Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Eighth Fleet

“Turn around 180 degrees, reduce speed by twenty percent, and decrease relative velocity by another twenty percent.”
“Ah~” “Eighth Fleet!” “Mom, can we go home now?” “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m your father!”
Excitement and panic swept through as the Archangel finally joined up with the Eighth Fleet.
The thrill came from knowing these civilians could finally return to Earth; the panic came from fathers becoming mothers, sons becoming wives—everything was unbearably awkward.
The Archangel docked next to the Menelaus, and General Halbarton prepared to board for an inspection.
They were about to meet their superior next, but such a bizarre event as soul-swapping—how could the general possibly believe it?
Although Nemesis could restore each soul to its rightful body, Hao Ren felt for his sister and didn’t want her to overexert herself. Thus, they had no choice but to continue living in their new identities.
Truth be told, watching Frey and Sai put on their little act in front of the councilors was a source of amusement for Hao Ren.
How could he let such a delightful spectacle end so quickly?
Yet, with Athrun and Lacus as precedents, Hao Ren was eventually cornered by Bachiru and Mirialia.
Faced with tearful pleas (his own blood and tears), Hao Ren agreed without hesitation.
Of course, thanks to Hao Ren’s subtle hints, Nemesis tinkered a bit with their minds—though that’s a story for another day.
As for Sai, Hao Ren firmly instructed Murrue and the others to keep their mouths shut, or he’d defect to the enemy.
Faced with such a life-and-death threat, Murrue and her group naturally betrayed Sai and Frey.
Archangel, Dining Hall
“I heard the civilians will soon be transferred to the Menelaus, then take shuttles down to Earth!” Kuzz, excited, gathered his friends and shared the uplifting news.
“Dressed like this, are we still considered civilians?” Tolle tugged at his Earth Forces uniform. Since swapping back to his original body, the chest protrusion was gone—something felt missing.
“Of course. No matter what, we’re civilians, and any fighting we did was just forced on us,” Mirialia said optimistically. The news made her visibly happier, but seeing Tolle’s familiar gesture of touching his chest, Mirialia’s mind suddenly leapt to some unpleasant thoughts.
“You… you didn’t do anything to my body, did you?” Mirialia questioned sternly, seeing Tolle’s slightly crestfallen expression.
“Ahaha~ What are you talking about? I don’t really understand,” Tolle laughed awkwardly, but Mirialia’s gaze said, “You’re the culprit.”
“You really did!” Mirialia blushed instantly, hastily covering her chest.
“I—I’ll go pack my things, excuse me!” Tolle, panicked, squeezed between Frey and Sai and floated away.
“Trying to run?” After trembling for a while, Mirialia finally remembered she had another option besides [marrying him]: [killing him].
Good luck to Tolle; the handprints on Mirialia’s chest and hips wouldn’t be so easily erased.
“Hey, Sai, why haven’t we changed back yet? Sai, tell me!” Frey was on the verge of collapse due to her current male body.
As for her father, Frey couldn’t explain it at all—how could her father, a lifelong party member, accept such a fantastical event as soul-swapping?
Sai had no choice but to impersonate Frey, playing the role of daughter.
“They all reverted automatically; we’ll probably change back after a while, too,” Sai replied, not bothering to process Murrue and the others’ clumsy lies, and ended up believing them out of irritation.
Frey was also easily fooled.
Frey burrowed into her boyfriend’s arms, nuzzling contentedly—though the two lumps of fat atop her head annoyed her.
To outsiders, they looked like the perfect pair: a pretty boy and a tomboy.
“Why are we rushing to repair the mobile suits? Haven’t we already joined up with the fleet?” Dragged in to fix the machines, Kira popped out of the Zero’s cockpit like a groundhog, complaining loudly to Mu.
“Of course it’s because we’re uneasy!” Mu floated leisurely. He was a skilled pilot, but not necessarily a top-notch mechanic. “ZAFT only withdrew temporarily; who knows when they’ll attack again? We can’t afford to be careless.”
“Sharp, must you always tempt fate?” At Hao Ren’s signal, Nemesis delivered a one-hit kill, snapping Sharp in two.
“Gra~ti~tude~” Sharp, whose twitching was his only means of survival.
“You forgot to retrieve your badge, didn’t you?” Hao Ren’s points were pitifully low—barely enough to corrode another S; the rest were practically single digits.
Those badges dropped by the guys killed by the lolicon sneak attack would likely float forever in space.
Following Hao Ren’s cue, Nemesis transformed her hands into hammers and smashed Sharp to bits.
Kira, witnessing the whole process, grabbed at the air with both hands, as if he couldn’t get enough.
He really was fond of artificial intelligence.

In truth, his nature was probably like Tia Yu’s—a researcher at heart. His transformation into a soldier was purely the result of countless coincidences.
“Sigh~ With missing limbs, the Unicorn probably won’t be seeing battle anymore.” Hao Ren gave Tia Yu advance notice, then tossed the Unicorn into the dimensional space. With such advanced research material, and Hao Ren’s permission for dissection, Crossbell City’s technology would surely make another qualitative leap.
“Every time I see you do that, I get startled,” Kojero said, shaking the wrench in his hand. “And the miraculous power you display with the Strike—sometimes I wonder if you’re not from this world at all.”
“That sort of thing doesn’t matter. As long as you know I’m on the Archangel’s side,” Hao Ren waved his hand dismissively, urging them not to overthink.
“By the way, Kira, will you be leaving the Archangel?” Mu asked abruptly.
“To be honest, I’m not sure myself,” Kira’s gaze was confused.
Without the events of the councilor’s death or Frey’s breakdown, and with Hao Ren’s various influences, Kira’s emotional trajectory was far removed from the original storyline.
“Just follow your heart—whether you stay or go, I’ll support you,” Hao Ren had grown fond of Kira’s genuine nature after spending some time together.
Honest, without pretense.
Kira’s heart swelled with the happiness of being acknowledged.
“Mm, got it, okay, I’ll go call her now.” Saeko contacted Hao Ren via contract card; Tia Yu had something important to ask Nemesis, supposedly related to increasing Hao Ren’s combat abilities.
Reluctantly, Nemesis returned to Crossbell City; her master was the priority, and there would be plenty of time to play later.
“Kira, Mu,” as Nemesis departed, Hao Ren’s expression shifted, turning to the two pilots.
“Hm? Black Flame?” “What’s up, kid?”
“Want to go spy on the women’s bath?”
“……”“……”