As everyone dispersed to attend to their own tasks, Yang Hui was about to leave when Siegel Clyne called out to him.
"Is there something else, Lord Siegel?"
"No need to be so formal, Yang Hui. Just call me Uncle."
"..." Yang Hui narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze tinged with wariness. "What do you want?"
"Wait, is that how you see me?"
"Unwarranted kindness often hides ulterior motives."
"Get lost!"
"Gladly!"
"Come back!"
"No way!"
Yang Hui's instincts were usually spot-on. He had guessed that Siegel Clyne had kept him behind and acted so amiably for a reason—one he had been avoiding. Seizing the chance, he tried to slip away, but even with one foot out the door, he stopped.
"What are you going to do about Lacus?"
"..."
Sure enough, Yang Hui's intuition was right. He knew Siegel Clyne had brought this up for a reason.
Honestly, Yang Hui still hadn't figured out his feelings toward Lacus. He had to admit—she was beautiful and exceptionally talented.
But when a woman possessed beauty, ability, and personality—all at their peak—it felt unreal, as if such a woman couldn't possibly exist. She was too perfect, flawless in every way.
Moreover, the truth was, Lacus had been the one pursuing him, while he had never fully accepted her advances. The main reason was her perfection—so perfect it felt unnatural. Yang Hui also harbored some wariness toward her, suspecting that her pursuit might have ulterior motives.
Yang Hui's view of love was still far from mature. He preferred naive fairy tales, pure romance, and simple mutual support. Once other motives were involved, it felt tainted—something he disliked.
"You know I'm a playboy. She could never be my only one," Yang Hui said, searching for excuses to dissuade Siegel Clyne.
"So what? It's your skill to have so many admirers, and your ability to keep them harmonious. You already have four—what's one more?" Siegel Clyne retorted with a shameless grin.
"You—!" Yang Hui spun around, his finger trembling as he pointed at Siegel Clyne. "Are you even a father? Pushing your daughter into a pit like this!?"
"My daughter's heart is already set on you. What else can I do?" Siegel Clyne rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Don't you know? Lacus, just like you, has had her own mind since childhood. Neither her mother nor I could ever control her."
"I... That's not... At least try to act like a responsible father!"
"Can't control her, won't control her. Besides..." Siegel Clyne narrowed his eyes with a resentful look. "A pit like yours? There isn't a second one in the entire world."
"Pfft—!" Yang Hui nearly choked on his own anger. Only now did he realize Siegel Clyne was an old rogue at heart!
"Are you even a man? Give me a straight answer! Will you accept Lacus or not?" Siegel Clyne had thrown all caution to the wind. His career was effectively over—even if the Zala faction collapsed and he could return to PLANT, he'd only be put out to pasture. The [Terminal] only held significance during wartime, capable younger successors had already risen through the ranks, and at his age, it was time to pass the torch.
The only thing that could truly rattle Siegel Clyne now was his daughter's lifelong happiness.
"...Forget it..."
"Bullshit! Listen here, Yang Hui! Since my daughter met you, no one else has caught her eye. If you reject her, she'll remain alone for the rest of her life. Can you bear that?"
"...But Lacus, she..."
"I know. You call her 'Demon Lux' behind her back, don't you? Because she seems too perfect to be real? Because you're afraid she has ulterior motives? Well, let me tell you something, Yang Hui! The only 'ulterior motive' Lacus has toward you is constantly thinking about how to expand your influence!"
"How... how do you know that?" Yang Hui was stunned. Only his closest confidants knew about his nickname for Lacus and his reservations about her. How did Siegel Clyne... figure it out... damn it!
Realizing the truth, Yang Hui's expression turned resentful: "A lifetime of wisdom, only to be betrayed by those closest to me."
"Heh, now you get it?" Siegel Clyne smirked triumphantly. These "intelligence reports" had indeed come straight from Yang Hui's inner circle. "They're already as close as sisters. You're the only one still hung up on these baseless worries."
"That's not—"
"Besides, aren't you the same kind of person? What right do you have to call my daughter a demon?"
"Well..."
"So, give me a straight answer—yes or no?"
"..." Cold sweat dripped down Yang Hui's forehead as he inched toward the door.
"Stay right there!"
"No way!"
The moment he cleared the doorway, Yang Hui bolted, quickly vanishing from Siegel Clyne's sight.
To his surprise, Siegel Clyne wasn't angry at all. Instead, he wore a mocking grin: "Heh, that brat. Just like those two girls said—so naive. There's no way he's escaping my daughter's grasp."
...
Only when certain Siegel Clyne couldn't catch up did Yang Hui slow his pace, grumbling incessantly as he headed toward the White Tiger: "What kind of person is he? A father without any dignity, pushing his daughter into the fire. I'm clearly the victim here, but he's making it seem like I'm the instigator. Is there no justice in this world...?"
