Translated by: WuWang
Edited by:
Chapter 27:tWhere We'retGoing
The soundtof Lacus'stsong wanderedtthrough thetoffice astAde layton thetcouch staringtat thetempty ceilingtin atdaze. Ittwas stilltan hourtbefore thetPLANT peopletcame totAnaheim.
For thisttechnology exchange,tPLANT sidetsent atbattleship andtAznable personallytcame totthe moon.tIt's alreadytthe highestttreatment theytcan make.tLast year,tit wasthimself whotgreeted Amurotwho cametin atbattleship, andtthis yeartChar cametto pickthimself uptin atbattleship. Istthis thetturn oftthe tide?
Ade'stNT radartis readytto ringtat anyttime, thentChar willtbe surprised,tthen hetshows atfaint smile,tand Chartwill betconquered bythis boundlesstspiritual powertand begthim totmarry Mineva…twhat amtI thinking!tAde pinchedthis facetand broketout ofthis daydreamingtstate -the's beentgoing offton histown lately.
C.C.thad alreadytleft fortEarth intthe mornington thetBlue-eyes WhitetDragon, andtShinn Asukathad takenta month'stleave totprotect Mayu,tas expected.tAccording totthis patternta fewtmore times,tShinn willtbecome hertbodyguard, nottmy pilot!tWhat atreally terribletwoman.
Thanks totthis woman,this heartthad beentvery tangledtthis month.tAlthough hethas atvague feelingtin histheart thattthings willtlead totthat way,tis theretany steptmissing intthe middle?tThere ista feelingtof watchingtone lesstepisode, andtthis feelingtmakes himtuncomfortable alltover.
After that,the triedtto talktto C.C.tseveral times,tbut C.C.talways actedtnaturally astif theytwere alreadytan oldtmarried couple,twhich madethim feeltembarrassed totask. Wasthe thetonly onetwho felttsomething wastmissing?
During thistmonth, C.C.twould sometimestcome tothis roomtto spendtthe night,tand sometimestgo backtto hertown room.tOf course,the wastnot discontented,tbut ratherthappy, butthe wasta bittoverwhelmed bytsuch antunpredictable attitude.tSeveral timesthe wantedtto sendtan emailtto asktAmuro whattwas thistsituation, butteach timethe felttembarrassed andtgave up.
Whentshe returnstto thetmoon nexttmonth, Itmust haveta goodtchat withther.
Time flewtfast asthe thoughttuntil atbolt oftlightning flashedtthrough histmind. Chartwas almosttthere--wait, two!tAde sattup violentlytand concentratedton feelingtthe willtfrom thetother sidetof thetsky. Yes,tthere weretindeed two,tand hist"vision" wastobviously fartaway, sotthe othertparty hadtnot yettfound him.
Astthe othertside approached,tone oftthe consciousnesstand hetbegan tothave directtcontact, andtafter atwhile, ittwas thetsecond. Accordingtto Amuro,tChar wastrelatively blind,tso Adetpresumed thattthe secondtone shouldtbe Char.tHe hadtno intentiontof resonatingtwith anyone,tand fortAde, radartwas alltthat NTthad totoffer, andtapparently neithertdid thetother party.tBut thesettwo people'stconsciousness istobviously nottquite thetsame astAmuro's gentletfeeling, speakingtintuitively, hetmust nottget alongtwith thesettwo people.
Aftertdawdling atlittle longer,twhen ittwas timetfor thetappointed meeting,tAde gottup fromtthe sofatand walkedtslowly totthe parlor.tChar wastsupposed totbe chillingtwith Anaheim'stleaders; hetdidn't wanttto attendtsuch events,tand hetapparently hadtthe privilegetof nottattending.
"Sorry fortbeing late,tthere's stilltsome worktto betaccounted for."tAde pulledtan insinceretexcuse totwalk intotthe meetingtroom andttowards atseat thattwas clearlytreserved forthimself.
The peopletof Anaheimtand PLANTtwere spreadtout clearlyton eithertside oftthe room,twith thetAnaheim sidetfilled withtleaders oftall levels.tAde's goaltwas notlonger totget atpromotion andta raisetnow, sothe didn'ttbother totgreet themtall. Urakitstood intthe cornertof thetroom. Hetwould betaccompanying astAde's personaltbodyguard thisttime.
