Chapter 28

I was surprised to see so many comments about the afterword in the impression section.

It was just a casual start, yet it seems to have gained quite a bit of popularity.

I'm really puzzled...

Light aircraft carrier *Merea*’s mobile knight operation hangar.

The hangar is lined with *Raccoons*, but three *Nevan* type units, in addition to *Atalante*, were prepared.

The members of the third squad, led by Emma, were watching the *Nevans* from a distance.

Molly, who loves mobile knights, had her eyes shining.

"That one is a custom type, right? According to the catalog, it's said to have 20% better performance than a regular *Nevan*. I'd love to touch it just once."

The mass-produced *Nevan* prepared by the Vanfield family.

Upon hearing it was a custom type, Warrant Officer *Larry Kramer* frowned.

"Special units for the elites, huh? They're spending so much money, but I wish they had allocated the budget to us earlier."

The custom *Nevan* is given only to a select few among the knights.

Emma had heard that it was experimentally assigned to the elite squad led by Russell.

However, more importantly...

"Mr. Larry, we were also given *Raccoons*, weren't we?"

"Even after being treated so poorly, it's hard to accept this sudden change."

Seeing Larry's stubbornness, Emma sighed.

(Despite the improved environment, nothing has really changed.)

As she pondered how to approach her subordinates, Warrant Officer *Doug Walsh* placed his hand on his chin and said,

"Come on, Larry. They are elites, different from us."

Hearing Doug's words, Emma's shoulders slumped.

"Please don't say that, Mr. Doug."

"It's the truth, isn't it?"

"Indeed, they are elites, but—"

Russell and his two subordinates were among the top hundred graduates from the knight school.

Unlike Emma, they had been on the elite track in the Vanfield family since graduation.

Being given a custom *Nevan* is a sign that they are expected to perform.

The squad is led by Captain Russell, with the other two members being lieutenants.

All three graduated with top hundred rankings, excellent knights.

As the third squad watched, a female knight turned to face them.

She had brown skin and long, straight blonde hair.

She had a slender build and seemed to have a frivolous personality.

Her name is Lieutenant *Charmel Odin*.

With a light tone, she mocked the third squad.

"Captain~ You've been staring at us for a while, haven't you~"

She called out to Russell, who was just then discussing something with his other subordinate, Lieutenant *Yohm Bart*.

The young man with his bangs covering his eyes seemed to have a dark personality.

He was shorter and more slender than Russell, not looking like a knight at all.

However, being in Russell's squad, he was likely an excellent knight.

"You graduated in the same year as the captain, right? I heard you were a genius who received the new model, but you don't seem intimidating at all."

From Emma's perspective, both Charmel and Yohm were juniors as knights.

However, their words and actions conveyed that they did not respect Emma as a senior.

Russell, noticing Emma and the others watching them, made a visibly displeased face.

"---I really can't stand it. Even for the mission, why do we have to be on this ship?"

Russell seemed to harbor a strong dislike for *Merea*, which had previously been a place of demotion.

His words made Larry and Doug's expressions turn harsh.

"Hah! No one asked the elites to board, you know."

In response to Larry's sarcasm, Russell calmly replied,

"We are following orders. I'm not important enough to choose my flagship based on personal feelings. If you have complaints, take them to the higher-ups."

Larry, who had been glared at coldly, fell silent, and now it was Doug's turn.

"Why don't you try to negotiate with the higher-ups to avoid boarding *Merea*? They would likely listen to you more than us, being elites."

Charmel and Yohm exchanged glances and tilted their heads.

Russell looked as if he had a headache.

"If you think you can refuse orders based on personal feelings, this unit is truly hopeless."

Hearing the truth, even Doug fell silent, and Charmel and Yohm shrugged.

"I was looking forward to having B-rank knights like me, but these guys are disappointing."

Charmel's words made Emma react.

"Same B-rank?"

"Yes. I'm a B-rank knight, and my rank is higher than the captain's."

Charmel, puffing out her chest, made Russell look at a loss.

He probably wanted to scold his subordinate for belittling him, but he couldn't because it was true.

"I'm the squad leader."

"I know, I know~"

Charmel's light response left Emma in shock.

She couldn't believe that the girl in front of her was the same B-rank as her.

(Becoming a B-rank right after graduating from the knight school is almost impossible.)

Emma had only become a B-rank because of *Atalante*.

She had been recognized for solving a major incident.

Emma herself thought it was just good luck.

Yet, she couldn't understand how a junior, younger than herself, had so easily become a B-rank.

Her surprise was evident, and Yohm, noticing it, explained to her with a slightly condescending attitude.

"Charmel—Charmel is a so-called genius. In three missions, she destroyed fifteen mobile knights piloted by knights."

"Fifteen!?"

The members of the third squad were taken aback by the number.

They understood how difficult it was to destroy fifteen mobile knights piloted by knights, not just regular soldiers.

Larry was confused.

"Fifteen in three missions means an average of five per battlefield."

Charmel—Charm, directed a provocative gaze at Emma.

"By the way, how many have you destroyed, senior? With your super-strong new mobile knight, you must have destroyed over a hundred, right?"

Boasting about her fifteen kills with a custom *Nevan* and implying that Emma's kill count was low, especially since she had fewer opportunities to face knights and had failed to defeat *Gold Raccoon* piloted by *Shirena*.

"Zero."

Emma answered honestly, and Charm, taken aback for a moment, burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

"Zero kills, Captain! Maybe your promotion and rank were due to connections? It's great, isn't it, to aim for the top through connections~"

Emma, feeling embarrassed, couldn't refute the truth.

