Editing KSGU:Volume 7 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

Night instantly arrived as the sunset hid itself behind the forest ridge. The road with hardly any vehicles passing by on it, let alone pedestrians, was dyed a darkness of night, and a wind that came from seemingly nowhere caused the entire field of black malt to rustle. Looking over, there were no street lights or anything, and there were no signs of any city lights. The only items that seemed to be holdovers from the old age, the telephone poles were extended across the horizon on both paths, leading far away.

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It had been more than 3 hours since she followed her plan and escaped from the Marcenas’ residence. She should have reached the city earlier, according to her predictions, but at this point, it did not look like she was approaching the city anytime soon. She only walked for 7km, but she never expected it to take so much time and energy. The only things that could be used as landmarks were the windmills acting as wind-powered electricity. Mineva Lao Zabi looked far beyond the windmills, and opened up the map she brought from the residence, but found that the surroundings was so dark the words could not be seen, and bit her lips. The map rustled with the wind, and she looked around to inspect her surroundings. There was a worn-out restaurant sign beside the road in front of her that was about to descend into darkness.

It was a cottage-sized diner, a shop that could occasionally be seen in a colony. There was only one car parked at the parking lots in front of the shop, and business did not seem bustling. Mineva peeked through the slightly dirty window to look into the shop, checked that it was seemingly not a gathering of ill-intentioned motorists, and pushed the double hinged doors aside.

She could see only a counter and 6 box seats there, and after looking around, she could not spot a customer or even a shop attendant. “Is it possible to have a meal here?” she asked meekly, and a chair opposite the counter could be heard moving. An old man who was ostensibly the shop owner suddenly poked his head out, and his obviously surprised stare met Mineva’s in the eyes.

The shopkeeper quickly whipped up some greasy fries, a hamburger and a salad with only tomato and lettuce, and again sat on the simple chair opposite the counter. The television set in a corner of the counter was showing the news of the Dakar incident. The incident involved the remnants of Neo Zeon, the Federation army had increased their security, and the thousands of missing—or dead, trapped under the rubble; as she digested on the news broadcaster's words, Mineva silently ate her food. Even after deducting the expenses of the long-distance bus trip from the city, she still had enough money. This money was borrowed from Zinnerman’s bag after she left a message for the latter. She recalled how she hid from the others to search another person’s bag, and thinking about this act she once did pained her as her hairs stood; however, she had already experienced in “Industrial 7” the reality that she could not do anything without money. She considered that since she could only use this little money left, she should not waste even a single coin, and she felt hesitant over the excessiveness of coffee after the meal.

In fact, even if she scrimped on her money, she would not be able to assure her future situation. She had a faint hope that once she reached the city, she would be able to meet with the anti-government forces and contact Neo Zeon, but she understood that the aftermath of the Dakar incident made her expectations harder to fulfill. In the worst situation, she may be captured by the Federation public security, but it was better than to be tamed by the Marcenas family. She wholeheartedly thought about avoiding being used as a diplomatic bargaining chip or a mean to settle the aftermath of the Dakar incident, and planned this escape while seemingly losing her mind, but had practically no plan on what to do after leaving the residence. Basically, even if she were to meet with someone who could provide her aid, she did not feel that the current Neo Zeon had room for her.

''Full Frontal actually let a man like Mahdi Garvey cause rampage on Earth, and most probably, had a hand in this incident. He hasn’t obtained the “Box”, so why is it that he decided to add fuel to the fire—?'' She recalled the face with the icy cold mask in her mind, and could not help but clasp her hands. At this moment, a cup filled with coffee was served before her eyes, and after she lifted her head in doubt, she saw the shopkeeper, “Drink up. It’s my treat.” Who said this.

He did not put up a false smile, and his straightforward attitude wore off Mineva’s urge to refuse this hospitality. “Thank you. I’ll help myself then.” Mineva answered and took a sip of coffee. it was probably expected to her, but it was a nice aromatic cup of coffee.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Where are you from?”

