Chapter 31

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"Ha... ha..."

Her heart was pounding so loudly it felt like it would burst.

No matter how much she breathed, she couldn't get enough oxygen, and it was unbearably difficult.

Her body was drenched in sweat.

Her muscles and bones were screaming, telling her that her body had reached its limit.

Emma, clad in a special suit that covered her entire body, was in a defensive stance with both hands.

"Have you reached your limit?"

Her opponent in the ring was Marie, wearing training gear.

She only had gloves on her hands, and the rest was just a thin layer of clothing.

This was the complete opposite of Emma, who was wearing a special defensive suit.

Emma's suit was designed to absorb shock, making it look puffy.

From a certain perspective, it might have looked like Marie was hitting a human-shaped punching bag.

However, Emma still held a shock sword in her hand.

Scattered around were various weapons, indicating that Emma had tried many different ones.

(Oxygen is running out. My head is getting fuzzy...)

Thanks to the special suit, she could withstand Marie's strikes without falling.

However, it was difficult to breathe, and the suit was heavy, making it hard to move as she wished.

Emma had trained as a knight, but even so, facing Marie was too harsh.

While delivering punches and kicks, Marie told Emma:

"Give up on fighting like a lady. Find and pursue a style that suits you. If you don't break out of your shell, you'll always remain a chick!"

When Marie's kick pierced Emma's abdomen, she was blown to the corner of the ring.

When Emma fell and couldn't move, Marie let out a small sigh.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead,

"If you want to get stronger, you should abandon the combat style you learned at the knight school. It doesn't suit you, the pilot of Atalante."

"But... at the knight school, we learned to handle all kinds of weapons. I chose the one that suited me..."

While gasping for breath, Emma answered, and Marie let out a deep sigh.

"It's a flaw of short-term education. It might be fine for a conformist knight, but it's suffocating for a non-conformist one."

Marie wasn't speaking to Emma but to someone else—someone who was responsible for the knights' education.

Marie lifted Emma, who had fallen, and announced the resumption of training.

"I'll push you to your limits until you find your style. —I hope you find it before you break."

Faced with Marie's sadistic smile, Emma shuddered.

Her body was already at its limit, and her mind was pushed to the brink.

She strongly wanted to run away—

"Ha... ha..."

—But Emma dropped the sword-type shock sword she was holding and picked up a lance-type one.

(I want to run... but... I want to find my style. I want to get stronger!)

She wanted to become a stronger knight.

And she felt that if she trained with Marie, she could surpass her former self.

Then—maybe she could get a little closer to the person she admired.

Seeing Emma's determination, the corners of Marie's mouth turned up.

It wasn't a very refined smile, but Marie was in a good mood.

"I appreciate your spirit."

◇

Before she knew it, Emma had lost consciousness.

(Huh? I was in the middle of training, right?)

When she woke up to the surrounding noise, she found herself in the knight's lounge on the ship.

The lounge, which had a bar-like setup with a counter and drinks, was filled with knights.

At the tables, knights were drinking and making a ruckus.

There were even some fighting, regardless of gender.

It was more chaotic and rough than the scenes she had seen in bars when she was younger.

The high-class lounge was filled with an unsuitable atmosphere.

Emma was so shocked that she couldn't even speak, but Heidi noticed and approached her.

"Awake, Atalante's pilot?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

Seeing Emma's confusion, Heidi explained.

"Marie brought you here after you fainted."

"Marie-sama did?"

Looking around for Marie, she saw her drinking straight from a bottle at the counter.

When Emma slightly recoiled, Marie noticed.

Putting down the empty bottle and picking up another, she approached Emma.

"You're awake. Would you like a drink?"

When Emma was handed the bottle, she shook her head frantically.

"N-no, I've never drunk before."

"Oh? The young ones these days are so well-mannered. I wish my rough subordinates would learn from you."

At this, the surrounding knights—Marie's subordinates—burst into laughter.

"Marie's lady is so ladylike!"

"The one who's the least ladylike!"

"You're a riot!"

Seeing the subordinates speaking rudely to their superior, Emma broke into a cold sweat.

Marie was a knight of the highest rank in the Banfield family.

For Emma, speaking rudely was absolutely unacceptable.

But then, Marie turned to her subordinates.

"I'll kill you."

Smiling, she said this, and the subordinates immediately quieted down.

"Sorry."

"We're in trouble."

"Ah, I laughed. I laughed."

The subordinates gave light responses.

