Editing KSGU:Volume 1 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 11===

Once they took the lift down and went through the defenseless gantry gate, they entered the closest elevator. Another 1,500m down to their destination and it was the residential area of the colony builder.

This was the inner area that was on the inside of the 'Snail'. This residential area that had only half the diameter of the space colony had only half the gravity. Banagher and Audrey floated out from the elevator and entered the plains with very little gravity. The outside was a complete green, and there weren't any people around, and neither were there the sounds of vehicle or mini mobile suits moving. The relaxed voices of the birds was the only thing accompanying the air. This shrill and peaceful silence that would hurt the ears made it feel like a completely different world from the noisy industrial space colony.

Under the flat artificial sun that was illuminating the ceiling, the green pasture looked like it filled the entire inner wall. To the people who would only think that there was only the sight of industrial resource facilities and worker dormitories, this scene would be too unexpected. As the gravity was weaker, the grasses and trees were taller than those in the space colonies, but looked like they were properly trimmed, which made them look odd. This place had tectonic plates that were of an even smaller scale, and if one didn't look around, it would appear to be flat ground. This place also had a luxurious looking villa, and the fountain in the garden was still flowing with water. One would feel that the name 'colony builder' was a lie as what anyone would see was similar to a garden commonly seen in old-century houses of the nobility and the fabled tycoon's private land.

“Just like what Micott said...”

The structure of the Vist Foundation villa itself was moved directly from Earth. Banagher stared at the villa in an engrossed manner that could only be described as 'luxurious'. This should be called a Tudor dynasty mansion, a stone structure that almost couldn't be seen at all in the space colonies. It was 100m wide and the corridor at the front had become all grey because of the erosion. The overwhelming feeling of a fortress would make any viewer feel fear. The wide blue sky and the clouds as a backdrop made it no different from Earth.

[[Image:KSGU 221.jpg|thumb]]

What should be an old-styled donut-shaped space colony was shown in the sky. The axis seemed to be like Industrial 7 itself, and the afternoon lighted the mansion tiredly. Banagher hid behind the shrub and looked at the situation at the villa. However, he was stunned by Audrey, who stood up all of a sudden. Even though they were able to walk in unguarded up till now, there wasn't any guarantee that they could pass through safely. 

“Are you going?” On hearing these words, Audrey stopped and turned around with a look that seemed to say “What are you doing here?”

“I can go alone. You can head back.”

At this moment, she gave a tone that seemed to emphasize the end of the line. “Bu...” Banagher's voice was filled with doubt, and Audrey turned around.

“They found out that I'm here. They're ready to invite me in.”

“Does the Vist Foundation know you?”

Her eyebrows twitched, showing that she was wavering somewhat “So you really needed to meet someone of the Foundation...” Without waiting for him to finish, Audrey turned around and walked off. Banagher snorted and moved off in larger strides than Audrey.

“Banagher-san...”

“There may be a terrifying big sister out there waiting for me. It's safer for me to go ahead.”

How could he turn around at this now that he came all the way here? “Also, call me Banagher.” After he said that, Banagher carried Haro, who couldn't move really well on the grass, and asked: “Right?” Haro energetically answered back “Haro!” as the voice echoed in his chest.

Banagher took this as a yes and started to walk to the villa. Forget about being served. If we're going to be captured, there's no need to lead us all the way here. He was thinking that since there was no danger, he might as well come to the inside of the 'Snail' since it was a rare chance itself. The colony builder was a mothership that was meant to develop the Jupiter Celestial area. Since he was a technical student who volunteered to go to Jupiter, he was interested in this technology.

In fact, through this viewpoint, moving the green pastures of the Earth to this residential areas was meaningful. To extract the radioactive fuel Helium-3, there was regular transport to Jupiter. However, the total journey of 1.6 billion km would take several years, and it's said that it's not uncommon to see cases where the crew members collapse mentally. Even the Earth would be buried amidst the deep outer space with countless stars in them—maybe it's because the colony builder was supposed to head to a place that's too far for the human soul to work at alone that such a haven was needed. More than half the human population were in space colonies, and became space residents that didn't understand real nature. However, it need not be just a visual thing, as a 'nature' that could be touched, stepped on and sniggered at could save the human soul.

“If we can't leave the ground, what Newtypes can we even talk about...”

