Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 282 That bastard is still plotting against me
While Ramball was sound asleep in his office, engrossed in the development of the Republic of Zeon, the red telephone next to his desk suddenly rang.

The unusual ringing immediately woke him up in Ramball, and he quickly grabbed the phone.

"Hey, Harmon, it's me. Yes, I haven't been slacking off! I'm looking at some documents right now!"

That's right, this red phone is the direct line to the residence of the Minister of Military Affairs of the Republic of Zeon. In the entire universe, only one person can use it, and that is the Minister of Military Affairs' wife.

As for the Federation's dedicated line, that's impossible. After all, Zeon is still an autonomous polity. High-level calls need to be discussed before being transferred. Otherwise, what if someone gets drunk at night and randomly dials the dedicated line?
What's even more terrifying is what if the leaders on both sides develop feelings for each other while chatting?
However, Hamon usually wouldn't make this special call, since her man's reputation is still very important. But today, she had no choice but to make the call!

Watching the group of people sitting in the restaurant slurping and praising their Italian noodles and Neapolitan meat sandwiches, Harmon cleared his throat and spoke into the phone.

"Sera's brother is here!"

"Sera, Sera's brother?"

Lanbarar nearly jumped out of his chair, the commotion so loud that even the secretary outside couldn't help but knock on the door.

"Sir, are you alright?"

As the secretary asked the question, she had already placed her hand on the holster at her waist.

"It's alright, it's alright, you guys go ahead with your work! I'm heading home now, call my family if you need anything!"

Lanbarar opened the door, waved, patted his flushed face, and then gave instructions to the other staff members.

Then, as if he had the wind in his legs, he darted into his car and sped home.

"Is this the boss's second spring?"

"Don't talk nonsense, it's probably the boss's wife who's pregnant!"

Seeing how eagerly he left, the gossipy secretaries couldn't help but start speculating.

Soon, Rambarar's car, escorted by guards, drove into the Lars' estate. Rambarar then hurriedly jumped out of the car and rushed through the gate.

"where is the guy?"

Upon entering the house, Lanbarar immediately looked around anxiously, then followed the sound into the dining room.

"Sir!"

As soon as he entered the restaurant, Lanbarar saw five or six dark-skinned, lean men stand up and salute him without even wiping the sauce from their mouths. Although he hadn't reacted yet, he returned the salute and told them to sit down and continue eating. Then, his gaze fell on the other side of the table, where a blond youth was eating voraciously with a dark-skinned girl beside him, while Harmon was constantly refilling their plates with a large plate full of food.

Seemingly sensing Ramball's gaze, the blond youth also raised his head. Through his bangs that were pressed down, Ramball could clearly see the face he had been longing for day and night.

"Caspar!"

"Uncle Ramba!"

Xia stood up, but before he could finish speaking, he was enveloped in a warm embrace.

Seeing such a touching scene, Xia's subordinates, showing great tact, picked up their plates and cutlery and quietly retreated to the adjacent kitchen, leaving the space to the few who clearly had something to say.

"You kid, you still remember to come back!"

Like a nagging old father, Ramball punched Xia again, then sat down in his chair and sighed deeply.

"Now, I can finally let the old man and your mother rest in peace!"

"Uncle Ramba!"

"Alright, that's enough. I'm just glad you and Artesia are safe. Now that you're back, you're not leaving again!"

"Yes, at least not for a while!"

"Alright, alright, then stay here. Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying you can't go home, but that place hasn't been cleaned in a long time, and it's a rather sensitive area..."

“I understand, Uncle Lamba, I understand everything, so I have already prepared a fake identity for myself!”

As Xia said this, he didn't notice that Ramball's expression immediately turned very ugly.

"So, your name now is Kuvatorobagina, right?"

Ramball interrupted Char, who looked at Hamon, who also shook his head to indicate that he hadn't said anything.

"It wasn't you guys, it was a guy who told me that!"

Ramball looked utterly incredulous.

"Could it be?"

Xia Ya's eyes widened in surprise; he certainly didn't want to hear that person's name.

"You know who he is!"

"What else did that guy say?"

