"Ehhh..."
Standing before me were the Latarnian soldiers—fighter pilots and tank commanders alike.
Half were men, and the other half were women.
The men were mostly beefy guys; muscle was the law here.
The women, on the other hand, were remarkably attractive. They were a diverse array of beauties, spanning every possible type.
Latarnia’s request was simple: they wanted us to train these people as Humanoid Fighter pilots.
There were very few Humanoid Fighter pilots in Latarnia.
Their usual tactic of saturating areas with missiles didn't really require Humanoid Fighters.
Even their few existing pilots were low-level.
That was why they had asked the Galactic Empire to handle their training.
Apparently, they intended to purchase our machines as well.
Standard Machines, mind you.
Our custom machines were out of the question for them to pilot.
Those units were far too temperamental.
Even so, thanks to the Zork War, our standard models had been upgraded many times.
Their performance was nothing to scoff at.
Even the Knights in my unit used mass-produced machines, and they were plenty strong.
The Ogre God Nation, which had a bad habit of stamping contracts without reading them, was fundamentally incompatible with the Latarnians.
Hence, the Galactic Empire had been chosen.
Now, as for the reason they had provided such beauties for such a critical role... well, it was blatant, wasn't it?
For some reason, Claire clung to one of my arms.
Wifey clung to the other.
Ren was smiling, but she radiated an aura so menacing it practically emitted a low, rumbling thrum.
One-oh-one was also grabbing onto my pants, looking amused.
Tatiana, for some reason, looked disgruntled.
Shiyun was smiling; since the concept of polygamy was ingrained in her culture, she didn't seem to care at all.
Kevin was glaring at me for some reason. Why are you in a bad mood too?!
Melissa burst out laughing.
"It's not like adding one or two more people at this point makes a difference."
"Stop saying things like that!!!"
Wifey growled like an animal in intimidation.
It was actually quite fresh to see Wifey being so disagreeable.
"I only wish to share my assets with those I have personally recognized!!! I shall not permit this!!!"
And there it was. I was officially being treated like property.
But fine, it meant she cherished me.
I was more than prepared to accept this twisted affection!
It didn't bother me one bit!!!
I calmed everyone down and began the training.
Our simulators were perfect!
There was no need for any hands-on instruction.
Tatiana and One-oh-one also took the course.
I mean, being drone operators was fine, but I told them, "You'll get an allowance for it, so you might as well get the license."
If you added a Pilot Badge and a Drone Operator Badge to the Medic Badge allowance, it would be enough to qualify for a mortgage on an Imperial Capital Apartment.
Then there was the bike, the transport aircraft, and if I had them do Ship-handling Practical Training around next year, the Captain Allowance would be added.
They were already getting an extra 150 credits per hour for the forklift training.
That was for those who didn't have a license but could operate them on-site.
With that, plus the income from a territory, owning a house in the Imperial Capital wouldn't be a dream.
They wouldn't have any trouble supporting themselves even if they left the military.
Putting aside those practical matters, we focused on the simulators.
I was strictly forbidden from making any contact with the Latarnian female personnel by Claire, who had veins popping on her forehead.
That wasn't a problem for me.
Thomas had also been called in to help teach.
Meanwhile, Isono was being put into a Silent-type Headlock by Lady Hanazawa.
Nakajima, meanwhile, was being put in a Cobra Twist by her fiancé and was foaming at the mouth.
Both of them were being punished for trying to hit on the Latarnian female personnel.
Those idiots!!!
Eddie was instructing the Muscle Big Brothers.
Out of all of us, Eddie was probably the one navigating life the most smoothly...
On the flip side, as the general commander, I was entrusted with Tatiana, One-oh-one, and Shiyun.
"It’s different from Humanoid Heavy Machinery, isn't it?"
Tatiana and One-oh-one could more or less manage the operation of Humanoid Heavy Machinery.
I’d had them transport ammunition inside the ship, after all.
"Because it’s for combat. If you can handle this thing, ship-handling a battleship will be a breeze."
"Brigadier General, I will do my best, sir!"
I didn't think they'd be able to do it well right from the start, though.
"Shiyun, you'll use the Taikyoku Nation one."
"Yes!"
Since the premise was that Shiyun would eventually return home, I had her study the Taikyoku Nation Humanoid Fighters.
"Alright, you three, first off: take off and land with the verniers on but without using the main camera."
"Huh? Why? That’s impossible!"
"Get into the habit of monitoring your instruments. Having your camera blown off and being forced to land happens all the time."
"That only happens to you!!!"
"Just do it!"
"Waaaaah!!!"
One-oh-one worked hard, but failed the takeoff.
Tatiana panicked and failed.
Shiyun succeeded in taking off normally. For some reason, the legs took some damage, though.
Still, that was amazing!
As expected of someone so earnest!
She crashed into the ground during the landing attempt, however.
Well, it wasn't like she should have been able to do it on the first try anyway.
"Keep at it!"
"Ugyah! I died again!!!"
"I died over here too, sir!"
"I can take off, but the landing..."
"Switch on Assist Mode and follow the demonstration exactly. Anyway, just keep repeating it~"
"Big Brother Leo! Can everyone really do this?"
"Hey, Eddie! Can you take off and land without the main camera?"
"Now that takes me back... I practiced that to death. You three, if you can't do this, you'll die!"
"See?"
"Even Isono?"
Tatiana... she still didn't believe me.
"Isono!"
"Of course I can do it!!!"
"See? Now, hammer the correct method into your heads. It's easier if you learn it before you pick up any bad habits~"
"Hieeen!!!"
It wasn't particularly grueling.
If they practiced, they'd be able to do it in no time.
"Shiyun might have to pilot in front of everyone too, so let's make sure you can do it properly."
"Yes!"
So earnest! How admirable!!!
"Brigadier General... are you not going to praise One-oh-one, sir?"
Oh boy... that was rare.
One-oh-one was sulking.
She was cute, so I gave her a head pat.
"One-oh-one is working really hard~"
"Ehehehe~"
Tatiana was crashing over and over.
"Mukiiiiiiiiiii!"
Ah, she snapped.
"Here, use Assist Mode."
"So this goes like this... and then that... this value is this... the level is this..."
She started muttering to herself while looking at the Assist Mode explanation.
I’d given her the classroom lectures, but still...
I suppose you wouldn't understand it until you learned it with your body.
"Big Brother Leo..."
"Yeah, what's up?"
"My head hurts."
Ah, it seemed she'd reached her over-capacity.
Her eyes were spinning.
I brought over an ice pack to cool her head.
Shiyun had succeeded in her very first takeoff, but it had been nothing but failures since then.
Her eyes were spinning as well.
One-oh-one also had spinning eyes after her string of failures.
"Alright, break time. Rest for a while."
"Yes, sir!!!"
They were certainly full of energy the moment break time started.