Chapter 203: 8.10

Amidst the loud rambling of the soldier yelling about their victory, SSS Boxer landed on the ground, and a handsome young man, not even entering his twenty, came out of the mech. He had blazing red hair that awed everyone. He had a smirk on his face, and the soldiers started chanting his name, "Altair! Altair! Altair!"

They surrounded him like he was a hero. Altair enjoyed his short fame before The Man Drill landed on the ground. General Vega came out of his mech and stomped towards Altair's direction. Altair had a wide grin on his face, expecting praise from the General.

But to his surprise, General Vega came in front of him and slapped his cheek quite hard. Altair paused as he felt the hot print on his cheek. He stared at General Vega in disbelief. He thought the General would compliment him.

"G—General?"

"You stupid kid! Do you know how risky it is?!" General Vega fumed in front of Altair, who didn't seem to get what did he do wrong. Altair gritted his teeth, and he replied back;

"I just want to help!" Altair said, "If I'm not there, you would be dead!"

"I'd rather die than risking my cadet's life!" General Vega chided even more, "You know what would happen if you are careless?!"

"I don't want you to die!" Altair felt the veins on his neck started popping out, "I don't want you to die in front of me! Because I lik—"

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 30%.]

[Pupa: Ding! Breakmeter increases to 15%.]

Altair paused and zipped his mouth. He almost said something that he shouldn't say. General Vega was still angry at Altair's recklessness and said, "Cadet Altair Roderick, return to the military academy right now. I will give you a punishment later!"

"What?!" Altair gawked at his sudden discharge. He was obviously the hero that killed the giant mantis, but why did he get punishment instead of honour?

"General, you can't do this to me!" 

"Listen to my order! LEAVE NOW!" General Vega ordered. Altair clenched his fist. He felt that he was mistreated. He glared at General Vega and said;

"General, why did you do this to me? You should be grateful that I saved you!" Altair shouted.

General Vega glanced at the Lieutenants and the possible spies among his soldier that might target Altair after this. He clenched his fist and yelled, "LEAVE NOW ALTAIR RODERICK!"

In the end, Altair gnashed his teeth and left with his SSS Boxer. He didn't understand why the General did this to him, and he cursed, "Goddamn this! He should have been grateful and kiss me instead!"

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 35%.]

[Pupa: You should let him have his time. He worked hard to kill that mantis.]

[I mean, I want to. But I don't want him to get comfortable with these high ranked Lieutenant Generals, at least not now. Because they would try to influence Altair behind my back. Once I praise Altair and favour him, those Lieutenants would try to pull him down. It is best to let Altair under my shadow for now and let him cultivate his power.]

[Besides, based on the world background, it is said that Altair and Prince Rigel met after Prince Rigel noticed Altair's sudden rose through the ranks, right? I think it's too fast for him to get noticed by Prince Rigel. Knowing how beautiful that Omega prince is, there is no guarantee that Altair wouldn't get tempted and return to that indulging life of royals.]

[Pupa:… How can you be so smart when it's not about serious stuff, but so dumb and troublesome when it's about love and cock?]

[Hehe, I mean, you know what the ancient saying, too much cock makes you dumb.]

[Pupa:… Who said that?]

[Bai Yunyu, Empress of Shi Empire, Year 150. Teehee.]

…

Altair returned to the military academy with chaotic thought. He was thinking about General Vega's words. Obviously, he did something great! He saved the life of General and killed that giant mantis. He deserved to be hailed as a hero! 

"At least, he should thank me and compliment me…" Altair grumbled as he kicked his SSS Boxer mech. He leaned on his mech, waiting until late at night when General Vega finally returned to the military academy.

General Vega landed with his mech and then ordered Altair, "You can return to your home now. Don't ever mention what you did today to your parents. You did nothing today, remember?"

Altair clenched his fist. He didn't understand what was in General Vega's mind, "General, I need an explanation! Why are you doing this?!"

General Vega shook his head and sidestepped Altair. He headed to his room while ignoring Altair, who kept on calling him from behind. 

Exasperated, Altair took a big step and clenched General Vega's shoulder and pulled him, "General! Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do wrong?!"

"Cadet Altair, you should not be reckless with your action in the future. It will harm you and your reputation," General Vega finally replied. But Altair didn't want to accept this reason. He tightened his clench on General Vega's shoulder until he winced a bit.

"General…" Altair deeply stared at General Vega, but there was also a bit of pleading on his eyes as if he had been hurt by General's indifference after he did so much. 

General Vega sighed, "I just don't want you to get involved in many underhanded things. It goes hand in hand with your achievement and popularity. I want you to stay humble until you are ready, understand?"

"So… you are not jealous of me?"

"Why would I? Cadet Altair, I always appreciate a soldier's achievement. Since you are indeed a good soldier and shall be rewarded, but not now," General Vega said. He shrugged Altair's hand off his shoulder and walked towards his office. Altair was stunned for a while. He thought that General Vega was trying to kick him out of the spotlight simply because he was jealous of his new achievement.

Altair then realized that General Vega didn't need to compete with him because the General's achievement was more than enough for his lifetime.

Feeling guilty, Altair took another step to block General Vega's path and bowed his head deep, "General, I'm sorry for thinking bad about you… I thought you are just jealous of my new achievement…"

Yunyu saw the tall Altair bowed deeply in front of him. It reminded Yunyu of Javier, who often asked for a rub on his head whenever he did a good job on governing, like an obedient Doberman. 

Without much thinking, Yunyu rubbed Altair's hair as if he rubbed Javier and said, "You are doing well. I'm so proud of you."

[Pupa: Ding! Breakmeter increases to 20%.]

Altair responded by raising his gaze and looked up to see General Vega's sincere smile. It was such a beautiful smile that cracked the cold and firm exterior that the General showed every day.

General Vega rarely smiles for anyone, let alone his subordinates and disciples. Altair might be the first person to say this. It made him feel special for the General. The sudden realization made Altair's heart beat faster as he had another feeling in his heart.

[Pupa: Ding! Fatemeter increases to 45%.]