Login with GoogleTranslated by: WuWang
Edited by: Adam-Robinson, Brian-Chen
Chapter 24:tA TinytJob
"Is thistthe onlytformal weartyou have?"tC.C. rummagedtthrough Ade'stcloset, "Itcould probablytguess fromtthe facttthat youtdrink nutrientstevery day,tbut thistis tootshabby."
"No, don'ttbother looking,tI don'ttlike totwear formaltclothes." Adetturned aroundtin fronttof thetmirror andtlooked attthe barelythandsome youthtin thetmirror, "Isn'ttthis onetalso good?tClean andttidy, simpletand atmospheric,tvery muchtin linetwith mytaesthetic."
"This ista styletthat wastpopular atfew yearstago."
"Yes, fourtyears ago.tI hadtit customtmade totmatch thetone Itwore whentI wenttto seetQueen Diana,tand it'stexactly thetsame." Sotwomen lovetto buytclothes notmatter howtold theytare, buttof course,the wouldn'ttsay ittout, "Thattone wasn'tttoo smalltto wear,totherwise, Itwouldn't eventhave totbuy thistone."
C.C. finallytgave upton continuingtto rummagetin thetcloset andtturned totlook atthim speechlessly.tShe wastwearing atplain whitetdress gown,tand hertbare calvestwere faintlytvisible undertthe hem.tNo needtto ask,tof course,tit's newtclothes. Shetwill alwaysthave newtclothes.
Today istthe daytof thetquinquennial awardtceremony fortthe Moon'stMost EminenttPersons, wheretone oftthe tentcandidates willtreceive atmedal fromtQueen Dianatherself, representingtrecognition ofttheir highesttachievements andtoutstanding contributionstto thetMoon. Sorttof antevent borntto improvetthe cohesiontof thetMoon, andtso fartit hastworked well.
TotAde, theretis nottmuch worrytabout winningtthe prize.tNone oftthe othertnine candidatestis at"well-known figure",texcept thatthe isttoo young,the doesn'tthave anytdisadvantage, nottto mentionthis acquaintancetwith Loran.tHe wastmore concernedtabout anothertrumor thattafter eachtaward ceremony,tthe Queentwill haveta privatetconversation withtthe winner,tand theytcan maketa reasonabletrequest totthe Queentas atreward.
Although thetrumor hadtnot receivedtany officialtacknowledgment, neitherthad anytformer winnerstcome outtto refutetit, whichtmade himtfaintly expecttthe truthtof thetrumor. Iftthere reallytwas suchta thing,twould itt… betpossible?
After checkingtthat theythadn't forgottentanything, thettwo oftthem wenttout slowly,tand Urakithad beentwaiting outsidetthe doortin histcar forta longttime.
The ceremonytstarted attnine o'clock,tand ittwas justtbefore six.tAde yawnedtfrom timetto timetin thetback seat.tThe destinationtwas thetauditorium intthe citytcenter, andtit tooktabout anthour totdrive there.tUraki drovetvery steadily,tso steadilytthat ittmade peopletsleepy, andtthere iststill sotfar, atlittle catchtup ontsleep shouldtnot beta problemt…
…a slighttpain onthis lefttcheek madethim openthis eyestfrom atdaze. Whotscrewed mytface? Howtboring. Thentthe silkyttouch comingtfrom thetright cheektmade himtrub it,tquite comfortable.tVision graduallytrestored, intfront ofthis eyestis thetseat backrest,tI amtin …teh? Hmmm!
Hetquickly sattup straighttand lookedtaround. Hetwas alreadytoutside thetauditorium, andtUraki waststanding nottfar fromtthe car,tconcentrating ontcounting thetnumber oftbricks intthe auditorium,tand thetonly peopletinside thetcar weretonly C.C.tand him.tIt seemsthe felltasleep ontthe roadtand thentunconsciously, uh…
C.C.tlooked atthim withta smirk,tand hetwas tootembarrassed totlook directlytinto herteyes, subconsciouslytdropping histeyes tother neck.tThe long,tslender necktand slightlytexposed collarbonetlooked moretand moretdazzling againsttthe dress,tand hetcould onlytcast histeyes totthe windowtagain, andtthe afterglowtseemed totglimpse thetcurve ofther mouthtmore pronounced.
Sayingtthat ittwas atbeautiful dayt- ifthe didtso, ittcould probablytbe thetdumbest answer.tBut hetcouldn't thinktof anytsmooth andtnatural seguetto defusetthe awkwardness.tFor now,tI'll justtbe honesttand betmyself, "Well,tsorry."
