Before Fred, Flay looked at her brother's confident expression. Though she didn't understand why he said that, out of unconditional trust in her brother, Flay nodded at this moment.
"I'll do my best!"
As Flay's voice fell, the bright lights in the theater dimmed.
Lacus had officially taken the stage.
On stage, Lacus shone brilliantly. The stage lights illuminated her gorgeous gown and radiant face, making her shine brighter than ever, like a star.
The opening number was the classic "Mizu no Akashi."
And Lacus's singing voice was exactly as Fred remembered.
Just as gentle and beautiful.
Perhaps due to her identity, as a Coordinator, Lacus's singing truly carried an aura that could calm people's hearts.
Although the effect wasn't too pronounced, it was still incredibly captivating.
No wonder she had so many devoted fans.
Fred muttered to himself, soon closing his eyes again, immersing himself in Lacus's gentle singing.
Even his tense, overworked body relaxed, as if floating on a warm, gently swaying sea.
Not far from where Fred was seated, Lenore listened to the young girl's singing on stage, a flash of admiration in her eyes. She quickly turned to look at Athrun.
"Athrun, do you like Lacus?"
She had heard that Patrick and Siegel were both interested in arranging a marriage, but in her view, the children's wishes were still very important.
Hearing his mother's words, Athrun was momentarily taken aback.
But he soon shook his head.
"That kind of liking."
He felt he probably didn't like her in that way.
Although Lacus was beautiful, to him, the feeling she gave him was actually similar to that of other ordinary girls.
He didn't feel any of the heart-fluttering sensations described in books.
"But she is my friend!"
Athrun said earnestly.
"Is that so? I understand."
Lenore didn't press further, only smiling lightly before falling silent under the song's spell.
Since Athrun wasn't interested, she had no intention of forcing anything.
Apart from them, the audience on the first floor was also extremely excited and enthusiastic.
After all, they hadn't had high expectations for this princess idol initially.
But now, witnessing the live performance, they discovered that Lacus's singing was exceptionally captivating.
As for her appearance...
All Coordinators were handsome men and beautiful women. Although Lacus was one of the top beauties among Coordinators, she was still young.
For now, she was simply seen as adorable—a delicate, doll-like little girl. Combined with her gentle singing and noble status, this was enough for Lacus to immediately gain her first batch of fans.
Of course, with the support of the Clyne Faction, subsequent coverage and publicity would undoubtedly be plentiful.
All the right conditions—timing, location, and people—converged on Lacus's idol career.
Even without the plot's influence, most people could tell that it was only a matter of time before Lacus became a national idol.
[Amidst the attention of the masses, our 12-year-old princess—Miss Lacus Clyne—held her debut solo concert at the Victoria Opera House.]
[Lacus's voice is like the gentlest gravitational wave that soothes the vibrations of the space colony, capable of purifying the soul.]
As Fred had anticipated, all sorts of lavish reviews from news outlets and various media flooded television screens the very next day.
Of course, given that Lacus's voice truly was pleasant, Fred couldn't exactly accuse them of false advertising.
"I never imagined Lacus would be this impressive."
Heather remarked while watching the television, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward her son.
She couldn't help but feel that her son, an agricultural researcher, might not be quite the match for Lacus.
With this thought, Heather patted Fred's shoulder with a complicated expression as he continued eating breakfast.
"It's alright, Mom still supports you."
"?"
Why did he feel like his mother thought he'd been dumped?
Surely not.
Fred shook his head in exasperation and quickly set down the now-empty bowl in his hands.
"I'm heading to work."
"It's good to work hard."
Heather sighed, her eyes still fixed on the radiant Lacus on the television screen.
Fred nearly felt the urge to explain just how important his research was—that it wasn't any less significant than Lacus's concert.
Of course, it was just a fleeting impulse, and he quickly suppressed it.
...
"Director Fred, did you attend Lacus's concert yesterday?"
As soon as the communication channel connected, Heinline's fervent voice came through.
"..."
So love fades, huh?
Why was it that after all this time working closely together, Heinline's first words weren't a greeting or a research update, but a question about Lacus?
Though inwardly grumbling, Fred still nodded in response.
"Yes, it was quite enjoyable."
He didn't mention that Lacus occasionally stayed over—given Heinline's current state, who knew if he'd abandon his duties altogether.
"You were there in person!? I wish I could go once too."
Just as Heinline was about to continue rambling, Fred cut him off.
"The experiment status."
"Ahem, right."
Finally snapping back to reality, Heinline blushed and sent yesterday's experimental data to Fred.
With that small interruption over, the two returned to their focused work mode.
Of course, Fred wasn't sharing all the research data at this point.
After all, the primary objective of the Mobile Suit Research had already been achieved, and he wasn't in any hurry to further bolster PLANT's strength.
Otherwise, if things continued, PLANT would truly become like Celestial Being, and future conflicts would never cease.
Moreover, the people of Fendrissen would eventually build Mobile Suits using PLANT's technology.
It wouldn't be wise to casually hand over cutting-edge technology.
So, aside from proceeding with research as originally planned, Fred was also concealing the accelerated progress resulting from his improved capabilities.
Maintaining this pace would keep PLANT's technological development roughly at the level it should be by the time war broke out.
As for how to develop a physical unit of his own Mobile Suit, that was simple enough.
Clearly, Lacus's side is a promising direction.
Using the most cutting-edge technology to secretly produce just a few experimental Mobile Suits could easily achieve a technological advantage.
Of course, it's still too early to think about these things. His progress hasn't actually advanced much beyond the current mainstream Mobile Suit Research in PLANT.
He still needs some time.
During this period, there's a lot he needs to do, such as checking whether Lacus's secret factory is completed yet, and working on other defensive measures.
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