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

63. Lion King Parade

No matter what anyone says, the highlight of the celebration of the Lion King’s birthday, designated as the pride of Demeia Academy and a commemorative event of the empire, was the parade held on the eve of the festival.

The parade, which started in honor of the great king who criticized the continent in the past, was carried out with the motif of the Lion King’s triumphal ceremony. Usually, the cadet who won the competition took on the role of the lion king and took the lead, and then applicants were selected from among the cadets with excellent grades to form the team.

Last year’s Lion King was played by Seraphina, the princess of the empire. Although it was different from the original gender of the Lion King, since it was an event started in honor of him, there was no distinction between men and women in the role of the Lion King. They just put the strongest cadet in that position.

Before this competition, it seemed like Seraphina would take on the role of the Lion King since she was the overall winner, but as the rules changed as of this year, the cadet who would take on the role of the Lion King was changed.

People also could not hide their wonder because they had heard the news in advance. The purpose of changing the rules itself was not bad, but the cadet who took over Seraphina’s position made everyone feel suspicious.

b*tch Gilbert.

When he was given the honor of taking on the role of the Lion King, quite a stir arose. There were rumors that preferential treatment was being given to the eldest son of a powerful count family, but when the reason for the change in the selection rules and why Gilbert was selected was made public, the royal family had no choice but to keep quiet.

It was rare for an academy cadet to receive a knighthood. Although there were Serafina and Brianna who received knighthood before entering the Academy, it was an extremely rare case. Even Gilbert’s father, the Margrave of Iron and Blood, was not knighted until after graduating from the Academy.

In that sense, Gilbert was the person who best suited the changed regulations. Even though he was a new cadet, he was knighted and achieved excellent grades. Although his reputation was still that of an asshole, he was a capable asshole who could not be disagreed with in his role as the Lion King.

But even if his qualifications were met, whether he could perform the role well was another question. Even last year’s Lion King was Princess Serafina, who showed an unprecedented match rate.

She was a natural queen, so she carried out the parade as if the real Lion King had returned to life. Although the Lion King in history was male, the opinion of those who watched the parade at the time was that if the Lion King had been female, it would be she.

The Lion King played by Princess Seraphina was close to perfection, and many people declared that there would be no Lion King who could surpass her.

So, no one had any expectations from Gilbert, the idiot who took on the role of the Lion King. It was the same at this moment, when the parade started.

But.

– What, what is it?

– Is that that bastard Gilbert?

– The Lion King… The Lion King has appeared!

When the parade started, people kept rubbing their eyes as if they had seen something unbelievable.

A man standing at the front of the parade procession riding a black horse that can be described as gigantic.

Blond hair brighter than gold and red eyes filled with indifference. The jet-black knight’s uniform covering his sturdy body and the red cloak embroidered with golden lions made people think of only one thing.

The second coming of the Lion King.

There was no other way to express this moment.

The audience was overwhelmed by the unexpected appearance of Gilbert. Now, at this moment, no one could think of the count’s bastard.

The Lion King just appeared. That was all he thought about.

Red eyes scanned the speechless crowd. People who were weak in spirit were taken aback by this meaningless action and retreated without realizing it. The body reacted because the eyes that seemed to contain nothing seemed to express the king’s boredom.

– Clap clap

One of the people watching the parade in silence clapped. People started clapping along as if they were possessed by something. This served as a catalyst and the people who came to their senses cheered for the Lion King who would never exist again.

Last year, Serafina’s Lion King was forgotten in people’s memories.

Only the Lion King with indifferent eyes remained.

***

Meanwhile, Gilbert, who was standing at the front of the parade as the Lion King, was a little embarrassed by the sudden enthusiasm. Following the advice of Camilla, who was enthusiastic about preparing for the parade, he just looked at the people indifferently, but the people who were holding their breath suddenly started going crazy.

– Lion King! Lion King!

– Gilbert! Gilbert!

What is it? What on earth is going on? As for Gilbert, he couldn’t help but wonder. As far as he knew, the greatest Lion King of all time was definitely Serafina. Serafina, who was born as a vessel for the emperor, was able to show off the appearance of the Lion King himself, as her majesty overflowed just by remaining still.

So, if I were to pick the best Lion King, it would definitely be Seraphina, but looking at the current reaction, it seemed like that would be overturned.

