In a small town located in Europe, a two-story house stood on the very edge of the settlement.
Even though it received almost no visitors, the lawn in the front garden was meticulously manicured, and the flower beds and swimming pool in the back were kept in perfect order.
The townspeople knew very little about the owner of the house, only that she was a woman with a son who was already of school age.
Of course, the information known by these residents paled in comparison to what was known by the permanent FBI surveillance squad stationed near the house.
"To be honest, I feel like I've memorized every inch of Ms. Beltorchika's house," an FBI agent dressed casually in a shirt and slacks muttered. He stared at the screens displaying various angles of the property, aimlessly clicking his mouse. "The front garden, the back garden, the room layouts... I could probably walk through that house backward."
"Shut up. Our mission is just to watch Ms. Beltorchika and submit periodic observation reports. A job like this is fantastic," replied another agent, a middle-aged man.
He walked into the room carrying a plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and set them down next to the casual agent. "At least we're safe here. Or would you rather go out and risk your life fighting Mafty?"
"This is a retirement post that everyone else in the Bureau fought tooth and nail for."
Looking at Beltorchika's house, which was being monitored by a multitude of cameras, the middle-aged agent sighed.
After Londo Bell was disbanded and its members scattered to other units—with Bright Noa leading a portion of them to form the 13th Autonomous Fleet—Beltorchika, as Amuro Ray's widow, chose to retire and live in seclusion in this European town.
Precisely because she was the widow of the Federation's hero, Amuro Ray, and due to her own unique status, she still held a certain level of influence within the Federation military.
To maintain stability and ensure that military morale was not shaken, the Federation could not "secretly dispose" of Beltorchika. Instead, they settled for surveillance to ensure her "safety" in every sense of the word.
The main headache was that, due to Beltorchika's past experience as a journalist, the FBI couldn't plant hidden cameras or wiretaps inside her home.
After two instances where bugs were discovered—followed by immense pressure led by Bright Noa—the Federation abandoned that plan in favor of long-distance observation.
Between her past savings and the assistance provided by the Federation, she could live a carefree life until her natural end.
Furthermore, her son—Amuro Ray's child—had already entered a school run by the Federation military.
The child's special status ensured he was well-taken care of by seniors still serving in the Federation. It was expected that once he came of age and joined the military, a new fleet would be organized around him through the maneuvering of former Londo Bell members.
"Anyway, stop complaining and just do your job," the middle-aged investigator said, patting the shoulder of his colleague, who had already stuffed a sandwich into his mouth.
But just as he was about to leave, a small blue car approached Beltorchika's house with clear intent. Seeing this, the middle-aged investigator instinctively grew alert.
However, he relaxed the moment he saw the figure in the driver's seat on the camera feed.
"It's Kai Shiden..."
The middle-aged investigator operated the mouse to zoom in on one of the angles. "Here to deliver more books and materials to Ms. Beltorchika again? Is he having her help him write those books?"
"Hah... one book after another. Doesn't he ever stop? It's always the same old thing," the casual agent complained, licking his fingers after finishing a sandwich. "Regardless, his books are basically just behind-the-scenes exposés of various battles. Unfortunately for us, the Federation civilians eat that stuff up."
"Anyway, based on past records, he's still considered 'safe' for now... but we can't let our guard down."
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"Hum, hum, hum..."
Kai Shiden hummed an unknown little tune. On the passenger seat sat two paper bags filled with various books and fruit.
Thinking back to the information he had obtained in Oenbelli, Kai was in an excellent mood. He was eager to see Beltorchika and hand over the intelligence he had gathered.
As for Sayla, he would visit her later; after all, the two people in the video also had a certain connection to her.
Casting a sidelong glance at an unremarkable house not far away, Kai Shiden gave a cold sneer.
"Still monitoring? Those Federation bastards..."
But with only a glance, Kai ignored them. He skillfully turned his small car toward the garage door of Beltorchika's house.
Getting out of the car, Kai habitually straightened his clothes, picked up the two paper bags, walked to Beltorchika's front door, and pressed the doorbell.
He didn't have to wait long. The simple white door opened, and a blonde, middle-aged woman appeared before him, wearing a simple, elegant white dress and a pale blue shawl.
"It's been a while, Beltorchika."
Kai smiled at the woman. "I hope my sudden visit didn't interrupt your writing."
"Under normal circumstances, your deadline hasn't arrived yet..."
The woman named Beltorchika looked at Kai and expertly glanced behind him to check the surroundings.
"In any case, come inside first."
Beltorchika stepped aside to let Kai enter the house. "Whatever it is, we can talk once you're inside."
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Beltorchika's house was not built with any great luxury, but the warm yellow lighting, wooden floors, and soft sofas gave the interior a very cozy feel.
"Driving all the way here without even calling first..."
Beltorchika placed two cups filled with tea and a teapot onto the coffee table, looking at Kai Shiden as he sat on the sofa.
"I have a reason for coming to see you, naturally."
Kai knew well that Beltorchika's personality didn't care for beating around the bush.
He reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a smartphone disconnected from the network. "I'd like you to take a look at this video first."
"A video?"
Beltorchika's brow furrowed slightly as she sat on a small sofa chair and picked up the phone from the table.
As the video played, Beltorchika's expression transitioned from a frown to suspicion, and finally to shock.
"This video... the two people in it, are they real?"
Beltorchika repeatedly dragged the progress bar, staring at the black-haired "Amuro Ray" on the screen. Usually mature and composed, her voice actually began to tremble.
"Yes, it is certain that these two exist."
