The day after the performance ended and Xiao Ran held secret talks with several countries, Nanami Rion gave him a report on the recruitment drive he had previously instructed her to conduct at the academy. Once the recruitment notice was issued, quite a few students had indeed chosen to join the military. The prospect of becoming a pilot like Haruto was enough to ignite their enthusiasm. Of the more than three thousand students, over five hundred had submitted applications, and girls accounted for one-fifth of them.
After carefully reviewing the list Nanami Rion had submitted, Xiao Ran unsurprisingly found the name of Yamada Raizo, Unit 3's pilot in the original story. What surprised him, however, was that the list did not contain the name of Inuzuka Kuma, Unit 5's pilot.
But after giving it some thought, Xiao Ran understood why. Inuzuka Kuma had piloted Unit 5 only because the girl he loved had died in an attack by the Dolcia Military State, and that loss had affected him. But now, that girl was still alive and well. All he wanted was to watch over the girl he loved, so naturally, he had not developed the resolve to fight.
After looking over the entire list, Xiao Ran circled Yamada Raizo's name in red pen, then summoned El-Elf and handed him the list.
El-Elf noticed the red-circled name at a glance. He pulled a palm-sized tablet from his pocket, swiped across it a few times, and said, "Yamada Raizo. Self-styled nickname: Thunder. Physical fitness: A. Mental resilience: A. Obedience: B. Emotional control: D. Adaptability: A."
Only after finishing did El-Elf raise his head to look at Xiao Ran. "He is not the best candidate. With so few units available, there are better choices."
Xiao Ran looked at the tablet in El-Elf's hand