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

68. Hero

The unprecedented attack on Demeia Academy had a huge impact on imperial society.

Demeia Academy, one of the best academies on the continent and the pride of the Infractus Empire, was an impregnable fortress that had never been attacked by an outsider since its establishment.

This was possible because special attention was paid to safety due to the threat of terrorism as it was a place where all the empire’s promising talents and nobles gathered.

Sometimes it is said that Demeia Academy is the safest place next to the Imperial Castle of the Empire. There are hundreds or thousands of types of protection magic and barrier magic in the Academy territory, and there are dozens of giant soldiers operating in autonomous mode at all times. It is known that it reaches the stage.

It was a giant god soldier that consumed a considerable amount of money just to operate, but the empire’s taxes were being used lavishly in the name of ensuring the safety of the academy cadets.

However, Demeia Academy was attacked by those identified as the New Resistance. Although they were attacked by reactionary elements known as the Old Resistance, they were only allowed to invade the uninhabited island where tests were being conducted, not the main territory of Demeia Academy.

However, even though the invasion of the uninhabited island, where security was extremely lax compared to the Academy’s main territory, was permitted, the fact that it was attacked did not change.

At that time, it was an incident that was considered a scandal in the empire, to the extent that Seraphina, the first princess, personally stepped forward and carried out an operation to eradicate the resistance. It could not help but be shameful for the Infractus Empire, which prides itself on being the best nation on the continent.

But this time, the invasion was allowed during the Lion King’s Birthday celebration, one of the biggest events of the empire. As it was a major event for the empire and took place with numerous outsiders in attendance, the severity of the incident was different from before.

In particular, since this event had VIPs invited from other countries, it could easily have developed into a diplomatic issue. If the attack had not been suppressed while the damage was minimized, not only would the prestige and honor of the Infractus Empire fall to the ground, but it would also have become a situation where it had to worry about the compensation it would have to pay to other countries.

Of course, this did not eliminate the fact that he had experienced an attack, so the question of responsibility arose, but that was for a later date.

The Empire never wanted the issue of this incident to come to the fore. Demeia Academy was officially an independent institution, but if you look deeper into it, it was like an institution directly under the Empire with deep influence from the Empire.

It was already a well-known fact that the Marquis of Duramentum, who had been serving as the head of the academy for generations, was from a strong imperial family.

How could it be that the Marquis of Duramentum, who was elected as the first academy president at the time the academy was founded, was given a middle name that would be passed down to future generations?

For that reason, everyone in the know thought that Demeia Academy was the face of the imperial family.

But this attack incident was like putting a stain on that face. The indiscriminate sabotage and terrorist activities that took place while hosting foreign guests became a measure of how careless they were.

Of course, it was right to pay more attention to security than usual and prepare. I had the arrogant thought that no one could invade this place, but as the saying goes, I was doing more than the bare minimum for defense.

The number of giant soldiers operating in autonomous mode was more than doubled, and the number of guards on guard duty was more than three times the usual number.

However, even under such strict security, the attack by the New Resistance was allowed. It wasn’t just a small number of Titan soldiers that invaded, but an absurd number of over 100 Titan soldiers that attacked Demeia Academy.

This was the worst incident that could never be tolerated by the imperial family and gave justification to the aristocratic faction.

In fact, the noble faction saw this incident as a very good opportunity to increase their influence. The power of the aristocratic faction was greatly reduced due to the iron-blooded rule of the previous generation, which eliminated all elements of rebellion. However, they were able to gain power again by taking advantage of the weakening momentum of the imperial faction due to the unreasonable conquest of the continent, and were able to maintain their current power through the current emperor’s policy of appeasement of the continent and friendly policy toward the aristocracy.

The current emperor was not a fool, so he was wary of the power of the noble faction growing beyond a certain level and did not hesitate to keep them in check whenever they were called to power. As a result, even to this day, the aristocratic faction has been unable to stand up in front of the powerful imperial power and can only increase its power within the lines set by the emperor.