The shopkeeper asked as he cleared up the plate containing the hamburger. Mineva hesitated for a while before pointing her finger upward, and the owner followed her finger as he looked up, replying, “You’re a Spacenoid? No wonder I never met you before.” He showed a smile, and Mineva showed an honest smile.

“I’ve been living on this rural land for so long that I almost forgot that there are people living in space. Are you someone who’s here to sightsee? There’s nothing much to see around here.”

“No…to someone living in space, it’s a delightful thing to be able to step onto the ground.”

“You’re referring to Earth’s gravity? To people like us, the gravity does inconvenience us in some way. If we can reach space, my feet and waist will more or less feel lighter.”

The owner cleared the utensils clearly and wiped his hands on his aged apron. He still looked healthy and strong, but his hands showed the many years of toil and labor. Mineva spotted a young-looking youth who seemed to be the son of the shop owner, dressed in Federation uniform, on an old photo hanging on the wall, “Have you always been living on Earth, owner?” and tried to ask.

“Yeah, I never left America once ever since I was born. I did go to the orbital path once for a field trip in school when I was young. My wife’s now dead, and I did think of going to space myself…but the money I saved up isn’t enough to pay for the expenses needed to migrate to space.”

“I heard that the Space Migration is still under way, is it not?”

“That thing is like a ship ferrying slaves in the past, set up to ship the illegal residents into space. Unbelievably, it seemed that they knew who didn’t want to go to space too. Someone like me will never be nominated to be moved to space.”

The shop owner laughed with a self-decrying flair as he poured coffee for himself and took a sip. There was no real evidence around, but Mineva could imagine that the son in the photo who set off probably never returned.

“I do feel reluctance about leaving a land I stayed on for many years, but in our era, we heard many tales of the devastation at the end of the old century from our forefathers when we were growing up. There were famines, natural disasters, wars…as bad as it can get. Humanity created the Federation government to escape from that hell, and started to move people to space. Some people said that they were just dumping the poor into space, but many said that they went to space on their own will. They all decided that they would not return to Earth before Earth’s natural environment recovered.”

She had already forgotten about this way of looking at things. The owner did not look at Mineva’s speechless face any further as he turned his sights at the special television program broadcasting the news.

“That Dakar’s just a land people feel will be devoured by the desert within a hundred years. Someone suggested about moving the capital over there after the war, probably to let the officials understand how bad Earth has deteriorated. The natural environment had finally started to recover, but the One Year War caused things to revert to how it was. Some felt that humanity should just move to space entirely and let Earth rest…”

“Are there any people who think this way amongst the Federation government?”

“Yeah, I suppose there was a young and gifted idealist who thought of it this way too…but even after looking at the reality in Dakar, humanity hasn’t changed. The only thing that can be said however is that the desertification is so fast it’s completely beyond expectations, and then they moved the capital to that place called Lhasa in Tibet or something. After it was destroyed by the Neo Zeon terrorist attack, those guys returned back to Dakar to rebuild. In the end, Dakar still ended up as a terrorist target. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the worrying here.”

“Even if ideals are correct, people’s feelings won’t follow…we’re really hopeless.”

“Those are some deep words you’re saying, Missy. You seem pretty knowledgeable.”

The owner gave a probing expression in his smile. Mineva then realized that she spoke too much and lowered her head.

“But it’s not good for a young person like you to view things this way. I guess it’s best that you remember that all things start from humanity’s good intentions.”

“Humanity’s, good intentions…?”

“The reason why we built the Federation government, why we carried out the space migration plan, all of this was born from the good intention to save humanity and Earth. Those who wanted to stay on Earth and leave the land they were accustomed to their children did it out of their good intentions too. If the notion of wanting the company to earn money, or that of fulfilling the responsibilities we’ve been given are good intentions, then the intention to distinguish ourselves and change our families’ lives are of course good intentions…”

“But that should be called selfishness. It’s that kind of selfishness that ignores everyone else that the Earth—”

“Maybe, but if we deny that good intention, this world is basically darkness.”

