well written, simply put. nothing politically idealistic, but a perfect representation of the monarchal struggles in the real world displayed in this written fantasy world with other intelligent species running their own kingdoms and fiefdoms.

Thus, begins the legend of a senator named Bigus Dickus.

Has she thought of doing secret matchmaking between the arachnoids and humans? Sophie's gran could be of some help in that way.

True, an abandoned concubine got outplayed by the other concubines. "Not fair!" Life wasn't meant to be fair. It's rat-eat-rat. If you can sign a contract without going through it carefully after the interview, consider yourself duped into a job you won't enjoy.

Very far. Her royal arachnid blood will get her going places.

She played right into his trap in his game of chess due to her arrogance and hautiness. His first move was a feint.

Is Vishous truly viscious?

Yep, Ves is visibly dumb, owing to his know-it-all attitude around the whole marketing of mechs.

and to understand the Hoplite design, he has to take into account both maths and engineering to get the design to that final stage.

Why is Ves so focused on artificially learning math? His aptitude in his chosen career is so poor, why is he still alive?

That's true, but arguably, friends in business make good business calls when not even remotely involved in the engineering aspect. You can have friends in business who have already started their own operations, learn from their mistakes, and start your own consulting firm to form a business partnership with them if necessary. Let's say you're a generous soul and would like to see your friend's business succeed - you would likely gain some insights while employed under them, find holes in their operations, tender your resignation and then start a consulting firm with qualified professionals to help your friend succeed... while having another consulting firm under your belt.

He did, but he thought he was smart enough to not forcibly increase his intelligence, math comprehension, and later, physics comprehension (which requires understanding math problems to understand) using DP and instead go about it organically. An idiot will always remain an idiot unless forcibly rehabilitated through medical means.

He's been an idiot underachiever from the get-go. Don't expect too much.

His Larkinsson family consists of military personnel, not mech designers.

Pirate nests are the best, though. From an amoral perspective, you can purchase lots of decent loot.

I'm really liking the fact that he finally got a reality check! How many people did it take for him to finally clue in that he needs math and physics to gain a better understanding in engineering a mech? Both are necessary in engineering programs in real life, so MC is an idiot for being so naive into adulthood. It's no wonder his dad found he was a lost cause.

now use those points on your intelligence! If you become intelligent, presumably you can have a better time playing dumb.

It's called socially awkward. Talking about technology from the outset instead of asking her what her hobbies and interests are is very uncultured.

My honorable best friend's name, a wealthy senator, is Biggus Dickus. You will provide your best service as the guards. If you find his name funny, consider your position vacated for someone who can maintain their staunch demeanor in his honorable presence. It's... Biggus ... Dickus!

Yeah. it's boggling how he could think of it as a "small step", to be honest.