第２５３堀：主人公の使い道 (Part1)
**Chapter 253: The Protagonist’s Utility**
Why am I so involved with the protagonist?
Read on, and you’ll understand!
**The Protagonist’s Utility**
**Side: Yuki**
The grand aerial battle ended with Popuri finally running out of steam, defeated by the sheer difference in raw power.
However, even though she lost, the content of the fight wasn't bad.
Yes, the *content*.
Popuri herself and those who witnessed that one-sided struggle might only feel despair, but for those of us who are Kuro-chan’s kin, it was a valuable lesson.
"Man, the Principal is amazing. If there was that much of a power gap, I would’ve run away," one said.
"I think the Principal stayed until the end to protect the academy and everyone else, don't you?"
"...I think Tori is right. She isn't so childish that she wouldn't realize the difference in strength."
The three beast-eared girls were discussing this.
They’re right. My first impression of the Principal was terrible, but at her core, she must be a good person. After all, she stood her ground against an opponent she couldn't possibly beat.
Well, if it were me, I’d lure them to a suitable location and then make a tactical withdrawal.
If you can't win one-on-one, you have no choice but to surround them with numbers and create a winning situation.
In times like these, the most important thing is how much combat data you can bring back.
Reveal the opponent's movements and their "hand," and you can win regardless of how much stronger they are, provided you seal their options.
But that wasn't what I was thinking about.
"Ria, what did you think of that battle?"
Since I already had the opinions of the three beast-eared girls, I asked Ria.
Oh, by the way, everyone else had already taken the Principal back to the academy.
Currently, we were gathered at the inn where we were staying to talk. We had split into a team to explain the situation to the academy and a team to analyze the combat data.
Taiki-kun was busy training with Eoid-kun.
Ria, having been asked, tilted her head adorably, pondering for a moment before opening her mouth.
"Well... I suppose. What I thought while watching that battle was that it was strange how the Principal managed to hold out for such an abnormally long time."
"Hmm? Isn't that just because the Principal tried her best?"
Riel answered Ria’s question with a puzzled look.
Well, it’s natural to think she lasted that long because she fought desperately.
"I see. There's no doubt she tried her best, but Riel, the essence is different."
"What do you mean?"
"...I think the experience in aerial combat was completely different. Kuro was moving in the air just like she would on the ground."
"Ah, I see. Now that you mention it, that's true."
Exactly. The reason the fight between the Principal and Kuro-chan dragged on despite the obvious power gap was the difference in experience.
Aerial combat.
This is something irrelevant to those who don't have wings.
Naturally, the same goes for beasts that live on the ground.
However, for those of us from Earth, aerial combat is the most important aspect of warfare.
With the advent of airplanes and fighter jets—which act as wings—Earth’s warfare shifted from the era of "big guns and heavy ships" to the era of air superiority.
The event that made this clear was World War II.
The largest-scale war in human history, involving almost every nation on the planet.
A second world war that split the world in two, washed blood with blood, and introduced the worst weapons in history.
There are various records regarding the number of mobilized troops at the time, but it was roughly in the hundreds of millions. And the death toll, including civilians, was around 50 million or more.
I explained about World War II when I introduced tanks and such to Weed.
Naturally, Seraria was speechless, Rurua was stunned by the number of lost lives, Deryu listened in silence, and Shera shed tears.
Well, that’s to be expected.
If you consider the population of a large country on the continent where Weed is located, that number would represent the entire population of the continent turned into soldiers—and if you consider the food and supplies needed to feed them, there are even more people.
And 50 million of them died.
Well, that’s fine.
In that war, the "big gun" doctrine was wiped out by air power.
In other words, securing air superiority is more important than anything else.
Your movements are clearly visible, and means of attacking from below are very scarce.
This incident was a testament to the difference in performance during aerial combat.
Kuro-chan managed to avoid disaster thanks to her own exceptional durability, but that won't always be the case.
Actually, she was only saved because the opponent used magic as her primary means of attack.
If she had been facing a modern jet fighter, Kuro-chan would have died without being able to do a thing.
Attacks launched at supersonic speeds, both in terms of heat and mass, cannot be stopped by ordinary magical barriers, and there are anti-tank missiles that can punch through tanks.
Against those, no matter how thick your armor is, it’s meaningless.