"Uh..."
"What now!? Oh... Lowe?"
"Yeah..."
Lowe stood there drenched in cold sweat, wearing an awkward smile, his half-raised hand frozen mid-wave—neither fully extended nor fully withdrawn.
"How long have you been here?"
"Actually... I've been following you for a few minutes."
"Ah... cough What brings you here?" Yang Hui knew Lowe had overheard his entire monologue, but he maintained a straight face through sheer willpower. As the saying goes: if I don't feel embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to someone else!
"I was about to ask you the same thing." Lowe, being perceptive, followed Yang Hui's lead to drop the previous topic—or perhaps he was just thick-skinned and indifferent to things he didn't care about. "Why did you sneak off here without a word? I was planning to go to Ame No Minashira to find you, but by the time I got there, you guys had already..."
"You went to Ame No Minashira?" Yang Hui was shocked. Ame No Minashira was Mina's territory, and he had just teamed up with Gai Murakumo to kill her brother. "How did you get Mina to let you go?"
"She didn't give me any trouble."
"Huh?"
"I just told her I was looking for you, and she said you'd come here, so I followed. She's actually pretty nice."
"Heh... heh..." Yang Hui forced a dry laugh and gave Lowe a thumbs-up. Sometimes, Yang Hui really wondered—were Kira, Athrun, Lacus, Cagalli, and Shin truly the protagonists of this world? Shouldn't Lowe be the real chosen one?
Just look at the others—life-and-death struggles, orphaned parents, emotional turmoil... That really did sound like protagonist treatment. Wait, no—what he meant was, if they were all protagonists, why didn't Lowe have to go through any of that? Smooth sailing all the way, turning danger into opportunity, scavenging cutting-edge Mobile Suits from trash, defeating powerful enemies, always getting bailed out by his bros at critical moments, and even resolving a blood feud with the sister after killing her brother... Seriously, would any novel dare write this? I sure wouldn't.
"Anyway, why did you come looking for us?" Yang Hui asked Lowe.
"To help you guys, of course."
"Huh? You... help us? In battle?"
"Yep." With that, Lowe recounted what had happened after he parted ways with Yang Hui and returned to space, as well as the words spoken to him by Captain GG (the first Coordinator, George Glenn, assassinated in CE 53. After his physical death, his brain was preserved and connected by the Professor to the main computer of New Home, Lowe's team's new mothership). He also explained the true meaning behind the term "Coordinator."
"So that's how it is... I understand now." After hearing Lowe's account, Yang Hui felt deep respect for Captain GG. As a pioneer of Coordinators and someone who had already died once due to a Natural's assassination, he had remained true to his original ideals.
His interpretation of what it meant to be a Coordinator was also admirable.
"Heh, but Yang Hui, you're not much of a friend, keeping such a dangerous mission from me." Lowe grinned and patted Yang Hui on the shoulder.
"Weren't you dealing with your own issues? And what I'm about to do... one wrong move, and it's death."
"Come on, I'm the universe's luckiest bastard!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Thanks, Lowe." Yang Hui was genuinely grateful. What they were about to do could only be described as a near-suicidal mission, yet Lowe was willing to risk his life to help—whether out of personal feelings or a sense of duty, it deserved Yang Hui's thanks.
"Cut the sentimental stuff." Lowe shoved Yang Hui playfully. "Oh, I brought someone else along—a real expert."
"An expert? Gai?"
"Not him. You know Gai never works for free."
"True. Then who?"
"Follow me. I'll introduce you."
Following Lowe to New Home, Yang Hui saw a familiar stranger.
"Jiang Kerry?"
A burly and stern middle-aged man exuded an aura of iron discipline and rigor. With short golden hair and two cricket-like bangs hanging over his forehead, he wore glasses—this was none other than Jiang Kerry, the Earth Forces' ace MS pilot known as the "Shining Fiend Star J."
This was Yang Hui's first time meeting him, but he was no stranger to Kerry's background. As a Coordinator serving in the Earth Forces, Kerry had long faced discrimination within the military. Yang Hui had tried multiple times to recruit him without success, never expecting to encounter him here.
Then again, it made sense. Yang Hui recalled that although Kerry had been ostracized in the Earth Forces, the military had no MS units back then, making him too valuable a combat asset to let go.
Now that the Earth Forces had established their own MS units, Kerry had become expendable. The Atlantic Federation, notorious for its hostility toward Coordinators, could no longer tolerate his presence. Only out of respect for his past contributions did they spare his life, merely exiling him instead.
And then, by sheer cosmic luck, he had stumbled into Lowe—the universe's luckiest bastard.
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