"He also said that if you have the alloy formula he wants and want Sera to live a life of comfort and security for the rest of her life, you'd better hand it over obediently!"

Char's eyes were practically bulging out.

He looked at Lala beside him.

"I've never heard of Newtypes having this ability?"

"Is that guy even human?"

Lala remained silent, only covering her mouth and chuckling to herself.

"No, damn it, no, how does that guy know everything?"

Char seriously wondered if he'd been implanted with some kind of spy robot, or if Macarius had cast a spell on him—why did he have absolutely no privacy?

"Colonel, it seems you're completely under someone's thumb!"

"This is not funny at all. And Sera, what's so great about that girl that she's staying by his side!"

"That's great. Maybe in a few years, she'll become a general's wife!"

Suddenly, Lanbarar smelled vinegar.

"More than that, given Makarius's current rate of promotion, she might even become the Commander-in-Chief's wife in the future!"

Hamon added casually.

"What's so good about the Commander-in-Chief? With his character, the fact that the Federation Army elected him as commander is a sign of utter hopelessness!"

"Then why doesn't the colonel try being a commander?"

Lala patted Xia on the back and said with a smile.

"Where are you from?"

Xia felt a bitter taste in his mouth and a deep sadness in his heart. Why? His family had returned to their hometown in a happy reunion, but he couldn't feel happy at all!
"It's fine, it's okay if you don't give it to us. We can keep it for ourselves. Zeon has its own military factories. We'll build you a Gundam and kick that kid's ass!"

"Uncle Ramba, do you think that, given that guy's mindset, he would really just want Zeon to build a military factory?"

"what do you mean?"

"That guy was scheming from the very beginning. Jinlang Defense was something he prepared for me!"

"No wonder when I was in a meeting on Earth before, he told me that it would be best to have Tsunami Defense make preliminary preparations and be ready to produce mobile suits for the Federation Forces at any time..."

"A man who deceived the world, Colonel, don't you think that's cool!"

"That's so cool!"

Xia couldn't help but roll his eyes. He felt a chill run down his spine. Just how long had Macarius been planning this? He even suspected that those guys from Axis might be part of Macarius's plan.

"Hearing you say that, I feel that Makarius is thinking about things a thousand years from now!" Looking at the father and son who were reminiscing, Hamon felt no displeasure at all, and was even very happy. After all, Makarius's existence had greatly brought Lanbaral and Xia closer together. The estrangement of many years had disappeared, leaving only the joint condemnation of the old man and the young man.

"He must have a lot of free time!"

"Oh right, you reminded me, I haven't told Sera about this yet!"

"She'll be so happy to know you're back!"

Just as Rambalar was about to contact Sera, Char quickly stopped him.

"Wait a minute, Uncle Ramba, don't tell her yet!"

"Are you worried that Sera will blame you?"

"I'm afraid she won't blame me!"

If you had to pick the person Char is most afraid to see, it would definitely be Sera. He would rather be tricked by Macarius than see his sister rush into his arms with tears in her eyes, saying things like "I'm so glad my brother is back." Char feels like his heart is about to break.

"Hey, that's true. Shall we think of another way?"

"No, let's ask Macarius. At least with Sera, he'll try to find a solution for you!"

At that moment, Xia knew he had to make the most important choice of his life.

So the next day, as soon as Makarius arrived at work, he received a private message from Ramball.

"Hey, isn't this Caspar? Long time no see, you've all become a bit of a non-mainstream person!"

As soon as the call connected, Xia heard the other party's sarcastic voice.

"Marcarius, I'm here to negotiate!"

Xia ignored the other party's sarcastic remarks and directly stated his purpose.

"How rude! Do you see that? Call him 'sir'!"

Makarius deliberately swayed his shoulders in front of the camera, his prominent brigadier general rank waving back and forth on the screen.

"I have what you need..."

"Then I'll hang up!"

"Commander Markarius, is that enough?"

Seeing that the other party was really going to hang up, Xia could only clench his fists and address him again.

"That's right, I love that expression of yours!"

After laughing, Makarius then said...

