Several speed-focused vessels, retrofitted with additional boosters, had gathered around the carrier Lemea.

High-speed ships.

Because they prioritized travel speed, they were fragile for battleships and lacked striking power.

They could carry few supplies and were mostly used only as a means of transport in emergencies.

They were not scheduled to participate in the next operation; their only task was to pick up the survey team aboard the Lemea and return to the home planet.

Watching the high-speed ships depart for the home planet from the Lemea, Claudia was being questioned by her subordinates.

"This is unacceptable! Why is a new model being provided to a D-rank failure?"

"The Colonel should be the one to pilot it. A modified special unit would be a greater asset to our forces in your hands."

Emma Rodman.

It seemed the other knights couldn't forgive the fact that a D-rank knight had been given a new model.

Claudia was also displeased, but knowing who had sent it, she couldn't just take it away. However, she hadn't told her subordinates who the sender was.

Christiana probably didn't know either, for that matter.

She didn't feel like carelessly revealing the truth.

(It's not my place to interfere.)

"It's an order from above. Besides, that unit wasn't part of our original battle plan. Don't stir up trouble over nothing."

Her subordinates fell silent at her cold dismissal.

However, Claudia was also curious.

(Why would he specifically assign a Mobile Knight to that person by name?)

◇

In the Lemea's hangar.

The pilots of the Lemea, including Larry and Doug, had gathered around the Nevan Prototype Experimental Unit that Emma had received.

"So this is the Nevan."

"It's so slender, looks unreliable."

"Giving it to that failure of a young lady... what are the higher-ups thinking?"

While those around her made their thoughtless comments, Emma was in no state to pay them any mind.

She was inside the cockpit, making adjustments to the unit.

Assisting her with the adjustments were Mory, the platoon's mechanic, and—a technician from the Third Armory who was involved in this unit's development.

The nervous-looking man with glasses had his light-blue hair slicked back.

This man, Technical Captain Mols, was perplexed by the unit's adjustments.

He spoke to Emma in an apologetic tone.

"I'll be honest. This unit is an experimental machine equipped with a new type of power furnace."

"Huh? Oh, right."

Emma, busily making various adjustments while moving the control stick, had almost tuned out Mols's words.

Mols let out a sigh.

"In order to develop a special unit for an ace-class pilot, we forcibly installed a new power furnace into a Nevan-type frame."

The Nevan was an excellent machine.

It was highly regarded for its stability, demonstrating consistent performance in any situation.

However, because it was an all-rounder, many ace pilots found it lacking.

Most ace-class pilots requested units other than the Nevan.

To overcome this situation, the Third Armory decided to develop a Nevan for ace pilots.

But the experimental unit for this purpose underwent unreasonable modifications, resulting in a machine that even ace-class pilots couldn't handle.

No matter how much they limited its performance, its inherent poor balance meant it was still plagued with control issues.

"No matter which ace pilot we put in it, we couldn't get results. I shouldn't be the one to say this, but this thing is a defective machine. The reckless modifications made its response speed overly sensitive, and the assist functions don't operate correctly—"

Mols felt terrible about sending such an experimental unit into actual combat.

But Emma was completely absorbed in adjusting the unit.

"I think I prefer the control stick to be a little lighter..."

"—Are you even listening to me!?"

"Huh? O-Of course, I'm listening. It has an amazing engine, right?"

Exasperated with Emma, who clearly hadn't been listening at all, Mols pressed a hand to his forehead.

"How can you be so engrossed? No matter how much you adjust this thing, it won't move properly."

While the developer himself spoke words of resignation, Emma alone was pouring all her focus into adjusting the machine.

"If this goes here... and this part..."

Watching Emma, Mols let out a deep sigh.

"Since the assist functions don't work correctly, we didn't install them in the first place. And yet, the unit's balance is atrocious, making it a defective machine. If it goes out of control, it could even self-destruct."

As Mols explained just how dangerous the unit was, Emma, having reached a stopping point in her adjustments, removed her headset and turned to face him.

"Ah, so that's why the adjustments are so difficult. Hmm, I wonder if I'll make it in time for the operation?"

The objective of the assault on the pirates' weapon manufacturing plant was to either capture or destroy it.

To settle the matter before the pirates could escape, the operation was set to begin immediately.

Mols, amazed by Emma's nonchalance, gave up on talking about the unit.

◇

Meanwhile.

