A lone girl recalls that day.

Covering the entire sky of the House of Count Banfield's home planet were countless massive space battleships.

Surrounding the battleships flew humanoid robots, each around eighteen meters tall.

These robots were called Mobile Knights.

Even though these tools of war were flying above them, the people below were cheering.

They waved at the sky, and some even shed tears of joy as they laughed.

Many lovers and families embraced, savoring their happiness.

They were the army belonging to the House of Count Banfield.

They were in the middle of a triumphant return from war.

"Our lord defeated the Goaz Space Pirate Crew!"

"We're saved!"

"Long live the House of Banfield!"

People's voices rang out, praising the Banfield army for repelling the space pirates.

Just a short while ago, the people had trembled in fear upon receiving news that vicious space pirates were approaching.

Among space pirates, the most vicious ones could easily repel the armies of frontier planets and destroy them.

Everyone had imagined a dark future and was crushed by a sense of despair.

But the one who shattered that despair was—their own young lord.

His name was Liam Sera Banfield—a lord who seemed like a child, not yet even an adult, but he had magnificently driven off the space pirates.

The citizens were all praising Liam.

This was the scene that a young 【Emma Rodman】 remembered.

Emma, reaching both hands toward the sky, was watching a single Mobile Knight displayed on the numerous holographic projections in the air.

"Mom, what's that?"

That Mobile Knight seemed to be standing on the bow of a battleship.

Emma was captivated by its black frame, which was larger than the other Mobile Knights.

Her mother, standing beside her, explained it to the unknowing Emma.

"That's the lord's personal machine. I'm sure it's very strong."

"Is the lord strong?"

Faced with her child's innocent question, the mother showed a hint of confusion.

She didn't know if their lord was truly strong.

The government office on the Banfield's home planet, 【Hydra】, had been publicizing the strength of their lord, Liam, through propaganda.

However, most of the citizens didn't know how much of it was true.

The general consensus was that it was likely exaggerated.

"—Of course he is. After all, he's a knight."

"A knight?"

"Um, well. They're very strong people. They protected us."

Looking up at the sky with her mother, she saw the Mobile Knights flying in formation overhead.

Then, a particularly large battleship passed over them, blocking out the sunlight.

"Do knights protect everyone?"

"They do."

"Then—I'm going to be a knight! I'm going to ride a robot and protect everyone from the bad guys!"

Her mother smiled upon hearing her daughter Emma's dream for the future.

"In that case, you'll have to work very, very hard."

"I will!"

◇

—Thirty years later.

Emma Rodman—now an Ensign—was in outer space, piloting a Mobile Knight.

Her appearance was that of a girl who had just entered her mid-teens.

Even wearing a pilot suit, it was clear she had a well-endowed figure. Though she was self-conscious about it, it was popular with the men around her.

Though hidden by her helmet, her hair was a brown short bob.

She was fifty years old, the age considered to be an adult.

In this world, that was still an age where one was treated like a child.

Emma had fulfilled her childhood dream and become a knight.

She was given a Mobile Knight and deployed into actual combat.

However, she was panicking.

"Why?"

The machine she was piloting was the Nevan, the main mass-produced model designated by the House of Banfield.

It had a sleek appearance like a knight's armor, with a cloak-shaped additional booster on its back. When the booster was spread, it looked just like wings.

A Nevan, painted gray.

It was an excellent Mobile Knight, so much so that the regular army of the Algrand Empire—the interstellar nation to which the House of Banfield belonged—was considering adopting it.

It was even called the top candidate for the Empire's next main mass-produced model.

However.

"—Why won't it move the way I want it to?!"

Emma gripped the control stick, bewildered by the sluggish response.

"The response time is slower than in training. A maintenance error?"

Inside her helmet, cold sweat trickled from Emma's forehead down her cheek.

During the pre-launch check, there shouldn't have been any problems.

And yet, her Mobile Knight felt sluggish.

"And on my important first mission, too."

A rookie knight who had just earned her title, and a rookie ensign pilot.

Emma somehow managed to keep up with her allies.

Her first mission—the House of Banfield had received intelligence that a small group of space pirates was using this area, dense with rocky celestial bodies, as a hideout.

For that reason, the Banfield army had been deployed.

For the House of Banfield, it was a minor operation, but for Emma, it was her important first mission.

Her heart was pounding with nervousness.

Unlike in training, she was more nervous than she had ever been before.

Perhaps because of that, she was panicking even more.

"Calm down, me. Just do it like in training. I can do this. I can definitely do this!"

She gripped the control stick tightly and tried to control the machine, but her movements started to become noticeably wasteful.

Her instructor's Nevan, which had been monitoring her from behind, came up alongside Emma's.

The Nevan piloted by her instructor, 【Claudia Bertrand】, had a horn attached to its head, a feature not present on other mass-produced models.

"Ensign Rodman, your machine's movements are erratic. Correct them immediately."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

She hurriedly tried to regain control of the machine, but even with the assist function active, she couldn't move it properly.

She frantically moved the control stick, but it only added more wasteful movements to the machine.

While being watched over by her instructor, she somehow managed to avoid the rocks and approach the enemy base, where her allies had already begun to engage in combat.

