Gundam: The Wind That Blows Through Space

Chapter 759 The Retired Hero (Part Two)

The scene that followed perfectly demonstrated that Siegfried's combat intuition was still as sharp as ever. During an ordinary family dinner, he somehow managed to make it feel like beam rifles and railguns were flying around. Looking at the chicken leg that Stella coldly put on his plate, and then at the mountain of vegetables in Shin Asuka's bowl, Siegfried thought for a long time and could only bury his head deep in his rice bowl and decide to cosplay as an ostrich.

"Really, why aren't you eating? Is it because my cooking isn't good enough?"

"Weak bird, eat more, or you'll never beat me!"

“Zig.”

"roll!"

Siegfried extinguished the little bird's hope for help with a look, then shoveled down the last few mouthfuls of rice. It wasn't that he didn't want to lend a hand, but he simply couldn't magically quantize the food and send it to another dimension. He could only leave the little bird's stomach to suffer.

In addition, he really had to go back to his mother's house later to have another meal with his mother and sister. The only thing Siegfried could do was call someone to send over some digestive medicine, otherwise, given the situation today, this idiot would definitely throw up.

After finishing their meal, Siegfried casually handed Luna the leave notice. Structurally, it should have been officially issued by Marius, but after the Compass Rebellion ended and Athrun returned to PLANT to put out the fire for the second time, Mu, who took over as commander, took Kanard to Mina's side to act as two human nuclear bombs, and Murakumo went to South America to join Li De in increasing the crackdown on the Atlantic remnants. As a result, Luna was the only one who received the benefit of an early leave.

After completing the final formalities, Siegfried hurriedly tidied up the dishes and put them in the kitchen. Then, he used quantum teleportation to the entrance hall, only to find Stella already waiting there, having even prepared his coat and shoes.

"Um... bro."

"Huh? Or what did you call me?"

Siegfried, who was putting on his shoes while leaning against the wall with one hand, stopped and looked at Stella, who was still expressionless, with disbelief. After a few seconds, he noticed something unusual from her slightly trembling ear tips and her gently biting lower lip. That kind of hot and pure emotion was slowly flowing under the girl's icy expression.

Thinking of this, Siegfried reached out and pressed the other person's head, rubbing it vigorously before asking with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"I've just figured some things out. Thanks, brother."

"There's no need for thanks between us. I'm leaving now. Remember to come home for dinner in a couple of days."

Siegfried casually waved his hand behind him, half-turned to the side, and after pushing open the door, he heard Luna's slightly coquettish questioning and Mayu's hearty laughter inside. A wicked smile appeared on his lips.

"So? Are you confident you can take down that clueless idiot?"

"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"Hahaha~ I'm leaving, I'm leaving."

Seeing the shyness that a normal girl should have on Stella's face, Siegfried walked out with his coat, satisfied. Before dinner, Mana had asked him if he wanted a driver to pick him up after dinner, but when Siegfried learned that Cagalli was still working overtime, he said he would just walk back slowly.

The sea breeze after the onset of winter was somewhat chilly on his face. Siegfried tightened his collar and walked onto the pedestrian walkway by the beach. The beach, which should have been bustling with activity, became deserted in the face of the cold temperature. In the tens of minutes he walked, he only encountered three groups of families who came out to play. So he simply stopped and found an empty seat to sit down casually.

Wow~ It's our hero brother~

A sweet, childlike cry interrupted Siegfried, who was looking at the sea. Looking closely, he saw a little girl, about five or six years old, with pigtails, standing happily at the bottom of the steps, holding a string of balloons. She looked just like little Ellu back then. Judging from the relieved expressions on the faces of the parents behind the child, they had most likely encountered one of Orb's earliest inhabitants.

In Eurofatu, Siegfried's iconic red hair is almost universally known. Regardless of how the outside world demonized him back then, at least in the hearts of the older generation in Orb, Siegfried truly shouldered the burden of the war that destroyed the nation. It was also he who traveled to various places after the war to make Cagalli famous. Furthermore, it was his timely return to the country that thwarted the Atlantic Federation's plot to overthrow the Asgard regime.

Therefore, Siegfried never hides himself in his own city. Even though he spends very little time in the country, he still takes casual walks on the beach whenever he has the chance, just like today. Many citizens who recognize him will greet him from a distance, but they don't surround him like fans of a celebrity.

