Chapter 214: Dawn Society III
After the simulator training ended, Asagi, Juri, and Mayura surrounded Kira and Tolle, each taking turns speaking excitedly.
"Kira, Tolle, you two are amazing! We've been practicing for so long, and we're still not as good as you were on your first try."
"Yeah, exactly! Can you teach us? We want to pilot as smoothly as you do—then that certain young lady won't have anything to tease us about anymore."
"Tolle, aren't you a Natural like us? How can you even use the Coordinator's support OS?"
"Right! Trust Mayura to notice that—how come we didn't think of it?"
"Seriously, tell us, how come you can handle that devil of a support OS?"
"Juri's totally right. That support OS really is demonic—normal people just can't handle it."
…
The three of them chattered on and on, not giving Kira or Tolle a chance to get a word in.
Erica, who'd been watching from the side, couldn't take it anymore and coughed lightly. "You three, quiet down for a moment. You're asking so many questions all at once—how do you expect them to answer if you never stop talking?"
"Yes, Erica, ma'am…" the three replied dejectedly, hanging their heads as they fell silent.
Still wearing that gentle, mature smile of hers, Erica turned to Kira and asked, "So, how does the M1 Astray feel? Any suggestions for improvement?"
Kira thought for a moment before answering, "Its performance is pretty good—almost on par with the Strike Gundam. But the support OS still has a lot of room for improvement."
"Then I'll have to trouble you," Erica said softly. "Please help us develop a version that even ordinary people can use."
Blushing, Kira nodded. "No problem. I'll do my best."
"Thank you, Kira."
"N–no, it's nothing…" Kira stammered, his face burning red as he avoided meeting Erica's gaze.
Tolle couldn't help but think that this guy definitely had a thing for that kind of woman. The boy had backbone, sure—but maybe he just couldn't bring himself to act on it. Besides, he already had a girlfriend.
Erica then turned her warm, wifely smile toward Tolle. "Tolle, do you have any special piloting tricks you could share with us? It might really help ordinary pilots operate Mobile Suits more effectively."
Looking at that irresistibly charming smile, Tolle suddenly got a wicked idea.
PLANT had Coordinators. The Earth Alliance had Extendeds. So… maybe Orb could have Super Soldiers of its own?
But of course, he couldn't just let them have it for free. He had to get something out of it.
After a few seconds of thought, Tolle came up with what he considered a brilliant Super Soldier plan—a martial arts "energy transmission" training method straight out of the "School of the Undefeated of the East." Naturally, it had to be done nude for the energy to transfer properly… though that came with the risk of having to touch men.
Well, he could always claim that touching men made him nauseous and unable to focus—so he'd mostly "teach" women instead, and only a few men, if absolutely necessary.
"Erica, maybe it's because I actually know real ancient martial arts," he said, pretending to sound modest. "It's helped strengthen my body and sharpen my reflexes. That's probably why my piloting skills have improved so much."
He then walked to the side, picked up a sheet of ordinary paper, infused it with qi, and gave it a light flick—cleanly slicing a nearby metal teacup in two.
A few seconds later, a staff member cried out in anguish, "Ah! My teacup! That was a gift from my girlfriend!"
Only then did everyone react to what they'd just seen. Erica quickly comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I'll explain it to your girlfriend for you—and I'll buy you a new one."
Then she picked up the sheet of paper, which still contained residual qi, and touched it gently. It felt hard as metal. She prodded it a few times with a pen, only to find the pen tip damaged.
Tolle withdrew the energy, showing that it was just ordinary paper. Erica easily tore it apart with her hands.
"This is incredible! Tolle, where did this come from? Can this martial art be taught to others? Could you teach us?"
Tolle scratched his head, pretending to be embarrassed. "Actually, I dreamed about it. In my dream, an old man with a long braid taught it to me. When I tried it for real, it worked."
"As for teaching others…" He glanced around at the women, feigning shyness. "It's possible, but the first time, I have to use my qi as a seed and infuse it directly into the person. That requires full-body contact—with no clothes on—and it can't be interrupted. That way, they can master it quickly."
"But according to what I remember, if you use the normal method instead, it takes at least several years, maybe even decades, depending on the person's talent."
He paused, then added, "So far, I've only taught one person—Miriallia—and that was using the fast-track method. It took several sessions before she learned it. I haven't tried it with anyone else yet, so… it's not guaranteed to work every time."
Erica thought for a moment and then asked, "So, the only successful case of your fast-track method was a woman?"
Tolle felt she really understood him—saying it so directly for him. He nodded shyly. "Yes."
Kira leaned closer and whispered, "You can't even guarantee success, and you still say you'll teach us?"
Tolle whispered back, "I just wanted to try—to see if I could teach other people."
"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna be your test subject—especially if it means being groped all over by a guy. Ugh, just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Count me out."
(ノ=Д=)ノ┻━┻ "Hey, like I want to touch guys either! That's why I'm planning to teach you the normal way. The quick method's for women only!"
"You pervy wolf! I'm telling Miriallia about this when we get back!"
"No, Kira, don't! You traitor! It's not like I've actually done anything yet…"
Erica interrupted them and turned to the three girls. "Asagi, Juri, Mayura—would any of you be interested in trying this fast-track energy transmission experiment with Tolle?"
"No way! We're not even married yet—and we don't even have boyfriends! Having a strange man touch us all over like that would be way too embarrassing!" the three shouted in unison, shaking their heads violently.
"That makes it difficult," Erica murmured, resting her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "I really wanted to observe how this transmission works in practice… Looks like I'll have to be the second test subject myself. Let's set up a camera and record it later."
Tolle thought to himself, Now this Erica—she's my kind of woman. She's got guts!