Chapter 4

At the Kimirano, the "Next Light Novel Grand Prize 2021" is being held, and ["I Am the Corrupt Lord of an Interstellar State!"] has been nominated. Voting is possible once per day. I sincerely request your vote for ["I Am the Corrupt Lord of an Interstellar State!"] in the carrier Merea's training room. Emma, who had changed into sports wear, was increasing the room's gravity to train. After finishing her training, with her breathing still ragged, she looked at the clock showing the ship's time. "No one is coming!!" Emma screamed, clutching her head, but there was no one around. There should have been soldiers training at this time, but due to the lax discipline on Merea, the rules were not being followed. In the spacious training room, Emma wiped her sweat while trying to catch her breath. "Why is it so bad?" The current Banfield family—now a baronial private army—underwent reforms when the lord changed. From a paper tiger to a capable army. Emma had heard that the army had become stricter with the new harsh lord. Yet, the reality was confusing. "Sigh" After a deep sigh, since her training was over, she headed to the shower room. ◇ In Merea's hangar. "Everyone, I am angry!" Emma, who had lined up Dug, Larry, and Mollie, was trying to show a firm attitude towards the three who had not completed their assigned training. However, she lacked confidence due to the many recent setbacks. The three seemed to have noticed her attitude. They all looked bored. "Emma, you're too serious. No one on this ship trains seriously anyway." "No way!" As Emma, trying to fulfill her duty as a squad leader, Dug smiled with a troubled look. "You're a motivated young lady." "Not 'young lady,' call me Captain!" In front of her unmotivated subordinates, Emma raised her voice, and Larry, who had been irritated, spoke up. "You're a nuisance." "Nuisance!? That's ridiculous. We are soldiers, and this is our duty—" "I'm saying it's a nuisance." Larry, who had been addressing Emma, put his hands in his pockets and left without permission. Emma's mouth opened and closed as she watched Larry's back. "No, wait—this is the military." In the military, which should have strict discipline, Larry's actions were problematic. If it were the former instructor Claudia, she would have corrected it thoroughly. Now, it was Emma's responsibility. As a squad leader, she was taught to be strict to lead her subordinates. Emma clenched her fists, and Dug spoke to her. "Can I talk to you for a moment, young lady?" "I'm not a young lady! I am—" "Then, Lieutenant. Can you come with me?" Staring at the stern-faced man, Emma flinched but straightened her back. Mollie, who had been watching, shrugged and returned to work. "I'll go back to maintenance." Watching Mollie's back, Emma felt that the squad she had to lead was full of problem children. (All problem children. —Including me) Realizing that she, who couldn't properly operate a mobile knight, was probably a problem child to others, she felt depressed. ◇ Emma was led by Dug to the hangar where the mobile knight squad she led was lined up. Mollie, wearing a maintenance suit, was working on the feet of a mobile knight, and Emma and Dug watched her side by side. Emma looked up at the mobile knight. The simple design of the mobile knight had a helmet-like appearance. There were almost no decorations. The captain's machine had a visor-like coloration to make it stand out. In front of such a machine, Dug began to speak eloquently. "Do you know the name of this machine?" Emma, thinking she was being mocked, answered curtly with a puffed-up expression. "It's the Mohiev, right? I know that much." She had been drilled with necessary knowledge at the knight school. She was annoyed that she was thought to not know this much. However, Dug was looking at the Mohiev with a serious gaze. "Officially, it's the Mohiev Type 2. Now, the Type 4 is the mainstream, but this is a machine from two generations ago." "Huh?" Upon closer inspection, there were many differences from the knowledge Emma had. Dug continued his explanation. "When the initial model of this machine was introduced, it was terrible. It could only win against two-to-one odds against the mass-produced machines of the time." "Huh? But it's used throughout the empire now, right?" "At the time, the cost of one mass-produced machine could produce three of the initial model. Plus, its production and maintenance were overwhelmingly superior. Because it was cheap to maintain, the nobles bought it in droves. Thanks to that, it's called one of the empire's masterpieces." A machine that, despite its poor performance, could be mass-produced and maintained cheaply, was used throughout the empire. Emma wondered why such an old model was being used on Merea. Before she could ask, Dug answered. "—We're the same." "Huh?" "It means we're cheap, disposable items." Dug, who usually smiled a lot, looked at Emma with a serious expression. However, Emma couldn't agree with Dug's words. "We're not disposable! Because—" "You really don't see anything, young lady." Dug, making a visibly displeased face, looked bitter, perhaps remembering the past. "I've been in the Banfield family's army since the time of the great-grandfather." "Since the time of the great-grandfather? But I thought the old Banfield family's private army was disbanded." When the current lord took over, the old Banfield family's private army underwent a large-scale reform. At that time, the mainstream became the regular army accepted from the empire. Later, the old private army's officers were excluded, and a complete overhaul was carried out. Dug put his hand in his pocket and began to tell the story of that time. "It was really bad back then. We were given old, outdated weapons that even pirates wouldn't use. Still, we were told to fight and sent to the battlefield many times. The guys who joined with dreams and hopes became disillusioned and apathetic soldiers within ten years." "So, that's why the lord reformed—" "Yeah, that was the right decision. But, we did what we could! Even in that situation!" Dug's shout made Mollie look up in surprise, but she quickly returned to her work. Emma was surprised but couldn't say anything more, intimidated by Dug's fierce demeanor. "Not for the nobles. We fought for the