Xia Ya Announces Himself

Before entering Artemis Fortress, his brother had keenly sensed the potential danger and specifically instructed him and Jiliang to lock the operating systems of Blaze Gundam and Strike Gundam.

Neither he nor Jiliang dared relax in the slightest. They strictly followed his brother's instructions and locked the systems of both units.

Garcia had asked that question precisely because they had not unlocked them, leaving the investigation at a complete standstill.

"Then how do you intend to deal with those two units?" Neumann remained composed, trying to stall for time.

The smile on Garcia's face did not change, but his tone carried unquestionable authority. "Deal with them? Not quite. Before they are formally commissioned, I simply have the honor of seeing them in person and naturally wish to learn more about them."

Stop playing dumb. Xia Ya snorted inwardly, swallowing the words that had nearly slipped out while maintaining a calm expression.

"Then who are the pilots?" Garcia pressed on.

Neumann tried to evade the question. "Captain Flaga. I think it would be more appropriate for you to ask him personally." He meant Mu La Flaga, hoping to use the name of the Eagle of Endymion to intimidate the other man.

"Heh." Garcia gave a disdainful sneer. "I have seen the recordings of the earlier battle. He is the only one capable of controlling that MA-type Moebius Zero. Even if he is one of them, there is still another unit."

Neumann's expression instantly darkened. His lie had been exposed with ease. Looking at Garcia's increasingly brilliant yet increasingly chilling smile, anger surged within him, but there was nothing he could do except grit his teeth in silence.

Garcia's gaze prowled through the crowd like a venomous snake before finally settling on Miriallia Hau's slightly panicked face. His smile twisted into a nauseating leer. "...Though I do not believe a woman would be a pilot, considering that this ship's captain is also a woman..."

Miriallia trembled at the sudden attention and let out a short cry. "Huh? Ah...!"

Before she could finish, Garcia strode toward her, roughly reaching out and grabbing her slender arm.

"Miriallia!?" Jiliang cried out in shock and fury, never expecting him to be so crude and unreasonable. She instinctively wanted to step forward.

Ignoring Jiliang's shout, Garcia forcibly dragged Miriallia from her seat. It looked as though he intended to take her away and use her as leverage to force them to hand over the pilot.

Seeing this, Jiliang was frantic and started to raise her hand again—she would rather expose herself as the pilot of Strike Gundam than trade Miriallia's safety.

However, a warm, powerful hand pressed down on her shoulder once more.

"Xia Ya...!" Jiliang murmured, a trace of resentment and confusion in her voice as she looked at the boy beside her.

Xia Ya turned to meet Jiliang's anxious, serious gaze, but answered it with a faint, reassuring smile. His voice was low, yet exceptionally firm. "It's fine. Leave it to me."

With that, he decisively stepped forward and raised his hand high under everyone's astonished gazes.

"It was me." Xia Ya's voice was clear and loud, shattering the deadlock in the dining hall.

Garcia paused, clearly caught off guard by the sudden development, and reflexively asked, "...What?"

"I said," Xia Ya repeated calmly, looking Garcia directly in the eye, "I am the pilot."

Garcia stared blankly at the boy who had suddenly identified himself. A few seconds later, that disgusting smile crept back onto his face. He released Miriallia's arm, and Tolle immediately stepped in to support her. Garcia, meanwhile, approached Xia Ya step by step with a scrutinizing, suspicious gaze.

"Your desire to save your companion is admirable," Garcia said mockingly, "but that is not a machine a brat like you can handle. Stop joking around!"

The same untroubled smile remained on Xia Ya's face, though a hint of amusement entered his voice. "Oh... I would advise you not to do that. Otherwise, I might accidentally let something slip."

"What did you say...?" Garcia was enraged by the seemingly nonsensical words. Fury churned within him, veins bulging on his clenched fist as though he was about to swing it at Xia Ya's composed face the next second.

Just as the fist was about to fly, Xia Ya's figure flickered like a ghost. He effortlessly evaded Garcia's attack, leaned forward at the same time, and whispered something into his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Those words struck Garcia like a bolt of lightning. Every movement he made froze at once. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared directly at Xia Ya, as if he were seeing the boy before him for the first time.

"As a lieutenant general in the Alliance military, you exploited your position to forcibly collect 'tolls' from civilian vessels passing through this sector, extorting and threatening them..." Xia Ya's voice was gentle, but every word struck home. "I know all about that, you know?"

"!!!?" Garcia's pupils suddenly contracted. Shock, fear, unease... countless emotions tangled across his face. He abruptly took a step back, putting distance between himself and Xia Ya as though the boy were some terrifying plague.

—Xia Ya had obtained that intelligence before arriving at Artemis, using his unknown network of contacts spread throughout military and political circles. His brother Mu's warning had merely made him even more certain that it was necessary to prepare a few "safeguards."

Seeing their commander lose his composure so completely, the soldiers who had merely been on guard immediately grew tense and aimed their guns at Xia Ya.

"Commander! What did you do to him!?" a soldier demanded sharply.

Xia Ya spread his hands, remaining calm. "No, I did nothing. I merely had a few private words with the commander."

"Answer properly, you...!"

"W-Wait! Stop!" Garcia finally recovered from his shock. Though his voice still trembled slightly, he had regained a commander's authority. "Lower your weapons!"

Though the soldiers had no idea what was going on, they obeyed. Garcia glared viciously at Xia Ya, his expression complicated and full of wariness and unwillingness. The situation was not in his favor; he knew Xia Ya had him by the throat. Gritting his teeth, he ordered, "You. Come with me."

"No problem." Xia Ya readily agreed and followed him.

"Xia Ya!" Jiliang's anxious call came from behind him.

At the sound, Xia Ya turned back and met Jiliang's worried, concerned eyes. She looked as though she might charge after him without regard for anything else the next moment. His heart tightened slightly.

He took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening as his voice took on an unquestionable firmness. "I'll be right back! Wait for me here."

The strength in his words temporarily suppressed Jiliang's urge to follow. Xia Ya knew very well that if she came with him, everything he had done by stepping forward would lose its meaning. Hoping faintly that she understood his intentions, he gave her one more solemn look before turning away.

Just as they were about to leave the dining hall, Garcia slowed slightly. His eyes locked onto Xia Ya, and with an inquisitive, lingering curiosity, he asked in a low voice, "...What is your name?"

Xia Ya lifted his chin slightly without stopping and answered clearly and loudly:

"Xia Ya La Flaga."

In an instant, Garcia's expression looked as though an invisible hand had seized his throat. His eyes widened like bells, his mouth hanging slightly open as his voice filled with incredulous horror. "You said... Xia Ya La Flaga!? From the La Flaga Family...!?"