Chapter 18

["The World of Otome Games is Harsh for the Mob" Volume 10] is also out, so I'm thinking about updating my activity report.

Since Twitter is easier, I usually tweet there.

Please be sure to check it out.

Inside Atalante's cockpit, the alarm was ringing.

"I only have a test rifle!"

Suddenly, six enemy units appeared.

It was unclear where they came from, and there was no sign of a mothership nearby.

Communication with the transport ship was still connected, and Percy's voice, filled with confusion, could be heard.

"Who do you belong to!?"

"It's unknown. There are similar units, but it's impossible to identify them."

"What's your purpose? Do you have any demands!?"

"No."

Emma, piloting Atalante, focused on the enemy units while listening to the chaotic communications from her allies.

(Even if the gun is useless, the blade should work!)

Atalante threw the test rifle and pulled out the handle of a laser blade from the side skirt, gripping it with her right hand.

A bluish-white blade appeared, and she raised the shield attached to her left arm.

"Damn!"

Immediately after, the bullets from the enemy units' rifles came flying at her.

They not only had projectile weapons but also optical weapons.

The small mobile knights were agile and swift.

Surrounded by such enemies, Atalante was dodging around.

However—

"There's no power at all!?"

—She didn't feel the same power as before.

Looking at Atalante, the joints were swollen and emitting bluish-white electricity.

"I'm not even at full power!?"

She hurriedly descended to the ground, and three enemy units with spears attacked the spot where Atalante had been just moments ago.

She managed to avoid them, but Emma couldn't use Atalante's full power because it wasn't moving as she wanted.

(No matter how much I try to increase the output, it feels like it's slipping away. This isn't Atalante.)

No matter how much she tried to exert force, it slipped away from the joints.

The current Atalante was even letting the necessary energy escape from the joints.

At this point, Emma realized the true nature of the initial discomfort.

"Lieutenant Rodman! The Seventh Defense Force has launched. You have three minutes to escape at full power."

She just needed to hold out until the allies arrived.

But the enemy units were experienced in combat, making it difficult for Emma.

Even with the current Atalante, she could still move faster than the enemy units.

However, she couldn't make sharp turns.

The different handling sensation from usual was too dangerous in the current situation.

Emma's breathing became heavy.

Her hand reached for a box with three buttons that had been hastily installed in the cockpit.

Percy, noticing the anomaly, desperately tried to persuade Emma.

"Don't remove the limiter!"

Despite this, Emma pressed the buttons in the order to remove the limiter.

"Just for a short time, this unit can—!"

When Atalante's limiter was removed, the unit emitted a yellow light.

The discharge from the joints changed from blue to yellow.

The amount of discharge increased, and it was clearly different from before.

"This should work—huh?"

She pressed the foot pedal and moved the control stick, but there was no resistance as before.

It felt so light, as if a sound effect of "swoosh" could be heard, and Atalante didn't respond.

She expected to feel gravity in the cockpit, but what she felt first was the shaking from an explosion.

"—No way."

Fire erupted from Atalante's joints, and her arms and legs were blown off at the elbows and knees.

Atalante, now unarmed, floated in place, and the enemy units seemed confused.

But the enemy units' gun barrels were aimed at Atalante.

(Am I going to be killed!?)

At the moment she realized she was going to die, Mohayev, who had launched from the transport ship, attacked with a work tool in his hand.

The stakes fired from the nail gun deflected the enemy units' rifles.

"Are you okay, miss!"

It was Doug who came to her rescue.

"Doug!"

Behind him was Larry's Mohayev.

"Launching with a unit that has no proper weapons, you're definitely finished."

The two units, being work units, were painted yellow.

Larry also attacked the enemy units with a nail gun, but it wasn't designed as a weapon.

His aim was off, and the enemy units dodged.

If the Seventh Defense Force hadn't arrived sooner than expected, all three units would have been destroyed.

"Are you okay! We'll take it from here."

