Chapter 273: Encounter 1
Seeing Mina deep in serious thought, Tolle comforted her, "The overall trend can't be reversed, but small things can.
Take Shinn Asuka for example. Since we know about him in advance, we can arrange to protect his family and his sister Mayu.
And at the same time, let ZAFT—without realizing it—still treat him as a spy and send him into the future ZAFT forces, just like before.
That way, we can reduce Orb's losses, and at critical moments he can defect and cause ZAFT some damage as well.
Using the information we already have to make Orb and this world better—that's what really matters."
Hearing that, Mina suddenly understood. "I see. So Orb might still lose the war this time, but we can prepare more warships and send more people and troops into space afterward, right?
As for the Asuka family, I'll arrange it right away. And Shinn will receive proper spy training so he won't expose himself."
Tolle smiled with satisfaction. "Exactly, Mina. That's the idea…"
He then told her that Athrun and the others from ZAFT would secretly come to Orb.
Mina was angry at first about corruption inside her country, but when she thought about it, this was also key to Tolle faking his death.
So she cooperated fully, helping monitor the situation and preparing to make it easier for them to meet Kira or Tolle.
After the serious matters were settled, Mina suddenly turned stern and questioned Tolle, "There's something you need to tell me honestly!
Say it—who else have you given a compressed-space wristband to? And how many of these do you have? Tell me the truth."
Tolle broke into a cold sweat, not expecting Mina to switch moods so quickly or act like such a jealous woman.
He immediately gave in and coaxed, "Don't worry. You're the first person I've given a compressed-space wristband to since I returned to this world.
I haven't given one to anyone else—not even Miriallia.
This isn't something ordinary people can handle, so I wouldn't dare give it to just anyone."
Tolle added inwardly: *I didn't lie. In this world, you're the only one. Lynn Minmay and the others aren't from this world.
And I just returned this time, so you really are the first.*
*Fortunately, I was smart enough to modify the design and color scheme ahead of time to distinguish it from the ones Minmay and Ange use. Otherwise, if you ran into each other, things would get messy.*
After listening to Tolle's explanation, Mina's mood improved a little, but she kept pressing, "Fine, I believe that part. But what about the number of wristbands?"
"I've got maybe a little over ten. If you want them, I can give them all to you. They require special materials to make, so if you want more, you'll have to wait a bit.
But they have anti-theft systems built in. If someone tries to dismantle or study one, it'll explode. When the compressed space collapses, a small black hole forms—the blast is about as strong as a nuclear weapon. So don't mess with them."
"It's that dangerous? Then if something accidentally breaks, wouldn't that be horrible?"
Mina's face turned pale instantly. Thankfully Tolle warned her in time—she really had been thinking about taking one apart to study it.
Tolle hugged her tightly and soothed her, "Relax. The exterior is made of nano-machines, extremely durable.
It has some intelligence and self-repair capabilities. Even a nuclear blast wouldn't destroy it.
As long as you don't try to forcefully dismantle it, it's completely safe to use…"
After comforting her, Mina immediately collected all of Tolle's remaining wristbands, then hurried back to the Sahaku estate.
She began using various excuses to transfer important researchers and key materials to the orbital station 'Halleluyah Pillar.'
But Mina still left Yulia by Tolle's side to continue taking care of his daily needs and security.
The only change was that Yulia now had to obey Tolle's orders as well.
And since she was now wearing a compressed-space wristband herself, Yulia was more than happy to accept the task.
Only Cagalli clung to Tolle like a resentful wife, refusing to leave him alone. Because she hadn't received her father Uzumi's approval, she still hadn't undergone the fast-track energy transfer.
Although Tolle really wanted to teach her, he was afraid Uzumi would hold it against him, so he planned to wait until after Uzumi's death.
Not long after, Mina informed Tolle that the four teenage ZAFT soldiers had already secretly infiltrated Orb's islands.
Originally, they were supposed to arrive the day after the Archangel entered Orb.
But because Tolle's fast-track training caused Orb to enter lockdown, Athrun and the others ended up taking over a month to get ashore.
Without Mina's help, they might not have gotten into Orb even now.
But that wasn't Tolle's problem anymore. Led by Yulia, he headed toward the area where Athrun and the others were, preparing to "accidentally" run into them.
On a street, Nicol looked around curiously. "This country really is peaceful. I don't see a trace of war."
Beside him, Athrun replied, "Yeah, the whole world is fighting, but none of it reaches here."
"Maybe it really is because they're neutral."
"It's such a peaceful country. I wish ours could be like this too."
Tolle walked up behind Athrun Zala and Nicol Amalfi, lightly patted them on the back, and said, "Yo, Athrun, Nicol—long time no see."
Athrun and Nicol jumped in shock at Tolle's sudden appearance, completely unsure how to react.
Yzak, however, stared in disbelief and said, "You—you bastard, running into you in a place like this… Watch how I—"