"Have the Matsunaga family negotiate the alloy formula with the Federation. I know Axis is rearming, so you keep an eye on Tsunami Defense in Side 3 for me. They also have Garibaldi's design data. Besides, Axis should have other mobile suits. We should build a few of the ones we have..."

"I'm not your secretary!"

"But I am!"

As soon as Xia finished speaking, a voice that was both incredibly familiar and filled with anger interrupted the screen, followed by a face that was also incredibly familiar to Xia.

"This is the task I've assigned you. Complete it with high quality and quantity, and then personally deliver it to Side 7. Any problems, Colonel Char Aznable?"

Seeing his serious-looking sister, Char turned to ask for help, only to find that Ramball had disappeared, and Hamon was chatting with Lala about knitting. The only one who could help him was Macarius, who was standing behind Sera and frantically winking at him.

"No problem, Sera, no, Captain!"

You have no idea how worried I was about you!

The seriousness she had just displayed seemed to have exhausted all of Sera's strength. The next second, her eyes reddened and she turned to leave, while Xia slumped into a chair, looking utterly dejected.

"There's nothing I can do. I haven't even been promoted to general yet, and she's already reserved the position of secretary for me. So, don't be sad. At least she's already had enough of her anger!"

Char remained silent, but simply raised his middle finger at Makarius.

How did you turn her into this?

"Love and encouragement!"

Marcarius was about to ask his secretary to bring him a cup of tea when he remembered that she had run out crying, so he had to do it himself.

"I just encouraged her to try things that interested her. No matter what, I supported her. And that's how it happened. My little sister has grown up. Isn't that a pleasant surprise?"

"Yes, it's such a pleasant surprise! I'm so surprised my legs are starting to go weak. Your military medical training probably doesn't include grappling and combat, right?"

"It's hard to say. Besides, during her training, she participated in many foreign support team missions, going to Africa, South America, and even to the reconstruction-in-the-Side 4!"

Xia felt that life was bleak, and now he felt that his younger sister, with tears in her eyes, was better, at least she wouldn't elbow him.

"However, you've done a good job, Brigadier General, keeping Sera in the Federation indefinitely..."

"You're even more wrong about that. I didn't stop her. She can go wherever she wants. It's just that I once told her that I think the Federation is bad, so I plan to change it. That's why she wants to stay and help me!"

"So, I'm saying this to you too, Captain Kuvatorobagina. I'm currently setting up a brand new combat technology research center for the Federation. There are quite a few open positions, and they're even allocating housing for family members. Lala has been following you around for so many years, and you haven't even bought her a car or a house. That's a bit unreasonable, isn't it?"

"But I need to be rich too! That bastard has completely drained my savings!"

"That money has now become your sister's factory. You don't want your sister's investment to go down the drain, do you?"

"And if I'm not mistaken, you must have brought back a lot of good stuff from Axis, right?"

Xia's expression changed drastically, and he immediately gave Macarius a stern warning.

"Don't even think about it! This is my and Lala's hard-earned money!"

"Hard-earned money?"

"Lala is tutoring Minerva!"

"And then you took the opportunity to seduce Hamman, didn't you, Char? I never thought you'd become such a scoundrel after all these years?"

Marcarius looked heartbroken, while Char turned his head and saw Lala tilting her head and staring at him.

"Colonel, is what he said true?"

"Macarius!"

Char could only wail like an incompetent husband, but Lala later came to his defense.

"But the Colonel and Miss Haman are innocent. Those Zeons in Axis harbor great malice towards the Colonel!"

"Lala, this is what you call offering a warm face to a cold backside. If he hadn't gone to Axis and had come to the Federation to work with me, you would have a house and a car by now, and you could easily settle down on Earth. Instead, you're so old and still have to live off your sister!"

"I'd rather lose the alloy formula than give it to you!"

"Try throwing one out there!"

Sera, who had returned, reappeared on the screen.

"Artesia, let me explain!"

"I'll be waiting for you to explain yourself in side7!"

Seeing Sera swing her braid and leave again, Char could only let out another roar.

"Macarius, you plotted against me!"

(End of this chapter)