Avid, a mobile suit equipped with shields on both shoulders.

It is a large mobile suit, and it is a model that places a burden on the pilot.

It also possesses power commensurate with its size, and is a difficult-to-handle unit that omits pilot assist functions.

Black, large, and—strong.

As such an Avid approached the Pitak family's cruiser, it began its attack with the bazooka held in its left hand.

The cruiser's anti-air lasers hit the Avid—but were all blocked by its energy shield.

The cruiser was engulfed in flames by the bazooka's attack.

Liam searched for his next target, chasing after the fleeing Pitak family's mobile suit pilots.

"You're too slow!"

The Pitak family's mobile suits were all used, not mainstream models.

The performance difference was too great; once caught by the Avid, they were crushed.

"It feels good to trample them with an overwhelming performance gap!"

Following Liam, who was laughing, were the mobile suits piloted by the knights.

They were supposed to be Liam's escorts, but they couldn't keep up and were in pursuit.

The Banfield family's mobile suits were mass-produced units of the empire's main force.

Or, they were new models handled by elites.

To gain a numerical advantage, the enemy—pirates and the Pitak family—would need to field forty to fifty thousand.

However, even if they were gathered, victory was another matter.

When Liam landed on the Pitak family's flagship, a magic circle appeared around the Avid.

From within it emerged missile pods.

Hundreds of missiles burned the Pitak family's flagship.

Watching this, Tia, in her white unit—

"To control that difficult unit as if it were an extension of your limbs—what a beautiful sight. I can't afford to be outdone."

As she was mesmerized, the enemy approached.

She stepped on the foot pedal, accelerated the unit to top speed, and—destroying the enemy as she passed them.

The enemy was destroyed one after another by Tia's unstoppable unit.

"More—more!"

Tia's eyes became bloodshot.

"The hell I experienced—it wasn't anything like this!"

The Pitak family soldiers, fleeing and begging for mercy.

Even hearing their voices, Tia felt no sympathy.

Once they called themselves pirates, they were nothing but enemies to Tia.

After Tia's unit passed, only the wreckage of the enemy remained.

There was no one who could stop the princess knight of the fallen kingdom, neither among the pirates nor the Pitak family.

◇

While the Pitak family and pirates were being ravaged.

Katerina, who had accompanied Peter back to his territory, could not hide her bewilderment.

The ships that came to pick them up were all old models.

That was fine.

Even old models were fine if they were well-maintained.

However, Peter's battleship, the "Peter III," was also an old model.

A battleship from hundreds of years ago, flashy on the outside but terrible on the inside.

Moreover, Peter's room was unnecessarily luxurious.

"How is it? Isn't my ship the best?"

When Peter spoke to her, Katerina was at a loss for words.

"Th-this is quite... vintage, or rather, antique, isn't it?"

Even she thought her comment was inadequate, but Peter didn't seem to mind.

"Isn't it amazing? It's my favorite. It's quite excellent among what I have."

Hearing that made her dizzy.

It was a space battleship that would have been better off buying a ship even if it was a surplus from the Imperial Army—the regular army.

Furthermore, Peter's unnecessarily large room must be taking up space on the ship.

Peter didn't understand that he was further reducing the performance of an already low-performance ship.

"I-I think a smaller one would be fine. A cruiser, for example, is recommended."

Rather than being on such a large target, a surplus cruiser would be better.

She seriously began to consider asking her father to lend her one.

"Cruisers are no good. If I'm going to buy one, it should be a super-dreadnought. But the Empire won't sell us one."

"—Eh? Aren't you recognized?"

Katerina was surprised, as it was different from what she had heard.

"I asked, but they won't sell it to us."

Super-dreadnoughts and colossal ships called fortress-class carriers were only sold to lords recognized by the Empire.

This was also a measure of how much the Empire trusted that family.

For a Count's family to not have Imperial permission—it clearly indicated something was amiss.

(Th-this is not what we discussed! They said if I married into it, I wouldn't have to worry about my livelihood!)

