After the staff left, Heine looked at Felix with an apologetic expression. Felix noticed this and spoke before Heine could say anything.
"This matter has nothing to do with you, no need to apologize! It's just sharing a private room. Anyway, this room is quite spacious, a few more people won't matter. Besides, the owner compensated us sufficiently. Sharing won't be an issue."
Hearing Felix's words, Heine stopped dwelling on his previous thoughts and sat down with Felix at the table.
Shortly after they took their seats, the private room door opened, and the people sharing their table entered.
Their attention was drawn to the doorway.
Seeing the newcomers, Felix was slightly taken aback.
Lacus, whom he had seen not long ago, reappeared at the door, accompanied by five others including Athrun and Yzak.
Looking at them, Felix couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'This restaurant must truly be exceptional! To attract these young masters and princesses who'd rather share a private room just to dine here!'
"Captain Griffith!"
While Felix was inwardly marveling, Nicol among the six people was the first to speak upon recognizing Felix's appearance.
The others also turned their attention to Felix.
Athrun observed Felix closely at this relatively short distance, feeling that this person resembled Kira even more. Seeing him sitting here was almost like seeing Kira in his place.
"Hello everyone!"
Felix smiled slightly and greeted them. The staff member came in at this moment to arrange seating for Athrun's group.
After everything was settled, the staff member left the private room.
"Captain Griffith, has your combat mission ended?"
Rusty among them leaned forward slightly across the table, asking Felix with an excited expression.
Looking up at Rusty, Felix searched his memory briefly before recalling.
'Isn't this the first unlucky guy in the Red Uniform Elite after the plot begins?'
"It's over. Currently resting and waiting for new combat orders."
Collecting his thoughts, Felix smiled and replied. Upon hearing this, Rusty's eyes still held the innocence and fantasies of someone who had never experienced war, and he continued curiously.
"Captain Griffith, what is the battlefield like?"
"A life-or-death situation."
Glancing at Rusty, Felix answered succinctly, depicting the battlefield in just a few words.
The phrase "life-or-death" summarized the cruelty of war with extreme precision.
Rusty was momentarily stunned upon hearing this, trying to imagine war through these words. However, having never truly experienced war, even his imagination could only grasp a fraction of its reality!
"Once you graduate and officially join ZAFT, you'll truly understand what war means. No matter how you imagine it now, you won't grasp the real nature of war until then."
Looking at Rusty, Felix revealed a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, speaking to him in a very gentle voice.
Rusty snapped out of his thoughts and met Felix's gentle gaze. He felt this gentle gaze seemed to lack something, completely different from the kind of gentle looks he usually encountered.
Seeing Rusty fall silent, Felix turned to look at the others. With a slight smile, he asked the group.
"How's life at the military academy?"
"Quite good!"
The five replied in unison upon hearing Felix's question. Felix didn't ask further, and at that moment, the server brought up the dishes they had ordered.
To avoid mixing up their respective orders, the server specially prepared several small carts in the private room, using them as substitutes for tables.
Picking up a piece of beef and placing it on the grill, the sizzling hot surface caused the thawed meat to glisten with oil, making it look delicious.
"Captain Griffith, may I ask you something?"
Felix, who was grilling the meat, heard Athrun's voice.
Looking up to meet Athrun's gaze, Felix had already guessed what Athrun wanted to ask.
"Go ahead!"
Nodding, Felix responded.
Having received Felix's permission, Athrun voiced the question on his mind.
"Captain Griffith, you look very much like a friend of mine!"
"Is that so?"
Felix feigned curiosity upon hearing this.
Lacus, Yzak, and the others, upon hearing Athrun's words, cast curious glances back and forth between Felix and Athrun.
Felix, who had pretended to be surprised, continued speaking.
"Athrun, your mother Mrs. Zala also told me that I resemble someone."
At this point, Felix's tone shifted as he inquired.
"I wonder if the person you're referring to is the same one your mother Mrs. Zala mentioned? If possible, could you show me a photo of him?"
After saying this, Felix flipped the grilling meat and looked at Athrun, quietly awaiting his response. Without hesitation, Athrun pulled out his phone from his pocket and found Kira's photo in the album.
"Athrun, have you known Captain Griffith for a long time or something?"
Seeing Kira's photo, Yzak blurted out his thoughts without examining it carefully. After Yzak, Lacus spoke up to correct him.
"Yzak, the person in Athrun's phone photo is different from Captain Griffith."
As she spoke, Lacus pointed her slender finger at Kira in the photo, then looked up at Felix and continued.
"Captain Griffith's hair color is the same as the person in Athrun's photo, but Captain Griffith has light brown eyes that are almost golden, while this person has purple eyes."
"The most important difference is that Captain Griffith has a tear mole under his left eye, which the person in the photo doesn't have."
"And if you look carefully, you can see they aren't really that similar."
Under Lacus's words, Yzak carefully observed and recognized the differences between the two. Looking up at Felix, he thought to himself:
『Could Captain Griffith and Athrun's friend be brothers?』
"Captain Griffith, look!"
Athrun handed his phone to Felix at that moment. Seeing the offered phone, Felix placed the grilled beef he had seasoned onto a plate, freeing one hand to take the phone from Athrun.
Holding Athrun's phone, he looked at the photo of Kira from when he was twelve or thirteen.
『They do look very similar!』
After this mental assessment, Felix returned the phone to Athrun and said:
"Perhaps it's just a coincidence! After all, with Genetic Modification Technology, many people have adjusted their appearance genes, so it's normal for people to look alike!"