The Undying Mecha Emperor

Hmmmm. I don't think I should go as a VIP. It just doesn't sound good enough." I thought aloud. "What's a VIP among big headed princess and conceited princesses? I need to visit the Empire as someone important… someone that will give me clout."

"Being the VIP guest of THE Princess Louisa is someone with clout." She said with a slight pout.

"But if I do that, I will automatically take on all of your social and political trappings. I am not free to make my own friends and bash up my own enemies. I don't want that." I said firmly. "What does the Empire value? What position will make me a valued asset?"

"Hmmmmm. You… You have a small point." Princess Louisa agreed very reluctantly and sulked lightly at that point.

"Well? What sort of person would be highly regarded in the Empire?" I pressed.

"You're a ten year old boy! How valuable can you be?" Princess Louisa's pout was getting more pronounced and her sulk was gearing up in strength.

"It doesn't matter. A bomb triggered by ten year old fingers explodes just as well as one triggered by fifty year old fingers. Come on. Give me something. An exotic general? A rich scion of a global corporation? A mad scientist? A prodigy designer" I spouted a random list of possible characters.

Princess Louisa remained silent for a moment.

"Actually… A prodigy designer would be a pretty valuable asset." Princess Louisa said thoughtfully as my list of intriguing characters finally triggered her brain to start working. "The Empire had spent years and trillions into research and development, and building up an incredible education system that can produce millions of high quality designers each year. Designers are highly regarded in the Empire… But at the same time, the competition is cutthroat. Sometimes literally."

"Pretty valuable huh? That's a good start. Let's go from there." I said warmly as I began to sculpt a character which would strike awe and reverence into the hearts of those damned Europeans.

"Yeah that would be a good place to start… IF you're actually a prodigy designer!" Princess Louisa rolled her eyes at me.

"Hehehe." I grinned widely at her.

"What? Don't tell me that you ARE a prodigy designer?" Princess Louisa asked doubtfully. "Your physical body isn't the only thing that's unnaturally, freakishly, horrifyingly, disturbingly…"

"Hahaha. Now you know how awesome I am." I interrupted her proudly.

"How prodigy are you? As in, it's good if you can actually produce a full Silver Grade design at your age, but we probably have a million designers capable of doing that." Princess Louisa said.

"Silver Grade? Little toys that can destroy a blue mecha instantly? I can design them in my sleep." I said dismissively.

"You're capable of designing Gold Grade Weapons? That's really good! Only about a thousand designers are capable of doing that! Out of those thousand, only about seven hundred are certified Gold Designers. And absolutely none of them are below twenty years old. Your skills will be in high demand, and your potential will instantly catapult you to the top of the Designer Ecosystem. You will definitely be treated as a future Platinum Designer." Princess Louisa said in delight.

"Hohoho… A future Platinum Designer sounds really good. But you know what would sound better? A current Platinum Designer." I gave Princess Louisa a slight wink and a massive grin.

Princess Louisa's eyes widened at my words.

"No way. You can create Platinum Designs? Weapons that can destroy white mechas with a single hit?" She asked in disbelief.

"Why not?" I asked as though it was the most appropriate response to her disbelief.

"Wh-why not? Of course its a "not"! Platinum Grade designs are near physical impossibilities to design! Only a small handful of people in the entire WORLD can design them, and from what I know, NONE are below seventy years old! A ten year old Platinum Designer is a physical impossibility." Princess Louisa said firmly.

"Hoooo. So if I enter the Empire as a ten year old Platinum Designer, I will be an instant sensation?" I asked with a very intrigued smile.

"You will be instantly drowned with questions, and chief among those would be, who the hell is your teacher?" Princess Louisa said in a troubled voice. "I don't like the idea. It's too… wild. Aggressive. High profile. Attention grabbing. You'll be a damned bulls eye for the two factions. They will try to win you over, and when they fail, they will try to assassinate you so you don't fall into the other faction's control."

"That sounds perfect. And you're right. They will definitely ask who's my teacher. What's above Platinum Grade? I can create a fake teacher and use that influence to do all sorts of things and access all sorts of things within the Empire." I said with the smile still plastered on my face.

"There is nobody on the face of this earth who is above the Platinum Grade." Princess Louisa said flatly and glared at me. "Not in the past. Not now, and probably not ever."

"That you know of." I added the clarification for her. "But there is one. My fake teacher." I said with an equally flat voice and an equally unyielding glare.

We held that glare on each other for a couple of seconds before Princess Louisa yielded with a sigh.

There was just no way she could resist me over such an issue.

"Fine. Above Platinum Grade is Emerald. And Emerald Grade weapons are able to destroy multiple white mechas with a single attack." Princess Louisa explained. "Mind you, nobody would believe that such a person exists. You would be creating problems for yourself."

"Why wouldn't they? I can just show them an Emerald Grade Design and say that its created by my teacher." I said casually, much to Princess Louisa's shock.

"You… You have an Emerald Grade Design in your possession?" She gulped.

"Uh huh." I nodded and tapped the side of the cockpit casually.

"You want to say that this alien mecha is created by your fake teacher?" Princess Louisa sputtered.

"Yep. Nobody will believe you if you told them what we went through anyway. They'll probably have your brain checked for damage and put you in a crazy ward or something. Might as well use this mecha to solve the issue of my identity and my teacher's identity." I smiled in satisfaction at the neat kill two birds with one stone idea I just had.

"Welllllll… I guess that might work… We still need to discuss the details to make sure our story stands under scrutiny. But yes. I guess… On principle… It's fine." Princess Louisa finally agreed.

"So I guess that's settled then. I will enter the Empire as a Platinum Designer whom you met while escaping from the strange battle with the Oceanic Eagles. Let's see… I am from a small country called…" I quickly checked the world map and searched for a small South East Asian country.

"Sing…apore? It's pretty small." I said.

"That might work. Your teacher is a genius prisoner of war of the Chinese Federation who escaped and managed to disappear in Singapore. I got washed by the waves there and you saved me. We fell in love and now I am bringing you back to the Empire." Princess Louisa said dreamily.

"Yes for the first part. No for the love part. We became friends and I am curious about how the outside world is like, so my teacher sends me on an extended field trip." I said firmly.

"Fine. If that's what you want." Princess Louisa stuck her tongue out at me.

I stuck my tongue out back at her and caused her to giggle.

"Is there a formal exam I can take to get my Platinum Designer certifiation to make it more formal?" I asked her.

"Yes, of course. But its not for many more months… Oh wait, I know! You can just participate in the Imperial Talent Championships! You can debut there, and gain instant fame!" Princess Louisa exclaimed excitedly.

"Aha! That sounds awesome!" I agreed wholeheartedly. "If all goes well, I will be joining a big fancy competition in a few months back in the Federation too. This will be a good warm up for me."

"The Imperial Talent Championships? As a warm up? Ha! You have no idea what you're talking about, do you?" Princess Louisa smirked at me.

"Of course I don't. Enlighten me. Wait, start with the rewards." I said with a growing sense of excitement.

"There are many rewards, because there are many competitions. There's the Design Competitions which are broken to three categories namely Mothership Design, Battlecruiser Design and Mecha Design.

Then of course there's the much more prestigious Battle Competitions involving Singles, Battalions, Regiments and Divisions." Princess Louisa explained.

"Divisions? You mean, entire armed divisions fight against each other?" I asked in shock.

"Yes. There are exactly sixteen divisions. Perfect for a tournament." Princess Louisa said with a tinge of pride in her voice