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

017. Subquest – The Lion King’s Mana Practice

The history professor that Gilbert visited was a special person at Demeia Academy, where all the famous people on the continent gathered.

If Dean Lucas and Professor Alexander were the main figures responsible for the previous generation, the history professor was a person from the previous generation who was also called the living history of the continent.

He was an unknown person whose name was unknown, where he came from was unknown, and no one could even guess how long he had lived.

It was simply known that he lived for a long time and that the scope of his knowledge exceeded the limits of humans.

A person who seeks truth beyond the horizon of knowledge.

A great sage alive in this era.

People called him Horizon.

The author of the biography of the Lion King that Gilbert had borrowed from the library was none other than Professor Horizon. Since Terodamas, the Lion King, was a person from so long ago, not much information about him remained, and because he was the last king of a fallen kingdom, he was erased from history and passed down through word of mouth.

The only person who could compile all the stories and data to create a biography of the Lion King was Professor Horizon, who had lived for a long time, and it was only from that professor that the clues to the Lion King’s mana exercises could be obtained. The first trigger needed to do so was the book Chronicles of the Lion King.

I calmed down in front of Professor Horizon’s lab, which I visited several times in the game. In the game, sub-quests were opened by selecting certain items and fingerprints, but I didn’t know what it would be like now that it was reality. Gilbert, who must obtain the Lionheart, was a little nervous and knocked on the laboratory door.

Knock knock!

“Please come in.”

It was a clear and powerful voice compared to his age, which cannot be estimated. There was a profound aspect to him that made me feel like I had just entered middle age just by hearing his voice.

When I carefully opened the door and entered, I saw numerous old books piled on the shelves. As I passed through a place filled with the smell of old parchment, I felt like I was stepping back in time.

Gilbert found Professor Horizon sitting at his desk and bowed his head in front of him. Even Gilbert, the bastard inside him, did not raise his temper in front of a wise man renowned throughout the continent.

He greeted Gilbert with a face full of traces of time, with his long, white hair loose. Compared to his wrinkled face, as if he hadn’t expected the cadet to come, his young eyes were filled with interest as if he were a young man.

“hehehe. I didn’t expect a cadet to come visit. So, why did the cadet come to see this old professor?”

＂My name is Gilbert Lionheart. Professor.”

When he bowed his head again and introduced himself, Professor Horizon’s eyes brightened.

Gilbert was convinced there. He said he knew this person himself.

＂Someone told me. He was William’s son. I can’t believe I saw the grown-up son that that hard-hearted guy had after getting married. After all, the world is fun. hehehehe.”

“Do you know your father?”

＂Don’t know. William left a deep impression even during his long career as an academic professor.”

Horizon’s eyes looked to the past as he stroked his long white beard like his head. Did they say that young people look to the future and old people look to the past?

Gilbert aroused the topic, citing the significance of having opened up a conversation. He had not come here to hear stories about the Lithuanian count’s past. To know what kind of person he was in the past, it was enough to look at his achievements.

I didn’t want to hear stories about the old academy days.

＂Professor.＂

＂Oh my. I’m sorry. As you get older, it’s a little fun to bring up nostalgic memories from the past. So, what was the reason for Cadet Gilbert visiting this old man?”

＂After reading this book written by the professor, I started to have questions.＂

Professor Horizon took an interesting look at the fact that the book in Gilbert’s hand was his own book, The Life of the Lion King. Although he has compiled numerous books so far, it is very rare for academy students to visit him in person.

＂Yes, yes, I remember. Chronicles of the Lion King. So, would you like to tell me what Cadet Gilbert is curious about?”

This was the beginning. The options for accepting sub-quests began right here.

Gilbert collected his mind first before asking a question.

＂The Lion King’s chronology described by the professor was interesting. I felt like I had seen at a glance the life of a conqueror who scolded the continent with a single sword.”

＂It’s an undeserved compliment for an old man who has already faced the end of his life. “As the author of the book, I couldn’t be happier to hear that it was interesting.”

＂Then I’m glad. Maybe that’s why I became a little curious about the Lion King. It is said that his end was due to the treason of his trusted subjects, but it is not written what the reason was.”

