The Banfield family – the hangar bay for fortress-class vessels.

Liam's personal unit, Avido, was stored there.

The large, black unit remained unused due to its master's absence.

A dog entered the hangar.

It looked up at Avido and barked once.

Then, Avido's twin eyes began to glow.

The engine started, a magic circle appeared around it, and arms emerged from it.

Three large rocket boosters.

They were connected and installed onto Avido.

Avido, now active, walked forward and – forced open the hatch!

The dog had vanished, and the maintenance soldiers, startled by Avido's sudden movement, reported to their superior.

"Hey, who gave Avido clearance to sortie!?"

"What are you talking about? Avido is Liam-sama's personal unit. No one can operate it."

"That's why I'm telling you, it's moving!"

"No, that's why –"

Avido emerged into space and, using its boosters, charged into the enemy formation.

I was targeting the enemy, but I was getting bored.

I left the gunnery to the gunners and sat in my seat, yawning.

Several days had passed since the battle began, and I was surprised at how fragile the enemy was.

Their counterattacks were also lukewarm.

How should I put it – they were weak.

Cedric approached me.

"Special Staff Officer, you seem to be taking it easy."

"Isn't it already over?"

"I think it's better not to let your guard down until the very end."

Cedric, ever serious, looked tense.

Meanwhile, Wallace was dozing off, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

— What's with the difference between these brothers?

It made me feel like I had drawn a dud royal like Wallace.

As I was considering returning to my room, Yurishia reported to me.

"Lieutenant General, a portion of the enemy is charging towards us!"

"What?"

Looking at the monitor, I saw a simplified representation of the battlefield, with a portion of the enemy forces heading straight for my flagship.

They were aiming directly for me.

Tia immediately issued orders to our allies.

"Retreat the flagship! Change formation and surround them!"

The fleet quickly formed a crane-wing formation, attempting to envelop the enemy, but their momentum seemed to be overwhelming.

I crossed my arms.

"– It's no use. They'll reach us eventually."

I knew from their charge that they seemed like they would break through.

Wallace, woken by the commotion, was trembling.

"W-What are we going to do?! If they charge like that, can our battleship withstand it?!"

Cedric grabbed Wallace.

"Don't make a fuss! Special Staff Officer, you should evacuate immediately. They are targeting you."

I asked Cedric, who said that.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm sorry, but I like this ship. It's the fortune I finally obtained in my unremarkable life. I intend to protect it until the end."

— This guy is more useful than Wallace.

Well, he's a different type from me – a serious person.

"I see. Do as you please. However, I have no intention of losing to this extent. Tia, prepare the mobile knights."

"Liam-sama!?"

When I ordered the units to be prepared, Tia frantically tried to stop me.

"No, please stay here. I cannot allow Liam-sama to sortie in this situation!"

Marie agreed with my opinion and argued with Tia.

"If Liam-sama orders it, that's what a knight does. Don't push your own convenience!"

Tia drew her weapon.

"You fossil! What will you take responsibility for if something happens to Liam-sama! Your worthless life is not the same value as his!"

The surrounding people fell silent due to the intimidating aura of the two, who had become foul-mouthed.

— I'm tired of this.

"Hey."

I approached the two, grabbed their heads, and pressed them to the floor.

"L-Liam-sama!?"

"W-What are you –"

The flustered Tia and Marie struggled desperately but could not resist my strength.

With their heads pressed down, their rear ends were sticking out.

I said to the bewildered pair.

"How long are you two going to quarrel noisily in front of me? I never gave you permission to fight amongst yourselves."

Marie hastily tried to explain.

"N-No! This is because this mincing woman is defying Liam-sama's orders – Hmph!"

I pressed their heads harder against the floor – and the floor dented.

"The only thing you are permitted is to pile up achievements before me. If you do that, I will evaluate you properly. Don't show me childish squabbles forever."

Tia looked up at me with teary eyes.

"I-I beg your forgiveness. Please. Please!"

