Apparently, the captain of the guard, Captain Treize Khushrenada, was a part of some noble faction that supported making a cousin from a branch family the next ruler. This faction had tasked the captain with disposing of the crown prince during this mission with the intent to make it look like he had been killed by the Automata. The objective was twofold. First, with the crown prince gone, this cousin would be the next in line. Second, this would have sparked a cause to rally the factions together to unite against a common enemy, us.

We found all this out when Pythona applied gravity magic to the captain, essentially crushing the truth out of him. According to the prince, they were just expected to take care of some easy-mode problem that Urd was having with some defective Automata as a way to gain some prestige and experience. He claimed that he had no idea that Automata were actually people and not just clever tools.

Captain Khushrenada was sent back to the Capital in chains, along with half of the remaining guard. The other half, along with Prince Milliardo, came to our village and were camped out, just outside the village gate.

Victoria managed to find Ryuski’s head where Carnivac had tossed it and dragged all of the parts she could find of him to our village. She’s been sitting outside of the gate with puppy-dog eyes trying to get someone to let her in. She seems to think that I’ll repair her brother for her if she begs hard enough.

The other folks from the Adventurer’s Guild headed back to Urd. I’m sure that Guild Master Ryoma still wants me dead but without permission from Prince Milliardo, he can’t do anything. He did task those high ranked Adventurers with keeping an eye on the prince though. They’ve been staying at the inn, much to Shiro’s delight. I think their names are Strider and Anani. They’re actually quite young, in their mid-teens I think. It’s surprising how young people can be and still be allowed to do such dangerous work, but that’s a fantasy world for you.

After the battle, the royal guard healers were able to patch up most of the folks that had been hurt. Sadly, there were some losses. Nine of the royal guard had been killed along with two of the four soldier Automata that had chosen to stay and fight with us. Of course, there was also the loss of Elita which weighed heavily on me. What was she doing now? Was she going on some murderous rampage, or was she trying to isolate herself?

A gentle knock broke me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see Shiro standing at the door to my shop.

“Um... Excuse me Master Prime. I have some dinner for his royal highness.”

I waved Shiro in. He brought in a tray loaded with various foods and a bottle of some sort of liquid and set it down on the work table that Prince Milliardo had taken to occupying.

“At your pleasure, your highness,” Shiro said, giving a small bow before backing away. The prince barely glanced at the tray and waved Shiro off.

Prince Milliardo poked at the soul core floating in the small tray of mana fluid. It bobbed and gently spun in the solution.

“Look, Lena, you’re dancing,” he told the core.

“You should eat something, your highness,” I told him, “Princess Relena will want to see you healthy.”

“Hmm? What? Yes, yes I suppose so. Are you nearly done?”

“Nearly there your highness.”

I was working on reconfiguring Ram’s body to be able to install a soul core into it. Princess Relena’s soul core. As much as I loved Ram, she was a poor substitute for the body of a princess. So this would only be a temporary fix until I had something better for her.

I got up from my bench and stood at a respectful distance from the prince.

“It’s ready, your highness.”

He nodded and I took the tray with the soul core and brought it to my station. I hated to admit it, but I was getting to be old hat at installing these things. Once I was done, I closed up her chest panel and initiated her boot sequence.

After a moment, her eyes lit up and I could tell she was going through the various diagnostic checks. Unfortunately, Ram still had the blank-slate face so I had no idea what the princess might be thinking.

She looked over at me, without getting up. “Master Prime, it’s good to see you again. I quite enjoyed that little illustration of you as a child. Most amusing.”

“You honor me, your highness. Let me help you sit up, we’ll need to go through some simple exercises to get you used to this body.”

“Did it... did it work? Is that really her inside?” the prince asked.

I helped her sit up and she held out a hand to the prince. “Oh Milli, you won’t get rid of me that easily.”

The prince wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, sobbing in an ugly way.

“Huh...” the princess remarked, looking over her brother’s shoulder at me. “It’s a bit different, isn’t it?”

I backed away to the door. “Call me when you’re ready. I’ll be right outside.”

I stepped out of the shop to give the siblings some time and sat down on the couch that I’d had put on the porch. I looked out at the sky as the sun was setting and the first of the moons was starting to appear. I had so much work to do. All of my combat proxies had taken damage and needed repair, probably Sentinel the most. I, myself, was in need of some extensive repair work along with my centurion armors. Then, of course, there were new bodies to build for people and upgrades for others... oh, and I’d promised to build a carriage as well.