With the appearance of battleships and mobile knights, the enemy units immediately retreated.

Without a mothership, where were they heading?

While the Seventh Defense Force pursued them, Doug spoke to Emma.

"You survived, miss."

"—Doug, I—"

Seeing Emma crying, Doug sighed deeply and said,

"If you're on the battlefield, you can be killed. If you're not prepared, you should quit the military now—"

He thought Emma was afraid of dying, but that wasn't it.

"I! I broke Atalante."

"Huh? That's not important right now!"

"It is important!"

Emma strongly retorted to Doug and sobbed in the cockpit.

"Atalante was proof that I could be a knight. I thought I could finally get closer to that person."

Emma's tears wouldn't stop.

Not only could she not reach the back of the person she admired, but she couldn't even see them.

But even so—she thought she could get closer with Atalante.

No matter how distant the ideal, Atalante was the important mobile knight that could bring her closer, even a little.

She couldn't forgive herself for destroying it with her own mistake.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Atalante."

◇

Atalante returned to the hangar in a pitiful state.

Fixed by several wires, it looked as if its limbs had been cut off and tied up.

Emma, floating in a zero-gravity state, hugged her knees.

(It's because I removed the limiter. If I hadn't, this wouldn't have happened.)

She thought about redoing it many times.

She looked up at Atalante.

"I'm sorry, Atalante. Maybe—maybe I can't complete you."

It self-destructed during the overload after the modification.

This was a significant failure for Atalante's development team.

Apparently, the upper management of the Third Weapons Factory was considering halting the development.

There were many factions in the upper management that wanted to continue the special unit development, but there were also many opposing factions.

From Percy's difficult expression upon returning, it was clear that the development halt was likely.

Despite the large budget spent on the modification, no results were achieved.

Emma cried.

"I'm a useless knight after all."

She was ashamed of ruining the opportunity to finally shine, which she had in her hands.

◇

The space battleship of the mercenary group Feet was being repaired in the dock of the Seventh Weapons Factory.

The leader, Siren, sighed softly while watching the three ships being repaired.

No one was around, but a voice came from Siren's shadow.

"Was the mission not completed?"

Siren, without turning to the shadow, crossed her arms and answered.

"No. The client requested destruction. I saw the footage, but it self-destructed."

The client would surely be dissatisfied.

Siren also confirmed the other requests.

"More importantly, how was the new unit? I thought it was agile but lacked a decisive strike."

The other request was to test a prototype unit supplied by another weapons factory.

This was not a new unit but a modified production model designed for space pirates and mercenaries.

"The Bauler? As you said, but we can use it. How about customizing one for you, leader?"

Nodding at the positive evaluation from her subordinate, she showed reluctance regarding the custom unit.

The Bauler was a mobile knight given to the mercenary group for practical testing.

The round unit, classified as small at less than 14 meters, had a simple structure and appearance.

It was a mobile knight that one of the empire's weapons factories was considering selling to space pirates and mercenaries due to its durability and high maintainability.

They were responsible for the final test—practical testing.

However, it wasn't to Siren's liking.

"I don't like it."

"But shouldn't you consider changing your mobile knight soon?"

"I know. —How about I just pick one here?"

"Are you going to buy one?"

"Of course not."

Siren, shaking her shoulders and narrowing her eyes, recalled the next-generation unit developed by the Vanfield family at the Seventh Weapons Factory.

The unit designed for aces without assist—Teumessa.

"I have a preferred unit, so I'll borrow it when I go on a rampage."

Her subordinate asked,

"Then, according to the plan?"

"Of course."

Young tree ( ﾟдﾟ) "Sapling, as a plant, I can't understand human hobbies. Teumessa and Raccoon are almost the same inside, right?"

Young tree (ﾟ∀ﾟ) "At least there should be some difference, like 'I am a corrupt lord of an interstellar nation!' and 'The World of Otome Games is Harsh for the Mob.' The latest [10th volume] of [Mob Seka] is already out, so everyone should buy and read it!"