The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1784

Though Dr. Ranya hadn’t warmed up to Ves at all, he wasn’t concerned.

Gloriana was insanely protective of him. Now that she got him back, she turned into a veritable mother hen!

Though Ves was touched by her concern, he knew he needed to stand up for himself! How could he continue to rely on her girlfriend for protection?

The Glory Battalion wasn’t under her control. Madame Constance Wodin was the true individual in charge.

Ves felt as if he had inadvertently been caught in the web of this woman’s own design. The only problem was that he didn’t know what Gloriana’s mother thought about him. Was she disdainful towards him like other Hexers? Was she just allowing Gloriana to indulge in her latest fancy in order to mature her personality?

Whatever the case, he doubted that Madame Constance was sympathetic towards him. In the words of the Hexers, he was a mixed breed, a mangy mutt whose filthy paws muddied Gloriana’s shoes.

His stay aboard the Stellar Chaser fully allowed him to experience the treatment he could expect if he traveled to the Hexadric Hegemony.

Every woman, even the lowliest ship rating, plainly looked down on him because of his gender!

Ves did not consider himself to be a vain person. He did not insist on earning everyone’s respect. What did it matter if some strangers despised him for some inane reason?

Yet this was different. The constant denigration and casual dismissal towards the male gender did not reach the level of abuse, but came very close to it! Ves truly started to chafe at the prejudices expressed by Gloriana’s crew!

These experiences made him even more determined to avoid the Hexadric Hegemony like the plague! There was no way he would ever be able to hold himself together if he visited Gloriana’s state!

"I’ll kill myself if I have to endure this nonsense on a daily basis!"

From his occasional interactions with Hexers who weren’t Gloriana, Ves gained a very visceral understanding on their perspective on boys.

The very fact they refused to call any human of the opposite gender a man spoke for itself.

For their entire lives, the Hexers had been taught to look at males as inferiors!

Boys were immature. Boys were incapable of controlling themselves. Boys became naughty if left to their own devices.

All of these underlying assumptions had been baked so thoroughly in Hexer culture that none of the Hexers questioned their beliefs!

Even the male ship ratings did not show any dissatisfaction at being treated in such a poor fashion!

For them, the worst thing that could happen is to be seen as incapable!

Ves noted that every Hexer male yearned for validation. Nothing made them happier than when their female superiors complimented them for ’being a good boy’!

As Ves wasn’t a prisoner, he casually strolled the sections of the Stellar Chaser. Everywhere there were people, he continually witnessed this degrading treatment towards the hapless Hexer males.

Even older males who developed numerous skills and competences over their careers were regarded as boys by female officers who were young enough to be their grandchildren!

Witnessing all of these travesties made Ves sick. He dreaded the infamous Hegemony even more.

He swore to himself that even if Madame Constance Wodin summoned him directly, he would do everything to run away!

Not even Gloriana’s pleadings would deter him from avoiding her home state! Ves instinctively knew that if he ever dropped into the murky pool of the Hegemony, he would definitely drown!

At this time, Ves finally encountered a male Hexer who was a little different from the spineless males who served as low-level crew members on Gloriana’s ship.

As soon as the small fleet of Hexer vessels emerged from FTL, the Hexers carefully scanned their surroundings as their FTL drives started cycling.

The expert pilot who rescued him from the Fridaymen finally gained the opportunity to visit the Stellar Dancer.

Gloriana practically snatched his collar and dragged him all the way down to the shuttle bay in order to meet his savior.

In addition, Dr. Ranya dropped by as well, but she didn’t appear as ecstatic.

Obviously, Gloriana possessed a lot of affection for her brother! Ves half-expected that the stiff and powerful Wodins exhibited frequent internal competition.

Perhaps he wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t appear to apply in this case.

His girlfriend happily bounced on her feet as she waited for the arrival of the shuttle.

"What’s your brother like?"

"Brutus is my closest brother." She replied. "He’s the closest to my age in my family. My other brothers and sisters are a lot older than us, so I never played with them a lot. They were so busy with school or work that they weren’t home very often."

"Is he like the other ’boys’ in your state?"

"Of course not, Ves!" She slapped his arm. "Not every boy is the same. There are differences between females. Why can’t there be differences between males?"

"What makes your brother different?"

"He’s of higher birth, for once." She answered. "While our Wodin Dynasty isn’t as powerful as the six matriarchal dynasties, anyone born in our family is destined to become remarkable! Just because Brutus is a boy doesn’t mean he’s allowed to shame our bloodline."

"Seeing that he’s not only a mech pilot, but also an expert pilot, I’d say he’s pretty successful in that. The Wodins must be proud of him.. right?"

Gloriana smiled with pride. "Every expert pilot is useful, regardless if they are boys or women. We don’t look down on male expert pilots if that’s what you are thinking. Brutus has proven himself. He even took upon himself to be my protector!"

The amused twinkle in her eyes signified that she didn’t take Brutus seriously in that regard!

Anyone would be glad to obtain the protection of an expert pilot, but Gloriana still considered Brutus to be her childhood playmate!

Ves mentally shook his head. He heard enough. He still didn’t entirely understand how males were treated by female Hexers. A male expert pilot evidently enjoyed some actual respect, but it wasn’t enough to turn them into equals.