The forgery of the invitation letters went smoothly. Although the A-Laws employed numerous anti-counterfeiting measures, as long as the technology was documented, Hoshino Ruri could uncover it. Combined with Noin's exceptional technical integration and analysis, they quickly produced two new invitations. After all, if the original Celestial Beings could forge them, it would be even simpler for them.
One of the two new invitations was for Duke Reid Isaac and Princess Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi as a couple, while the other was for the heir of the Human Reform League's Xia family.
These invitations were purely meant to deceive the guards. In any case, the guards couldn't possibly know how many dukes there were in Europe. Although titles like duke and princess were merely honorary in modern society, anyone possessing such titles and attending the banquet was undoubtedly significant. Thus, the guards were unlikely to ask too many questions.
As for the major families of the Human Reform League, Europeans would be even less familiar with them.
However, once inside the banquet hall, Reid himself was the most likely among the four to give them away.
Ange was a genuine queen, and the Xia sisters had undergone professional infiltration training—portraying a pair of twin young ladies was effortless for them.
In contrast, Reid, accustomed to a carefree lifestyle, had been forced by Ange and Une to attend numerous etiquette lessons. But Reid was physically present in class while his mind wandered far away. Putting on a facade was manageable for a short while, but over time, his true nature would inevitably show.
Nevertheless, Reid had no intention of staying long at the banquet. Aside from completing his considerations, his main purpose here was to cause trouble for Ribbons.
With the invitations settled, Reid planned to seek out the Celestial Beings early the next morning.
The banquet was to be held in Europe, while the Celestial Beings had previously been active in the Middle East and were likely still idling beneath the Mediterranean Sea.
As for how to find the Celestial Beings, Christina sent a meeting request to their secret contact email and received a reply agreeing to the meeting within five minutes.
Subsequently, Reid had Hoshino Ruri reserve a private French restaurant in the city where the banquet estate was located. They requested no waitstaff, only chefs, and required that even kitchen deliveries be handled by locals.
The restaurant owner was relatively well-informed; he understood that those making such demands were likely important figures, and Reid was very generous, so he promptly agreed.
Thus, at noon that day, Reid met most of the current Celestial Beings at the restaurant. Even Ian Vashti and Soma Peries, whose personality was that of Marie Parfacy, came. Only Lasse Aeon remained on board to pilot the Ptolemy II.
This was the first face-to-face meeting between the three original Celestial Beings and the current ones. During the Earth Federation's anti-government faction's imprisonment, they could only communicate remotely, but this time it was a genuine in-person reunion.
In any case, the first thing the two groups did upon meeting was to witness Christina and Feldt embracing each other and weeping bitterly.
Sumergai initially intended to join them, but her dignity as an adult held her back, leaving her only to wipe tears at the sidelines.
To be honest, Sumeragi appeared quite pitiful now. She probably also wanted a shoulder to lean on, but unfortunately, there was no suitable person around.
As for Reid, even with a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare provoke Sumeragi here—not with Ange right by his side.
Fortunately, Christina and Feldt didn't cry for long. Over the past four years, Feldt had grown considerably taller, while Christina had experienced less than a year in the Cosmic Era. Thus, their height difference reversed—where Christina used to be half a head taller than Feldt, now Feldt stood nearly a full head taller than Christina.
Christina had always treated Feldt like a younger sister, but now, judging by appearances, Christina seemed more the younger one.
So, after the two, who had endured life-and-death separations, finished crying, Christina immediately grew restless, her hands wandering over Feldt's body as she teased,
"Feldt, you've really developed well these past four years. Ugh, I'm a bit jealous. But it looks like I can buy a whole bunch of new clothes for you to try on again."
Feldt blushed deeply from Christina's antics, yet she felt a nostalgic warmth. Four years ago, Christina would often treat Feldt like a doll, changing her outfits and seemingly possessing endless energy when fussing over her.
No one around intended to interrupt this heartwarming scene, but Sumeragi knew they had serious matters to attend to and spoke up,
"Alright, Christina, Feldt, save the playfighting for later. How about you two chat on the side for now?"
Feldt naturally had no objection to Sumeragi's suggestion, but Christina was acutely aware of her current allegiance. She glanced back at Reid, clearly seeking his opinion.
Reid was pleased with Christina's response. Though the Celestial Beings were once her home, she now belonged to his side. Had she instinctively obeyed Sumeragi's words, it would have troubled him greatly.
