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

Chapter 305 The Garbage Collector's Ambition
"It seems that even without the jurisdiction of the Earth Federation, humanity can still live just as well!"

Standing by the porthole of the transport ship, gazing at the magnificent urban complex beneath the grand dome below, Maziabuch, son of the head of the Buh Group, couldn't help but sigh.

"Uh, young master, actually, these facilities were all built during the Federation era!"

The subordinate paused for a moment before explaining to the other party, but then he seemed to regret it and tugged at the curls on his wig.

However, Mazia didn't care about any of that. He simply stretched his body, then turned and walked towards the hatch before speaking again.

How much longer until we reach the ground?

"About an hour!"

"These Martians are so slow! I hope they can prepare a feast befitting our status!"

Mazia shook his head, then raised his head and walked out of the cabin. Once the cabin door opened, most of the corridor's decor could be clearly seen. This was probably the most luxuriously decorated transport ship corridor in the entire Earth Sphere.

Thick wool carpets covered the floor as if safety regulations were ignored, the steel bulkheads were carefully wrapped in cork, and there were medieval European lighting fixtures and elaborately designed family decorations.

If you didn't know this was a ship's corridor, you might think you were in an ancient European castle.

Of course, it wasn't just the decorations; in fact, most of the crew and passengers on the ship were dressed in retro-style clothing, which, combined with their curly hair, made them look somewhat comical.

However, this is not a cosplay event, but a routine activity of the Buhe Foundation!
The Buch Consortium was founded by Sharonhorst Buch in UC 0055 as a commercial company that started with space rescue and salvage operations. However, after years of management by its founder Sharonhorst and his son, the Buch Consortium has now evolved into a behemoth with numerous branches and businesses spanning multiple industries, including space debris recycling, machinery manufacturing, and ocean shipping and trade.

While it can't compare to companies like Anaheim, Buch is still a well-known name in the industry. However, business is business, and the Buch Group's status is far inferior to some companies with smaller business scales.

This is unavoidable. After all, the conglomerate started by recycling junk, which naturally became a stereotype. Consequently, the head of the Buhe Conglomerate was given the derogatory nickname "junk collector" in the industry.

As the saying goes, the more you lack something, the more you want to flaunt it. In order to erase the shabby history of the past, the Buch family also went to great lengths. In fact, in 0068, the Schallenhurst bought the surname of an old noble family in Europe. Therefore, they can also be called Schallenhurst Rona, where Rona is the surname that was bought.

The old man's move was naturally an attempt to escape his past, but even if they bought noble status, their situation wouldn't change much. After all, everyone in the circle knew each other, and even if you bought the name of a European emperor, it wouldn't matter. At most, your nickname would change from "ragpicker nouveau riche" to "ragpicker nouveau riche who bought a name."

But in any case, now that the Buch family, or rather the Rona family, are nobles, they have to act like noble lords. They are carrying out large-scale construction on the new colony satellite in Side 1, which is being rebuilt under the name of a conglomerate, and are building luxurious manors and castles. The staff working for the family also have to change into classical costumes.

The Rona family doesn't even travel by car on a daily basis; instead, they've acquired a horse-drawn carriage from the old Earth era. However, if they want to leave the colony, they still have to travel by spaceship.

However, the necessary decorations for the spaceship are also indispensable. Just like the transport ship that Mazia is on, its luxurious decorations even surpass those of the Federation's flagship. The only ship that can be compared to it is the Zeon's Gwajin-class.

Of course, despite its mediocre reputation, the Buhe Group was one of the few companies that dared to venture into long-distance trade. After all, long-distance voyages were very risky these days. Not only did they take a lot of time, but the harsh environment along the way and the pirates and rebels who fled after the war meant that if one was not careful, one could lose both people and goods.

However, the rewards were also quite substantial. The Buch Foundation had trade relations with the Arcadia Free Port on Mars before the war. Although trade was interrupted after the outbreak of the war in 79, the family even suffered huge losses due to the Zeon army's attack.

