Chapter 15

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The Seventh Weapon Factory, one of the military factories supporting the military power of the Argland Empire, was based on a cluster of asteroids in space.

The awkwardly connected military factory, made from asteroids that had been mined out, functioned as a single space colony.

Inside the asteroids, everything necessary to operate the weapon factory was available.

Since many staff members lived at the Seventh Weapon Factory, the living environment was also well-prepared.

The light carrier Marea, to which Emma was assigned, arrived at such an asteroid, Nia.

Together with the ships from the Vanfield family, Marea was being guided into the interior of the Seventh Weapon Factory.

"Welcome, crew of Marea. Thank you very much for helping us with the homecoming."

The operator of the Seventh, after confirming Marea's construction records, welcomed them with the term "homecoming."

Emma was listening to this announcement in the hangar.

"Indeed, it is a homecoming."

Emma, who seemed oddly convinced, was showing her face from the cockpit of the experimental prototype [Atalante].

She was wearing a jumpsuit, but her upper body was bare, revealing a white tank top.

Her chest shape was clearly visible, but as she was in the military, neither she nor those around her seemed to mind.

Molly, who was nearby, was operating a tablet-like terminal while talking to Emma.

"The Seventh is very particular, you know."

"Particular?"

"Compared to others, they specialize in technology, so they want to boast about their weapons."

When you hear about the Seventh Weapon Factory, the performance is excellent, but there are other issues.

Due to the extreme focus on productivity and maintainability, many of their weapons are designed without considering human operation.

As a result, their popularity within the empire is very low.

Molly's explanation made Emma smile wryly.

"The Vanfield family uses it a lot, though."

"I don't dislike it, but if I have to use it, I prefer the third one. It looks good, performs well, and has a good cost-performance ratio."

The technicians working on Atalante's maintenance were listening to this conversation.

Although they were in a warship, their work uniforms were not from the Vanfield family but were marked with "Third."

One of them, Technical Lieutenant Percy Pae, was the chief of the Atalante development team.

She wore red glasses and had her hair tied in a ponytail at the back of her neck.

She was the only one wearing a white coat over a tight skirt suit.

She was tall and had a good figure, but her most distinctive feature was her ears, which were long and pointed, proving she was an elf.

She joined Emma and Molly's conversation with a smile.

"I'm honored to receive such praise."

"Ah! Lieutenant Percy!"

At the appearance of the technical lieutenant, Emma and Molly hurriedly saluted. However, Percy waved her hand to stop them.

"I don't like formalities. Besides, I'm more of a developer than a soldier. I do maintenance and improvements, but my main job isn't military."

When Percy said she wasn't a soldier, Emma and Molly looked confused and made awkward faces.

"But, aren't you an officer in the Imperial Regular Army?"

"We're higher in rank than private armies, you know."

Seeing their reactions, Percy put her hand to her forehead.

"The weapon factory is a semi-official military industry. I went to the military academy because it was free for this kind of job."

Percy explained that she became a soldier to become a scientist, having once entered the military academy.

Molly looked surprised.

"Is that even possible?"

"It is. However, your job options are limited to weapon factories. If you're exceptionally talented, you might get recruited by a factory, though—"

While they were talking, Marea entered the Seventh's dock and was secured by an arm.

The dock, in a state of zero gravity, was hexagonal, with ships fixed to each side.

"---It seems we've arrived. Everyone, keep an eye out and don't let the Seventh's tech geeks get near Atalante."

Percy gave orders to her subordinates and moved away from the two.

Emma turned her gaze from Percy and her team to Atalante.

"A special team for this girl."

Atalante, which no one else could operate, was a modified Nevan developed by the Third Weapon Factory for special machine development.

It had been a machine that no one could move and was stored at the Third Weapon Factory, but now it was Emma's dedicated machine.

It was so difficult to operate that even top pilots had given up on it.

For Emma, who could operate it, the Third Weapon Factory had sent a dedicated team to recover data and knowledge for special machine development.

Then, the hangar hatch opened.

The people from the Seventh Weapon Factory appeared.

Molly scratched her head.

"They're already here to investigate."

They were holding various instruments, eager to gather information about Atalante.

A man who seemed to be the representative approached immediately.

"Hello, crew of Marea. Oh, the Third Weapon Factory's team is here too?"

Percy's team, led by Percy, was glaring to prevent them from touching Atalante.

"Such a hypocritical greeting. That's why I dislike dwarves."

The representative from the Seventh was a dwarf.

"To have an arrogant elf as the leader, what is the Third thinking?"

"That's discrimination, isn't it? The low human rights awareness of the Seventh is really annoying."

"You're the one looking down on dwarves. You made a terrible face when you saw me."

"Is that so? I don't remember."

Seeing the technicians glaring at each other, Emma sighed deeply.

"Is everything going to be okay?"

As she watched the arguing pair, a message arrived on Emma's terminal.

Molly peeked over to see the content.

"Did they give us some work to do?"

Molly wondered if the squad had been given a mission, but Emma shook her head.

"All the knights are to gather. Sorry, I have to go to the meeting right after I leave Marea."

Emma moved away from Atalante, and Molly waved.

"Being a knight is tough. I don't know what's going to happen, but good luck."

"Yeah!"

◇

Inside the asteroid Nia, there was a city.

What made it typical of the Seventh Weapon Factory was its design, which prioritized functionality.

The urban planning was efficient, which was great, but the downside was the lack of space.

