Reid had no objections to Mina's suggestion that he rest at the Sahaku residence. He was well aware that this "God of Shadows" of Orb wouldn't make any reckless moves without absolute certainty.
If there were no underhanded schemes, then staying at the Sahaku household shouldn't pose any danger—it wasn't as if someone would devour him. And even if Mina did harbor some ulterior motives toward Reid's… physical attributes, she'd still have to get past Xia Yufang first. And even if she somehow managed that, Reid figured he wouldn't exactly be at a loss.
That said, Reid wasn't so vain as to assume such things. Besides, unlike her father, Mina was genuinely aligned with Uzumi's vision.
Reid suspected that Mina's invitation to stay at the Sahaku residence had another purpose—likely a private discussion. In the current state of Orb, the Sahaku main house might be the only place where Mina could speak with Reid in confidence without fear of eavesdroppers.
However, while Reid had a clear understanding of the situation, Uzumi had misinterpreted things entirely. Mina's secret trip to Star Palace couldn't be hidden from him—after all, Erika Simmons of Dawn Company was one of Uzumi's trusted confidantes. Mina's substitution for Erika in retrieving someone from Star Palace had been tacitly permitted by Uzumi.
From Uzumi's perspective, Rondo Mina Sahaku's visit to the Star Palace Colony Satellite must have involved some significant interaction with Reid Isaac. Otherwise, why would Reid Isaac travel all the way to Orb in search of her, even threatening to force his way in if she didn't appear?
Given Mina's current attitude, Uzumi was beginning to suspect that the two might have been… intimately involved. After all, sparks flying between young men and women wasn't unusual, and Uzumi had been young once himself. He knew better than to expect unwavering loyalty from a vigorous young man. His niece was an exceptional woman—it wouldn't be strange if Reid Isaac had made a move.
That said, Uzumi wasn't naïve enough to believe that any romantic entanglement between Reid and Mina would bind Reid to Orb's cause.
In fact, Uzumi was more concerned that Reid might poach his niece for the New Misurugi Republic. He knew all too well that Mina harbored deep dissatisfaction with his pacifist policies—she was one of the few in Orb who had openly criticized him (a little-known fact: Rondo Mina Sahaku was among the rare individuals who had publicly denounced Uzumi). The collaboration with the Atlantic Federation on Project G had been her doing. Now, with Reid Isaac in the picture, there might be a new scheme in the works—one that deliberately excluded Uzumi.
Still, Uzumi wasn't tactless enough to openly oppose Reid staying at the Sahaku residence. Instead, he silently resolved to have a private conversation with his old friend from the Sahaku family later.
Outwardly, Uzumi wore the pleased expression of an elder witnessing the younger generation finding happiness, offering no further comment.
Yet Reid could clearly sense Uzumi's complicated emotions—most of which weren't directed at him, but at Rondo Mina Sahaku.
As for Mina herself, her thoughts were far simpler. Her attention remained fixed on Reid, likely analyzing how best to extract some advantage from him.
And so, the three of them—each with their own hidden agendas—returned to the ship's cabin and made their way back to Orb's main island without incident.
Upon arrival, Reid, Xia Yufang, and Mina were escorted by a private car to the Sahaku residence. Uzumi didn't rush to summon Reid for discussions—he still had work to do in responding to the pressure from ZAFT's Carpentaria Base.
Uzumi's intention was to have Mina accompany Reid around Orb first, and the two would have a private conversation later in the evening.
Reid had no objections either. He had come this time precisely to get a good look at what kind of country Orb truly was, so walking around among the people was perfectly fine.
In reality, the first stop was to return to the Sahaku residence—not just to let Reid and Xia Yufang see their resting quarters and settle their luggage (though neither had brought any luggage with them).
The main purpose was for Mina to change her outfit. She was currently wearing formal attire for receiving foreign guests, which was entirely unsuitable for casual outings. Coming back to change clothes was only logical.
However, Mina couldn't escape the universal habit of women. A full hour later, she finally reappeared in her new outfit.
To be honest, when Mina stepped out this time, Reid genuinely felt she had a real talent for fashion—she must have studied it extensively. Though she had only changed into one set of clothes, her entire aura felt completely different.
