Chapter 21

I failed to make the scheduled post.

Am I tired (；´Д｀)?

"Where did the attackers come from?"

"Unknown! The defense forces of the Seventh Weapons Factory seem to be in confusion, and they seem to think that the attackers have infiltrated the facility."

The Banfield family's battleship.

Klaus, who was commanding on the bridge, was seeking detailed information on what was happening.

However, it seems that the Seventh does not have a full grasp of the situation either.

Klaus put his hand to his chin and pondered.

(If someone attacks the weapons factory, it's the same as defying the Empire. No matter how much they are space pirates, they wouldn't be that foolish. If they do, they must be either extremely foolish or—fools.)

The asteroid Nia is defended by a fleet of over ten thousand ships.

If you challenge the weapons factory that supports the Empire's military power, it won't end well.

Even large-scale space pirates avoid such places.

"Is there a battle going on inside?"

"Yes, that has been confirmed."

"What about the defense forces?"

"They seem to be moving, but they are struggling."

The forces that protect the Seventh Weapons Factory exist, but even though they are trained, they lack practical combat experience.

Their training is high, and their equipment is of good quality. However, due to lack of experience, they are not taking effective measures.

(Usually, it's a place with a low possibility of being attacked.)

The soldiers must have been relaxed.

"Then, immediately deploy the Banfield family's ground forces. You can also deploy half of the knights. The remaining half should prepare for the mobile knights to sortie."

"Is it okay to interfere?"

Even if it's for rescue, from the perspective of the Seventh Weapons Factory, it's like sending armed soldiers.

It won't leave a good impression and could cause confusion at the scene.

Still, Klaus, who had a bad feeling, decided to deploy the forces.

"Notify the Seventh that we are sending ground forces. I will take responsibility."

"Yes, yes!"

Then, one of the operators reported to Klaus with a pale face.

"Um, Lieutenant Chenxi—"

◇

The facility where the modification of Atalante is being carried out.

When Emma and the others rushed in, Nias, who was wearing a white coat and working, distorted her face in annoyance.

"Can't you be a bit quieter?"

Dag, who saw Nias working on Atalante's modification amidst the alarm, grimaced.

"There are always crazy people in this world."

Molly pointed at Atalante.

"It's almost complete! Maybe we can make it work."

The modified Atalante is in the form before the joint reinforcement it received in the Third.

There are no significant changes.

It feels like it has returned to its pre-modification state.

Around Atalante, Percy and Mag's figures can be seen, but all the staff, including them, were continuing their work.

Emma approached Nias.

"Enemies have infiltrated the facility. Please evacuate immediately."

Nias let out a small sigh and spoke without meeting Emma's eyes.

"That's quite selfish. There's no reason for me to follow your instructions. Besides, you didn't bring the enemies here, did you?"

"---Huh?"

Where Nias was looking, the scenery seemed slightly distorted.

The stealth mode must have been turned off, as a woman in a powered suit appeared.

"You really are a genius. You're a far cry from that girl over there."

Emma, who hadn't noticed being targeted, broke out in a cold sweat but still picked up a weapon.

She held a pistol in her right hand and a laser blade hilt in her left.

She stepped forward to protect everyone, judging that the opponent was a knight.

"Back off!"

Seeing Emma step forward, the woman seemed to have a bitter expression behind her smoked visor.

"You're calling yourself a knight without any skills. ---Let's play."

The woman approached without a weapon, and Emma fired.

The pistol was an optical weapon, and a beam of light was released, but the woman read the trajectory from the muzzle and dodged.

Nias was saying something like "the device will break, so do it somewhere else," but there was no time to listen.

Emma extended her blade and swung it, but the woman grabbed her arm and twisted it.

"!"

"You're weak. If this is what it takes to be a knight, the Banfield family isn't much. A hastily formed knight order is only this good."

The woman then kneed Emma in the stomach and immediately punched her three times, sending her flying.

Molly and the others were frozen in place at the sudden event.

As Emma tried to get up, the woman grabbed her by the hair and lifted her.

"Y-You!"

Emma tried to resist, but the woman seemed to be in pain despite the smoked visor.

"---It's better for a pitiful child who knows nothing to die here."

The woman's left hand formed a hand knife and approached Emma's face—.

"Aha! Found you~"

—This time, another woman appeared, slashing the door.

The woman, whose knight uniform was modified to look like ethnic clothing, was familiar to Emma.

The woman had claw-like weapons in both hands, and there were bloodstains on her face, suggesting she had been in combat on the way.

The woman, who had stopped for a moment, immediately pushed Emma away and picked up a weapon.

Emma saw the two of them slashing each other in the next moment.

The woman seemed to know the newly arrived female knight.

"Who would have thought that a knight who kills her own would be hired by the Banfield family. Even if they accept everyone, they've brought in a troublesome one."

Chenxi smiled and tilted her head.

"You know me. It might be a bit fun."

"---This pervert."

The woman held a typical double-edged sword.

From the way she fought, she gave the impression of being a legitimate knight.

She was also a very skilled one.

Emma, watching the scene, trembled at the intensity of the battle between real knights.

(Amazing. I can't even help.)

The woman, who seemed to have trained in swordsmanship, deflected all of Chenxi's attacks.

