Chapter 381 - 382: A Pair of Pure Beauties

Chapter 381: Chapter 382: A Pair of Pure Beauties

[I used to think SEED’s Char was Le Creuset, but now I think it should be Athrun.]

[What do you mean? Who’s Char?]

[A lot of Gundam series have a tradition of masked men. Since the masked man in the first series was Char, people started calling later masked men "that series’ Char."]

[Athrun is the one piloting a genuinely red, horned machine at triple speed. Checks out.]

[It’s not a Zaku. Where did triple speed come from?]

[I want to know which is stronger, a GINN or a Zaku.]

As Athrun "crashed," the scene also cut back to Kira’s side.

Considering that Kira’s classmates were ordinary people, Andrew had not arranged dinner at a military position. Instead, he chose a suitable hotel.

"Whoa, this place feels pretty nice." Tolle looked around. The atmosphere here really was good.

"But everyone here is ZAFT..." Kuzzey looked around nervously, a little afraid.

"It’s fine. We’re all from Orb, a neutral country," Sai said.

"Ahhh, what a shame I couldn’t watch the concert live this time." Tolle sighed.

Whenever Inori held concerts before, Tolle and Miriallia would go support her. The two of them could be considered Inori fans, though of the relatively normal variety.

This time, they had needed to buy daily necessities for everyone else and replenish food, medicine, and other supplies, so they had no choice but to miss the concert.

"Hey, Tolle!"

Just then, Miriallia’s voice came from nearby.

Tolle followed the sound and saw Miriallia, now dressed in formal wear.

His eyes lit up. "Oh, you finally made it!"

As soon as the girls arrived here, a woman named Aisha had taken them away, saying something about changing into formal dresses.

Well, Inori had not gone. She had her own formal wear, so Inori, now dressed in a black dress, was currently eating fried chicken from the buffet table.

One advantage of being an artificial human was that no matter how much she ate, she never had to worry about gaining weight. Everything she consumed could be efficiently broken down, utilized, and converted into materials, leaving no waste behind.

So she could eat as much as she wanted.

Miriallia was the first to finish changing, but the other two were still nowhere to be seen.

"Where are Kira and Cagalli?" Sai asked.

Miriallia burst out laughing. "They’re in the back. Give them a little time to get ready."

"Wait... Wait a second!"

Cagalli’s somewhat awkward voice came from behind them.

Then a fashionably dressed woman appeared, holding one person in each hand as she brought the two of them over.

Kira and Cagalli had both been changed into formal dresses.

Their hairstyles and dress designs were very similar. The only difference was that Cagalli’s dress was green, while Kira’s was blue.

"Ohhh, now that I look at them like this, those two really do look alike." Tolle had already thought Cagalli and Kira resembled each other before.

Seeing them now only made the resemblance more obvious.

Once they wore the same style of clothing and hairstyle, the two of them looked seventy or eighty percent alike.

[They’ve dropped this many hints already. Don’t tell me these two really are sisters?]

[One Natural and one Coordinator?]

[Maybe they’re twins, and one was genetically modified while the other wasn’t?]

[That actually makes sense. It creates a contrast too.]

[Now that would be interesting. Either Kira’s parents are adoptive parents, or Cagalli’s parents are.]

[Cagalli is Orb’s princess, right? Feels like hers should be biological.]

[Not necessarily.]

[Hot take: both are fake.]

[Hot take: both are real.]

[Netizens are getting more and more creative with this stuff.]

[Something’s fishy. Kira’s parents saw her bring a real live person home and didn’t say a word. Is that even possible?]

[Maybe. One classic anime trope is parents who can be fooled by absolutely anything.]

[The problem is, the writer of this version of SEED should be Chinese, right?]

[Wait for the experts to analyze it.]

The time available for chatting through danmaku was limited. Even if viewers could pause, they could not keep talking forever.

So after a few exchanges, everyone moved the main analysis and discussion over to the comments section.

The danmaku shifted from discussion to deranged messages like [prpr], [I’m dead], and [I’m cured].

"Kira." Inori walked over carrying a plate. A large fried chicken drumstick sat on top of it.

"D-Doesn’t this look awful on me...?"

Kira lowered her head.

Her face was slightly red. Having taken off her pilot suit for the first time in ages, Kira felt especially insecure.

Inori, however, raised a thumb without changing expression. "Good job!"

"What are you saying..." Kira covered her face.

"Stop rubbing against me! Dressed like this—do you think I wanted to wear this either?!"

Kira kept edging toward Cagalli, but Cagalli was just as uncomfortable in her own skin.

"Not at all." Aisha pulled both of them forward. "You’re both beautiful young ladies who could charm everyone in the room!"

Her voice was very gentle.

Inori nodded repeatedly as well.

Of course. Why else had she put on such a conservative dress? It was there to make these two flowers stand out.

The two of them looked good in pilot suits too, especially Kira. Whenever she sortied alone in the Strike, her chest would bounce once, which was frankly a visual feast—pure bliss.

But pilot suits were pilot suits. Elegant everyday dresses like these were an entirely different style.

This was the kind of clothing that truly brought out their femininity.

"Ohhh, what an amazing choice, Aisha!" Andrew walked over too.

Aisha gave Andrew a faint smile.

"Why do we have to dress like this?!" Cagalli demanded angrily.

"But isn’t it great?" Andrew looked at Kira, then at Cagalli.

Then, just like Inori, he gave them a thumbs-up.

"All right, I’m treating today. You’ve all had a hard journey, so eat well, drink well, and have fun!"

Andrew raised the glass in his hand toward everyone.

After dinner, everyone gradually relaxed.

Although this city was Coordinator territory, Coordinators and Naturals did not seem all that different after all.

Kira, meanwhile, sat quietly by herself in a corner.

"Yo."

Andrew walked over and greeted her.

"Waldfeld-san." Kira greeted him back in a small voice.

"You... are actually the Strike’s pilot, aren’t you?" Andrew asked with a smile.

"Mm?!" Kira immediately grew wary, but Andrew made a "shh" gesture.

"Don’t be nervous. Someone else will hear. Even if I know who you are, I’m not going to do anything. No, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t." Andrew glanced toward Inori.

She was still eating. She had cut off a piece of well-done steak and was chewing on it.

But Andrew could not afford to ignore her.

"What... are you trying to say?" Kira lowered her voice even further. Without her pilot suit on, she already felt deeply uncomfortable and unprotected.

And Andrew’s words only made that sense of danger even stronger...