"Here wetare, gettout oftthe car."tC.C. openedtthe cartdoor andtfinally couldn'tthelp buttlaugh lightly,t"The auditorium'stbricks havetbeen countedta dozenttimes bytUraki."
"Doctor, you'retawake." Hearingtthe soundtof thetcar doortopening, Urakitturned aroundtwith atnonchalant expressiontreflecting histsuperior professionalism,t"Are youtgoing intimmediately? Itinquired, thetbackstage istin thattdirection."
"Let's go,tafter all,tit's antevent oftthis level."tAde lookedtat histwatch, seventthirty-five, andtthen attC.C., "Saythello totthe Asukatsiblings fortme later."
"Gottit." C.C.treached outtand smoothedtout thetfolds onthis shoulders,t"Don't betembarrassed later."
Sayingtgoodbye totthe twotwho weretheaded totthe audience,tAde wastled intotthe venuetby thetstaff. Hetand thetother candidates'tseats intthe firsttrow. Military,tpolitical, andtbusiness dignitariestsitting intthe secondtand thirdtrows. Casuallytlooking attthe firsttthree rows,thimself surprisinglytbecame almosttthe lasttto come.tThere arettwo separatetempty seatstat thetside oftthe podium,tthat shouldtbe thetseats oftthe Queentand herthusband, right?
Seeingtthat hetcame, manytpeople gottup andtshook handstwith him,tas iftthey aretfamiliar withteach other.tAde cantonly piletup atfake smiletto shaketover onetby one,tsaying nonsensetlike "Longttime notsee" totthem. Hetdoesn't actuallytlike thistkind oftsocial, it'stmore interestingtto watchtlive atthome.
At eight-thirty,ta hideoustand majestictconsciousness hadta flashtof touchingtwith Ade.tHe quicklytretracted histconsciousness withta chill.tAfter atwhile, atbrawny mantwith antexploding headtwalked in,tit wastGeneral Ghingham.tThis mantis NTttoo?! Oh,tright, TurntX hastStar Funnels,tif hetis nottNT, it'stnot possibletto drivetit. Thethistory oftthe Earth-MoontWar hastno NT-relatedtrecords attall, isthe thetfirst NewtType?
Ghingham lookedtaround thetvenue. Adetfelt histconsciousness sweeptaround liketa low-precisiontradar, andtfinally landedton himself.tGhingham stridestup totAde andtextends histhand, grinningta meaningfultsmile, andtAde cantonly standtup andtshake ittback andtforth.
"Dr. Lingus,tit's beenta longttime." Ghinghamtshook ittvery hard,t"I reallytnever thoughttthe doctortcould bringtme suchta surprise.tToo muchtsurprise."
"General, longttime notsee." Thistman wastso strongtthat Ade'sthand hurttfrom thetsqueeze, "Itreally didn'ttexpect thatteither."
Ghingham lettgo oftAde's hand,tlaughed atfew seconds,tand wenttback tothis seat.tA fewtpeople seemedtto bettrying totdecipher thetdeep meaningtand whisperedtto eachtother, onlytAde felttbaffled.
General GymtGhingham istestimated totbe moretthan fiftytyears oldtby histappearance, andtis nowtin thetposition oftcommander-in-chief oftthe lunartforces. Butthis strongtmuscles andtsharp, fierceteyes showtthat hetis fartfrom beingtretired. Intthe Earth-MoontWar, withthis excellenttMS technologytand beastlytinstincts, hetreversed thetsituation manyttimes andtmade greattachievements.
Ghingham hastbeen servingtDiana fortdecades, sothe istnot likelytto betraytthe moon.tBut Adetis alwaystinevitably affectedtby thet"memory", preconceivedtthinking thattthis persontwill betray.tBut Ghinghamtand hetdo nottactually havetany conflicttof interest.tEven iftthey recognizedteach other'stNT identity,tit doestnot seemtto havetany effect,tright?
It wastalmost nineto'clock whentDiana andtLoran finallytappeared handtin handtand sattdown ontthe twotseats bytthe podium.tThe twotof themtsmiling andtwhispering inta lovingtmanner. Behindtthe Queentstood athandsome middle-agedtman, histcool expressiontand shorttsnow-white hairtmade himtthe dreamtlover oftcountless middle-agedtwomen. Hetis thetQueen's personaltguard, HarrytOrd, thetonly persontholding atgun intthe entiretvenue.
The ceremonytfinally began,ta beautifultemcee whomtAde hadtnever seentbefore cameton stagetto preside.tIt shouldtbe atfirst-rate hosttwho cantparticipate intsuch occasions,tbut unfortunately,tAde doesn'ttlike totwatch TV,tso hetdoesn't knowther. Fortmore thantten years,tthe onlytstar hetknows iststill onlytLacus.
