Reid was quite satisfied with his gains and left the Factory Module in high spirits. Then, he was immediately cornered.
In Star Palace City, there were only a handful of people who could corner Reid, and this time, it was naturally Ange.
Seeing Ange's unfriendly expression, Reid's heart skipped a beat as he quickly reflected on what he might have done wrong recently.
Unsurprisingly, he drew a blank. After all, he had been busy running around, and the two of them hadn't met privately much during this time. Even if he wanted to provoke her, he hadn't had the chance.
As for the matter with Mina—heaven knew he hadn't done anything. Moreover, integrating the Sahaku Family into the country's political management had been decided long ago during the discussions about the "Bright Sword" plan at the Star Palace Colony Satellite. Ange definitely wouldn't be jealous or angry over that.
However, Reid's New Human Ability told him that if he couldn't figure out why Ange was angry, things would not end well for him.
So, driven by his survival instincts, Reid thought of a possibility in the few steps it took to reach Ange after spotting her.
The issue might lie in the fact that he hadn't returned home much in the past half-month. Though his schedule was transparent, ever since the "Bright Sword" plan entered its second phase and Ange began guarding the Star Palace Colony Satellite, the two of them had barely met in private.
How would you feel if your husband preferred sleeping at construction sites to coming home at night? From that perspective, Ange's anger was quite justified.
Thus, thinking quickly, Reid grabbed Ange's hand as soon as he reached her and said cheerfully,
"Ange, what brings you here? But you came at just the right time—I was about to go find you. The Royal Palace in Star Palace City is already built. Though the canopy cover hasn't been removed yet, the internal structure and preliminary fittings are all done. Come on, let's go take a look. If there's anything you want changed, we can plan it now. After all, that's going to be our home on Earth."
At his words, Ange's anger visibly subsided. After all, there was a difference between hiding at construction sites to avoid going home and being too busy building a new home to return.
Of course, Ange also knew that constructing these buildings was as easy as snapping his fingers for Reid. Staying in Star Palace City was more about guarding the place to prevent unauthorized entry, completing the tasks assigned by that mysterious existence, and researching new Mobile Suits.
So, Ange obediently let Reid lead her away, though she still muttered,
"Hmph, I thought someone was having too much fun out there and forgot all about the people at home. What if I'm not satisfied with the Royal Palace? What then?"
Reid didn't hesitate in his reply:
"Not satisfied? Then we'll tear it down and rebuild it—as many times as it takes until you're happy. Your husband has more than enough resources for that."
Ange was somewhat satisfied with his answer and temporarily let Reid off the hook to go see their future home.
Reid hadn't cut corners with the Royal Palace in Star Palace City. The palace's exterior and terrain planning had been designed by top European architects—he just hadn't involved them in the actual construction.
The designers didn't complain about being excluded from the building process, as they understood this was the New Miserly Kingdom protecting itself.
Designing a royal palace had always been a high-risk endeavor throughout history. While a successful design could earn one a place in the annals of history, the lives of the designers themselves were far less secure.
The New Miserly Kingdom only requested the design of the main building's exterior and surface layout, which showed considerable sincerity.
If they had been more involved, the designers might have realized they could become targets of spies from various nations seeking complete blueprints of the Royal Palace. In that case, the New Miserly Kingdom would have no choice but to silence them for the royal family's safety.
In truth, these designers were overthinking it. The reason Reid didn't involve them in the actual construction was simply that they weren't needed—the Construction Module ensured quality without any concerns.
As for the underground facilities of the Royal Palace, Reid naturally built an extremely complex Underground Fortress, complete with a direct tunnel leading to the Factory Module (which, as usual, was hidden beneath the heavy industrial zone).
Thanks to Reid's efforts, Ange was thoroughly satisfied with the overall layout and design of the Royal Palace. Of course, the interior decor still needed adjustments—after all, expecting Reid to excel in soft furnishing design was asking too much. Currently, the palace's interior was entirely outfitted with the default furnishings provided by the Construction Module.
In the end, the last trace of dissatisfaction in Ange's heart was completely erased when Reid suggested "testing out the bedroom's large bed." With that, Reid successfully weathered this crisis.
After a passionate bout of lovemaking, Reid, now in his post-coital clarity, suddenly remembered he still had character summons left.