After the war, they couldn't wait to resume their shipping routes. Even the patriarch, who was over fifty years old, personally took charge. Although Mars had fallen into the hands of Zeon, Zeon's money was still money. Even if the family suffered losses, so what? As long as they continued to earn a steady stream of wealth, they could rebuild the family. Therefore, the Rona family quickly rose again after the war.

However, the business associates from Earth and the Moon still looked down on the Rona family. After all, what era are we living in? They still act like nobles. Others might just have a masquerade ball, but the Rona family actually believed in this stuff!

Fortunately, the Rona family was just living in their own little world, so while people might not understand, they didn't interfere. Even the Federation didn't make any statement. After all, the Rona family was a model taxpayer and even helped the Federation clean up a lot of war debris after the war. For that reason alone, the Federation wouldn't care if the Rona family wanted to be medieval nobles or even savages.

Taking advantage of this situation, the Rona family comfortably began doing business with Mars. Although the Arcadia Free Port could guarantee self-sufficiency, it accepted all kinds of supplies from Earth. Their minerals and industrial products could be sold at good prices in the Earth Sphere. Moreover, since the Rona family controlled the only trading channel, they naturally held the power to set prices.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Rona family, who profit from both ends, were even able to independently fund the reconstruction of a colony satellite for Side 1.

At this moment, after a long voyage of nearly two months, the transport fleet from the Buhe Consortium, like the ocean-going sailing ships of the old Earth era, broke through the barrier of the sea, passed through the dark sea of ​​stars, and arrived in Arcadia.

The fact that the future head of the conglomerate is leading the team shows how important this trade route is to the Buhe Conglomerate. In fact, this is also why Mazia likes to come to Mars.

Because the Martian government truly treated them with aristocratic etiquette.

After passing the orbital space station, the transport fleet landed at the port of Freeport, which used to be bustling with activity. However, since the outbreak of war, Mars has been forgotten like a desolate wasteland, with all contact with Earth severed and most of the port's berths abandoned.

"Mmm, the breeze on Mount Olympus feels so good!"

After stepping off the spaceship, although the air she breathed into her nostrils was circulated by the dome's oxygen supply system, Mazia couldn't help but mention it, which gave the Martian officials who came to greet her a shiver down their spines.

However, he could only nod and smile without saying anything. After all, this man was a man. Although Arcadia was a megacity with a population of over 100 million, it was far from Earth and Jupiter's orbit, so it was practically no different from a prison. The goods and news brought by the other party from Earth's orbit were invaluable to them.

Although they hadn't considered themselves citizens of the Federation in the past due to distance, the Martian inhabitants suddenly felt that the Federation wasn't so unacceptable after the Zeon army arrived and became the supreme ruler above the Martian government.

The Martian government didn't really welcome the Zeons. In the past, they were the bosses of Mars, with no say in anything. But with the arrival of the Zeons, they became the sons. Although their treatment didn't change much, having another father figure was definitely not a pleasant experience. Not to mention, Mars was still continuously providing supplies to Axis.

Although Martian Zeon didn't follow the example of the Führer's Guard and set up concentration camps, the necessary exploitation was still inevitable. After all, why did Zeon send troops to conquer Mars? Did they come here to do charity and hold bonfire parties with everyone?
Therefore, the Martian government sometimes hopes that one day they will open their eyes to see the arrival of the king's army, so that everyone can be transformed and continue to live the good life before the war. But unfortunately, they have no idea when that day will come.

Now, goods from the Buhe Consortium have become their only solace. The most popular items on Mars are naturally various trendy entertainment products from Earth, such as TV series and songs. It is worth mentioning that the Federation-produced 08MS Squad movie is still a contraband on Mars, since it is suspected of glorifying the Federation military, but that doesn't stop everyone from watching it secretly.

As Mazia and the Martian officials chatted casually as they walked out of the spaceport, preparing to board the electric carriage that had come to greet them, Mazia suddenly stopped. "Your mobile suits... are they new?"

