Chapter 1

※Notice

This story is a work of fiction. The characters, organizations, and names mentioned are all fictitious and have no connection to any real entities.

I do not respond to comments.

However, I do read them.

When answering questions, I intend to use activity reports and other means, so I would appreciate it if you could check those.

A young girl recalls that day.

The sky above the home planet of the Banfield family was filled with numerous massive space warships.

Around the warships, humanoid robots about eighteen meters tall were flying.

These robots were called Mobile Knights.

Despite these tools of war flying overhead, the surrounding area was filled with cheers.

People waved their hands toward the sky, and some were even laughing while shedding tears.

Many embraced their loved ones and family, savoring the joy.

They were the army of the Banfield family.

They were returning from war, triumphantly.

"The Lord defeated the Gorez space pirates!"

"We were saved!"

"Long live the Banfield family!"

The people's words were praises for the Banfield family's army, which had repelled the space pirates.

Until recently, the people had trembled with fear upon receiving news of the approach of vicious space pirates.

The most vicious of these space pirates could easily defeat the armies of frontier planets and destroy them.

Everyone had imagined a dark future and felt overwhelmed by despair.

It was their young lord who broke through this despair.

His name was Liam Sera Banfield—still a child, not yet an adult, but he had brilliantly driven away the space pirates.

The people praised Liam with their words.

The young 【Emma Rodman】 remembered this scene.

Emma, reaching out her hands toward the sky, was looking at a single Mobile Knight projected in the air among several images.

"Mom, what is that?"

That Mobile Knight seemed to be standing on the bow of a warship.

Larger than the other Mobile Knights, its black body captivated Emma.

Her mother, who was standing beside her, explained to the unknowing Emma.

"That's the Lord's ride. It must be very strong."

"Is the Lord strong?"

The mother showed a look of confusion at the child's straightforward question.

She didn't know if their lord was truly strong.

The government of the Banfield family's home planet, 【Hydra】, promoted the strength of their lord, Liam, through propaganda.

However, most of the citizens didn't know how much of it was true.

It was generally believed that there was some exaggeration.

"---Yes. After all, he's a knight."

"Knight?"

"Well, they are very strong people. They protect us."

When she looked up at the sky with her mother, the Mobile Knights were flying in formation overhead.

Then, a particularly large warship passed over them, blocking the sunlight.

"Will the knights protect everyone?"

"Yes."

"If so—then I'll become a knight! I'll ride a robot and protect everyone from the bad guys!"

Her mother smiled at her daughter Emma's dream for the future.

"If that's what you want, you'll have to work very hard."

"Okay!"

◇

---Thirty years later.

Emma Rodman—Second Lieutenant—was in space, riding a Mobile Knight.

She looked like a girl who had just turned a mid-teen.

Even in her pilot suit, her well-built figure was noticeable. She was self-conscious about it, but it was well-received by the men around her.

Her hair, hidden under the helmet, was a short bob in a chestnut color.

She was fifty years old, considered an adult in this world, but still treated as a child.

Emma had fulfilled her childhood dream and become a knight.

She was given a Mobile Knight and deployed in actual combat.

However, she was anxious.

"Why?"

The Mobile Knight she was riding was the Nevan, the main mass-produced model of the Banfield family.

It had a sleek appearance like a knight's armor, with a cape-like additional booster on its back. When the additional booster was spread out, it looked like wings.

The Nevan was painted gray and was an excellent Mobile Knight, even considered for adoption by the regular army of the interstellar nation—the Argland Empire, to which the Banfield family belonged.

It was even called the most likely candidate for the next main mass-produced model of the Empire.

However.

"---Why can't it move as I want it to!?"

Emma gripped the control stick, confused by the sluggish response.

"The reaction speed is slower than in training. Is it a maintenance error?"

Emma, wearing a pilot suit, felt cold sweat run from her forehead to her cheeks inside her helmet.

There should have been no problems with the pre-mission check of the Mobile Knight.

Yet, she felt her Mobile Knight's response was sluggish.

"It's my important first battle."

As a newly appointed knight and a new second lieutenant, Emma tried to keep up with her allies.

The first battle—this place, with many rocky celestial bodies, was where the Banfield family had obtained information that small-scale space pirates were hiding.

Therefore, the Banfield family's army was deployed.

For the Banfield family, it was a minor operation, but for Emma, it was an important first battle.

Her heart was beating fast with tension.

Unlike training, she was more nervous than ever.

Perhaps because of this, she was even more anxious.

"Calm down, me. Just do it as in training. I can do it. I definitely can!"

She gripped the control stick and tried to control the Mobile Knight, but her movements became increasingly inefficient.

The instructor's Nevan, monitoring her movements from behind, came alongside Emma's Nevan.

The instructor, 【Claudia Bertrand】's Nevan, had a horn on its head, a feature not found on other mass-produced models.

"Lieutenant Rodman, your movements are erratic. Correct them immediately."

"Yes!"

She hurried to control the Mobile Knight, but even with the assist function, she couldn't move it properly.

She frantically moved the control stick, but the Mobile Knight's movements became even more inefficient.

As she approached the enemy base while avoiding rocks, her allies had already started the battle.

The enemies—space pirates—had dispatched old Mobile Knights from their hideout.

These were patched-up machines, repeatedly repaired over generations, and no longer resembled their original forms.

