Chapter 104: Steel is Always Loyal

"Monica, actually you and the soul in the machine. Forget it, just call it the machine soul."

"The way you are dealing with these machine spirits is wrong."

Monica stared at Xiu Si fiercely, feeling a little uncomfortable in her heart - it was clearly her who summoned the machine souls, but why did they all have a better relationship with Xiu Si? She was finally found by Xiu Si, and although it was embarrassing to walk away crying, she was still worried about the souls she summoned, so she did not go far, waiting eagerly for Xiu Si to find her.

Hughes slowed down his voice.

"You have a good relationship with sea snakes and you know how to please them, but what I want to say is that machine spirits are something completely different."

"What's the difference!"

"This is just my guess. I think the core of this spell is not 'the soul you summoned', but 'this thing produces the soul'."

“Does this make any difference?”

"Of course it's different. You used your magic power to summon a sea serpent, so it's the soul of a sea serpent. You summoned a soul from a steam engine, so is it also the soul of a sea serpent?"

"Think of it from another angle. The steam engine responded to your call and a soul was created in it. That's why I call it a machine soul - it really is the soul of a machine."

"Steel and machinery are not living things. You should not try to please them in the same way you would treat living things."

Monica's emerald eyes widened, "How can I please you then?"

"It's very simple. Just treat them as real machines. Repair their damage, replace parts, apply grease and lubricate them. Maybe you can talk to them about your dreams and life."

"Is that all right?"

"Yes, they don't need to be stroked, nor do they need you to play games with them. They won't feel lonely, and they will just quietly fulfill their responsibilities."

Monica was silent, looking at the table thoughtfully.

There was a lot of random stuff on the table, from spoons for eating to an exquisite musket - that was what Monica asked Connor for.

These things have different functions, and the only thing they have in common is that they all have souls inside them.

Xius didn't expect that Monica could summon so many souls, and the hosts were also quite complicated.

It can be seen that she is really interested in this spell and has studied it for a long time.

"Let's try it."

Xius suddenly spoke.

Monica looked at Xius in surprise, and after hesitating for a while, she walked to the table.

Her eyes wandered among the items on the table, and finally stopped at a rusty spoon. She reached out and picked it up, carefully examining the tiny cracks on the handle. She suddenly realized that she had never really cared about the "bodies" of these machine spirits - they were just summoned by her, and then treated by her as living beings, but never received the proper care.

"I see..." Monica said softly, with a flash of understanding in her eyes. She stood up, walked to a toolbox in the corner of the room, and took out a small file and a bottle of lubricant.

Xius looked at her, his mouth slightly raised: "What are you going to do?"

"Since they are the souls of machines, I will treat them the same way I treat machines." Monica said with a hint of determination. She returned to the table and began to carefully clean the rust on the spoon, gently polished the cracks with a file, and finally polished it.

The rust on the spoon gradually disappeared, and the metallic luster reappeared. Monica felt the spoon in her hand tremble slightly, as if responding to her efforts. She was stunned for a moment, and then she smiled.

"It...seems very happy." Monica whispered.

Hughes nodded. "That's their way. They can't express it with words, but they will respond to your care with actions."

Feeling the hard touch of the metal in her hand, Monica had a wonderful feeling in her heart, something that was hard to describe in words.

The reliability of metal and steel is completely different from the way living things exist. They are cold, hard, and silent, but they contain a unique order and strength. This sense of reliability does not come from emotion or instinct, but from their precise structure, stable performance, and silent loyalty.

The soul of machinery lies in precision and order. Every meshing of gears, every movement of levers, and every fixing of screws are carefully calculated and designed. The operation of machinery depends on strict rules. They will not deviate from the track due to emotional fluctuations, nor will they lose their direction due to external interference.

This precision is reassuring.

"Do you like it?"

Monica nodded subconsciously.

“You can completely trust a carefully maintained machine. It will not betray you and will not make mistakes. Every action is predictable and every result is controllable. This sense of order is something that living things cannot provide - living things may choose to betray because of emotions, desires or instincts, but machines will not.”

"Do you know that feeling?"

"Machines are always loyal and can always be relied upon."

"Of course, the premise is that you really take good care of it. How you treat it is how it will treat you."

"Well, that's bad."

"Next time, remember to check and repair it and do a good job of maintenance. This is more useful than companionship and hugs. It will love you."

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Monica nodded heavily and left.

She couldn't wait to see her big friend.

"Don't forget to call on others, you can't do this alone!"

"Don't worry, I'm not alone with A Nuo here."

"Well"

Wait, is the machine soul also considered a person? Then does maintaining equipment with an organic soul by one person count as a single-person operation?

Xius suddenly felt that the operating manual he wrote might not be keeping up with the times.

"Forget it. There is no such thing as a permanent and forever correct truth. I'll just slowly change it later."

Looking at the mess on the table, Xius sighed and stood up.

It seems that these machine souls are not a big problem, so let’s just deal with the dinner first.

Today's dinner is his first time interacting with cultists, so he can't be too careful. He also has to sell his products to Beatrice, which is a good opportunity to demonstrate Castel's power.

"Ash, the dinner will start soon, how are your preparations going?"

"Everyone has been divided into groups. Once the preparations in the manor are completed, we can take our positions. No matter what the cultists of the Fire Moth Chaser want to do, I can quickly take over the defense of the manor."

"Okay, the security of the manor is up to you. They will probably have extraordinary people involved, so remember to be careful."

"clear."

Zeus always felt that Ash had hated the Fire Moths since the failure of the encirclement and suppression that night.

Hope everything goes well.

(End of this chapter)