Witnessing the World's Distortion

"So, what exactly is the point of you saying all this?"

Ramba Ral gritted his teeth as he looked at Eli.

The slight sense of indebtedness he had felt upon seeing this man's youthful face had already vanished into thin air.

"I simply wanted to give it a try."

"Try?"

Ramba Ral looked somewhat puzzled.

"If you truly are a supporter of Deikun, perhaps with your help, the war could be brought to an end much faster."

Although Eli's words were simple, both Sayla and Ramba Ral realized at that moment exactly what Eli was talking about.

"Are you asking me to betray Zeon?!"

"I am merely asking you to uphold the ideals of Deikun."

Faced with Ramba Ral's slightly agitated emotions, Eli instead appeared increasingly disinterested.

How on earth do the protagonists in fanfiction manage to persuade Ramba Ral to join their side so easily?

Looking at Ramba Ral, who was wavering but still holding onto his convictions, Eli no longer had any intention of continuing the conversation.

But Ramba Ral clearly did not think the same.

"Is this the intention of the Federation?"

He asked very cautiously.

If the Federation were truly monitoring the situation here, then everything Sayla had just done would put her in a dangerous position.

"No, it is merely some personal thoughts of mine. Let's go, the idle chatter is over."

Eli raised his gun, signaling for Ramba Ral to turn and walk out the door.

"Mr. Eli, why are you interested in the ideals of Deikun?"

Just as Eli had one foot out the door, Sayla's voice rang out again.

Eli turned back and looked Sayla up and down.

This young woman radiated a youthful and beautiful aura, yet her eyes were filled with an imperceptible sorrow.

"He reminds me of someone—someone who also led his compatriots to stand up amidst oppression, a truly great leader."

This was the first time Eli had clearly mentioned information from the 21st century to anyone in this world.

Perhaps it was because he saw similar traits in both of them that Eli spoke these abrupt words.

After hesitating for a moment, Eli decided to continue.

"Furthermore, I am also a Spacenoid, and I do not wish to see Spacenoids plunged into even deeper misery in the future due to the stupidity of the Zabi Family."

The values he had acquired while growing up in the nation established by that leader made Eli want to give it a try after all.

At least before the One Year War ended, he would try to do something.

Eli made this secret resolution to himself.

After ending his exchange with Sayla, Eli escorted Ramba Ral toward the prison that Amuro had already prepared.

Along the way, neither of them spoke a word.

It wasn't until Ramba Ral saw Amuro and Frau waiting at the entrance of the prison.

He had clearly only told Amuro to come; it seemed Frau really did enjoy looking after Amuro, almost as if it were an instinct.

"Haven't been slacking off, have you, Amuro?"

Seeing the boy and girl standing at the door looking bored, Eli couldn't help but tease them.

"I haven't! I finished my work properly!"

With a single sentence, Eli made the otherwise handsome boy look like he was about to jump up in frustration; his cheeks immediately flushed red, and he clenched his fists, wanting to prove that he had indeed been working hard.

"Hahahaha, alright~"

Eli looked at the child with amusement, patted his head, and prepared to continue leading Ramba Ral into the prison.

On the other side, Frau watched as Amuro tilted his head slightly as if he had received some sort of praise, and she lowered her head to hide her expression, suppressing an inexplicable sense of dissatisfaction.

"It's not like you're his father..." she muttered.

However, Eli encountered a problem—even with the muzzle of the gun pressed against his back, Ramba Ral refused to move any further.

Instead, he looked at Eli with an expression that suggested he had misjudged him.

"Does the Federation actually use child soldiers?"

Not even when Eli had denounced Zeon in the infirmary, or even speculated about Deikun, had Ramba Ral shown such an angry expression.

But as he said this, Ramba Ral noticed that the three people in front of him were all looking at him with strange expressions.

"Isn't Zeon the same in that regard? You even send people who have only received basic training onto the battlefield."

"But!"

"Furthermore, isn't it Zeon that caused this situation in the first place? Nearly half the world's population vanished in an instant. The adults have all died, and the children who inherited their hatred are forced onto the battlefield. Since you can show such an angry expression here, why did you just now express a stance of defending Zeon regarding my proposal to end the war?"

Eli looked at the "good uncle" before him, outputting his views without a moment's hesitation.

"Admit it, you who only want to maintain the status quo have already become a pedantic person who closes their eyes and refuses to look at this world. If that's the case, then just obediently step aside from the path forward; I am going to Jaburo, and I am going to try to end this boring war."

After figuring some things out, Eli's behavior naturally changed.

At that time, he had said to Shiro Amada, "I am just a soldier."

But this time spent on the White Base might be the perfect opportunity for him, a soldier, to change the future's trajectory.

It is often said that the rare lights of the Universal Century began to shine one after another during this One Year War, only to be extinguished or dimmed soon after.

He lacked the power to change the entire Federation on a grand scale, but he still had a chance to try and nudge the fates of certain people.

A soldier must also have a soldier's way of thinking.

Ramba Ral could barely feel the pain in his body anymore.

He was feeling the pangs of his own heart.

The youth before him, clearly a child even younger than Princess Artesia, was struggling to survive on this ship as his target of pursuit.

Ramba Ral would absolutely never fire a gun at a child.

This was the steadfast principle of this "soldier."

With his head hanging low, Ramba Ral made no further movements, sitting down on the bed in this prison cell of only a few square meters.

"I will not use child soldiers."

This was his bottom line.

"Is that so? Then perhaps you are a good man within Zeon. What a pity; good men don't last long in Zeon."

Eli locked the prison door without wavering, just looking at Ramba Ral like that.

This was a man who would spare no cost if it meant protecting everything he currently held.

This drive for sacrifice was perhaps a compromise under the harsh political environment of Zeon, a helplessness belonging to adults.

But that did not prevent him from still being a Zeon soldier and an accomplice right now.

Eli turned around, ready to leave.

"Wait! Since you say you want to end the war, why don't you do something first? Let those young boy and girl go. They're just service crew on the ship anyway, so they should be insignificant to you all!"

Ramba Ral, as if suddenly realizing something, grabbed the bars and shouted at Eli.

However, before Eli could answer, Amuro, who was standing by the door, suddenly stepped forward, making no effort to hide his anger.

"Don't look down on people! I am the pilot of the Gundam!"

Ramba Ral's eyes widened sharply.

His legs seemed unable to support his body, and he fell backward.

He sat there on the bed, stunned, and remained motionless even after Eli and the others had left.