"Cough, cough."
Xiao Ran coughed lightly twice with an odd expression, tilting his head slightly aside. It was enough for him to understand such things in his heart; saying them aloud was rather embarrassing.
Indeed, if this world were to become a territory, there were some people, Shanamia included, whom he could not possibly let go. That did not necessarily mean anything had to happen between them, but Xiao Ran could not tolerate them having anything with others either. That was absolutely unacceptable to him. Otherwise, he would never have taken things as far as he had during the previous mission.
Besides, he and Eagle had done something that could only remain a secret—something that could not be told to anyone.
But what had happened with Lacus really had been an accident. If Xiao Ran had truly ever wanted something to happen between himself and Lacus, there would have been no Kira in the SEED World of the Faction Territory. Yet in this world, this Lacus had not suffered the hardships that should originally have been hers, making her personality somewhat different from that of the other Lacus in the territory. The crucial point was that Lacus of this world was simply too proactive, making it rather difficult for Xiao Ran to harden his heart and reject her.
As for the rest, Xiao Ran certainly had his virtues, but he also had his flaws. His thoughts had gradually shifted from rejection at the beginning to simply letting things take their natural course.
As for Shanamia, Xiao Ran would not deny that there had been certain intentions behind getting close to her, but that did not affect the purity and simplicity between them. Yes, up to this point, Xiao Ran's interactions with both Shanamia and Lacus of this world had been