Listening to the thrilling accounts from the two, Felix calmly nodded. After a moment's thought and finding nothing more to add, he ended the communication with them.
...
A few days later,
The ZAFT assault force that had attacked Yggdrasil returned to the vicinity of PLANT's homeland. The Griffith Team, led by Felix, was assigned to garrison and rest near Junius City.
Felix himself took a shuttle from District 1 of Junius City to District 1 of Aprilius City.
At the spaceport in District 1 of Aprilius City,
As he stepped off the shuttle, Felix immediately spotted a familiar figure—the blond hair and the mask on his face made it unmistakably Creuset without needing a second thought.
Creuset happened to turn his head and met Felix's gaze, offering him a slight smile.
Seeing that smile, Felix felt a chilling sensation spreading from within, making him instinctively want to shudder.
Fortunately, he managed to suppress the shudder in the end.
"Captain Griffith, hello!"
Creuset approached with a polite smile, his voice warm and magnetically appealing. Felix looked at him, nodded slightly, and replied courteously.
"Yes, I came after receiving the Chairman's communication."
"I'm here for the same reason. Shall we go together?"
Hearing this, Creuset invited him to accompany him.
Considering the invitation, Felix thought for a moment and eventually agreed.
Together with Creuset, he headed toward the elevator.
Taking the elevator, the two quickly entered the interior of the satellite.
After exiting the elevator, they proceeded to the Ministry of Defense.
Ministry of Defense
In the Chairman's office,
"Chairman!"
Standing opposite Patrick, Felix and Creuset simultaneously saluted and greeted him.
Patrick, who was working, looked up and met the eyes of Felix and Creuset, nodding slightly and gesturing toward the chairs.
Understanding his meaning, Felix and Creuset pulled out the chairs and sat down.
"Upon the proposal of the Ministry of Defense and approved by the Supreme Council, it has been decided to award the two of you the Nebula Medal in recognition of your outstanding achievements in the Yggdrasil offensive and defensive battle.
Additionally, to boost morale and for promotional purposes, a live PLANT-wide broadcast of an awards ceremony will be held for you both.
What are your thoughts on this?"
Patrick looked at the two as he posed the question.
Just as Felix was about to respond, Creuset took the lead and replied.
"We will follow your arrangements, Chairman!"
After he finished, Patrick turned his gaze to Felix, awaiting his response. Feeling the intensity of that focused look, Felix spoke up at that moment.
"I have no objections to this matter, Chairman!"
"In that case, the two of you shall stay in District 1 of Aprilius City for a few days, awaiting the commencement of the awards ceremony."
Seeing that Felix and Creuset had agreed, Patrick arranged for them to remain temporarily in District 1 of Aprilius City for the next few days.
Upon hearing this decision, Felix had no objections and nodded in response to Patrick.
"I have no objections! I firmly obey the order!"
"I also have no objections and firmly obey the order!"
Creuset's words followed right after Felix's.
Nodding, with no further matters to discuss, Patrick waved his hand to dismiss them. Felix and Creuset stood up one after another and walked out together.
Outside the office
The two men, led by Defense Department staff, proceeded to their hotel to rest.
On the hotel bed
As Felix lay on the bed, pulling out his phone to pass the time, a message notification popped up. He ignored the other text, but the name "Lacus Clyne" caught his attention.
His focus drawn to the name, he looked into the message content. After some reading, Felix learned it was promotional material for Lacus's concert.
"A concert!"
He murmured softly, lost in thought.
Then his tone shifted as he continued.
"It wouldn't hurt to go if I had tickets, but given Miss Clyne's popularity, tickets are surely sold out by now."
With that, he dismissed the matter from his mind. Lying on the bed, he used his phone to browse other content to kill time and alleviate boredom.
Thus, two days passed in the blink of an eye.
After spending two days in District One of Aprilius City, Felix received a communication from the Defense Department. As he stepped out of his room, he coincidentally ran into Creuset.
After exchanging nods in greeting, they headed to the Defense Department together.
Upon arriving at the Defense Department, they followed Patrick to the venue of the awards ceremony.
In the conference hall hosting the awards ceremony
Upon entering, Felix saw many people seated in the audience. He didn't recognize over ninety percent of them, with the only familiar faces being those in the front rows.
Striding forward, he followed Patrick onto the stage and stood side by side with Creuset, awaiting the start of the awards ceremony.
Once the ceremony began, the first to deliver a speech was Chairman Siegel. After his address, Patrick began to speak.
"Felix Leo Griffith!"
His name was called by Patrick.
Felix, standing beside Creuset, took a step forward. His military posture was erect, his gaze fixed straight ahead as he awaited Patrick's next words.
"In the recent assault on Yggdrasil, Felix led the Griffith Team with exceptional bravery, making outstanding contributions to the campaign. Personally, he shot down a total of 79 Mobile Armors and destroyed 12 warships, achieving remarkable combat results.
In recognition of his extraordinary contributions and distinguished combat record, he is hereby awarded the Nebula Medal!"
After outlining Felix's achievements, Patrick stood up, and Siegel, seated beside him, rose as well.
The two approached Felix together.
As they reached Felix, a tray bearing the Nebula Medal was brought forward by the appropriate personnel.
Patrick picked up the box and opened it with both hands!
Siegel turned to Patrick, reached into the box to retrieve the Nebula Medal, then turned to Felix and pinned the medal to his chest.
Felix felt hands pat his shoulders as words of encouragement followed.
"Keep up the good work—may you bring more victories to PLANT!"
"Rest assured, Chairman—I will not fail this mission!"
Raising his hand, Felix saluted in response to Siegel.
Siegel nodded with a smile, then took his position to Felix's left, while Patrick offered an encouraging hug before standing to Felix's right.
After the photo was taken, the two resumed their seats.
Felix turned and walked back to stand beside Creuset.
"Rau Le Creuset!"
No sooner had Felix steadied himself than he heard Patrick call out Creuset's name. From the corner of his eye, he saw Creuset step forward and halt precisely where Felix had stood moments before.