people, risking our lives. If we didn't, the people would suffer. We never fought for the nobles. Then, the new lord discarded us." "That's not true!" Emma countered Dug, who was criticizing the current lord. However, Dug wouldn't listen to her. "It is. This is the proof. This Lemea, where unnecessary people are pushed, is the best evidence. The current lord has pushed us into this place." "Huh?" Dug's forehead veins were bulging, and he was quite agitated. "—The people welcome it. The sloppy army has been reorganized. Now, they don't have to fear pirates anymore." For soldiers like Dug, who had fought hard, it must have felt like they had been betrayed by the people they had protected. Emma tried to argue but gave up, thinking nothing she said would reach Dug. "You met our commander, right? He used to be full of energy, fighting for the people. But the new lord easily discarded us. He treated us like disposable items, just like this machine." Dug pointed to the Mohiev with his thumb, which had a function to replace parts that were impossible to repair. Dug wanted to show Emma that they were treated the same way. "The old private army is unreliable. The current mainstream says that and sends us to the frontier. They probably think it would be better if we just died. The ship and the machines are all outdated." "But, there are various issues, like where to concentrate the forces and the financial aspects of the equipment." Even if they were outdated, they had to be used because the situation wouldn't allow it. Various reasons came to mind, but Dug, who hated the Banfield family—especially the current lord—wouldn't listen. "—Reasons don't matter. But the fact is, we are discarded. Plus, after years in the military, we have nowhere else to go. Do you know why Mollie was assigned to this ship?" "No, I don't." She glanced at Mollie, who was working seriously, unlike her usual attitude. "She grew up in an orphanage. She joined the military to gain the skills and qualifications needed to survive, not by choice." To join the military, which recruited volunteers to gain skills and return to civilian life, was not uncommon. "Mollie has that personality. She was sent here because serious soldiers disliked her. Larry is the same. He originally wanted to be a knight." "Huh?" "To become a knight, you need to use education capsules from a young age. He just missed the cut. So, seeing you probably makes him envious. When he was sent here, he was like you." Hearing that the unmotivated Larry used to be like her, Emma was confused. "I can't imagine Larry being serious." "I know. But, even someone like that will rot if they stay here." Realizing that her assigned squad had deeper problems than she imagined, Emma felt anxious about the future. As Dug passed by her, he muttered one last thing before leaving. "We're already broken. Sorry, but don't get us involved in your pretend army." Pretend army. Knowing the situation of the Merea's soldiers, who didn't act like a real army, Emma thought about what she should do. With teary eyes, she looked up at the ceiling. "I'm a useless knight who can't do anything." Healing the broken hearts of the soldiers was not easy, and Emma didn't have the strength to do it. She wiped away her tears and tried to muster her courage. "—But, I can't end it here! Even if I can't do anything, I still will!" Determined, Emma was approached by Mollie, who had finished her maintenance. "It's good to be motivated, but what do you plan to do next, Emma? Don't do anything too troublesome." Emma, who had been embarrassed by Mollie seeing her earlier, blushed and looked around. "Well, more training?" "—Emma, you're quite a brainy one." ◇ The next day. Emma came to the training room during her break. This time, Mollie was there too. "Go for it~" Responding to Mollie's half-hearted encouragement, Emma put all her effort into lifting a weight several times her own. "Huff!" Mollie clapped at the sight of Emma, who wasn't particularly muscular, lifting the heavy weight. "Amazing! I don't think even the guys on this ship can lift this." During a break, Emma, still breathing heavily, explained to Mollie that this was something any knight could do. "Even if I'm not particularly strong, I'm still a knight. But, I was good at physical activities. I did well in that area! —A little bit." "You're definitely a brainy one." Seeing Emma, who was better at physical activities than thinking, Mollie laughed. Then, she became a bit more serious. "So, what are you going to do? I don't think anything will change even if you try hard alone." Emma understood that nothing would change in Merea's current situation even if she tried hard alone. "It's fine. I'll try hard on my own." "For everyone?" "I'll try hard for everyone on my own. I—want to be a righteous knight." Righteous knight. Imagining someone stronger than anyone else, facing any difficulty. In Emma's mind, the ideal knight was Avide—meaning the current lord of the Banfield family. "I think a righteous knight wouldn't leave this situation as it is." Mollie, listening to Emma, was amused but laughed. "You're so interesting, Emma. You're like a boy." "I'm a girl, too! —I'm often told I'm not very feminine." Emma, who had been sulking, had been teased in the past for not being feminine. She thought the same, but deep down, she strongly believed she was a woman. She had once been advised to change her gender but refused because she didn't like the idea. "You look quite cute when you sulk." Emma's face turned red when Mollie called her cute. "S-Stop it! I don't know what kind of face to make when you say something like that—" As their conversation heated up, a loud ship-wide announcement rang out. Then, an unmotivated operator relayed the current situation. "The space carrier Lemea will break the atmosphere in one hour. All personnel, stand by at your designated positions." *This time, we have included a rough sketch of the Mohiev in the activity report. The release date for "The World of Otome Games is Tough for the Subordinate Character 9" [November 30] is approaching. Pre-orders for the [Limited Edition] are now available on [MM Store]. Starting with Volume 9, a new chapter begins. New characters will appear, and I have tried to make them more distinctive. Please check them out in the book.