That sense of familiarity seemed to belong to the owner of the emotional memory she had been drawn into.
And yet, at the same time, there was another familiarity that belonged to Lacus herself, as though she personally knew the figure.
In that instant, an overwhelming surge of emotion rose within her.
It was sorrow.
Sorrow so intense it nearly broke her.
That emotion almost made her suffocate.
She desperately wanted to see who was sitting upon the golden throne. The moment that desire became powerful enough, her vision seemed to draw closer. Just as she was about to see clearly-
Lacus felt as if someone had struck her brain with a hammer. Her head spun, and it was as though something inside her mind had shattered.
It was exactly the same sensation as when she had been caught in the backlash of the special ability Mr. Kain used that day.
And although she had clearly seen the figure for an instant, she had also forgotten what that person looked like.
She could not remember the face, but the golden throne that person sat upon was clearly not a seat at all. It was an instrument of torture, a terrifying device tormenting whoever sat atop it.
And though she seemed to have forgotten that person's appearance, he was probably little more than a dried corpse.
Because of the impact to her mind, Lacus woke from that emotional memory.
At that moment, she also understood something about the origins of this Knight suit. It was a machine that belonged to a female Knightly house. For generations, the head of that house had always been a woman, and each inherited this suit to fight for the Imperium and the Emperor.
The machine had been repaired again and again, crossing countless battlefields over thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years.
In the end, the house it belonged to had also become history during some long-forgotten campaign.
In a certain sense, this was an ominous machine, because every generation of its pilots had died in battle.
Lacus did not know exactly how many there had been. She had not seen that many people. She could only sense the intense fragments of emotion left behind by a few of them. It was those emotional memory fragments that gave her this understanding: every pilot had died fighting.
After calming her mind, she turned her attention back toward Mr. Kain. Then a sudden illusion frightened Lacus in an instant.
For one moment, Mr. Kain seemed to become the corpse seated upon the Golden Throne.
That shock broke her concentration. Her perception could no longer hold, and she was instantly flung back to the bed where her body lay.
What exactly was that?
An illusion?
If she could log into the Hyperdimension Channel right now, she would be able to talk to Mr. Kain and ask him about it.
At the moment, however, although she was conscious, she could not open the Hyperdimension Channel. She could see the login screen, but nothing happened when she directed her thoughts toward it.
Most likely, she would have to wait until her body finished adjusting, until the upgrade was complete, before she could log in again.
Time passed, and the next day arrived. Since Cagalli could now endure staying by her side for a while, she took over the work of caring for Lacus that had originally belonged to Mr. Kain.
Because of that, Lacus became even more aware of the reactions in her own heart.
She felt regret.
Regret that Mr. Kain could no longer take care of her.
After Cagalli finished feeding her, Lacus saw Cagalli covering Mr. Kain with a blanket. Then Murrue suddenly came in and startled her, and by pure accident, Cagalli ended up kissing him.
At that moment, Lacus felt a heavy, dull ache in her chest, as if something had struck it.
After Mr. Kain woke up, he said that she was not a Coordinator, which left her shocked.
He had probably obtained more information from Miss Black Cat.
If she was not a Coordinator, then what was she?
Mr. Kain explained further. She was another branch of Coordinator, or perhaps the next stage of Coordinators.
An Accord.
In other words, the adjustment and changes she was sensing in her body right now were part of her awakening as an Accord?
Mr. Kain did not seem to intend to explain the difference between Accords and Coordinators any further. From the look of it, being an Accord was probably not something positive. If Cagalli and Murrue learned the details, their attitudes toward her might change.
That made Lacus want to know even more.
She wanted to know immediately, not after she woke up.
But at that moment, Lacus felt a new change within herself. It was as if her upgrade had instantly entered an almost-complete state.
At that moment, she could not only sense other people's emotions. She could also communicate with them directly through the mind.
It seemed like information engraved in her DNA.
So-
[What is an Accord, Mr. Kain?]
She truly initiated what could only be called telepathic communication. Then she sensed Mr. Kain move and look toward her.
Had he really heard her?
[Please say it directly. Let Cagalli and Murrue know too.]
"You're sure?"
[I'm sure.]
That confirmed it. They were truly speaking.
At the same time-
"Huh? Lacus, are you awake?"
"Lacus?"
Cagalli and Murrue looked toward Lacus, who still appeared to be sleeping like a princess in a fairy tale.
Then both of them froze.
This was unbelievable.
She was actually speaking to them through their minds?
The two of them looked back at one person, because Lacus had asked him to explain directly what an Accord was.
"Accords are a development focused on mental perception…"
They could read people's thoughts, communicate telepathically, and even control others mentally.
People who approached an Accord would also unconsciously feel close to them and trust them.
Mr. Kain's concise answer plunged the room into silence.
"Lacus, why are you quiet? Don't you have anything to say?"
Cagalli was the first to break that silence.
"Cagalli!"
Murrue's expression changed, and she tried to stop Cagalli. In her view, Cagalli might be questioning why she trusted Lacus, wondering whether she had been deceived by Lacus's ability.
That ability was indeed frightening.
As for Murrue herself, she believed that her trust in Lacus had absolutely nothing to do with that.
[I... I don't know.]
Lacus answered in confusion and helplessness.
From the look of things, this was why Mr. Kain had maintained a purely employer-contractor relationship with her. He probably did think she was "Lacus the enchantress" and was afraid that getting too close would leave him bewitched by her.
"What do you mean, you don't know? That answer makes me angry."
"Cagalli!"
"Murrue, don't cut in. You're the one who doesn't trust me!"
Cagalli said it angrily.
Watching this unfold, Kain did not interrupt. He could tell that Cagalli was angry for a different reason.
[I do trust you, but I don't know whether I...]
"Idiot. Do you think I'm doubting you because I think you didn't trust me, so you used that ability to make me trust you? I'm not suspecting you of using that ability on me. According to him, you only just awakened, so the fact that I trusted you before definitely wasn't because you became an Accord. I trusted you because of my own will. I believe you truly want to help this world. And even if you really did something like that to me for the sake of keeping this world from falling into war, I wouldn't say it was wrong. I'd accept it. Besides, what this guy says isn't necessarily right either, so you... Ah, this is so annoying. I'm not good at this kind of thing. Anyway, do you understand what I'm saying?"
Watching Cagalli's still-angry expression from the side, Murrue let out a quiet breath of relief. Clearly, Cagalli's anger was not what Murrue had thought it was.
Simply put, Cagalli did not believe Lacus would use that kind of ability on them.
The reason Cagalli was angry was that Lacus could not even be sure whether she had done it to Cagalli, Murrue, or the others. It was Lacus's self-doubt that had angered her.
And that long, angry outburst struck Lacus deeply, filling her chest with warmth.
[I understand, Cagalli. I'm truly sorry. I can't believe I doubted myself.]
Lacus's answer carried shame.
She was ashamed that her will had been so fragile. But now, her resolve had become firm again.
Cagalli had scolded her awake.
She had been lost because of her identity as an Accord.
As for whether Mr. Kain truly kept his distance because of that ability, in the end, it was only her own guess. She might as well ask him directly.
Even if he truly was worried about that ability, she could work hard to make him trust her.
(End of Chapter)
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