Rest! Commendation Ceremony!

Listening to the harrowing accounts from the two, Felix nodded calmly. Thinking there was nothing left to discuss, he ended the communication.

A few days later, the ZAFT assault force that had attacked the World Tree returned to the vicinity of the PLANT homeland. The Griffith Squad, led by Felix, was assigned to garrison and rest near Junius City.

Felix himself took a shuttle from District 1 of Junius City, heading toward District 1 of Aprilia City.

At the spaceport in District 1 of Aprilia City, Felix stepped off the shuttle and immediately spotted someone he knew all too well. That blonde hair and that mask—he didn't even need to think to know it was Rau Le Creuset.

A lunatic who wanted to destroy the world!

Rau Le Creuset happened to turn his head at that moment, locking eyes with Felix, and offered him a faint smile.

Seeing that smile, Felix felt a chill creep up from the depths of his heart, making him instinctively want to shudder.

Fortunately, he managed to suppress the urge.

"Captain Griffith, greetings!"

Rau Le Creuset walked over with a polite smile, his voice gentle and alluringly magnetic. Felix looked at him, gave a slight nod, and replied politely.

"Indeed! I came here after receiving a communication from the Chairman."

"I am in the same boat as you; shall we head there together?"

Hearing this, Rau Le Creuset extended an invitation to travel together.

Faced with his invitation, Felix thought for a moment before ultimately agreeing.

He walked toward the elevator with Rau Le Creuset.

Boarding the elevator, the two quickly entered the interior of the colony.

Exiting the elevator, they headed toward the Ministry of Defense.

Ministry of Defense.

In the Chairman's office.

"Chairman!"

Standing before Patrick Zala, Felix and Rau Le Creuset raised their hands in a salute simultaneously.

Patrick Zala, who had been working, looked up to meet the gazes of Felix and Rau Le Creuset, nodded slightly, and gestured toward the chairs.

Felix and Rau Le Creuset understood the gesture, pulled out the chairs, and sat down.

"Upon the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and the approval of the Supreme Council, it has been decided to award you both the Nebula Medal in recognition of the remarkable achievements you attained during this battle for the World Tree.

Furthermore, for the sake of boosting morale and propaganda, we have decided to hold an awards ceremony for you both, broadcast live across all of PLANT.

What are your thoughts on this?"

Patrick Zala asked, looking at the two of them.

Just as Felix was about to respond, Rau Le Creuset spoke up first.

"We shall follow whatever arrangements you make, Chairman!"

After he finished, Patrick Zala turned his gaze to Felix, waiting for his response. Feeling the weight of that focused stare, Felix spoke up as well.

"I have no objections to this matter, Chairman!"

"In that case, you two shall remain in District 1 of Aprilia City for a few days while awaiting the commencement of the awards ceremony."

Seeing that Felix and Rau Le Creuset had agreed, Patrick Zala arranged for them to stay in District 1 of Aprilia City for a few days.

Hearing this decision, Felix had no objections and nodded in response to Patrick Zala.

"I have no objections! I will strictly follow orders!"

"I have no objections either; I will strictly follow orders!"

Rau Le Creuset's words followed immediately after Felix's.

Nodding, and with nothing else to discuss, Patrick Zala waved his hand to signal that they could leave. Felix and Rau Le Creuset stood up one after the other and walked out together.

Outside the office, the two were led by Ministry of Defense staff to the hotel where they would be staying to rest.

On the hotel bed, Felix lay down and pulled out his phone to kill some time. A message notification popped up; Felix ignored the rest of the text, but the name Lacus Clyne within it caught his eye.

He paid a little more attention to the name and read through the content of the message. After a quick look, Felix realized it was an announcement for a Lacus Clyne concert.

"A concert, huh!"

He murmured softly, thoughts swirling in his mind.

Then, Felix's tone shifted as he continued.

"If there were tickets, I wouldn't mind taking a look, but given Miss Clyne's popularity, there's certainly no chance of getting any at this point."

Having said that, Felix put the matter to the back of his mind. He lay on his bed, using his phone to search for other content to pass the time and relieve his boredom.

Just like that, two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Having stayed in District 1 of Aprilia City for two days, Felix received a communication from the Ministry of Defense and, upon stepping out of his room, happened to run into Rau Le Creuset.

After nodding in greeting, they headed to the Ministry of Defense together.

Upon arriving at the Ministry of Defense, they followed Patrick Zala to the venue where the commendation ceremony was being held.

Inside the conference hall where the ceremony was taking place, Felix walked in and saw many people seated below the stage. He didn't recognize ninety percent of them; the only ones he knew were a few people sitting in the front row.

He stepped forward, followed Patrick Zala onto the stage, and stood side-by-side with Rau Le Creuset, waiting for the award ceremony to begin.

After the ceremony commenced, Chairman Siegel was the first to deliver a speech. Once he finished, Patrick Zala began his address.

"Felix Leo Griffith!"

His name was spoken by Patrick Zala.

Standing beside Rau Le Creuset, Felix took a step forward, his military posture upright, his gaze fixed straight ahead as he waited for what Patrick Zala had to say next.

"In the recent campaign to attack the World Tree, Felix led the Griffith Squad with valor and made outstanding contributions to the battle. Furthermore, he personally shot down a total of 79 MA and destroyed 12 warships, achieving remarkable results.

In recognition of his outstanding contributions and stellar record, he is hereby awarded one Nebula Medal!"

After stating Felix's achievements, Patrick Zala stood up, and Siegel, who was sitting beside him, rose as well.

The two men stood up and walked toward Felix.

When they reached him, a tray containing the Nebula Medal was brought over by the appropriate personnel.

Patrick Zala picked up the box and opened it with both hands!

Siegel reached out toward Patrick Zala, took the Nebula Medal from the box, turned to face Felix, and pinned the medal onto his chest.

He patted Felix on the shoulders with both hands and offered words of encouragement.

"Keep up the good work; I hope you bring more victories to PLANT!"

"Rest assured, Chairman, I will not fail this mission!"

Raising his hand, Felix saluted Siegel in response.

Siegel nodded with a smile and stood to Felix's left, while Patrick Zala gave him an encouraging hug before standing to his right.

After the photo was taken, the two men returned to their seats.

Felix turned around and walked back to the position beside Rau Le Creuset.

"Rau Le Creuset!"

Just as he had steadied himself, Felix heard Patrick Zala call out Rau Le Creuset's name. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rau Le Creuset step forward and stop at the exact spot where he had just been standing.