However, Emma could see through them.

She could sense that they respected Marie not just as a superior, but as a knight and a person.

(My squad is completely different.)

Despite leading more subordinates, Marie managed them well, while Emma couldn't even lead three—

Thinking this made her feel down, and Heidi noticed.

"What's wrong, Atalante's pilot?"

"—The atmosphere here is different from my squad, so I was a bit surprised."

"Of course, you're well-mannered, and we're not."

"No, that's not what I meant. —I can't manage my squad properly."

When Emma confided in Heidi about her struggles as a squad leader, Heidi turned to Marie.

"Meleah was originally part of the border security force, right?"

Hearing this, the surrounding knights seemed to understand something.

They listened to Emma's story while drinking.

Marie asked Emma,

"So, what do you want to do, Atalante's pilot?"

"I want... I don't want to say it's normal, but I want my squad to be a proper one."

Shattering Emma's hopes, Marie immediately replied,

"It's impossible. That squad won't change."

"Eh? But—"

"It's a problem with Meleah itself. If you really want to solve it, you should lead Meleah."

When told to lead Meleah, Emma shook her head.

"No way! I'm a knight and a lieutenant, and my rank is far too low!"

Seeing Emma panic, Marie had a mischievous look on her face.

"Your rank is indeed low, but in the Banfield family, knight rank is also considered. If you become a captain, you can command a colonel."

"Really!?"

Emma had heard that a knight of a lower rank could command a superior, but she never thought it would be to this extent.

Confused, Emma was supplemented by Heidi.

"There are no clear rules here. It depends on the knight's ability to lead."

"Ability? Then, it seems difficult for me."

Seeing Emma's disappointment, Marie became serious.

"If you can't lead them, your squad will be disbanded after the mission. Meleah and Raccoon will be reassigned to more suitable units, which would be better for the Banfield family."

"Such!?"

Emma tried to argue with Marie's decision but couldn't say anything when she remembered the previous battle.

Heidi interjected.

"Do you really need to care about them? I checked, and they don't seem like people worth defending."

Looking puzzled, Heidi asked, and Emma tried to give a reason to defend them but couldn't find the words.

Indeed, it might be the right choice to abandon them.

Marie said,

"You don't have to worry. You'll continue to be Atalante's pilot. If that's the will of the person in question, we have no right to interfere. —But, the crew of Meleah is different."

—Why do I want to protect the crew of Meleah? Faced with the questioning gazes around her, Emma couldn't answer.

But her heart was telling her:

(I might just be sympathizing with the people of Meleah.)

They had supported the old Banfield family and were now broken-hearted soldiers.

Although they were in a terrible state now, they had indeed protected the Banfield family's home planet, Hydra.

She wanted to save them.

"Still, I want the crew of Meleah to recover."

Hearing Emma's stubbornness, Heidi shrugged.

"You're stubborn. Anyway, I have a question."

"What is it?"

When Emma tilted her head, Heidi asked seriously.

"Which faction are you?"

"Huh? Which faction?"

"There are various factions, right? Is there any knight you're close to?"

Thinking about it, one person came to mind.

"If I have to say someone who helped me—Claudia instructor? She recommended me for promotion."

Hearing this, the surrounding knights became hostile.

"Claudia? Claudia Bertalan!? She's a high-ranking member of the Christiana faction! You're part of the Christiana faction?!"

"How dare you show your face to us?!"

"How dare you say that in front of Marie, you brat?!"

The knights became agitated.

Emma was flustered.

"No, I don't really understand factions—"

A knight pointed at Emma.

"Don't think you can get away with a vague answer!"

The lounge became tense, and the knights were about to draw their weapons.

But then, Marie hit the knight on the head with the bottle she was holding.

(What is Marie-sama doing!?)

Emma was speechless at the scene.

The bottle broke, spilling its contents, and the knight who was hit fell to the floor.

Marie glared at the surrounding knights.

"Do you have a problem with my guest? —Step forward if you do."

When the knights, who were previously agitated, were told to step forward, they became quiet.

"No, we don't."

They became as quiet as borrowed cats and returned to their seats.

The rough knights who followed the overwhelming strength—this was what Emma saw of Marie's subordinates.

Bryan (´；ω；`) "It's as tough as the main story. Anyway, tomorrow, May 25th, is the release date for 'I Am the Wicked Lord of the Interstellar Nation! Volume 7.' Please consider purchasing it, whether in print or digital form."