episode_0055

Most AS pilots reach their prime and retire in their early or mid-20s.

According to the Zodiac agreement, young people before the age of 20 cannot rise to AS, but they try to use tricks to enable them to ‘debut’ on the main stage at the age of 20 through virtual training in a simulation simulator.

And usually, once you reach your late 20s, you hear the sound of ‘retirement’, and you retire to find a new path.

Become the coach of the colony team in the AS Colony Competition, become an instructor at the Pilot Training Academy, or join the colony defense force.

At this time, those who choose the last option will remain active as active ‘soldiers’ even after retirement.

Although physical aspects such as reaction speed are slightly lower than in the heyday, numerous combat experiences are a great help to the military unit’s strength.

By narrowing the gap between non-lethal mode in mock and counter-war and actual combat, a great soldier can be born.

But a person who has already earned sufficient combat experience by performing well in actual battles is trying to join the military unit?

He’s even from the Galactic Forces and is a ‘survivor’?

Wherever you go, you are welcomed with double arms.

This is a person who needs to be brought in even if it means paying hundreds of millions of credits per year – no, even paying hundreds of millions of space credits per week.

You could say that I am one of those types, but the people they pay a lot of money for are all people who are capable of active duty.

I didn’t even respond to their calls in the first place, but the others were a little different.

This is true even for the ‘Lieutenant General’ of the Taurus Colony Defense Force right in front of me.

“I never thought we would meet again after such a long time. Right?”

“Ha, haha.”

Maria Raidar.

As soon as he knew I was awake, he immediately contacted me and immediately put pressure on Captain Edmund to arrange a meeting with me alone.

“Would you like to be hugged by Mamang? Like before?”

“I don’t like it.”

She opens her arms towards me and smiles sweetly, but I know this woman’s true identity.

“They seem to be very well managed at Taurus Colony. I would believe it if you said he was in his mid-20s.”

“Oh my, isn’t it the beginning?”

“Do you have any qualms about saying it’s the beginning?”

This woman’s actual age is 37.

He is 10 years older than me.

“How much ether did you put on your face?”

“Would you say it’s the power of blessed genes? Unlike in the case of genetically modified or enhanced humans in space, it is rare to maintain such pure youth?”

However, after entering the universal century, humans’ actual age is not proportional to their physical age.

“In last year’s health checkup, my physical age was found to be 23, right? I’m just two years older than when I met you.”

“Then I guess I’m older than you in terms of physical age.”

“Heung, is that what happens? Then, oppa, is it good that your ex-girlfriend, whom you haven’t seen in a long time, is as pretty as ever?”

“My eyes still hurt, but it’s good that I don’t suffer from visual terror.”

As Maria herself is proud of, her genes are quite excellent.

Born in the Taurus colony, i.e. the space born generation.

Even though she was born in space, not on Earth, Maria’s appearance was smooth and without a single wrinkle, as if she had been blessed by the ether.

“Oh my, it seems like your gaze is gradually lowering?”

“Are you married?”

“No. Can’t you see where I’m wearing the ring? And this ring, you gave it to me?”

Maria grinned, tapping the ring on her left index finger.

“Did you forget?”

“You couldn’t have forgotten.”

It’s a ring I made myself, so there’s no way I’ve forgotten it.

“It was made by making it out of ether. It’s not for sale.”

“Okay. An ether ring made by our ‘paladin’ himself. Hehehe. You don’t know how much everyone envied me for not getting shot down if I wore this.”

“If anyone hears it, they will definitely think that he was shot down due to a curse.”

I looked up and down Maria’s body once more.

“Nothing has changed between 7 years ago and now. From the day I retired from the Galactic Forces and decided to enter the Taurus Colony.”

“Okay then. of course. Nothing has changed for me between then and now.”

Maria leaned her chin towards me and brought her face closer.

“Self. Do you plan on being next to me?”

“Nothing.”

“Why?”

“Do I really need to tell you why?”

“Yes.”

Maria leaned back on the chair and crossed her legs.

At the same time, he crosses his arms, puts his arms tightly against his chest, and grins.

“Even if it’s like this?”

Two watermelons.

Even though seven years have passed, I still remember the warm feeling I felt when I buried my face there.

“I am willing to allow myself to be in my arms again if he comes next to me.”

“What dangerous words.”

“Is it dangerous? He’s the only man I’ve allowed myself to be with. Oh, are you worried that I may have met another guy while we were away? Rest assured. I swear by the blessings of the ether, I haven’t met a single person other than myself.”

While making that declaration, he subtly crosses his legs again and wanders towards me.

“That attitude of trying to seduce with your body is not good.”

“Of course I know it well. Am I the only one who does this?”