Perhaps because he was too calm, he impulsively decided to summon right there in bed.
With the nation urgently needing administrators across various regions, Reid had no choice but to gamble on MS Pilots, just as he had when he summoned Une. Sixty consecutive summons went through.
However, after pulling Hoshino Ruri—an A-rank character comparable to an S-rank—Reid's luck clearly ran out. Moreover, his timing for summoning couldn't have been worse.
Not only were all the remaining pulls low-tier (blue skies and white clouds), but none of them even had skills. Worse yet, every summoned character was connected to Ange.
The six were Salia, Hilda, Vivian, Rosalie, Elsa, and Chris.
Well, now the Paramail First Squad was complete.
Ange was the first to notice the sudden shift in Reid's expression. Considering he had just returned from completing a mission, she quickly guessed what had happened.
Hugging Reid's arm, she softly asked,
"What's wrong? Why do you look so upset? Did someone send you troublesome people again?"
Reid could only sigh and look at her helplessly.
"Honestly, it's not a problem for me—it's trouble for you. Ange, get dressed. That summon just delivered every single one of your former teammates from the Paramail First Squad at Arzenal."
The moment Ange heard this, she shot upright like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, completely disregarding her nakedness.
But since Reid was the only one in the room, it didn't matter. Gripping his shoulders, she yelled,
"What?! Everyone from the Arzenal Paramail First Squad is here?! Damn it! Get up! Now that they've fallen into my hands, I'm going to give them a piece of my mind—settle old scores and new grudges all at once!"
It was only then that Reid remembered: Ange had been summoned during the time she was ostracized by everyone at Arzenal. Back then, her relationships with the other members of the Paramail First Squad were tense—only Vivian and Elsa were slightly more amicable, while she had conflicts with all the others.
So while getting dressed and on the move, Reid kept trying to persuade Ange to go easy on them, emphasizing that everyone at Arzenal were outcasts and pitiful souls.
Of course, Ange really just wanted to mock them a bit—like when a woman runs into former schoolmates she didn't get along with years later, and now that she's doing much better in life, she can't resist rubbing it in their faces.
Right now, Reid was mainly worried Ange might end up fighting with all six of them, especially Hilda, Rosalie, and Chris.
Reid knew that while Ange disliked these three, they had all been through life-and-death situations together. He definitely couldn't just get rid of them, and if a fight broke out, he'd have no choice but to stay out of it.
Fortunately, when they actually met, Ange didn't immediately go on the offensive—because Salia, Hilda, Vivian, Rosalie, Elsa, and Chris all looked utterly terrified.
The six of them had come to seek refuge with Ange as former Earth refugees from the New Misurugi Republic. But for them, the current situation felt eerily similar to when they were first discovered as Norma and dumped into Arzenal.
And this time, it wasn't just being thrown into an unfamiliar place—they weren't even in the same world anymore. The women of Arzenal were all tough on the outside but fragile inside, and now these six had absolutely no sense of security.
Seeing them like this, Ange completely lost interest in mocking them.
Meanwhile, the six of them, spotting the familiar face of Ange, suddenly seemed to find their anchor and immediately bombarded her with questions.
Three women equal 500 ducks—and with seven here, Reid felt like there were at least 5,000 ducks quacking in his ears.
After about an hour, Salia, Hilda, Vivian, Rosalie, Elsa, and Chris finally understood the situation.
First, they were all already dead—killed by that new-type Dragon capable of using Gravity Ability.
The Ange before them wasn't the Ange they knew, but another Ange from a parallel world who had arrived here shortly after Captain Zola's death and had been living here for over a year now.
This Ange had successfully turned the person the gods wanted her to assist into her man—a man who even helped her reclaim her kingdom, making her the true Queen Angelise now.
Almost simultaneously, Hilda, Rosalie, and Chris inwardly cursed Ange's insane luck—she had arrived in this world as a founding member. If only it had been one of them instead.
But the good news was that there was no discrimination against Norma here—or rather, everyone here was a Norma, with no magic users. They could live as ordinary people now.
So, after grasping the situation, the six of them finally broke free from their terror.
Seizing the opportunity, Reid spoke up.
"Alright, ladies, now that everything's clear, let me lay down the rules here."
