I Became the Golden Sun That Steals the Academy’s Aircraft

014. First rules of engagement. Colossal soldiers are not all-powerful.

If you ask who is the best at Demeia Academy, where even the level of the faculty is counted by a handful, there will be a heated debate, but if you were to pick the person who has crossed the fiercest battlefield, it would be no one but him. This man was chosen.

Alexander Stigma Hamilton.

He suffered a stab wound across the middle of his face and wore a prosthetic arm made of magical engineering on his left arm. During the war, his left arm was amputated. He was hit while riding a giant god soldier, and his left arm was not only amputated but completely lost, so not even the priest of the church could make his arm grow.

No matter how much a priest worked a miracle through the power of faith, making a completely missing arm grow was an area of miracles that could not be accomplished unless a saint or saint came.

For that reason, General Alexander, who was fighting for the empire, had no choice but to be discharged from the imperial army. Even though it was a magic engineering prosthetic arm, it was difficult to do the fine work done with the original arm, and the Giant God Soldier was a collection of such fine work.

When he realized that he would no longer be able to operate the Giant Soldiers as before, he decided to leave the military. He was adept at coming up with schemes and could have played the role of a leader, but he himself refused.

He thought of himself as a warrior who would fight at the forefront using his talents.

It was Marquis Lucas, who had traveled the battlefield with him, who reached out to him as he had no place to go, and it was for that reason that he came to Demeia Academy as a professor on the use of giant weapons to train the next generation.

Gilbert was also a person I knew well. He felt a bit relatable, especially since he played a major role in the main storyline that took place at the Academy.

＂Some of the cadets may know about Professor Bon, and some may not.＂

No cadet nodded at Alexander’s words. This was because there was no way that this Demeia Academy cadet would not know about the war hero who had made great achievements before being discharged from the military.

Because he was the second son of the Hamilton family, one of the influential families, there was no one among the nobility who did not know him because of the halo given by his family and his own achievements. There was almost no one, even among commoners, who did not know the biography of Alexander, a favorite subject of bards.

＂But that’s not that important. Professor Bon’s goal is to train the cadets to survive on the battlefield, and all the cadets can do is receive Professor Bon’s teachings and return safely from that hellish place.”

A lot was implied in the brief words. It was a remark that conveyed a message not to look down on the battlefield.

The cadets’ eyes naturally turned to his prosthetic hand. Although it was rude in some ways, Alexander just chuckled.

＂Yes, Professor Bon is a living witness. As the cadets see, I lost my left arm in battle and was discharged from the military. Absence? Never did it. If Professor Bon had been careless, he would not have stood in front of the cadets.”

Professor Alexander spoke calmly, but the cadets could not hide their eerie feeling. Some even trembled slightly as the shadow of death passed over the back of their necks.

Gilbert also took it deep into his heart that this was not a game. The moment you make a mistake, your neck, not your arm, will be blown off.

＂The subject that cadets must learn from this professor is officially called Colossal Weapon Operation. Cadets who entered Demeia Academy will most likely have at least the talent to handle giant weapons. If a war breaks out and they participate in it, it is obvious that the cadets will become knights aboard the Giant God Soldiers. So, this professor will teach the cadets how to use giant weapons as much as possible, and he also plans to teach them how to survive on the battlefield.”

Not long ago, the teachings of a second-class knight who roamed the battlefield was a valuable experience that could not be received even in exchange for money. Although he can no longer perform sophisticated operations due to his arm being cut off, the power of a second-class knight is such that he can knock down no matter how many cadets who have just entered school rush at him.

Gilbert also looked forward to Alexander’s teachings. In the game, it was expressed that you were listening to a lecture, but when you actually listened to the lecture, there was nothing as boring as it. The scene changed appropriately and the lecture ended, so the lecture was the same as when he had taken it for the first time.

“Looking at the cadets’ expressions, it seems like they understood well. If so, I will proceed with the lecture.”

