The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1641

Chapter 1641 The Protective Piece

While Ves considered himself to be an artful mech designer, Gloriana was no slouch in this department either.

The Hexer clients she catered to in the past always liked to make their mechs more grand and imposing. The Hexer mech culture also featured a light degree of gender segregation in many cases.

Male mech pilots predominantly piloted masculine-looking mechs while female mech pilots preferred more feminine-looking mechs.

This was not a hard rule, though. The more liberal parts of the Hegemony did not adhere too much to this custom. In parts where hexism was more predominant, it became a lot more evident.

So Gloriana possessed a fair amount of experience in designing mechs that purposefully leaned towards a masculine and feminine aesthetic.

She just never added a codpiece to her mechs before. In the Hexadric Hegemony, designing such a ridiculously chauvinistic ornament would have instantly ruined her reputation!

Even now, she was well aware that her involvement in the Adonis Colossus project might lead to unwelcome repercussions if she returned to her own society.

She didn't care, though. Collaborating with Ves on a custom mech design was a dream come true for her. Regardless of how much criticism she might be subjected to, she would never give up the opportunity to become more intimate with her boyfriend's design philosophy!

After spending an entire hour, she finished her answer to Vincent's request.

The 'codpiece' that adorned the draft design of the Adonis Colossus project looked nothing like the ancient versions that adorned the suits of armor.

Instead, Gloriana successfully managed to design a modern rendition of a codpiece that looked tasteful and anything but obscene. _{freewebnσvel.cѳm}

"The main reason why the codpieces in the articles look so awful is because they stick out from the pelvis at a perpendicular angle." Gloriana explained.

Ves nodded in agreement. "It's as if the wearers of the codpiece are prepared to satisfy their lust instead of fighting a war."

"Codpieces like that are designed to suggest virility. The problem is that their angle, size and shape make them too attention-grabbing. Anyone who sees them for the first time will immediately ignore the rest of the armor and fixate on the codpiece. I don't think Vincent wants that. A codpiece that is too exaggerated will turn him into an object of ridicule, which is the opposite of what he wants to achieve."

"Ah. I get it. The first purpose of the mech is to raise his profile. He wants to turn himself into an object of admiration that everyone looks up to. The Adonis Colossus can only do that if it looks impressive and manly but not to the point of turning it into a parody!"

"The problem we're facing is that the first purpose clashes with the second purpose, which is to affirm his masculinity and boost his mentality. An inadequate codpiece won't give him the satisfaction he needs to feel validated."

"So the codpiece has to be large, but also shaped in a way that won't look obscene." Ves described. "At the very least, it should look kid-friendly enough to avoid indignation from parents."

"Yep. That's why I shaped the codpiece in this style. Its dimensions are quite sizable, but because it's pointed downwards like an arrow, it can still be mistaken for something else. It leans more towards emphasizing the martial prowess of a man rather than his virility in bed."

The tasteful codpiece that Gloriana finally came up with looked like if a man placed his palm against his stomach and slid it downwards.

The subtle bulge that curved out from the pelvis attracted a minor amount of attention to the codpiece without suggesting that the Adonis Colossus was ready to jump on a feminine-shaped mech!

Instead, the codpiece looked like it was purely there to protect the vulnerable equipment of the mech. By giving the illusion that it was functional, it shouldn't attract too much condemnation.

"Now, we should see what Vincent has to say."

When the two mech designers showed off the rendition to Vincent, the man fell silent.

He studied the Adonis Colossus through every angle. He zoomed in and zoomed out as if he was trying to see if the codpiece was still noticeable at a distance.

The effort Vincent put into evaluating the codpiece was disturbing!

Eventually, he completed his judgement. "It's not what I expected."

"Are you.. satisfied?" Ves cautiously asked.

"I don't know. It looks different from what I imagined. A part of me thinks it looks better. Another part of me feels the codpiece should be bigger."

"I personally designed the codpiece." Gloriana stated without shame.

Due to her identity, Vincent was reluctant to voice his doubts and objections.

If Ves had designed the codpiece, he would have been much more ready to argue about its underwhelming aesthetics.

However, now that Gloriana took sole responsibility for the codpiece, how could Vincent argue about the size of the package in front of a woman of exceedingly high status?

Vincent glanced briefly at the media crew and recorder bot floating at the side. He wanted to chronicle the most exciting parts of his life. Giving his fans a look into the design process of his Adonis Colossus was part of his plan to build up hype around himself.

He would not look good if he quibbled over the codpiece to Gloriana!

Therefore, after a perfunctory talk, Vincent reluctantly accepted the outcome.

"I have to admit it looks classier than I thought. If you can make it just a teensy bit larger, I'll be a lot more comfortable with piloting this mech."

Gloriana curtly nodded. "We shall take your feedback under consideration. Let me remind you that the Adonis Colossus you see before you is merely a draft. It serves the same purpose as concept art. The mech will most likely undergo substantial alterations before we finalize its design. We will keep you in the loop."

"Alright. Make sure to get it done quickly. I need it in two months!"

Once Vincent left with his crew, Ves sighed in relief.

"Vincent doesn't respect me as much as you." Ves sardonically remarked. "It was the right decision to put you in charge of this aspect."

Now that their guests had left, Gloriana relaxed her stern demeanor and sank into his arms as if she was a dog looking for affection.