Seeing Emma's frustration, Molly was flustered.

Larry and Doug turned away, showing no intention of helping.

However, Russell intervened.

"Lieutenant Charmel, that's enough."

"Okay~"

As Charmel backed off, an alarm sounded throughout the hangar.

While Emma and the others were momentarily stunned—

"Charmel, Yohm!"

Russell and his team were already heading to their units, about to board the cockpits.

Seeing this, Emma hurriedly gave orders to her subordinates.

"We're also launching!"

◇

As the third squad began their launch preparations.

Russell, in his custom *Nevan*, had a distorted face from frustration.

The monitor displayed the surroundings, but the crew's movements were slow despite the alarm.

"Are these people sane? How long are they going to take to launch!?"

Russell, who had excelled as a knight in the military, knew that his success was supported by those around him.

However, the scene before him was too terrible.

'Launching? Has the order been given?'

'Someone else will handle it.'

'Which squad will launch?'

Seeing the maintenance crew in the hangar being so relaxed, Yohm, his subordinate, was also frustrated.

The monitor showed Yohm's face.

'It's worse than I heard. I can see why this is a place of demotion.'

Despite appearing calm, his tone was colder than usual.

Charmel was also angry.

'These people have no sense of crisis.'

Charmel and Yohm, both excelling in the knight school, found the situation on *Merea* unbelievable.

However, they didn't seem as angry as Russell.

"Remnants of the old military!"

As Russell cursed his allies, his subordinates on the monitor looked confused.

'Captain, you're in a bad mood today.'

'Unusual, isn't it?'

◇

When the third squad launched from *Merea*, the battle had already begun.

Emma, in *Atalante*, clenched her teeth in the cockpit.

"This is the third squad. *Merea*, please give us instructions!"

It was clear they were under attack, but the details were not being communicated.

She asked the *Merea* operator for a status update, but the response was poor.

'Number—200 ships? No, 300? They're probably space pirates. Commander, what should we do?'

'If our allies are winning, we don't need to push ourselves.'

'—That's right. Just support the allies casually.'

Hearing this, Emma couldn't help but raise her voice.

"Our allies are fighting!"

The commander on the bridge responded coldly.

'I'd like to try out the new toy, but don't overdo it and get Doug and the others killed. —Support the allies.'

The *Merea* bridge, saying nothing more, made Emma frown in frustration.

"This is no different from before."

She remembered Russell's words.

—No matter how much the equipment is updated, if the inside is rotten, it's meaningless.

At that moment—

A squad was performing well on the battlefield.

"Russell's squad?"

Three custom *Nevans* were engaging mobile knights that didn't have the distinctive features of *Mohave*.

The space pirates seemed to prioritize coordination in their tactics.

Despite this, Russell's squad was performing well.

◇

'Be careful, the next enemy is enhanced soldiers.'

In the cockpit of the custom *Nevan*, Charmel was talking to Russell.

"Enhanced soldiers—ah, unified army knights?"

Drawing on the knowledge drilled into her at the knight school, she arrived at the answer.

'They're different from us knights, but they're more troublesome enemies.'

Facing a different type of enemy, Charmel licked her lips.

"Either way, they'll add to my score."

With a laugh, she quickly moved the control stick.

Stepping on the foot pedals to accelerate, her unit dodged gunfire and approached the enemy.

"First one!"

The mobile knights, piloted by knights—enhanced soldiers, approached Charmel's unit.

They seemed to prioritize coordination more than the empire's knights, even as space pirates.

However, Charmel, after confirming the enemy's movements, acted immediately.

"Second one!"

She attacked the enemy that had circled around, destroyed it, and then turned her attention to the third one.

As the enemy tried to flank her—

'Be careful, Charmel!'

'Again, we have to cover Charmel.'

—Russell and Yohm came to Charmel's aid.

Despite complaining about her reckless behavior, they still provided support.

During this time, Charmel destroyed the third, fourth, and fifth enemies in quick succession.

"Five! Yay! Now I can get the special allowance~"

Charmel, looking pleased, changed her tactics after confirming the fifth kill.

She had been acting independently, but now she moved to support Russell's unit from behind.

Yohm was exasperated.

'Is it okay to become so docile once the special allowance is secured?'

'Working harder is pointless. You need to increase your kill count efficiently.'

Russell reprimanded the two.

'That's enough.'

The squad then headed to assist the allies who were struggling.

◇

Seeing Russell's squad in action, Emma was taken aback.

She was surprised by Charmel's pursuit of the special allowance, but most of all, by their excellence.

"—They're strong."

Russell, who was harsh towards Emma, had the skills to back it up.

"Compared to that, I—our squad—"

Glancing back, she saw two *Raccoons* following *Atalante*.

Their movements lacked enthusiasm.

She could hear Larry and Doug's conversation.

'Are they ignoring the orders? The commander said not to overdo it.'

'That squad is in a different category. They can act independently. —Knights are always treated specially, no matter where they are.'

Despite seeing Russell's squad's performance, their words were filled with envy.

Emma, feeling a mix of frustration and misery, changed her mindset and gave orders.

"We need to hurry. Increase the speed!"

Larry and Doug responded half-heartedly.

'Inspired by your peer?'

'Say it, Larry. Let's hurry, then.'

Although they complained, they didn't disobey the orders—Emma, however, was troubled by whether her squad was good enough as it was.

The latest volume of *I Am the Corrupt Lord of the Interstellar Nation! Volume 7* will be released on *May 25*!

For information on special bonuses, please check the activity report.