Artesia's Attitude

"Why have you come here?"

Eli immediately composed himself, refocusing his attention on the supply manifest in his hands.

But the next moment, Eli saw a finger reach out before him, pointing to a spot on the manifest.

"Bright said new mobile weapons had arrived and asked if I could pilot them, so I came."

"New mobile weapons?"

Eli silently withdrew his gaze from the slender finger that had already vanished from his field of vision and looked at the supplies Sayla was pointing to.

"G-Fighter. I see, so these are reinforcement parts for the Gundam?"

These were support fighters deployed to the White Base for the Gundam; in a sense, they were just a way for Bandai to sell plastic models, so Eli had almost forgotten that such parts even existed for the Gundam.

Eli nodded in understanding and looked up at Sayla.

However, before he could speak, he was stunned by the girl's sudden movement.

He saw Sayla using her other hand to cover the finger she had just extended, holding it against her chest while glaring at Eli with an even more unfriendly expression.

Seeing Eli's gaze fixed on her hand, she pulled both hands to her side, as if trying to avoid his line of sight.

Clearly, Eli had forgotten one thing: Sayla, who also possessed Newtype potential and had been living independently from a young age, was highly sensitive to gazes. Even though Eli had been discreet, she had still sensed it.

"Don't be like that, I..."

"Pervert."

Sayla interrupted Eli with an icy tone, reached out to take the manifest from his hand, and followed the directions on it to find the container holding the G-Fighter.

Leaving Eli standing there, surrounded by the echoes of being called a "pervert."

"Lieutenant Eli? What's wrong, having a spat with your girlfriend?"

Just then, Matilda, who was overseeing the unloading, walked up to Eli's side, hands on her hips with a playful smile.

Behind her was a team of professional maintenance crew members, preparing to head to the port side for more specialized inspections and reinforcements.

Seeing this, the first thing that crossed Eli's mind was, "That guy Bright can finally worry a little less about the port side."

After all, the port side of the White Base was truly ill-fated, having been targeted repeatedly.

"It's not polite to be distracted and look elsewhere while chatting with a lady, Lieutenant Eli. No wonder Miss Sayla is angry with you."

Seeing that Eli's gaze was still more focused on the cranes, excavators, and pile drivers used by the maintenance crew behind her than on herself, Matilda feigned a look of mock indignation.

Compared to the half-grown boys she had just taken a group photo with, Matilda clearly held more favor for Eli.

"Don't tease me, Miss Matilda. You know I haven't been on this ship for very long; how could I have that kind of relationship with Miss Sayla?"

Eli smiled bitterly and turned halfway, watching the containers being brought in by forklifts.

"Who knows? These things happen."

As Matilda passed by Eli, she deliberately rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Trust me, I have a fiancé who loves me very much, so I can tell—Miss Sayla is very interested in you. Even if it's not quite that kind of romantic interest yet."

Even with Matilda striking such a pose, Eli could feel that she remained a clean-cut, decisive, and principled person.

It just went to show that women were indeed interested in these kinds of things.

Matilda chuckled, waved her hand, and bid Eli farewell.

Presumably, she was heading to the bridge to meet with Bright.

Click.

At that moment, Eli felt as if he heard something shatter.

Eli followed his intuition and looked in that direction.

He discovered it was Amuro, who was standing frozen in place while clutching a photograph.

Just by seeing Amuro like this, Eli understood everything.

Amuro, in a certain sense, shared a commonality with Char: he was more drawn to women who possessed a maternal glow.

To this young man, Matilda was the object of his admiration.

And having been caught off guard by the news that she had a fiancé, the budding love in his heart had just been crushed.

Oh no, I suddenly understand why the usually spirited Matilda had that look on her face just now.

Eli mimicked Matilda's gesture and placed a hand on Amuro's shoulder.

"It's alright, kid. Men are creatures that seek acceptance and validation; I can understand you."

With that, Eli gave Amuro's shoulder a firm pat, took the group photo of him, Kai, and the others with Matilda from his hand, and tucked it into the pocket of Amuro's uniform.

Then, he placed both hands on Amuro's shoulders, turned him around, and pushed him toward Frau, who was sulking not far away.

"Haro, heartbreak! Heartbreak!"

At that moment, Eli noticed a small, green, spherical robot at Frau's feet.

Damn it, I want to laugh.

Watching Haro deliver a finishing blow to Amuro with its inorganic voice, Eli's eyes were filled with amusement.

If they weren't standing right in front of him, Eli would have likely burst out laughing.

"Is that so? Men are such creatures, aren't they."

As Eli struggled to hold back his laughter, Sayla, dressed in a pinkish-red uniform and carrying the G-Fighter operation manual, walked past and uttered those words with a detached tone, instantly freezing Eli in place once more as he let out a weak, dry chuckle.

Sayla had no intention of stopping, walking straight into the corridor while clutching the manual.

What the others didn't see was that as she entered the corridor, a faint, subtle smile hung on Sayla's face.

Once Sayla returned to her room and put the manual away, she went to the mess hall to collect a meal.

Carrying the food, Sayla headed toward the ship's brig.

For these past few days, she had taken on the task of providing food for Ramba Ral.

Originally, this should have been Frau's job, but Frau seemed somewhat afraid of Ramba Ral, so Sayla had taken the initiative to take over the duty.

"Uncle Ramba Ral, it's time to eat."

Only when they were alone could Sayla be Artesia.

Only then, when calling him Uncle, could she recall the beautiful memories of her childhood that were already beginning to fade.

After just a few days of prison life, Ramba Ral's complexion had turned much more haggard.

The physical discomfort was secondary; it was likely the psychological blow dealt by Eli that had left him so lacking in spirit.

"Uncle Ramba Ral, I think I must head to the battlefield as well."

Artesia stated her decision while Ramba Ral chewed his food.

Ramba Ral's entire body stiffened.

"Wh-why? Princess, you shouldn't..."

"Because I want to witness it. I want to see if that man is truly as determined to change this world as he claims."

Artesia gently squeezed her fingers as she spoke to Ramba Ral.

To be honest, this G-Fighter feels a bit useless, but I'm writing it in mainly because it can function as an SFS when docked with the Core Fighter, which makes it quite convenient in a certain sense.