I didn’t have a clue where Elita had gone or how I should deal with her if I saw her again. Would she even know me? Would she know herself?

Jackie walked up and sat down next to me. “Looks like we get ta live another day.”

“Yup, looks like it,” I replied. “Are the new folks settled in?”

“Gettin’ there. Still a lot to deal with for them.”

“True.”

Jackie patted my knee and stood up, nodding his head. “I’ll leave ya to this.”

Standing in front of the shop, across the road, was Shea. She looked like a child that was waiting their turn to get scolded. I suppose in a way she was. Jackie walked off towards his place and gave Shea a little nod as he passed. Shea just stood there like a statue. Maybe she was waiting for permission?

I patted the seat next to me and she slowly walked up with her eyes turned away and sat down.

“Prime... I’m... I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean it.” she began, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s just... I was so scared.”

“Guild Master Ryoma is a scary guy,” I agreed.

“Of him too, yeah... but I was afraid of being in trouble... that I might go to jail... or that they might kill me because I helped you. You’re... you’re not a normal Automata and if they found you... then they might kill me... or hurt my family...”

“The guild?” I guessed. She shook her head. “The empire?” Again, she shook her head. “The Factory,” I concluded. This time she nodded.

“I know you can do some amazing things...” she started, “but The Factory... you saw what they did to those villages. I’m sorry... I... I panicked... and lashed out at you...”

“Elita’s gone,” I said, changing the subject.

“What happened?”

“So, our friend Elita. It would seem that she’s nearing the end of her life cycle. It would also seem that Automata are a bit like a form of the undead and get homicidal if they hang around too long.”

“Oh no! Can’t you do something? You can do anything!”

“I dunno. The only thing I can think of is completely sealing her and reformatting her.”

“What would that do?”

“That would completely erase everything that makes Elita who she is and our friend.”

“Oh...”

“Yeah...”

She sat back and sighed. I did the same, or at least an imitation of it.

“Master Prime... if you would please?” came a male voice.

I looked up to see Prince Milliardo standing in my doorway. He’d certainly grown more humble since I first met him earlier today.

“Yes, your highness,” I replied with a slight bow. I guess I was getting more respectful of his position since he first met me earlier today.

I gave Shea a glance and headed back into my shop to complete the setup process for the princess. I walked her through each of the articulation exercises, which she performed without any problems at all.

“Your highness,” I asked, “have you given consideration to what we should do with your old body?”

“Hmm,” she said, pulling on a strand of hair.

“You shall be interned in the royal mausoleum, of course,” Prince Milliardo said as if the matter was settled.

“That would be strange, wouldn’t it?” she replied to him. “I mean, I’m right here, I don’t feel dead yet I would have a grave. Would you go visit it, Milli? I could go with you!”

“That... would be odd... yes...” he reluctantly agreed. “Well we can’t have the body of the princess laid to rot and feed the animals.”

“No, I’m not fond of that idea either,” she said, resting her head on her brother’s shoulder and intertwining her hand in his.

His face turned a deeper shade of purple for a moment. “You there, Master Prime. What say you?”

I thought for a moment before answering. “If I may... What do you think of cremating the body? Then I can take the ashes and make a stone casing for your soul core that we can install in your new proper body?”

“I do like the romanticism of that. That way, all of me is still together. Yes, I approve.”

“We will have to first bring the body back home. Father will need to see it to be convinced of your passing on... to this new form. Plus, Treize will need to stand trial for your murder and your body is the evidence.” the prince stated.

“Do you think father knows? About the Automata, I mean?”

“I don’t know. He has Councilor Quintess who is a representative of The Factory at his ear. We may have to tread lightly, and I don’t like the idea of Quintess becoming interested in you Lena. Master Prime, I may need to leave my dear sister in your care until after Captain Khushrenada’s execution and while I investigate what holds The Factory has over my father and the empire.”

“I shall protect her as my own, your highness. As an Automata, she is now my kin. For my own reasons, I have been intending to investigate The Factory as well.”

The prince held out his hand so I clasped it.

“The hunt is on, Prime.”

“Happy hunting, your highness.”