Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"I was only recently assigned to the Sand Lizard Squadron and haven't participated in many battles."

"But as long as you stay under that white ogre's command, you'll definitely have a chance, right? I'm a little envious of you."

Then, Gao Ren paused for a moment:

"……envious?"

"correct."

Seemingly unaware of anything amiss, Alma simply continued speaking to herself:

"I really want to go to the front lines, so that I can show those guys who have always looked down on me what I'm capable of!"

"What if they die?"

"Huh? But I don't think I'm capable enough to just fall on the battlefield. I'm pretty strong, you know."

"And what about the others?"

"Huh?"

"What mindset should you have when facing the enemy? What mindset should you have when killing them?"

For some reason, Alma felt a chill in her body.

The lingering eerie wind made her look around, trying to find its source in the sky or the surrounding buildings, but in the end, her beautiful eyes couldn't help but look into the eyes of the boy in front of her.

In that deathly still, murky silence, he spoke, word by word:

"What do you consider war and life to be?"

A sudden wave of inexplicable panic washed over the girl, leaving her mind almost blank.

She felt as if she could see a lot, but the sensation was like being squeezed in a small cabin, almost making it hard for her to breathe.

"Sorry……"

"Ok?"

"sorry!!"

The girl's enthusiasm and kindness ultimately turned into an uneasy escape.

Watching that suddenly fleeing figure, Gao Ren's expression was somewhat indescribable:

"What's wrong with this person?"

Author's message

…………

I quickly went through the manga and game storyline of Code Name Fairy, and all I can say is that the descriptions are still too abstract.

The comic strip somewhat redeemed those girls; it just goes to show that people aren't inherently bad, but they lack common sense, so they need real-life experience to toughen them up.

Incidentally, she is indeed a NT (non-NT), a genuine Flanagan.

Chapter 45: A Girl Who's a Bit Off-the-Head

"enemy……"

The setting sun slanted into the west window, casting a long shadow onto the old floor.

The flickering flames seemed to have their own consciousness; the tiny specks of light moved about on the floor and desk before finally dissolving into the unreachable shadows of the room.

Peaceful—that's the only thing that comes to mind when you see this scene. If it weren't for the roar of some high-powered engines that can still be heard outside the window, it would be hard to imagine that this is a scene in a logistics base on the front line.

But this is the reality, and this is everything that Alma Stirner encounters every day.

From Side 3 to the Moon, and now to Earth, it has always been like this since I joined the Zeon forces.

Their daily work consisted of following their unit around, and even when they tried to find clues in their local newspapers and online news, all they could see was the Earth Attack Force's overwhelming propaganda:

"The Great Zabi Family's Noble Son: Mr. Karma Zabi Addresses All Zeon Soldiers Fighting on Earth"

Commander-in-Chief of the Attack Forces, M. Koby, discusses Earth culture.

Long Live Zeon – The battlefield is our glorious destiny!

Liberating the Earth—Our Cause is the Sword of Justice

She subconsciously scrolled through the various news articles that appeared on the tablet, and the lake-green light in the girl's eyes reflected the various inflammatory propaganda slogans.

Coupled with those carefully selected photos of the front lines and medal presentations, it only makes people yearn for the front lines.

And that is precisely why:

"battlefield……"

As she slowly uttered the word, the girl's thoughts inevitably drifted to that cold face that seemed to convey sorrow.

She seemed unable to answer that question until the very end.

Looking back now, she feels she can't even quite remember how they parted ways.

It was not what I had imagined; it was not a pleasant meeting, and in the end, it ended in a hasty escape.

"life……"

But soon, the sweltering heat dispelled all the dejection.

"Life smells so good... No, wait!"

"So, what is our Sergeant Alma thinking?"

When she came to her senses, she saw a reproachful face:

"Captain Monica."

Captain Monica Cadillac, their Unit 603's technical evaluator:

"You're usually the most enthusiastic one at mealtimes, but I haven't seen you at all today. Lieutenant Mei even asked me if you've changed your ways today."

"Ah ha ha……"

Perhaps realizing that she had indeed been somewhat absent-minded today, she couldn't help but scratch the back of her head:

"So what did you eat tonight?"