The enemies—the space pirates—had launched old Mobile Knights from their hideout.

Since they had been repeatedly repairing machines that were generations old, many of them were patched-up messes that no longer resembled their original forms.

And yet, they fearlessly challenged the Banfield army, which possessed state-of-the-art Mobile Knights, without giving up.

Normally, surrendering would be the wiser choice in this situation.

But for the space pirates, that option didn't exist.

Because the House of Banfield, to which Emma belonged, was famous for showing absolutely no mercy to pirates.

One of the allied Nevans approached a resisting enemy Mobile Knight and thrust its physical sword into the cockpit.

Seeing that sight, the color drained from Emma's face.

She had delivered the finishing blow to enemies countless times in training, but when it came to fighting a real enemy, she hesitated.

Perhaps Emma's feelings were reflected in her piloting, as her instructor noticed her movements and reprimanded her.

"What are you doing, Ensign Rodman? Do not forget the mission you were given."

Her voice was terribly cold, and Emma, her face pale, answered desperately.

"U-Understood."

Just as Emma was about to step on the foot pedal, three Mobile Knights emerged from the celestial body that served as the space pirates' hideout.

Upon spotting Claudia's Nevan, which had the characteristics of an instructor's and a squad leader's unit, the three machines charged straight for it, ignoring everything else.

However, these three machines were different from the others; they were new, and their performance seemed superior to the other units.

"Ensign Rodman, you take on one. I'll handle the others."

"Huh?"

As Claudia's Nevan charged at the enemy, Emma hurriedly raised her rifle.

The assist function automatically locked onto the enemy, but the enemy noticed and changed its movements.

"I-I'm sorry."

What was she apologizing to the enemy for? She didn't even have time to consider such a question.

She pulled the trigger on the enemy machine as it approached in a zigzag pattern, but the beam of light from the optical weapon was easily dodged.

When the enemy machine raised a weapon that looked like a submachine gun, Emma immediately tried to dodge. But her machine wouldn't move as she wanted.

She flailed, as if drowning in outer space.

"Why?!"

As she screamed, hundreds of beams of light rained down on her.

The Nevan raised the shield on its left arm to protect itself from the attack, but was immediately hit by a violent impact.

She was blown away, crashing into a rock and coming to a stop, at which point she understood the situation.

Emma's Nevan had been kicked away by the enemy machine.

"I have to take it down quickly."

Emma tried to right herself, but the enemy machine closed in, drew an axe-like weapon it was carrying, and raised it high.

Due to the machines making contact, the enemy's voice came through on the comms.

"I'll take as many of you Banfield devils with me as I can!"

"Eek!"

A scream escaped her lips as she saw the enemy machine swinging its axe down.

But the enemy machine was suddenly blown away.

"Instructor?!"

"—Ensign Rodman, do not disappoint me."

Claudia's Nevan, which had kicked the enemy machine away, grabbed the hilt of the beam sword stored in its side skirt armor.

A blade of light formed from the hilt, and she proceeded to slice off the enemy machine's arms and legs.

Claudia's Nevan grabbed the head of the now-immobile enemy machine and approached Emma.

Looking around, she saw that the two enemy machines that had attacked Claudia had both been destroyed.

Seeing this, Emma murmured.

"Amazing."

Witnessing her skill in defeating two machines in such a short time, Emma was keenly aware of the difference in their abilities.

(This is a real knight.)

Claudia Bertrand.

In the House of Banfield's ranking system, she was a high-ranking female knight designated as "AA."

The rank above that, "AAA," was considered the highest in the House of Banfield.

Although she was one rank below the top, considering that there were only a few people with an AAA rank in the entire House of Banfield, she could be judged as a highly skilled individual.

In the Banfield army, she held the rank of Colonel.

And she was one of the knights who had previously served as Christiana's adjutant.

Now, in Christiana's place, she remained in the territory and was involved in training rookie knights.

That same Claudia now presented the immobilized enemy machine before Emma.

"Ensign Rodman, I'll let you have the credit. Kill the pilot."

From Claudia's cockpit, the enemy's voice could be heard.

"N-No. I don't want to die. Please, spare me! I was just hired by them, I haven't done any pirating. I have a family!"

Hearing the thick voice of the pilot crying and wailing, Emma's body trembled.

But Claudia pressed her for a choice with a cold voice.

"There's no need to mind him. His crime was siding with pirates. —Now, deliver the final blow."

The enemy pilot, unable to move and merely awaiting death, desperately pleaded with Emma.

"Help me. I'll never get involved with space pirates again. I'll turn over a new leaf. I promise!"

Listening to the grown man cry and beg for his life, Emma let go of the control stick.

"I-I can't. I can't kill someone who has surrendered."

Upon hearing her answer, Claudia, her expression unchanging, let go of the enemy machine—and then pierced its cockpit with her beam sword.

"N-No way."

As Emma's eyes widened in shock, Claudia seemed to have lost interest in her.

"The House of Banfield has no need for useless knights. You will return to the mothership first and wait in your room."

Claudia's Nevan turned its back and flew off, heading into the space pirate's hideout where the battle was still raging.

At that moment—Emma's first mission came to an end.

The result was a complete failure.

As a knight, Emma had stumbled badly right at the start.