Who is Playing the Love Development Game in Gundam

After exchanging updates on their recent situations along the way, Badgiruel finally turned her gaze toward Xiao Liu.

"And who is this?"

"My apologies, I am Xiao Liu, an advisor to Lady Cagalli."

He Kui, controlling the machine, gave a slight bow.

"Xiao Liu..."

Badgiruel looked at the sunglasses-wearing Xiao Liu with a hint of curiosity.

"We've arrived."

While Badgiruel was still puzzled, Cagalli had already opened the door to a hidden hangar. As the massive steel doors slowly swung open, what came into view was not the Archangel.

After all, the Archangel was under strict security, and someone of Badgiruel's unclear status naturally couldn't access it. Even He Kui, as Xiao Liu, was unable to go there.

They were heading to Murrue's workplace, the battleship development department of the Dawn Organization.

As the captain, Murrue also served as a support staff here, providing input on the design of new battleships during non-combat periods. Being a civilian official, she was quite familiar with this role.

The Dawn Organization covered a vast area. Upon entering the gate, there were no maintenance staff around, only soldiers stationed on either side of the entrance.

"Lady Cagalli, who is this?"

Faced with the sudden appearance of Cagalli, the two guards were startled and then looked at Badgiruel. Although Badgiruel wasn't in military uniform at the moment, her iron-willed demeanor naturally exuded.

"She's a friend."

Though just three simple words, and without any supporting evidence, Cagalli's reputation in Orb was even stronger than Lacus's. Thus, they smoothly passed the guard post and entered the development department.

Inside, the corridors of the development department were eerily quiet, with only signs hanging in front of each room indicating groups like aerodynamics, weapons, and armor.

He Kui wasn't very familiar with battleships, as his research had always focused on MS.

But the Kusanagi should have been completed by now.

However, they were likely researching more on atmospheric combat vessels.

If he wasn't mistaken, during their negotiations with ZAFT, they would probably include the condition of helping Orb rebuild Heliopolis.

Although ZAFT had currently pinned the blame on Creuset, they also bore some responsibility.

It seemed that Orb's space battleships were about to flourish once again.

As He Kui pondered this, the three of them walked to the innermost advisory room. Without a doubt, this was where Murrue worked.

"Let's go in then."

Not giving Badgiruel a chance to wait, Cagalli knocked on the door.

"Miss Murrue~?"

"Please come in."

Hearing Cagalli's voice, Murrue was puzzled for a moment before her voice quickly followed.

After tidying up her work documents, Murrue looked up as the door slowly opened, and her face soon showed an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

"Natal?! You... how are you here?!"

Her voice naturally cracked, the surprise in her tone clearly evident. If it weren't for the shadow, Murrue might have thought she was really seeing a ghost.

After all, previous intelligence had indicated that Badgiruel was the captain of the Dominion and had even attacked Orb once, though unsuccessfully.

"Murrue... it's been a long time."

Badgiruel's expression was complex, but a sense of relief still welled up in her heart.

It wasn't joy or happiness, but a warmth akin to returning home, making her lips curl slightly upward.

Perhaps she truly hadn't expected to see Murrue again.

"It's a long story, but essentially—"

Cagalli told Murrue about how she had directly taken Badgiruel away and the situation with the Aegis.

Of course, she omitted the part about Xiao Liu.

"In any case, although we didn't let the Sahak family take Miss Badgiruel away this time, for whatever reason, it's still better for us to go see Father."

Cagalli concluded.

Since Badgiruel was brought here by the Aegis, Cagalli alone certainly couldn't handle the situation.

If they didn't seek out Father, the Sahak family would come looking for them.

Hearing this, Murrue nodded with a complicated expression, then turned her gaze to Badgiruel, her eyes seemingly filled with countless words.

Meanwhile, Cagalli and Xiao Liu tactfully stepped outside the room.

"Do you think Father will protect Badgiruel?"

Cagalli asked worriedly.

"He will. If he didn't, he would have stopped it already."

"Then why didn't he say it himself?"

Halfway through her sentence, Cagalli suddenly realized something.

"Is he trying to let me take credit for this?"

There was a difference between Uzumi directly protecting Badgiruel and Cagalli herself doing so.

So, for the sake of his daughter's reputation, he had subtly used the Sahak family.

One could say he had put a lot of thought into it.

He Kui's coordination with the other party was also improving.

And Cagalli was gradually becoming more perceptive.

"..."

"Are you angry?"

Seeing the girl frown and pout, He Kui chuckled.

"No... I just feel like I can make people like me on my own."

"And I always feel like I'm being foolish."

Cagalli muttered gloomily.

"Perhaps that's true."

Hearing He Kui actually agree, Cagalli shot him a murderous glare.

"Cagalli isn't foolish, just straightforward."

"Then if something like this happens again, you have to tell me first!"

Cagalli pouted.

"Alright."

"And won't Father be discovered for protecting Badgiruel?"

Cagalli quickly continued.

"She's changed her appearance, so few people will notice."

"And even if they do, what can they do?"

They had already discovered the Archangel during the last Orb defense battle.

They had protested countless times, both openly and covertly.

But Orb had no intention of listening anyway.

Next, they would use Cagalli's influence to relax the surveillance on Badgiruel, giving her more freedom to move around, thus fulfilling their promise.

This wasn't difficult, as Badgiruel's abilities were well-known, and she had suffered greatly during the previous defense battle.

Moreover, Badgiruel's actions at the time could be attributed to Muruta's coercion and hadn't caused much actual damage to Orb.

Plus, very few people knew she was the captain, so there were plenty of ways to clear her name.

As the two talked outside the room, the two inside were also catching up.

"Where are they?"

Badgiruel avoided Murrue's overly enthusiastic gaze, a look she had often found annoying in the past but now felt strangely unfamiliar.

After the incident with the nuclear bomb, she felt as if something inside her had been shattered.

"Mu became an instructor, and as for those kids, they've all moved on. Some became journalists—do you remember Sai?"

"He also became a civil servant."

Murrue recounted these details as if they were treasures.

"Yeah, that young man..."

"He's here doing research now, and the old crew is all here too. Let's go report to Lord Uzumi first, and then we'll grab a drink."

After saying this, Murrue stood up with a smile and pulled Badgiruel into a tight embrace.

"Welcome back."

"..."

The warmth from Murrue was an experience Badgiruel had never felt before.

It also made her original thoughts begin to waver.

Living here with them like this didn't seem so bad after all.

(End of Chapter)