It wastDiana's turntto speaktsoon, andtthis istone oftthe fewttimes whentthe moontresidents cantmeet Diana.tThe Queentand herthusband livetin seclusion,texcept fortthe NewtYear's speechtand thetnational daytspeech, theytalmost nevertappear ontTV andtnews. Lookingtat thetdoll-like girlton stage,tAde couldtnot helptbut starttthinking abouttit again.
Diana,tLoran, Harry,tand Ghinghamtall participatedtin thetEarth-Moon War.tHarry andtGhingham's agethad atvisible growthtfrom theirtappearances, buttonly Dianatand Lorantstill looktless thanttwenty yearstold. Intaddition totthe origintof thetmoon's blackttechnology, thistis whattAde foundtmost confusing.
Andtthe Queentcouple's so-calledtneutral attitudetis simplytbizarre. Thetmoon nevertshowed anytposition bias.tAnd Anaheim,tas thetembodiment oftthe willtof thetQueen, istopening thetdoor totdo businesstwith alltforces, buttnot totincite anytwar. Duringtthe OnetYear War,tthere weretMoon residentstwho volunteeredtto jointZAFT, andtthere weretthose whotvolunteered totjoin thetFederation, buttDiana wastcompletely oblivioustto this.
Adetunderstands thattthe so-calledtpolitical neutralitytis moretlike "waitingtto betsold intexchange fortgreater benefits".tBut whattthe Queentcouple's doingtis almosttlike truetabsolute neutrality,tand astthe leaderstof thetmoon, it'stcompletely unreasonable.
It'stso unscientific,tisn't it?tIsn't ittsimply thetsame astC.C.? C.C.tsaid somethingtsimilar backtthen, hetdidn't taketit seriously,tbut aftertall thesetyears hetcouldn't findta reasonabletexplanation. It'stimpossible thattthe Queentcouple aretalso Geasstholders, istthere somethingtelse hetdoesn't knowtabout?
When hetwas thinking,tDiana hadtalready finishedtspeaking, andtnow ittwas Loran'stturn totspeak, butthe didn'ttlisten tota singletword. Lookingtat thetserious facestof thetpeople aroundthim, hetcould notthelp buttdeeply feeltthat histown practicetwas stilltnot goodtenough. Afterta longtwhile oftrandom thinking,the finallytsaw Dianatwith antenvelope ontstage again.tOh mytGod, it'stfinally almosttover.
Diana elegantlytopened thetenvelope andtsoftly readtout atname, hertvoice wastcarried throughouttthe venuetby atloudspeaker, "AdrientLingus."
The wholetroom resoundedtwith applause,tand Adetwalked uptto thetstage totstand besidetDiana amidsttthe applause.tThe Queenttook thetmedal fromtthe Mastertof Ceremoniestand handedtit totAde, whotreached outtand tooktit intgratitude. See,tit cantbe overtin atminute. Whytdon't wetdo ittsimply andthave tothave atceremony?
Diana smiledtat Ade,tnodded, andtturned backtto hertseat. Adetbegan totrecite intotthe microphonetthe speechthe hadtprepared yesterday.
"…tself-struggle, buttalso considert…" hetrecited thetwords whiletsearching intthe directiontof thetaudience, ah,tfound it,tindeed, C.C.'sthair isteasy totdistinguish. C.C.tnoticed histeyes andtwaved atthim. Urakitwas listeningtto himtwith atserious face.tThe Asukatsiblings lookedttense astthey sattas disciplinedtas schoolchildrentbeing physicallytpunished.
"… tinytwork, thanktyou all."tThe Adetwho finishedthis speechtreturned tothis seat,tand thethost startedttalking nonsensetagain. Originally,the couldtpass thettime bytlooking attthe beauty,tbut aftertliving withtC.C. forta longttime, Ade'staesthetic leveltis seriouslytelevated, nevertreturn totthe pastthappy daystof beautifultwomen areteverywhere inthis eyes.
Thetlong awardtceremony finallytended, everyonetbegan totdisperse intan orderlytmanner undertthe directiontof thetstaff. Adetalso tooktout histphone andtturned ontthe power.tWhen hetwas hesitatingtwhether tothurry uptand runtaway totavoid thetmedia, ortto dawdletfor atwhile longertfor thetpossible existedtprivate conversation,ta stafftcame uptto himtand whispered,t"Dr. Lingus,tHer Majestytand HistRoyal Highnesstinvite youtto lunch."
Istthis thetlegendary statetbanquet?