He was referring to the Zaku 1s that had been patrolling outside the spaceport. They were the ones that Martian Zeon brought to attack Arcadia. However, those Zakus had now disappeared and been replaced by some brand-new mobile suits. Mazia only glanced at them before becoming completely captivated.

Because the design of that machine is like that of a medieval knight, clad in heavy armor, wielding a lance and shield, lacking only a fine horse.

Influenced by his father, Mazia, who already considered himself an old European aristocrat, couldn't stand this kind of thing the most, and he even wanted to go over and watch the fun.

"Mr. Mazia!"

But the Martian official standing nearby grabbed him.

"what happened?"

"This isn't your average Zeon army. Let's get in the car and talk!"

Mazia didn't understand, but she got into the car anyway, and then the Mars officials breathed a sigh of relief.

"These are Zeon troops from Axis!"

"Axis?"

Mazia raised an eyebrow. Although he was not unfamiliar with this place, he was not exactly familiar with it either. At most, it was just something he talked about after a meal.

For example, what do the Zeons of Axis eat? Nothing more than potatoes, dehydrated vegetables, frozen canned meat, and so on!

But now, a topic of conversation for casual conversation has suddenly appeared before him, naturally piquing his interest.

"An entire fleet, dozens of ships, and hundreds of mobile suits, led by the former Vice Admiral of the Principality of Zeon, Marco Bay, just quietly sailed over from Axis. Sigh!"

The Martian official sighed. Anyone would be terrified to see such a fleet drifting in on their doorstep, let alone the fact that the Mark Bay fleet had been stationed there and hadn't left. The Martian government already had enough to worry about with its father, and now it had another boss. Did they really think Arcadia was so rich in resources that it had everything?

"What are they doing here? Aren't the Zeon forces on Mars and those on Axis both Zeon?"

"It's different, it's different!"

“This Markbe is a confidant of Kycilia Zabi, while the Martian Zeon army is just a detachment sent by Kycilia, but they are not under Markbe’s command!”

"So, what is Mark Bay's title?"

"Titles? The duchy is gone, what titles does he have left? But Axis has been bestowing a bunch of titles upon the Zeon officers here..."

"Then we can chat! We're all old friends!"

The Martian official was speechless for a moment; how could he have forgotten about this person!
“Mr. Mazia, the situation on Mars is different now than before. If you ask me, it would be best if you left as soon as possible after the deal is completed!”

"Could you ask them if they sell their mobile suits?"

Mazia then added.

Their fleet actually had a few ZAM or GIGU-like mobile suits, which were pieced together from battlefield junk salvaged by the Buh Foundation and loaded onto transport ships for anti-piracy purposes. But how could those ragtag machines compare to the handsome and powerful ones? Mazia even planned to establish the Buh Foundation's mobile suit research and development department once he returned, to produce a knight mobile suit that was much cooler than the Federation's!
The Martian officials were speechless. Given the current complicated situation, it was not impossible for Mark Bay to arrest and execute your entire transport fleet as federal spies. And you still want to buy mechs?
What Mazia said next sent another shiver down the spines of the Martian officials.

"Also, could you introduce me to Mr. Mark Bay?"

"what?"

The Martian officials just thought this guy had gone crazy from flying in space for too long.

But in reality, Mazia had his own considerations, because he seemed to have glimpsed a possibility, a possibility that could fulfill the dream of the entire Rona family: to establish a kingdom exclusively for nobles as a true cosmic aristocracy!
That's right, the Rona family is no longer satisfied with just cosplaying. But if they want to restore the old order and become noble lords in the Earth Federation, that's just wishful thinking. But it's different in distant regions. Putting aside everything else, Mars is such a large area. What's wrong with me building a noble country there? Anyway, the Earth Federation has no plans to reclaim Mars.

"Does Lord Mark Bay have any quirks or hobbies? Like, what kind of things he likes?"

"Things you like?"

The official thought for a moment about the antique pot that the man had held in his arms when they met that day, and then replied.

"He really likes antiques from the Northern Song Dynasty!"

The Martian officials were completely numb. Had the Earth Federation really forgotten about this place?

(End of this chapter)