Xiao Ran, still unconscious, had no idea Shanamia had nearly stripped him naked. If Shanamia had not been too shy to continue, she probably would have taken off even his last pair of pants.
Lacus, on the other hand, was quite open about it. After bringing over some water, she carefully wiped down Xiao Ran's body. By the time the two girls had finally cleaned him up, both were drenched in sweat—not only from exhaustion, but from embarrassment as well.
Looking at Xiao Ran, now dressed in clean clothes again, Lacus and Shanamia exchanged smiles.
Xiao Ran had completely calmed down by then. He looked less like he was unconscious and more like he was asleep, his breathing steady and everything appearing perfectly normal.
Lacus nodded at Shanamia. "Shanamia, stay here and take care of him for now. I need to make some arrangements. You can leave after I return. As Frie's princess, you can't stay here for too long."
Shanamia understood what Lacus meant. Although she could remain with Xiao Ran, she at least needed to show herself outside from time to time and take the initiative to contact Flay's side to learn about Frie's situation within the Moon.
"Okay. I'll wait for you to come back."
While Xiao Ran remained unconscious, Renard attended a private cocktail party hosted by Blue Cosmos. It was held on Earth, in the European region that the Alliance had already lost—right within territory controlled by the Frie ZAFT Alliance.
However, the Frie ZAFT Alliance's control over that area was not particularly strong yet. They had only occupied it recently, and because the Frie ZAFT Alliance followed the principle of not harming civilians and maintaining stability, no one would barge into the venue to inspect it.
Besides, a massive wave of chaos had only