A neutral long coat paired with high-waisted pants that accentuated her lower body, along with barely noticeable light makeup. Her usual strong-woman demeanor had diminished drastically, replaced instead by a youthful, spirited vitality—no longer giving off the impression of keeping ordinary people at arm's length.
Seeing Reid continuously nodding in approval at her new look, Mina thought to herself that the hour of effort hadn't been wasted—the effect was quite good.
Still, she couldn't resist teasing him:
"Mr. Reid, staring at a young woman like this is quite rude, you know."
Chastened by her words, Reid quickly averted his scrutinizing gaze and shifted to a more sociable expression, smiling as he replied,
"My apologies, Miss Mina. The change in your style was so striking, I almost didn't recognize you. I couldn't help but take a second look."
Mina nodded in satisfaction, taking her crossbody bag from a servant before breezing past Reid and saying,
"Well then, let's go. I'll take you to the shopping district on the main island. It's been a while since I've gone out for leisure myself."
However, she had barely taken a few steps when another servant from the Sahaku family approached. After receiving Mina's permission, they reported:
"Young Mistress, Lady Cagalli has arrived. According to her, she's been ordered by Lord Uzumi to follow you for the day."
Reid and Mina instantly understood Uzumi's intention. He wasn't sending Cagalli to cause trouble—most likely, he just wanted to help her accumulate political capital.
As long as Reid remained alive, most politicians in Earth's sphere would have to factor his influence into their national planning. Thus, Cagalli was being sent to get acquainted with him. After all, if she were to ascend to power in the future and only knew of Reid through hearsay, she wouldn't be able to make sound judgments—something that would do Orb no good.
So neither Reid nor Mina minded bringing one more person along. At this stage, Cagalli was refreshingly straightforward—she spoke her mind without filter and wore her emotions openly.
Honestly, both Reid and Mina found communicating with Cagalli far easier than with each other.
Thus, Reid soon met this princess of Orb—and future crown princess of PLANT (Athrun had, after all, been crown prince for a few months)—at the Sahaku residence.
At the moment, Cagalli wasn't dressed in her tomboyish Archangel outfit nor in typical princess attire. Like Mina, she had opted for practicality—a long-sleeved athletic shirt and loose-fitting trousers.
And it was quite obvious that Cagalli was a bit intimidated when facing Mina—not out of fear, but more like the feeling a child gets when they know they've done something wrong but their parents haven't found out yet, yet still can't help feeling nervous around them.
The moment she saw Mina emerge, her neck reflexively shrank back, and she greeted her with a guilty tone:
"Sister Mina, long time no see."
At this moment, Mina could only look at Cagalli helplessly, thinking to herself that Orb's future was to be entrusted to such a young girl—how unsettling.
However, since Cagalli hadn't yet entered politics, Mina could still regard her as a little sister. So she walked up, cupped Cagalli's face, turned it left and right for inspection, and then scolded:
"You've been fooling around in Africa for so long, you've even gotten tanned. Had enough fun? Finally decided to come back? Go get a skincare treatment later, lest the people think Orb's princess has gone rebellious and gotten a tan on purpose."
Cagalli didn't dare resist at all as Mina manhandled her face—after all, the woman before her had a hundred ways to discipline her justifiably.
However, while being manhandled, she caught sight of Reid standing behind them, looking like he was enjoying the show. Cagalli certainly recognized Reid, and in an instant, she got excited, broke free from Mina's grip, and rushed up to Reid, nearly shouting in his face:
"Reid Isaac! What are you doing here?!"
Reid could practically feel Cagalli's spit hitting his face, but as soon as he saw her charging at him, he first grabbed Xia Yufang to prevent her from pinning Cagalli to the ground with a single move.
After all, Reid didn't sense any malice from Cagalli—she was just surprised and excited, impulsively acting in such an unfriendly manner.
Still, Cagalli paid for her impulsiveness. While Reid stopped Xia Yufang from acting, that didn't mean Mina would just stand by and watch—especially since Reid was now her guest.
So Mina promptly grabbed Cagalli by the back of her collar, lifted her up, and said with a stern expression and a dangerous tone:
"Cagalli, do you have a problem with the guest I invited?"
At this moment, Cagalli stiffened like a cat grabbed by the scruff of its neck, trembling slightly as she replied:
"Sister Mina, it's a misunderstanding—I just got a little too excited."
