Around Baron Glyn's home planet.

I was sitting in my chair, watching the lights of the battle taking place on the ground.

Looking down from space, our allied units that had descended were defeating the Calvinist faction's forces one after another.

The enemy fleet that had been on standby around the home planet was now just drifting debris.

The only ones around were the fleet that was supposed to have defected—in other words, our allies.

We attacked alongside our allies who had joined the assembled enemy fleet, and now we're watching the ground battle.

"That guy Kurt is really fired up."

As I was watching Kurt's exploits on the monitor, Theodor, who had been extremely flustered for a while, repeatedly yelled questions at me.

"Count Banfield, what is the meaning of this?!"

"Meaning?"

"The battle should have already been decided! To resort to such a sneak attack..."

Being called a sneak attack is rather vexing.

But I'll play dumb and tease Theodor a bit.

"Is that so? My apologies, then. But—the Calvinist faction has taken a major blow because of this. It's now certain that His Highness Cleo will secure the position of Crown Prince."

When I asked, "What's the problem with His Highness Cleo winning this way?" Theodor's face turned beet red as he retorted.

"Even if he wins with such cowardly tactics, no one will acknowledge His Highness Cleo! Count Banfield, you will take responsibility when we return!"

Looking at Theodor, his nostrils flared in excitement, I noticed a nose hair sticking out.

I glanced at Klaus, who was standing by my side.

The story about me kicking Klaus out was a lie.

"Looks like I'm going to be held responsible, Klaus?"

"—If it's an official defeat on the surface, I suppose it can't be helped."

"It's a cruel world, isn't it? After all I've done to contribute to His Highness Cleo's cause. For my efforts to go unacknowledged is quite disheartening for me."

As I smirked at Theodor's face, he himself seemed concerned about Klaus.

"Why is Lord Klaus here?! Weren't you supposed to have been driven from this battlefield?!"

Time to let Theodor in on the secret.

"Oh, that was a lie. I knew you were leaking information to the enemy."

"W-What?! Th-There's no truth to that. It's a false accusation! Besides, I have no motive!"

"—That doesn't matter. You betrayed me. That's all there is to it."

"H-Have you lost your mind, Banfield!"

That nose hair is so distracting I can't focus on the conversation.

Still, dropping the honorifics with me is unacceptable.

I turned my gaze to Klaus.

"You should say something to Lord Theodor, too."

"Lord Liam, you've noticed as well?"

Klaus was glancing at Theodor's nose, so was he talking about the nose hair?

"I have. So, let me hear your judgment."

At that, Klaus, perhaps thinking this was the end of the line, made a drastic decision.

"—I believe he should be... dealt with."

I had expected Klaus to suggest a more moderate approach—dealing with him behind the scenes.

I was surprised by his unexpected judgment.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that. Had you reached your limit with him?"

"No, that's not it, but..."

Klaus seemed a little hesitant, so he must be thinking that since Theodor betrayed us, he should just be disposed of.

He's a decisive one.

He can be ruthless towards his enemies, but that makes him a fitting subordinate for me.

Klaus truly is my head knight.

"You're right. If you agree, let's deal with him."

Eulisia, who was standing nearby, handed me my katana.

As I took it, Theodor, sensing what was about to happen, turned his back and tried to flee.

"Someone stop him—huh?"

The next moment, Theodor collapsed to the floor.

I'd severed the tendons in both his arms and legs.

I stood up, walked over, and stepped on Theodor.

"I'm still a long way from my master's level—but I'm starting to see his back."

I'm beginning to glimpse the true power of my master in his prime.

Theodor couldn't comprehend what had just happened, but seeing that I hadn't killed him, he seemed to grow bold.

He must have thought I couldn't bring myself to kill him.

"Do you think you can get away with this? You've drawn your bow against His Highness Cleo! Don't think this is the end of it!"

I could tease the defiant Theodor, but if I play around too much, the bridge will get dirty.

"Don't misunderstand. The only reason I didn't kill you here is because it would dirty the bridge. Hey, throw this guy out of my ship, unprotected."

"W-What are you saying? If you kill me, there will be no turning back!"

In response to Theodor's words, I shouldered my katana and replied.

"Don't worry. We're already past the point of no return."

Theodor seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

But even if he understood—he must not have thought I'd go this far, as he had a look of utter bewilderment.

"Y-You, surely not..."

"Take him away."

