Chapter 259: Negotiation 2
Tolle glanced at Orga, then continued speaking to Naze. "At the same time, I'd like Teiwaz to help oversee Tekkadan's activities along the routes between Earth and Spark, within reasonable limits.
Tekkadan is a subsidiary of the Spark Group, so technically speaking, they're part of my business.
But Spark's identity is complicated, and Gjallarhorn has been watching us for a long time. We can only operate between Mars and Jupiter—or we'll trigger another war."
Naze nodded. "The guide isn't a problem; we can arrange that immediately. As for supporting Tekkadan… since they're your people, Turbines helping look after them is no issue.
But if you want Teiwaz itself involved, then we'll need to discuss it with Old Man McMurdo. And speaking of him—he's already paying close attention to Miss Kudelia."
Kudelia blinked in confusion. "Then… do we need to negotiate with your father?"
Naze laughed and corrected her. "No, not my father—Teiwaz's leader."
Biscuit, always quick to understand, spoke next. "You mean Mr. McMurdo Barriston? You said he's also paying attention to Miss Kudelia's situation. Can you tell us why?"
Naze leaned lazily against the sofa, thinking for a moment before replying. "Hmm… how much should I tell you? Well—let's start with this: what's your impression of Gjallarhorn?"
Eugene scratched his head and answered honestly, "Gjallarhorn? Uh… what else could we think? They're the military, right? I don't really get the details, but… that's basically it."
Kudelia stepped in and added, "Three hundred years ago, after ending the Calamity War, they used overwhelming military power to control the world and prevent new conflicts.
Since then, they've monitored the four major economic blocs from outside the system—that organization is Gjallarhorn."
"Exactly," Naze said. "They've always pressured the economic blocs. But recently, Gjallarhorn has been pursuing its own interests instead of global stability.
And right at that moment—Miss Kudelia appeared.
During the July session in Noachis, you united the entire Mars Independence Movement. You became their symbol.
And now? A Martian independence representative plans to bypass Gjallarhorn and negotiate directly with the heads of Earth's economic blocs.
If that succeeds, it'll be a historic event—one big enough to shake Gjallarhorn's rule to its core.
So it's not just Old Man McMurdo—every economic bloc is watching."
Thanks to Naze's explanation, everyone finally understood the scale of Kudelia's mission—and how difficult the journey to Earth would be.
With that in mind, they decided to travel alongside the Hammer to Jupiter's satellite port—Jovian Station.
Around the same time, Spark No.1 arrived near the Isaribi, and Tolle immediately returned aboard.
He unloaded three high-mobility Zaku II units from storage and gifted them to Amida, Lafter, and Azee—one each.
Meanwhile, word came from Earth that Tekkadan was facing financial shortages. Tolle had Spark inject emergency funding immediately.
He also brought up the need for financial personnel with Naze—hoping someone could manage Tekkadan's accounts properly so Merribit wouldn't feel overwhelmed enough to abandon them.
In the Hammer's hangar, Amida, Lafter, and Azee stared at their new high-mobility Zaku II units with sparkling eyes.
Compared to most machines in this world, they looked far more refined and intimidating—there was no chance they wouldn't fall in love with them.
Lafter turned to Amida, thrilled. "Boss, we should switch to these from now on! And if I can move Barbatos' booster system onto mine—ohhh, perfection."
Amida smirked. "Why not ask Tolle to modify it for you? I'm sure he'd love to."
Azee nodded with a teasing smile. "Mm, she's right. But tell me—Lafter, did you fall for him? Should we talk to Darling about transferring you over?"
Lafter reddened immediately. "No! You're both imagining things! I just think of him like a little brother. I like the type who makes my blood boil—he's still a bit young.
Of course, he's nowhere near as good as Darling. Darling is the best forever."
Azee stopped teasing and clapped her hands. "Alright, alright. Enough messing around. Let's try these machines. And if anything feels off—we can ask our 'dear little brother' for help."
Lafter nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Let's load the data into the simulator. Then we'll drag Tolle into training!"
Amida chuckled. "Heh—seems 'little brother' is all you think about lately. You're totally falling for him."
"Ugh! You're all bullies. I'm going to find Darling!"
Before she could escape, Azee grabbed her—right on her expansive chest—leading to instant retaliation and a wrestling match between the two.
Tolle, watching from the monitors, nearly got a nosebleed. His self-control clearly needed work.
Once they familiarized themselves with the high-mobility Zaku IIs, they dragged Tolle into countless simulated battles.
Eventually, even Mikazuki and Akihiro were pulled in for training.
They later even moved to real-machine drills—and the Hammer crew completely fell in love with the new mobile suits.
The Hyakuren and Hyakuri were officially demoted to reserve units for second-line members.
But while some celebrated, others suffered.
Eugene and Norba spent days training in the Isaribi's Graze units. Norba kept ranting about how there were so many women on the other ship—but he couldn't pick up a single one.
It drove Eugene insane—until Atra gently explained one thing:
"All of those women… are Naze's wives."
Norba froze—and mentally collapsed even deeper.