"Freedom Gundam, Justice Gundam... those two are the pilots of those machines, aren't they?"
Emilio, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke. Then he looked at Xiao Ran and frowned slightly. The sun hung diagonally behind Xiao Ran, and the angle of the sunlight happened to cast a shadow across his face. Emilio immediately raised a hand, slowly shielding his eyes with his palm. But what he saw made his eyes widen in utter disbelief.
"No... how is this possible? You're Colonel Neo!"
Emilio immediately identified Xiao Ran's former identity within the Goufs. Sven froze when he heard Emilio's words, then turned to look at Xiao Ran as well. He had not noticed the issue before, but after Emilio pointed it out, he looked again at the lower half of Xiao Ran's face and instantly wore the same expression as Emilio.
Emilio and Sven were both pilots in the Goufs, holding the rank of lieutenant. Xiao Ran, however, had been a colonel in the Goufs. In the original story, Sven's squad had even been responsible for transporting the Destroy Gundam. They belonged to the same unit and could be considered Xiao Ran's subordinates, so how could they possibly fail to recognize Neo, the mysterious, masked senior officer of the Goufs?
Xiao Ran was not surprised that they had recognized him. Since they had belonged to the same unit, it was only natural that they might have crossed paths. Having been identified as Neo, he merely smiled and said, "It seems you've recognized me. My identity in the Goufs was indeed Neo."
Sven's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. "But... but why are you, Colonel Neo, actually Xiao Ran, Orb's Prime Minister?"
"Because I was Xiao Ran from the start. Neo was merely an identity forcibly assigned to me