[Big Annoucement!]
[Hi, everyone!! months since I talked directly here xD, not really the best talker (maybe because I spend all day reading...) anyway! as how prices of everything is going up and everyday life is getting expensive I decided to reduce the price of my sub on P@tr30n.
I don't want to make my readers stop having a good time so this is the least I can do.
To coushion a little the lost of money I added a tier for people that want to support me and have access to the polls for new fanfics and incoming events. Just a 1 buck one xD.
The next event will be a poll to pick one of my fanfic to get 10 extra chapters!
Thanks for your support!]
The political system of the United Emirates of Orb was fairly complex.
The nation's power was concentrated in an elected assembly and the representatives of the five noble families that had originally ruled Orb.
Among those five representatives, one would be chosen as chief representative, taking charge of national policy.
The current chief representative was Uzumi Nara Athha of the Athha family, Cagalli's father.
Of the five great families, the Seiran family had long stood opposed to the Athhas. At present, they were secretly in contact with the upper ranks of the Earth Alliance.
The Earth Alliance had promised that, so long as he helped them with a certain matter, they would support the Seiran family in becoming Orb's true masters.
And that was not all. Once Orb joined the Earth Alliance, especially that particular organization behind it, they could also become core members within its ranks and enjoy the benefits that came with that status.
"So the date is set for tomorrow? What a fine day indeed."
Yuna Roma Seiran gently swirled the wine in his glass.
Tomorrow, PLANT's princess would hold a performance. The theme was the pursuit of peace?
Ridiculous.
But that was not the important part. The important part was that Orb's upper leadership would also be attending, especially nearly all of the Athha faction. It would be the perfect opportunity to catch them all in one net.
"Father, I'll leave the venue to you."
"You be careful too, Yuna."
After giving his son that warning, Unato Ema Seiran exchanged another smile with him. They clinked glasses, drained their wine, and began moving separately according to plan.
At the same time, at an airport in a certain country not far from Orb, a group of people was preparing to board a flight with a tour group bound for Orb.
"Uncle, bringing you along makes us stand out too much. We'll be spotted."
"Will we? I look pretty different from usual, don't I?"
Andrew Waltfeld stroked his fake mustache.
It was not just the mustache. He was also wearing a wig and a large pair of sunglasses.
As for the person who had complained, it was that proud, hotheaded Yzak. The brat was as rebellious as ever.
For now, Andrew would be leading these three brats into Orb under forged identities.
...
Cagalli felt a little frustrated.
When it came to piloting the knight mecha, Lacus could endure far more than she could. Cagalli was unwilling to admit defeat, but she was not exactly surprised.
After all, Coordinators were physically superior to Naturals. It was only expected that Lacus could withstand more strain and operate that machine better than she could.
Mentally, Lacus might be stronger too. That was also within expectations.
But that brat was better than her too. That was what really made Cagalli unwilling to accept it.
The brat in question was Stella, the girl he had brought back. She refused every other arrangement, refused to live as an ordinary person, and insisted on following him.
After he gave her something called the Earth Elixir, they carried out a physical examination to see whether the side effects from the drug-based modifications to her body had been eliminated.
The results showed that she had apparently recovered her health.
No. It was not merely a matter of being healthy. She seemed to have retained her enhanced physique while eliminating the side effects caused by the enhancement, and even her lifespan appeared to have returned to normal.
Stella also tried piloting the machine. In the end, she was not merely more resistant than Cagalli. Even Lacus could not compare to her.
"Cagalli, you're not seriously competing with this child, are you? The fact that she can activate this machine better than you only means she's suffered more."
Erica Simmons, Morgenroete's technical director, spoke in a tone that carried something like a sigh.
"Suffered more?"
For a moment, Cagalli did not understand.
"What she went through."
That reminder made Cagalli fall silent.
This girl had been a test subject for the biological CPU program. She had endured long-term, brutal training, along with the pain brought on by the drugs she had been forced to take. All of that was probably why she had become somewhat numb to pain.
