disbelief and awe.

Not only had this boy created biomechas, but he had also trained others to do it.

How many golden-handed geniuses were they sheltering here?! To think their son-in-law was one of them?!

Minister Kordell finally managed to speak, though his voice trembled. "Then… if you usually use this laboratory for biomechas, where do they make the rest?"

"Ah, that?" Luca tilted his head and smiled as if he were talking about something ordinary. "We have a facility in the dungeon-linked space."

The Nox couple turned to him in unison.

"Dungeon-linked space?"

Luca nodded earnestly. "Yes. It's another dungeon space like this one, though with a lower concentration of spiritual energy than here, but still more than what we have in the daycare area. It's where most of the people under House Kyros work."

"Wait, what?"

At this point, Minister Kordell was questioning the very meaning of his existence.

Seriously, what had they all been doing with their lives?

While the adults around him tried to process yet another revelation, Princess Nina was beaming proudly from the side.

She wasn't entirely sure what all of it meant, but judging by everyone's faces, it had to be something spectacular.

Her Brother Chipmunk was clearly amazing, and she was going to tell everyone about it later.

__

Meanwhile, just as the newest manpower recruits—cough, family members—were experiencing what could only be described as a spiritual and emotional renaissance, a few others were having the exact opposite experience.

The moment the auction ended, chaos ensued. People scrambled for their terminals, desperate to be the first to "anonymously" share what they'd just witnessed.

Of course, the anonymity was questionable at best. Most of these so-called tippers conveniently left just enough hints for anyone with half a brain cell to identify who they were.

Star Net, naturally, exploded.

Kyle scrolled through the trending posts, sighed, and rubbed his temples.

[305 Billion for a Sword?! Are We Still on the Same Planet?!]

[House Vantari Buys Redemption (and Bankruptcy) at the Solaris Auction]

[Economists in Shambles: Auction Prices Exceed National GDP of Two Colonies]

[The Great Filial Son of Solaris: Luca Kyros Redefines 'Filial Piety']

[Auction Transcript but Every Time Someone Says 'Billion,' It Gets Louder]

He didn't even want to know how fast the posts were spreading.

They had anticipated movement the moment the auction concluded and were already tracking for potential threats, especially from those ambitious enough to target the master mechanics.

Except this time, something unexpected happened.

The master mechanics, notorious for caring more about tools than personal safety, had apparently decided they valued their lives after all.

Within minutes, several of them stormed the Imperial Palace, demanding official safekeeping for their newly purchased items and requesting the Palace act as a temporary mediator for all ownership and research agreements.

The move had been deliberate—and brilliant.

By making everything public, they guaranteed that any would-be thieves or spies would think twice before assuming the mechanics still had the items on hand.

However, the sudden surge in "emergency security vacations" was another problem entirely.

Instead of returning to their laboratories, nearly every master mechanic had filed requests for an extended stay, sending waves of notifications to Killian's already overburdened office.

It was tedious. Painfully tedious.

But even Killian had to admit, it was the smartest thing they could've done.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for others.

Peyton Orell and Cinco Aramont were currently living their worst nightmares. After sending updates to their Federation contacts, they had been met with… silence.

Not reprimands. Not angry responses. Just nothing.

And sometimes, silence was the loudest threat of all.

__

Far away from the Empire's celebratory noise, inside a clinically maintained office, Adjutant Rhys Corvan stood patiently in front of his superior.

"Sir," he began carefully, watching Cassian Veyra's expression darken, "should we proceed with the next movement?"

Cassian's sharp eyes flickered across the glowing holoscreen. He shouldn't even have had access to the Star Net threads, yet there he was—reading every single one of them.

His fist clenched. The faint hum of machinery filled the tense silence.

He scrolled further, reading line after line of outrage, disbelief, and unfiltered worship. Every post was another reminder of the shift in the Empire's atmosphere. The people no longer mocked either House Kyros or the Imperial family. Instead, they were in awe.

Before Cassian could respond, the heavy door to his office slammed open.

"Father?" Cassian looked up, as if startled. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

President Alaric Damarion Veyra stepped inside like a storm. His presence was sharp, his voice low and seething.

"Proceed with that plan of yours," the President hissed.

Then he turned sharply on his heel and stormed out, the door snapping shut behind him.

Rhys blinked, looking between the door and his boss. "Sir… was it just as you predicted?"

Cassian's lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. His eyes gleamed as he leaned back in his chair, the Star Net glow reflecting in his gaze.

"No," he said quietly, almost amused. "It's even better."

Rhys thought it was unfortunate.

Because when Cassian Veyra found something better than his own predictions, it usually meant trouble for everyone else.