However, Chenxi licked her lips at the sight.

"You're good. Really the best. Your subordinates must rely on you."

The woman, hearing Chenxi's words, jumped back.

"---What did you do to my subordinates?"

Chenxi waved her hand.

The gesture was like a bird flapping its wings, leaving her vulnerable.

It seemed to be inviting the woman to attack.

"They told me a lot when I carved them up. There were many tough ones, which was fun."

The moment she heard this, the woman threw something.

Smoke was released, accompanied by a strong light and sound.

The woman, who was trying to escape, was hit by Chenxi's claws, and her blood splattered.

Molly coughed.

"What was that? What happened!?"

Larry was covering his ears.

"M-My ears hurt."

Dag was aiming his pistol and guarding the area, but Emma knew the enemy had already fled.

She stood up and approached Chenxi.

"Um, thank you for your help."

However, Chenxi, looking at her claws, let out a small sigh.

"---I let her get away."

Despite this, she smiled slightly and left the room.

◇

"I didn't expect such a monster to be dispatched."

Sirena, who had discarded her helmet and was pressing her side, injected a syringe into her neck.

Using a pain-relieving drug, she then applied medicine to the wound.

The wound was closing, but it was deep and still painful.

She grimaced in pain but thought of her subordinates who had been carved up by Chenxi.

Sirena operated the terminal.

"---What's the situation?"

As she communicated, reports from her subordinates came in one after another.

"Captain, the Banfield family's ground forces have come out. The attack is impossible."

"That woman, I'll kill her! How dare she to Marco!"

"Captain, that Chenxi is there. She's now working for the Banfield family. Be careful."

Listening to the reports from her subordinates, Sirena realized that the operation was not going well.

"I encountered her. Thanks to her, I got injured. By the way, I want to steal a mobile knight to escape. Can you check if there's a nearby unit I can take?"

Data from her allies came in, and there was a movement to transport important units nearby.

"They are moving a custom unit. The closest one to your location is this one. It's already powered up, so if you can take it, it will move."

Sirena, leaning against the wall, smiled.

"It's not my style, but there's no choice."

◇

The hangar where Raccoon is stored.

A pilot belonging to the Seventh Weapons Factory was opening the hatch of the gold-painted [Gold Raccoon].

"At a time like this, I'm told to move a high-end machine. It's frustrating."

While complaining, he got in and tried to move it.

Since it was a custom unit, it took a lot of effort to start it up.

After finishing, he opened the hatch and was about to get in—.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Huh?"

—The pilot was thrown and fell to the floor.

Fortunately, he was wearing a pilot suit and did not die.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Ignoring the pilot who got up and complained, Sirena sat in the cockpit and operated the unit.

Closing the hatch, Sirena smiled at the feeling of it starting up.

"Not bad. I like it except for the appearance. Well—let's continue the mission, shall we?"

At least, she intended to destroy Atalante and kill Emma, whom she disliked.

◇

"Rodman Lieutenant, evacuate Atalante immediately."

"Knight Commander?"

"The information from the enemy captured by the ground forces indicates that their target is to destroy Atalante."

"Such!?"

"There's also information that a mobile knight was stolen from the Seventh. If this continues, you are in danger."

At that time, Klaus's communication came to Emma and the others.

When Percy heard the suggestion to move Atalante, she objected.

"Don't interfere! If it were easy to move, we wouldn't be struggling."

"I heard that the unit is completed, right?"

"The modified unit won't work with the old software."

"You don't have to ride it. If you can move it to the port—"

"It's too far from here! Besides, if the enemy is approaching, the passage won't be usable."

Percy started arguing on Emma's terminal, but Nias approached, putting her hand in the pocket of her white coat.

"There's a hatch to go into space. If you can receive it outside, you can just load it and send it out."

Hearing Nias's suggestion, Klaus thought for a moment and nodded.

"Understood. I will dispatch a recovery team. ---Rodman Lieutenant, I know it's difficult, but please deliver Atalante safely."

"Yes!"

Emma, saluting, immediately began preparing to board Atalante.

After cutting the communication, she was about to head to the locker to change—when Nias stopped her.

"Wait."

"Huh?"

Turning around, Nias asked Emma a question.

"Where did you learn to operate a mobile knight with the assist turned off?"

Is this the time to ask such a question?

Emma tilted her head but decided to answer anyway.

"Well, I learned by playing a mobile knight simulator that was delivered to an old game center."

She thought it was a nostalgic story.

An old game center in the neighborhood had a simulator brought in by someone who seemed to be in financial trouble. The owner regretted buying it, and Emma remembered him often saying, "That fraudster."

The simulator did not have an assist function installed from the beginning.

Children would get in but couldn't move it properly, so it just took up space.

Only Emma, who was fascinated by knights, kept riding it to experience operating a mobile knight.

Day after day, she kept riding it and gradually learned to move it.

Walking, running, jumping—operating a mobile knight was fun.

Thinking about it nostalgically, Nias smiled slightly and looked at Emma.

"Right. I'm sorry for stopping you. You can go now."

"Yes."

As Nias watched Emma run off, she looked down and smiled to herself.

"---The system can be repurposed without any problems."