The truth about Shinnosuke's past

A long-awaited reunion between General Aranbā and Shinnosuke—between the commander of the Cosmic Military Academy and a former student.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Milena suddenly had a question.

"Um, I was just wondering... General Aranbā, weren't you the academy's principal when Shinnosuke was a student?"

"That's right. I arrived at the officer academy as its principal during Kasimura's second year."

Aranbā answered calmly in response to Milena's question.

"An officer academy typically has hundreds, even thousands of students. Even as principal, do you really remember all of them? Or was Shinnosuke truly that exceptional?"

"No, even I can't possibly keep track of every single student. And to be honest, Kasimura wasn't particularly outstanding—though he wasn't failing either. His grades were solid but not exceptional, and he didn't stand out in any particular way."

Milena tilted her head.

It was natural that Shinno-suke knew about Aranbala, but it was strange that Aranbala, in turn, remembered Shinno-suke and seemed to care about him.

Seeing Milena’s expression, Aranbala chuckled.

"Haha, true, Kasimura-kun wasn’t particularly noticeable among the students, but to me, he was a memorable one."

"What do you mean by that?"

Milena’s interest instantly peaked.

She moved from beside Shinno-suke, who sat next to Aranbala, to sit on the opposite side of Aranbala and looked up at him.

Shinno-suke wanted to stop Milena's question, but couldn't think of a reason to do so.

No, I'm the school principal, so I only taught students basic character education. Occasionally, I'd join simulation exercises and guide students in fleet tactics. Kasimura was one of those students—always using annoying, irritating tactics that left a strong impression. A troublesome, unlikable student, to be exact.

"Well, that's what it was, then?"

Miliina has quietly returned to her usual tone of voice.

Showing great interest in Arlenval's story.

Shin nosuke gradually becomes left out.

When an instructor faces off against a student, it's naturally a handicap match. Typically, instructors have about 70 to 80 percent of the student's combat power. The school principal, however, only needs half of a student's strength to be enough. I found it enjoyable to easily crush students who were overwhelmingly advantaged—but Kasimura students were genuinely troublesome. Excellent students usually fight efficiently, targeting enemy supply lines, making their tactics straightforward and predictable. But Kasimura students, despite being in a dominant position, repeatedly made the mistake of spreading their forces thin against a small enemy, launching guerrilla attacks. I fought them several times before graduation, and it felt like a waste of time to give them a handicap. Other instructors shared the same opinion—those students were just too difficult to deal with.

That's just like Shinosuke, if you think about it.

It's just like Shinosuke—unconventional, ignoring conventional tactics, minimizing his own forces' losses while waiting for the right moment to strike at the enemy's main force. But when that strategy falls apart, it collapses completely. Still, he was skilled at holding on when outnumbered and knew how to gracefully conclude a losing battle. Even though he made the mistake of spreading his forces too thin, when defeat seemed inevitable, he managed to get most of his troops to safety. There was never a complete annihilation in defeat.

"Kusuku... truly characteristic of Shinnosuke-sama."

Shinnosuke suddenly felt like fleeing from the scene.

Now that I think about it, it might have been more interesting to simulate from the perspective of the one who was initially at a disadvantage. Just like me and the other instructors, when facing Kasimura-kun, even if we managed to turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantage, that's when things got complicated. In fact, students were well-known for their ability to recover from unfavorable or losing positions during exercises. Even when they were bound to lose, they excelled at minimizing their own casualties. Ultimately, it was in disadvantageous situations that they truly showed their character. Of course, instructors never conduct exercises against students from a position of advantage, so it's hard to say how that would have played out.

I really wish I could have met young Shinosuke-sama back then.

In the end, Kasimura-kun always seemed to be thinking about how to lose. Even in favorable situations, he'd ponder things like, 'How could I possibly lose from this advantageous position?' 'What should I do if the tide of battle turns?' 'What's the best way to minimize our own casualties and survive?' As a military officer, this kind of thinking is impressive, but in the point-based evaluation system of the officer school, it didn't score well. His official recommendation from the faculty was high, but those points weren't added to his actual score. On top of that, his ship-handling skills were excellent. Whether it was battleships, space carriers, cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, or even small missile boats—he was skilled at handling all types of vessels, excluding combat ships.

"Your performance was excellent, wasn't it?"

No, it was merely good or satisfactory. I managed each ship competently, but nothing stood out. His performance was utterly average, and his graduation ranking was, if I recall correctly, somewhere in the upper half of the middle range. Still, there must have been several instructors who noticed Kasimura. I was one of them, but when I returned to the field, he had already been discharged. I was shocked to learn that the reason was corruption involving high-ranking officers in the Space Force, and he’d been caught in the aftermath.

"Well, gosh... But it's precisely because of those events that we have the current Shinnosuke-sama, isn't that right?"

Arlenbal speaking wistfully, Mireena listening with amusement.

What was supposed to be a secret meeting for Arlenbal to apologize to Shinnosuke had somehow turned into an extended, lively conversation between Arlenbal and Mireena.

The gaze of the security personnel blending into the surroundings and that of Lieutenant Seraika Kruus were icy.

"So, ever since officer school, I've had my eye on you, Kasimura. Today, I was scheming to bring back former Captain Kasimura... but it seems that's not going to happen."

"That's right. Master Shinnosuke is now indispensable to us. We won't be handing him back to the Space Fleet."

Arenbale nodded and stood up.

"Seems that's just how it is. Well then, I'll have to accept it."

Shinnosuke and Milena bid farewell to Admiral Arenbale with a straight salute and a bow.

Arenbale smiled and returned the gesture, then turned on his heel and walked away.