She unwittingly muttered that. While Banagher answered back “Eh?”, Audrey gave a vague smile and moved her feet that stopped before. He didn't even know why he felt this way. He didn't have any interest in Zeon Deikun's Newtype theory. Was it because he just heard of the history lesson before?

After a short walk, the grassland that was as high as the knees became a flat green. They were already close enough to see the fine details of the villa. It seemed that there wasn't anyone around, and there wasn't any perimeter wall or gate surrounding the house. Maybe this entire land was private property, and that they entered the garden already.

In that case, they didn't need to think about intruding illegally. Banagher climbed up the stairs leading to the atrium and faced the two large doors. The doors were made of wood, and they were decorated with metal rings and lion heads. Banagher and Audrey nodded at each other and used the metal ring to knock on the door like how it was done in movies. They didn't know whether this could be used as a doorbell, but the sound of the metal knocking was deeper than what they imagined it to be as it seemed to ring through the entire silent area of the residential area. After seeing that the door didn't show any signs of opening, Banagher shrugged his shoulders, and Audrey went forward to grab the door handle. The unlocked door let out a creaking sound as it opened.

The ceiling that was at the second storey had a posh-looking chandelier on it. There was a wide set of stairs linking to the second level, and once they went up, it was a corridor in mid-air that felt like a deck was being repaired. The corridor looked like those in the movies when a posh-looking woman would be dressed up nicely and smiling as she invite them in. there was complete silence inside the dim place, and there wasn't any presence of any butlers coming out to serve them. There wasn't anyone else who questioned the duo who trespassed randomly other than the stares from the paintings on the wall, and the empty domestic presence surrounded Banagher.

It wasn't the emptiness of a house full of charms or the loneliness of an abandoned house. The number of furniture and house decorations made it feel like people once lived in here. However, the cold air didn't have any tinge of warmth—feeling that his body was trembling, Banagher shouted: “Anybody home?” and didn't get any answer. He exchanged glances with Audrey and walked deeper into the first level.

It seemed that there was some regular maintenance as there wasn't any odour in the empty rooms or corridors. The sofas in the living room were covered with dustproof-cloth, and the glass windows with curtains drawn were wiped clean too. Unwilling to open the windows on his own, Banagher looked through the gap that showed a ray light looked around, and walked towards the balcony where he could look down into the atrium. The atrium was a Colosseum that was surrounded on all sides by the building itself, and amidst the different sizes, there were many sculptures beside the restroom area at the middle.

Each of these were things that Banagher saw in arts textbooks, so these shouldn't be the real thing themselves, but delicately crated duplicates. The sculptures remained inside the empty garden, and there was an empty and chilly sense of presence, making one feel that they may be moving before he was here.

A bird flew by and stopped on the face of a man's status that was deep in thought before flying off again. Banagher looked at the statue and felt that the statue was looking back at him. He swallowed his saliva, took a few steps back from the balcony and recollected his thoughts, saying 'there doesn't seem to be anyone around' and went back to the corridor.

“There should be a command area somewhere. Once there...”

Speaking halfway through, he stopped as Audrey wasn't around. Haro was rolling around on the floor. He looked around and couldn't find anyone. He frantically walked to the neighboring block, and found that there was a door opened downstairs. Banagher hurriedly ran to the exit, saw Audrey standing in the dim room and heaved a sigh of relief.

The side of her face was lit by the light that shone in through the curtains of the windows as she looked up at the wall. Banagher was about to say 'don't scare me like that', but he was stunned when he entered the room.

The ceiling was abnormally high, and on the wall of this room that was the largest he ever saw, there were six really large paintings on it. They were arranged together without leaving any space, and it seemed that the paintings themselves were the wall. No, those were paintings. They look like they were woven onto a piece of cloth. A large embroidery...it's called a tapestry, correct?

The six tapestries were all of different sizes, but the smallest one was 3m wide, and the height was about 5m. They should be related works as the base colors and structures of all these works were the same. They had a woman standing at the middle of a garden with flowers and animals woven in them. The imaginary world the woman was in would remind one of a small outer space. There were two beasts on both sides, and the completely different parties created 6 scenes. Amongst the two beasts, one of them was a lion, and the other one was one with the body of a horse and a long thin horn on its head—

“Unicorn...”

Audrey muttered to herself. Banagher heard his heart pulsate for a moment.

The memory of the white mobile suit he saw this morning in the subway train awoke in him, and the blood that moved inside his body started to rumble. He didn't know the reason, and he didn't have the strength to even think about it. The woman who was taking fruits from the tray the maidservant was holding; the woman playing the harp at the table; the woman making a crown of flowers...Banagher felt that something inside his mind was rumbling and about to break out from his skull as his eyes were enchanted by the tapestry. 