"– I will forgive you based on your past achievements. Both of you are stripped of your positions as chief knight and second-in-command knight."

Tia and Marie showed looks of despair, but that didn't matter.

I should have disciplined them sooner.

"What is your answer?"

Tia and Marie replied in faint voices, "Y-Yes," and I released them, smiling.

"Alright, let's sortie. Bring out the mobile knights."

Tia and Marie, who had lifted their faces from the floor, looked at me with flushed cheeks.

They probably wanted to cry.

That's understandable.

They lost their hard-earned positions.

Liam left, and Marie, who followed him, was also gone from the bridge.

There, Tia was blushing and entranced.

Wallace looked disgusted.

"Hey, why do you look so happy?"

Tia let out a "Fuh" and explained her feelings to Wallace, who didn't understand why she was so pleased.

"The strength to hold both of us down with one hand. And the courage to face enemies charging like suicidal soldiers. This is Liam-sama."

For Tia, who considered even being scolded by Liam a reward, seeing Liam in a way she hadn't seen him before made her happy.

Cedric slumped his shoulders.

"That's all well and good, but can you issue orders quickly?"

Our allies were being pushed back by the charging enemy.

Tia immediately switched her focus and began issuing commands.

"Prepare the mobile knight corps for sortie! Bring forward vessels strong in close combat! Retreat vessels with questionable armor and concentrate on artillery fire. Make sure they don't shoot allies."

Once switched, she issued commands one after another, preparing a battlefield where mobile knights could shine.

Yurishia watched her and murmured.

"– Regardless of his true nature, he is competent."

The neglected commander was on his seat, praying to survive.

The Barkley family's fleet.

Dolf, upon receiving the report that the enemy had deployed mobile knights, immediately dispatched the mobile knights he had on standby.

And he also sent out the units prepared as countermeasures against Liam's Avido.

"Deploy the special units!"

The special units prepared by the Barkley family – these were mobile knights classified as large, similar to Avido.

They were the latest weapons created by the first and second weapon factories, which had studied Avido, despite being outdated.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were built to defeat Avido.

These were new units developed by the developers who saw their own new units destroyed without a chance against Avido.

They had prepared twelve of them.

The operator raised his voice.

"Avido cannot be confirmed!"

"Never mind! If it doesn't appear, have them attack the enemy flagship!"

Despite the untrained charge, the Barkley family's fleet, while suffering heavy losses, had approached Liam's throat.

This was due to Dolf's persistence – and the guidance of the guide.

The guide standing next to Dolf also shouted.

"That's him! Liam is definitely out there! Dolf, destroy the foremost unit!"

As if shouting, Dolf suddenly realized, though he shouldn't have heard.

"The foremost unit! He's there!"

Dolf said that on instinct, but the guide was beside him, telling him Liam's location.

The guide spread his hands, and black smoke was sucked into the floor.

That black smoke – entered the special units for Avido.

"LIAMMMMM!"

The guide also got heated up and directed the special units towards Liam, who was in a mass-produced unit.

The cockpit of a mass-produced unit.

It was a mobile knight, similar to Avido, but it felt rather flimsy.

"As expected, mass-produced units are no good."

Custom-made is befitting of the wealthy.

Marie, who followed me, explained my unit.

"Liam-sama, that unit is a special custom model from the initial lot of the next-generation units."

"Initial lot? That makes me uneasy."

After all, it wouldn't be strange if there were problems with initial lots.

Even if it's a next-generation unit, it's just the next mass-production unit.

It might not even be adopted.

"As expected, I should have brought Avido."

I missed the luxurious seat.

As I was thinking that, mobile knights began to sortie from the Barkley family's fleet.

It seemed they had packed them in, as thousands of them were deployed.

And they were still deploying one after another.

Considering the Barkley family's fleet as the center, we were attacking from above, and the enemy was coming up.

However, in zero gravity, orientation doesn't matter.

"Look, here they come!"

As I stepped on the foot pedal and accelerated, I felt a slight vibration inside the cockpit.