The owner wet his lips with the coffee and said calmly. Mineva blinked her eyes, ostensibly caught by the flaw in her thinking.

“Some people suppressed their emotions just to work. That God in the East who abandoned his wife and son and left his house…Buddha, was it? I really can’t like that guy. I hate that Char who sent an asteroid falling down on us. He said that it was for the sake of Earth, for the sake of humanity, but what he did really caused me to wonder if he actually liked humanity before.”

These words rang in Mineva’s ears, seemingly tying down the her now. She could not entrust herself to those warm hands, she could not face the embrace that shrouded her, and she, who could not decide on her foundation, was just running away— “Then, what do you think I should do?” She realized the agitation she let out in her question as she looked at the owner face to face.

“Your question can be answered by those sly answers only adults can do. If I know the answer to that question, I won’t be here as a small diner boss in such a place here.”

The warm smile only an old man could give caused Mineva to relax her pricked nerves. She took a small sigh and gave a light smile.

“I agree with it. Besides, it’s a must to understand our own limitations as humans…”

“That’s true, but it sure is troublesome to hear you as a young person speak like you saw through everything and gave a brief estimation for others, Missy.”

At this moment, the shop owner looked at Mineva right in the eyes and spoke. The latter felt that her cringed self was slapped on the back and gasped.

Right, she was the one who thought that she had seen through everything. She grumbled about the surrounding darkness and cringed, not willing to take the initiative to do anything. She should have known that waiting was not going to work, and light was not going to shine in. “Is that so…you’re right.” She subconsciously muttered and clasped her hands tightly.

“I escaped outside without being restricted, but I thought that I saw through everything, and couldn’t progress on…maybe I’m really just running away…”

The owner frowned with a puzzled look. ''What I want to do, and what I have to do—these aren’t what I should worry, but rather what I can do now…'' as Mineva repeated these thoughts in her mind, she silently muttered to herself, telling herself not to run away anymore. At this moment, the coffee cup suddenly rattled, and Mineva looked up at the ceiling.

The deep buzzing sound became more obvious from above, and she could hear that it was the rotors of a helicopter spinning, causing the vibrations to spread within the shop. As the glass windows and other cutlery started to rattle, the owner did not look away from the ceiling as he muttered, “Has the military decided to patrol around here too?”. ''There’s nothing to be afraid of.'' The moment she made this decision, the other party came to invite her. She gulped down the cold coffee, “Owner”, called out and got up from her seat. She placed the dining expenses on the counter and stared right at the owner who stared back at her in utter shock.

“The coffee was tasty. I suppose this trip to Earth was worth this cup of coffee alone.”

The spotlights that shone down from the sky dyed the windows inside the shop. The sounds of the vehicles being parked rang continuously, and the sounds of the vehicle doors being opened and closed followed. “You…” the owner spoke as he retreated, and Mineva turned her back to him and faced the diner’s doors. Soon after, the double hinged doors were pushed aside, and several men rushed in with killing intent.

These men were dressed in suits, but Mineva could tell that they had pistols in their suits. It was easy of them to capture her back—no, there had to be something for them to invite her back after letting her escape this far. Once she realized this predicament, she met a man in his forties right in the eyes. The man’s expression did not waver, “Miss Audrey Burne” as he feigned politeness.

“Chairman Ronan is waiting for you. Please follow us back.”

He approached Mineva without revealing any openings, and put his hand on her shoulder. At that moment, the emotions that was vented within Mineva immediately exploded, “How rude.” and a sharp voice came from her mouth,

“I’m Mineva Zabi. I have no intention to run away from hide. Make way.”

The taller man was ostensibly jolted by electricity as he shook his hand off, took a step back, and nearly tumbled. Mineva bowed to the wide-eyed owner behind the counter, walked towards the door, took a breath, and entered the gathered spotlight.

''This is good. My time as Audrey Burne has ended. As the heir to the Zabi family, there are many things I have to face.'' This realization was gradually settled within Mineva’s heart as she let the downwash from the helicopter blow upon her.