“I don’t really want to believe it.”

“I haven’t even held hands with a man in 7 years… Ah, corrected because I shook hands when I was promoted. A woman who has never dated a man?”

“That’s because you have a high opinion of men.”

“Is that so? So, come next to me.”

Maria keeps trying to seduce me.

“If ‘Paladin’ joins us, Taurus will become much more powerful than before.”

Before this woman sees me as a man, she sees me as a veteran AS pilot who was part of the Galaxy Unit.

“I have no intention of becoming a pilot.”

“Just remove the mask and replace the eyes with etheric prosthetic eyes. Or, if you still want to wear a mask… should I change it to a mechanical body? Only the eye area.”

“You calmly say something dangerous. Are you planning to turn people into ether humans?”

“If you just replace your eyes, you can play in active duty right away, right?”

“…….”

What Maria said was not wrong.

My hands and body are fine, and controlling the aircraft is still not a big problem.

When I encounter electromagnetic waves, my remaining optic nerves just keep getting destroyed.

If your eyes are the problem, just change the eyes themselves as this woman said.

“You don’t think I know anything about you, do you? He wasn’t interested until now, but he found out he was there and immediately investigated.”

“The captain said something useless.”

“As a captain, I had no choice but to say it. Don’t say too much.”

“…….”

Maria is desperate.

Because she was desperate, she bowed down her pride and came to me.

Although it was only a short time, our ending was really bad.

“Self. Let’s do it together with me. huh? You are no longer part of the Galaxy Unit. I’ll make the aircraft at Taurus Colony. A specialty for oneself. If you are with me, you can kill all the enemies, no matter how many.”

“So even though I rejected you?”

“I have to keep persuading. It’s fate that we met like this, right?”

Whether it was 7 years ago or now, this woman is still the same.

“Self. I am.”

In fact, it seems to have gotten darker.

“I want to conquer the entire universe with this Taurus colony at the center.”

“…….”

“Taurus is strong? They are a military group within three fingers of the Zodiac Colony. So…”

“I have no intention of entering Taurus. The same goes for Zodiac. My affiliation is Starlight Colony and Starlight Academy.”

I raised my voice clearly.

“I have no intention of creating seeds of conflict again in this era of peace.”

“No. There is no such thing as peace. Unless someone hogs all of the jewels of creation, the war will continue. Do you think humanity can live without war?”

“I think I said the same thing back then. Did you forget my answer?”

“No. You couldn’t have forgotten.”

Maria smiled bitterly and answered with a wistful look in her eyes.

“Even if war breaks out again someday, the goal is to extend the peaceful period as much as possible.”

“If I gave that answer, why should I cooperate with you?”

This woman is ambitious.

The ambition in my heart is already so full that it seems like it’s about to explode, and I’m even talking about it myself.

“Don’t drag me in.”

“Oh my. If you don’t help-”

“Starlight Academy’s matter and mine must be separate matters. Lieutenant General Raidar.”

“…Hmm. That’s right. We responded to the call for help in accordance with federal law, and I personally led ‘my battleship’.”

“Did you know I was here?”

“No? Even if he wasn’t there, he came to secure it. But then I saw that my name was on the list, so I thought it was right.”

Maria manipulates the panel on her wrist and displays a data screen for me.

“Taurus Colony is suspicious of you regarding the appearance of the ‘Red Moon’.”

everyone.

It is obvious even without saying who the target is.

“Students and instructors stranded in space. Who among these people was chosen by the red moon?”

“…….”

” I was thinking, is there someone here who pierced the heart of the red moon? Then the story is different in many ways.”

Maria places her hand on the corner of her lips and pretends to fasten the zipper.

“If you don’t want to be with me, you should at least stop me. The fact that I brought Marklops with me means that if there are people targeting him and his students-”

“Pressure to turn it into space dust.”

“Okay. If you don’t want to be with Taurus, we’d like you to at least help us find out. You’re going to Starlight Colony anyway, right?”

Maria smiled and licked her lips with her tongue.

“Red Moon. Ether Bus, our Taurus is going to give it a try. And the key is either yours or the person chosen to be the next pilot of the Red Moon.”

licking.

“Indeed, who is it?”

“First of all.”

I opened my mouth right away, just in case.

“They probably aren’t the idiots who were former National Guard soldiers who decided to stay in the colony because they were fooled by the beauty ban.”

“Hahaha! that’s right. They were one of the candidates, but the Red Moon hates those guys. So I didn’t burn it. Did I do well?”

“Ha. Yes.”

To put it the opposite way.

“Where is the exit door?”

“No!”

We are now prisoners of Taurus.

As an offering to confirm whether or not I have been chosen by the Red Moon.