"Ghuff!?"

Emma and her squad were summoned to the flagship, but they found themselves in the training room.

The room, specifically designed for knights, housed a ring in the center where Marie was fighting.

Emma and her three comrades were facing off against her, a four-on-one battle. However, Marie was showcasing an overwhelming strength.

"What's wrong, elite?" she sneered, grabbing Russel's spiked hair and slamming him to the ring's floor.

Yoam had already fainted and was lying unconscious on the ground.

Knights belonging to the flagship surrounded the ring, jeering.

"Take her down, Marie!"

"Come on, new recruits, give it your all!"

"Damn it! I shouldn't have bet on the four of them!"

The noise around them was deafening, but Emma couldn't afford to focus on it.

(We're four against one, and we have weapons!)

Emma and her squad were equipped with Shock Swords, training weapons designed to shock an opponent, not inflict fatal wounds.

Despite facing four opponents armed with Shock Swords, Marie was fighting bare-handed.

After throwing Russel aside, Marie raised her right hand, fingers curled, a taunting gesture towards Emma and her squad.

"You're underestimating us!"

The one who took the bait was Charl, wielding two Shock Swords.

She charged at Marie with the two short swords, each about 60 centimeters long.

Emma watched Charl's movements with surprise.

(She's fast! And strong!)

Living up to her reputation as a genius, Charl cornered Marie in the ring, attacking relentlessly.

She was trying to overwhelm her opponent with sheer speed and volume.

However, Marie saw through every attack and easily avoided them.

"This is more entertaining than the previous two," she said with a smirk.

"Damn you!"

"Your language is quite vulgar," Marie retorted.

Marie, despite being cornered, slipped through Charl's onslaught.

She grabbed Charl's head in a vice-like grip and threw her to the floor.

Charl got up, wiping her mouth.

"The gap is just too big."

She looked disbelieving. Marie, exaggerating her disappointment, said:

"So the rumored genius is just this weak."

"What? I specialize in Mobile Knights. If we were to fight with those, I'd—"

"Impossible. Even if you were to fight using Mobile Knights, you wouldn't be able to beat me."

Charl frowned, speechless. Marie explained.

"You're too clever and have become complacent. You go out to battle, shoot down five enemy Mobile Knights, and then play it safe. Aim higher, will you?"

"Even if I tried, I wouldn't get any more pay."

"You need to shoot down twenty or more Mobile Knights. You'll get a medal and a cash reward!"

"I mean, that's—"

In the Banfield family, those who shoot down twenty or more enemy Mobile Knights in a single battle are awarded a medal. This prestigious medal is only granted to those fighting in Mobile Knights and is extremely difficult to acquire.

"That's why you're just clever, not brilliant. There are plenty of so-called geniuses like you, but their chances of achieving anything meaningful are low. You're one of them."

Many are praised and hailed as geniuses, but most end up failing along the way.

"Then I'll prove you wrong by—"

Before Charl could finish her sentence, Marie lunged forward and struck her with a fist.

Charl, caught unaware, fell unconscious.

Seeing that three members of Russell's squad were knocked out, Marie sighed lightly.

"Not even a proper warm-up."

She hadn't even broken a sweat.

Emma, the last one standing, stood firm with her Shock Sword.

"!"

Emma struggled to figure out how to fight Marie.

However, no matter what she tried, she couldn't imagine a scenario where she'd win.

Marie, with her hands on her hips, watched Emma.

(I'll lose even if I do nothing. So...!)

Emma closed the distance, lunging forward. She swung her Shock Sword in a powerful arc, a strike reinforced by her enhanced knight physique.

An ordinary person would have struggled to avoid it.

But Marie, with a smile, took a step back and dodged the attack.

"Too shallow," she said.

"!?"

(She dodged it!? And it was so close!)

Emma was astounded, seeing Marie narrowly dodge her Shock Sword.

Before she could react, Marie's fist slammed into Emma's stomach.

"Khuff!"

Emma was sent flying, rolling across the floor.

(I saw it coming, yet I couldn't do anything.)

The jeering voices of the onlookers resumed.

"Is that it?"

"These newbies are nothing."

"Only the dual-wielding one might have a chance."

They were already talking as if the fight was over, but Emma, despite the pain, managed to get up.