As the soldiers dragged Theodor away, I handed my katana back to Eulisia and sat down.

Eulisia's face was twitching.

"Was it necessary to draw your sword?"

"I can't deliver a delicate flash with my bare hands. If I'd chopped him to pieces, the cleanup would've been a pain, wouldn't it? —Now then, is it about time? Klaus, attack the Royal Guard. Annihilate them."

When I gave the order, Klaus hesitated, unlike before.

Is something bothering him?

"Are you sure you want to attack the Royal Guard?"

The moment we killed Theodor, there was no going back.

Well, I could probably come up with some excuse—but if we annihilate the Royal Guard here, there will be no way to explain it to Cleo.

—But so what?

"Teach them who they've made an enemy of."

"—Understood."

◇

Klaus was panicking inwardly.

(You wouldn't think he'd be killed right after we talked about his nose hair!)

From the flow of the conversation, Klaus had expected Liam to tell Theodor to take care of his nose hair.

He never imagined that Liam would kill Theodor, who was technically an ally, right here and now.

And on top of that, the order to annihilate the Royal Guard.

(This is bad. I mean, they did betray us, but doing this will truly leave us with no choice but to fight His Highness Cleo. No, but—ah, it's hopeless.)

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no answer.

After all, if the Royal Guard had betrayed them from the start—that meant Cleo had betrayed them.

(Even if we let them escape here, a confrontation with His Highness Cleo is unavoidable. —This must be the end of our ties.)

Filled with anxiety about the future, Klaus decided to carry out Liam's order for the time being.

◇

Meanwhile.

In the hangar of a battleship destroyed by Kurt, the Guide was present.

The Guide, having regained his human form, was pulling Number 3588 out from under a pile of rubble.

"Nnngh! My trump card, in a place like this!"

The hangar was a complete mess, with sparks flying from all over.

It was a place where an explosion could happen at any moment.

However, the mass-produced Avids—the mechs named Neo—were unharmed.

One unit was Number 3588's personal machine, painted red, while the units equipped with artificial intelligence were painted white.

All three mechs were unscathed, but unfortunately, Number 3588, who had been checking her physical body, was injured.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hat. I got hurt."

Number 3588 laughed weakly, "Ahaha."

The Guide thought.

"Don't worry about it. Now, Liam is here. Let me take you to your machine."

(Seriously! Why did you have to get hurt?! If things had gone right, I thought you could at least inflict some damage on Liam, even if you couldn't win!)

From the beginning, the Guide never thought Calvin and Cleo's plan would succeed.

Still, he had cooperated in the hopes that it would at least cause Liam some damage.

However, his trump card, the girl—who in just a few months had grown to look around fifteen years old—was injured, and her abilities had diminished.

Even at full strength, she was no match for Liam; in this state, it was hopeless.

(Tch! It can't be helped. I'll have her tie up the ground forces and send the AI-equipped units against Liam's fleet.)

With that in mind, the Guide explained the plan to the girl.

"In your condition, you won't be able to pilot a mobile knight properly, will you? In that case, you will stall the enemy on the ground."

"Stall them?"

"I'm sending the AI-equipped units against Liam. If you can stall them on the ground, it will buy more time before the enemy detects and responds to them."

"Okay, I understand, Mr. Hat."

"Good girl. Now, go."

The girl entered the cockpit, and as she sat in the seat, the red Avid's twin eyes lit up.

The remaining two units also activated, smashing through the surrounding walls as if pushing them aside.

"—It's a request from Mr. Hat, so I have to make it succeed."

The red Avid soared into the sky through the opening created by the other two units, and Cleo's forces, noticing it, began their attack.

As beams and missiles flew at it, the red Avid turned its shoulder-mounted shields to the front.

The missiles exploded before impact, and the optical weapons bent, failing to hit their mark.

"You two, to the sky!"

As the two remaining Neos accelerated and ascended to leave the atmosphere, the girl watched them go before taking aim at the approaching enemies.

Confused communications could be heard from the enemy.

"Is that Count Banfield's personal machine?!"

"The data says so."

"The enemy prepared an identical model?!"

The approaching mobile knights were equipped with wings for atmospheric combat.

They flew around the girl's red Avid, attacking, but none of their shots reached it.

Before they could hit the red Avid, they all either exploded or were warped off course.

Physical ammunition couldn't even scratch its armor, demonstrating performance on par with the original Avid.