The woman who let the unicorn rest on her knees and looked at the mirror; the woman holding a flag with a moon on it; and last of all, a woman standing in front of a small tent, putting her jewellery into a box a maidservant's holding. The unicorn and the lion were on both sides of the tent, and the woman who looked like she was putting her jewelery away was entering a tent. The tent had the words 'A Mon de Désir' written on it, and this was an ancient language that would only be understood by only a few researchers. The meaning was...

“...My only wish.”

He subconsciously said it out, and immediately felt a chill. I couldn't possibly read it. I couldn't possibly understand it. Banagher shook off Audrey's anxious expression and asked, “Is this a famous painting?”

“I don't know...but since it was Vist Foundation who shifted this piece of art over to outer space, I think it's something valuable.”

Audrey frowned in surprise as she noted. I know, Banagher told himself this in his mind. It doesn't matter whether it was famous or not. I know this piece of art, and it's not that I saw this before on TV or textbooks. No, I never even touched it before. A long time ago, I couldn't even get to the bottom of this tapestry. Someone carried me up and told me the meaning. At that time, that room also had the sound of a piano playing—

He slowly turned around. The piano that was beside the window as basked under the sunlight that came in. Banagher walked over to it and touched the piano that was covered in cloth.

“Seems like nobody's staying here. I'll go find the control room. You...”

“I remember.”

Muttering unknowingly, Banagher turned to look at Audrey: “I remember. I saw these before.”

“These tapestries?”

Looking at the tapestries that were hung on the wall, Audrey gave a look of disbelief back at him. Banagher was forced to move by this irritation he couldn't explain and said: “No, it's not like this...” At this moment, a third person's voice could be heard: “Do you like it?” causing him to gasp.

He looked around. A man was standing at the door. He looked at Audrey, who was frozen, and again looked back at Banagher. The man slowly entered the oroom. The somewhat dim light lit his silver hair and sharp eyes, and Banagher felt that the pressure in this room got even more intense. He subconsciously took two steps back, knocked into the piano, and the photo frame on the piano dropped down.

He instinctively turned back to look, and saw the face of a ten-year-old, slightly plump and giving a poker face. The boy seemed to have a man and a woman on both sides, most probably his parents. The woman, who seemed to be the mother, had her hand on the boy's shoulders as she smiled. The energetic man standing on the other side was also like the boy, showing a poker face. Looking at the man's face as he had that Chinese-styled collared shirt on, Banagher again turned around to stare at those sharp eyes in the dim place.

His cheeks were slightly skinner, and his hair had faded in color, but the man in front of him was completely identical to the man in the photo. Most likely, he's the owner of this villa. The stakeholder of Anaheim Electronics, and the one rumored to be the actual owner of the 'Snail', the leader of Vist Foundation—

““The Lady and the Unicorn”, author unknown. Most people thought that it was a tapestry made during the Middle Ages in France. This wasn't a copy. It's said that the ex-leader spent a lot of effort trying to get it during the One Year War.”

As he casually looked at the two intruders, the man—Cardeas Vist continued to talk. “The New Moon's Flag this woman's holding was the crest of someone who represented an advisor to the French King in the past, Vist Foundation, my family. Most likely, an ancestor requested someone to make it, and it ended up in his hands.”

The voice sounded steady, but had impeccable strength in it. Banagher put the photo frame that fell down back to its position and looked at the faces of the people in the family.

There was Cardeas, who was about 20 years younger than before, a woman who seemed to be his wife, and the boy. These were all faces he could not recognize, faces of strangers. After seeing that, the sense of 'recognition' became ambiguous, and the tapestry and the piano suddenly became unknown foreign things.

“Right now, the common idea was that this series of tapestries represented the 5 senses of humanity. The woman holding the fruit represented taste; the woman holding the harp represented hearing; the woman creating the crown of flowers represented smell; the woman holding the mirror represented sight; and the woman touching the horn of the unicorn represented touch...” Explaining in order, Cardeas looked at the last picture, and his eyes narrowed. “And the last one was called the 'tent'. As for what this meant, there wasn't any decisive conclusion to this. The woman takes off the bracelet she was wearing and puts it into the box in the maidservant's hands. There was a tent behind it with the words 'My one desire' on it. The unicorn and the lion are leading her in. What does that tent mean? What does the 'box' represent?”