So Reid smiled and said,
"Christina, I've reserved this entire restaurant. You can take Feldt anywhere to chat—except the kitchen. Everyone else here is one of us."
His words were also directed at the Celestial Beings, assuring them that the restaurant was secure and they could speak freely.
With Reid's permission, Christina promptly pulled Feldt aside for a whispered conversation.
Neither left the room, as both wanted to hear what Reid and Sumeragi would discuss next.
As Christina and Feldt moved aside, it was time for the men to talk.
Neil was immediately confronted by his younger brother Lyle and Tieria, while Setsuna and Alleluia watched from behind, waiting for the two to give him a hard time.
Of course, Neil wasn't actually beaten. Lyle merely grabbed his collar, berating him for his irresponsibility and how he'd acted as if dying meant nothing, completely disregarding Lyle's feelings.
Tieria also scolded Neil for his reckless behavior four years ago. Clearly, he'd bottled up these words for four years, unleashing them in a rapid-fire lecture.
Meanwhile, Richthofen Dahl found himself in a headlock from Ian Vashti, who punched his chest affectionately, remarking how tough the guy was.
However, Reid distinctly heard Ian Vashti ask in a very low voice whether Joyce B. Moreno had survived. Upon receiving a negative answer, his face immediately fell with disappointment.
This round of male bonding concluded with Neil enduring a half-hour reprimand, feeling as if he'd been sent back to elementary school and scolded by a homeroom teacher until he was utterly numb.
Then came the main event. Sumeragi sat down opposite Reid, who had been watching the spectacle all along, and asked with an unusually serious expression,
"Alright, Mr. Reid, the email mentioned you needed to speak with us. Could you elaborate on what this is about?"
Seeing that Sumeragi wanted to discuss business, Reid had no objections. French cuisine was notoriously slow to serve anyway, so talking first was perfectly fine.
Reid then produced two forged invitations and said directly:
"You'll be attending the A-Laws banquet at the suburban estate tomorrow, right? Coincidentally, I'll be there too, so I wanted to give you advance notice to prevent any unexpected reactions from causing complications."
Sumeragi didn't even need to look at the invitations Reid produced to believe he would attend tomorrow.
If even she could forge these invitations, the resourceful SDP would naturally find it even easier.
However, Sumeragi felt Reid wouldn't approach them for something so trivial. This excuse wasn't as convincing as simply saying he'd arranged a meeting between the former Celestial Beings trio and their side.
After a moment's thought, Sumeragi spoke very directly:
"Mr. Reid, based on my analysis of SDP's operations, theoretically you don't randomly operate in the surface world. Essentially, whenever you appear, it's either because an Otherworld Entanglement is about to occur or it's related to otherworlders. Of course, you do occasionally take opportunities to enjoy yourselves during missions, like our first meeting and now. Am I correct?"
Reid wasn't surprised Sumeragi could deduce this. He'd appeared in this universe enough times that if she couldn't analyze his behavioral patterns by now, Celestial Beings should replace their Tactical Forecaster.
Moreover, Reid was quite certain these characteristics had likely been analyzed not just by Sumeragi, but probably by the Earth Federation government as well.
According to online information, the Earth Federation had never openly hunted for him, proving they understood that unless an Otherworld Entanglement was imminent, finding SDP would be difficult.
As for using SDP searches as pretext to target political figures - frankly, nobody dared try that yet. Anyone with sense recognized it wasn't worthwhile. If SDP felt offended, they could simply deploy their Mobile Suits to eliminate the offender. Given the Earth Federation Forces' previous poor performance, relying on them for protection would be wiser to just surrender and hope for mercy.
Those who reached high positions in the Earth Federation couldn't possibly be fools. This Earth Federation government was newly established, with Quasi-Innovators managing things behind the scenes.
Ribbons' goal was to guide the world according to his vision, to become humanity's god.
As a deity, Ribbons actually maintained relatively normal principles. He could tolerate some greed among his subordinates, but only within limits. Therefore, the current AD-era Earth Federation government still consisted mostly of capable individuals and hadn't begun corrupting yet.
Thus, Reid didn't deny these things that various factions clearly already understood, answering directly:
"Correct, an Otherworld Entanglement will indeed occur in this city. However, I don't know the exact timing, scale, or enemy strength. As you've probably observed, we always wait for events to unfold rather than anticipate them."
