"Hmm, Rai de Rios, that was it. I always thought the name was pretty punny considering his… Stature…"
Turning back towards the Soldiers, she let her gaze sweep over the different squads which were separated by insect type.
Most were very obviously modelled after various beetles, but there was a smattering of ants and even centipedes.
She shuddered as she noticed them.
"I actually agree with you for a change, Sir Burgess. My brother and I were actually more interested in why they were exclusively insect types; there aren't any based on mammals or the like."
Pietro nodded and pointed out the ant automatons specifically.
"Indeed, for example, Sir Jenkins is an ant type Soldier and yet, they are one of the fewest Soldiers under the possession of our Family. But don't ants normally form a colony?"
"Sir Jenkins?"
Both Delphina and Pietro looked at each other as Hayle blurted this question out. Of course he wouldn't know who Sir Jenkins was specifically.
So, as she turned back to smile at him, she decided that introducing the two to each other would be rather interesting.
"You'll get to meet him in a moment. Apparently, before becoming my Butler, he was famous among the Soldiers. Though Pietro knows more about that than I do."
Looking positively excited at the prospect of having to spend some time being educated by Pietro, Hayle's eyes were practically shooting beams at him.
Shaking her head at this, Delphina stepped quietly in the direction of where she had last seen Jenkins- when they had arrived, she had caught a brief glimpse of the automaton heading towards the back of the cohort, nearer the building.
Perhaps he was still sorting some Soldiers out?
Passing through the large gaps that delineated the different Soldier types, she nodded to each one that stood at the forefront of their squads. These must be the Captains, and so were the ones she needed to keep her eye on the most.
It was glaringly obvious, as they somehow looked like they were the strongest ones out of their individual squads, either taller or broader than the rest. The centipede 'Captain' was… The most aggressive-looking one.
Despite coiling himself around on the spot, he towered at least two feet above Delphina's head, and his very pointy mandibles were making her feel surprisingly unnerved.
"That's a good point, will my skills even work on them?"
This mildly concerning thought flickered at the forefront of her mind as she continued towards where Jenkins should be.
She knew her skills would work on anything biological or spiritual, but a robot? An automaton? It definitely worked on cyborgs or hybrids in previous Worlds; oddly enough, she had never come across a lifeform her skills wouldn't work on.
"But if they don't have a tangible spiritual connection of some kind, I don't think it will work."
Her feet almost came to a standstill as the realisation hit her. It wasn't something she had to consider before; a lot of her strongest skills were psychic-based, and any 'robots' she had come across previously were usually AI- they formed their own complex neural networks so dense they worked similarly to human brains, so her skills didn't fail then…
Perhaps she was overthinking it.
She was a physically superior Sword Master even in this World, what exactly was she getting worried about?
Drifting her way behind Jenkins as she pondered, Delphina shook her head as if she could shake out the extraneous thoughts, deciding to simply stand and watch as he gathered together the remaining ant soldiers.
My Lady!
Almost stepping back in surprise at his exuberance upon seeing her, the corner of Delphina's mouth twitched violently as she tried to smile at him.
"Hello Jenkins, Pietro and Hayle needed to discuss something, so we went over to the Office, and as it was nearby, we came over by ourselves instead of waiting for you."
I understand, my Lady. I did briefly go back to the Knights not too long ago, and they informed me. As I had more time than I expected, I thought I'd prepare to introduce you to my former squad mates.
Stepping back to the side, he swept an arm in the direction of the ants he had just finished grouping.
My Lady Delphina de Velasques, I present to you with pride my squad, Chain-breaker.
As he said this, the ants clacked their steely mouthpieces at her.
All she could do in this situation was blink and nod in recognition.
The scene in front of her was giving her some hardcore cognitive dissonance- not only were these ants partially composed of a different metal type from the others, they were also the shortest.
That is to say, she was currently looking down on these silver and bronze contraptions, and having just walked through a veritable field of giants, it was somewhat disconcerting.
Looking towards Jenkins and his broad bronze frame, Delphina almost felt like her eyes were being cleansed.
"I'm guessing you've led the squad for some time?"
Yes, my Lady, until I became your Butler. I was the Captain of this squad for the past one hundred years.
"Ah? Wouldn't becoming my Butler be a downgrade for you then? Do you want to go back to leading your squad?"
Tilting her head at him as she said this, she noticed an eerie silence had fallen over the automatons in the area, their heads now pointing in her direction. Even Jenkins himself had leant his head towards her, covering her completely with his shadow.
"What the fuck is this Silent Hillock level shit. Did I say something wrong?"
She felt the need to step towards Jenkins, despite his behaviour, if it meant getting away from the bizarre pressure being emitted from the Soldiers behind her.
Have I done anything to dissatisfy you, my Lady? The Soldiers would never consider working by the side of the next Duke or Duchess as a 'downgrade'. I can assure you.
Uncharacteristically, Delphina actually stuttered as she replied.
"N-no!? I just don't understand why the Butler position is so sought after. If anything, if I were dissatisfied with you, I wouldn't come to you first; you'd already be replaced."
Ah.
As Jenkins moved towards Delphina, the Soldiers behind her swiftly looked back in their original directions, though her tingling senses indicated that they were paying attention to the two of them still.
Gently touching her cheek with a claw tip, Jenkins proceeded to explain to her that the Soldiers hold an exclusive competition every year to determine the strongest amongst them- the winner is the only one who can become the Leader for all of them.
Soldiers tend to have quite violent tendencies towards each other, especially those from different types.
So strength is required to keep the Hierarchy. It's one of the reasons we have to work separately from the other units.
We Soldiers are different from other automatons in this, and as we have an established sense of 'value'.
To us, becoming the Butler is an incredibly valuable position, one that is usually only filled by the Leader.
My Lady, please rest assured that being by your side as the Butler is something I enjoy greatly.
Delphina's pupils constricted as she heard this.
"They're just like Zergs."