Despite the battle that had broken out not far from the castle—which had nearly spilled over into the grounds—the wedding of Louise's cousin ultimately concluded quite smoothly.
No one was injured, and the guests even gained a bit of conversational fodder. All's well that ends well... What? You're asking about the dead Michael and Nena? As far as Shinn was concerned, they had already ceased to be classified as human.
"We had so much fun at the banquet today!"
Leveraging her adorable appearance, Mayu Asuka had been showered with small gifts at the party. She was currently lugging them over to Shinn, who had just parked the car.
"As you know, we should probably see each other less... no, it's better if we never meet again. It's for your own good."
Seeing Mayu's current happy state, Lunamaria Hawke let out a small sigh of relief. she turned to look at the conflicted Louise Halevy and her mother. "Getting too deeply involved with us isn't a good thing. You should delete our contact info as soon as possible."
"Eh? Delete it...?"
Watching her newly made "friends" issue what sounded like a declaration of severed ties, Louise stood dazed. Her thoughts were thrown into disarray by Lunamaria's words, and she instinctively looked at her mother, hoping for a solution.
"Louise, as long as you don't let yourself have regrets, that's enough."
Louise's mother smiled, tossing the question back to her daughter. After all, if the decision wasn't one's own, there would only be resentment in the end. Losing high-quality friends over such circumstances would be a shame.
"No matter what decision you make, we will always support you, Louise."
At that moment, a male voice sounded from behind Louise's mother. A man in a suit walked to her side. "After all, in this part of the Advanced European Union, the Halevy family still has a bit of a say."
"Eh, Darling?!"
Louise's mother looked at the man in surprise. "Where were you? I haven't seen you all this time!"
"Ah... that. I was checking out those fellows' collection in the wine cellar. I just finished dealing with the AEU investigation team."
Mr. Halevy smiled, glancing toward the distance where AEU troops were searching for Throne fragments after having just extinguished the forest fire.
"That boy driving... he's the pilot of that black Gundam, isn't he?"
After a brief silence, Mr. Halevy spoke words that nearly caused Lunamaria and Stellar to move into a combat stance. They had never met this man, and Shinn's voice hadn't been heard by him—how could he possibly know?
"After all, the boy left just before those... terrorists masquerading as Celestial Being launched their attack, and only returned after the dust had settled. Any way you think about it, he's a suspect."
Mr. Halevy chuckled, turning his gaze toward Shinn, who had just stepped out of the car. "However, the lad is clever. He left quite a few alibis, which made it a lot easier for me to cover his tracks and deal with the AEU investigators."
Mr. Halevy observed Shinn, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
By all appearances, Shinn's age suggested he should be in school. Yet, at such a young age, he exhibited such a mature side and participated in combat?
A prematurely ripened fruit... is rarely healthy.
Under everyone's gaze, Mr. Halevy walked over to Shinn, who was helping Mayu load the small gifts into the sedan's trunk.
"Hello. I am Louise's father. You may call me Mr. Halevy."
He observed the youth before him. That aura of being a "pillar of the family," much like his own, was fully evident in Shinn.
"Fighting... is exhausting, isn't it, young man?"
"...No matter how exhausting it is, it's something that must be done."
Faced with Mr. Halevy's direct inquiry, Shinn only paused for a moment before continuing to help Mayu with the gifts.
"But, young man, what is the reason that keeps you fighting?"
Mr. Halevy had no intention of talking in circles; instead, he questioned Shinn directly. "You should understand... nothing is more dangerous than meaningless power."
The reason to keep fighting—Shinn had known the answer to that question for a long time.
Having seen the earth torn apart by greedy desires and having experienced cruel pain, Shinn cherished the present all the more. He hoped more than anything that there would never be another version of himself, of Mayu Asuka, or of Stellar Loussier...
"I just... don't want more people to end up like me."
Shinn fell silent for a moment before continuing, "I don't want more people to become miserable because of wars started by ambitious men. I don't want to see the birth of more victims of war."
"Whenever I see people living happily, or children playing joyfully in a park—such beautiful sights... I think, this is what I want to protect. This is my reason for fighting."
It was a somewhat idealistic reason, yet coming from Shinn's mouth, it sounded perfectly rational.
"I see..."
Looking at Shinn, Louise Halevy's father smiled instinctively. Perhaps because this youth had awakened his long-dormant passion, he felt himself becoming more emotional than usual. After all, a man remains a boy until he dies; a youth's blood and spirit never truly vanish, they only lie quiet in the heart, needing just a single spark to ignite once more.
"Leave quickly. The AEU investigation team won't let this go easily; they'll likely search every inch of this castle."
Mr. Halevy patted Shinn on the shoulder. At this moment, in his eyes, Shinn was no longer just a boy, but a man—equal to himself, or perhaps even superior—brimming with beautiful ideals.
"Thank you. And... thank you for your hard work."
The unexpected gratitude made Shinn blink in surprise, but soon, a smile spread across his face.
Yes, protecting this beautiful world and its innocent people—that was his reason for fighting.
-----------------------------------
The gates of a hidden base creaked open. Missing its legs and large portions of its armament and armor, the Throne Eins drifted inside, wobbling unsteadily before collapsing onto the floor.
"Cough, cough... Dammit."
The cockpit of the mangled machine opened, and a weakened Johann Trinity crawled out.
The Hangar's mechanical arms extended, lifting the battered Throne Eins into a maintenance rack. Haro units within the base began controlling engineering droids to initiate repairs on the machine.
"Michael... Nena..."
Recalling his dead brother and sister, Johann removed his helmet and tossed it away in frustration; it clattered as it hit the ground.
The machines of the Trinity team were all heavily specialized in specific directions—Nena's support type, Michael's close-combat type.
Now, with only Johann's bombardment type remaining, his future missions would undoubtedly become much more difficult.
"Dammit! Ravens!"
Johann slammed his right fist into the floor, letting out a roar like a wounded beast—a display of powerless rage.
.................