Chapter 10

Some of you readers may already know this, but...

"The World of Otome Games is a Cruel Place for Side Characters" is getting an anime adaptation.

It's true.

In the hangar of the Lemira, Atalante's hatch was about to close.

Molly, who was watching this, was approached by Larry.

"Is she really going out?"

His attitude suggested that she should just run away.

Molly became annoyed with Larry's lack of enthusiasm.

"She's part of our squad. You should go with her."

"Cut it out."

"Are you just going to leave her?"

When asked if he was going to abandon her, Larry looked down and clenched his fists.

"What can we do? We only have outdated equipment, and the crew has no motivation. Even if we went, we'd just get in the way. No, we'd just die in vain."

"Maybe so, but—"

"You're sympathizing with her too much."

Molly looked down and muttered.

"To me, she's the first friend I've made here on the Lemira."

The adults around her had no motivation.

Molly had never had a friend who understood her.

"You'll make friends after you leave the military."

While telling her to let go, Larry himself felt guilty for letting Emma go alone.

Doug then arrived.

"She really went."

"Even Doug?"

Molly puffed out her cheeks, and Doug sighed deeply after confirming the hatch was closed.

"What's the point of trying so hard in this backwater?"

◇

In the cockpit, where the alarm was blaring, Claudia glared at the large weapon on the monitor.

It made her feel as if she were challenging a mountain.

"Damn it!"

A dirty word slipped out of her mouth.

Claudia's Nevan had lost its left arm, and the blade of the physical sword in its right hand was broken.

Riber, who was piloting the large weapon, was praising Claudia and her team enthusiastically.

"Amazing, isn't it? You've already destroyed three hundred Zorks. And you even managed to scratch the armor of this Big Boar."

The armor of the large weapon, called Big Boar, had a slight scratch.

It was a scratch made by Claudia.

However, it was just a scratch on the armor plate.

She had tried to target the gaps and joints in the armor, but the blade wouldn't penetrate.

(Nevan's output isn't enough. If only I had more support.)

A nearby electronic warfare unit was burned and fell by the Big Boar's laser.

"!"

Claudia's heart ached as she watched her ally fall due to her poor judgment.

(Where did I go wrong? I—)

If only she had brought more forces.

If only she had cooperated with the border security forces.

—But, after thinking that far, she shook her head, realizing it would have been futile.

If she had pulled too many forces from the main fleet, it would have caused problems there.

Even if she had cooperated with the border security forces, she didn't think it would have changed the situation.

"Was it doomed from the start?"

Claudia steeled herself as she saw the Big Boar's laser lens pointing at her.

She decided to self-destruct at close range to damage the enemy, but then the fallen electronic warfare unit opened a communication channel.

"Ally—this can't be happening!?"

Claudia was slightly distracted, thinking her subordinate had panicked, but that moment saved her life.

Claudia's Nevan's radar also detected allies rapidly approaching.

"Boosters? —No, this is more than that."

There were no boosters left on the Lemira.

Yet, the rapid approach of the allies was unbelievable to Claudia.

Moreover, they were faster than the boosters they had used.

The Big Boar must have noticed as well.

It changed the direction of its lens and fired its optical weapon at the approaching allies.

"Oh? You're still around. But I've already obtained enough footage, so I have no intention of engaging you."

Several lasers were fired continuously at the rapidly approaching units.

Some of the lasers curved, and thousands of them were fired at the allied units.

The Big Boar was more powerful and troublesome than any of the anti-aircraft weapons prepared on the plant.

The communication interference was severe, and all they could tell was that the approaching units were allies.

They were treated as unknowns.

While registered as allies, no detailed information was available.

They were a suspicious presence.

The subordinates had given up, thinking it was impossible for the allies to arrive safely.

"It's impossible."

"What can one unit do?"

If only they would run—this was the wish of Claudia and the others, but strangely, the allied unit approached the plant without being shot down.

"What is this?"

Claudia noticed the anomaly, and Riber was panicking.

The Big Boar's sensors, which were superior to Nevan's, seemed to be showing the unusual nature of the approaching allied unit.

"Why? How can it avoid them!?"

While the Big Boar continued to attack relentlessly, the allied unit approached the plant almost in a straight line.

Claudia's eyes widened as she saw the unit.

"—Emma Rodman."

The unit that had approached to a visible distance was the experimental Nevan.

It was performing geometric maneuvers to avoid lasers and beams.

What was astonishing was that it had reached this point without being hit once.

But then, Emma's unit—passed by the plant.

"—What?"

