Ultraman grunts? Call me Space Policeman outside!

However, it is difficult to deduce the real inside story based solely on the history teacher's words and one's own speculation.

Thinking this, he turned his head to the window and looked at Rei Ayanami, who was listening attentively to the lecture.

'Could she know more?' he wondered.

Last night, he tried to ask Ms. Misato about EVA and NERV, but he didn't get much useful information. He didn't know if Ms. Misato was deliberately hiding it or if she really didn't know.

He was now preparing to get some more information from Rei Ayanami.

However, while he was sizing up Rei Ayanami, another gaze was also observing him.

"After that huge robot appeared, it was immediately transferred to our class."

"Everyone else is rushing to leave, but he's different..."

Kensuke Aida, with chestnut hair and round-framed glasses, looked at Shinji Ikari thoughtfully.

"Hey, Kensuke, who do you think is the pilot of that robot?" Suzuhara Touji, who was sitting on the other side with darker skin and wearing a black coat, leaned closer and asked him in a low voice.

These two were the ones who secretly ran out of the shelter yesterday to watch the entire battle.

In this boring history class, many students were chattering about something, with the most frequent topic of discussion being the giant monster and robot that appeared yesterday.

"Driver?"

"Who knows?"

"Information about that robot is probably all classified, and ordinary people like us certainly can't get any conclusions by guessing," Kensuke Aida replied after a moment's thought.

"However, I do have someone I suspect now."

As he spoke, he looked at Shinji Ikari, who was still listening attentively to the lecture.

Seeing his actions, Suzuhara Touji understood that he was guessing that the transfer student was the pilot of that robot.

"How is that possible?" Suzuhara Touji found it hard to believe. That thing was clearly something the government had secretly developed. How could they let an ordinary student drive it?

They should be tall, imposing, and clearly highly skilled combat personnel.

This Shinji Ikari looks thin and weak; even a fool would know he couldn't possibly be a pilot.

"It's just a gut feeling," Kensuke Aida said mysteriously, pushing up his glasses.

"By the way, how is your sister?" He remembered that Dong Er's sister had been injured in the previous battle.

"I'm alright," Dong Er said, arms crossed. "I just got a few scratches from things that fell down during the tremors while I was sheltering in the shelter."

"In retrospect, it's really fortunate."

"If it weren't for that giant robot, we probably would have all been eaten by that monster," he said with lingering fear.

I am still very grateful to the robot's pilot.

“Yeah, I thought I was going to die,” another female classmate behind me chimed in.

Experiencing despair at this age has changed their mindset somewhat, and they have also developed a sense of gratitude towards the robot.

"Kensuke, do you think that guy is the driver? Why don't we just ask him?" the female classmate said to Kensuke Aida.

Are you an idiot?

“Even if he really is the driver, how could he possibly admit to it?” Kensuke Aida said helplessly.

How could I possibly ask that question directly?

"But he did reply," the female classmate suddenly said.

Just now, she sent a message to Shinji Ikari on her computer, asking him directly if he was the pilot.

Then I received a positive answer, YES.

"He...he admitted it."

"How is that possible!?"

"Ikari-kun is the pilot of that robot!?" Kensuke Aida exclaimed in surprise, pointing at Shinji Ikari.

His two sentences immediately caused a sensation in the whole class.

"What!?"

"Ikari-kun!?"

A large group of students stood up from their chairs and quickly looked at the seemingly ordinary transfer student.

The older teacher was still engrossed in his own story, recounting tales of his youth, and seemed oblivious to the chaos in the classroom.

The class monitor wanted to maintain discipline, but the news was too shocking.

"Ikari-kun, please give me your autograph!"

"please!"

"Ah..." Shinji Ikari looked up and was stunned to see a large group of classmates surrounding him.

After he joined NERV, no one explained the organization's inner workings to him; they simply had him pilot Unit-01 in battle, and they truly didn't tell him any relevant information.

Misato Katsuragi was supposed to remind him before he went to school today, but unfortunately she had to go to the base first this morning.

This led him to wonder whether his identity was actually classified.

So he didn't take it too seriously. After all, he would still have to fight the apostles in the future, and he had already decided to protect others, so there was no need to hide these things.

To my surprise, the students were so enthusiastic.

Chapter 96 It turns out they were one of our own.

After his identity as the pilot of Unit-01 was revealed, Shinji Ikari instantly became a prominent figure at the school.

Children of this age are quite interested in these kinds of things.

In particular, Kensuke Aida kept asking Shinji to show him around the base, and the other students kept their eyes fixed on him in every class that followed.

This made Shinji feel somewhat uncomfortable.

This feeling of being the center of attention was something he had never experienced before.

He was constantly being stared at by his classmates with curious eyes, which made him very nervous. He prayed in his heart that Mr. Natsuki would wake up soon.

He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until school was over.

As the sun set and a melodious bell rang, the students left the classroom one by one.

"I'm off then, Shinji-kun, see you tomorrow~"

"Shinji-kun, do you need me to bring you lunch tomorrow?"

"Ah... thank you, but I'd better not."

Many of the departing students greeted Shinji, and Shinji responded to each one.

Under Natsuki's guidance, he is now trying to embrace his life, so he gets along relatively well with his classmates. He is just a bit shy, but this has actually made him popular with some girls.

With a special background, good looks, and polite manners, it's no surprise that such a person is popular in the class.

After all his classmates had left, Shinji patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Socializing... can really be a tiring thing."

“It’s quite interesting, though,” he said with a smile.

In his past life, he had never tried to socialize with his classmates like this before; the feeling of being curious about and liked by others was truly wonderful.

In the classroom, besides him, only Rei Ayanami, who was still waiting for him, remained.

They are going to have a physical examination together next.

"Let's go, Rei." Shinji came to Rei's side and tried to help her up.

Rei Ayanami was still wrapped in bandages, and it seemed that her injuries had not yet healed. He thought he could help her.

Upon hearing Shinji's voice, Rei Ayanami slowly turned her head, her ruby-like eyes seemingly devoid of any emotion.

"Why?" she asked softly.

"Huh?" Shinji was taken aback, not knowing what she was asking.

However, he quickly realized that the other party was probably asking him why he had revealed his identity.

"Well... nobody told me about keeping this a secret, sorry." Shinji scratched his head, saying with a hint of apology.

Shinji thought he had violated the organization's rules.

But after he said that, Rei Ayanami simply shook her head.

"That's not it."

"why."

"Why talk so much to them?" Rei Ayanami asked in a soft voice.

She couldn't understand Shinji Ikari's behavior, or rather, she didn't quite understand the logic behind most people's behavior.

She was like a simple doll, unable to understand these things related to emotions.

"Why talk so much to them? Hmm... I think it's just basic politeness," Shinji replied after a moment's thought.

His classmates were very enthusiastic towards him, so out of basic politeness he had to respond in kind.

If this had happened before, he would have been at a loss and deliberately kept his distance from his classmates.

But now that he has dreams and goals, he no longer wants to be immersed in loneliness. Just as Mr. Natsuki said, he has to keep moving forward.

"What is politeness?" Rei Ayanami asked again.

When she asked that question, Shinji thought she was making fun of him.

After all, how could a normal person not know what politeness is?

But looking at Rei Ayanami's innocent eyes and her exquisite face, he felt that she wasn't lying to him; she really didn't seem to know what politeness was.

That's so strange...

Shinji felt that this girl didn't seem to have any "common sense".

Explaining things that involve common sense can actually take quite a bit of effort.