The noon sun over Odessa was almost peaceful for once. The air smelled faintly of metal and oil, and for the first time in days, no explosions interrupted the sky. Gary Lin sat cross-legged on a maintenance crate near his Strike Gundam, chewing on a half-cold ration bar like a man trying to pretend life was normal.
"Ah… finally," he sighed, tilting his head back against the hangar wall. "A day without laser beams or existential crises. I might actually—"
> [System Notification: Summon data sequence ready. Would you like to proceed with subject reveal number three?]
Gary groaned. "You're kidding me. I can't even finish lunch?"
> [Affirmative. Remaining calories irrelevant. Proceed?]
He stared at the sky for a long second, then exhaled. "Fine. Let's do it. Hit me. Whoever it is, I survived Hachiman and Tomoya, I can handle anything."
The holographic display flickered before him, blue light washing over the metallic floor. Lines of text appeared in that same boring, bureaucratic font he had come to despise.
> [Subject #3: Shinomiya Kaguya]
[Affiliation: Independent (Non-Faction)]
[Origin: Kaguya-sama: Love is War]
Gary blinked. Once. Twice.
Then he leaned forward and squinted at the projection. "...You mean the Shinomiya Kaguya? The ice-cold, galaxy-brained, rich-girl tactician who plays psychological chicken with love confessions?"
> [Affirmative.]
Gary rubbed his temples. "Fantastic. First, a cynical high-school loner. Then a rom-com protagonist. Now a billionaire heiress. What's next, a talking dog?"
> [Statistically probable, but not in current queue.]
He stared flatly at the floating text. "That was a joke, System."
> [So was mine.]
"...I hate you."
> [Hate acknowledged.]
The display shifted again, pulling up a list labeled Perk Activation Log. The line that appeared made Gary freeze halfway through a sip of recycled coffee.
> [Perk: Shinomiya Corporation]
[Effect: Materialization of corporate structure and assets within Universal Century economy. Includes familial leadership chain and retainer staff.]
His eyes widened. "Wait, what? You're telling me her entire corporation came through? Like—headquarters, subsidiaries, bodyguards, the works?"
> [Affirmative. Current assets: one orbital shipyard at Granada, one industrial hub in Tokyo, two lunar R&D colonies under construction.]
Gary spat out his coffee. "SHE BROUGHT SPACE FACTORIES?!"
> [Clarification: yes.]
He stood up, pacing in disbelief. "So Federation gets the Shinomiya Conglomerate—an ancient money empire with enough resources to buy half of Anaheim Electronics—and Zeon gets a sarcastic otaku engineer. This isn't balance! This is capitalism on steroids!"
> [Correction: Shinomiya Conglomerate currently operates under an independent economic clause. However, Federation Command has already contracted them to develop prototype GMs.]
"Of course they have," Gary muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Why fight wars when you can just outsource victory to a love comedy heiress?"
The System continued, ever unamused.
> [Additional personnel transferred via perk: Shinomiya Gan'an (patriarch), Shinomiya brothers (managers), Hayasaka Ai (personal aide). Hierarchy stable. Internal politics: volatile.]
Gary froze mid-stride. "Hold up. Hayasaka came too?"
> [Affirmative. Currently acting as Shinomiya Kaguya's intelligence and operations officer.]
He groaned. "Great. So the maid's here. Meaning they've got style now, too. What's next, a PR campaign titled 'Mobile Suit Elegance?'"
> [Possibility under consideration. Shinomiya marketing division has registered the slogan "The Future Is Beautiful."]
Gary nearly fell off the crate laughing. "You've got to be kidding me!"
The System was, of course, not.
Somewhere far above the hangar, a Federation transport ship glided by — and deep inside that ship, Kaguya Shinomiya herself stood before a vast holographic display, her red eyes calm and calculating. The light painted her pale face with quiet authority as Hayasaka whispered updates beside her.
"Production of the GM Kai prototype is on schedule," Hayasaka reported softly. "However, Anaheim is protesting our entry into the defense sector."
"Then," Kaguya said smoothly, tapping the hologram, "we'll simply outperform them. Launch a bid for the Federation's next-generation contract. Father will handle the politics."
Hayasaka smiled faintly. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, Kaguya-sama?"
A subtle, icy smile touched her lips. "War or not, business remains a battlefield."
Down below, Gary sneezed. "Someone's talking about me." He muttered, "Probably planning to buy my Gundam next."
> [Financial feasibility: high. Shinomiya assets surpass your total system credits by factor of ten thousand.]
Gary groaned. "You didn't have to say that out loud."
He slumped back into his chair, staring at the ceiling. "So let me get this straight. Federation gets Hachiman the reluctant pessimist and Kaguya the corporate empress. Zeon gets Tomoya the genius engineer. And I'm stuck here trying to keep my sanity intact."
> [Observation: morale stable, sarcasm levels rising.]
"Yeah, well, sarcasm's free. Everything else costs money — and now she's printing it."
For a while, silence filled the hangar, broken only by the hiss of repair drones and the hum of distant machinery. Gary closed his eyes, half laughing, half defeated. "Man… the Universal Century just turned into Love Is War: Mecha Edition."
> [Statement accurate. Shinomiya Corporation currently outproducing Anaheim Electronics by twelve percent in prototype efficiency.]
"Of course they are," he muttered. "Of course they are."
The System pinged one last time, almost teasing.
> [Next summon ready: processing. Estimated completion: twelve hours.]
Gary waved a hand tiredly. "No, not today. I need coffee, sleep, and maybe divine therapy, also not summon now and save point summon for sci-fi not daily life."
> [Request logged.]
He smirked faintly, looking toward the Strike Gundam. "Still… if she's here, then this world just got a lot more complicated."
The System hummed.
> [Affirmative. Complexity rising exponentially.]
Gary leaned back, letting the sunlight catch his tired smile. "Figures. The heiress builds Mobile Suits, and I'm still broke."