Chapter 2

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After the operation, Emma was summoned to Claudia's office.

Claudia, dressed in the Banfield family's military uniform, had her long aqua hair tied back at the nape of her neck.

The tall and well-built Claudia had a model-like appearance. However, she was a knight with the strength to take down even ferocious beasts with one arm.

What she calmly announced was Emma's final evaluation.

"Second Lieutenant Emma Rodman -- 54 years old. Your performance at the knight school was average except for the operation of the mobile knight. This is your official evaluation."

"--- Yes."

In a world where interstellar nations exist, human lifespans are long.

At 54, she looked like a teenager in her mid-teens and was treated as a newly adult child in society.

"But your evaluation after the final test is D-rank."

"---!?"

The lowest rank for knights is D-rank.

This rank is given to knight candidates before evaluation.

Another group is the knights who are deemed "problematic" and are not considered combat-ready after evaluation.

For Emma, who had graduated from the knight school and experienced her first battle, Claudia's evaluation was "incompetent."

"You couldn't operate the mobile knight properly, and you couldn't finish off the enemy. You are nothing but incompetent as a knight."

Emma lowered her head and bit her lower lip.

As tears of frustration welled up, Claudia looked at her with a cold gaze.

"You don't even have the right to feel regret. You should know how much budget the Banfield family has allocated to train you as a knight."

Knights are superhumans trained from a young age.

Even if born as a regular person, one can become a knight after receiving training under a mentor using educational capsules, but the cost is something an ordinary person cannot afford.

"The Banfield family is currently short of knights. Thanks to the great war with the Barkley family a few years ago, there is a demand for knights everywhere. The short-term knight school was set up to meet this demand."

The Banfield family's knight school was established to increase the number of knights, as the current head Liam had once reset the knight corps.

There were no hereditary knights left, and none were being trained.

The short-term education to train knights takes about twenty years.

Although it takes a bit of time to train a knight, the Banfield family, which is short of manpower, cannot afford to wait.

Claudia asked Emma a question.

"Why did you aspire to become a knight?"

Caught off guard by Claudia's sudden question, Emma answered hesitantly.

"--- To protect people."

(The reason I aspired to become a knight is---)

She recalled the day she strongly recognized the existence of knights.

"I aimed to become a knight to protect the weak. Like Lord Liam, a hero of justice---!"

At the mention of the lord's name, Claudia immediately punched her. The sudden attack, without any warning or wind-up, was evidence of Claudia's genuine anger.

Emma was blown back and hit the wall, then fell to the floor.

"You have no right to speak of Lord Liam, you half-baked knight."

Claudia, who had been expressionless until now, was now red with anger.

As Emma tried to stand up, Claudia turned her back on her.

"--- The Banfield family does not need incompetent knights."

Called incompetent, Emma lowered her head and tears of frustration streamed down her face.

◇

About two weeks after her first mission.

Returning to the Banfield family's home planet, Hydra, Emma was running in comfortable clothing.

She was wearing jogging pants and a tank top.

Her well-shaped chest jiggled slightly.

Not small, but not large either.

She was running in a park with a vast, lush area, where citizens came early in the morning for walks or runs.

The sight of a girl running early in the morning was not unusual, but Emma's physical strength, trained to become a knight, was different from that of an ordinary person.

While ordinary people ran on the well-maintained course, Emma ran through the bumpy forest.

The path was for managing the forest within the park and was rarely used. Robots were moving around to manage the park, and several drones were flying in the sky.

As Emma accelerated, leaves danced in the air.

Running through a steep slope, she emerged into a small square.

"Arrived!"

Breathless, Emma raised her hands and shouted, then took out a towel to wipe the sweat off her face.

The destination square was located on a high ground, from where the capital of the Banfield family was visible.

In the distance, the city, surrounded by walls, looked like a collection of high-rise buildings.

The mansion of the Earl, the lord of Hydra, was visible.

Emma liked the view from here.

However, her expression today was not good.

While catching her breath and looking at the scenery, an old man sitting on a bench in the square spoke to her.

"This is a nice place. You can feel the development of the territory."

Turning around, Emma felt embarrassed to see the old man. She was embarrassed that he had heard her shout and also felt ashamed that she hadn't noticed his presence.

"Grandpa!?"

As a knight, she should have been able to sense the presence of an ordinary person, but she hadn't.

"Um, um--- It's been a while."

Embarrassed, Emma greeted the old man, who smiled at her.

The gentlemanly old man was looking at Emma.

"That wild girl has grown up so much."

The old gentleman was not Emma's grandfather.

Since childhood, Emma had come to the park to exercise and often met the old man at this time.

She didn't know his name, but they had become acquaintances who greeted each other and chatted.

With the widespread use of anti-aging technology, there were few people who looked like old men.

The sight of an old man in the park was unusual for young Emma.

Therefore, she started to approach him.

To an old acquaintance, Emma spoke in a casual tone.

"Grandpa, I'm an adult now."

"I apologize. By the way, didn't you enter the knight school? Have you graduated?"

At the mention of the knight school, Emma's expression darkened.

Remembering being called incompetent by Claudia, Emma sat down next to the old man.

"I did graduate, but my evaluation was the worst. I was told that I'm the only one with a D-rank this term."