Despite this, they bravely challenged the Banfield family's army, which possessed the latest Mobile Knights.

Normally, it would be wiser to surrender.

However, the space pirates had no such option.

Because the Banfield family, to which Emma belonged, was famous for showing no mercy to pirates.

One of the allied Nevan approached a resisting enemy Mobile Knight and thrust a physical sword into its cockpit.

Seeing this, Emma felt her blood run cold.

She had ended the lives of enemies many times in training, but in actual combat, she hesitated.

Her hesitation was reflected in her piloting, and the instructor scolded her.

"What are you doing, Lieutenant Rodman? Don't forget your assigned mission."

Emma, pale-faced, answered desperately.

"R-right, understood."

As Emma was about to press the foot pedal, three Mobile Knights appeared from the celestial body that served as the space pirates' hideout.

They headed straight for Claudia's Nevan, which had the characteristics of both an instructor and a squadron leader.

However, these three were different from the others; they were new and seemed to have superior performance.

"Lieutenant Rodman, take on one of them. I'll handle the others."

"Huh?"

As Claudia's Nevan charged at the enemy, Emma hastily aimed her rifle.

The assist function automatically locked onto the enemy, but the enemy seemed to notice and changed its movement.

"I'm sorry."

What was she apologizing to the enemy for? She didn't even have time to think about it.

She pulled the trigger as the enemy approached in a zigzag pattern, but the beam of light was easily avoided.

The enemy, armed with a weapon that looked like a submachine gun, aimed at Emma, who tried to dodge immediately. However, the Mobile Knight didn't move as she wanted.

She struggled as if drowning in space.

"Why!?"

As she screamed, hundreds of beams of light rained down.

Emma's Nevan raised its shield to protect itself from the attack but was hit by a powerful impact.

Blown away and colliding with a rock, she realized the situation.

Emma's Nevan had been kicked away by the enemy.

"I have to defeat them quickly."

As Emma tried to regain her composure, the enemy approached and drew out an axe-like weapon, raising it.

The impact of the Mobile Knights colliding caused the communication to pick up the enemy's voice.

"The devils of the Banfield family will take as many with them as possible!"

"Ah!"

A scream escaped her lips as she saw the enemy raise the axe.

However, the enemy was immediately blown away.

"Instructor!?"

"---Lieutenant Rodman, don't disappoint me."

The Nevan that had kicked away the enemy, piloted by Claudia, gripped the handle of a beam sword stored in the side skirt of the waist.

The blade was formed by a beam of light, and Claudia's Nevan cut off the enemy's arms and legs.

Claudia's Nevan then grabbed the head of the immobilized enemy and approached Emma.

Looking around, the two enemy Mobile Knights that had attacked Claudia were destroyed.

Seeing this, Emma whispered.

"Amazing."

In a short time, Claudia had defeated two enemies, and Emma felt the significant gap in their abilities.

(This is a real knight.)

Claudia Bertrand.

In the Banfield family's ranking system, she was rated "AA," placing her among the top-tier female knights.

The highest rank, "AAA," was given to only a few in the entire Banfield family.

Her rank as "AA" made her a highly skilled knight.

She held the rank of colonel in the Banfield family's army.

She had previously served as the deputy of Christina.

Currently, she remained in the territory, taking over from Christina, and was involved in the training of new knights.

Claudia presented the immobilized enemy to Emma.

"Lieutenant Rodman, I'll give you the credit. Kill the pilot."

From Claudia's cockpit, the enemy's voice could be heard.

"I, I don't want to die. Please, help me! I was just hired by them; I didn't engage in piracy. I have a family!"

Hearing the rough voice of the pilot crying and begging for his life, Emma's body trembled.

However, Claudia pressed her with a cold voice.

"You don't need to worry. His crime is joining the pirates. ---Now, end his life."

The enemy pilot, unable to move, pleaded desperately.

"Help me. I won't be involved with space pirates again. I'll reform. I promise!"

Hearing the man's cries and pleas for his life, Emma let go of the control stick.

"I can't. I can't kill a surrendered opponent."

Upon hearing her answer, Claudia, with a blank expression, released the enemy and pierced the cockpit with her beam sword.

"Such a thing."

Claudia, who seemed to have lost interest, looked at Emma, who was wide-eyed with shock.

"The Banfield family doesn't need useless knights. Return to the mother ship and wait in your room."

Claudia's Nevan turned and flew away, heading back to the ongoing battle at the space pirates' hideout.

At this moment, Emma's first battle came to an end.

The result was a complete failure.

As a knight, Emma had stumbled badly at the start.

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【The next light novel award】hosted by Kiminano is now accepting nominations for my work, 【I am the Corrupt Lord of an Interstellar Nation!】

Voting will be available from November 16th, with 【one vote per person per day】.

It's a system where you can vote once a day.

I would greatly appreciate your support for my work, so I decided to write and update a side story! (Just kidding.)

You can vote even without answering the survey, so I hope you will support me.

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Also!

On the 30th of this month, 【The Otome Game World is Harsh for the Subordinate 9th Volume】 will be released.

If you purchase the limited edition from the GC Novels online store "MM Store," you can get an acrylic stand of Ange.

The acrylic stand features Ange in her bride attire.

I might buy it myself.

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I finally started writing a promotional work for my promotional work (^_^;)

Some readers had predicted this a while ago (;゜ロ゜)