As breakfast came to an end, Ves had gained a lot more insight about the current state of the Larkinson Family.

Though it hadn't grown much after leaving the Cinach System, Ark managed to find some decent opportunities for the family. Banking on his strength and the stellar reputation of the Larkinson Family, many different groups were eager to cooperate with the Larkinson in various matters.

Unfortunately, these cushy deals did not provide much growth to the Larkinson Family. There simply wasn't enough to arouse anyone's interests. Who cared about a group of exiled third-raters? Even though Venerable Ark was a proven expert pilot and commanding officer, many states weren't short of either.

The Larkinson Family simply didn't matter.

In the end, it was the rise of the Miracle Couple and the Larkinson Clan that increased their fortunes. Even second-rate powers began to pay attention to the Larkinson Family.

It was very hard for the family members to remain unmoved. The generous offers they received allowed them to develop far more rapidly than before.

"We tried to scrape by on our own merits, but… it's difficult to take care of all of our needs without a solid income." Ark helplessly explained to Ves. "Unlike you we're not good in business. The only way for us to earn enough money to expand our clan is to take high-risk mercenary contracts, but that will certainly lead to a lot of objections."

"Nothing comes for free. There is a lot of competition in the galaxy. No matter how much pride you possess, you aren't special. You'll have to work honestly if you want to develop the Larkinson Family beyond its current state."

Both Ark and Benjamin looked as if they had agonized over the issue for many months. It was much more difficult to manage the Larkinson Family now that it was divorced from the Bright Republic.

Not only did they lose their protection against many threats, they also lost most of their businesses.

Though neither of the older Larkinsons mentioned it, the actual reason why the family was able to remain afloat was their 1 percent ownership in the LMC!

In many aspects, the Larkinson Family had become dependent on the Larkinson Clan. This seriously affected the pride of the former. How could the members of the original Larkinson Family hold their heads high when they were essentially leeching off the efforts of an outcast?

This was an infuriating situation to many stubborn Larkinsons!

It was good that Ark and Benjamin weren't hardliners. They weren't opposed to making use of the Larkinson Clan to get ahead.

Ves discussed some more ways in which the clan and family could work together. Of course, they all amounted to the clan offering aid to the family in various ways.

He no longer had any hard feelings about the Larkinson Family. He achieved so much success and experienced so many wild events that his separation from the original family wasn't a big deal anymore.

"I've designed a couple of mechs that are exclusive to the Larkinson Clan." Ves spoke. "I have even more designs in store that will grant a unique edge to our fighting forces. If you want, we can grant you an exclusive license of our mechs. They're expensive and difficult to produce, but you will find that their advantages are unmatched by other products."

Both Ark and Benjamin looked at each other.

Ark turned back to Ves. "We won't lie. We're tempted. Very tempted. We have heard about your famed Bright Warrior."

"The Bright Warrior isn't a good mech for you to adopt. It's rather outdated by my standards. I intend to build up a mech roster that consists entirely of second-class mechs. I already completed some excellent designs a short time ago. If you want, we can talk about this after the wedding."

"This might be going too far." Ark frowned. "Your mechs are powerful, but.. we are not part of your clan. Our family has to retain its own identity. If we become overly dependent on your handouts, we'll never be able to get our own footing."

Grandfather Benjamin nodded in agreement. "I know you want to help your family, but your own clan advocates for hard work. We can make do without your mechs."

"Don't be so quick to refuse. I have some interesting mechs that will continue to strengthen your position once you acquire them. The mechs I design for my clan are useful for all Larkinsons, so don't worry about compatibility problems."

Breakfast came to an end. Ves separated from many Larkinsons in order to attend his next ritual.

This time, only Lucky and his grandfather's physical projection accompanied him to the next venue.

They boarded a shuttle that brought them to a small platform in space.

Ves stepped onto the platform. This time, he adopted a serious expression. Hidden recorders broadcasted what he was doing live to the Larkinsons, the wedding guests and the public.

Both Lucky and his grandfather flanked him from each side as he strode forwards.

The trio passed through a winding path through a serene-looking garden. Various commemorative statues of famous Larkinson expert pilots lined the path. Ves even shared some of their blood.

Each time Ves came close to a statue, he stood in front of it and bowed his head in respect.

There was nothing deep about this gesture. He was merely honoring his ancestors and paying tribute to their efforts in keeping the Larkinson heritage alive.

While not many people honored their ancestors in this fashion, Ves thought it was a nice way to reinforce the Larkinson brand.

In truth, the ritual was largely meaningless to him as the Larkinsons of the past were completely irrelevant. However, appearing to be filial and respectful of some long-dead heroes was an excellent public relations move.

His grandfather thought that Ves was being sincere, though. Whenever they passed by a noteworthy statue, Benjamin narrated the accomplishments of the hero in question."