Seeing Reid's admission, Sumeragi nodded and asked the question she most wanted answered:
"Then Mr. Reid, could you enlighten me about something? Why is it that whenever an Otherworld Entanglement occurs, we Celestial Beings are always present? It's almost as if the Otherworld Entanglements are following us around."
If the Celestial Beings' encounters with Otherworld Entanglement four years ago were due to Veda's covert directives, they have now lost Veda.
Yet both last time and this time, Otherworld Entanglement still appeared around us.
So, is there a trigger within the Celestial Beings that causes Otherworld Entanglement, or is it due to some other reason, or are these occurrences truly coincidental?"
Sumeragi's question nearly made Reid break out in a cold sweat.
One had to admit, Sumeragi was truly the mastermind behind all of the Celestial Beings' operations—her question struck directly at Reid's weak spot.
However, Reid also knew that one lie often required a hundred more to cover it up, and the more lies he told, the easier it would be for others to see through them.
That was why Reid often kept the details vague when misleading people. As long as the outcome was right, the parties involved would fill in the gaps themselves—no need for him to lie outright.
Unfortunately, not everything could be handled this way. For instance, Sumeragi's current doubt was the boomerang effect of Reid's lie four years ago about Veda intentionally leading the Celestial Beings into encounters with Otherworld Entanglement.
Now that the boomerang was about to hit him in the face, Reid naturally needed to find a way to deflect it.
But Reid certainly couldn't give a definitive answer. Instead, he replied:
"Unfortunately, I'm not entirely clear on this matter either, Miss Sumeragi. Since you've deduced that my team and I cannot act freely, you should understand that the restrictions on us certainly don't come from ourselves.
The nature of our SDP is quite similar to your Celestial Beings—we receive missions and carry them out.
How our superiors predict the emergence of Otherworld Entanglement is completely separate from my system. And my claim four years ago that Veda was intentionally guiding you was merely my speculation—clearly, that speculation now appears flawed.
However, Miss Sumeragi, you've reminded me of something: why do the Celestial Beings always encounter Otherworld Entanglement? That does seem like a potential clue to solving this puzzle."
As Reid spoke, he infused a hint of killing intent into his words, aiming to give Sumeragi the illusion that she had spoken carelessly.
If SDP believed the Celestial Beings might be linked to the persistent appearance of Otherworld Entanglement, then eliminating the Celestial Beings would become necessary for SDP.
Sumeragi clearly sensed Reid's killing intent and began sweating nervously. She mentally berated herself for being too arrogant—if Reid truly believed the Celestial Beings were connected to Otherworld Entanglement, it would be disastrous.
Naturally, the others present heard Reid and Sumeragi's conversation. Those accustomed to battle were highly sensitive to killing intent, so Setsuna, Tieria, Alleluia, and Lyle immediately moved to stand behind Sumeragi, demonstrating their stance and backing her up.
Facing four current Celestial Being pilots, Reid certainly wouldn't back down. He exerted some mental pressure, which unintentionally affected Marie Parfacy, who was observing nearby. Due to her abnormal brainwave sensitivity, she felt like a rabbit cornered by a tiger and began trembling uncontrollably.
Neil knew the truth of the matter and wasn't worried about Reid eliminating the Celestial Beings, but the atmosphere had grown too tense. So he clapped his hands, breaking the awkward silence, and said in a playful tone:
"I say, what are you all staring at each other for? I can vouch for Reid - during non-mission periods, we genuinely don't know when Otherworld Entanglement occurs. As for why Celestial Beings always encounter it, perhaps it's because Celestial Beings are the protagonists of this world. After all, trouble always follows protagonists around."
Neil directly stated the truth, but nobody in Celestial Beings believed him.
All members of Celestial Beings thought Neil was just playing the fool to help his friend.
As for Reid, seeing that someone had offered him a way out, he quickly took the opportunity. He deliberately glared at Neil before putting on a cheerful face and saying:
"Well, that's not entirely impossible. But if you're the protagonists, you must be the most miserable ones - after all, you were nearly wiped out once and are still being hunted by the entire world."
Seeing Reid's response, Sumeragi knew they should be able to smooth things over this time, so she quickly changed the subject:
"That makes sense, but Neil, you should really cut down on reading those comic books and light novels.
Now, let's discuss the upcoming A-Laws banquet. We're planning to send Tieria in - Tieria in women's clothing~"
(End of Chapter)