Chapter 34

Currently on sale, "I Am the Wicked Lord of the Interstellar Nation! Volume 7" is receiving good reviews, which brings me great relief. However, in July, we have the upcoming releases of "The World of Otome Games is Unkind to Side Characters" and "That Otome Game is Unkind to Us."

...I need to work hard as it’s going to get busy.

---

On the bridge of the super-large transport ship, Patrice, who had rushed in upon hearing the alert, had her hair slightly disheveled.

"Another pirate attack?"

In response to the question of whether the enemy was pirates, the man who had been a captain of transport ships for many years at the Newlands Chamber of Commerce shook his head in denial.

"It seems to be the rebels."

"Rebels!? Why are they here? And I haven’t heard that they have an army."

Why do the rebels, who started an independence movement, have an army?

The captain answered, mixing in his predictions.

"The garrison also recruits local residents. They are using weapons that have been decommissioned by the Unified Army, but they are trained. If they still maintain discipline, they are more troublesome than pirates."

While there are former soldiers among the pirates, the longer they have been away from military life, the less of a threat they pose.

An army functions with a lot of support, and without it, it becomes vulnerable.

However, if the independence movement has just begun, their morale will still be high.

This is a particularly troublesome situation.

Indeed, unlike the pirates, the ships of the rebels have a sense of uniformity.

While checking the monitors, Patrice noticed an unusual group among them.

"Mercenaries? They even hired mercenaries?"

The captain had a troubled expression.

"From what I've seen of the mercenary group's movements, they seem to be seasoned. Together with the remnants of the garrison, they are quite troublesome. Still, I'm concerned about being ambushed."

Patrice clenched her teeth.

"The route for this voyage was prepared by the Unified Government. They really did it!"

The route was prepared by the Unified Government, with whom negotiations were planned.

The thought of betrayal by the Unified Government crossed her mind.

"Can the escort hold out?"

"It depends on the strength of the Banfield family, but the fact is that we are at a numerical disadvantage."

Not only pirates but also rebels advocating for independence have appeared, which gives Patrice a headache.

"I hope the capable knight sent by that person is the real deal."

If Marie Marian cannot resolve this situation, Patrice will have no standing in the Newlands Chamber of Commerce, even if she survives.

She will be killed if she returns to the Empire.

Patrice could only watch the progress of the battle on the bridge's monitors.

---

In the hangar of the flagship leading the escort fleet, Emma was boarding a small, high-speed craft.

Wearing a pilot suit, Emma had two pistols in holsters on her thighs, one on each side.

Heidi, Marie's deputy, had come to see her off.

"I'm sorry, but the mobile knights are busy. I know you're anxious, but please return with this."

The small, high-speed craft, though named as such, resembles a fighter jet.

Since the mobile knights began to excel on the battlefield, the number of these crafts has decreased.

However, they still have their uses and are thus employed.

"Thank you for everything."

When Emma saluted, Heidi, slightly surprised, returned the salute, looking a bit embarrassed.

It seems that salutes are not commonly used among Marie and her team.

"This is a message from Marie. If you want to assert yourself as the pilot of Atalante, show your worth. Try your best, but don't overdo it."

"---Yes."

As Heidi moved away from the small, high-speed craft, the hatch closed.

Alone, Emma's demeanor was slightly different from before she arrived.

"I will pursue my own justice—selfishly and arrogantly."

(Because I want to get closer to that person.)

---

In the hangar of Marea, Russell, who had completed his sortie preparations, was outside his cockpit, shouting angrily at the surrounding area.

"What do you mean we can't sortie? We have the sortie order!"

The reason for Russell's anger is that, despite the sortie order, permission from Marea's command has not been granted.

Even without the captain's permission, Russell could sortie with his authority.

However, it would be meaningless if the sortie preparations were not completed.

There is a method to break the hatches of friendly ships to sortie, but doing so would prevent returning to the mother ship after the battle.

The surrounding maintenance crew members exchanged glances, looking annoyed.

"Well, we can't sortie without the order."

"The elites are always so hot-headed."

Russell clenched his teeth and returned to the cockpit.

Char, inside the cockpit, was exasperated.

'Why did they assign us to such a ship? I wish we could confirm with the higher-ups. Ah, no special allowance this time.'

Dag, observing the situation, yawned and proceeded with the sortie preparations nonchalantly.

"This time, the young lady isn't here, so there won't be a sortie."

Marea had retreated to the rear after being attacked.

With Emma also absent, there were few units eager to sortie quickly.

Lally was in the cockpit, ready to sortie.

And as for Molly—

"I prepared quickly, but can it be used in a real battle without proper adjustments?"

