42 – Comeback

"I can't wait to continue our project." As usual, Ashe looked like someone who was about to fall asleep, although her mouth was curved into a faint smile. "It's a shame. Eve can't join us, even though I wanted to have another bunny show party."

"I'm sure Eve will be with us again soon." Lance chuckled. "And maybe you want to explore other costumes besides bunny, Eve?"

The female elf's eyes lit up. "What's in your mind?"

"That is a secret." The engineer smirked.

"We're about to arrive, sir." The carriage driver gave a sign.

The vehicle stopped in front of the powered armor development base. Through the window, Lance could see Tobias, Cecil, Trish, and several other workers. Trish was the most enthusiastic. She was jumping up and down while waving her hands.

"Someone really wants to welcome us." Ashe widened her smile.

On his way down, Lance came across something unusual. There is someone among them who is not part of this project team.

A pink haired girl ran up to Lance. But the engineer caught her hand before it landed on his cheek.

"It's okay, it's okay." Lance raised his hand, signaling the others to stand down.

That woman is Jane Rufford. She sobbed with a gaze full of disgust towards the engineer.

Lance put his mouth close to her ear and whispered. "I know how you feel. You care about your older brother. But your words will only cause you trouble. Maybe your family too. Please, think about this."

Jane pulled her hand out of Lance's grasp, then she ran as fast as she could.

"What happened?" Cecil approaches Lance with Trish. "She came here and said she wanted to welcome you. I thought it wouldn't be a problem because she wouldn't get on base."

"Did you tell her about that bunny party and she got jealous?" Trish scratched her head.

"The last time I saw her was when she sang at the awards party." Lance shrugged. "I don't know why she is like that. I warned her against doing something foolish. She will get into trouble."

Lance kept his tone casual, so that it wouldn't arouse the others' suspicions. He knew that Jane Rufford was furious with what had happened to Julian. Maybe the former aide had met his sister and told her everything.

"We better not think about what just happened." Tobias joined in with his arms outstretched. "We better go in. We've prepared a welcome for you, Lance."

"I appreciate that, but I want to get to work." Lance started walking towards the base. "I have prepared several plans."

"Is it about the new powered armors?" Tobias sighed. "I hope we have time to develop it before the Zashrend army comes."

Lance smiled. "No, sir. I thought about something else. First, I have made a large rifle design to counter the big arrows from Zashrend's kingdom."

Trish's gaze fell on Ashe's chest.

The female elf chuckled at that. "Don't worry, Trish. My breast will be fine even though I will use a powered armor. I'm built differently."

"You're taking this too lightly, Ashe." Trish squinted her eyes. "And you will test rifles with crazier recoil. I can't imagine it."

Lance just realized that he missed absurd conversations like that.

"And second, I will give upgrades to our Etnas." The engineer continued.

Tobias's brow furrowed. "Upgrades? What is that?"

"Those are arts that we can install into existing powered armors to increase their capabilities." Lance was quite amused to find that Tobias couldn't grasp such a concept. "It would save a lot of time compared to creating a new powered armor type."

Tobias adjusted his glasses with a smile. "I can't wait to see your plans, Lance."

The engineer couldn't wait either. After so long, he was able to do what he was destined to do.

Even if he has to sacrifice something.

"By the way, Lance." Cecil sighed, even though she smiled. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." Lance smiled again.

***

"You don't have to stay up late making prototypes of these parts, Cecil." Lance said to Cecil. She is forging something. "We can do it tomorrow."

Cecil dipped the newly forged piece of metal into the water, creating a sizzling sound and steam. "I'm excited about this, Lance. I'm not sure I can sleep. It's been ages since I touched this blacksmith's tools."

The engineer looked at Trish and Ashe, who were near Cecil's workstation. They were playing cards at a small table.

"This jerky is so tasty. I've eaten nothing like this before." Ashe chewed as she placed a card on the table. "Your cooking skills are always amazing, Trish."

"Of course it's delicious." The female warrior looked at her cards. "It came from a plump goblin butt."

Ashe stopped chewing for a moment. "Doesn't matter, still delicious."

Trish raised her head. "Why do you react like that? I want to see you surprised."

"You must be joking, right?" Ashe grabbed another piece of jerky and started eating it. "Even if what you say is true, I don't mind. I've eaten worse than this while fleeing my country. This is still delicious, but my cousin's meat isn't."

Trish's eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? Please, tell me you're joking."

Ashe chuckled, and Trish breathed a sigh of relief.

"I asked them to rest, but they both insisted on accompanying me." Cecil stood next to Lance and folded her arms across her chest.

Lance observed the two women in silence for a moment. "Hey, how long do you think we'll be together, Cecil?"

"Why do you ask such a thing?" The blacksmith sighed. "We just met today. You're not your usual self, Lance."

Lance had never had a better team. On earth, he indeed supervises geniuses and hard workers. But it couldn't come close to the vibe he felt with these women. The engineer couldn't imagine working with other people.

"Yeah, you're right, Cecil." Lance smirked. "There's no point in me talking about that."

"Hey, how about the loser strips in front of Lance." Trish muttered, looking back at her cards.

Ashe shrugged. "Sure enough. You'll win all the games then."

"You're no fun, Honka Bonga Boobas."