Professor Alexander nodded his head, looking at the cadets whose eyes sparkled at his words. Perhaps because he was in a level 1 class, his eagerness to learn and his vitality seemed palpable.

＂Ask the cadets before the lecture begins. “What do the cadets think about the Giant God Soldier?”

It was a very fundamental question and at the same time an abstract question. It was difficult for the cadets to guess Alexander’s true intentions when asking about his thoughts on the Giant God Soldier, the culmination of magic engineering.

Even Gilbert found it difficult to understand what the war hero professor was saying. So he changed the question slightly. From the weapon called the Giant God Soldier to the fighter plane he rode at the risk of his life.

Then the answer came.

＂Was Professor Bon’s question difficult? There is no right answer. Because it’s okay for the cadets to tell me their opinions without adding or subtracting them.”

Gilbert judged that what Alexander was asking the cadets was not really what they thought about the Colossus. Just as a fighter pilot was asked about flight management, Professor Alexander was asking about Giant Weapon operators.

This is because depending on what you think about the Giant God Soldier, the direction in which you control the Giant God Soldier will change.

And for Gilbert, who experienced war, fighter jets and giant soldiers had only one meaning.

“Would you like to answer?”

Alexander’s finger pointed at Hans. He seemed a little surprised by the sudden nomination, but perhaps it was unexpectedly bold, so he opened his mouth without difficulty.

＂What is your name?＂

＂It’s Hans!＂

＂Okay, Hans. “What do you think about the Giant God Soldier?”

“I think it is a shield that protects the people of the empire.”

＂That’s an interesting opinion. Why do you think it is a shield?”

＂Because it is the giant soldiers that take the lead in war.＂

＂It’s not wrong. However, it is well known that giant soldiers have limitations in maneuvering. War doesn’t end in an instant. That’s why it’s a gigantic disease that moves carefully like a piece on a chessboard. Therefore, it is safe to say that there are very few cases of taking the lead. “What do you think about that?”

＂Then wouldn’t the opponent also deploy giant soldiers? If you wait until the maneuver limit is reached, the damage will accumulate. Considering that, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to be at the forefront.”

＂That is also true. Okay then, what do you think?”

After Hans’ answer, Alexander nominated several people one by one and listened to their opinions. Some said it was a sharp sword, while others said it was a culmination of magical engineering. Otherwise, it was a dream and a future for someone else.

“Then, would you like to give your final answer?”

Alexander’s finger pointed towards Gilbert.

His sharp eyes poured out as if analyzing Gilbert.

The reason was unclear, whether it was because he saw Gilbert’s manipulation in the entrance mock battle or whether it was because of the rumors surrounding him. But he didn’t really care. It was a situation I was already used to, and I had firm thoughts about the Giant God Soldier.

＂It is a murder weapon.＂

Cold silence fell in the classroom. Because Demeia Academy had many cadets from noble families, they did not hesitate to use rhetoric about the Titan Soldiers.

A shield that protects the empire.

A spear knife aimed at the enemies of the empire.

It is a culmination of magic engineering.

It was all just decorative words like

Etc.

As always, elegance was emphasized in the words and actions of nobles, and since there were many such cadets, commoner cadets naturally also used their poor command of language to make remarks that embellished the giant spirit soldiers.

It was not that they did not know the meaning of the giant spirit disease itself.

That is because if you think about the reason why the Giant God Soldier is active as a war weapon, its use is determined.

As a simple example, if we think about why it is not used in industries such as construction, we can understand why the giant weapon is only used as a war weapon.

The reason is that the cost of maintaining a giant soldier is very high.

Just maintaining the general-purpose colossus at Demeia Academy for one month costs the equivalent of running a fairly small or medium-sized fiefdom for about a year. However, if you ask whether investing it in an industry like construction will result in efficiency compared to the investment, you will shake your head. Considering the ransom of the pilot who moved the giant soldier, it was an unprofitable task.

But it is different in war.

