Editing KSGU:Volume 4 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 8===

“Have they made contact? …No, it’s alright. We can leave the mouse alone. That’s a disposable spy, so it’s impossible for him to get that much information.”

The 3pm siren rang. The downtown block would let out an interrupted siren, and the uppertown would have a clear bell chime indicating tea time. This bell was something the man called the superintendent imported from Europe on Earth. Angelo tried to force himself to listen to this annoying sound that entered his ears, and picked up the ivory carved receiver.

“More importantly, the “Unicorn”s transported as planned, right? …Right. Let it remain at an obvious place. That person will definitely find it.”

As expected, there was a doubtful voice from the phone. Angelo turned behind and saw Full Frontal bring the teacup to his lips, and could only exert pressure by saying, “This is the Captain’s orders. Don’t think of anything unnecessary.” And hung up. DING. The antique phone let out a clear crisp sound, mixing into the bell chime that stopped ringing.

“Are your things done, Lieutenant Angelo?”

A somewhat bothersome voice in contrast to the bell chime rang, and Angelo turned his face as he was about to click his tongue. The light rays from the artificial sun shone into the reception room, and the sight of Pepe Meganan’s lightly tan smiling was over there.

The large body that accumulated so much fat had a loose Roman styled robe draped all over him, and his perverted looking face was staring at Angelo. This was his ancestor’s birthplace—a clothing of the Southern tribes on Earth, but to Angelo, whether it was those dazzling gold large rings or the rings that were piled up on the caterpillar-like fingers, these were just some crude class goods. This was really befitting of the owner of this residence, draped in such luxurious clothing and ignoring temperaments. This was how the superintendent of “Palau” was like.

Such Zeonism believers were a laughing stock, but they could not show any signs of disgust to Pepe, who was a sponsor of the “Sleeves”. “Yes, sorry to be rude on the phone!” Angelo answered as courteously as possible and returned back behind Frontal. ''Are things progressing as planned?'' Angelo nodded at this suspicious-looking stare through the mask, and cleared his expression as he stared at Pepe. “He’s rather capable for a young man.” The superintendent of “Palau” said with lots of irony.

“With young people like him, I suppose there’s hope for Neo Zeon’s future, right? Captain Full Frontal?”

“We need supporters like you to establish this line, Superintendent Pepe. Or I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“No no. Someone like me is just an opportunistic person with this sudden chance. I’ll be really honored if I can contribute even a little to the revival of Neo Zeon. Besides, we can reclaim the land robbed from us for generations due to the Forced Migration, and end our ancestors’ regrets of living their last days inside the Asteroid Belt.

Pepe continued to chuckle as he gulped down grape wine that were from Burgundy. No matter whether his words were true or not, it was a fact that his ancestors lived their lives developing the Asteroid Belt. He lost his father at an early age due to space radiation, and was forced to spend times of tears with his mother and brothers. Soon after, he became a representative of a labor union that was formed, and while he worked hard to improve the work environment, he skillfully provoked riots and strikes, managing to establish himself amongst the financial world. During the war especially, Pepe had a tight relation with the Pergamino family who invested heavily in ship repairs, and there were rumors that more than half of the quarry resources used for repairs were resold by Pepe through illegal means. Side 6, which maintained a neutral standpoint at that time, had a large number of floating docks, and so, that meant that as the Pergamino Shipping Company treated both Federation and Zeon forces as its customers, Pepe manipulated the organizations within the Asteroid Belt.

After the war, Pergamino retreated, but Pepe continued to remain in touch with Side 6, and offered some power in regards to the political stability on Side 6. In this sense, Pepe was undoubtedly a bureaucrat supporting Neo Zeon’s army, and one could say that he was someone who established himself from the Forced Migration plan, but he was a very ardent supporter. At this point, the passion to improve the work environment in the Asteroid Belt was not like before, and his shameless attitude of sitting on this throne of authority, leeching his labor camp, would remind one of the theory the media talked about, about how ‘the political season was over’. After the One Year War and the two Neo Zeon wars, the celestial space thought of gaining independence gradually became a fading yearning, but there were industrial forces trying to brew this sort of thinking. The fighters who tried soft methods in the past pulled back from the battle, and ended up squeezing out from the grassroots, creating an Earth Celestial Sphere where no one cared about.

To Pepe, the assistance to the “Sleeves” was just a form a investment, and the military understood that he was one of the culprits making things complicated in military affairs. Angelo did not feel that Pepe was someone worthy of being heavily involved in the revival of Neo Zeon, and could not even let down his guard. Pepe said, “But as the person entrusting “Palau”s safety to you, I have a minimum request.” causing Angelo to raise his eyebrows slightly.

“I’ll be especially bothered if you don’t notify me of an incident like what happened to “Industrial 7”. Besides, I have to consider the pride of Side 6.”

“As I had just said, that was not expected. I’m really grateful for your utmost support, Superintendent Pepe, but we can’t notify you regarding all the military matters.”

“I understand. Just notify me about these random stuff like usual. I have no intent of nitpicking the military’s actions.”

Pepe gave a diplomatic tone in response to Frontal’s answer as expected. ''How much does this man understand regarding the “Laplace Box”?'' As Angelo thought about this, Pepe’s eyes narrowed slightly, and spoke in a direct and fatal voice.

“Speaking of which, I’m still wondering about Her Highness Mineva’s illness. Has she still not recovered?”

