The Algrand Empire's capital star.
A lone figure sat at the counter of a high-rise bar, gazing at a glass of liquor. As he swirled the glass, the liquid changed color from red to blue.
The figure was a young man, observing the transformation with keen interest.
The bartender was waiting on him, exclusively. The upscale bar inside the high-rise building had only one customer: the young man. Despite this, several waiters stood ready to serve him.
Music filled the room, but it was muted because the young man was currently on a call.
He was talking as he watched a projection that appeared across the glass.
“Third has withdrawn?”
"Yes. We received a report that they are considering stopping the special machine development because it’s not profitable. As an apology, they’ve offered to return the payment for the weaponry we had scheduled to buy.”
The projection displayed a woman with red eyes and a stoic expression. She wore a maid outfit, her long, lustrous hair tied in a ponytail. She reported to the young man in a monotone voice.
“They’re giving up too easily.”
"Lady Yuleisia predicts that the power struggle within the Third Weaponry Factory is the cause."
“They're using me to fight their power struggles?”
The young man frowned slightly, irritated by the Third Weaponry Factory for using him.
But he quickly smiled.
"It’s fine. I’m not losing anything."
The Third Weaponry Factory had apologized and offered to provide him with the ships and mobile knights they had agreed to purchase.
The plan had been stopped, but the young man had secured more benefits. This was proof that the Third Weaponry Factory was trying to appease him.
The woman on the screen confirmed.
“So, will the plan be frozen?”
“That would be boring."
Freezing the Atalante development plan - stopping it entirely - would be the logical choice.
But the young man finished his drink, placed the glass on the counter, and said, “Call Nias.”
...
The mobile knight development facility on Asteroid Neya.
The Atalante, which had been reduced to a head and torso, was secured in the hangar by an arm.
In front of it, an argument was taking place.
Percy was red in the face, her voice full of agitation.
“Why do we have to modify the Atalante jointly with the Seventh? This machine’s reactor is one of the Third’s biggest secrets!"
The decision from the upper ranks had been to continue the development with conditions.
One condition was to produce results.
There were others, but the one Percy couldn't accept was the requirement to "jointly develop" with the Seventh Weaponry Factory.
Nias, who seemed apathetic, was looking over the Atalante’s data on a tablet, sighing softly.
She, Technical Major Nias Carlin, had been brought in to modify the Atalante.
"I’m not free either. I wouldn’t have accepted this repair request, using valuable rare metals on a flawed machine, if it hadn't been for that person’s orders.”
Apparently, even Nias, who was known at the Seventh Weaponry Factory as the "Mad Genius" and did as she pleased, had someone she couldn't disobey.
Mag, who had been sent to assist Nias, shrugged as he looked up at the Atalante.
“The upper management has decided, right? So, no problem.”
Percy, her face contorted in frustration, shouted, "I can't accept it!"
Nias, who didn't seem interested in talking, was thinking about how to modify the machine while looking at the data. She was ignoring Percy.
Mag, taking over as her conversation partner, wanted to calm her down and move things forward.
"Okay, okay. But we need to do something about the basic frame. Your Nevan type is slender to follow the trends, but it’s not sturdy enough. Do you think we should make it thicker?"
"Don’t be ridiculous, you dwarf!"
Percy’s scream echoed throughout the development room.
In the midst of this, Nias looked over the pilot data, her eyes narrowed and brows furrowed.
(Could it be?)
Nias, having examined Emma’s data in detail, realized something was possible.
...
The Mearea was undergoing repairs, and its performance had improved.
Emma, along with the other members of the Third Platoon, was looking at the progress from inside a building. They were talking about the new Mearea.
Emma was surprised as she displayed the data on the window pane.
“All the numbers have increased by twenty percent. This renovation is amazing.”
Larry, with a touch of sarcasm, explained to the surprised Emma.
“That’s just proof that it had been neglected for so long. It’s not even surprising that it could have been retired.”
Molly, who didn’t seem to care much about that detail, added, “It’s nice that the living conditions have improved. The cafeteria used to be so dirty.”
Doug, on the other hand, seemed apprehensive about the modified Mearea.
He crossed his arms and grumbled, “But the mobile knight capacity has been cut in half.”
As a light aircraft carrier – a ship designed to carry mobile knights – a reduced capacity was a serious problem.
Emma explained the reason for the decrease.
“The Atalante development project is continuing. They’ve added facilities to support it, which is why the capacity has been reduced.”
Larry griped again.
“The upper management is so fickle. They’re going to cancel it, then suddenly they’re going to continue it.”
Molly turned her gaze to the other ships in the frontier security forces.
They had been deemed unserviceable and dismantled.
“I heard they’re completely replacing the escort ships, but they’re letting the Third handle that. The only Seventh ship left is the Mearea.”
Larry put his hands behind his head.