Listening to Peter's words, Katerina became increasingly anxious.

Unbeknownst to Katerina, Peter was talking about something else entirely.

"I've grown a lot in these three years. Mine has also doubled in size compared to before—"

Ignoring Peter, who had started talking about inappropriate matters, Katerina thought about the future.

(First, I need to contact my father and confirm if I can break off the engagement.)

Isn't this a very bad situation?

Katerina's anxiety grew.

◇

As I rampaged in the Avid, the enemy formation broke and they were fleeing.

Those fools who called themselves the Pitak family.

They were fools who thought I would retreat if they used the name of a famous noble house.

"Of all the families, why the Pitak family?"

A family that was likely benevolent, diligent, and uninterested in personal valor.

It was probably a family that prioritized internal affairs and was an ideal noble family.

Yet, their private army, claiming to be that family's force, was a fleet with old equipment and extremely low skill levels.

—It's simply unbelievable.

They chose the wrong name to impersonate.

These guys are probably bad guys pretending to be nobles to commit piracy.

"But I'm worse than all of you."

The essence of nobles in this world is the same as space pirates.

Nobles are merely those who are a bit more well-behaved and manage their strongholds properly.

In other words—I, who am more of a villain than you, am stronger.

"Well, I should be looking for the enemy's flagship now."

I've been looking for the enemy flagship since earlier, but I can't find it.

They all look the same.

As I searched for the enemy, my allies were picking off the enemies I missed, as if competing for them.

Tia, in particular, was amazing.

The count of her destroyed enemies didn't stop.

"Oh, you're quite good. A nice find."

But if I stay here, the enemies will disappear.

I started moving in search of new enemies and found a pirate ship that was slightly larger than the others.

◇

On the bridge of the Vaal, a communication came in from the pirates.

"Please! We'll surrender, so spare us. We were framed. The one who framed us is Viscount Reizel."

The one responding was the Commander-in-Chief.

"Oh, that's an interesting story."

He was having a conversation while drinking coffee.

Even as this was happening, our allies were attacking the pirates.

Unlike the calm Commander-in-Chief, the pirate captain was flustered.

"If you accept our surrender, I'll tell you everything. Moreover, we'll follow you from now on. We'll manage the underworld properly. We'll even pay tribute!"

The Commander-in-Chief smiled at the captain who was selling himself.

The captain also smiled—but.

"You should say your dreams when you're asleep. Still, pirates are all the same, aren't they? When they're about to lose, they beg for their lives. Then they try to sell themselves."

"Wh-what?"

"Do you know what we do to such pirates?"

"Don't you want to know about Viscount Reizel? You must want to know why they attacked you!"

"—Unnecessary. There's no need to make a deal with pirates."

As the captain tried to shout something, the monitor's image dissolved into noise—and then disappeared.

The operator reported.

"Avid destroyed the enemy flagship. A message from Lord Liam: 'I'm bored, so I'm returning.'"

The Commander-in-Chief sighed.

"Relay my understanding. Well, I wanted to talk a bit more, but if Lord Liam is bored, I suppose it can't be helped."

He wanted to hear what the captain had to say.

The operator gave the next report.

"The enemy has begun to retreat."

The Commander-in-Chief gave an order.

"Engage in pursuit."

However, if Liam deemed it unnecessary, it couldn't be helped.

The Commander-in-Chief saw Kurt, whose tension had broken, slump into his chair.

"I am very sorry for involving Lord Kurt in pirate hunting."

Kurt shook his head.

"No, it was very educational. Even just watching was very tiring."

"I'm glad you feel that way. Someone, bring Lord Kurt a drink."

◇

Upon returning, soldiers were lined up to greet me.

It felt really good.

As I dismounted from the Avid, applause erupted.

"Magnificent, Lord Liam."

"Ah."

I gave a slight wave in response.

These guys also have a hard time trying to please me.

Just by riding the incredibly powerful weapon called Avid and rampaging, they have to praise me.