"All right, the test ends here!"
"Huh? But I still..."
"I said that's enough!"
In the cockpit with her, Kain spoke in a commanding tone. The girl shrank back slightly and stopped being stubborn.
Her current state was like that of a newly hatched bird imprinting on the first being it saw, treating that person as its mother and emotional support.
That was why she insisted on staying at his side.
At the same time, she was afraid that if she proved useless, she would be abandoned. That was why she stubbornly insisted on trying to pilot the knight mecha as well.
Kain did not reject the idea on the grounds that a fourteen-year-old should not be involved with such things.
This world was not peaceful enough for that. Since she could not live as an ordinary person, it was better for her to learn how to fight sooner rather than later. She could become part of Lacus's fighting strength.
After he brought her down, the Morgenroete director also informed them of the intelligence they had just received.
"That bastard Yuna really means to sell out Orb!"
Cagalli clenched her fists. According to the intelligence obtained through Terminal, he was secretly colluding with the Earth Alliance and plotting something.
And that plot was very likely aimed at Lacus's performance tomorrow.
"Lacus, tomorrow...!"
"We will not change the time. It will still be tomorrow."
Lacus cut Cagalli off.
"Miss Erica, please inform the others as well. There is no need to make any special changes to the security around me. Act as though we know nothing."
The technical director was, of course, also an important member of Terminal. By having her pass the order along, Lacus was telling them to let the other side proceed.
"Is that really all right?"
"Only by doing this can we make them step out without raising their guard."
After answering, Lacus turned her gaze toward one person.
"Mr. Kain will protect me. It is your safety that needs more attention."
"We'll be fine. You're the one who matters most, Lacus. Are you really going to be all right?"
The one who answered was Murrue.
If there was going to be a public performance, Lacus would naturally be the one in the greatest danger.
If anything happened to her, Orb's position would become extremely precarious. That was why the people behind the scenes would be more than eager to use any means available to kill Lacus here.
Her decision to use herself as bait looked like a tremendous risk, and it undoubtedly placed enormous pressure on her. But Murrue knew that was not where Lacus's real pressure came from.
In Murrue's eyes, Lacus was still a child. The true burden weighing on her was that she knew this performance might drag ordinary people into an incident as well.
For Orb to better carry out certain plans, they needed to expose some people and drive them out. But doing so meant ordinary lives might also be caught in the process.
The guilt that came from that was Lacus's real pressure.
Even if she was a Coordinator, in the end, she was still only a sixteen-year-old girl. Could she truly bear that?
"I'll be all right, Murrue."
Here, Lacus did not use the distant title of "Captain." She addressed Murrue by name, with the closeness of a true friend.
Then her gaze returned to one person.
"Mr. Kain, I'll be relying on you tomorrow. Also, I have one small, slightly unreasonable request. When the time comes, please try not to be too... well, too frightening."
After all, the performance would be broadcast live by the media. Lacus could only make that request apologetically.
"That's fine. You don't need to be so restrained either. You're the client, after all. Whatever requests you have, you can bring them up with me. I'll do my best to fulfill them."
To the others, those words carried a somewhat unclear meaning. Cagalli and the rest did not think much of it, though. As long as he was willing to accept Lacus's suggestion, that was enough.
But that answer left Lacus feeling a faint bitterness inside.
She had watched other people's livestreams before. Miss A2's, Saeko Busujima's, and Miss Tessa's. In each of those broadcasts, once Mr. Kain arrived, he appeared to have a firm grasp of the situation.
In those streams, he had not seemed to treat them as customers or employers, but with a measure of emotion, as friends.
Yet after he came to her side, his attitude toward her truly felt like a purely contractual relationship.
Was it because he thought she was a scheming woman too?
In the material Miss Kuroneko had compiled for her, the reputation of her character in the original work was split into two extremes.
One side had even given her the title "Lacus the Enchantress," saying things like, "She may be pink on the outside, but she's black inside."
(End of Chapter)
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