The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4418

Though Ves managed to hit it off remarkably well with General Herman Foraine of the Adelaide Mercenary Company, he had less success in befriending the other pioneering groups.

They simply had less in common. None of the other delegates were particularly impressed by the Larkinson Clan and the Golden Skull Alliance.

So what if Ves was a talented and accomplished mech designer? He was just a young and brash Journeyman at the moment!

So what if the Golden Skull Alliance smashed the Sundered Phalanx during the Battle of Pima Prime? The Hex Army did most of the fighting!

The other pioneering organizations such as the Lehrer Foundation and the Boojay Family were not weak by any means.

In fact, they were all stronger than the Larkinson Clan because they retained their own ace pilots!

As Ves tried to mingle with the other delegates, he found that he and his fellow allies suffered from one particular weakness.

He sought out Minister Shederin Purnesse and waited for the old diplomat to finish his polite chat with a dignitary from the Santana Group.

Shederin did not look surprised when Ves brought up this particular matter.

"When we attend gatherings like these, we are supposed to represent the Golden Skull Alliance, but in practice we represent just one of its partners. When you spoke with General Foraine earlier, did you stand up for the Golden Skull Alliance or did you merely speak from the position of the Larkinson Clan?"

"It's… the latter."

"I thought so. That is your mistake, Ves. If we want to be taken more seriously by everyone, then we must avoid showing too much division and selfishness. Right now, you, Marshal Ariadne odin and Master Benedict Cortez are all representing your respective sides. This is not conducive to forming an impression of a strong and united military alliance."

Ves frowned deeply. "Do we need to send just one of us next time? That might be better if we want to form a united front."

"No. That is not necessary. In fact, I believe that would be a mistake."

"Oh? Please explain, Shederin."

"The Golden Skull Alliance does not have a clear leader. Everyone is more or less equal. Our clan used to have the greatest say at the start, but now the Cross Clan is in a more dominant position due to Patriarch Reginald's breakthrough. Nevertheless, the Crossers do not have all of the say. Each of us essentially governs the alliance by consensus. The advantage is that none of us are marginalized. The disadvantage is that we cannot truly present a strong and united voice to foreigners."

"That sounds bad."

"Is that so, Ves?" Shederin smirked. "There are other advantages to our current state. Explaining them all is beyond the scope of this conversation, but let me just say that speaking with multiple different voices can sometimes be more useful than speaking with a single voice."

"I think I know what you mean. Well, if you don't think that there is anything wrong, I guess there is little harm in maintaining our current approach."

As time continued to pass, the Geminis eventually invited the delegates to dinner.

They all moved to a formal dining hall where the guests began to sample the unique cuisine of the Geminis.

The foreign guests were able to meet more members of the family while they curiously tried out the dishes.

Ves didn't know what the Geminis ate during normal days, but in this fancy dining setting, they brought out a lot of specialty dishes that possessed a clear theme!

"What… is this?" He asked in an uncertain tone.

At first, Ves thought that he had received a grilled and stuffed frog. It was only a little later that he noticed that the animal looked like the amphibian version of a Siamese twin!

A male Gemini who was seated close by gave Ves a friendly smile.

"That is one of our bifrogs. It is a genetically engineered frog species that our genetics company has especially created to symbolize the permanent union of our pairings."

The man couldn't help but place his palm on that of his twin sister who also happened to be his wife.

Two who shared a great resemblance to each other, but the way they looked at each other was much more intimate than that of brother and sister!

"Shall we, sister?"

"Let us demonstrate our love, my husband."

They picked up their forks and knives and began to cut at the bifrog that had been served to them. The two Geminis mirrored the cuts they made and put their portions in their mouths at the same time.

Instead of chewing their bites, they instead turned towards each other and began to lock lips!

Ves and several other nearby guests froze in shock as they witnessed the Gemini pair carefully exchange and chew each other's portions!

The entire stunt was ridiculous from the onset, but the fact that the pair in question were twins who grew up alongside each other from the start made it ten times as outrageous!

Though Ves momentarily felt the urge to vomit, he did his best to maintain tight control over his emotions and body language. He had become quite good at controlling himself so he did not exhibit any behavior that might cause the surrounding Geminis to view him in a worse light.

The other delegates also managed to control themselves. Each of their expressions remained firmly neutral as if the ritual of jointly eating a bifrog was just a common occurrence in their eyes.

Even General Herman Foraine who normally expressed his feelings without too much restraint conspicuously fell silent while looking down at his own meal.

Ves could easily sense the varying degrees of disgust and revulsion radiating from their spirits, but their self-control was so good that he would have been fooled if he did not possess such sharp senses.

None of the Geminis showed any unwillingness or rejection towards the matches that their family had arranged for them from the moment they were conceived. _{freeweɓnovēl.coɱ}

Through the unremitting indoctrination efforts of the Gemini Family along with lots of clever gene manipulation, the Geminis not only lost their instinctual revulsion towards incest, but embraced it as the only form of love that they could ever accept!

Every Gemini couple was happy and grateful to be able to share their most intimate moments with the brother or sister they knew best.

Dinnertime turned into the most enjoyable moments of the day to them. The special meals they formulated weren't meant to be consumed alone. They were dishes that should be savored with their significant others.

The Geminis affirmed and strengthened their affection towards each other through the mutual interaction engendered by their meals.

It was all too easy for people to treat the simple act of eating their breakfast, lunch or dinner as a solitary moment to fill their stomachs, but the members of the Gemini Family went beyond this point.

The Geminis were feeding love to each other's hearts.

The display was tender and loving. Ves wouldn't have any problem with this strange custom if not for the fact that the Geminis were too closely related to each other!

The Geminis had to be well aware of how extensively they violated one of life's fundamental taboos.

The most absurd aspect about this was that the Gemini Family took pride in their choices!

Ves did not sense any hesitation, remorse or even shame in the Geminis. They loved their brothers and sisters and wanted to make that known to the entire old galaxy as well as the new frontier if possible!

It would have been even better if other humans began to accept and embrace their expression of love!

Every member of the Gemini Family played this game. Even the leaders of the family set an example for their subjects.

As Patriarch Kobal Gemini finished passing on the piece of lemon pie to his sister and spouse, he turned to face his audience with a smile.

"Our Gemini Family thanks you for your tolerance and understanding. Times like these make us glad that there are people that respect our freedom of choice. Please do not mistake our customs as frivolous acts that serve no other purpose than to indulge our fantasies. There is a purpose in everything we do. Everything we do is for love."

His wife and sister picked up the thread.

"Love is eternal. Love is universal. Love is the source of strength that allows us to rise above everyone else. Our founders and ancestors believe that love is an indescribable force that can give us strength that is far beyond what ordinary machines and people can evoke. They fought against everyone that opposed them and forcibly started a family organization where they could prove their beliefs by producing offspring whose lives are filled with the greatest amount of love imaginable. By binding our twin children with both family love and romantic love, the bonds of affection that they have developed towards their closest relatives as well as fated life partners have become strong beyond any of you have ever witnessed."

The patriarch and matriarch of the Gemini Family proudly rose to their feet while raising their wine glasses.

"Once we commence our joint operation, our soldiers will most certainly vanquish over the aliens and take their possessions as our own. I wish you all success and hope that our love has inspired you to borrow this force to infuse you with additional strength and purpose. Let us toast to the wonders of love!"

"For love!"