At the pirates' weapon manufacturing plant, trouble was brewing.

"It's the Banfields! If we don't get out of here now, we're all gonna be killed!"

These were pirates who did business with other pirates.

They had amassed a great fortune selling the weapons manufactured at the plant.

However, with the Banfield family, known for showing absolutely no mercy to space pirates, on their way, they wanted to prepare for immediate escape.

But one person was preventing that.

Among the rough-and-tumble pirates stood a man in a clean-cut suit.

He was a figure who stood out from his surroundings, his skin a pasty white as if covered in thick makeup.

"That would be a problem. We, too, have invested a vast amount of capital into this plant. If you blow it up to destroy the evidence, we won't be able to turn a profit."

The pirates were unnerved and frightened by the reaction of this thin, unimposing man.

No one knew his name, but he called himself "River."

The reason the tough-looking pirates feared him was because they had killed him several times when he had been dispatched as an observer.

"Like we give a damn about your arms factory's profits."

An executive drew his pistol and shot River through the head.

River collapsed, undoubtedly killed instantly, but the surrounding pirates wore expressions of fear.

The executive gave orders to his men.

"We're getting out of here now. Prepare the ships. The enemy hasn't fully assembled yet. Our chance to escape is—"

"B-Boss!"

When a subordinate shouted, pointing at the door, they saw River standing in the open doorway.

The same appearance. The same suit.

A being identical to the River they had just killed stood there, smiling at the pirates.

"It would be a problem if you escaped. We need you to fight to the death, you see."

The same being they had just killed was standing right there.

"Here, we shall have the Banfield family suffer a major setback. If that happens, losing one plant is a small price to pay. It will be quite profitable, you see."

◇

In the Lemea's hangar.

Claudia had gathered the principal members of the operation.

Not a single person from the Lemea was among them, as they were not counted as part of the main fighting force from the start.

"After this light carrier descends, we will launch a surprise attack on the enemy base at low altitude."

It was a strategy meeting around a holographic display.

The commander of the ground forces, listening to Claudia's plan, turned to look at the small landing craft.

"So we're to take the enemy base with just three platoons? That sounds like a tough job."

Compared to the size of the unit, the enemy base was too large.

Despite the lack of manpower, the members of the ground forces showed no signs of pessimism.

Seeing this, Claudia allowed a faint smile to grace her lips.

"You all will accomplish it, won't you?"

You can do it, can't you? When asked this, the commander just shrugged his shoulders.

"If we failed an operation of this scale, we wouldn't have enough lives to spare."

"I'm leaving the suppression of the base's interior to you. The outside is our job."

As the meeting was about to conclude, one of Claudia's subordinates made a suggestion in a lighthearted tone.

"Captain, what should we do for our unit's name? We're a mixed force thrown together at the last minute. Shouldn't we decide on a name?"

"You're right. Hunter—the Jäger Squad will do."

◇

Emma, whose adjustments on the experimental unit were not yet finished, had stepped outside for a break.

As she watched Claudia conducting the strategy meeting, Larry approached.

"That's a unit name that doesn't fit this dump, don't you think?"

"Larry-san?"

Larry, who disliked the name Jäger Squad that Claudia had chosen, stopped beside Emma.

"Those kill marks on their powered suits... those guys are knight killers."

"Knight killers?"

As Emma tilted her head in confusion, Larry scratched his head in irritation.

"Why don't you, a knight, know about them? They're the Count's prized ground forces—nicknamed 'Treasure.'"

"Huh? There's no such unit."

"I said it's a nickname. They get dragged around by the Count, always thrown into the front lines. Every last one of them is a freak who'll live out their days in the military until they die."

"Until they die..."

On the ground forces' powered suits, there were markings that looked like kill counts. A knight was represented by an ancient knight's helmet, which was crossed out with an X.

It must have indicated the number of knights they had killed.

"In a different way from the folks on the Lemea, they probably can't leave the military either. They're clumsy oafs who can't choose any other way to live. To me, it looks like both groups are just wasting their lives."

They were a group trained in physical enhancement education capsules, forged to the point where, under the right conditions, they could kill knights.

The price for that was dedicating almost their entire lives to the military.

The soldiers aboard the Lemea were the same.

They didn't know how to live outside the military and were still clinging to it.

But on the other hand, the Treasure squad had become an elite force, working by the Count's side and accumulating achievements.