Conversely, the benefits you can gain when you win are the benefits you have to lose when you lose.

If you put the two on the scale and compare them, you have no choice but to use the Giant God Soldier, no matter how astronomical the amount it costs. The appearance of the Giant God Soldier became the starting point of inciting war between countries and created the current continental landscape.

War always turns to money, and money soon becomes the power of the nation.

In that sense, the giant weapon used only as a war weapon was a murder weapon. Because what a war weapon could do in war was to kill the enemy.

However, the reason there was no one here to say those words was because they were nobles or were influenced by nobles, and they only spoke elegantly.

As if it were a virtue.

Gilbert was Kang Do-jun, an air force pilot who experienced World War III in the previous world, and considering the Giant God Soldier, he was no more or less than a murderous weapon. As a soldier who acted for his country and for the national interest, he earned the title of the world’s best pilot, but that meant he killed many people.

That is why he could not possibly attach any rhetoric to the weapons of war. Like all soldiers who went to war, so was he.

“Are you Gilbert?”

“That’s right. Professor.”

“Has the Count corrected this?”

“You won’t nod for the next 30 years.”

Alexander’s eyes became a little faint. It was because he remembered the times when he was a young boy and had been together with Count William under the Marquis Lucas. The person who guided him through what he lacked at the time was the current Margrave of Iron Blood, Count of Lithuania.

He felt the weight of time at the thought of returning to his child the question that Count William had once asked him on the battlefield.

＂Thank goodness. Please say hello.”

＂I understand.＂

＂The editorial was long. So you said it was a murder weapon?”

After stopping tracing faded memories, Alexander shook off the remains and focused on the current situation.

Now that I think about it, I remembered that the Iron-Blooded Margrave said that his eldest son was a fool and was no better than me. Considering where the rumor came from, he thought it was definitely true.

＇But do we really have to judge everything based on that?＇

Alexander’s eyes sank heavily.

It was only 10 years of fighting on the battlefield. In the meantime, there were countless times when I faced death, and there were many instances where the comrades I talked to with a smile today returned from the battlefield tomorrow as cold corpses.

He wasn’t the only one. There were many traitors who stabbed people in the back in a battlefield where defeat was in sight, and there were also many traitors who stabbed people from behind.

After experiencing such things for about 10 years, my eyes for looking at people naturally developed. And when he evaluated Gilbert with such eyes, he couldn’t help but doubt the truth of the rumor a little.

‘Should eyes like that be called crazy?’

It is often said that you can tell a person by looking at their eyes. Alexander also tended to agree with that opinion, and it was generally correct. What he felt when he looked into Gilbert’s eyes was that he was like a comrade who had fought on the battlefield together. A mysterious mixture of regret, hatred, and desperation that one feels when returning from that cruel place alive.

He must have been the count’s master who had never even been to the battlefield, but Alexander couldn’t figure out why he felt that way.

“That’s right. As the Colossus has no choice but to be used as a war weapon, its use is limited. And to put it briefly, I think it is nothing more or less than a murder weapon.”

“That is correct.”

Alexander also had similar thoughts. No matter how much a giant weapon was packaged, as long as it was used in war, it was a war weapon. And the purpose of war weapons is focused on killing the enemy.

Alexander, who had no intention of discussing his views on the Giant God Soldier, struck the lectern to brighten the mood.

＂There is no right answer to what Professor Bon asked the cadets. It is safe to say that everything the cadets thought of was correct. Professor Bon asked these questions to the cadets simply because he wanted to find out what their thoughts were about the Giant God Soldier. And based on that foundation, I hope you will take into account what this professor says.”

I was anxious to start a full-fledged class. Ever since he ascended the podium and became a professor, the first thing he taught his students was one thing.

He placed the blackboard in front of him and wrote down the teachings as if he were drawing without hesitation.

＂First rule of engagement. The Giant God Soldier is not omnipotent.”

10 Years.

What he learned there was revealed to the talented people who would become the future of the empire.