"I'm not done yet."

Her legs were shaking so badly that she could barely stand, but seeing this, Marie's expression shifted to surprise, then a smile.

"You have guts. I like that."

The moment she said that, Marie moved closer to Emma.

"Huh?"

Before Emma could realize what was happening, the ceiling was all she saw.

She lost consciousness before she could understand what Marie had done.

◇

Marie looked down at the four who were lying unconscious on the ring. Heidi approached her.

"Aw, those elites were finished in seconds. Is it really that fun to break the pride of the young ones?"

Heidi seemed slightly disapproving of Marie's actions.

However, she turned her gaze towards Charl.

"Only that one shows promise. The others are good or bad, but just regular knights, well-behaved. It's definitely the influence of their training."

The surrounding jeering crowd had dispersed, and everyone was engaged in their own training.

Their interest in the young ones had faded.

However, Marie was still staring at the unconscious Emma.

"Heidi, leave this one here and send the others back to the mother ship."

Hearing Marie's order, Heidi was slightly surprised.

"You're not taking the genius?"

She assumed that Marie would be taking Charl back to her ship.

But Marie was looking at Emma.

"I'm good with her."

Heidi sighed softly, scratching his head as he looked at Emma.

"So Marie's preference is the commoner type... Well, whatever."

◇

Russell's squad returned to Mellea with the rest of the Third Squad, but Emma was missing.

In the hangar, Russel's squad was discussing Marie.

"That woman, she insulted me!"

Charl's mood was still sour after returning.

Yoam was dumbfounded by her behavior.

"The top-ranked AAA is no joke. We're no match for her. Even our captain got knocked out instantly."

Yoam looked towards Russel, but...

"I never thought I'd be trained by Lady Marie, who was once known as the 'Two Wings of the Banfield Family'. The regret of ending so quickly was fleeting. I don't know if there will be a next time, but I want to become stronger for that day."

Seeing Russel close his eyes and revel in the experience, Yoam and Charl exchanged glances.

"Have you heard of 'The Two Wings of the Banfield Family'?"

"I don't know? But our captain's a Banfield Family fanatic. He knows even their uncommon titles. It's kind of creepy. He'd be perfect if he weren't like that."

It seems that Russel has a strange, almost unhealthy fascination with the Banfield Family, separate from his loyalty.

The Third Squad, excluding Emma, listened to this conversation.

Doug sighed softly.

"They called us here, and now they want to leave the girl behind. There was no need to summon us in the first place."

Larry was annoyed by the pointless summoning.

"This is the result of them making decisions based on squad units. It's a flaw in our system."

The two grumbled about the higher-ups, while Molly looked worried.

She was concerned about Emma's absence.

"Leaving only Emma behind... maybe the punishment is more severe than we thought?"

Her concern stemmed from Mellea's reluctance to engage in combat.

Could Emma be taking the blame for this? Molly worried about her.

But Larry shrugged.

"Nonsense. The order came from the Major. The blame lies with the Major, not the Lieutenant."

"Actually, Larry and Doug, you guys lack motivation, and that's why Emma got scolded, right?"

Larry wanted to dispel Molly's concerns, but he was taken aback when she turned it around on him.

He felt guilty, knowing he hadn't been very supportive of Emma.

"No, that's not it!"

Despite his denial, Doug sighed, looking at Larry's shifty eyes.

"If it was our fault, our Major would be the one to scold us. It's a separate issue from the girl."

Molly pouted.

"Then I don't think it's possible for Emma to be the only one left behind."

Russell interrupted their conversation, seemingly having overheard them.

He expressed his displeasure.

"If the captain's an airhead, then his subordinates must be too."

Feeling insulted, Larry glared at Russel.

"I never thought an elite like you would be eavesdropping on our conversation."

Larry's defiance caused Molly and Doug to look at him in exasperation and worry.

Knights are superior to ordinary soldiers in every way.

Furthermore, knights in the Banfield Family, which belongs to the empire, have special privileges.

Russel, despite being glared at, continued to stare coldly at Larry.

"I pity Roddman a little. She has to deal with rotten people like you."

Russel's words enraged Larry.

"What?"

"Before you act defiant, you should reflect on your own actions."

Having said that, Russel left the hangar, taking his squad with him.