The Banfield family's capital planet, Hydra.

Due to information that reached the government office, bureaucrats and military personnel had been bustling about since morning.

A space pirate base exists on Planet Alias, a newly acquired territory.

Upon receiving this news, former Head Knight Christiana opened a communication channel with a subordinate on a mission.

That subordinate was Colonel Claudia Bertrand, currently on a mission.

She was currently leading a fleet of several hundred ships to maintain public order.

To speak with the distant Claudia, Christiana sat before a communicator with a monitor, her expression grave.

"Claudia, can you head to Planet Alias immediately?"

To her superior's order, Claudia responded with a resolute attitude.

"We are currently in the process of capturing a space pirate base. We will head there as soon as this is taken care of."

Christiana had called Claudia even though the unit she led was in the middle of combat.

It wasn't exactly a commendable action, but Christiana conveyed the seriousness of the situation to Claudia.

"A space pirate base has been found on Planet Alias."

"As soon as this is taken care of, we will promptly—"

"That will be too late. We're dispatching a fleet from the capital planet as well, but your unit is the only one that can make it in time."

"—Is there a reason for such haste?"

To the suspicious Claudia, Christiana's voice lowered slightly.

"The pirates' weapons manufacturing plant has been discovered. To think that Alias was their main base all along."

"What?!"

Claudia, who had been calm until a moment ago, widened her eyes in shock upon hearing about the weapons manufacturing plant.

The destruction of the weapons manufacturing plant was Claudia's primary objective.

It was an order that took precedence over everything else.

"Alias is a planet the Banfield family has just acquired, but with it comes the responsibility to govern. If it's discovered that the Banfield family not only overlooked a pirate base but was also involved in weapons manufacturing, all the trust we've built will be lost."

A manufacturing base for weapons used by pirates was found in their newly acquired territory.

For the Banfield family, this was a matter of credibility.

"We destroyed the Berkley family a few years ago, but there are still many nobles in the Empire who are hostile to the Banfield family. We can't show them any weakness."

As she explained the reason for the emergency call, Claudia's gaze flickered for a moment.

She was likely thinking about how to deal with the situation.

"I will send a minimal force ahead."

"I'll leave it to you. Also, if possible, secure the plant. Capture the pirates."

"Capture them?"

"It's highly likely they have a sponsor. —I've also received permission from Lord Liam. The Special Ground Forces will be dispatched on a high-speed ship as well. Rendezvous with them on-site."

"'Treasure'? I'm surprised you got permission to use them."

The nickname for the Special Ground Forces was 'Treasure'.

They were the elite unit belonging to the current head of the family, Count Banfield.

Normally, they would only be deployed on the Count's direct orders.

This was proof of just how critical the situation was.

"Even with this, you're probably still concerned about your combat strength. —Take command of the local public security forces."

"—The public security forces of a frontier planet will be useless."

Christiana didn't miss the coldness that entered Claudia's eyes upon hearing about the frontier planet's public security forces.

That's why she deliberately let her act as she pleased.

"I'll leave it to your judgment, Claudia. Do as you see fit."

When the communication ended, Christiana murmured.

"This is a chance for you too, Claudia. Overcome your past."

◇

The Banfield family's capital planet, Hydra.

The mansion of the Count, the ruler of Hydra, was on the scale of a city in itself.

The master of the mansion, Count [Liam Sera Banfield], was reviewing reports delivered from his subordinates on electronic documents.

He glanced at the dozens of screens floating around him, reviewing them in just a few seconds before snorting.

"A parting gift from the Berkley family? This is more troublesome than some shoddy base."

He was alone in the spacious office, but a large man slowly emerged from Liam's shadow.

Even when the man wearing an ominous-looking mask appeared, Liam didn't even turn his head.

He spoke to the man who had appeared.

"—Is it done?"

When he asked if the job he had entrusted to the large man was finished, the man knelt and bowed his head.

"Yes. The butler's concern was caused by a single knight."

"A knight?"

The data of a female knight floated up in front of Liam.

Looking at the data, he immediately narrowed his eyes.

"He was worried because an acquaintance of his was sent to the frontier, huh. If he'd just told me, I would have arranged a safe posting for her immediately."

Lately, his butler had seemed worried about something.

He had requested the covert ops unit to investigate, but the result was anticlimactic.

The large man spoke on the butler's behalf.

"He likely didn't want to trouble you, Lord Liam. Besides, the butler despises impropriety. I doubt he would want special treatment just because she's an acquaintance."

"That's just like him. —Still, her posting is on Alias? What an unlucky girl. But it would be a pain if she died. I'll recall her and assign her to rear-echelon duty—"

A D-rank, the lowest evaluation for a knight.

As Liam looked over the data of the unlucky girl, he stopped mid-sentence and began to view her detailed records.

It was the data of the girl—Emma Rodman—from her time at the knight academy.

When he checked her data related to mobile knights in particular, he placed his right hand on his forehead, looked up at the ceiling, and began to laugh.

"Well now, isn't this an interesting one."

Because his master had suddenly started laughing, the large man asked.

"Is she a knight to your liking, Lord Liam? She's a girl who deserved her D-rank evaluation."

Liam stopped laughing and stood up from his seat.

"We were planning to send out a high-speed ship, weren't we? Perfect. Deliver 'that' to this woman. Whether she can handle it or not... well, that's up to her."