＂Ask from a historical perspective. Either that or it’s about secret history.”

＂I’d like to hear both.＂

＂He is a cadet with a greater passion for learning than he appears to be.＂

Horizon traced his memory with a pleasant smile. It was on a whim that he put together the life of the Lion King. It would have been better to leave it like this, but it was simply his whim that prevented him from doing so. In fact, there were only a few people who wanted to know about the king of a fallen country, and many people thought his anecdotes were too absurd.

＂If you look at it from a historical perspective, it is because of his actions. King Terodamas had a cousin. And that cousin had a strong desire for power. However, there was no way for him to succeed to the throne as long as there was a legitimate successor, King Therodamas. He was praised by the people as a great ruler, and his public sentiment was also oriented, and he was a conquering king who directly took control of numerous territories. He was bound to be highly respected by his subjects. However, it was known that he had no heirs. In that case, isn’t there only one thing the cousin can do?”

A king without an heir.

A kingdom about to unify the continent.

As Terodamas’ younger cousin, he must have been anxious. It was no exaggeration to say that there was no way to push out the king who had achieved the unification of the continent. Although he was said to have no heirs, there was no problem in saying that he was the next to achieve the kingdom’s long-awaited unification of the continent.

That’s why Terodamas’s younger cousin plotted a rebellion, and he, who was skilled at roasting and boiling people, succeeded in plotting a rebellion.

This was an investigation into the scant remaining records of the Lion King.

＂Are you saying it was because of the rebellion of my cousin who was blinded by the desire for power?＂

“Yes. That’s it. Okay, I guess the love story is over now. Now, I guess I have to talk about something hidden in history. Let’s see. Yes, the overall story is the same. King Terodamas was an outstanding king, and he was on the verge of achieving the great achievement of unifying the continent. Like a government official, he was a highly respected monarch among his people and subjects. But that was the problem.”

“Was it a problem that it was too good?”

＂You have quite a bit of insight, don’t you? That looks exactly like William. Yes, that’s right. As Cadet Gilbert said, the problem was that Terodamas was too outstanding. If you think about it, the person who split the land and rivers with one sword was a king. Besides, he has such character, how could you not be afraid of him? “People didn’t think of him as a human being.”

A king who is close to perfection with no flaws.

Politically or militarily, he was evaluated as being beyond the category of human beings.

People feel fear and become reluctant to the unknown.

At that time, Theodamas was such a figure to his subjects, and it was a historical fact that the subjects who felt fear betrayed him and revolted.

Gilbert was alone in joy at the fact that something he was familiar with was coming out, and waited for Professor Horizon to finish speaking. He told a story mixed with various personal opinions, and Gilbert agreed appropriately and waited for the story to end.

＂Isn’t human greed funny? hahahaha”

＂It was definitely an interesting story. It also occurred to me that historical events use provocative material as material.”

＂Seeing as it is said to be provocative material…It seems that Cadet Gilbert does not acknowledge the history.＂

Gilbert was able to immediately realize that this was a turning point.

＂For several reasons.＂

＂There is a reason. “What is that?”

＂The first reason is the Lion King’s ability.＂

＂Ability?＂

“That’s right. Whether it is a political affair or a private affair, the Lion King is a figure who stands in humankind’s utopia. Force, political power, character. He is a near-perfect human being who has all three. It is incomprehensible how such a person could not have noticed the signs of rebellion. So there are two things we can assume. He knew in advance, but he was confident that he could stop it and left it as it was, either he was an arrogant person, or he was a stupid person who didn’t even notice that fact.”

As I poured out the words I had prepared and finally made a slightly mocking expression, Professor Horizon’s eyes changed. It only brought out a little bit of the original Gilbert’s personality, but it seemed to have a good effect.

First of all, Gilbert was confident that the conversation gimmick up to this point had worked well, and proceeded to tell the rest of the story without giving Professor Horizon a chance to intervene.

＂There’s one more thing. Personally, I don’t think the description of the Lion King’s end is correct.”