◇

"Aaaaah!! Please stop!!"

In the cockpit of Atalante, Emma struggled with the overly sensitive Atalante and accidentally passed over the enemy plant, her destination.

She quickly changed direction, but the G-forces from the boosters were intense.

Meanwhile, a laser from the giant weapon was approaching.

Emma, who had grasped the situation with a quick glance, quickly moved the control stick several times.

A normal unit would have felt sluggish, but Atalante, which was described as overly sensitive, followed Emma's reaction speed.

"I can do this."

Atalante weaved through the laser gaps.

"With this unit—I can do it!"

There was no sense of sluggishness that she had always felt.

No matter what unit she piloted, it always felt like she was in water with high viscosity.

But now, that feeling was gone.

Atalante moved as Emma wished, and she operated the difficult unit like it was an extension of her body.

To get closer to the plant again, she lowered her altitude, only to find a dense cluster of Zorks on the ground.

"I didn't know there were so many!"

Despite her scream, curved lasers and beams rained down on Atalante.

As she passed over the Zorks, the lasers and beams also hit the Zorks.

"You hit your allies!?"

Emma was surprised, but the enemy was equally shocked.

"Who are you!?"

The enemy pilot, who seemed to be quite agitated, shouted at her.

Caught off guard by the question, Emma, in her excitement and panic, blurted out:

"Um, I'm—Emma Rodman! The knight of justice!"

The enemy, thinking Emma was mocking them, shouted back:

"Stop joking around! You're the third unit, but you're no match for this Big Boar!"

As the Big Boar prepared to attack again, communication with her allies opened.

"Rodman—Lieutenant!"

"Claudia Instructor!?"

The way Claudia called her, as if from training days, was a sign of her panic.

"To the point. It's connected to the base's power generator. It's constantly supplied with energy. The armor is thick. The weapons available to mobile knights won't penetrate."

Atalante, which had ascended, saw the struggling Nevan units.

(Instructors are in such a bind!? But—no. I can do it. I can do it with this unit. I will!)

Atalante aimed the rifle in her right hand and pulled the trigger.

The bullet pierced the lens of the optical weapon.

However, the destroyed lens was quickly ejected, and a new one appeared.

Emma attacked repeatedly, destroying the lenses, but they were all replaced.

"Cheater!"

"Useless. We can replace the lenses as many times as needed. No matter how much you fly around, you have no chance of—"

Before he could finish saying she had no chance, the enemy's behavior became strange.

"Power output is decreasing? Switching to internal power? Connection to the generator is cut—"

The Big Boar's movements became slightly sluggish.

At that moment, the communication interference was resolved.

On part of the monitor, the face of the ground force commander appeared.

"—We've seized the enemy's power facility."

The missing ground forces had seized the power facility deep underground, cutting off the Big Boar's power supply.

Claudia was surprised to learn they were safe.

"Did you aim for the underground in that situation?"

The commander smiled slightly.

"We're used to this level of chaos. But the monster above has an internal power source. It won't last ten minutes, but the problem is that it will self-destruct when the power runs out."

Next to the commander, a pirate leader lay unconscious, likely the source of the information.

"Can you defeat it within ten minutes?"

When asked if they could defeat it, Claudia hesitated, but—

"I will. I'll show you."

—Emma answered.

The commander smiled in a troubled way.

"Did you anticipate this, or was it just a whim?"

Neither Emma nor Claudia understood what he meant as he closed the communication.

"Good luck."

◇

In the underground of the plant, the ground forces, with the captured pirates, headed for the surface.

Next to the walking commander, the woman who delivered Atalante to Emma spoke.

"You really made it move."

"I thought only our boss or a knight with a loose screw could operate such a ridiculous unit. I never expected a girl like her to pilot it."

Everyone around understood who the boss was.

The commander seemed interested in Emma's future.

"Maybe that lieutenant is something special."

Kogeki-chan (°∀°) "Emma, do you know what day it is on November 30th?"

Emma (;・∀・) "It's the release date of 'The World of Otome Games is a Cruel Place for Side Characters, Volume 9.' (How pretentious.)"

Kogeki-chan (´∀｀*) "That's right! I, this me, will be the star in Volume 9! Everyone, support the idol in the afterword!"

Emma (・∀・) (I'd rather promote the 'Next New Light Novel Award 2021' and ask everyone to vote once a day!)

Kogeki-chan (°∀°) "Ah, and by the way, Mob Seka—will be getting an anime adaptation, so look forward to it! Thanks to my hard work in promoting it!"