"Professor Marchio, how is Fred?"
After seeing Fred and the others off, Siegel summoned Marchio to his office to ask.
"It's hard to say..."
The professor pondered for a moment before continuing.
"But his nature isn't bad, and he genuinely does pursue peace."
What he said wasn't wrong, and it was one of the good reasons.
No matter what he does, it ultimately poses no harm to the world.
"Is that so?"
Siegel got the answer he wanted and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, Fred's position within their ranks was becoming increasingly important.
He really didn't want to hear news of the other party harboring ill intentions at this time.
As long as he was harmless, he could continue to be entrusted with important tasks.
It also saved a lot of effort on further probing, allowing both sides to deepen their trust more quickly.
On the other hand, Fred soon returned to his home in Junius City with his sister and Lacus.
"Brother."
"You want me to cook, right?"
Before Lacus could finish, Fred already spoke helplessly.
"I just got back from experiments—shouldn't you two be the ones rewarding me?"
How many times has it been? Every time they come over, it's the same excuse.
Hearing this, Lacus didn't mind being interrupted, her smile still on her face.
"Just kidding~ This time, Flay and I are cooking!"
Just as Fred had complained, today was actually a prearranged cooking day by Lacus and Flay.
After all, having eaten so many times, they felt a bit embarrassed.
Hearing this, the young man, realizing he had misunderstood, felt a rare sense of embarrassment.
"Then I'll trouble the two of you."
"Mhm~!"
Flay quickly nodded, acting coquettishly.
Fred could only laugh and pat his sister's head before heading toward his study.
With the two of them cooking, he could take this time to organize his recent gains.
...
[Structural Engineering (Proficient) 28.96/100]
[Aerospace Engineering (Proficient) 29.55/100]
In the familiar room, looking at these two values, Fred nodded in satisfaction.
The higher these values, the faster and deeper his research would be.
At this rate, in a few years, he would be able to handle high-end research with ease.
Even developing a machine with cheating abilities like the Glory Defender probably wouldn't be too big of a problem.
Thinking this, Fred took a deep breath, suppressing his rising thoughts back to where they belonged.
As much as he wanted to get carried away, he couldn't—there were still many crises unresolved.
And now that the MS was complete, although research couldn't be neglected, he could relax a bit and do some other things.
For example, go find the Crab Captain to understand the specific situation and see if he could bring Durandal back.
Also, check if Rey has emerged, and then think about Mendel, which might be destroyed this year according to the original plot.
Of course, the most important thing was the skill of piloting an MS.
In short, there were still many things to do.
"Looks like it's time to get busy again."
The young man stretched as he spoke, then took out the MS materials.
As one of the lead researchers, it wasn't too difficult for him to find a Prototype Unit he could use every day.
There were plenty of excuses too.
Such as needing to collectively adjust parameters.
It was best to keep it hidden in the underground warehouse of this agricultural research institute.
That would save him from running back and forth, and in a worst-case scenario, it would serve as insurance.
Of course, if the entire Space colony were to face a crisis, it would likely mean his plans and insurance had all failed.
It probably wouldn't come to that.
Fred thought to himself but continued making calculations.
Preparations—the more, the better. The same went for contingency plans. Only by fully considering more unexpected situations could the operation proceed more smoothly.
In the midst of his busyness, Fred worked straight through until dinner time.
"Brother Fred."
Still engrossed in his work, Fred was snapped back to reality by a notification sound from his Terminal.
Clearly, he could tell who it was just by the voice.
"Dinner's ready."
Lacus sounded like she was pouting, a little displeased, which came across as quite adorable.
"Mm, coming."
Hearing her voice, Fred responded without further delay.
...
"Seems only Lacus can get you to come, huh."
Greeting the young man as he came downstairs, Heather teased.
"Yeah, yeah."
Fred had long since grown tired of arguing with his mother's habit of casually arranging marriages or childhood betrothals. He simply nodded and made his way to the dining table.
As one of the parties involved, Lacus was already used to it. Her smile remained as she continued.
"Brother Fred, have a seat. Try it quickly."
The food in front of them was ordinary fare.
It leaned more toward Western-style dishes and looked surprisingly reliable.
But Fred wasn't surprised. After all, Heather was watching—there was no way she'd let them blow up the kitchen.
Besides, he remembered that Lacus did know how to cook.
"Thank you."
Looking at the delicious spread before him, Fred turned to Flay.
Flay, hearing this, simply nudged Lacus beside her with her elbow.
"Lacus made a lot of these too. This, this, and this—all made by Lacus~"
As she spoke, Flay pointed out several Western-style dishes in front of him.
There was Russian salad, Western-style hamburger patties—all in all, a very hearty spread.
"Thank you too, Lacus."
Fred nodded in acknowledgment.
"No need to thank me. Just make a meal tomorrow, Brother Fred~"
"Uh..."
Meeting Lacus's sly gaze, Fred silently agreed.
He wasn't the least bit surprised.
After spending this much time together, the image of Lacus in his mind had gradually shifted from the one he knew from the story to something more vivid.
Though she was precocious and perceptive, she also had a soft side.
This little bit of mischief might be her small rebellion against her own fate.
Of course, Fred only thought this in passing.
Maybe Lacus was just a little mischievous by nature.
With these idle thoughts in mind, he quickly took his seat.
The meal was very relaxing.
After all, his work had temporarily come to a pause, and with his sister cooking, he ended up eating several extra bowls.
After dinner, Fred sought out Lacus alone.
"Brother Fred, what did you want to talk to me about?"
On the balcony of Fred's home, Lacus looked curiously at the young man before her and asked.
"I want to find that girlfriend of Durandal's."
Fred said directly.
"Girlfriend..."
She knew Durandal, as Fred had mentioned.
He was a friend of Creuset's and also a Geneticist.
So far, Lacus had not noticed any unusual movements from him.
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