"Thanks for your help."
"It's a fair trade. I help you train your control over your Devil Fruit, and you help me produce the materials I need. Where in that booklet I gave you did you start getting confused?"
"Uh… the first page."
Kuma's voice grew quieter, tinged with increasing embarrassment.
That was just his personality—excessively gentle. Even when strangers asked him to do things unrelated to himself, Kuma would give it his all.
The booklet was a compilation of chemistry knowledge written by Oran, meant to help Kuma better understand material composition.
"No need to feel shy. You don't have any foundation, so it was just a test. Now I know where to start teaching you."
Kuma was born into a pastor's family and had been enslaved as a young child. Being literate was already a significant achievement.
The Sorbet Kingdom's palace wasn't grand. After a brief chat, Oran and the others arrived at the kingdom's banquet hall.
Though Oran's group looked somewhat peculiar, King Bulldog didn't show any excessive shock. As a king, he'd sat on the throne for years, and failing to control his expressions would've been a disqualification.
"Mr. Oran, we've been expecting you. Please, everyone, take a seat."
"King Bulldog, I'll skip the pleasantries. Do you have any questions about the agreement's terms?"
"None at all, Mr. Oran. The conditions you've proposed are highly beneficial to the Sorbet Kingdom's development.
But as you've seen these past few days, this nation isn't wealthy. Just the Heavenly Tribute alone nearly drains our economy.
I'd like to pay a portion upfront and the rest in installments. If your designs prove effective, we'll quickly cover the remainder."
To be honest, Bulldog didn't want to do this.
The kingdom lacked local researchers or powerful warriors. Scraping together the Heavenly Tribute to avoid becoming a lawless land was already Bulldog's limit.
A rare opportunity for technological advancement had arisen, but if Oran left abruptly, the Sorbet Kingdom would lose a chance to grow.
Yet he couldn't afford to gamble. Handing over all the funds at once risked falling short on next year's tribute if anything went wrong.
"Of course, the Sorbet Kingdom can pay interest, and you can also take a share of the profits from successful projects."
Bulldog proposed a new condition. As long as Oran wasn't just spinning pipe dreams, Oran stood to gain even more.
"I can accept that, but the specifics need to follow my arrangements. I don't want outsiders meddling in my work."
"Naturally, Mr. Oran. Here's the agreement drafted by the Finance Minister. Please review it for any issues."
Oran knew Bulldog was wary of the technology, which was understandable. Paying in full upfront was the rare case. Both sides quickly reached an agreement: Oran secured initial funding, and the Sorbet Kingdom gained a chance to bet on its future.
Both parties were generally pleased. If there was any issue, it was that Bulldog regretted inviting Oran's group to the banquet.
Aside from Oran, whose appetite was somewhat normal, the other three ate voraciously. Ginny, the smallest, had the biggest appetite, single-handedly depleting several days' worth of the palace's food supply.
Time began to pass steadily. During this period, Oran taught Kuma math, physics, and chemistry from scratch, helping him grasp significant knowledge, which bore fruit.
When a freshly mined iron ore was placed before Kuma, he could separate its components or compress and fuse certain elements, compensating for Oran's lack of equipment.
In fact, Kuma was even more effective than machines, provided he understood the substance in question.
The Sorbet Kingdom also saw the beginnings of a factory, gaining some forging and processing capabilities, even taking on orders from neighboring small nations.
While testing his body, Oran noticed changes: his strength and recovery had significantly improved. In layman's terms, his physique was closer to that of this world's natives, perhaps a side effect of crossing dimensions.
Valoran's world had enhanced his mental strength, while the pirate world bolstered his physical body.
Using Bulldog's initial funding, Oran began crafting tools to aid himself. Kuma, Kate, and the others assisted in his makeshift workshop.
After some time and effort, a roughly five-meter-tall metal shell took shape.
Brass-colored metal gleamed with prominent screws. Pipes made of special materials connected its arms and torso, and two heat vents on its back emitted white steam.
As Oran loaded fuel into the gate on the machine's chest, the robot's eyes lit up.
"Engine activated. Ready to deploy."
"It's moving! Oran, this thing actually moved!"
Seeing the steel robot stand on its own and speak, Ginny, who'd been assisting, was startled.
"I see. Isn't that obvious? Blitzcrank, grab that rock to your left."
"Rock… Understood."
Whoosh!
The pipes on the robot's back spewed steam, and its grappling claw extended, snatching the rock and retracting it with the chain.
"Master, task complete."
"Power down and hibernate."
"Affirmative."
"System core is basically stable. Now, one final step remains."
After shutting down the robot, Oran reopened its chest core compartment, where a slot had been reserved.
The robot—specifically, a Steam Robot—was originally a disaster-relief model from Zaun, designed to work in toxic environments in place of humans.
But that was just the initial version. It had undergone several upgrades. Oran produced a modified Hextech Crystal.
This wasn't an ordinary Hextech Crystal. Infused with new research, it incorporated a core similar to a Seraphim Rights Enforcement Chip, serving as both an energy source and a controller.
Clang!
With a loud bang, Oran secured the Crystal in the slot. The power within the Hextech Crystal surged through the robot's circuits.
But as sparks flickered, the robot's lights dimmed.
"Almost there. Kate! Target the core and discharge at full power."
"Meow, got it!"
Zzzzt!
Electricity coursed along the metal shell, and the robot's eyes reignited. Its voice remained a cold mechanical tone, but the cadence seemed subtly different.
"Blitzcrank, reporting for duty."