"For a fake, its performance seems to be close to the real thing."

When an enemy attacked with a sword, the girl had the red Avid grip its physical sword—a blade modeled after a katana—and sliced it apart.

"She's not a fake. She has a proper name. I just call her that on my own, though. —This is [Gerbera]. Make sure you remember her name."

Immediately after, the surrounding mobile knights were sliced to pieces and exploded.

"And I even went to the trouble of telling you her name."

The girl pressed a hand to her injured side, her face pale as she looked up at the sky.

"I wish someone would call my name, too."

◇

A red Avid had appeared.

Hearing that it also seemed to use the One-Flash style, Kurt's unit was the one to head to the scene.

Part of it was that they were already on standby nearby, but with their allies being defeated one after another, Kurt was dispatched.

As he approached, Kurt narrowed his eyes at the red Avid.

"The details are different, but it's definitely an identical model of Avid. To even replicate the One-Flash style, what in the world did they do?"

Could the pilot be a user of the One-Flash style, just like Liam?

Making that judgment, Kurt ordered his allies not to approach carelessly.

"Keep your distance and stick to long-range attacks! Do not get close under any circumstances!"

"R-Roger!"

But when they tried to keep their distance, several magic circles appeared around the Avid, and from them, gun barrels were aimed at them.

Physical rounds.

Optical weapons like beams and lasers.

As they were assaulted by these, Kurt gritted his teeth.

(They replicated it to this extent?!)

He was astonished by an enemy that hadn't just copied it, but had brought its performance incredibly close to the original.

Avid was a mobile knight that Liam had poured an enormous budget into creating; it was a machine ill-suited for mass production.

Just preparing one would be a massive undertaking, yet the enemy had two more.

"They prepared three of these machines, and the other two are headed for Liam."

He regretted being unable to stop the enemy from heading towards their main force, but a part of him resigned to the fact that it couldn't be helped if the opponent was an Avid.

However, the red Avid forcefully closed the distance on them as they tried to back away.

"They even copied the machine's performance!"

Seeing an allied unit next to him smashed to pieces by a body slam, Kurt judged that if he didn't face it himself, they would all be slaughtered, and had his mobile knight grip its sword.

And when he slashed at it, the enemy blocked with its katana.

Seeing this, Kurt was suspicious, but he quickly realized.

"It doesn't have the same skill as Liam. I can do this!"

The opponent unleashed a mock One-Flash, but Kurt, who had known Liam for a long time, sensed it.

"So they only copied the pilot."

When he kicked the red Avid, he heard the pilot's voice.

Upon contact, a communication channel opened, and he could see the opponent's face.

"That face, could it be?!"

The resemblance was too striking.

Because of that, Kurt immediately realized what the enemy had dabbled in.

And he also quickly saw that she was injured and not at her best.

"She's not a fake. This is Gerbera!"

Kurt was surprised by the girl's voice.

"A girl?!"

"Number 3588—my purpose is to stall you."

The red Avid—Gerbera—tried to forcefully destroy Kurt's machine with its power.

But Kurt, who had sparred with Liam countless times, predicted the clumsy movements of the One-Flash style and dodged.

"Why can't I hit you?"

To the Liam-lookalike girl who seemed puzzled, Kurt answered with pity.

"Both your One-Flash style and your piloting skills are a far cry from Liam's."

"That's a lie. I learned it properly! I practiced a lot, and he praised me for it!"

From her words and actions, which were more childish than her appearance suggested, he guessed what the Calvinist faction had done to the girl.

(Did they touch upon the forbidden to defeat Liam?)

Kurt's mobile knight dodged Gerbera's slashing attacks, but he had no decisive blow against an enemy with rare metal armor.

So, he stalled for as much time as possible.

In the meantime, the pilot would give out first.

Gerbera's movements became disjointed, and unable to even stay airborne, it fell and struggled on the ground.

When Kurt landed his machine nearby, the girl was crying.

"I-I have to try a little harder... or—M-Mr. H...—won't praise me."

She was desperately calling someone's name.

As Kurt closed his eyes at the sight, his allies surrounded Gerbera and aimed their weapons.

Kurt stopped them.

"Stop."

"But sir!"

"It's useless. Our current weapons won't even scratch it. Besides, she can't move it anymore in this state."

Kurt thought for a moment, then spoke to the girl.

"If you want to live, open the hatch."