"Venerable Gelber Larkinson was not an exceptional expert pilot. He advanced after the first war he took part in had ended. A generation passed before he was finally able to fight earnestly, but an ambush forced him into early retirement. Gelber didn't let that stop him from doing duty. He put his all into training the subsequent generations of Larkinsons. In the end, his tutoring efforts led to the rise of Venerable Irene Larkinson, Venerable Opal Larkinson and Venerable Emma Larkinson. The three of them brought great honor to the Larkinson Family."

"They're all women." Ves noted.

"Yes. It's a complete coincidence. Their aptitudes happen to be better than the rest, I suppose." Benjamin's physical projection stated.

They moved on and passed some other marble-like statues. Though Ves hadn't been involved in making any of it, he admired their craftsmanship. That made this tedious ritual a lot more tolerable.

At the end, they came to the very end. They walked around a fountain and climbed some steep steps until they reached an altar of sorts.

A large statue of an iconic Larkinson stood inside an open dome. The statue's features were kept deliberately vague out of respect for his identity.

"Here is where our lineage truly started." Benjamin reverentially spoke. "The Larkinson Ancestor is our common progenitor. His blood and genes flow through every original Larkinson. Without his heroics, our Larkinson Family would have never gotten off the ground. He started a tradition of honorable service that has lasted for four centuries."

Though Ves had been taught to respect the Larkinson Ancestor as the greatest member of the family in existence, his views had changed over the last few years.

Now that he became a leader and grew the Larkinson Clan to far greater height than the Larkinson Ancestor ever accomplished, Ves felt as if he was looking at a lesser.

For all of the Larkinson Ancestor's remarkable battle accomplishments, he failed to convert that into enduring gains. Once the Bright Republic came into existence, the founding families grasped most of the benefits while only throwing a couple of bones to the Larkinson Ancestor.

What an idiot.

Ves became even more certain that letting mech pilots run anything other than a combat unit was counterproductive.

Of course, he couldn't afford to reveal his contempt for the Larkinson Ancestor. That would tank his reputation and ruin Gloriana's perfect day.

He composed himself and knelt in front of the austere-looking statue. He adopted an expression that made it look as if he completely looked up to the legendary figure.

Lucky lowered himself to the ground as well while Benjamin sank to one knee.

"The Larkinson Ancestor lived in a special day and age. The end of the Age of Conquest was marked by large amounts of devastation in human space. The galactic center and the galactic heartland were especially marked by death and destruction. Too many star sectors were barely livable. Despite their power, the Greater Terran United Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire suffered most of all, because they built the most powerful and destructive battleships of the time."

The madness that had infected all of humanity led to more destruction than the alien races ever managed to deal.

In that age, the human race tragically discovered that it was its own worst enemy!

"The trauma of this time has marked every survivor. Many were sick and tired of falling victim to the games played by tyrants. A large exodus took place. Many Terrans, Rubarthans and other well-off citizens voluntarily gave up their lives in the heart of human civilization in order to seek a simpler, peaceful life in the far reaches of the galaxy."

Not many humans actually made it all the way through. The journey was simply too long for that. In most cases, the emigrating people only crossed a number of star sector or star clusters before they grew tired of endless travel. The galactic heartland's population grew considerably at that time.

"We do not know much about the Larkinson Ancestor's origin. The records are rather spotty in those chaotic times. We even suspect that he may have deliberately erased the records in order to cut a clean break with the past." Benjamin told Ves.

The quality of the Larkinson Ancestor's original genes suggested that he came from a line of professional soldiers from Rubarth.

"Mechs already existed during those times. They weren't as popular, ubiquitous and advanced as today, but they held a lot of potential. The Larkinson Ancestor happened to be among the pioneers who embraced them wholeheartedly. When the Big Two introduced a new order, our ancestor's foresight meant he was ahead of many other people when it came to piloting mechs."

That sounded fairly remarkable, but in truth he was just slightly ahead. The MTA already spread its influence and converted more and more people into using mechs instead of warships.

"The rest is history, as they say." Benjamin smiled. "With skill and valor, the Larkinson Ancestor helped the predecessors of the Bright Republic fend off the predecessors of the Vesia Kingdom. He was just one man, but his performance increasingly stood out from the rest. Back then, mechs were very primitive. The concepts of expert mechs and expert pilots did not exist. At most, there were just a few mech pilots who were uncommonly good in battle. Our ancestor happened to be one of them. Whether he was an expert pilot or even an ace pilot is shrouded in history."

Ves had his own suspicions. The strong X-Factor and weight of history of the Valiant suggested that the Larkinson Ancestor had at least reached demigod.

Whatever genetic advantage the ancestor possessed in this aspect, he partially passed it down to his descendants. Every generation of Larkinsons that followed always succeeded in producing at least one expert pilot.

In the end, Ves was still thankful to the Larkinson Ancestor.

Even though the early mech pilot or his parents made the incredibly stupid decision to forsake Rubarth, the Larkinson Ancestor set an example that many descendants followed to this day!