"To be honest, we still haven't found a way to deal with shells and souls. This seems to be some kind of taboo. Once a soul leaves its shell, it can no longer control it."
Richard explained as he directed the researchers in setting up the testing grounds.
Theus's gaze flickered.
His most fundamental abilities were [Descent] and [Return]. Now, it seemed their origins ran even deeper than he had imagined.
"Then how am I supposed to control the new shell?" Chloe asked.
"Don't be in such a hurry, Chief. Ever since we acquired some of Mechanical Cathedral's technology, with the help of a few companions, I've come up with a new idea."
Theus turned to glance suspiciously at Monica. This legendary idea machine from Castel showed no unusual reaction.
Hopefully, she wasn't the one providing the help.
"Treat the shell like a machine, such as a self-propelled artillery piece, and control it that way!"
Chloe: "?!"
"Since souls and bodies are difficult to combine, then don't combine them. Just control it directly."
"If mechanical priests can replace their bodies with machines and use their souls to control machinery, then there shouldn't be a problem with me replacing machinery with a body, right?"
Theus was a little dumbfounded.
That seemed... kind of reasonable?
If you couldn't solve the problem, you went around it. Driving a self-propelled artillery piece was driving, and driving a shell was also driving.
Was that right?
It was. Absolutely right.
"And there's another advantage to this."
Richard turned back toward the coffin behind him and smiled.
"Two people can control one body."
Chloe: "?"
Theus: "?!"
"It's controlling a machine anyway. Just like the Empire's Steam Tanks are controlled by two people—one handles movement while the other handles firing... Lady Chloe!"
Chloe's coffin trembled. She had