"You're so confident, aren't you? A genius, too. Shouldn't making the top three be easy for a genius like you?"
Natarle chuckled as she retorted.
"I'm confident, not arrogant. The top three is impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
Ino knew his limits very well.
He'd received elite training from a young age, but that was all.
If everyone had the same amount of time to work hard and compete, Ino was confident he could try to catch up.
But catching up on seven months of the protagonist group's progress in just two months, while already seven months behind...
Kira Yamato had been able to catch up because of one detail in his character setup: he was the strongest Coordinator.
Ino did have some advantages of his own, such as being an excellent spy trained for the role since childhood. He was also a transmigrator, and many subjects at the military academy had things in common.
But the number and ranking she was asking for were just too outrageous.
"Aren't you confident?"
Instructor Natarle challenged him again.
"This isn't about whether I'm confident or not. How about this: the top thousand. Would that work?"
Ino tried a different approach. He could give the top thousand a shot.
He might not be able to catch up with the protagonist group, but catching up with a bunch of nobodies shouldn't be a problem.
"Top five."
Instructor Natarle replied without hesitation.
"...How about we both compromise? Top five hundred. If I'm not in the top five hundred by graduation, I'll come back!"
Ino thought it over and set himself a goal.
Since some subjects at the military academy overlapped, the top five hundred didn't seem entirely out of reach.
"Top five!"
Instructor Natarle was adamant.
"Top five hundred!"
"Top five!"
"Top five hundred!"
"Top—Do you think this is a market stall, haggling over prices? Here's the deal: top ten! If you don't agree, get out!"
Instructor Natarle was getting angry. He was actually trying to bargain with her!
"No, the top ten... I really can't do that."
Ino was at his wit's end. Top ten out of twenty thousand Coordinators, after falling seven months behind and having just two months to catch up? That was a pipe dream.
"You'll do it even if you can't. Do you think I'm joking?"
Instructor Natarle's tone was unwavering. "Top ten! If you can't make the top ten, I'll pull strings to have you transferred back. Don't doubt that I can do it."
She wasn't one of those idiots who only saw the casualty figures. She knew better than anyone how dangerous the front lines were.
ZAFT soldiers were losing their lives at the front almost every moment.
Earth Alliance Mobile Armors were indeed hard-pressed to shoot down ZAFT Mobile Suits one-on-one.
But the Earth Alliance had vastly greater numbers and resources.
The global population was fifteen billion. The Atlantic Federation alone had several times PLANT's standing military force, and that didn't even include the Eurasian Federation or the East Asian Republic.
If Ino couldn't ensure his own survival under these circumstances, she'd rather lock him away in a PLANT colony for the rest of his life.
It wasn't that she was showing him special treatment. In these extraordinary times, some people's lives were simply more precious and important than others.
"This..."
"Are you agreeing or not?"
"...I... I'll do my best to try."
Seeing how firm Instructor Natarle was, Ino knew there was no point in bargaining further. He could only grit his teeth and accept this nearly impossible task.
No matter what, he'd learn to pilot a Mobile Suit first.
"Don't just do your best to try. You have to make it."
After saying that, Instructor Natarle signed her name on the paper. "Take the papers and get out! If you don't make the top ten, you'd better come crawling back!"
"Yes! I guarantee I'll— I'll do my best."
Ino just couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.
Only after Ino left the office did Instructor Natarle sigh and shake her head.
What a promising commander. Why had he gotten it into his head to pilot a Mobile Suit?
"Instructor Natarle, is that the Ino Kamal you mentioned earlier?"
Her adjutant finally stepped forward to ask.
"That's him. I don't know what's gotten into him. He had a perfectly good place in the command department, but he just had to go study Mobile Suit piloting."
Natarle was truly exhausted. If Ino's command scores had been poor, that would've been one thing.
But he'd ranked first overall. Why change majors?
"With all the different paths people take, I guess he has his reasons. Athrun and the others went into Mobile Suit piloting, too."
The adjutant replied with a smile.
"Those are different cases. Athrun Zala is... Forget it. Just don't let me find out which bastard tried to poach him. I'll make sure he becomes a martyr defending his country!"
"..."
The two adjutants really wanted to ask whether it was wise to openly admit to abusing his authority for personal revenge.
But considering Instructor Natarle's mood, they only dared murmur it to themselves.
With the order signed by Instructor Natarle in hand, Ino Kamal soon went to find the instructor of the MS Training Class.
Before you continue