[Countdown to premiere... 3... 2... 1... Begin]
[Current broadcast mode: LIVE]
[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Songstress of the Void—Premiere]
With the countdown's end, the new series finally went live.
Strictly speaking, Episode 0 had been a side story. The official broadcast began with Episode 1.
Which was now.
[First! Marking my spot before this blows up!]
[Finally!]
[One whole month—do you have ANY idea how I spent this past month?!]
[Please don't switch the protagonist!]
[Episode 0 is now available on the platform—go watch it if you haven't]
[Rebuilding the glory of mecha—our sacred duty!]
[I'll say it right now: mecha is dead. The hype right now is because of the two female leads. If you try to go full robot-war, it won't work]
[Who says? Episode 0 was packed with intensity. Even without a boss unit showing up, it was ridiculously hype]
The screen gradually brightened.
Morning light like melting honey, dripping slowly along the folds of the curtains.
Dawn. Artificial sunlight illuminated the man-made satellite Heliopolis.
"Time to get up, Inori-chan."
"Mm..."
The bundle of blankets on the other side shifted slightly. Pinkish-white strands of hair spilled from beneath the covers, shimmering like silk in the morning light.
The girl curled up a little, tucking her exposed foot back under the blanket.
[I'm dead!]
[Woman, you have successfully piqued my interest!]
[Three minutes—I want to see the female lead's doujin!]
[PRPRPRPR]
[The moral decay! Even Gundam is selling out!]
[Why does this feel kinda like the morning after?]
[The morning after lmao]
[Morning after I'm dying lmao]
[Would you people stop deadpanning your way through comedy]
Different world, same chaos-gremlin audience. The memes kept rolling, same as always.
After all, these were both modern societies.
Sometimes Inori wondered—would she ever get the chance to break into an ancient or fantasy-world market? What would the audience be like then?
Kira walked to the window and opened it.
The dim room flooded with light.
Despite calling herself an AI android, Inori-chan was unexpectedly prone to sleeping in.
Kira looked outside.
It was a scene of peace.
The "hole" in the sky had been repaired last year.
According to the official statement, a ZAFT warship had collided with the satellite due to instrument malfunction—an "unfortunate accident."
But Heliopolis had long since returned to its former tranquility.
Only the memory of last year's bizarre adventure still lingered, stirring something in Kira.
But right now, Kira had other things to do.
"Time to get up. We finish the MV shoot this morning, then there's the live show this afternoon."
"Mm."
A muffled sound came from within the blankets.
[Called a thousand times before she finally appears, face still half-hidden]
[Cute]
[First time watching Gundam—anything I should know?]
[Nothing special. When you see something pretty, just cheer]
Kira tidied up the room. After a while, the rustling of fabric finally came from behind her.
Inori-chan stepped barefoot onto the constant-temperature floor, her nightgown strap slipping down to her elbow.
The girl's expression was blank as always, her face still half-asleep—which somehow only made her look even more adorably spacey.
[Kawaii!]
[Am I really watching Gundam?]
[She could debut as an idol next door]
[Want to consider a rhythm-game crossover?]
"Hurry and get changed. I'll go make breakfast," Kira urged.
"Mm." Inori nodded.
The camera followed Kira out of the room and into the living area.
She turned on the TV, then headed to the open kitchen. She tied her hair back and started frying eggs.
On the TV, a talk show featuring Orb military analysts was playing.
"It's been eleven months since the Bloody Valentine of CE 70. The tension between Earth and PLANT escalated into armed conflict almost overnight. At first, no one doubted that the numerically superior Earth forces would prevail—yet reality deviated sharply from those predictions. Professor, what's your take on this?"
"Well, the total global population is around 15 billion. The number of Coordinators is approximately 500 million, and PLANT's population is only about 60 million. The Earth Alliance coalition represents roughly 7.5 billion people. From that perspective alone, the Earth Alliance holds a clear advantage."
"Indeed."
"But I have another set of figures here. Humanity's total Gross National Product is split roughly fifty-fifty between space-based and Earth-based production, and the vast majority of that value is generated by Coordinators. In other words, a total space population of under 100 million produces roughly the same output as Earth's 14-billion-plus. If you exclude powers like Orb and the Lunar Cities that don't belong to PLANT's faction, the 60 million people of PLANT and the Earth Alliance are essentially at parity."
(The gap really is that big)
"Quite a complex situation."
"However, PLANT does have its own weaknesses. The space environment means many resources still depend on Earth-based transport. Asteroid resource extraction is limited..."
[Coordinators? Not Newtypes?]
[Watch Episode 0—they mentioned something about genetic modification]
[Gene enhancement, maybe?]
[Pretty scary though—tens of millions of people with the same productivity as billions]
[Feels like the world-building is bigger than Witch from Mercury or Iron-Blooded Orphans]
[Not bad at all]
"Hmm, I see..."
She set the fried eggs and toast on the table, and the bedroom door opened.
"Sorry for the wait, Kira."
Inori, dressed in the Goldfish Outfit, emerged from the room.
[Here she comes]
[Damn, that's good]
[What material is that? Latex?]
[It looks like a goldfish lol]
[Feels like she's wearing less than the nightgown]
[Welcome to the "sleepwear has more fabric than the actual outfit" series lmao]
[This is it! This is it! This is what I wanted to see lmao]
(The official name really is the Goldfish Outfit)
"You know, you wear your performance outfit all day every day. Can't you at least wait until it's time for the stage or a shoot before changing?"
Kira shook her head with a sigh.
"Because changing is a hassle."
This was a lie.
The real reason was that the Stage Outfit's visual impact was outstanding, and this was the Episode 1 premiere.
This was, in fact, fan service for the audience.
Of course, the platform had regulations, so the audience couldn't see everything.
Kira didn't press further.
After spending some time with Inori, Kira had discovered that she was something of a minimum-effort enthusiast. Despite calling herself an AI, she was surprisingly lazy.
[This gives off real couple vibes]
[The girlfriend doing housework and the boyfriend who just woke up?]
[But doesn't Kira seem like she spoils Inori-chan?]
[Wait—are they living together?]
[Holy crap, now that you mention it]
[Please, go watch Episode 0]
[Not bad though. I ship it!]
[Guhehehe, guhehehe!]
"Outside... more war." Inori-chan looked at the TV.
"Yeah. But we're a neutral country, so... at least it's peaceful here."
Kira looked outside.
Today, too, was a peaceful day.