Chapter 107: SEED—The Crimson Sea I
Kira was lounging lazily on the deck, basking in the sun and letting the sea breeze brush across his face, yet his thoughts drifted back to Andrew and Aisha. The sadness welled up in him again.
Before long, Flay also came to the deck. Seeing Kira's sorrow, she unfastened her outer garment and pulled his head tightly into her embrace.
Kira clung to Flay as well, burying himself in her ample bosom and once more breaking down into tears.
Flay, looking extremely pleased with herself, sat down on Kira's lap and began comforting him on the deck in her own way.
Just then, Cagalli, who had been searching for Kira to seek solace, stopped at the doorway when she overheard the sounds of their gasping breaths.
She cautiously peeked inside and saw Flay consoling Kira. At that very moment, Flay also spotted Cagalli and deliberately displayed a victor's expression.
The sight made Cagalli's face instantly flush crimson, and, for some reason, tears welled up in her eyes.
She turned and ran as fast as she could, her thoughts in chaos: Why was it that every man she fancied already had a girlfriend? The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Especially that brat Kira—doing that on the deck of all places… and she even had to witness it. It was unbearable. She fumed to herself, swearing she'd never look for him again.
As she dashed down the passageway, she suddenly collided head-on with Tolle, who was on his way back to the hangar, and bounced off his chest.
Tolle reacted quickly, catching her before she could fall. Seeing her red, tear-stained eyes, he couldn't resist needling her with mockery.
"Well, well, what's wrong with our princess today? Crying like this? Who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll teach them a lesson."
Hearing Tolle's teasing, Cagalli burst into even heavier sobs. Her steps faltered, and she stumbled right back into his arms.
Tolle, almost by instinct, held her tightly. Their lips brushed together.
True to the nature of wolves who never waste the prey delivered to their mouths, he kissed her hungrily.
To his surprise, however, Cagalli didn't resist. She let him hold her and returned the kiss with shy compliance.
Both wore light clothing, and each could clearly feel the other's warmth.
Cagalli's face flushed deeper and deeper. After a while, she buried her head in Tolle's chest in embarrassment.
Looking down at her bashful expression, Tolle found her irresistibly cute, though he still thought to himself that her mouth was far too foul most of the time.
Patting her gently on the back, he comforted her in a soft voice.
"All right, all right, don't cry anymore. Tell me, my adorable little princess—what happened?"
Cagalli suddenly regained her usual vigor, pushing herself out of his embrace in a rush of shame and anger.
"Who needs your concern! I'm fine. I just saw Kira… forget it, never mind.
And you, you big jerk—you even took advantage of me just now! Stay away, I'm leaving."
Tolle shrugged helplessly. Was she a child? Her moods shifted like stormy weather.
Opening Kira's neo DG cells, he immediately discovered why Cagalli was so upset—she had witnessed Kira and Flay together. No wonder she was distraught. But then, what was with her blushing in his arms just now?
Tolle licked his lips unconsciously, savoring the softness. Still, it lacked Miriallia's sweetness.
His mind then began calculating gains and losses again. Cagalli wasn't entirely out of the question, though she'd probably need some "re-education" to accept that she wouldn't be his only woman. For now, though, it'd be wiser to secure Minmay first. Keeping her dangling wasn't an option, especially since she already knew most of his secrets. Leaving her to someone else was out of the question and far too risky—she might expose him.
But then another thought struck him: wasn't he the type who usually settled for two women at most? Why was it that now he seemed to be falling for every one he met? Unbelievable.
Could this be what they call the overwhelming "reader's will" from countless worlds in the vast multiverse?
So powerful that it could even influence his taste in women? Yes, that had to be it. It had even reshaped him into this scoundrel of a man.
He chuckled to himself. Well, so be it. If his principles were already broken, he might as well let it all go. He'd claim whichever girl he liked from now on, no more second-guessing. At the very least, he mustn't disgrace the entire army of transmigrators.
Speaking of which, Murrue wasn't bad either. If he was already doing this, one more wouldn't matter. He had Natarle lined up already, so why not seize the chance with Murrue too once Mu went missing?
As for Mu, he could always help him find another woman. In fact, that female engineer from Orb's Morgenröte factory wasn't bad-looking at all. With a little "adjustment," she could be paired off with Mu.
Yes, that sounded like a plan. Once he got back, he'd put a safeguard on Miriallia's mind just in case. As for Cagalli, the next time an opportunity arose, he'd simply push her down.
Tolle strode back toward the hangar with a swagger, as if the world belonged to him, ready to dive into the life of a working man.
With Murdoch's help, he got busy preparing universal underwater screw-propulsion modules for the high-performance Ginn and Strike Gundam.
The modifications on the Zero Moebius were temporarily set aside until the Strike's new high-performance pack and Sword Striker equipment were repaired.
As for the three salvaged Ginns, they had long been dismantled into spare parts for use in these modifications.
The reconnaissance Ginn was simply tossed aside as a backup unit to be rotated in when resupplying ammunition, with no immediate plans for modification.
After all, the previous projects had already exhausted Murdoch's team. Burdening them with more work was out of the question.
In his spare moments, Tolle even performed a demonstration of the Undefeated of the East's external martial arts for the maintenance crew, though he mentioned nothing about internal energy.
Even so, Mu showed interest, hinting he wanted to learn from him.
Sai, unsurprisingly, didn't. Instead, he told Tolle he just wanted to live a peaceful life and wasn't interested in piloting MS anymore. He had also let go of his feelings for Flay and said he'd find a better woman in the future. Tolle was genuinely relieved for him.
After the completion of a simple underwater propulsion pack, the Archangel's radar suddenly picked up an interference signal. The operator reported nervously:
"Radar showing neutron interference reaction!"
Murrue's eyes widened in disbelief. "It couldn't be another civilian unit, could it?"
The operator double-checked. "It's moving too fast—severe interference! While we can't confirm with certainty, it definitely doesn't look like a civilian craft."
At once, Murrue tensed and issued an order.
"Battle stations, Level Two! Confirm the enemy's model immediately!"
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