This was an irritating point about this man. Despite living in this life of extreme luxury, he never lost his instincts as an investor. “I’m sorry, but she’ll come and greet you when she has time. I think she’s showing fatigue from having to hide from people for a long time.” Angelo heard Frontal’s machine-like voice as he stared at Pepe. “Is that so? I do visit a family doctor often. Please notify me if the illness persists.” Pepe said while giving a certain look that Mineva herself was not around.

“The revival star of Zeon has to be around. You may have built up this current Neo Zeon army…the army organization “Sleeves” that caused terror in the Federation, but the center of this organization is directed by Her Highness Mineva.”

Pepe lit the cigar in his mouth and slowly stood up. “It’s because of the Zabi’s inheritance that what couldn’t be fulfilled can be fulfilled, and we managed to continue doing things that wouldn’t work till now. But if Her Highness Mineva keeps shying away from people, we may have to reconsider.”

Pepe said these threatening words as he glanced aside at Angelo, who unwittingly clenched his fist. Right in front of him, Frontal answered, “We’ll take note of that.” as he continued to put on a stone cold mask on his face. Pepe’s fat lips tilted slightly, and looked through the wall window, down at the courtyard of his residence.

“Even so, a symbol is still a symbol. What the soldiers are seeing is you, the Second Coming of the Red Comet. You’re the one standing on the frontlines, waving the flag, and the organization’s able to gain the strength of unity and implementing…no, I suppose this is just my business sense at work.”

“It’s the same in the army.”

“That’s right, isn’t it? That’s why this current Neo Zeon army is so strong. However, it’s not easy to see this from the outside. Zeon will never get a real revival if it can’t gain the support of everyone in the Earth Celestial Sphere. I’m a believer in the old Republic army, but the fact is that many foolish people would reject the Zabi name. in that sense, there might be limitations in having Her Highness Mineva as the center of this organization.”

“May I know what are you trying to imply, superintendent?”

“I said it before, didn’t I? I’m just an investor, a businessman. I just feel that if the one I’m investing in has a seed that can sprouting rapidly hidden within, I’ll try to let it bloom even if it’s not of my personal preference…Char Aznable.”

This voice sounded neither like a confession nor a call. Frontal ignored Angelo, who inadvertently looked back, and continued to look forward with an unmoved face.

“Alternatively, Casval Deikun. As the orphaned son of Zeon Deikun, I hope that it’s possible to remove the mask and show up in front of everyone again…I’m not the only one to hope for this.”

Pepe’s back faced the fountain in the yard as he exhaled smoke deeply. ''So he stated Mineva’s absence as a prelude to this conversation?'' Angelo understood this and waited for the response of the masked man called “The Second Coming of Char”, whether he would take off the mask and reclaim the throne of Zeon’s revival—after several seconds of silence, Frontal said, “Char Aznable is a man who lost.” and on hearing that, Pepe’s trembling face was reflected on the window.

“And he’s a dead man. The reason why I put on this mask is because I know that death made Char’s name a legend. Thus, I’m just playing a role. I have no interest in whether he’s alive or not.”

“Then, you don’t have any intent to remove that mask in the end, is that right?”

“I don’t feel there’s a need to do so.”

''In front of you, that is.'' Angelo seemed to hear a voice that added on to the meaning to these words. Pepe however curled his lips up without understanding and muttered, “What a pity.”

“Her Highness Mineva would not show up, and a Red Comet who’s just an illusion…looks like I invested in the wrong party, did I?”

“You really like to joke around, superintendent.”

Angelo finally could not hold in his emotions as he interrupted with a sharp voice. Pepe did not show any signs of wavering as he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Pardon my rudeness.”

“My nerves are a little sensitive due to a lack of night. Besides, it seems that it had been rather noisy at the ‘cove’ since last night.

The term ‘backstabbed’ would refer to this situation. This man acutely sniffed out the fleet’s movements as it prepared to defend against the Federation’s ambush. “I do understand…that you’ve been hiding the army’s tactics from me.” Pepe said, and it sounded like sarcasm to Angelo.

“But like I said before, I’m the superintendent of “Palau”, and I have a duty to protect the civilians. Of course, everyone here is mentally prepared for danger, but I do hope we can have definitive proof for this price. What I’m saying is that we can have proof that makes us think it’s worth getting involved.”

''Simply put, you’re Char, right?'' Pepe’s steady and warm stare was met with Frontal’s cool attitude. “We have no intent of getting you involved in this.” The voice that rang sounded as cold as an ice block, raising goosebumps on Angelo.

“We’ll leave this place.”

The tall and big figure clad in crimson red uniform got up as Frontal said this in a monotonous manner. Angelo knew that it was to be expected, but he did not expect it to be mentioned in such a situation as he withstood the wavering look within him. Pepe too looked like it was completely unexpected as he said with an agitated tone, “This…doesn’t sound like a joke you’ll make, Captain.”

“Is that so? This isn’t a joke. I’m here to visit you today to bid farewell to you too.”

Bits of cigar ash dropped from Pepe’s fingertips as his mouth was wide open. Frontal kept his silent smiling face and looked at the “Palau” sky that was behind the window Pepe was standing at.

“…Looks like it’s start.”

His face seemed to show that he caught sight of the enemy’s presence from the other end of the artificial sun, in the space behind the thick layer of rock. ''The Federation’s attack—is coming earlier than expected.'' Everything faded away quickly; the decorations that were as luxurious as possible, and Pepe, who was standing there blankly. The rising sense of battle rose within Angelo.