Avido wouldn't have shaken like this.

Mobile knights were coming at me one after another.

The enemy units were also the latest models or currently mainstream ones.

In space, I equipped my mobile knight with a blade and, as I passed by, swung it, destroying one unit.

I dodged the light and bullets – missiles – that attacked me and destroyed them with my sword.

"They're more of a challenge than Derrick!"

An enemy that was about to attack me was shot down by an ally's mobile knight with a rifle.

"Liam-sama, I'll cover you!"

Marie came to my aid.

Thanks to her, Marie took down troublesome enemies, allowing me to shoot down enemies at will.

As the mobile knight swung its blade, five units exploded at once.

"Explosions in space are amazing! What's the principle behind it?"

I was defeating them with overwhelming power.

I was recreating the 'One-Slash Style' with the mobile knight, but as expected, the response was worse than Avido's.

The reproduction rate was also low.

Marie shot down a unit that tried to get behind me.

Just by defeating the enemies in front of me, my kill score kept increasing.

"Well, for an initial lot, it's pretty good."

As I muttered that, I noticed a considerably large unit among the enemy.

Marie tried to shoot it down with her rifle, but the bullets and beams were deflected, perhaps due to differences in armor or output.

"You guys! Liam-sama, please fall back!"

"Don't be stupid. Isn't this exactly what we were waiting for?"

As I moved my unit forward and slashed with my blade, the enemy deployed a barrier shield and was enveloped in spherical light.

Its output was extremely high.

If my unit was 'real scale,' the opponent would be 'super robot scale.'

"I don't dislike that idea. But, it's no good!"

As the enemy moved to capture me, I cut off both its arms.

The enemy, not understanding what happened, tried to retreat in a panic.

"Fight me more seriously!"

I stepped forward and swung my blade down, breaking through the enemy's barrier shield – but was blocked by the armor, and couldn't cut it in half.

"Tch."

I clicked my tongue, dropped my blade, and created distance. Beams and bullets rained down on where I had been. Engulfed by the attack, the enemy unit exploded.

"– It's a bit too tough."

Looking up, I saw eleven more large units of similar size.

Red twin eyes were shining.

Marie moved in front of me to shield me.

"Liam-sama, these are dangerous. We'll surround them and take them down."

"I'd like to, but the surroundings don't seem to permit it."

The enemy battleship turned its bow towards me and began to attack.

It was ignoring the allies attached to it.

I considered retreating obediently – but then.

"– Avido?"

Sensing a presence, I turned my gaze and saw a unit approaching me, weaving through the enemy ships.

Marie was confused by the communication.

"Avido on its own? Don't be ridiculous! Who is piloting it?!"

It seemed Avido had launched from the Banfield family's fleet.

Alone – on its own.

A smile spread across my face.

"Perfect follow-up, Guide!"

I charged my unit towards Avido, matched our relative speeds, and then the surrounding enemies gathered.

Avido spread its hands and emitted light, destroying them.

The boosters attached to Avido were detached.

It caught my unit with both hands and prepared to receive me by opening its cockpit hatch.

"Good boy."

I lowered my helmet's visor, opened the cockpit hatch, and jumped out.

Then, Avido reached out and caught me, tossing me into the cockpit.

Inside, the spacious and familiar cockpit awaited.

I discarded my helmet.

"It's been a while since I rode you too."

No one was sitting in the seat.

– In other words, this is part of the Guide's after-follow.

As expected, that guy is reliable.

He delivered Avido at the perfect timing.

"I need to thank him for something."

Sitting in the seat and gripping the controls, I could finally let Avido run wild after a long time.

Brian (´；ω；｀): "Liam-sama is misunderstanding, and it's painful. Liam-sama, that's wrong! It was the dog that delivered Avido! You should thank the Guide – Huh?"

Brian (´・ω・｀): "...If I can be thankful, is this okay?"

, .--,_
Dog ゝ-ji,゜._゜,.）: "Kuuun"
shi-ji-J