In fact, when Gilbert played Tactical Combat, he played the role of the Lion King quite a few times. Although it was very difficult to defeat Seraphina in a competitive match as an academy cadet, it was not impossible.

Wasn’t it famous that people who are originally from the dead are clinging to something they can’t break? Gilbert was also one of those users, and after all his hardships, he was able to rise to the level of defeating Seraphina.

Of course, he took on the role of the Lion King and participated in the parade, but at that time he had never received such crazy cheers. No matter how excellent his manipulation skills were, the character Ian had inherent limitations.

Even if you were a countess’s master, you wouldn’t be able to overcome Seraphina, who was born as a vessel for the emperor, right?

Furthermore, because it was so embedded in the game setting, Gilbert had never once been called the best Lion King.

But this time, whether it was because it was a reality rather than a game, or whether it was because of the influence of ‘Gilbert’ that he didn’t even know about, he was receiving crazy cheers. If he listened closely, he could even be heard saying that he was the best lion king in the parade ever.

“Umhuhu! Of course!”

What was so good was that right behind her, Camilla, who was in charge of assisting the Lion King, was laughing while covering her mouth. It seemed like she knew in advance that this would happen.

“Did you expect it?”

“Of course! Because my eyes are never wrong!”

Because the parade was in progress, she was careful not to show off, but when she glanced back, she saw Camilla with an expression in Gilbert’s eyes that seemed to be so happy that she couldn’t stand it. I couldn’t understand why Gilbert himself liked being called the greatest lion king of all time.

Since he was such an eccentric person who did things for fun and interest, all I could think about was that he would be chosen somewhere.

Ignoring Camilla giggling behind him, Gilbert led the black horse along the designated marching course. Although he did not originally have horseback riding skills, he was able to acquire the skills as soon as he got on a horse, perhaps because the original Gilbert had horseback riding skills.

Gilbert’s body had memories of learning horseback riding, but it was something that the original Gilbert had learned, not something he had actually learned. Because of that, he felt a little anxious, but as if his worries were unfounded, he acquired the skills so naturally. Perhaps his original talent for riding and moving things was shining through.

Anyway, he continued his march, aided by his horseback riding skills, toured Demeia Academy once, and then headed to the main gate of the academy.

This parade, which was created with the motif of the Lion King’s triumphal ceremony, always had the final order of the parade being a speech at the academy’s main gate followed by a sword being drawn and raised. It is a declaration and aspiration of sorts that he will inherit the spirit of the Lion King and become a talented person who will bring glory to the empire.

When Gilbert finally arrived in front of the Academy’s main gate, he turned his black horse with familiar skill and looked back at the parade procession and audience that followed him. He paused for a moment, looked at them carefully, and then grabbed the handle of the ceremonial sword at his side.

This was a custom of the parade as a kind of signal. It meant that the Lion King’s triumphal speech, which was the crown jewel of the parade and the final event, would begin, and people usually did not make any sound to hear the speech.

The people who had been applauding and cheering until now all remained silent after seeing Gilbert’s actions.

Gilbert quietly held his sword and recalled the words he had prepared in advance. I wasn’t preparing any grand speech. To begin with, I wasn’t particularly good at speaking. Moreover, Seraphina, who had been the Lion King the previous year, even gave a memorable speech.

No matter how hard Gilbert tried, it was impossible to put together such a famous speech. In the end, all he could do was bring back what was not in this world but was in the other world.

I took a deep breath and focused my eyes. The low-pitched voice spread to everyone watching through amplification magic.

“Remember that we must die!”

Do not be arrogant.

No one will always win.

“Remember that we are human!”

Do not be conceited.

Humans cannot be omnipotent.

“Look back, we are here now, but remember that we too are only human!”

Do not forget death.

Remember that humans always die.

As soon as Gilbert uttered his last words, he drew his sword and raised it high in the sky. The audience, who had so far listened to Gilbert’s short but heart-pounding speech, cheered louder than before when they saw it.

Memento Mori.

After all, there is an answer in history. After successfully completing his speech, Gilbert lowered the corner of his mouth that was slowly rising and nodded inwardly.

***

The moment when the triumphal speech, the last step of the parade, ended.

[Members, listen. The time for revolution has arrived.]

The raid begins.