Chapter 224

PLANT, December Colony Cluster, Sixth Colonial Satellite.

The military cemetery on this satellite is the final resting place for many ZAFT soldiers who gave their lives for PLANT.

Shihe, dressed in a black suit, held a bouquet of flowers and slowly walked into the cemetery, arriving at the 13th cemetery sector.

Today, she and Yzak and the others had agreed to come and see their former comrades. The battlefield of the final decisive battle at Jachin Due was too cruel; the members of the Joule Team from that time now basically rested here.

Although they hadn't spent much time together back then, Shihe still wanted to come and see them, so she had arranged to come with Yzak, and by the way, she also wanted to ask if there were any results from the investigation she had asked Yzak to conduct last time.

Arriving at the agreed place, Shihe saw Yzak and Dearka, also dressed in black suits, and... that piano boy she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Nicol!"

Shihe couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

"Long time no see, Miss Shihe."

Nicol revealed the same shy smile as in the past and raised his right hand to wave.

"Your hand..."

Shihe hesitated for a moment upon seeing this; she remembered that Nicol had been wounded on the battlefield, and after his forearms were amputated, he had been sent to a rear hospital.

Hearing Shihe's words, Nicol smiled and shook his head, not avoiding the question: "It's just a prosthetic limb, but it's made quite realistically; basic self-care is no problem."

"Sorry, I was reckless just now." Shihe realized her reaction might not have been polite and apologized quickly.

"It's okay, we are comrades-in-arms; don't worry about such small things."

As he spoke, Nicol raised his hand again to make a piano-playing gesture and laughed at himself: "I can still play the piano now, just not as skillfully as before."

The optimistic and cheerful expression showed no trace of gloom, which made Shihe feel relieved.

The four of them chatted about some stories from the past, then together offered flowers to the ZAFT soldiers buried here amidst the tolling of the cemetery bells, and observed a moment of silence together.

Afterward, Shihe brought up that matter to Yzak: "Um, is there any news about the thing I asked Captain Joule to help with last time?"

Yzak replied upon hearing this: "I checked the list of all Earth Alliance soldiers rescued by our military after the Jachin Due battle, and Li Boyong's name was not on it."

Hearing this, the hopeful look in Shihe's eyes dimmed instantly.

Seeing this, Yzak couldn't bear it and quickly continued: "However, I found the personnel data for the rescue ship that picked you up at the time."

As he spoke, Yzak handed a portable data terminal to Shihe and said: "It contains the current addresses and workplaces of all the crew members on that ship at the time. Although the hope is slim, I hope it can provide you with some help."

"Thank you, Captain Joule."

Shihe took the data terminal handed over by Yzak and clutched it tightly in her hand.

"No need for polite words; my ability is limited, and this is all I can do to help."

Seeing the atmosphere, Yzak began to change the subject: "Speaking of which, the Zala Team that pursued the Archangel back then—the only one missing here is that Captain who doesn't know where he went."

"Yeah, I wonder how that guy is doing now?" Dearka chimed in.

Subsequently, the conversation among the four naturally turned to complaining about and defending Athrun.

The ones responsible for the complaining were naturally Yzak and Dearka, while Nicol tried his best to defend him. Shihe watched them laughing and joking from the side, gradually shaking off the sad mood from before, and joined the conversation with a smile.

And Athrun, who was being discussed by the four, was currently driving a sports car along the coastal highway of Orb's main island, heading toward the residence of Kira and the others.

After the final battle at Jachin Due, they had all chosen to come to Orb for various reasons.

Cagalli was originally the Princess of Orb, and after the decisive battle, she naturally returned to Orb as a matter of course. Relying on her active role in the Jachin Due battle, she successfully succeeded her father's position to become the nation's Prime Minister.

Lacus had originally intended to return to PLANT, but due to an attempted assassination, she chose to come to Orb to live in seclusion with Kira at Cagalli's invitation.

Also living in seclusion in Orb were the members of the Archangel and several of Lacus's followers.

Of course, also coming to Orb was himself, Patrick Zala's son, Athrun Zala.

Under the political climate of liquidating the Zala faction within PLANT at the time, Cagalli's invitation moved Athrun deeply.

Moreover, he really liked the cheerful and straightforward Cagalli, and with the assistance of Kira and Lacus, he finally successfully became Cagalli's lover.

Only, thinking of Cagalli's fiancé, Athrun couldn't help but feel irritable again, and the speed of his sports car inevitably increased a bit more.

Taking less time than usual, the speeding Athrun arrived at the residence of Kira and the others, a complex that combined a church, an orphanage, and a seaside villa.

Parking the car in a space, Athrun got out of the sports car and saw Kira and Lacus walking by the sea with a group of adopted orphans.

Lacus greeted Athrun with the children, and Athrun responded with a smile. Watching the innocent and brilliant smiles on these children's faces, he finally felt the unease in his heart subside a little.

Afterward, the two friends who hadn't seen each other for a while sat down at a table by the beach, and Lacus, after handing the children over to Mentor Malchio, went to brew a pot of black tea and brought some refreshments to entertain Athrun.

The three of them leisurely watched the seascape, tasted the black tea, and chatted about some interesting things that had happened during this time.

And on the balcony of the villa, the members of the Archangel were also gathered together enjoying afternoon tea.

Of course, there was also someone who had been through life and death in the Libyan Desert.

Andrew Waltfeld, the famous Desert Tiger, was currently chatting enthusiastically with Mula Flaga, the Endymion Hawk, looking like birds of a feather.

At this, Murrue and Natarle on the side exchanged a glance and couldn't help but smile.

It was truly incredible that former enemies could get along so happily like this.

At this moment, the door to the balcony was pushed open, and Flay walked in carrying a freshly brewed pot of black tea.

"Ah, I have a special collection here I'd like you to appraise."

Seeing this, Mula Flaga pulled Andrew away from the balcony, leaving the space to the ladies.

Before leaving, he secretly gave Murrue an "OK" gesture behind his back, and Murrue laughed and scolded him softly upon seeing it.

Natarle took the tray from Flay's hand and intimately pulled her hand to sit down.

With no men present, the three ladies tasted the black tea while chatting about some topics between women.

As they talked, Flay's gaze inevitably touched upon the three people below, and her expression gradually became dejected.

The two mature women exchanged a glance; after all, Natarle was closer to Flay, so she spoke up: "Is it really okay?"

Flay shook her head upon hearing this and smiled: "Forget it, I've already made things clear with Kira. Let the mistakes of the past be in the past; continuing to be entangled is just letting the mistakes continue."

Hearing this, Murrue sighed softly.

She knew a bit about the situation between Kira and Flay; under the circumstances at the time, where could one distinguish absolute right from wrong?

It was just that as a woman, she felt quite sympathetic toward Flay in her heart.

During the time they lived in seclusion in Orb after the war, the emotional entanglement between Kira, Flay, and Lacus was indeed a landmine that could be detonated at any time.

In the end, it was Flay herself, having experienced so much, who chose to withdraw voluntarily.

In her own words, it was to open up and make everything clear, so that there would be no more burdens between the two, and each could return to their own life path.