—She was looking at the new weapons prepared for Atalante.

The weapons, ordered by Emma, were two pistols with blades attached above and below the barrel.

The blades were short, like daggers from a mobile knight's perspective.

The grip could switch between the pistol and the dagger.

The holsters prepared by Molly could be attached to Atalante's lower back.

Just then, the ship shook slightly.

"Direct hit?"

Molly looked up, and Lally appeared from the cockpit.

"It's probably debris. If it was a direct hit, the damage would be much greater. Still, why isn't the defense field deployed?"

Dag, who had heard from the bridge, had a troubled expression.

"Lally's prediction was off. The cause is the young lady. She landed on the deck with a small, high-speed craft. The bridge is in an uproar. They told her to wait for the landing, but she ignored the order."

Hearing this, Lally sighed.

"What is she doing?"

The atmosphere around them suggested that Emma had made another mistake.

However, when Emma arrived at the hangar, her demeanor was different from before.

She had changed into a pilot suit and did not look apologetic for her mistake.

Instead, she was confident.

"Molly, are the weapons I asked for ready?"

Upon arriving near Atalante's cockpit, Emma asked Molly about the status of the machine.

Molly, intimidated by Emma's different demeanor, hesitated.

"Um, the machine is fine. But the equipment you ordered is ready, though the holsters are makeshift and might not last long."

Seeing Molly's hesitation, Dag approached.

"Young lady, I understand your urgency, but the sortie preparations—"

Emma grabbed Dag by the collar, pulling him close.

"Did you drink before the sortie?"

"No, this is—"

Seeing Dag's guilty face, Emma pushed him away and turned her head.

"Second Lieutenant Dag, you don't need to sortie. Sober up and wait in the ready room."

"What!?"

Dag, told not to sortie, glared at Emma, angry at her tone.

Seeing the situation, Lally exited the cockpit and approached.

"Hey, Captain, coming late and acting like this is not acceptable!"

As Lally lunged at her, Emma grabbed his arm and threw him.

In the zero-gravity hangar, Lally spun and struggled as he hit a pillar.

"Ouch!? What the hell!!"

To Lally's shout, Emma replied.

"I just put the unprepared subordinate on standby. Second Lieutenant Lally, you haven't completed the scheduled training, have you? Go to the ready room."

Hearing Emma's cold words, Lally recalled a knight who used to mock him.

A female knight, inferior in human terms, who always enjoyed mocking Lally for not becoming a knight.

Seeing the shadow of that knight in Emma, Lally said,

"Are you saying knights are so great!?"

The crew of Marea, hearing the commotion, directed cold glances at Emma.

Russell, who had emerged from his cockpit, looked at Emma seriously.

Char, on the other hand, was enjoying the situation.

"Oh dear, the crew of the mother ship hates you. I hope they don't rig the machine with bombs."

A pilot who makes enemies with the maintenance crew doesn't end well.

Especially on Marea, a group that doesn't function properly as a military unit.

Seeing Emma's actions as rash, Char was enjoying imagining the future.

However, Emma did not apologize to Lally.

"---You're mistaken, Second Lieutenant. I am a First Lieutenant and your superior. Moreover, you are the one who created the reason for not being allowed to sortie."

"Sure enough, you're just like the other knights. A good-for-nothing who looks down on others!"

To Lally's complaints, the usual Emma might have been discouraged.

But the current Emma was different.

Confidently—she addressed not only Lally but also the crew of Marea.

"Who is looking down on others? You don't follow the rules and still expect to receive treatment and pay. You do nothing and complain like you have no fault at all."

"!"

Lally, surprised by this unexpected rebuke, opened his eyes wide.

Emma turned her gaze to Dag.

"If your former selves saw you now, they would surely despise you. You are the same as the upper echelons you hate."

With that, Emma entered the cockpit.

Watching her go, Dag clenched his teeth and his fists.

He seemed to want to retort but couldn't, instead punching a nearby container.

Molly flinched, but neither Dag nor Lally seemed to notice.

The crew of Marea, who had directed angry glances at Emma, seemed shocked to be compared to the upper echelons who had oppressed them.

Char sighed.

"Is this it? It's kind of boring."

Yorm, agreeing with Char, added,

"I thought it would get worse."

Russell was slightly surprised by Emma's change and returned to his cockpit.

"Seeing that the crew of Marea can reflect on themselves to this extent means they haven't fallen as far as I thought."

Thank you for reading the significantly expanded version of Chapter 7 from the web version of "I Am the Wicked Lord of the Interstellar Nation! Volume 7"!

It is currently on sale!!