Kai nodded, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. "There have been many eyewitness reports of them over in Oenbelli."
"Oenbelli? You mean the place where the Federation just lost a battle?"
Hearing Kai's words, Beltorchika looked up.
"Yes, exactly. Because of those two, the Mafty members in Oenbelli began moving on a large scale, which triggered the Kimberly Force's encirclement of the area."
Kai set down his teacup and continued, "Supposedly, Zeon remnants appeared later on with new mobile suits, but I haven't obtained any photos of that."
"How could Zeon remnants even show up?"
Beltorchika frowned again at this. "That's impossible... haven't they long since disbanded?"
Even though Beltorchika was being monitored by the Federation Bureau of Investigation, she was well aware of this reality.
To uncover the various pieces of information being covered up, she had established her own information network.
And the disbandment of the Zeon remnants was something she knew well.
That was why she appeared so surprised when she heard Kai say, "Zeon remnants appeared with new MS."
"That is a topic for later, Beltorchika."
Kai cut off the discussion regarding the Zeon remnants, pulling the drifting conversation back on track. "The most important thing right now is the matter of this Amuro in the video."
"Yes, you're right..."
Beltorchika snapped back to her senses and looked at the screen on the phone again. "The most important thing is Amuro..."
That black-haired Amuro was very young; he looked almost exactly as he did in '93, still radiating that same high-spirited energy.
"Currently, we have three possibilities."
Kai held up his fingers. "First: this Amuro is an illegitimate son Amuro had on the outside."
Kai didn't shy away from the subject. After all, during the time Amuro was confined by the Federation, his messy private life was an open secret within the military. Sometimes, younger officers or soldiers even envied Amuro's various romantic encounters.
Therefore, Amuro having an illegitimate son wasn't something unthinkable; such a melodramatic plot point wasn't impossible during the years he was kept under Federation watch.
"The second: this Amuro is a clone, created by the Federation or Zeon remnants."
Kai's expression was dead serious. After all, cloning was something that had happened in the past. "This might explain why Amuro's hair has turned black."
"The third... and the one I personally find most unlikely."
At this point, Kai couldn't help but take a deep breath. "This Amuro is the very Amuro we know—your husband, Amuro Ray."
Speaking this theory aloud felt absurd even to Kai, but with the situation so unclear, he could only lay out all the possibilities he had organized on his way here.
"After the miracle at Axis, something might have happened that caused Amuro to disappear for a time, going somewhere else, where some kind of influence eventually caused his hair to turn black..."
Realizing his theories were becoming increasingly far-fetched, Kai sighed and stopped his speculation.
"In any case... those are my theories."
"An illegitimate son of Amuro... I've never heard of one."
Beltorchika used three fingers to manipulate the phone, zooming in on the video image and carefully examining Roz Links' appearance. "As for a clone, that isn't impossible..."
"Has any of his DNA been collected? Hair or something similar?"
Beltorchika looked at Roz's face—which was identical to Amuro's—as if reminiscing about the past. "If there were an identification report, perhaps we could confirm a few things."
"For some reason... upon seeing him, my heart tells me he is Amuro..."
"Eh... is it really going to be the most troublesome method?"
Kai sighed somewhat helplessly, loosening his slightly tight necktie. "All I can say is, I'll do my best."
Roz first appeared in Oenbelli, which is Mafty territory. In other words, the only current lead is Mafty.
However, Mafty has all sorts of messy so-called "branches" acting as local warlords on the outside. Just thinking about the workload required to carefully sift through them gave Kai a headache.
"Have you told Sayla, or Fraw and the others about this news?"
As if suddenly remembering something, Beltorchika questioned Kai.
"I haven't yet..."
Kai shrugged. "After all, this Amuro's identity hasn't been confirmed yet. But since the video also involves Char, I'm planning to pay Sayla a visit."
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Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Nahel Argama in the Pacific Ocean.
"A-choo!...A-choo!"
Roz Links, who had been in the middle of refining the design for the Banshee Norn, suddenly began to sneeze uncontrollably.
The commotion was so loud that not only did Murrue Ramius look over, but even Natarle Badgiruel poked her head out from the entrance of the lower CIC bridge like a marmot.
"Ssss... what's going on?"
Roz rubbed his nose, wearing the expression of an old man squinting at a smartphone.
"Are you alright?"
Murrue looked at Roz, her voice laced with concern. "Do you need to take a break? You've been working non-stop for quite a while now."
The improvements to the Banshee Norn and the armament adjustments for the Sinanju's internal units had cost Roz a great deal of time and energy.
Even the plastic models he usually assembled to decompress were left in the corner of his room, piling up box by box.
"No, I just have a feeling someone is thinking about me..."
Roz shook his head, offering his guess.
Murrue and Natarle instinctively glanced at each other, but they quickly recalled something.
"Has someone related to Amuro Ray already seen your recording?"
Natarle voiced her suspicion. "But your current public persona is Full Frontal!"
"That was probably unavoidable..."
Roz sighed. "I handled the situation at the Moon Base, but so many people filmed that incident at Oenbelli, and with the suppression battle breaking out immediately after... it was impossible to manage."
"Still, surely no one would link me, this 'Amuro,' to Full Frontal..."
After a brief moment of reflection, Roz gave up on thinking.
"Forget it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it; there's always a way."
With that, Roz refocused his attention on the Banshee Norn blueprints, which were being specialized for Shinn Asuka's combat style.
He chose a very effective tactic: ignoring it entirely.
However, Roz now had a strange premonition that in the near future, Amuro's romantic debts would come looking for him—the "Amuro"—and make everything very complicated.
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