Chapter 250: The Yuhou Sets Sail, Part 1
Early in the morning, Tolle received a message from Masahiro — Spark No. 1 had arrived in Mars' orbit, bringing along a Gusion Gundam Rebake and two Graze units that had been prepared beforehand.
They'd serve as gifts to celebrate the founding of Tekkadan — once the team reached space, he'd hand them over.
That morning, everyone gathered in Tekkadan's office to discuss how to escort Kudelia to Earth.
In the end, they decided to evade Gjallarhorn's surveillance by first boarding Tekkadan's shuttle to a low-orbit station. From there, they would take a covert civilian transport to The Ark — a neutral spaceport where their old CGS assault ship, the Ghost Fire, was docked in stationary orbit.
During the meeting, Orga decided to rename the assault ship to Yuhou — the Fishing Fire.
Once they finished transferring to the Yuhou, they would rendezvous with Spark No. 1 for MS resupply before setting off toward Earth.
However, before departure, all of CGS's assets needed to be legally transferred to Tekkadan. Kudelia's journey couldn't begin until those formalities were complete.
Fortunately, Nobliss Gordon acted quickly — the funds Kudelia requested were transferred almost immediately, which sped up the asset transfer process considerably.
With everything proceeding smoothly, Tolle decided to follow the original "script" for the time being.
At his suggestion, he took Kudelia, Fumitan, Mikazuki, and Biscuit out to relax at Granny Sakura's farm — and, conveniently, to "accidentally" run into McGillis and Gaelio.
When they arrived, Kudelia looked around in astonishment at the vast green fields stretching before her. Holding onto Tolle's arm, she asked, "Tolle, where are we? How can there be such a huge farm?"
"This is Sakura's farm," he replied.
"Sakura?" Kudelia tilted her head, confused.
Biscuit chuckled and explained, "Ah, this is my grandmother's farm. Her name's Sakura Pretzel, so everyone calls this place 'Sakura's Farm.'"
"Oh, I see…" Kudelia blinked, still puzzled. "But why bring me here?"
Just then, Atra — whom Tolle had informed in advance — came running over, waving as she called out, "Mikazuki! You're here!"
Kudelia smiled and greeted her, "Ah, Miss Atra!"
Atra, who had thought it was just going to be a date between her and Mikazuki, froze for a moment upon seeing the others. "Eh? Miss Kudelia? You're here too?"
Kudelia blinked. "You came too, Miss Atra?"
"Y-Yeah… and you're here too…"
Their shy, flustered exchange made Tolle chuckle. "Alright, alright, you don't have to be so stiff. I'm the one who invited Atra. After all, it wouldn't be right for just one couple to go out with a bunch of third wheels, would it? So I asked Atra to come — that way, it's a double date."
"D-Double… d-date?!" Kudelia and Atra exclaimed in unison, their faces turning crimson.
Seeing them blush so adorably, Tolle forced himself to keep his tone casual. "Hahaha, come on — Mikazuki's going to be away from Mars for a while. His girlfriend Atra would feel lonely, right? We can't just think of ourselves; we have to look out for him too."
At that, Atra's face went completely red, and she ducked her head in embarrassment. Mikazuki, on the other hand, remained calm as ever, silently standing there and occasionally popping snacks from his pocket into his mouth.
Tolle sighed and said, "Mikazuki, Atra's yours to take care of. When Sakura gets here, I'll pair up with Kudelia. We'll help with the harvest, then eat fresh vegetables together at Sakura's place."
"Got it," Mikazuki replied simply, taking Atra's hand and standing beside her.
Soon after, Sakura arrived with Cookie and Cracker, who immediately ran into Biscuit's arms, calling out "Big Brother! Big Brother!" over and over.
Spotting Kudelia, they exclaimed happily, "Miss Kudelia! You're here too! Have you learned how to cut vegetables yet?"
Kudelia's face flushed scarlet as she quickly looked away, trying to change the subject. "Ah, you two came as well!"
Sakura turned to Tolle warmly. "Oh, Tolle, is everyone here?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Everyone's here."
"Alright then, let's get ready to start," Sakura said cheerfully.
Tolle led Kudelia and Fumitan to a nearby vehicle, where he handed them each a work outfit. With a gentlemanly smile, he gestured toward them and said, "Ladies, this way, please. The clothes are ready for you to change into."
Both Kudelia and Fumitan blushed at his courteous tone.
Just then, Cracker came running up and asked, "Brother Tolle, where are Sister Minmay, Sister Ange, and Sister Zola? Why didn't they come?"
Cookie chimed in, "Yeah! What about Sisters Coco and Miranda? They're not here either?"
Kudelia froze, then turned to Tolle in shock. "T–Tolle… do you… have several women? Then I—"
Tolle hadn't expected to be exposed so quickly. He immediately pulled her into his arms, and, with Nami's subtle mental influence assisting him, extended the same "persuasion" to Fumitan.
Then, with his usual smoothness, he said, "That's right, Kudelia. You and they are all my women…"
A few whispered words and a bit of emotional manipulation later, and Kudelia — as well as Fumitan — had been thoroughly coaxed.
Meanwhile, Mikazuki and Atra were chatting comfortably. For someone who looked so indifferent, Mikazuki had surprisingly good instincts when it came to romance — in no time, Atra, already smitten, was glowing with happiness.
As everyone busied themselves harvesting corn, the sudden sound of screeching brakes rang out — followed by Cookie and Cracker's startled screams.
Tolle looked up sharply. McGillis and Gaelio had arrived.
Mikazuki reacted first, sprinting toward the scene. Seeing Cookie and Cracker on the ground, he immediately grabbed Gaelio by the throat and lifted him off his feet without hesitation.
"Wait— what are you—" Gaelio gasped, struggling to breathe. "Help… me…"
Cookie and Cracker scrambled to their feet, waving their arms frantically. "Mikazuki, no! You've got it wrong! We're fine!"
Tolle rushed forward as well. "Mikazuki, let him go! Cookie and Cracker are fine!"
But Mikazuki didn't respond — he just kept his grip on Gaelio's neck, expression cold and unyielding.