Thoughts quickly flashed through his mind as Fred replied.
"Alright, where should we meet?"
"Hmm~ I'm actually at Junius right now~"
Just as Fred was stunned by this message, he saw a cute little girl floating down the corridor not far away.
The girl had soft pink hair and looked utterly adorable.
Who else could it be but Lacus?
However, Fred didn't keep his gaze on the girl for long, soon his eyes instinctively scanned the surrounding area.
"My father didn't come."
Seeing Fred's actions and guessing his meaning, Lacus smiled gently.
"...You came alone?!"
Fred half-crouched to look at the little girl before him, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
This future idol, this world's female protagonist - was she really this wild?
How old was she, already learning to run away from home?
And Lacus would run away from home?
How did she even manage it?
"I convinced my father to let me come, and there are bodyguards with me~"
Lacus tilted her head cutely as she looked at Fred who seemed to have misunderstood something.
"I see."
Fred breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
If Siegel found out Lacus had run away from home to come see him, his favorability with Siegel would probably plummet.
"Mr. Fred is surprisingly timid."
Lacus was clever, and understanding his concerns, she covered her mouth with a light laugh, looking very gentle.
During their first meeting, she had seen Fred's serious demeanor in front of her father.
So seeing this more lively side of Fred now was quite interesting to her.
"No..."
Fred waved his hand dismissively and continued.
"And just call me Fred."
"Mmm, that's fine~"
Lacus nodded and raised her small hand holding the gift.
Though called a gift, it was actually a USB drive tied with a ribbon.
Aside from the ribbon, it didn't look much like a gift at all.
However, hearing Lacus's following words made Fred's eyes widen considerably.
"This is for Brother Fred."
"What is this?"
As someone with a younger sister, he automatically accepted the sweet "brother" address and took the USB drive, turning it over in his hand.
"You'll know when you look at it."
"Is it alright to look at it now?"
"Of course."
Lacus glanced at the empty dock and nodded slowly.
This place was naturally deserted, and with her people guarding outside, there was no worry about being watched.
Opposite Lacus, with her permission, Fred directly connected the USB drive to his terminal.
Soon, a series of data and design diagrams appeared before Fred.
The first page was familiar - it was the schematic of the Agamemnon-class, many of which were currently docked outside.
As for the rest, they were structural diagrams of the Agamemnon-class's nuclear reactor and engines.
They were about 50% complete, not entirely comprehensive.
But considering this was a Council Nation's major weapon, the 50% of data appearing before him was already enough to surprise Fred.
Not to mention it included the most critical power reactor components.
"Will it help with your research, Brother?"
Lacus, who had also seen the contents, understood now, though her expression remained calm.
For an eight-year-old girl, this was absolutely precocious to an extreme degree.
"It's helpful."
Fred nodded vigorously.
If he had originally planned to conduct research relying solely on his foresight advantages, progress might not have been particularly fast. But now, with this new knowledge to cross-reference, not only could it accelerate his progress, but it would also give his research team more advantages.
"However, I suppose this information will eventually be disseminated anyway," Fred asked.
"Yes, probably."
Lacus didn't deny it.
Although this was her first time seeing this information too, their current priority was still to build up their strength.
In other words, at least for now, they were all in this together - when one prospered, all prospered; when one suffered, all suffered.
So her father would definitely eventually release this information to the higher-ups.
To let everyone participate in the research.
Giving it to Fred now was just giving him a small head start.
It might be a few days or a few weeks, but the time definitely wouldn't be long.
How much useful information he could extract from it, and how far he could stay ahead of the main research group, ultimately depended on Fred's own capabilities.
Her father was probably doing this as a test for Fred as well.
"I understand."
"Please tell your father that I'll work hard."
"And... thank you."
Fred solemnly put away the USB drive as he spoke.
A faint fanaticism could be seen in his eyes.
At least he had something to keep him occupied these next few days.
Just staying home every day analyzing these blueprints would be enough.
The most important thing now was to quickly convert this knowledge into his own capability.
"Alright then."
"I'll tell my father."
Seeing that Fred clearly understood he owed them a favor, Lacus smiled along.
They had made the right choice by bringing this to him.
After all, this was meant to be given to the research team for study anyway - they were just giving it to Fred a bit earlier.
People often said she was precocious, but in her opinion, Fred was even more formidable.
Despite being only thirteen years old, he already carried himself like a seasoned veteran.
Not to mention his nearly all-around capabilities.
He was much more capable than her.
Fortunately, such a person was on their side.
And he absolutely had to remain on their side.
"That thank you was for Lacus too."
Hearing this, Fred smiled and subconsciously reached out his other hand to pat Lacus's pink hair.
Then, realizing what he'd done, Fred's face stiffened slightly.
He had just been a bit excited and momentarily lost control of himself.
And he hadn't meant anything strange by the gesture - he simply saw this girl, who was about the same age as his sister, as a younger sister.
But no matter how young this girl was, she was still Lacus.
Had he been too forward?
"Brother Fred, patting my head will stunt my growth."
Lacus didn't dodge or react strongly. After feeling the warmth on her head and momentarily freezing, she looked at him with a smiling expression.
"Even my father has never patted my head."
"Uh... sorry."
Fred awkwardly withdrew his hand, a rare look of embarrassment on his face.
"It's fine~ But I actually came here today because I have some questions I'd like to ask you."
Lacus smoothly changed the subject.
Although she felt his earlier gesture of patting her head was a bit odd, she also knew she was cute and that Fred had a sister around her age, so she didn't dwell on it further.
What came next was the real reason for her visit.
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