"Is it really that important to you that ZAFT pays?" Athrun figured that if Inori kept hounding them, ZAFT was far more likely to make her disappear than to pay her.
But Inori shook her head.
—What was that supposed to mean?
"…Don't tell me you actually want ZAFT not to pay, so they'll owe you a favor?"
Athrun came up with another possibility.
In wartime, celebrities simply weren't that important.
But… what about peacetime?
Once the war ended, all kinds of postwar reconstruction and stabilization would be necessary.
At that point, a Songstress capable of soothing people's hearts would become vastly more important.
And if ZAFT also owed her a favor…
But Inori still shook her head.
"Then what do you mean?"
Athrun's brain had been thoroughly short-circuited by Inori.
"Whether ZAFT pays is not important. Whether ZAFT refuses to pay is also not important."
"Then what is important?"
"Forced Liquidation is important."
"—?!"
Forced Liquidation?
What did that mean?
[Inori is so open about it. She's seriously not hiding a thing]
[Even when grabbing permissions, she has to do it openly and aboveboard, huh]
[The key is that nobody else even cares]
[Who the hell would imagine an AI is tricking people into giving it permissions?]
[I'm dying, it really is]
[No wonder Kira hesitates every time she grants permissions]
[At first I thought the protagonist was too wishy-washy and indecisive. Now I'm thinking being too decisive would be bad too]
[I feel like Kira is smarter than she looks. She's actually pretty sharp]
[Kind of like a smarter Mercury Suletta?]
[Kira doesn't have enough initiative of her own]
[Inori has taken such good care of her that she's becoming useless]
"Hm…?"
Athrun still had no idea what was going on, but Cagalli seemed to remember something.
Inori had apparently talked to Kira before about needing some kind of permission.
Cagalli did not understand the details, but she vaguely felt that the two things were connected somehow.
"You're… serious?" Athrun's brain was already fried.
"Affirmative."
Athrun looked intently at Inori.
But as he kept looking, Athrun suddenly sensed something was off.
Inori's spacesuit seemed even more daring than Cagalli's. A thin layer of armor covered the outside, but the latex-like inner suit beneath it was completely transparent.
Earlier, with his life in danger and everything else happening, Athrun had not noticed. Then Inori's words had shocked him so thoroughly that it was only now that he finally became aware of it.
"Ugh…"
Cagalli suddenly elbowed him.
"W-what?" Athrun asked.
"Nothing. I was asking what you're going to do. Inori-san said she wasn't going to capture you, right?"
"Uh, right." Athrun looked troubled.
Was he supposed to stay here all by himself?
"Together," Inori said.
"Is that okay?" Athrun said nothing; Cagalli was the one who spoke first.
"Mm. No problem. Do not forget the rescue fee."
Give me a break.
I'm not the Earth Alliance.
"What about the Aegis Gundam? And the Astray Red Frame?" Cagalli asked.
"Together." After a pause, Inori continued, "The Aegis Gundam also incurs a fee."
"But if you take it, I'll come after you again later," Athrun said.
"Mm. The more, the better," Inori said.
"Huh?" Athrun was stunned.
"Huh?" Cagalli caught on a beat later.
"Appearance fee."
When the Archangel was being modified, Inori had already made Murrue Ramius sign an agreement.
Every time she and Kira took the field, they were to be paid an appearance fee.
"Hey, hey, don't tell me you're going to demand money from Orb too?" Cagalli asked irritably.
"Mm. Orb's cooperation with the Earth Alliance led to ZAFT's attack and caused our property losses. I have also retained a lawyer to send Orb a formal demand."
Incidentally, the lawyer was Inori herself.
[We want ZAFT's money, the Alliance's too, and Orb's even more]
[You have to collect from everyone. That's what a healthy system looks like]
[It sounds ridiculous, but it makes way too much sense]
[Exactly. You make a major celebrity take the field and don't even pay an appearance fee? What kind of nonsense is that?]
[Kira: I don't think this is funny]
[This part is basically a comedy bit to let us relax in the middle of the story. If you take it seriously, you lose]
Indeed, by this point, everything felt like a lighthearted interlude in the middle of the story.
But… Inori was not lying.
"Fine. Whatever Orb owes you, Orb will definitely pay it back!" Cagalli was refreshingly straightforward about this. "Orb's cooperation with the Earth Alliance was wrong in the first place!"
"Cagalli…" Athrun was a little surprised.
Cagalli really was sticking firmly to the principle of neutrality.
But there was still one problem. "Inori-san, you said you're taking the Aegis Gundam with us. How exactly are you going to move it?"
"Four-Unit Clasp Formation," Inori said.
"Clasp Formation? How? What is that?! A mirage?!"
A black object resembling a coffin appeared behind Inori.
Then a number of rice-cooker-like robots poured out of it.
Athrun had seen those robots during the livestream of her concert.
He had thought they were mascots.
No, wait. How had that Black Monolith appeared?!
Hold on, Black Monolith?!
"There are four Gundams here. The three Astrays and the Aegis Gundam have broadly similar specifications," Inori said. "Therefore, a Four-Unit Clasp Formation can improve stability and control performance."
"But the Aegis Gundam and the Astray Red Frame can't move anymore," Cagalli said.
"The Aegis Gundam is still worth repairing, but repairs will require some time. The Astray Red Frame still has fuel and energy. Its power system can be restored."
By then, the machines had already begun repairing the two units.
"Can the Astray Red Frame still be used?" Cagalli asked.
"No. But the parts are compatible and can be transferred to the Gundam Astray Gold Frame. Do you need me to repaint the Gundam Astray Gold Frame red?"
It was only paint. That part was easy.
"But that cockpit…"
It was full of strange fluids.
"Mm. The Fyu-Neru will clean it thoroughly. There will be no residual odor."
"Uh, the Red Frame really can't be used anymore?" Cagalli asked again to make sure.
"Correct."
"Then let's do that."
Cagalli ground her teeth.
But after all, she had already made Athrun drink "purified water."
Cagalli had given up trying to salvage her dignity.
—Worst case, she could have someone replace the entire cockpit later!
"So what exactly are we doing?" Athrun asked.
"First, we leave the Debris Belt. The Aegis Gundam happens to have an external thruster. We can use it to rendezvous with the nearest ZAFT forces."
[The light has left Cagalli's eyes]
[I feel like Inori is planting a landmine for Kira here]
[Inori is an AI, so none of this matters to her, but Kira's side might be a different story]
[I don't think Inori cares about any of this at all]
[It felt like Lacus had noticed something toward the end of the previous scene]
[Fans know their idols best, huh lol]
At that moment, the screen shifted back to the Archangel once again.
After all, that was where the main plot was.
Inori could currently be considered "outside the main plot."
And by now, Le Creuset had already set his sights on the Archangel…