Before Miri could respond, a shining metal object flew past Flay's ear. Several strands of her dark red hair drifted down as a metal table knife clattered to the floor, still humming after bouncing off the wall. In that instant, the young lady's emotions exploded.
"You want to kill me. You are also a Coordinator. You must want to kill me. Sai, Sai, someone wants to kill me!"
Her sharp voice echoed through the cafeteria, drawing the eyes of several civilians. What Flay did not understand was that Siegfried was not Kira. He did not have a soft heart tied to first love. Other than Miri and Tolle who had spoken for him, he had no bond with these people, and he had no habit of indulging Flay's behavior.
The screaming did not last long. Before anyone could react, Siegfried leapt over the table and grabbed Flay by the neck. As his fingers touched her pale, slender throat, his mind recalled several methods from Hilde's killing techniques that could end her life in a second.
Sai tried to rush over, only to be pinned to the table with one hand. Katz, Miri, and Tolle were all stunned by the boy's rough actions. A few seconds later, Miri cautiously reached out to pull at the hand on Flay's neck, while signaling her boyfriend to go find help.
"I will warn you only once. Do not keep using words like Coordinator and monster. Without me and Kira, you would already be a frozen corpse drifting in space. That face you are so proud of would likely be torn apart by space debris, but do not worry, you would not rot. You would stay like that forever."
Just as Flay felt the world turning red, Tolle arrived at the cafeteria with Kira. Seeing his first love being held by the neck like livestock, Kira rushed to Siegfried's side.
Catching Kira's presence from the corner of his eye, Siegfried released Flay at the right moment, tossing her into Kira's arms. He let go of Sai as well, then calmly returned to the serving area and picked up his tray as if nothing had happened.
Those present fell into several groups. There were civilians who watched without getting involved, Miri and Tolle who felt the action was harsh but understandable, Flay who believed Coordinator were not human and only violent monsters, and Sai, who had been dragged into it all.
The onlookers stayed silent, even though many of them shared Flay's dislike of Siegfried as a Coordinator. They just would not say it as directly as she did. Miri hesitated, moved her foot slightly, then chose to stand by Tolle. Tolle helped Kira up and did not offer a hand to Flay still on the floor.
With his food in hand, Siegfried ignored the strange looks. He sat in his usual spot and began eating at an unhurried pace.
The tense mood was broken by a soft "Haro Haro." Lacus had somehow left her room and found the cafeteria, looking at the standoff with a confused expression.
"Did I scare everyone? I am very sorry. I am a bit thirsty and also hungry. Is this the cafeteria? If I may have something to eat, I would be very grateful."
Her clear voice received no response. Flay was still shaken from fear, and the others did not know how to face Siegfried's first display of brutality or the innocent pink haired girl.
"Food is over there. Tell the cook what you want. Water is here, use a disposable cup."
Chewing casually, Siegfried pointed out the way. Before Lacus could thank him, the pink Haro rolled onto his table.
"Haro Haro. Bad person's owner."
"May I ask who you are?"
"I am not. You have the wrong person."
Wiping his mouth, Siegfried felt he had vented enough. He was about to go back and let Cagalli come eat while he took a quick shower. After a brief pause, he added to Lacus, "It would be better to take your food back to your room. This place is not very welcoming to Coordinator, even when Coordinator are protecting them."
Not long after leaving the cafeteria, hurried footsteps sounded from behind. Siegfried turned around and saw Miriallia chasing out after him. The boy looked at this girl with whom he had a slight connection and felt puzzled.
"I am sorry, but you should not have treated Flay like that." The sudden run left Natural-bodied Miri a little out of breath, but she still spoke firmly.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Siegfried looked at her with a half amused smile.
"You and Tolle were both saved by you, and I do not think Sai is a bad person. Even though Flay went too far, I still think that you…"
"Hold on, I have to interrupt for a moment. You are Miriallia, right?"
"You can call me Miri."
"Alright, student Miri. You think I went too far because you still stand on Flay's side without noticing it. To you all, I am always an outsider, so let me ask you this. If the one Flay vented her anger on today was not me, but Kira instead, what then?"
"That is impossible, Kira is…"
"A companion, right? But look at the eyes of the people around you. Is there even a trace of seeing Coordinator as companions? Envy, jealousy, fear, treating them as monsters. In your eyes, Coordinator are monsters from the sky. I do not care, if someone needs to be beaten, I will beat them, but someone like Kira would silently endure any knife you stab into him, whether on purpose or not, Miri."
"Have you ever joked that we can pilot those machines because we are Coordinator, that we look good because we are Coordinator, that learning is easy because we are Coordinator? You see, so many truths are spoken in the name of jokes."
By this point, Siegfried was no longer smiling for humor. He openly showed a mocking grin toward Miri.
"So that is how it is. I do not think I did anything wrong. If Flay still cannot stand me, then she can avoid me, not the other way around. Please explain it clearly to Sai, I am not Kira, and I do not have that much kindness to give away."
After walking a few steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back toward the dazed Miri. "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. There is really nothing to envy about Coordinator. They are almost like chickens that cannot lay eggs anymore. Hahaha."
His nasty laughter faded into the distance, leaving Miriallia standing there in a daze. After several seconds, she suddenly realized what "chickens that cannot lay eggs" meant, and her face flushed red to the ears. She glared at that hateful back and then covered her burning cheeks as she returned to the cafeteria.
He did not bother thinking about how things would develop there afterward. At most, it would be Kira, the eternal gentle one, escorting Lacus back to her room, with the two of them starting the most important relationship in the world amid a pink atmosphere.