"I'm sure if everyone here tried their best, they could—"

Hearing the words "try their best," Larry snorted.

"'Try their best?' That's something someone who can actually do it would say. In this world, some things are impossible no matter how hard you try. —Just like how I can't become a knight now, no matter how hard the guys here try, they can't become an elite force like them."

Larry said this and turned his back to Emma.

As Emma stood there, unable to say anything in response, Larry spoke with his back still turned.

"I hope you can try your best to get out of here. —You've finally gotten a chance, after all."

"Larry-san..."

◇

The Lemea approached the planet Alias, preparing to enter its atmosphere.

Claudia, seated in the cockpit of her command-type Nevan with its distinctive horn, was listening to a report from her subordinate.

"The experimental unit's adjustments won't be completed in time."

"—Never mind. I don't want to give the enemy any more time. We'll suppress them while they're holed up."

Claudia felt a sense of relief somewhere inside her upon hearing that the experimental unit's adjustments weren't finished and that it wouldn't be part of the fighting force.

Once the communication with her subordinate ended, she muttered in a low voice, as if to no one in particular.

"Assigned to the frontier, only to get caught up in this. —What an unlucky person. She should just quit being a knight already."

She had been given a reason to quit by being deemed unqualified, yet she still clung to being a knight. Calling Emma a fool, her face was tinged with sadness.

Claudia looked at the charm wrapped around her wrist.

◇

Decades ago.

Claudia was being held captive on a resource satellite that served as a space pirate stronghold.

Her days were spent hiding her emaciated body with dirty rags, fawning over the pirates to prolong her life.

Inside the prison where the captives were thrown.

The female knight who had been lying sick nearby had died at some point.

As she waited for death in the squalid environment, she wondered again and again how it had come to this.

"Damn it... damn it all!"

I don't want to die. I don't want to die like this.

As she was thinking this, a former subordinate who had stooped to becoming a pirate entered the room.

"Keeping well, former Captain?"

The former subordinate, who approached with a vulgar grin, had been a rookie knight in the unit Claudia had belonged to.

He had been a useless man, but she had still trained him strictly because he was a subordinate entrusted to her.

"Y-You..."

"Whoa there, don't glare at me like that. I brought you some food."

Saying so, the man reached into the cell and dumped food onto the floor.

"There, grovel like an animal and eat up."

"Ugh—"

Driven by hunger, she pounced on the food spilled on the floor, and tears of misery began to flow.

The other living prisoners also swarmed, and a fight for the food broke out.

Seeing this, the former subordinate clutched his stomach and laughed.

"This is what you get for looking down on me! You have to be nice to your subordinates, right, former Captain?"

This man, who had sold out his own unit to the space pirates out of a petty grudge, was satisfying his ego by looking at Claudia's state.

From Claudia's perspective, her guidance had been to ensure her subordinates survived. But she had been betrayed by a man who couldn't even understand something so simple, and many of her precious subordinates had died.

As she sobbed with regret, the former subordinate laughed with his mouth wide open.

"Hahahaha! Serves you right. This is what you get for looking down on me—"

In the next instant, the man's head exploded.

When she looked outside the cell to see what had happened, a child who looked barely old enough to be an adult appeared, clad in a Mobile Knight pilot suit.

In his right hand, he held an antique gun.

But, as if dissatisfied with its feel, the child tossed the gun aside.

Then, he looked down at the former subordinate whose head had been blown off.

"Playing around during an emergency... this one's incompetent. Now then—"

When the child looked inside the cell, information about Claudia appeared in the air around him.

"—Ah, so it's you. You're apparently skilled."

As the child said this, the prison cell was cut open, though he seemed to have done nothing.

The child stepped inside and extended a hand to Claudia.

"I'm always welcoming of useful knights. Take my hand—from now on, I will make use of you."

An arrogant attitude.

But for some reason, Claudia took the offered hand.

The child's face, hidden by his helmet's visor, seemed to be smiling.

"Welcome to the Banfield family. From this day forward, you are mine."

◇

Claudia, recalling the past, shook her head and focused on the operation.

(I will prove to him that I am not incompetent. That is my entire purpose now.)

Inside the ship, which was shaking from atmospheric entry, Claudia gripped the control stick tightly.

The descended Lemea began to head for the enemy base at full speed.

And then, the time to launch arrived.

"Jäger Squad, all units, launch."