"Not at all, not at all..."
George listened while smiling, even taking out a small handkerchief to wipe his sweat. Overall, he appeared thoroughly undeserving and somewhat guilty.
This left the deputy minister speechless, nearly unable to continue speaking.
Damn it, everyone understands the situation. Couldn't you just give a straight answer instead of all this evasiveness?
Of course I know you didn't contribute much.
After all these years in the Foreign Ministry, you haven't improved at all. Disgusting!
After several more rounds of diplomatic dancing with the other man, the inwardly complaining deputy minister finally lost patience.
"Alright, you'll accompany me to the White House gathering in a few days. General Hamilton and the Foreign Minister both want to meet you."
"That might not be appropriate... I don't deserve such honor without merit, and I don't have proper attire either."
"George, you know I'm not someone who enjoys hearing nonsense."
Hearing the other man still beating around the bush, the deputy minister's eyebrows shot up, giving him a rather intimidating appearance.
"...Of course, of course. May I ask what time the banquet begins? I'll go buy suitable clothes immediately."
George rubbed his hands together, his honest face showing more obsequiousness and caution.
"Next Tuesday. No need to rush too much. Just bring the receipt for the clothes."
Seeing George like this, the deputy minister swallowed his remaining warnings.
The thought of the Father of the Atlantic Future Son currying favor with him was rather satisfying.
Therefore, he decided to be magnanimous and let the matter drop.
"Excellent, of course. Thank you for this opportunity~!"
"However, before that, I'd like to request leave to visit Copernicus to see my child."
As he spoke, George's smile showed increased urgency.
Just like a father worried about his child.
"Of course, take five days off. Go ahead."
"Thank you for your kindness~!"
With that, George retreated from the room.
Once outside, the smile on George's face instantly turned bitter.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been thrilled about this five-day paid leave.
Everyone knows how difficult it is for workers to get time off.
Especially for Foreign Ministry personnel like them.
But now all this was built upon his son being the Son of the Atlantic Future.
Rounding it off, he was practically the Father of the Atlantic Future.
This treatment was purely meant to win him over.
And he wasn't joking about being the father.
Judging from what just happened, Blue Cosmos' eagerness regarding Fred was quite evident.
If Fred kept winning, they might even make him President just to keep him stable.
President...
George's eyes lit up at the thought, but the light quickly faded.
He detested Blue Cosmos, hated how they had nearly killed his family.
He didn't want to become President by riding on his son's coattails, potentially becoming a constraint on the child anyway.
Besides, it was just a thought. Who knows what the future holds?
At least for now, he didn't care for it.
"Mr. George~!"
"George!"
"Want to grab drinks tonight?"
As George walked through the office area, numerous colleagues—both familiar and unfamiliar—greeted him with beaming smiles.
Even... somewhat sycophantic ones.
Having grown accustomed to this over the past few days, George simply responded with his characteristic honest laughter.
These people weren't genuinely interested in befriending him.
They all wanted to curry favor with Fred through him.
Though it seemed odd to flatter a thirteen-year-old, it was perfectly normal when interests were at stake.
They would even praise an infant to the skies if it served their purposes.
"George, I'm sorry about what happened earlier. It was my fault."
Several senior colleagues who had previously dumped their work on him now approached with ingratiating smiles.
These people had been observing the situation earlier.
But the deputy minister's summons had clearly made them realize something.
George was likely to be promoted by Blue Cosmos due to his son's status.
This meant he might soon become their direct supervisor.
Even if not immediately, it was probably inevitable.
So they quickly gathered together and came crawling back with their tails between their legs.
As the saying goes, there's safety in numbers.
Even if George ended up managing them, he couldn't possibly alienate everyone at once.
"It's fine."
Under normal circumstances, George would have gloated and contemplated office politics strategies.
But current George wasn't in the mood.
He paid no attention to those who couldn't get a word in or were fearful due to past workplace conflicts.
After exchanging brief pleasantries, George returned to his workstation and began brainstorming.
"But next week... Blue Cosmos is moving rather quickly."
"Will there be enough time?"
"At this rate, I have no choice but to join..."
George muttered to himself as he walked through the corridor.
He wasn't foolish—given what just transpired, refusal wasn't an option.
Fortunately, there was still one week.
He had taken leave to visit Copernicus.
He wondered how Heather was doing.
He couldn't contact her from here.
Even if he could, the line would be monitored, making sensitive topics impossible to discuss.
The last thing he needed was for his phone to explode mid-conversation over some treasonous remark.
Filled with anxiety, George could only hope Heather had prepared the so-called top-secret plan.
Meanwhile, others watching George's seemingly diligent work ethic couldn't help but admire him.
"Look, that's the father of our Son of the Atlantic Future. How hardworking! He must be striving for the Atlantic's future."
"Absolutely, I think so too."
"I feel like he's just spacing out..."
Someone in the crowd muttered.
"How dare you! That's blasphemy! How could you speak of our Mr. Allster that way!"
"Exactly!"
Amid the heated discussions, those who had offended George exchanged glances, feeling both relieved and somewhat smug.
This George was quite the pushover, even a bit simple-minded.
It seemed they could easily manipulate him even if he became their supervisor.
...
While Blue Cosmos urgently schemed, within days Copernicus on the Moon was bustling with activity.
Streamers and flags waved along the streets amid flowing crowds.
Some in the procession shouted slogans while others beat gongs and drums, creating a lively atmosphere.
This wasn't a repeat celebration parade but an award ceremony hosted by Copernicus City Hall.
Though Copernicus was relatively small in scale.
However, as a small yet fully-equipped city, it naturally had its own medals.
These were awarded to those who had made outstanding
contributions.
Fred, along with the ninety-six pilots and console operators who had fought alongside him on the front lines, were all within the scope of these honors. Each received medals corresponding to their merits, making this ceremony the grandest since Copernicus was founded.