After exchanging a few more casual words with Lenore, Fred headed upstairs to the study by himself. Watching Fred's figure gradually disappear at the stairway from the first floor, Athrun couldn't hide his worry and turned to look at his mother.
"Mom, Fred..."
"It's fine, your father won't do anything to him."
"Come help in the kitchen."
Lenore offered this comfort, genuinely feeling at ease.
Fred seemed to have made his own decision, and so far showed no signs of nervousness at all.
Judging by the young man's demeanor just now, even if his discussion with Pat didn't go smoothly, nothing major would happen.
Fred seemed unusually steady for a Natural.
While Lenore was marveling at this, Fred had just opened the study door and saw two people before him.
The first was naturally Patrick, sitting behind the desk with a stern expression that could intimidate anyone.
The lighting in the room wasn't bright, and the dim yellow light above Patrick's head cast perfect shadows across the middle-aged man's face.
It made him appear even more intimidating; even the scholarly, antique atmosphere of the room couldn't conceal his murderous aura.
Behind him stood a casual young man leaning against the bookshelf, wearing sunglasses.
It was Andrew, whom he had briefly encountered during the day.
Meeting Fred's gaze, Andrew flashed a bright, cheerful smile.
Fred responded with a slight nod as a greeting.
This scene left both Patrick and even Andrew himself momentarily stunned.
After all, the leader of the Zala Faction had suddenly appeared before him.
How could he greet so calmly?
Andrew's interest grew even stronger behind his sunglasses.
As for Patrick, he began to wonder if the young man even recognized him.
Wasn't that strange? His face should have appeared in the local media numerous times.
Why did he seem completely unfazed?
Or had their intelligence network been compromised?
But even if it had, would the information have been leaked to this young man?
For a moment, Patrick even feared this might be a trap set by Blue Cosmos.
However, he quickly dismissed that thought.
If it were truly a trap, they would have struck when he arrived.
There was no way they would let this genius walk right into their hands voluntarily.
"Aren't you surprised?"
Patrick, who had expected to surprise the other party, found himself instead thrown into astonishment. His expression stiff, he showed no sign of surprise.
"A little. I didn't expect Councilor Zala to come in person."
Fred lowered his eyes, avoiding the other's gaze, as if to indicate his stance.
"Hmm... Take a seat."
Unable to detect any surprise in the other's words, Patrick finally pointed to the chair in front of him.
"Thank you.Still with the same tone, Fred sat down, showing some nervousness but no awkwardness.
Of course, even as a skilled Coordinator, Patrick couldn't discern such complex emotions in Fred and could only continue.
"You want to join PLANT?"
He didn't directly mention that Lenore was his wife.
He was here to recruit and probe—he couldn't just start by thanking Fred for saving his wife or suggesting they work together.
Hearing this, Fred nodded in agreement.
"I support PLANT's independence."
"Why?"
Patrick asked, curious about what this composed young man who seemed fully prepared would say.
"The relationship between both sides has already reached a freezing point. Continuing like this will only deepen the confrontation, making a major war inevitable."
Of course, Fred didn't mention other reasons like protecting the Council Nations and PLANT's moderate faction, or strengthening Clyne and the moderates' influence among the populace.
"Hmm..."
Patrick listened to this completely neutral stance. Having already learned about it from Lenore, he neither approved nor objected.
"Since you hold such views, why not go to ORB?"
"Wouldn't they be more accepting of your identity there?"
As Patrick spoke, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"ORB's neutrality is unreliable."
"It's merely an island nation that rose through geographical advantage. Given its scale, it can only engage in secret compromises. Its political system is backward—it's not even reliable as an ally, let alone as a place for its residents. The entire nation faces the risk of collapse at any moment."
Upon hearing Fred's words, Patrick's eyes widened slightly.
He stared unblinkingly at Fred.
No wonder—while he wasn't entirely satisfied with the previous answer, Fred's attitude toward ORB mirrored his own thoughts perfectly.
What was even more remarkable was that someone clearly from the neutral faction would say such things.
After all, even his good friend held quite a favorable view of ORB.
Moreover, he didn't believe Fred was saying this to curry favor with him.
Anyone who knew his identity and still dared to declare themselves neutral wouldn't need to flatter him over something as ambiguous as ORB.
Andrew, too, looked at Fred in surprise upon hearing this.
He had no particular feelings about ORB himself, being just a soldier following orders.
But the other's perspective was quite intriguing.
No wonder Andrew was surprised—usually, neutral factions like Fred's showed considerable interest in ORB's ideals.
As for Fred himself,
he certainly wasn't trying to please anyone—he was merely speaking his mind.
ORB's internal clans were numerous and power-hungry, discrimination ran rampant, and even Coordinators dared not openly reveal their identities. For such a place to boast about its neutral ideals seemed premature at best.
The power struggles among its clans showed little regard for ordinary people, hardly better than the Atlantic Federation.
Even if Athha's ideals were realized and neutrality achieved, those few clans would still surround Athha like a king, maintaining their elevated class status.
Thus, the lion's ideals would ultimately remain impractical fantasies perpetuated by the privileged class to sustain their rule.
Even if it wasn't the lion's intention, what about the clans behind him?
At the very least, the only things that interested Fred about ORB currently were the Dawn Organization's technology and the chaotic natural resources around ORB due to various vested interests.
Leaving aside mobile suits like the Strike Suit from the G Project and the Akatsuki,
even the katana on the back of the Glory Defender was rumored to be made from mysterious metal mined from ORB's waters.
It was practically a natural treasure trove.
Of course, these were matters to consider based on actual circumstances in the future.
For now, he held no illusions about ORB whatsoever.
Patrick stared at Fred for a while longer, only continuing after confirming the other wasn't lying.
"Then finally, how do you plan to get there—to our world?"