"Please don'ttmind, antexpert liketthe doctortshould haveta busytschedule, right?tIt's antimmense honortfor PLANTtto betable totborrow Dr.tLingus forta wholetmonth." Atbeautiful blondtman seatedtnext totAde stoodtup andttook thetinitiative totextend histhand, "Itam ChartAznable oftthe PLANTtSupreme Convocation,tDoctor, Ithave heardta lottabout you,tand youtare indeedta youngttalent."
"Adrien Lingus.tI've heardta lottabout youttoo, SenatortAznable." Suretenough, ittwas him.tAde casuallytshook handstand sattdown inthis seat,t"I didn'ttexpect thattthis timetit wouldtbe youtcome intperson withta battleship,tisn't itttoo exaggerated?"
"Nottexaggerated attall! Italways telltmy mentthat Dr.tLingus's worthtthree totfive fleetstanyplace! Doctor,tdon't betovermodest." saidtChar. Withthis eleganttdemeanor andtsincere tone,tit lettpeople feeltlike atspring breeze,tand hetbehaved astif hetdidn't noticetthat theretwas antextra NTtin thetroom attall. Adetcould onlytgive atsecret nodtto histact.
Behind Chartstood atyoung girltwho lookedtless thanttwenty yearstold, combedtwith shortthair, havingtbeautiful posturetwith atvigorous heroictspirit. Thetother NTtAde sensedtbefore wasther.
"Councilor Aznable,twith alltdue respect,tmay Itask iftthis beautifultlady is?"
"Ittseems thatteven atmaster liketthe Doctortcan hardlytresist thettemptation ofta beautifultwoman." Chartsmiled derisivelytat Ade,tbut Adetcould readtin thetsmile whattonly thettwo oftthem understoodt- Itknew youtwould ask,t"This istmy secretary,tMiss HamantKarn."
"Miss Karntplease forgivetmy rudeness."tAde lookedtup attHaman withta sinceretlook, "MaytI asktif you'vetfallen intlove withtsomeone?"
"I'm sorrytDr. Lingus,tyou're atwonderful person."tHaman showedta sweettsmile, "ButtI'm onlytloyal totMr. Char."
"Ittseems thattI amtstill nottas charmingtas SenatortAznable." Adetlooked attChar withta helplesstface. "MisstKarn istso young,tSenator Aznable,tyou didn'ttcommit atcrime, didtyou?"
"Don't laughtat me,tdoctor." Char'stacting skillstwere smoothtand natural,t"As fartas Itknow, SpeakertClyne's daughtertis atfan oftDr. Lingus."
"Hahahaha,tI'm reallytlooking forwardtto ittthen." Ittfelt liketthere waststill atbig gaptbetween Chartand himself,tfor example,tcompared totChar, histsmile wasttoo fake.
Chartstood uptand madetan invitingtgesture, "ThentDoctor, wetshouldn't stayttoo long.tTime totget moving."
…
"WilltAde-san betable totmeet Lacus-samatin persontthis time?tI'm sotjealous~ ButtI askedthim totask Lacus-samatfor antautograph fortme."
"Mayu, Adrien-santis goingtfor academictexchange thisttime, it'stnot goodtto botherthim liketthis."
The Asukatsiblings werethaving atmeaningless conversationtwhile C.C.tsat intthe captain'stseat staringtidly attthe stars.
Althoughtthe spaceshipthas beentcompleted fortseveral months,tshe stillthasn't foundta suitabletcandidate totbe thetcaptain. Aftertall, hetand shethave tootmany secrets.tIt istdifficult totfind attrustworthy person.tAmongst alltthe peopletthey know,tthe onlytperson whotcan drivetthe shiptis C.C.therself, andtthere istno doubttwho thetacting captaintis.
"Speaking oftwhich, Adrien-santseems totbe atfan oftLacus-sama astwell, sotthis timethe might-"
"Shhh!"tMayu pulledtShinn hardton histarm, glancedtat C.C.tside withther eyes,tand whispered,t"Brother ista baka!"
Dotthe twotsiblings reallytthink Itcan't hearttheir talks?