[[Image:KSGU 230.jpg|thumb]]

Audrey's eyes widened, and Banagher could feel her tension. Cardeas turned to look at her.

“Some said that the tent had her husband in it, and some said that the tent led to a mental world where one gives up everything. Right now, the commonly accepted explanation would be the latter. While giving up the bracelet, the lady wanted to give up the delight her five senses brought, and the desire that they bring before releasing herself to a zone only the sixth sense could feel...the free will ancient scholars talked about was 'release'. In other words, the 'my own desire' was a realm of realization, and the tent was a symbolization of it. The bracelet represented personal desire, and the 'box' was a symbol of an earthly seal. Of it could also be interpreted that as the 'box' was opened, the lady was able to give up on her personal desire and face the next world.”

“This unicorn's existence is also symbolic. This is a legendary beast that had many meanings to it, but our family interprets it as the beast of possibilities. It was a beast that was born out of everyone's belief and love. Humans use this possibility of existence to raise this beast, causing a situation where it didn't matter whether it existed or not...like what Riike's poem said. On one hand, it could be interpreted as the sign of the Virgin, but we shall use it as a more ordinary term. We symbolize it as the power of belief...the symbol of hope.”

Once Cardeas finished, Banagher saw that there was a crest sewn on his chest pocket, one that looked like a unicorn. Just when he was about to ask whether it was the crest of the Vist Foundation or something, Cardeas looked at Audrey and said: “Pardon me for my late introductions.”

“I'm the owner of this house. My name is Cardeas Vist.”

Though Audrey looked rather mild at the moment, her expression wasn't showing any smile at all. She inadvertently looked away and started to stammer. “I...” But she clenched her fists tight and again faced Cardeas' tall body.

“Sorry to intrude on you. I'm...”

Cardeas raised his hand gently to prevent her from continuing. “I know you. Please don't declare your name first.”

“But...”

“You don't want to get this boy involved, right?”

Saying this, Cardeas looked over at Banagher, but as their eyes met, his eyes looked back at Audrey.

“If there's anything important, please hold on for a while. However, if you're the sort of person I think you are, I hope that you understand that we're meeting under dangerous circumstances. Your presence here would make your comrades feel betrayed.”

“Zinnerman's a cautious man, so he won't create any unnecessary trouble...”

“Unnecessary? Is the need to ensure your safety unnecessary?”

The fists that were tightly clenched trembled slightly as Audrey went silent. Unable to understand what they were saying, Banagher could only stare at them in a flabbergasted manner, and his eyes met Cardeas, who suddenly looked over at him.

“You risked yourself too much. She'll be under our protection. Head back now.”

No matter whether it was some bigshot in the monetary world or not, one shouldn't be giving such a condescending look at someone they just met for the first time. Banager stepped forward, but got taken aback by Cardeas' sharp expression as he continued to remain there. Cardeas' entire body gave a heavy presence as he closed the distance between himself and Banagher.

Cardeas' eyes scanned Banagher from head to toe and stopped at the Haro at his feet. “Such an old toy.” There was a mysterious mocking-like tone in the voice. On hearing these unexpected words, Banagher looked straight at Cardeas' cold expression.

“Do you know why she's being pursued, and what kind of people were pursuing her?”

“Well...I don't know, but they're really scary people.”

“Scary?”

“I just had this feeling.”

Gripping his trembling fingers hard, Banagher answered without wavering, and Cardeas' eyes suddenly became kiner: “Saying such things that a Newtype would say...” The somewhat wry voice entered Banagher's ears. Of course, one didn't need to look at the expression to see that he was laughing at Banagher for arrogantly saying that in a childish manner.

“I was born in a place where such people kept going in and out, so I could tell.”

That was the last straw. Banagher was already expecting to be laughed at, but the wryness in Cardeas' eyes vanished. “...I see. So you say that you can recognize people?” Banagher could tell that this voice again sounded like laughing.

“Then, let's not waste what you know. Head back. If you continue to stay here, your future will be wrecked. This is not what the person who sent you to Anaheim Electronics wanted.”

The unexpected words caused him to be shocked. Was his cover blown? No, Banagher suddenly thought. This Cardeas may be a friend of his father who he never met and requested him to transfer into the College.

