Gundam, the Gundam journey of a certain glue guy and his mecha girl.

"In countries that love 'Genius Steel,' there are no bad people."

Raven and Al, carrying a bag full of models and tools, went into a small restaurant on the street to rest. As soon as they sat down, Al picked up the box of Super Alloy Gekigane with shining eyes.

"Okay, I know you like Gekkoman. But when did you watch Gekkoman? I don't remember doing that."

"Raven, don't you have the complete BD version of Gekigane on your personal computer?"

Raven was taken aback, then remembered that Al had full access to all his devices; accessing the data on his computer to look at something like Georgina was a piece of cake...

Raven suddenly broke out in a cold sweat as he remembered something that could be fatal.

"Wait, you mean you go through the images and data stored on my computer when you have nothing to do?"

Al nodded.

"Then... you also opened that folder called 'The Path to Philosophy' in the encrypted area of ​​drive D?"

"Of course."

Raven immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

“But Raven, you don’t need to worry,” El whispered in Raven’s ear, narrowing her ruby-like eyes. “I will keep the contents of this a secret, such as your XINGPI.”

Al deliberately enunciated each syllable clearly right next to Raven's ear, making Raven wish he could disappear into the floor. Fortunately, the waiter's voice rescued Raven from his embarrassment.

"Sir, your Kebap is ready. What sauce would you like to add?"

"Thank you for the chili sauce."

"Wait a minute!"

The burly man who had been sitting at the table next to Raven suddenly stood up and spoke loudly in his booming voice.

"Kebap tastes best with yogurt sauce!"

Chapter 41 Banadia Holiday (2)

"Kebap tastes best with yogurt sauce!"

Raven recognized Andrew Barthelter at a glance—the bespectacled man who had declared 'yogurt sauce is the best in the world'.

Raven came to Banadia with the purchasing team, not only wanting to take El out for a stroll, but also hoping to meet this man known as the "Desert Tiger".

Although Raven had a general understanding of Andrew's personality, to truly understand someone, one ultimately had to meet them in person.

Moreover, having finally made it to North Africa with the Archangel, it would feel like something was missing if we didn't have a cup of coffee brewed by Tiger.

Unexpectedly, the small street shop that Raven randomly chose was the very place where Andrew was staying.

"But I prefer the salty and spicy taste of chili sauce."

Raven wasn't intentionally trying to cause trouble; he genuinely prefers the taste of hot sauce.

“Hey buddy, you and this masked lady don’t look like locals. If you’re tourists, isn’t it the essence of travel to occasionally give up your familiar tastes and try something new?”

Behind his sunglasses, Andrew scrutinized the young man before him with sharp eyes.

"What you said makes sense, so I'll choose that."

Raven then picked up the sauce bottles for chili sauce and yogurt sauce, and squeezed them onto one side of the burrito, filling it completely.

"That way you can enjoy both flavors at the same time."

Andrew was clearly taken aback, his eyebrows behind his sunglasses raised slightly as he looked at Raven thoughtfully.

At that very moment, at the street corner directly opposite the restaurant, a group of rioters began their operation.

"For a blue and clean universe!"

Accompanying this slogan was a hail of bullets.

Andrew was the first to react. He kicked over the table to use as cover, grabbed Raven by the back of his collar, and pressed down on Al's shoulder with his other hand, shoving the two of them behind the table.

These thugs were terrible marksmen; a burst of fire didn't harm Andrew at all, but several bullets did hit ordinary civilians who couldn't escape in time.

Bullets whizzed past his ears, but Raven remained completely unfazed, calmly munching on the meat patty in his hand.

“Hey buddy,” Andrew said, pulling out his pistol and peering out from behind the table to observe the thugs’ positions. He glanced at Raven out of the corner of his eye, his tone a mix of admiration and exasperation. “You’re certainly impressive in the face of danger, but can’t you be a little nervous in the face of a terrorist attack?”

Raven simply shrugged and looked at Al beside him.

"It's up to you now."