His words naturally drew everyone's attention. Salia, Hilda, Vivian, Rosalie, Elsa, and Chris all knew that this Mr. Reid was the one who would decide their future.
Reid had already figured out how to handle them while they were chattering about their circumstances, so he began painting a grand vision for them.
"My rules here are actually quite similar to Arzenal's—everyone needs to work to make a living.
The only difference is, I won't force you onto the battlefield. You can choose civilian jobs. It's fine if you don't know how—someone will teach you. With enough experience, you can get promoted. If you're truly capable, you might even make it to the cabinet someday.
But if you don't perform well, you'll have to stick with being an MS Pilot. For now, I can't allow you to take ordinary jobs and live as regular civilians.
Of course, I'll definitely pay your wages—and they won't be small. You won't be restricted on holidays, and I won't demand 996 work hours. Most positions here follow the standard five-day workweek. On your days off, as long as you don't break the law, you're free to do whatever you want."
Naturally, no one objected to Reid's conditions. This was practically the life they'd dreamed of. As for the restrictions on work—that was nothing compared to being forced to pilot seven- or eight-meter mechs against thirty- or forty-meter Dragons.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Reid walked straight up to Vivian and asked,
"Vivian, did you bring any candy with you?"
Vivian blinked in surprise, then pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and handed it over, tilting her head curiously.
"Huh? Reid, you like candy too?"
Reid wasn't actually planning to eat it. At this point, Vivian still didn't know her true identity—she was a member of the True Dragon Clan. If her dragon tail ever slipped out, the entire CE universe would tremble. The legendary creatures would truly become reality.
Vivian's candy contained medication that suppressed her transformation, so Reid needed to extract the drug from it and ensure she had a steady supply.
Moreover, Reid had other plans for Vivian. Pocketing the candy, he said,
"This candy is part of a deal—a trade for your chance to go to school. My country has a comprehensive set of laws protecting minors, so you can't work. You'll be going to school, no arguments.
But since that would leave you with almost no income, I'll arrange for you to intern at the lab on weekends. There's another girl at the school in a similar situation—she can show you the ropes."
Reid's actions didn't raise any suspicions. Everyone simply assumed he was being kind, letting the still-young Vivian have a relatively normal childhood.
Elsa, who had always treated Vivian like a daughter, walked over gently and patted the girl's head with a warm smile.
"That's wonderful, Vivian. Now you can grow up like a normal child."
Seizing the opportunity, Reid smoothly added,
"Elsa, I'll register you as Vivian's guardian, alright? You'll be the one attending parent-teacher meetings and such from now on."
As one of the older members of the first squadron, Elsa naturally agreed without hesitation.
Next came job assignments. Rosalia and Chris, neither of whom wanted to fight anymore, chose to start fresh as basic government office clerks.
Elsa also opted for administrative work, but after testing, her abilities far surpassed Rosalia and Chris, so there was no need for her to start as a clerk. Instead, she was assigned as Une's assistant.
Salia and Hilda both stated they were willing to keep fighting—likely because they could tell Reid actually wanted more combat personnel.
Salia, in particular, felt she was only suited to being a soldier. The thought of working as a clerk would probably leave her in chaos.
Hilda herself was an ambitious person. She believed that becoming a soldier would allow for rapid promotions, and it wasn't impossible to rise to high-ranking military positions in the future.
Hilda felt that for Reid, she was definitely more trustworthy than soldiers recruited from outside. As long as she could keep Reid pleased, climbing to a high position was just around the corner.
Seeing that everyone had found their purpose, Reid also breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, this summoning couldn't be considered a loss.
Vivian, the true dragon girl, might be the greatest gain. If her dragon genes could be replicated, human physical capabilities might see a tremendous improvement.
It must be understood that the reason Vivian's world had dragons was due to the pollution of human living environments after the world wars. The dragon race was born from adapting to these polluted conditions.
Therefore, Vivian was likely immune to most forms of radiation. Even a single strand of her hair would be considered priceless in the eyes of genetic researchers.
Of course, the research had to be kept confidential and strictly controlled. Reid certainly didn't want to end up creating some half-dragon monster or even trigger a biohazard incident similar to a biochemical crisis.
(End of Chapter)