It feels good to have power.

Even though winning is expected, I'm praised like this.

A soldier reported to me.

"After the battle, we will leave three thousand ships here and the rest will head to Baron Exner's territory. I have reported to the General Staff and arranged for supply units to be sent to the Baron's territory."

"Gather all the debris. Bring it back to the territory. Also, were any treasures found?"

The soldier shook his head.

"No treasures worthy of Lord Liam have been found. However, since the enemy is a wanted criminal, the Empire will pay a bounty."

This bounty is quite substantial.

I remember it was very helpful when I was rebuilding my family's finances.

"This time it's a miss. I'll have to rely on Kurt's family."

Being praised like this in an environment where my "I am super strong" is the norm—all of this is due to the power I hold.

If I were just a pilot, I probably wouldn't be praised this much.

On the contrary, I'd likely be told to work harder.

To rampage when I want and go home when I'm bored—power is the best.

◇

Tia looked at her own downing score.

Although there was a large gap with third place, her score did not reach Liam's, who was in first place.

She could only be surprised.

"To achieve such results with this unit."

From Tia's perspective, the Avid was—a very difficult unit.

Not only was it difficult to pilot, but an average pilot would be unable to control it properly, being overwhelmed by its high performance.

The mechanics were talking while maintaining the Avid.

"To tame such a wild horse, isn't Lord Liam born in the wrong era?"

"If he were born into a knight's family, he would undoubtedly be the Empire's top ace."

"The joints are at their limit. This might need to be sent back to the manufacturer."

Liam's skill in drawing out the performance to its limit, rather than being overwhelmed by it—made Tia even more excited.

◇

The Henfrey Merchant Guild's large transport ships arrived in the post-battle space.

This was because the Banfield family's fleet requested supplies.

Gravity generators were placed to collect debris.

The debris, drawn in, swirled into a vortex, and work pods searched within it for anything usable.

Debris collectors from Liam's territory had arrived.

Thomas, who had brought several large transport ships and supplied them, was invited onto a warship.

Although it was for detailed discussions, the topic turned to the pirates.

"—There's a possibility they were connected to the Viscount's family?"

The serious-looking soldier seized on the topic while checking the list prepared by Thomas.

"Yes, it was well-known among merchants. In fact, there were many suspicious movements."

However, the serious soldier did not take the information at face value.

More importantly.

"I will report this. But more than that, I am curious whether the Henfrey Merchant Guild will continue to trade with the Reizel family."

Even if it was at the edge of the Viscount's territory, such a large fleet had attacked.

Although a report was made, the fact that there was no sign of them coming to check the situation seemed to be a concern.

And the military did not look favorably upon the fact that such a Viscount's family was connected to their exclusive merchant guild.

"We have decided to distance ourselves from this matter. Frankly, that response was too rude."

The treatment of Liam was too harsh.

On that point, the soldier seemed to agree.

He lightly tapped the table with his pen.

"We feel the same, but Lord Liam has stated that he will not protest."

"Lord Liam?"

Even though he could protest, Thomas didn't understand what Liam was thinking.

The soldier also looked troubled.

"He said he's not interested. More importantly, he is trying to form a strong bond with Baron Exner's family."

"He's putting a lot of effort into it."

From a territorial perspective, it was not a very profitable party.

Thomas couldn't understand Liam's feelings in dispatching the military to hunt pirates for such a party.

However, the soldier in front of him seemed a little pleased.

"Not really. While there might not be much profit from a territorial perspective, Baron Exner is a former military man. He's someone worth associating with. After all, the Baron has many fans in the military."

The soldier in front of him was probably one of the Baron's fans.

He became loose-lipped when talking about the Baron.

Thomas nodded.

(I see, he intends to strengthen ties with the military for future endeavors.)

Brian (´ω｀): "Lord Liam has made a friend, and I, Brian, am deeply moved."

Amagi (´∀｀): "It's your first friend, isn't it?"