Al didn't answer. Instead, he seized the opportunity, leaped to the empty table next to him, grabbed the table with one hand to use as a shield, and picked up a chair with the other, throwing it violently at the thug.

A chair spun and flew in, knocking down several thugs. Then, Al raised the table to catch several bullets and charged straight across the street under the fire of the remaining thugs.

She first hurled a table at the top of her lungs, forcing the thugs to hastily holster their weapons and cover their heads in fear. Then, she swiftly closed in on her enemies, punching the nearest unfortunate man in the stomach, causing him to immediately curl up on the ground, clutching his stomach and convulsing uncontrollably. She then spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending another man flying through the air like a kite with a broken string, crashing through a street window and landing inside a shop, his fate unknown.

These rioters had never witnessed such a surreal scene before. The fervor stirred up by the slogans instantly dissipated. They immediately dropped their guns and turned to run away, but the ZAFT plainclothes officers, who were already in position, would not let them escape so easily. Another burst of gunfire rang out, and several rioters who turned to run away were immediately riddled with bloody holes and shot dead on the spot by the ZAFT plainclothes officers.

"What an ugly farce."

Andrew stood up from behind the cover, first looking at the girl with surprise at her superhuman skills, then reaching out to help Raven up as he swallowed the last bite of his burrito.

“My name is Andrew Butterfield, the Desert Tiger of ZAFT.” Andrew took off his sunglasses and sized up the fearless black-haired youth. “What’s your name, buddy?”

"Raven."

The black-haired youth gave a brief answer, but then realized it was too simplistic. After a moment's thought, he added, "I've already said that."

"Recently, the newspapers over there seem to be calling me 'Skyfire Crow,' I don't know if you're familiar with me."

-----------------

Raven and El were invited into Andrew's car and taken to his mansion.

Al remained tense throughout. Being recognized by the enemy leader on the street and surrounded by ZAFT soldiers, even Al couldn't see any possibility of safely escaping with Raven.

ZAFT is an army composed entirely of adjusters, and these professionally trained adjusters are not as easy to deal with as those thugs from before.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Compared to the nervous El, Raven looked relaxed and even had time to comfort El.

Although the Desert Tiger is a difficult enemy to deal with, the fact that he didn't kill the civilians of Tarsier that day, and the prosperous appearance of Banadia, shows that Andrew is a man with a strong sense of principles.

"You're Andy's friends?"

Upon arriving at the mansion, Raven was greeted by a woman with long blue hair, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit that seemed completely out of place with her gentle demeanor.

“That’s right, Elsa. They’re a very interesting pair, especially the masked lady. If it weren’t for her, we might have run into a lot more trouble today.”

Elsa's gaze fell on El, whose robes were now riddled with bullet holes and dust, and were in a terrible state.

“Then please come with me, miss. I’ll find you some clothes; you can’t keep wearing this tattered robe.”

"No, ma'am, I don't need it..."

El reluctantly took a step back, her voice behind the mask somewhat stiff. Taking off her clothes meant revealing the inhuman parts of her body.

Although El doesn't usually say it, he actually cares a lot about this matter.

Moreover, her going with Elsa means that Raven will be left to face Andrew alone.

This is different from MS battles. Although Raven trains regularly, he is no match for a professional adjuster like Andrew.

Raven noticed Al's worry, so he lowered his head, brought his face close to Al's mask, and whispered something.

"Just treat this as a novel experience."

Elsa took El's hand and led her away into the depths of the corridor.

"Now that the two beautiful ladies have left, it's time for us men to have some fun, wouldn't you say, Mr. 'Crow'?"

Andrew opened the door to the reception room and spoke to Raven.

Chapter 42 Banadia Holiday (3)

The door to the reception room closed behind him, and the moment Raven entered the room, his gaze was drawn to something placed in a corner of the reception room.

"Is this a copy of 'Evidence 1'?"

Raven took the coffee Andrew handed him.

"How is it? It looks a lot like the original, doesn't it?"

