Chapter 29 – SEED: Conversation
Murrue Ramius, Natarle Badgiruel, and Mu La Flaga were questioning Lacus Clyne.
Lacus Clyne introduced herself openly, without the slightest attempt at concealment.
With an adorably clueless expression, she said she was the daughter of Siegel Clyne, one of the Supreme Council Chairmen of the PLANTs, and also the PLANTs' top songstress.
She explained that this time, her memorial delegation had come to honor the souls lost in Junius Seven, but unexpectedly, their memorial ship had encountered an Earth Alliance warship.
The Earth Alliance vessel refused to believe they were merely there to pay respects to the dead. Words were exchanged, and then the Earth Alliance opened fire on the memorial ship.
Since the memorial ship did not return fire, it was riddled with holes by the attack. She herself had been pushed into an escape pod by those around her and sent away to safety.
Everyone could only shake their heads helplessly at her naturally airheaded demeanor, unsure what to say.
Meanwhile, the blonde female pilot had also regained consciousness. Under questioning, they learned her name was Liza Kalman.
She was a ZAFT Red Coat elite, assigned to the search-and-rescue mission for Lacus Clyne.
Elsewhere, Tolle Koenig and Kira Yamato's group continued their previous task—recovering supplies and water from Junius Seven.
At lunchtime, Tolle and Kira returned to the Archangel's cafeteria, where they overheard Miriallia Haw and Flay Allster in the middle of a heated argument.
Tolle immediately guessed that Flay Allster was at it again.
Flay's voice was firm as she declared,
"I said no, and I mean no."
Kira asked Kuzzey Buskirk what had happened.
He learned that Miriallia had simply asked the idle Flay Allster to bring a meal to Lacus Clyne, and that had triggered the argument.
Flay flatly refused, her attitude harsh, so the two had gotten into a quarrel.
Flay then raised her voice again, her tone unpleasant.
"I'm not going. You expect me to go to that Coordinator? That's way too scary."
At this, Kira, having found a new focus, no longer paid attention to Flay's outburst. His expression darkened, brows furrowing.
Noticing Kira nearby thanks to Miriallia's prompting, Flay forced a smile.
"Of course, Kira's different. I know that."
Then she put her serious face back on.
"But that girl's from ZAFT, right? Coordinators aren't just smart, they're also physically strong.
What if something happened to me?"
She then gave Kira an innocent, pleading look.
Tolle couldn't help thinking Flay must be a complete idiot—aside from her looks, she had nothing going for her, and her bad temper made her even less likable. Probably only a face-obsessed guy like Kira would be into her.
Even Kuzzey, standing nearby, couldn't hold back.
"But I don't think that girl would suddenly attack you."
Flay shot back without yielding.
"How would you know? You can't tell what a Coordinator's capable of just by looking. What if she's vicious?"
Again, she turned that innocent look toward Kira.
Tolle felt himself about to lose his patience. Sure, Lacus Clyne was a bit of a sweet-looking schemer, but that didn't mean you could call her vicious. She was as gentle as a dove—unlike you, a shrew who's always shouting.
"Who is it you're calling vicious?"
A sweet voice came from behind Tolle. He didn't even need to turn around to know it was Lacus Clyne.
Everyone turned their heads and was stunned—it really was her.
With her wide-eyed, airheaded cuteness, she was utterly charming. If you ignored her scheming side, she was perfection.
Lacus, looking both pitiful and adorably clueless, said,
"I'm terribly sorry for startling you.
I was feeling very thirsty, and I'm also quite hungry. Please don't laugh at me.
Is this the cafeteria? If I could have something to eat, I'd be so happy."
Without hesitation, she strolled over to the serving counter.
Kuzzey stared in surprise.
"Wasn't the door locked?"
Flay made a face of open disgust.
"How annoying! Why are ZAFT people wandering around wherever they like?"
Lacus replied,
"It's not without permission. I called from inside my room, 'May I come out?' I asked three times, in fact.
Also, I'm not with ZAFT. ZAFT is the name of the military—its full name is the Zodiac Alliance Freedom…"
Flay cut her off with an angry shout.
"What difference does that make? You're all still Coordinators."
Lacus answered calmly, "There is a difference. I am indeed a Coordinator, but I'm not a soldier.
You're not a soldier either, are you? In that sense, you and I are the same."
She then extended her hand toward Flay for a handshake. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm—"
Flay interrupted her sharply.
"Wait! No, stop!"
Tolle thought to himself, She's not trying to assault you, for crying out loud. What's with the 'Wait! No, stop!' drama? Ridiculous.
Ugh. One shrew, one sweet-faced schemer… my Miriallia's still the best.
"You've got to be kidding. Why would I shake hands with someone like you? You're a Coordinator! Stay away from me!"
Flay's words broke Tolle's train of thought—and deeply wounded Kira Yamato.
Kira looked like his world had just collapsed.
Without a word, he walked to the counter, picked up a tray of food, and left with Lacus Clyne, heading for the lounge.
After they were gone, Kuzzey turned to Flay.
"Flay, are you with the Blue Cosmos?"
"Of course not!" Flay shot back loudly.
"But those people aren't wrong, are they?
Messing with your genes when you're perfectly healthy—it's obviously against the laws of nature.
Their very existence is unnatural. Isn't that what everyone thinks?"
The room fell silent. Tolle couldn't even be bothered to argue with her.
A woman and a petty person—both are impossible to deal with, especially a low-IQ shrew like this one.
Tolle wrapped his arms tightly around Miriallia Haw beside him, gently stroking her back in hopes of giving her some comfort.
At that moment, the Archangel's bridge received a signal wavelength from the Earth Alliance's 8th Fleet.
Before long, the Archangel established contact, arranged a rendezvous point, and the crew on the bridge finally relaxed the tension they'd been carrying all this time.
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