It lacked a sense of playfulness.

Emma, watching the city on a giant screen wall, was attending a gathering of the knights dispatched from the Vanfield family.

It was a welcome party for the Seventh Weapon Factory.

It was a standing party, and many of the same Vanfield family knights were participating.

Several venues were prepared, including parties for generals and colonels.

"Weapons factories have a lot of money, don't they?"

She held a glass of juice in both hands, watching the wall as the images changed one after another.

Most of the knights around her were talking to colleagues and acquaintances, but unfortunately, Marea had only one knight.

She didn't see any of her peers, so Emma was alone.

Occasionally, a knight would call out to her, but most were trying to pick her up.

"Hey, are you free after this?"

A major, a B-class knight, called out to Emma.

She was flustered when the short-haired, handsome knight spoke to her, but she noticed his build and chest and realized he was a woman.

"I have work to do."

"That's a shame."

The woman knight was not persistent and seemed to be more of a greeting.

"You're new, right? To be a B-class knight, that's quite a good treatment."

Her words sounded a bit pointed, but the woman knight seemed genuinely curious.

"Well, I got lucky on a big mission."

Emma's vague answer intrigued the woman knight.

"You're interesting. Would you like to join our unit? We'd welcome you."

"Um, well—"

While Emma was trying to decline, she heard a quarrel from somewhere.

"Say that again."

Emma and the major turned to a group of about ten people who were glaring at each other, ready to draw their weapons.

The other side was not backing down.

"You useless ones who lost to pirates don't deserve the new model. Teumessa will be received by us. You can use Mohayev."

It seemed they were arguing over a new model to be received by the Seventh.

As the fight was about to start, the major sighed and folded his arms.

"Even here, factional disputes are tiring."

With a weary expression, the major explained to Emma.

"Factional disputes?"

"You don't seem to know. There are two knights who are often mentioned as representatives of the Vanfield family's knight order."

"I know. Lady Christiana and Lady Marie, right?"

The two, who had recently held the positions of chief and deputy chief, had been stripped of their positions due to Liam's anger.

However, in the Vanfield family, where the shortage of personnel was severe, Christiana and Marie still played important roles.

Emma mentioned the general public's evaluation of the two.

"Both are top knights and are known for their loyalty to the lord."

The major, looking at Emma's smile, had a hard-to-describe expression.

"Have you met them?"

"I've only seen them a few times at ceremonies, and I haven't had the chance to get close to them otherwise."

It was rare for a regular knight to meet Christiana or Marie.

"I've only met them a few times, but those two are like cats and dogs."

"Huh?"

Hearing about the internal affairs of the knight order, Emma was surprised.

The major took a sip of the drink in his glass.

"There are even rumors that the reason they were stripped of their positions was because they had a factional dispute in front of the lord. But, the history of the knight order is still shallow. It's common for organizations to fight over who will be the top. If you win here, you'll be safe for a few hundred years."

"Um, are the people who are about to fight—"

Emma had a vague idea but hoped it was wrong.

The major smiled.

"Correct. They are the knights of the two factions. You haven't seen them, have you? In our unit, the Christiana faction and the Marie faction fight quite fiercely."

"We have to stop them!"

Realizing that the group, which seemed ready to kill each other, was divided by factional rivalry, Emma moved to stop them.

But the major grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Wait. Our general will mediate soon."

"General? Do you mean Sir?"

Is the general here? To Emma's question, the major pointed with his right hand to guide her gaze.

There, a male knight was stepping forward in front of the group that was glaring at each other.

"He's our top. In the knight order, he's called the 'miscellaneous duties officer.'"

Emma recognized the person and muttered his name in surprise.

"Klaus—Knight Commander?"

Klaus, a lieutenant colonel, was leading the knights on this mission and was temporarily called the Knight Commander.

He was a slender, fox-faced beautiful female knight, and the person leading her was—Klaus, the lieutenant colonel.

It seemed the major was one of Klaus's subordinates and was proudly boasting about his superior.

"He's an unknown knight, but he's quite impressive. I think he has the potential to become a senior officer in the knight order."

The Vanfield family's knight order, though lacking in numbers for a baron's family, still had a considerable scale.

With thousands to tens of thousands of knights, a senior officer would be in a position to lead thousands or tens of thousands of knights.

In the expanding Vanfield family, a senior officer would be a powerful figure, treated as a chief knight in other families.

The major, with a somewhat troubled look, was watching the person following Klaus.

"---But, only someone like him can make that stubborn horse follow. Still, it's amazing that our general can keep a 'ally killer' around."

"Ally killer? Could it be!"

Emma recognized the female knight behind Klaus.

Chenxi Sera Tourei—she had been a problem child, expelled from several knight orders.

She was known as the "ally killer" for indiscriminately killing both enemies and allies on the battlefield.

The two of them were about to mediate the fight.

Klaus, with a neutral expression, but a voice that echoed throughout the venue, announced.

"That's enough. Both sides, step back."

Sakamoto (°∀°) "Sakamoto is jealous of the popularity of Klaus. But it's okay, I'm cute. I'm cute! The idol in the afterword isn't just for show."

Sakamoto (°∀°) "Volume 10 of 'The World of Otome Games is Harsh for Side Characters' will be released on May 30th. It might already be on the shelves in some areas, but please avoid spoilers."

Sakamoto (；ﾟДﾟ) "By the way, what about my character in Mari's route? I haven't appeared at all, but I'm still alive, right? Right!?"