Andrew's voice came from behind Raven.

"The original PLANT document is as big as an entire wall. Every time I look up at it, my neck gets sore."

As he spoke, he raised the hand that wasn't holding the coffee and gestured in the air, drawing a long arc.

"George Glenn discovered fossils of alien life on Jupiter. If I ever have the chance, I really want to go to PLANT and see them in person."

Raven's tone carried an undisguised longing; few boys wouldn't be curious about the vast universe, and Raven was no exception.

"I didn't expect you to be interested in these fossils. What, are you tired of being an MS pilot?"

Andrew turned his head, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said in a half-joking tone.

Raven's reaction surprised him; such words didn't sound like something a pure warrior would say.

"I'm just like George Glenn, longing for that starry sky."

Raven turned his head and looked directly into Andrei's eyes.

"Andrew, don't you have even the slightest curiosity about that starry sky?"

Andrew was silent for a few seconds, but finally, he chuckled, took a sip of his coffee, and said.

"This is wartime. As a soldier, all I need to think about is how to defeat the enemy."

"But wars always end. Even soldiers have things they enjoy doing besides fighting, right?"

Raven spoke in a nonchalant tone, while Andrew raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough, this young man was not the pure warrior he was portrayed to be; he should have been in the classroom or laboratory rather than on the battlefield.

"Then tell me, how will this war end?"

Andrew spoke slowly and deliberately, showing genuine interest in Raven.

"War is different from a game. There is no time limit or score. So how do you determine the winner and how do you bring it to a close? Does it only end when the enemy is wiped out completely?"

"It's very simple: war is not an end in itself, but a means. To truly end war, the contradictions that led to it must be resolved."

Raven spoke slowly and deliberately.

"You don't think you can resolve the conflict between the mediator and the natural person on your own, do you?"

Andrew's tone carried a hint of sarcasm. Raven's argument was like that of a student who had just entered society—young, passionate, but naive.

Raven shook his head.

“Regulators and natural persons? No, Andrew.” He raised his eyes and looked directly into the other’s gaze. “The conflict between regulators and natural persons has simply been deliberately intensified.”

Raven took a sip of coffee to moisten his throat and continued.

"What truly needs to be addressed are those corrupt individuals lurking in the shadows of the world, greedily extracting wealth from human society. If they are not eliminated, this war will only repeat itself countless times. Therefore, it is essential to organize a force capable of confronting them."

Looking into Raven's eyes, Andrew noticed that although there was the passion and innocence unique to young people in his eyes, Raven's tone was extremely calm.

"Even if what you say is true, how will you gather the power you need? You can't rely on just words."

Raven smiled.

"Naturally, it's all thanks to my connections, my reputation, and my brains. I'm the designer of the G Project mechs, a war hero of the Allied Forces, and a friend of Commodore Halbarton, commander of the Eighth Fleet."

"So, now you're going to try and persuade me, a ZAFT soldier?"

"Regardless of our current stance, I believe that peace-loving people will always come together. I believe that our connection will not be limited to the battlefield."

Looking at Raven, Andrew suddenly thought of Kruze for some reason.

That gloomy guy who always wears a mask probably hates people like Raven the most.

Andrew suddenly thought of it.

A quiet fell over the meeting room as the two men silently sipped their coffee.

The silence was broken by the sound of the doorknob being turned.

Aisha led El, who had changed his clothes, into the room.

El's long robe had vanished, replaced by a gothic Lolita dress. Layers of delicate lace adorned the dark purple hem, adding a touch of mystery to El's serene demeanor. Her legs were encased in white pantyhose, and her arms were tightly covered by long silk gloves. A small shawl draped over her shoulders, concealing her shoulders and neck. A black headband adorned her head, creating a striking contrast with her long silver hair. However, she still wore the mask that revealed only a pair of ruby-like eyes.

"How about it, gentlemen? This outfit took El and me a long time to put together. Isn't it cute? It's just a pity that I'm too old to wear this out in public."