Facing Fred's silent but rather composed demeanor, Lacus let out a soft laugh as well.
"Then I'm very much looking forward to it."
And with that, their conversation came to an end.
Fred's life likewise returned to calm amidst the bustle outside.
Aside from his research, he occasionally led teams on routine missions like protecting forward outposts, and the days quickly passed into CE 71.¹
With ZAFT's offensive growing ever more intense, all manner of new MS technologies continued to spring up one after another under Fred's hands.
[Structural Engineering (Mastery) 100/100]
[Structural Engineering - Perfect↑]
[Aerospace Engineering (Mastery) 100/100]
[Aerospace Engineering - Perfect↑]
[Reward: Comprehensive Integration]
[An exceptionally strong foundation allows one to rapidly master all kinds of knowledge, provided reference materials are available]
In the living room, looking at the data and text boxes before him, a smile broke across Fred's face.
Although only one skill had been unlocked from the two fields of knowledge.
That skill, however, was absolutely crucial.
It meant that as long as he found the knowledge, he could integrate it comprehensively, and then, naturally, create a Gundam of his own.²
All he needed was to draw on ORB's research into Mirage Particles and fuse it with his current knowledge—then the future DRAGOON, and even the Glory Defender, would no longer be a distant dream.
"All that's left are Artificial Intelligence, Akatsuki, and Mirage Particles."
"Once I have all of those, I can officially step onto the stage."
Fred's plans were proceeding methodically in his mind.
Meanwhile, at the military academy in February City, Athrun and the others had just finished their MS piloting class.
"Why are you guys so ridiculously good!?"
Looking at yet another defeat added to his record.
Dearka, the dark-skinned one ranked fourth, wore a look of utter despair.
Even though he was fourth in ranking, he absolutely could not surpass the three in front of him.¹
No matter what aspect it was.
This was just bullying at this point, wasn't it?
Anyone who didn't know better would think the three of them were graduates.
"You just need to train more."
Yzak said with a look of disdain.
"I've already been training!"
He trained every single day, and he still couldn't catch up!
"Even the combat instructors can't beat you guys! How am I supposed to catch up?"
"Do you guys have some kind of trick or something!?"
An ordinary person might not resort to throwing a tantrum like this, but Dearka was clearly no ordinary person, and in an instant he latched onto Nicol, who looked the easiest to talk to.²
"Uh..."
The little angel who'd been grabbed by the dark-skinned one looked rather helpless and speechless.
Athrun, however, stepped in front of Nicol.
"Alright, it's just that the three of us took related courses together before."
Athrun said, while his mind also drifted to his brother, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
His ability far surpassed that of the instructors here.
He had also laid an incomparably solid foundation for each of them.
That foundation wasn't purely about strength—it was about combat awareness.
For instance, Yzak used to get impatient, leading to flawed movements and insufficient preparation, making him easy to outwit.
But now he was already capable of calm analysis.
And both he and Nicol had likewise overcome their own shortcomings.
In short, it was a comprehensive kind of strength.
"Courses? Which instructor?"
Dearka pressed on.
"Back then, he was our private tutor."
Nicol explained.
"We're all councilors' sons, it's not fair!"
Dearka said, though inwardly he couldn't help but want to complain.
He wondered if his old man was isolated among the councilors, and that poor yellow-haired kid—himself—had gotten caught up in the isolation too.
How come the three in front of him all had tutors, but he didn't?
Didn't his father know that children should get a head start?
Especially Coordinator children.
"The tutor's identity is a secret."
Yzak shot Dearka an impatient glare.
At that, Dearka's gaze turned to Nicol on the other side.
Getting the same answer from him, Dearka slumped his shoulders in defeat.
It seemed what Yzak said wasn't just an excuse—it really was a secret.
Probably some kind of special forces unit within ZAFT?
With that thought, Dearka decided he'd ask his father when he got the chance.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Patrick was also looking at the report cards of his own son and the other young masters.
They were all excellent—especially Athrun and the others, who were outstanding by a clear margin.
"Fred would be quite the talent as a tutor too."
Patrick remarked with a sigh.
"There are more important things to do than being a tutor."
Lenore, who had also been glancing at her son's grades, shrugged as she spoke.
"Indeed."
Patrick's expression turned serious.
"ORB is getting restless."
"But thankfully we found out early. By laying our plans ahead of time, we can catch them red-handed."
"Though there's just..."
"How did Fred know?"
Lenore finished the sentence Patrick had left hanging.
"Exactly."
Fred's source of information was far too strange—there wasn't a single trace or clue to be found.
And yet, calling it intuition would be too accurate to be believable.
But his people truly couldn't find any leads.
Even Siegel hadn't found anything.
On matters like this, he didn't think Siegel would hide anything from him if he had actually uncovered something.
In any case, Fred had quite a few mysteries surrounding him.
"But at least we know he's on our side, isn't he?"
Meeting Lenore's serious, solemn gaze, Patrick nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of moving against him."
"After all, we do owe him."
What he meant by "owing" wasn't just the priceless research obtained in exchange for money, but also the many dangers they had escaped thanks to his intelligence and abilities.
The two quickly moved past the topic of Fred, falling into private conversation, and the atmosphere in the room soon relaxed.
...
And time passed gradually in that quiet yet tense atmosphere. As ORB's movements grew increasingly apparent, Fred, for his part, was steadily completing his preparations.
Of course, he wasn't setting out just yet. Instead, he boarded the train to the February City Military Academy with Flay by his side.
Inside the usual luxurious train car, Fred stared absently at the documents in his hands.
"Wow, they're amazing~!"
Beside him, Flay, who was also looking at what Fred was reading, exclaimed in surprise.
What lay before Fred wasn't scientific research data, but a compiled summary of Athrun and the others' grades at the military academy.
The grades covered many areas, and every single one was top-tier.
"After all, they're Elite Coordinators by nature."
Hearing Fred's words, Flay planted her hands on her hips and said with a playful pout.
Dressed in green, the gesture lent her an unexpected air of spirited boldness.
"But I'm no slouch either!"
"Yeah, Flay is really impressive."
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