Of course, this is actually an unnecessary question.

Under Captain Monica's helpless gaze, Alma finally turned her attention to the desk in front of her.

On a large plate sits a tender and juicy steak, still steaming hot from the oven. The plating, including the potatoes and vegetables, showcases the chef's ingenuity.

In the corner, there was a large slice of cream cake:

"This is..."

"This was prepared especially for you."

Captain Monica said with a smile:

"At first I thought a little girl like you would like this kind of thing, but now it seems to be just right."

Is it just right?

"Well, eating something sweet can soothe the mind and body."

"That's right."

Recalling the candies she had eaten before, Alma had a sudden realization:

"Captain, do you think the soldiers traveling to and from the front lines get to eat cake?"

"Ok?"

Meeting the girl's expectant gaze, Monica's expression involuntarily turned strange:

Why is this problem suddenly occurring?

"I don't know, I don't know what the soldiers on the front lines eat..."

No, no, no, that's not the point.

Seeing that the girl seemed about to repeat her somewhat incoherent speech again, Monica immediately stopped her:

"Why would you suddenly have such a question... no, that's not right."

Considering the girl's consistently unconventional way of thinking, she couldn't help but cover her head in frustration.

"Anyway, let's start by talking about what happened to you today?"

"Nowadays……"

At this point, the girl couldn't help but purse her lips:

"Today I met someone my age in the army."

At this point, the girl's thoughts drifted back to almost six hours earlier.

"At first, he gave me a very comfortable feeling, so I wanted to talk to him, but then..."

She thought of that face, of those lifeless eyes:

"What do you consider war and life to be?"

"It seems I made him angry."

…………

'Crunch'

Under the same setting sun, the sound of creaking and groaning could be heard from the bridge of the Gallup-class land battleship, the USS Hump.

As a land-based warship, the relatively small Hump did not have a dedicated canteen. Obviously, there was not much hot food available on board. The only options were high-calorie energy bars and hot cocoa.

To be fair, the taste was certainly not good, and for Gao Ren, who is from the East, it was a torture for his taste buds.

Fortunately, these things are sweet enough, and because of this, the constantly tense mind can get a moment of relaxation.

"Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's discuss our next strategy."

Just as Gao Ren finished his hot cocoa in one gulp, he saw the man in front of him casually throw a large pile of plastic packaging from his table into the trash can.

Kuvatro Bagina, hands on his hips:

"After all, we are very pressed for time."

"He sat on the bridge all afternoon without moving, and he still has the nerve to say such things."

"Well, there's no other way. The scars on my face are too noticeable, plus I used to work in the intelligence department."

Faced with Shirley's habitual fault-finding, he simply calmly adjusted his sunglasses:

"My face is going to cause a sensation!"

"Could it be more sensational than Ah Ren? He even put on makeup and went out to work right away."

"That's not quite the same, after all. Watching Federation internal channels is illegal within Zeon, and no one would have thought that the Federation would send a superstar to do this kind of behind-enemy-lines work... Of course, we brought it on ourselves."

With a grin, Cuvatro stretched.

"So, based on our exploration in three groups this afternoon, we have grasped the situation inside the base, and the conclusion is... complacency."

After scanning everyone on the bridge, the captain spoke:

"After on-site investigation, it was found that both Sergeant Clyde and Lieutenant Gao Ren discovered the laxity in Zeon's logistics - in order to make things easier, these people not only failed to store tank or mobile suit parts and ammunition separately, but also failed to lock the mobile suits themselves directly."

"Not only that, but as long as you put on a sign and confirm that you are a member of an elite unit, it seems that no one will question you too much."

"That's right. With the continuous expansion of territory, the Zeon army is at its peak in terms of both morale and complacency, making it a perfect opportunity to deliver a blow to their heads."

At this point, Cuvatro first laughed exaggeratedly, but quickly suppressed his mockery:

"But that's precisely why we must remain highly vigilant—"

At that moment, Gao Ren felt that everyone's gaze had shifted to him, especially Kuvatro, whose red eyes behind his sunglasses made no attempt to conceal them.

"Lieutenant Gao Ren, as the one who proposed this infiltration plan, what do you think we should do next?"

"...to destroy, to capture."