◇

The Frontier Planet Survey Team had temporarily withdrawn from Planet Alias.

The aircraft carrier Lemea, tasked with their escort, was currently dominated by a tense atmosphere.

In a large room where the principal members were gathered, a meeting was being held around a holographic display.

Inside the dimly lit room, the members of the Lemea's mobile knight unit were also present.

Watching the meeting from the side of the room, Emma was looking at the colonel who had boarded the Lemea.

(Instructor.)

Her former instructor, Claudia Bertrand.

The escort fleet had rendezvoused with the unit led by Claudia, but the atmosphere between them was hostile.

The unmotivated commander of the Lemea was voicing his dissatisfaction with Claudia.

"We were told a fleet was being sent and waited, only to get a mere company of mobile knights and a ground team? To order us to capture a pirate base with such a small force... the Banfield family's lack of strength must be serious indeed."

At the commander's criticism of not only the top brass but the Banfield family itself, Claudia's subordinates began to reach for their weapons.

Claudia raised a hand to stop them, but she too must have been unable to stomach the commander's attitude.

"We don't have time to deal with your sarcasm and insults. Let's get this briefing over with quickly."

The Banfield family's private army, led by Claudia, was a military force rebuilt by the current head of the family.

Skill, quality, morale—it was likely an ideal army where everything was in place.

Conversely, the Lemea's side was a disastrous army where nothing was in place.

The two sides seemed to hate each other, and the atmosphere in the meeting was abysmal.

Next to Emma, who was by the wall, stood Larry with his back to the wall and his hands in his pockets.

After looking at Claudia, he turned his gaze to Emma and snorted.

"The real knights have a different kind of presence, don't they? A world away from you."

"W-well, that's true, but..."

It couldn't be helped that she paled in comparison.

The ones Claudia had brought with her were all excellent knights, B-rank or higher.

Claudia herself was a special rank, 'AA', which surpassed A-rank.

That was precisely why Emma sensed that the current situation was abnormal.

(To personally lead a handpicked group of knights... that's not exactly normal, is it? I wonder if there's a reason?)

As Claudia explained the plan to suppress the enemy base, she didn't try to tell the Lemea's soldiers the true objective.

"—That is all."

When Claudia finished her explanation, Doug, who had been listening with his arms crossed, forcefully stepped forward.

"Hold on a minute. Are you guys seriously planning to make us take down the enemy base by ourselves?"

Doug, a warrant officer, had spoken to Colonel Claudia with a disrespectful attitude.

Emma hurriedly tried to stop him.

"Doug-san, you can't do that!"

"You stay quiet, little missy. We have no intention of dying for nothing."

Claudia's gaze turned to Emma for just a moment, but as if uninterested, she immediately looked back at Doug with a cold stare.

"You are not the one to judge whether it's for nothing. This is an order. Obey it silently."

"Hah! After ignoring us all this time, how convenient for you."

"—This is a situation where we have no choice but to use half-wits like you. Do enough work to earn your salary. I'm not asking for anything more."

Normally, Doug's words and actions would warrant severe punishment, but Claudia, as if uninterested, turned her back and left the room with her subordinates.

The commander scratched his head.

"You just shortened your lifespan, Doug."

"My bad, Commander. But I don't have enough loyalty left to risk my life anymore."

"Same here."

◇

"Emma-chan, this way!"

"W-wait!"

A zero-gravity corridor inside the ship.

Emma, being pulled by the hand by Molly, was heading for the hangar.

"What's this delivery for me?"

"It's amazing! You'll definitely be surprised when you see it!"

Forcibly pushed into the hangar by an excited Molly, what Emma saw there was a mobile knight to replace the lost Moheib Type-2.

Emma approached the mobile knight and looked up from its feet.

The mobile knight, shining under the hangar lights, was the Nevan she had piloted before.

However, the backpack was different.

It had the silhouette of a sleek knight, but instead of wing-like additional boosters, it had two rockets mounted on its back.

Its joints were reinforced, giving it the appearance of a prototype rather than a standard Nevan.

But it was, without a doubt, a state-of-the-art mobile knight—a Nevan.

"—It's a Nevan."

"It's the real thing. A real Nevan! Aren't they great, state-of-the-art mobile knights!"

Excited in front of the Nevan, Molly was hugging the machine's leg.

As Emma stood there dumbfounded, a soldier equipped with a powered suit-type spacesuit approached her.

The ground forces-spec combat suit was heavy and intimidating.

Despite its intimidating appearance, when the faceplate opened, a woman's face was visible.

"You're Second Lieutenant Emma Rodman, correct? Please sign for the delivery."

She was asked to sign the proffered electronic document, but Emma shook her head.

"Uh, um! Isn't this a mistake? I'm D-rank, and, well..."

The female soldier pressed the flustered Emma for a signature.

"It's not a mistake. Please sign quickly."

"Y-yes."

After she signed, the female soldier confirmed it and gave a small nod.

"—I have a message for you from the sender."

"The sender? Huh, who is it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

The military decides on the deployment of mobile knights; it was highly unusual for one to be sent by an individual.

It might have been possible if Emma were a noble, but since she was a commoner, that wasn't the case.

"The message is—'An acquaintance of mine was in your care.'"

"Huh? I-is that all?"

"Yes. I've delivered the message properly."

With that, the female soldier walked away.