It was now October, and the Academy entrance exam was almost upon us.
After finishing studying for the exam with Rio, I went to my room and sat in front of my desk.
I wasn’t gonna study again. I was gonna review my current situation instead.
As for why, it’s because I still haven’t accomplished much of what I wanted to do after the time leap.
There’s still a mountain of stuff I had to do in order to prepare for dealing with that incident, and I haven’t been able to act on a lot of them.
The first thing I did was join forces with Prof. Akagi.
I disclosed crucial knowledge about technology five years into the future and commissioned him to build two advanced prototype MKs using that tech.
As for Maj. Gen. Garland…… No, I don’t really need to address him by rank anymore. I need to obtain a unit that can surpass Garland’s new model MK, the Dahlia.
In addition to using the prototype that will be built by Prof. Akagi in order to face Garland and his men, the UN Military having other advanced prototypes other than the ones assigned to Garland’s unit might serve as a deterrence against them and the ones behind them.
Of course, in order for that to be the case, we needed to make sure that our prototypes would never be stolen as well as watch out for “Paladin” Garland possibly working behind the scenes to prevent them from being officially rolled out.
We should be able to prevent Garland from getting his hands on them as long as we go through an official route unrelated to him from within the UN Military.
That’s because even though the project to develop advanced prototype MKs was commissioned by the UN Military, the departments handling each project within the organization were actually different.
The one who asked Prof. Akagi to develop new models of high-performance mass-produced MKs was a correspondent from the Special Weapons Development department, so we answered to a different chain of command.
In other words, Garland wouldn’t just be able to ask that department to hand over our prototypes. At the very least, it wouldn’t be easy.
However, Garland was still a Major General after all, and he has thoroughly earned the trust of those around him.
As long as there was still a possibility of him taking our prototypes for himself, it was necessary to devise ways to prevent such a thing from happening. If possible, it needs to be from within the military. The sooner we devise countermeasures, the better.
There’s also the matter of the prototype’s pilots.
I’ll be the pilot of one of them. The other should be handed to a pilot who was trustworthy. If possible, I’d like for that pilot to be my best friend, Charl.
That was my original intention anyway, but now I wasn’t so sure if I wanted to involve Charl in this matter, so I refrained from inviting her directly.
However, Charl did decide that she’d also be attending the UN Academy, so I’ll probably be flying directly to America together with Rio and her after graduating from junior high.
Charl’s dream was to become an MK pilot like Rio, so she’ll most likely major in classes that focus on pilot training.
Charl’s piloting skills were truly outstanding compared to our peers. I believe she was the best among us all during our time at the Defense Institute in my first life.
It would be nice if she could hone her piloting skills together with me and Rio, and if she agreed to work with me later on, she can be the pilot of the second prototype machine.
However, I had to make sure not to force the issue. I already got Prof. Akagi completely involved, but…… In his case, his cooperation was absolutely essential to my plans.
I guess the matter about the second prototype’s pilot should be put on hold for the time being.
In the first place, even if I did manage to rope in Prof. Akagi, there’s actually no guarantee that I’ll be the pilot of the first prototype.
Prof. Akagi had no real authority when it comes to the selection of test pilots. At the very least, he can try to recommend me, but that would be the extent of what he can do about the matter.
That’s why I had to rely on my own skills and hard work to earn the qualifications.
I had to prove myself worthy of serving as the prototype’s test pilot.
……And that’s about all I’ve done these past few months.
「……This is bad.」
I couldn’t help but blurt out such words.
I vowed to protect Rio and prevent her from becoming a victim of that tragedy, but it seemed that I haven’t really done as much as I’d liked in order to achieve that goal.
I already kept reminding myself to do everything possible to protect her, but this result was disappointing.
……No. Rushing things was no good.
I just had to do what I can from now on. And there probably were no missteps in the things I’ve already accomplished.
Most importantly, I was able to arrange for two new prototype MKs to be developed pretty early on. That’s already pretty good, isn’t it?
Anyway, I had to continue improving myself and secure more information. What else am I able to do right now……? Investigate the cause of that day’s rebellion……?
「……That’s right. Information gathering. If I find out the exact reason for their betrayal, maybe I can prevent them from going through with it in the first place.」
It would be great if I was able to accomplish such a thing.
Preventing the incident from happening was the best-case scenario.
It’s not like I needed to directly protect Rio or wanted any praise from her.
It’s fine as long as she was safe. Nothing happening and us peacefully achieving our dreams would be for the best.
Yeah, that would be ideal.
However, in order to achieve that, I needed to collect information. But how should I go about such a thing……?
No, right now, my top priority was getting accepted into the UN Academy.
If I pass the entrance exams, I’m gonna be attending the Academy three months from now.
I can make a move after that.
I reminded myself not to be impatient and try my best to pass the Academy entrance exams.
Then, I’ll proceed on a path I didn’t take in my first life.
If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be coming to America with Rio and Charl in January.
***
TL Notes:
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Uchuu Kaizoku Translations 