June 2nd, June 14th.
Two battles erupted in succession.
In the first battle, the Earth Alliance attacked the Z.A.F.T forces stationed on the Moon to secure Earth's resource supply.
However, the gap in strength between the two sides was too great. Without Earth's immense support to rely on, the Earth Alliance Military's Third Fleet was no match for Z.A.F.T.
In the end, the Earth Alliance forcibly caused the Cyclops System used for lunar ore refining to go out of control.
The Cyclops System, comparable to a small nuclear bomb, turned a five-mile radius of the lunar surface—including Alliance Forces—into magma.
After suffering enormous casualties, the remaining Earth Alliance forces withdrew from the Moon's Grimaldi front.
It was worth mentioning that during this battle, Cruze distinguished himself by defeating the Third Fleet, earning greater merit.
Not only was he assigned the new Nazca-class battleship Vesalius, but Cruze's team was also promoted into an elite unit tasked with special missions.
June 14th.
Z.A.F.T and the Earth Alliance went to war again, launching an offensive and defensive battle over the resource satellite "Nova," under the administration of the East Asia Republic.
However, neither side managed to land a decisive blow this time.
Over the following month, the two sides merely clashed continuously on a small scale. In the end, L4 Nova got caught in the crossfire and was nearly reduced to ruins.
July 12th.
Due to resupply issues and various other factors, the Earth Alliance ultimately chose to abandon L4 Nova.
After the Alliance Forces withdrew, Z.A.F.T decided to convert L4 into a military fortress and relocate it to L5, where it was later renamed "Boz."
The two sides thus fell into a stalemate. Although conflicts of varying scale continued between Z.A.F.T and the Earth Alliance, they remained small-scale wars.
Finally, in order to break the deadlock, Brigadier General Harbarton, commander of the Earth Alliance's Eighth Fleet, proposed a plan to develop a joint-use MS.
Namely, the "General Unilateral Neuro-Link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver." It was worth mentioning that Akatsuki Industries of Orb was also involved in this project.
In addition, the MS-carrying battleship Archangel, intended to serve as its operational vessel, also began formal development within Heliopolis.
However, while the outside world remained in turmoil, Noer encountered an unexpected visitor within PLANT.
"These are your medicines for the next month."
Inside a clean, tidy villa, a long-haired man in a black trench coat placed a case marked Top Secret—Genetic Research Institute on the table.
"A month?"
Noer looked at the case on the table, which was clearly more than a size larger than usual, and could not help frowning. It had always been delivered week by week before, so why was he suddenly being given so much today?
And if it really was a month's worth of medicine, then that case also...
"Yes." The long-haired man smiled.
"You're sure this is a month's supply?"
Noer opened the case and stared blankly at the mere two bottles of medicine inside.
It had been one bottle a week before. Why were there only two bottles for an entire month?
"PLANT's technology is advancing as well," the long-haired man explained with a smile.
"I suppose I'm poorly informed."
After hearing that, Noer readily put away the medicine case. They were medicines, after all. As long as they worked, that was enough.
What right did a debtor have to bargain?
Did he really think this stuff was free?
It was already generous enough to let him run up a debt.
He just did not know why they were doing this. Could it be out of kindness?
"All right, I've delivered the goods, so I won't stay any longer. Goodbye."
As he spoke, the long-haired man rose from his seat. After straightening his clothes, he extended his right hand toward Noer.
Noer glanced at the man's palm, reached out and shook his hand. "Goodbye."
The long-haired man withdrew his arm, turned, and headed for the door.
Seeing that, Noer hurried after him and escorted him outside.
"Oh, right, I still haven't asked your name..."
Just as Noer was about to ask his name, a sedan suddenly stopped by the roadside. Its window rolled down, revealing a beautiful woman with short golden hair.
Noer could only swallow back the question on his lips.
"Gilbert."
Just as the long-haired man opened the front passenger door, he suddenly stopped. Turning back to Noer, he smiled. "My name is Gilbert Durandal."
With that, he got into the sedan and left the villa.
He had only come today to take a look—to see the man who had caught Cruze's attention.
"Gilbert Durandal... Why does that name sound so familiar?"
Watching the sedan drive away, Noer could not help frowning. That name was familiar—extremely familiar.
But Noer was certain that he had never known anyone by that name.
Which meant that person's name had appeared in SEED, and he had been an important character—at the very least, one who appeared often.
But if he had been an important character who appeared often, there was no way Noer would not remember his name...
"Just say what you want to say. We don't need to be like this with each other."
Inside the sedan, Durandal noticed the woman's unease and smiled.
"Didn't you already resign from the Genetic Research Institute? So why?" the woman asked hesitantly.
Durandal was a renowned geneticist in PLANT, though that had been in the past. By now, he had long since resigned and entered politics.
"Because his body holds the answer I seek." Durandal chuckled.
"An answer?" For a moment, the woman did not understand what Durandal meant.
At that, Durandal slowly turned to look at the woman's profile and said absently, "An answer I have spent my entire life pursuing."
"The answer to your life?"
The woman frowned slightly. She had thought she understood Durandal very well, but now it seemed that was not the case.
"If nothing unexpected happens, I'll find it soon."
Recalling the research data he had obtained from Noer, Durandal could not help becoming lost in thought.
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