The Panzerfaust and RPG are famous; thanks to the Monroe-Neumann effect, metal jets make the concept of "hardness" irrelevant.
There’s an image that "magic is omnipotent, yay!", but that’s actually wrong.
No, it’s not wrong to say it’s omnipotent, but based on my research so far, I’ve concluded that attack power cannot be surpassed by defense.
Why is that?
Well, if you know that magical barriers can be broken, it’s simple.
Ultimately, a magical barrier is just an object with a certain degree of hardness.
You can construct it anywhere, and it has decent hardness, but if the armor becomes fluid due to super-pressure exceeding its Hugoniot elastic limit, it can no longer block the blast, and you lose the ability to defend against attacks at that specific point.
Simply put, if something with a certain mass and speed hits you, the armor at the point of impact becomes soft, and the attack will pass through.
Thus, it is a mistake to try to defend against weapons that utilize the Monroe-Neumann effect—the crystallization of science developed by us Earthlings to destroy thick iron boxes called tanks—using this medieval European level of knowledge.
In reality, you shouldn't take the hit at all; you should deploy double barriers and adopt a posture to deflect it.
Trying to take it head-on is the mistake.
But this is a specialized barrier I intentionally developed against weapons using the Monroe-Neumann effect; it’s not something just anyone can use.
I’ve digressed.
In short, Kuro-chan took so long against the Principal because she lacked experience in air combat.
From now on, I have to incorporate aerial combat training, or we’ll lose when the time comes.
I’ve prepared anti-aircraft guns and such, but there aren't many, and that’s just ground-to-air. From now on, we need to practice air-to-air.
Floating via magic, or the Lich-type and Wyvern-type creatures, right?
It would be nice if we could use fighter jets or attack helicopters, but I’m not really feeling that direction.
The costs, the training, the risk of them being captured, and having to study aerial currents... it’s a lot.
"That's true. Kuro-chan was hit a lot, and she was fighting with brute force."
"Yeah. If Kuro’s opponent had been us, she would’ve been knocked down after taking even one hit."
"Considering that, I think the Principal’s movements in the air were wonderful."
"...Yuki, was this what you wanted to say?"
Prompted by Kaya, I pushed the thoughts of how to build an air force to the back of my mind.
"Yeah. Well, if it comes to that, we could just drag the opponent down to the ground."
"What do you mean?"
"There’s no need to go out of your way to fight on the opponent’s preferred field. We can just rip off their wings, or nullify their skills and magic discharge to knock them to the ground."
"I see!"
Whether it's the Lich-type or Wyvern-type, no—the flying monsters of this world basically ignore aerodynamics.
For example, birds reduce their body weight to the absolute limit to maintain the ability to fly.
To put it in perspective, if you applied the structure of a bird to a human, you would have to reduce your body weight to less than one-tenth and have wings twice the volume of your own body.
Well, I think you can understand now: these flying monsters shouldn't be able to fly physically.
So, why are they flying?
Because of "Miracle Magic" and "Wonderful Skills."
So, if you nullify those, the enemy will lose the ability to fly and fall.
Given the mass, they’d probably die just from the impact of the fall.
And then, the monsters with their magic and skills sealed, and their wings broken, can be finished off with tank cannons or gunfire.
"Anyway, putting aside the reflection on this battle, Nina, the Saint Sword User was observing the Principal’s fight. What do you think about that?"
That’s right—it wasn't just us watching the Kuro-chan fight; the Saint Sword User was peeking too.
Did they happen to see it while chasing us, or was it intentionally orchestrated...?
"I can't say for sure as things stand. But I think it’s best to wait for information from Kirika. Well, personally, the Principal has lived a long time, so it wouldn't be strange if there was a connection."
"That’s true. Investigations like this should be done steadily, and we should only move in once we’ve eliminated the opponent's escape routes."
Just as Riel and Tori said, it’s difficult to judge whether they are friend or foe as things stand.
If they make any strange moves in the future, I’ll just have to corner them and demand answers.
Actually, the fact that the Principal here might have a connection to the Saint Sword User is a great source of information.
It was the right choice to win her over first.
"And, come to think of it, why did Kuro-chan end up having to reveal her true form when she met the Wyvern?"
That’s right—I hadn't heard the beginning of the story yet.