"I wish they'd throw in some mobile knights while they're at it. Even if it's a Nevan that isn't knight-specific, it's better than a Moheeb."
Doug disagreed with Larry.
“The Nevan is too knight-specific. I like the regular mass-produced machines.”
The four of them continued to chat.
Molly turned to Emma.
“It’s good for you, Emma. If the Atalante development continues, you’ll still be able to fly it.”
“Y-yes.”
Emma nodded happily, delighted that the development plan wasn't cancelled. She had cried tears of joy when she heard the news.
“I’m going to make sure the Atalante is finished,” she said.
...
Inside the Feet mercenary group's ship, Siren stood before her subordinates, clad in black space suits.
Her black hair had turned white, and her eyes had changed color.
Siren stood there, revealing her true identity: Sirena, and the mercenary group she led was the Dahlia Mercenary Group.
“We won't be able to go to the Seventh Weaponry Factory anymore, but the reward is attractive even without that. And here’s an additional request from the client.”
Sirena explained the additional request to her subordinates.
“They want us to conduct sabotage at the Seventh Weaponry Factory.”
Her subordinates laughed under their helmets.
“They want to cripple their rivals?”
“They’re doing so well lately, so they want to give them a little push.”
“The weaponry factories in the capital star are dirty.”
As her subordinates chatted, Sirena raised her hand, stopping them, and put on her helmet.
“We’re deploying the main force of the Dahlia Mercenary Group, so we need results. Once the operation begins, the main force outside will move as planned. Be careful of your escape timing.”
One of her subordinates asked, "What about you, Commander?"
“I’m going to destroy the machine requested in the mission. And if I kill the pilot, we’ll get a bonus.”
The destruction of the Atalante.
And killing the pilot would earn them a bonus.
(The man who gave the order called himself River. I wonder if he has some personal grudge against her? She didn’t seem like anything special, just an ordinary girl.)
As Siren thought about Emma, she couldn’t shake the impression that she was just a clueless girl doing her duty as a knight.
It annoyed Siren.
(What a pity. She doesn’t know anything. I’ll play with her a little before I kill her.)
The darkness within Siren saw Emma as an adversary.
...
The Third Platoon was returning to their lodging in a vehicle.
A large explosion rocked Asteroid Neya’s colony.
Emma and the others saw the explosion in the ceiling, and Larry, who was driving, quickly pulled over.
“What the hell?!”
The four of them looked around in a panic as alarms blared.
“Anyone in the residential areas, please evacuate to the designated shelters immediately...”
Evacuation instructions were projected all over the sky.
Doug stepped out of the vehicle, squinting at the vibrations coming from the ground.
“An accident? No. This tremor is...could it be the Weaponry Factory is under attack?”
As Doug concluded that it wasn't an accident, a message appeared on Emma's terminal. It instructed all Banfield family members to return to their ships immediately.
Molly checked her terminal as well, but the Mearea was still undergoing repairs.
“What should we do?”
Larry tried to drive away.
“We’ll just get on one of our allies’ ships. We have to escape, or we’ll be caught in the crossfire.”
Larry figured that if the attack was on the Seventh Weaponry Factory, they shouldn't be involved.
But Emma had a bad feeling about this.
“Doug, get in the car! Larry, keep driving!”
“O-okay.”
“What the—?!”
As Doug scrambled in, Larry, noticing something before closing the door, drove away.
The vehicle was driving on the ground, but it lifted slightly as its tires retracted, and it took to the air.
Doug and Molly looked back and saw a round, legless, small mobile knight approaching them.
“Who the hell is using a mobile knight in the colony? Molly, what kind of machine is that?”
"How would I know? It looks like a modified mass-produced small model. Wait a minute. That’s the machine that attacked Emma!”
“You’re just noticing this now?”
As they listened to their conversation, Emma told Larry where to go.
“Fly to the facility where the Atalante is.”
“What?! Just leave that machine that’s not even finished. Do not care about that?”
The mobile knight pursuing them raised its submachine gun and fired.
The bullets flew past the side of the car, making it shake violently.
Emma urged Larry. “Just go, already!”
“Okay, okay.”
The car turned sharply, weaving through the buildings.
Even though it was small, it would be difficult to chase them with a mobile knight.
...
Sirena, having deliberately let the car escape, jumped out of the mobile knight’s cockpit.
One of her subordinates was also in the cockpit.
“Is this it?” he asked.
“It’s fine. They’ll guide us to our target.”
The cockpit hatch closed, and the Buckler drove away.
Sirena activated stealth mode, and her form disappeared.
She ran after the car.
She was wearing her space suit, which also functioned as a powered suit, so she easily surpassed the vehicles on the road.
She saw the car entering a large hatch.
"That's it."
Before the hatch could close completely, Sirena managed to jump in and enter.