Chapter 330: Arrival at Orb
Tolle stretched out both hands, spread his fingers, and made grabbing motions with a lecherous grin. "My dear, now that you know all my secrets, I'll never let you escape my clutches again. Hahahaha."
Miriallia lightly smacked Tolle on the forehead, then said with a serious expression, "Hmph, you're never serious. Hurry up and take me to that space or whatever it is so I can meet Lynn Minmay and the others."
With no other choice, Tolle brought her into the battleship's core space, where she met everyone and got acquainted.
Since he was already used to it, the brainwashing function of the DG Cells really was incredibly convenient. Tolle felt himself becoming more and more addicted to that feature.
At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh at how kind the Devil Gundam really was—no, how kind a Gundam it was—to have boosted his nano-armor so dramatically all at once.
A few days later, the Archangel finally reached Orb's territorial waters and smoothly returned to the secret harbor inside the Morgenröte factory.
As soon as the Archangel docked, Cagalli rushed in at the first opportunity and found Tolle and Kira chatting together.
With tears streaming down her face, she excitedly hugged the two of them, then started flailing her fists as she cried, "You idiots! I thought you were both dead! You're both such idiots! Wuu—!"
Tolle and Kira looked at each other, then said in unison, "Sorry for making you worry."
With tears filling her eyes, Cagalli still asked uncertainly, "You're really alive? You really came back?"
Kira smiled and replied, "Yeah. I'm still alive."
"I made it back alive too." Tolle then raised both hands, gently pinched her cheeks, and deliberately teased her. "Does it hurt? If it doesn't, then it's all fake—just an illusion."
Cagalli immediately flushed with embarrassment and anger, increasing the force of her punches as she shouted, "You bastard! You're always bullying me! I'm not done with you!"
She then moved behind Tolle, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and started choking him as she continued, "Let's see if you'll dare bully me again!"
Tolle could only cooperate helplessly. "Ah, I won't do it again, Lady Cagalli, please spare me! I really can't—can't breathe! I'm really going to die, really going to die!"
But she didn't loosen her grip, continuing to choke him tightly, until she noticed that her surging curves were pressed firmly against Tolle's back.
Only after feeling something strange did she slowly let go.
Cagalli continued with a shy yet angry expression. "Hmph, I'll let you off this time. Don't do it again."
Tolle pretended to gasp for air as he replied, "I won't do it again. I really won't next time."
Kira, standing to the side, covered his mouth and laughed quietly.
After that, Uzumi arrived on the Archangel's bridge with several officials.
Murrue thanked Uzumi, saying, "I'm very sorry, Representative Uzumi. The Archangel came to Orb seeking asylum entirely on our own initiative. Thank you so much for accepting and understanding this."
Uzumi replied gently, "We do agree, but the crew will still need to endure staying aboard the ship for a period of time. I ask for everyone's understanding in this regard.
"In any case, you can rest assured and take some time to rest."
Murrue answered gratefully, "Thank you very much. We will certainly abide by Orb's regulations."
"The destruction of the Earth Alliance's headquarters will surely trigger another great upheaval in this already unstable world.
"For now, take a short rest. Later, we can discuss recent events.
"After summarizing what you've seen and experienced, you can then slowly consider your future direction—of course, that also includes the meaning of the uniforms you're wearing."
Peeking in from the side, Tolle immediately understood that Uzumi was an old fox. Everything he said earlier was just buildup for that final sentence—trying to draw in the Archangel and turn it into Orb's secret armed force.
After all, the Archangel was now effectively defecting to another country. What use did Earth Alliance uniforms have anymore? Returning was impossible. He could have just said outright to switch to Orb's side.
Murrue, meanwhile, looked at Uzumi with a confused expression, beginning to think about what to do in the days ahead.
Uzumi then led the Orb officials back to their respective posts.
In the Archangel's cafeteria, Miriallia asked Tolle with a tired expression, "We're finally safe. What's going to happen to the Archangel next?"
"I don't really know either. But we're probably no longer soldiers of the Earth Alliance, right? After all, the Archangel has already left the Earth Alliance."
Sai, standing nearby, said gloomily, "Desertion in the face of the enemy is a serious crime under military law. The statute of limitations lasts a lifetime."
Miriallia said in alarm, "Really? Then does that mean we can only keep running forever?"
Tolle gently patted her back and comforted her. "It's fine, Miriallia. Sai, isn't our country Orb? Worst case, we join the Orb military. Then it wouldn't count as being on the run. And once the situation stabilizes, we could even go home during holidays."
Sai said awkwardly, "That's only if they're willing to take us in. Even then, we'd probably never be able to leave Orb for the rest of our lives."
Tolle also gently patted Sai on the shoulder and reassured him. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I think the entire Archangel will join Orb—there shouldn't be any problems.
"But Miriallia and I are another matter. We'll most likely be transferred elsewhere. After all, I still have some agreements with the Sahaku family and will be joining their special unit."
"Eh—! If you both leave, then it'll just be me and Kira left. That'd be super awkward.
"If you're transferring out, could you take me with you too?"
Tolle suddenly realized he had dug himself into another hole. His relationship with Sai was decent, and Sai was a good person, but they weren't that close.
More importantly, things like rapid power transfers and brainwashing hadn't been done on him. Keeping him around wouldn't be of much use.
Tolle could only shake his head and reply, "Sai, that special unit is constantly fighting on the front lines and often carries out dangerous missions. It's even more dangerous than staying on the Archangel."
Then he lowered his voice and explained, "Miriallia is joining only because she wants to live and die together with me.
"If you really want to join, a lot of things would require strict confidentiality—you wouldn't even be able to tell your own family. And it would be extremely, extremely dangerous.
"If you truly want to join, you'd have to pay a very heavy price. Why don't you think it over first?"
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