Mina knew exactly what kind of person Cagalli was. She had disciplined her more for Reid's benefit than anything else. After putting Cagalli down, she said coolly:
"Cagalli, your behavior just now was extremely rude. You should apologize to Mr. Reid."
Cagalli was nothing if not obedient at this point, immediately lowering her head and apologizing:
"Mr. Reid, I'm sorry—I got too carried away."
Reid didn't press the issue, simply smiling as he replied:
"Princess of Orb, lift your head. There's no need to be so formal between us. I came to Orb privately this time, not on official business—we can all relax.
Oh, and though you already know me, I should still introduce myself properly. My name is Reid Isaac. You can just call me Reid."
Right now, Reid didn't see Cagalli as a politician but rather as a rebellious young lady who didn't know any better, so he immediately told her to address him by his first name.
Cagalli, being straightforward by nature, didn't even stop to consider why Reid would say that. She raised her head and responded with a smile:
"Alright, Reid. Then you can just call me Cagalli too."
Seeing Cagalli so amenable, Reid bared his fangs and said to Mina,
"Alright, Miss Mina, I forgive Cagalli. Also, since Cagalli and I are already on a first-name basis, I won't be adding 'Miss' to your name from now on either. Of course, you can just call me by my name like Cagalli does."
Mina watched as Cagalli was so easily charmed by Reid. Though she didn't know what Reid's intentions were in getting closer, she had no choice but to go along now. With Cagalli, Orb's public princess, already on a first-name basis with Reid, how could she keep up formalities? So she could only smile and say,
"Of course, Reid."
Seeing his goal achieved, Reid grinned even wider. Mission accomplished: implanting a good first impression (for easier manipulation later) on Orb's next generation of leaders; and laying the groundwork for future cooperation by getting closer to Rondo Mina Sahaku—two birds with one stone.
So Reid continued cheerfully,
"Well, now that we're all acquainted, Mina, didn't you say you'd show me around the main island and let me see the daily lives of Orb's citizens? Let's go. To keep it natural, I don't mind carrying bags for you two ladies today."
Reid was actually joking. If Orb really made him carry bags, they'd practically be handing over at least one of the two young ladies to him. Otherwise, people would surely say Orb had no manners—even for a private visit, making a guest carry bags was unheard of.
After all, Orb was teeming with spies from the Earth Alliance's three major nations and PLANT. Apart from the upper house of parliament and Dawn Company's core areas, the rest of the country might as well be a sieve.
With Reid's suggestion, Mina and Cagalli naturally had no objections. The three of them, including Reid, wore masks to avoid easy recognition and spent the whole day shopping.
Reid was no stranger to this. Back in Star Palace, Ange and Noin also liked shopping, so he'd often trail behind them. By the end of the day, all Reid felt was sore feet and general fatigue.
Honestly, if he'd run twice the distance at his current physical level, he wouldn't have been this tired. Shopping truly was a mysterious activity—plenty of stops and breaks, yet exhaustion set in anyway. It almost made Reid seem less fit than Cagalli.
He even suspected Uzumi had deliberately arranged for him to accompany the two women shopping before their talk. With his energy drained from the outing, Reid would be more likely to slip up during their conversation.
But even without Newtype abilities, Reid could tell these two political veterans were genuinely enjoying themselves. Perhaps such carefree shopping trips, free from heavy political agendas, were rare for them.
After a private dinner at an exclusive restaurant, the group of four was secretly escorted to the Parliament building.
In a hidden conference room, Reid met Uzumi Nara Athha again. But his Newtype senses told him Uzumi looked more exhausted than expected—seems the pressure from ZAFT's Carpentaria Base was really weighing on him.
However, the Carpentaria Base will likely fall tomorrow. Uzumi Nara Athha is no political novice—without concrete evidence, he can simply deny everything. With an official document stating that the Archangel has already left Orb's territory, as long as ZAFT forces at Carpentaria Base lack the courage or resolve to attack a neutral nation without parliamentary approval, Orb remains safe.
If the PLANT council actually passes a resolution to forcibly enter Orb and search for the Archangel, Orb will have already gotten what it wanted. By then, they can simply send the Archangel out of their territory ahead of schedule.
After all, the several days it takes for information to travel from Earth to PLANT and back will be more than enough for Orb to complete the Archangel's external repairs and resupply.
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