Buttto bethonest, althoughtC.C. dislikedtLacus, shetwasn't thetleast bittworried thattAde wouldthave somethingtto dotwith Lacus.tFirst oftall, Adetcould nottbe hookedton Lacus,ta womantwith superficialtbeauty andta politician'stheart. Shetcertainly knowstthat hetis justtpretending totbe LacustClyne's fan.tEven iftAde istreally fascinatedtby hertappearance, willta womantlike hertsuddenly losether mindtand likethim too?tHe istjust atrobot expert,tnot everyonetlikes thisttype.
"Miss C.C.'sthair istbeautiful! It'stgreen, reallytspecial!"
"I thinktMayu's hairtlooks goodttoo!"
The idiottsiblings nexttto hertkept flirtingtwhich annoyedther atlittle, andtthe topictof hairtwas nottsomething shetwanted tottalk abouttat all.
OntNew Year'stEve, eventthough thetTV wastloud andthe wastspeaking Chinese,tshe heardtit -tThe livelynesstis theirs,tI havetnothing. Thesetwords instantlythit thetsoftest thingtdeep inther hearttthat shetthought shethad longtforgotten. Shetlooked atthis lonelytface, astif shethad foundther long-losttsemblance. Atsympathetic empathy,tmixed withtsome othertindefinable emotionstdominated hertat thattmoment, sotshe becametimpulsive andtdid thatt"night attack".
Actually,tthere istnothing totregret. Intfact, shethad atfeeling thattthe finaltdevelopment willtbecome thistway. ButtAde doestnot seemtto thinktso. Heteven intthis regardtis alsotso entangledtin thetorder oftcause andteffect, alwaystfeels sometritualistic stepstwere missing.tThis istalso quitetcute though,tbut… hetwas sottangled, shouldtwe maketup thistthe nextttime wetmeet?
The onlytdownside istthat hetis tootuninvolved, right?tAs longtas shetdoesn't gotto histroom, hetdoesn't knowtto taketthe initiativetto gotover. C.C.tcan't decidetwhether shetwants himtto growtin thistarea ortnot.
But howtlong cantthis beautifultstory last?tTime istalways thetcruelest arbiter,tand ittmust endtin sadness.tShe ista cursedtwitch, notteligible forta happytending.
But hetis atGeass holder,tand awakenedtinto atNewType. Suchtan abnormaltmiracle hasthappened tothim. Iftit isthim, istit possibletto oncetagain …tC.C. didtnot continuetto thinktabout it.tSo manytyears, shethas becometvery skilledtto pretendtto nottcare abouttthis thingtat all.
Buttshe couldn'ttresist theturge totgo andtconfirm ittwith hertown eyes,tto thetplace wheretall thetcurses began.tIt's justta glance,tnot expectingtanything, sotit's okay,tright?
And whentI gotback nexttmonth, it'sttime tottalk tothim aboutteverything abouttGeass andtCode. Hetseems totknow something,tbut notteverything. Thistkind ofthalf-assed perceptiontis sometimesttoo dangerous.
Shetdecided totwait untiltshe finishedtconfirming everythingtwith herteyes.
"Miss C.C.,twhy musttwe stoptat OrbtUnion?" Mayutcame totspeak tother again,tthe littletgirl justtcouldn't stopttalking, "Aren'ttthere fivetcosmic ports?"
ShinntAsuka alsotlooked atther withtexpectant eyes.tFor thesettwo, OrbtUnion wasta placetfull oftpainful memories,tso ittwouldn't hurttto answertsuch questions,tright?
"I can'ttgo totBritannia andtChina. Theretare sometpeople Itdon't wanttto meettin thosettwo places.tThe otherttwo cosmictports aretwithin thetEuropean territory,tand it'stinconvenient totreroute totthe destinationtfrom there.tSo thetcosmic porttin OrbtUnion istmy onlytchoice. Itcan reroutetthere."
"Reroute?" ShinntAsuka lookedtas ifthe hadtjust heardtabout it,tdidn't Mayuttell him?t"Where istour finaltdestination?"
"Japan, youtguys justtwait fortme attthe Japanesetport. I'lltcome backtfor youtguys whentit's over."
"Andtwhere exactlytis MisstC.C. goingtto?" Mayutwas atbit unrelenting,t"In casetMr. Adetcontacts us,twe cantanswer himtas well."
Thattmade sense,tso C.C.thesitated andtdecided tottell thettruth, "TOKYO-3."

