After the War 6

"How could this..." Lacus drew in a sorrowful breath and instinctively covered her mouth. Lieutenant Colonel Toda shook his head heavily, and the noisy background sounds of the hangar seemed to fade away at that moment.

Such a young child had witnessed the hell of war with her own eyes. Not only had she lost her parents forever, but now, perhaps even her only brother had...

"And then, that girl..." Lieutenant Colonel Toda seemed to compose himself before continuing his report. "She said her name was... Mayu... Asuka."

Hm? Xia Ya caught a somewhat indistinct name, but it made his heart suddenly leap.

"She said that no matter what, she wanted to personally thank the pilot of the MS who saved her—that would be you. Although I told her that, in wartime, I could not guarantee that you would be able to meet... in any case, I was ordered to convey this earnest wish of hers."

"Um... excuse me, Colonel." Maintaining a polite smile, Xia Ya interrupted him. "I did not quite catch that child's name just now... Could you say it again?"

Wait, wait, calm down. What exactly had Lieutenant Colonel Toda said just now? Was he hearing things? Or had he misunderstood?

Although Lieutenant Colonel Toda looked somewhat puzzled, he clearly repeated it. "Her name? She called herself Mayu... Asuka."

This time, Xia Ya heard it clearly. Every syllable was like an invisible heavy hammer, fiercely striking the depths of his soul.

For an instant, he felt his breathing stop. Yet his powerful self-control kept even the slightest crack from appearing in his smile. Only within those blue eyes, monstrous waves had already risen.

Mayu Asuka—in the "story" he knew, she had been a character who died together with her parents in the battle at Orb, right before