"D-rank? Did you perform poorly?"

The old man, who seemed to know about the knight ranks, was worried about Emma. Judging that he would understand without detailed explanations, Emma nodded and continued.

"My grades weren't bad. They weren't good, but--- But I can't operate the mobile knight. I really like riding the mobile knight, but I'm just bad at it."

Lowering her head and swinging her legs, Emma complained to the old man.

"Everyone else is assigned to fleets or bases and can ride new models. But I can't. I'm being sent to the frontier, and the mobile knight I'll be given is an old model."

"Frontier? Where is that?"

"You probably don't know even if I tell you. It's a planet the Banfield family has acquired. It's habitable, but it has been neglected for years and needs to be surveyed. I think it's called--- [Eliasis], right?"

"Eliasis? That's quite far away."

The old man, who seemed to know about Eliasis, made Emma feel a bit uneasy.

It's not common knowledge, but it can be investigated.

"You know a lot, Grandpa."

When Emma said this, the old man, who seemed to be thinking about something, became a bit flustered.

"I used to be fascinated by the survey teams for unknown planets."

"Really? But didn't you say you aimed to be an actor?"

Recalling past conversations, Emma remembered that the old man had said he aimed to be an actor.

The old man laughed awkwardly.

"Embarrassingly, I tried many things when I was young. I took many detours before I found my current job."

"Detours, huh."

"What's wrong?"

"--- I'm not sure if I'm heading towards my dream. It feels more like a detour. I can't be a hero like Lord Liam."

The old man, who seemed to sense that Emma was giving up on her dream, smiled a bit sadly.

"You aimed to be a hero like Lord Liam."

However, as he continued, his expression became serious.

"If you give up now, you won't become a hero like Lord Liam."

"Huh?"

The old man stood up from the bench.

"He never gives up, no matter the situation, and always moves forward. He doesn't care about others' evaluations; he just follows his own path---"

Noticing Emma's gaze, the old man stopped.

"Grandpa, do you know Lord Liam?"

"N-no. But living on this planet for a long time, I can imagine what Lord Liam is like."

"Is that how it works? I only know the current Lord, so I can't imagine what he looks like. I often hear that he used to be terrible."

"Haha, yes. Oh, it's time for me to go to work."

The old man left, but before he went, he said to Emma.

"I believe you can become a hero."

"Can I?"

"You won't succeed if you doubt yourself. Believing and moving forward is a privilege of the young."

"Believing in myself, huh. It's easy to say, but---"

"You can always give up."

"--- That's true. Thank you, Grandpa. I feel better. Yes, it's not over yet!"

Emma, encouraged by these words, waved her hand at the old man.

When the old man was out of sight, Emma slapped her cheeks to motivate herself.

"That's right. I won't give up this easily. I will become a just knight!"

◇

The Banfield family's mansion is vast.

It encompasses an entire city, and calling it a mansion is no longer accurate.

In one of the rooms in this mansion, a person who oversees the Banfield family's knight corps was present.

Christianne Letta Rosebrier, who held the top position in the Banfield family's knight corps, had been dismissed by Lord Liam's anger.

However, due to the lack of a replacement, she continued to manage the knight corps.

She called for her deputy and trusted female knight, Claudia.

Claudia stood in front of her in a relaxed posture, and Christianne narrowed her eyes.

"You did a good job while I was away."

"Yes, it is an honor."

"However, there is a problem with the training of the new recruits. Claudia, you are too strict."

Claudia, who was judged to be too strict, showed no reaction on her face.

On the contrary, she rebutted Christianne, who was blaming herself.

"Knights who have not experienced real combat are useless."

"That's true. But you should treat the new recruits with more care. It's too much to throw them into real combat right after they graduate from the knight school. --- And your evaluations are too harsh."

"Useless knights who hold back their allies are not needed."

Christianne sympathized with her deputy's cold smile.

(Claudia, you are still holding onto the past.)

Claudia, a female knight, had a past of being captured by space pirates due to the betrayal of an incompetent ally.

She was strict even before being captured, but after that incident, she became even stricter towards others.

For her, allies were only capable knights who shared her experience.

Others were merely pawns.

However, as a superior, she had to reprimand her.

"I didn't order you to select. I ordered you to prepare usable knights."

She intimidated her subordinate with a smile.

Claudia, recognizing the difference in strength, erased her smile and became expressionless.

However, her bitterness seeped through her words.

"I apologize. I will be more careful in the future."

"That's not necessary. The Banfield family doesn't have the luxury to keep you as an instructor indefinitely."

Saying this, Christianne projected documents in front of Claudia.

Claudia narrowed her eyes.

"--- What is this?"

The documents projected by Christianne showed information about the weapons used by space pirates.

"There are those who provide weapons to the space pirates."

"Are they weapon merchants?"

If you pay, there are many merchants who will sell weapons to space pirates.

However, Christianne looked at different documents.

"We have obtained information that one of the newly acquired planets has a weapons factory for the pirates. The exact location is not determined, but it is definitely there."

Claudia's expression turned unpleasant as she frowned.

Christianne gave Claudia an order.

"Claudia, destroy the weapons factory before others start to make a fuss."

"Yes."

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