＂What is the reason?＂

＂Therodamas is a man who spent his entire life on the battlefield. That’s why people called him the Lion King, and that’s why he is the Lion King. However, he described that he gave his life without hesitation to the general who took the arrow for him. If you combine the two reasons I mentioned earlier, he is not the Lion King. King Mojiri wouldn’t know.”

I spoke calmly and looked at Professor Horizon’s reaction.

Sub-quests are quests that can be performed when you select the option of this fight. The funny thing is that this conversation was only possible once, but it was a limited quest that could never be received again if you did not receive the quest order at that time.

As Professor Horizon was looking at him nervously without saying a word, Professor Horizon suddenly burst into laughter.

Gilbert was inwardly happy and assumed peace.

＂So what Cadet Gilbert is saying is that the Chronicles of the Lion King written by this old professor is nonsense?

＂I didn’t mean it that way. I just thought that the Lion King, who spent almost half his life on the battlefield, would not have such a lukewarm response.”

＂That’s what you mean! hehehe, I didn’t know there would be someone who would directly oppose this old man’s academic viewpoint. Scholars who are said to be the continent’s most powerful people also accept it as a political affair.”

Professor Horizon’s angry eyes shot out.

The look in his eyes contained a bit of anger at Gilbert, who completely denied the historical book he had established, and a bit of curiosity at seeing the bold academy cadet.

＂Good. Cadet Gilbert. If you think so, try to convince me. If you do that, I’ll give you whatever you want.”

＂Is there a need for that? I have to keep up with the academy schedule. There is no need to prove it to Professor Horizon. “I just told you my subjective point of view.”

Coming this far meant that the quest order had been completed, but I didn’t accept it lightly. In the game, after receiving the quest, he went straight out of the academy to complete the sub-quest, but Gilbert was currently in a situation where that was impossible.

It takes a few days to complete the quest, and even without looking, it was obvious that there would be problems if I left the academy without permission.

＂That’s true too. Yeah, that’s good. Let me solve that problem. However, it would be right to set a deadline.”

＂I didn’t say I would do it.＂

＂Cheeky little boy. Does it still seem like this old lady is playing a prank? Now you are no different than throwing a direct challenge to Nobu!”

An intangible energy began to strangle Gilbert. Although he was embarrassed by something he didn’t experience in the game, he had to try hard not to show it.

He was called a great sage because of his knowledge and longevity, but the military power he possessed could not be ignored. Now that he was old, his skills must have decreased significantly, but his mana control still seemed to be weighing heavily on him.

If you were an ordinary academy cadet, it would have been natural for you to kneel right here. Even if he was the main character, it was unavoidable because his magical ability was much lower than that of his opponent.

But Gilbert managed to hold on without falling to his knees. This was because his meager magical abilities and his physical abilities, which had begun to exceed the human limit of 90, were in close balance.

Professor Horizon, who was glaring at Gilbert, who was clenching his molars so hard that blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, quietly gathered his magic power as he saw Gilbert never giving up.

“Huh. You left out that guy William again. “It’s a perfect place for guests.”

＂It’s not something the professor should worry about.＂

＂He’s a guy with bad speaking habits. Good night. Cadet Gilbert, so you’re not going to accept Professor Noh’s offer?”

“This is not profitable, so we must do it.”

＂You mean you can’t live without losing? No, it’s probably good. I’m going to give Lucas a heads up in advance, so come back within a week with evidence that can convince me. If you do that, I will do whatever Professor Noh wants to the best of his ability. Instead, when you fail.”

Gilbert wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He felt sick to his stomach, but he had to accept the quest anyway.

＂I will expel you from Demeia Academy. The reasons are plentiful. You have challenged Nobu directly with your meager knowledge, so you must pay the appropriate price. I won’t go into much detail since you know very well how a noble who fails to properly complete the proof of blue blood is treated. Then, feel free to fool around.”

[Subquest – The Lion King’s Mana Practice has been forced to be accepted.]

[Linked quest information has been updated.]

A translucent notification window covered Gilbert’s eyes along with Professor Horizon’s congratulatory message. He was able to receive the side quest as planned, but things took a turn he didn’t expect.