"I have a name, okay?"

"But everyone calls you a hero, even your parents."

Before the little girl could finish speaking, a gust of sea breeze suddenly swirled and lifted the balloon in her hand into the air. Upon seeing this, Siegfried quickly transformed into a stream of green particles, gathered the balloon together, and then condensed into a human shape at the corner of the girl's clothes. He then knelt down in an exaggerated manner and stuffed the balloon back into her hand.

"Next time you can call me by my name, my name is Siegfried."

"Okay, hero brother." Siegfried watched helplessly as the little girl's figure disappeared into the distance. He turned around to return to the chair he had just been sitting in, only to find a familiar figure already standing there. The winter sun was somewhat weak and feeble, but through the reflection of that golden hair, Siegfried felt a power that was enough to warm his heart.

"Hey, isn't this Cagalli?"

"Haven't you called me 'wife' for days?"

Siegfried leaped back to Cagalli's side in a few strides, and for a moment Siegfried suddenly had the illusion of 'unreality'—had he really entered into marriage with the girl before him? It wasn't until the familiar impact came from his chest that this sense of unreality was completely shattered by Cagalli's savage charge.

"You didn't even go home first during your holiday? Is the food at Asuka's house really that good?"

"After fighting wars my whole life, can't I at least enjoy myself?"

"I'll make you enjoy it!"

Siegfried quickly laid his husband down on the chair, feeling the firm touch on the back of his head. He gave up resisting completely, half-closing his eyes and finding a comfortable angle to doze off.

"Hey!"

"Haven't you called me 'husband' for days?"

"You guy!"

Cagalli, who was hit by the boomerang, pretended to be angry and slapped the other person's head. Then she reached out and covered Siegfried's eyes. She looked around nervously, and finally leaned down carefully and lightly pecked the boy's face like a dragonfly skimming the water. Then she quickly sat up and pretended to fix her hair to relieve her shyness.

"We've been married for so long, why would we care about this?"

"Shut up, we haven't kissed in ages."

A slightly reproachful tone appeared in Cagalli's mouth, which was extremely rare. At this moment, Siegfried finally realized that, without realizing it, that wild, blond girl had grown into a reliable national leader. Her former naivety had gradually been replaced by maturity and composure. The difference between the two images made him a little stunned on the spot.

"What are you thinking about?"

"When I read those otherworld adventure stories before, the content was always the same: the hero fights the demon king. It seems that no one ever cared about what the hero's life was like after the demon king disappeared. It was as if the hero should naturally marry the princess, return to his hometown, have two children, and live out his old age in peace."

Why all of a sudden?

"Your husband is a useless piece of trash who can't do anything without MS. From the moment Hilde and I left Mendel, we were faced with endless battles, killing or being killed. I've forgotten what a normal life should be like."

Siegfried turned and buried his face in Cagalli's lower abdomen. His voice was muffled, completely lacking the brilliance he usually displayed when he was sharp-tongued. Cagalli reached out and massaged the red mound, wanting to say something but her words were stuck in her chest.

"Hilde said I was being disturbed by the mental energy of another world, but she didn't know that when I sat back on the MS, I found myself excited. The two prisoners I captured were children, but in my heart I only saw them as enemies to be eradicated. I didn't even have the thought of talking to them. If Durandal saw this, he would probably be laughing his head off in his coffin."

The setting sun cast its golden rays on the sea like scattered gold leaf. On the beach, the girl hugged the boy tightly. This was the first time she had heard him express hesitation and confusion. It was also the first time Siegfried had revealed his vulnerable heart to anyone other than Hilde. Cagalli thought of many comforting words, but she knew that this was not what Siegfried wanted.

"It's my fault for failing to protect them."

"Trying to make peace with yourself is also a kind of battle, my husband."

Behind her, a small white women's car was parked quietly on the roadside on the embankment. Mia looked at the beach below with a complicated expression. Her hands on the steering wheel kept clenching and loosening. After a few struggles, she opened the car door and stepped one foot onto the ground.

"Believe me, you can't offer any help."

In the back seat, Lux held down the eager Mia with a serious expression, her eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Some things, once missed, are missed forever; this applies to you and to me."

(End of this chapter)