In this situation, for the nobles of the noble faction who wanted to somehow raise the status of the noble faction, this attack on the academy was a welcome event, like a sweet rain in a drought.

Sadly, there were casualties as a result of the attack, but as usual, those in power were more concerned about the benefits it would bring to them than about the victims.

They made every effort to somehow expand the influence of the noble faction, and it seemed like it would bring about meaningful results.

It was impossible for even the emperor of a great empire to bury an attack that had already occurred. As long as the foreign delegation at Demeia Academy was there, there was a limit to what they could do to keep quiet.

However, even among the emperor faction, there was definitely a card that could cover this up.

There are only a few ways to take action when an incident that cannot be covered up arises. Among them, the most noise-free and natural way to get over it was to cause another incident. Of course, exposing corruption related to the aristocratic faction during an already chaotic time was not good for the empire.

No matter how much they were divided into the imperial faction and the noble faction and were fighting for power, in the larger scheme of things, they were members of the great empire called Infractus.

So the best way was to deliver shocking news that would divert attention from this incident. In that respect, this attack case had a very good source.

An academy cadet who eliminated reactionaries who threatened the safety of the empire.

A man who disregarded his own life to protect fellow academy cadets and ordinary citizens who came to enjoy the anniversary.

He was once called the count’s bastard, but he is a hero who is the first to sacrifice himself in times of crisis.

Gilbert Lionheart.

He was the propaganda that the imperial faction could put out.

Most nobles scoffed at the content first announced by the Emperor’s faction. Recently, the story that the eldest son of the Count Hart family had come to his senses was spreading in social circles, but many people dismissed it as a rumor due to the image he had built up.

Not long ago, he was said to have been awarded a 6th rank knighthood for his outstanding contribution in the operation to eradicate the Resistance, but no one believed his actions. This was the same for the subjects of the empire.

Especially in the Lithuanian territory where the Hart family is located, there were significantly fewer people who believed the announcement.

Why?

Everything Gilbert had done so far was very good evidence and reason to back it up.

However, all evaluations were reversed with the recorded magic video released by the imperial family. The contents recorded by the recording magic projectors installed throughout Demeia Academy for security purposes showed how the materials of the noble family of Gilbert Lionheart were misappreciated.

The heroic figure of blocking all artillery fire with a magical barrier to protect the academy cadets and subjects who were unable to evacuate, and the overwhelming figure of the Giant God Soldier knight who led as many as 23 Titan Soldiers and destroyed them.

The public’s reaction to seeing these two was bound to be hot. Gilbert, who did not hesitate to call him a bastard, was because he was full of heroic features that can be seen in history books.

The imperial faction used their amazing propaganda skills to praise him as a new hero of the empire and did their best to divert attention from the academy attack incident. As they had hoped, the Academy attack incident, which would have greatly appealed to the subjects and middle-class nobles and could have been a dagger to stab the imperial family, could be quietly buried.

The aristocratic faction felt sorry for missing the golden opportunity, but there was not much they could do in a situation where the trend was already strong.

In this way, the attack on Demeia Academy by the New Resistance ended with the birth of a hero and became a page of history.

***

“Anna. Is there something wrong with my head right now? I feel like my head keeps floating.”

“Miss. You’ve already said that for the 30th time. You’re as beautiful as always, so you don’t have to worry.”

Dorothy Flamma Hart, the youngest child of the Countess of Hart, had been complaining to Anna, her exclusive maid, about her hair since early morning. Her hair, which was usually neatly organized, was bothering her today. She continued to stroke her hair, but it kept feeling frizzy.

Is it just how I feel…

Her loyal maid, Anna, did not show any signs of annoyance despite the repeated questions and answered that she was okay. In fact, she knew that her hair was no different from usual.

But there was one reason why she was so nervous and criticized her hair.

Gilbert Lionheart.

It was because of her eldest brother.

Dorothy lowered her hand that had been stroking his hair and recalled the events of that day.