From the few words his mother spoke and the history up till now, he knew that his father should be someone of status. Though it was a vague memory, the feel of the room and the tapestries didn't seem to be just a false impression...so strong that if he never saw the family photo, he would have thought that this was his family.

“You...knew?”

Immediately afterwards, Banagher forgot about all of these and started asking. Cardeas moved his eyes away slightly.

“I'm the chairman after all, and I can check any student's particulars and expel them accordingly.”

The last words went through Banagher with a straight gaze. Since he was being watched the moment he and Audrey, who was being 'hosted', entered the 'Snail', it's easy to investigate their history. The cold reality of understanding this caused Banagher to lower his head dejectedly. The passion shown just now cooled off as he felt his knees lose strength.

“I'll give recognition to a young man's impulse. It's alright to believe in instincts. However, if your knowledge and ability isn't enough, your response will be the wrong one. Go back. Don't get involved in this.”

After this one-sided aggression, Cardeas left Banagher. Banagher couldn't say anything, didn't even have the strength to stare at his back, and lowered his head. He succumbed again. This time, he succumbed under the violence called authority, and was about to collapse again. But even though he had this feeling, his wilted nerves didn't feel like getting back up in a motivated manner. Banagher turned to look at Audrey.

Audrey looked back at him too. After their eyes met, she immediately looked away, which made Banagher feel despair as he already knew what Audrey was about to say next.

“That's enough, Banagher. Go back.”

Her eyes were looking at him again, and the words were what he imagined it to be as they pierced through his heart. “But...!” Banagher's tone was full of panic.

“It's enough that you brought me here. I'll handle the rest.”

After giving a stiff smile, Audrey looked over at Cardeas. On seeing those eyes that were filled with intense will, Cardeas wordlessly walked away. Banagher felt that Audrey was about to follow Cardeas, and before he could think, his feet stepped on the floor first.

Though his posture was tilting somewhat because of the lower gravity, Banagher blocked Audrey as she was about to walk to the door. “Audrey.” Banagher called her name, and her jade-green eyes were looking back at him.

“Before I met you this morning, I saw a white mobile suit in the subway train.”

After blinking a bit, Audrey lifted her head slightly. Banagher ignored Cardeas, who was eavesdropping on them, and continued to look at her face.

“After that, I wanted to go to work, but there was no work for the day. I went to the cafeteria with Takuya, and saw you floating near the sun. I don't know much after that, but I was really excited. It's like another world appeared right in front of me, or that something I couldn't see in the past appeared right in front of me...this was the first time I felt that. It's like I felt my comfort zone for the first time.”

Banagher himself knew how foolish these words were, but his mouth just couldn't stop. On hearing that Audrey was looking a little moody and becoming more so, Baangher himself continued.

“I don't care who you are. Just say that you need me, say that it's better for me to be here. Then I...”

“No.”

Audrey answered before he could finish. Shocked by the stiff expression and the impact of the voice, Banagher felt his body waver.

“The world you saw today was nothing. It's just a dark and cold world. You shouldn't be here.”

“Audrey...”

“Forget about it. Don't get involved with me. It's better for you.”

This time, it was really a tone to clear the divide. Audrey turned around, and Banagher was rooted there. All around the delicate yet obstinate profile, the dark red base of the tapestries appeared in the dim place.

Perhaps seeing that the little drama between both of them was over, Cardeas nodded his head slightly, and men in suits appeared at the door of the room, ushering Audrey in with a courteous demeanor. Audrey lifted her head and followed them out. Banagher instinctively tried to catch up, but he was stopped by the presence that suddenly appeared behind him. Unknowingly, two men appeared from a room and were standing behind Banagher.

“We'll send you back to your hostel.”

One of the men. The man who would remind one of the ferocity and viciousness of a hunter had the crest of a unicorn on the chest. Knowing that he would be suppressed if he tried to resist, Banagher looked at Cardeas, who turned around and said just when he was about to lead Audrey out of the room: “This would be better.”

“The people chasing her may view you as a target.”

It was logical. Though Banagher himself felt that this was just an excuse, he couldn't say anything. Banagher clenched his fists and lowered his head. The embarrassment and regret left a stinging feeling in his nose, and the unicorn on the tapestries became blurred.

Audrey went through the door of the room without turning back, and Cardeas followed her from behind. As he left, he looked back, and seemed to stop for a moment as he probably looked at Banagher. However, once Banagher lifted his head, the profile vanished, and the light that came in through the door remained in the room, causing Banagher to see remains of the world he lost.

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