Perhaps moved by He Kui's words, or perhaps having mustered her own courage, the girl finally took her first step.
Just as He Kui had thought, the two of them faced no obstacles along the way and smoothly arrived outside Uzumi's office.
"Go on."
He Kui softly said as he released the hands they had been holding.
"Aren't you coming in with me?"
Cagalli hesitated as she reached the door.
"It's not appropriate for me to go in while you talk with your father."
He Kui smiled.
"According to what I taught you, the most important thing is to convey your feelings to him."
"Okay!"
Upon hearing this, Cagalli finally nodded.
She walked up to the heavily guarded door.
"Miss Cagalli."
The two bodyguards clearly recognized Cagalli. Upon seeing her arrival, they both saluted and then opened the door for her.
Looking at the scene before her, Cagalli swallowed hard and glanced back at the little girl. Encouraged by her, she stepped deeper into the room.
"Why have you come to see me?"
Uzumi looked up from the thick stack of documents, his face tense as he asked.
"I... I want to protect Orb!"
As Cagalli spoke, the anxiety in her eyes faded somewhat, replaced by sincerity.
"I know I'm still weak, and I don't understand many things. My strength isn't enough, but I won't give up."
"I want to learn your philosophy, learn how to govern."
"And then, one day, I will surpass you!"
With her spirit ignited, Cagalli's gaze burned like fire as it fixed on Uzumi.
The atmosphere in the room froze for a moment.
"Surpassing me is not important."
"What matters is that you become a leader they can trust and rely on."
Uzumi's tense face revealed no emotion, but he stood up straight and walked in front of the girl.
He didn't quite understand; in his view, Cagalli wasn't ready to turn things around so quickly.
At least, she would have to face a few more setbacks.
But the girl seemed to have made up her mind.
Why was that?
Was it because of that little girl? Uzumi pondered, yet he did not send Cagalli back.
"Is the girl you brought back doing well?"
"Yes."
Hearing her father suddenly mention He Kui, the girl felt a wave of nervousness.
"Don't worry, I didn't send her away."
Misunderstanding Cagalli's meaning, Uzumi continued.
"I'm going to inspect something; you should come with me, and bring that girl along."
Cagalli had grown up, and he was gradually aging as well.
Perhaps it was time.
"Alright!"
The anxiety in Cagalli's eyes disappeared, replaced by excitement.
For a moment, she even forgot to decline He Kui's invitation to join.
"So I'm going with you then?" He Kui asked with a slight smirk.
"Yes, I just forgot to refuse."
According to their agreement, she shouldn't bring He Kui to such an occasion.
After all, that was Uzumi; who knew when things might go awry?
"It's fine."
He Kui thought for a moment.
Just going along was okay; he could just watch from behind.
"But even if you do get exposed, father won't make things difficult for you."
"Why?"
Curious, He Kui asked upon hearing Cagalli's words.
"Because I heard him say that you are the biggest variable in this world."
Cagalli said this happily, but He Kui didn't feel too excited.
A variable is a variable, but if it's the kind that needs to be nipped in the bud, that would be quite dangerous.
It's always better to be cautious.
With that thought, He Kui followed Cagalli into a black special vehicle.
Though it looked unremarkable, He Kui could easily tell that this vehicle was not simple.
First, it had to be bulletproof, and it seemed to be controlled with the assistance of a Quantum computer, just like Luo's Xiao Ba (Quantum Assist AI).
Heaven knows where Orb found such an extraordinary thing.
Fortunately, this vehicle didn't have scanning equipment; otherwise, if it were scanned before the Electronic Deception was completed, it wouldn't reveal everything, but explaining why it couldn't scan her would be quite difficult.
With that in mind, He Kui followed Cagalli into the vehicle heading towards the attack area.
As they moved forward, they saw other crowds on the street stop and greet them enthusiastically upon recognizing Asuha's special vehicle.
"Your reputation is really high."
He Kui remarked.
"Yes."
Cagalli didn't seem too pleased; sometimes, such prestige could actually be a constraint on Asuha.
Without a speech, without anything prepared, once they arrived, Uzumi simply had someone tidy up Cagalli's appearance and then let her follow him.
Uzumi's actions were naturally noticed by the other high-ranking officials present. They recognized Cagalli, but seeing her here surprised them.
"Does Uzumi bringing Cagalli here mean..."
The head of the capital's security bureau, a member of the clan, asked the serious-looking commander beside him.
"Unclear."
The commander shook his head straightforwardly.
"I hope so."
The bureau chief sighed.
They all knew the reason Uzumi had delayed letting Cagalli in; she was too straightforward and could easily be taken advantage of, making mistakes more likely.
Like a wild boar, she would only charge forward; she was not a qualified leader.
But the problem was that leaders needed to be cultivated. If Uzumi didn't cultivate Cagalli and didn't cultivate anyone else, it would only lead to instability among the higher-ups.
So at this moment, seeing Cagalli appear on stage, most people's hearts felt a sense of relief.
"It seems Seran's wishes might fall through."
The commander shrugged.
Seran was not one of the five major clans, always scheming to rise a level.
Previously, when the Atlantic Federation was powerful, they sought to ally with them for benefits.
After the war, they were investigated by the special operations bureau.
Recently, it was said they wanted to adopt Seran's son as a son-in-law for Asuha.
One could only say that their intentions were obvious to all.
"Hmph, isn't this just perfect?"
As a member of one of the five major clans, he naturally held a disdain for the Seran family.
"That may be true, but why is there still a little girl following them?"
The commander looked at the girl beside Cagalli.
"Who knows? It can't be the next heir, can it?"
"Not so soon."
The commander shook his head.
According to their clan's practices, they would at least wait until Cagalli stabilized her position before choosing a successor.
"Then she should just be a follower."
As the two spoke, Uzumi had already begun to approach, and they quickly stopped their idle chatter and went to meet him.
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