There was a bar where you could enjoy the cityscape at night.

A man and a woman sitting at the counter were talking with the cityscape behind them.

The man, who looked slightly irritated, was dressed in an expensive suit.

His name was River, a man whose appearance never faltered, even though it was already night.

He was a salesman known as Mr. River.

However, the company he belonged to was the Algrand Empire's weapons factory.

He furrowed his brow slightly and looked at the woman next to him.

"The failure of the attack on the Seventh Weapons Factory was a great disappointment."

River, emphasizing the word "great", was met by a shrug from Sirena.

She was a charming, mature woman, currently dressed in a revealing outfit that showed off her figure.

She was beautiful, and often caught the attention of men and even women in the bar.

She was swaying the glass containing her cocktail and watching them.

"We caused damage and achieved the destruction of the prototype, didn't we?"

River's tone grew stronger as Sirena replied without any sign of remorse.

"You have a point."

River sighed and then took a sip of the drink in his glass.

After regaining his composure, he prepared a projection in front of Sirena.

It was a long, text-only document, but Sirena understood it at a glance.

"So the rumors about the Banfield family supporting Prince Cleo are true."

As Sirena took a sip of her drink, River seemed slightly disappointed.

"For someone like you, you don't seem to know much."

"I only recently came back from my job. Besides, what do you want us to do this time?"

Sirena is a mercenary.

She leads the Dahlia Mercenary Corps.

It is a large-scale mercenary corps with over a thousand spaceships.

Their number of mobile knights exceeds three thousand.

It is a large-scale mercenary corps with hundreds of thousands of personnel.

And she is also an executive member of the giant mercenary organization - Vulture.

Dahlia is a subsidiary organization of the Vulture mercenary corps, a secondary organization.

River shared some information with Sirena, the executive of the giant mercenary corps.

"Currently, the succession struggle between Prince Cleo and Prince Linus is heating up. The Banfield family is under economic sanctions at the behest of Prince Linus."

An imperial noble who had incurred the wrath of the prince was being punished.

It's just a story, but the problem is the noble who incurred the wrath of the prince.

The Banfield family.

One of the most powerful count families in the Empire, always in the news.

And a family with a deep connection to both of them.

River told Sirena about his request.

"The Banfield family is starting to do business with other countries. One of them is the Lustwail Unified Government."

Sirena was slightly surprised to hear the name of the Unified Government.

"Imperial nobles and the Unified Government are like oil and water, aren't they?"

The Lustwail Unified Government adopts democracy.

It is incompatible with the Empire, which adopts an aristocratic system.

It's not that they dislike each other, but rather that they don't understand each other due to their different political systems.

From the perspective of the Unified Government, the Empire with its low human rights awareness is an unbelievable interstellar nation.

And from the perspective of the Empire, democracy is an unbelievable political system.

The two countries have fortresses on their borders and continue to stare at each other.

There have been many skirmishes, making it the worst possible trading partner.

The fact that they are doing business with such a government is proof to River that the Banfield family is desperate.

"They must be clutching at straws."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"The Newlands Trading Company is officially handling the trade with the Unified Government."

The Newlands Trading Company is one of the major trading companies in the Empire.

It mainly does business with local nobles and has its own network within the Empire.

Sirena had used them several times.

"I don't think the Newlands Trading Company would side with the Banfield family."

"One of their executives is cooperating. His name is Patrice Newlands. He is a member of the founding family and has a personal connection to the Banfield family."

After listening to River's explanation, Sirena understood.

"One of their executives is taking a big gamble. So, are you telling me to attack the Newlands Trading Company's fleet? I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline."

(If the Banfield family is involved in the trade, it wouldn't be strange for them to have an escort fleet. My mercenary corps is also in the midst of rebuilding, so I'm not going to fight them.)

As the commander, she wanted to avoid a fight that had no chance of winning, but there was someone who pierced her heart like a thorn.

Emma Rodman.

A dreamy female knight who longs to be a righteous knight.

When she imagined Emma's face, Sirena grimaced.

(I'm still too immature to be hung up on a little girl like that.)

As Sirena sighed softly, River shook his head.

"I don't think your mercenary corps can defeat the Banfield family's fleet either."

River's assessment was correct.

The Banfield family's private army, known for its strength even within the Empire.

If they fought head-on, the Dahlia Mercenary Corps would be no match.

"If we weren't rebuilding, I would have been able to pull off an attack."

As Sirena bragged, River smiled mischievously.

"That's unfortunate. Now, here comes the main point. I would like you to take care of the transportation and negotiations. The destination is - "

Sirena sighed softly after hearing the destination of the cargo from River.

She then finished the cocktail in her glass in one gulp.

◇

There was a fleet heading towards the Lustwail Unified Government.

Three super-large transport ships owned by the Newlands Trading Company, each several kilometers long.

They were cylindrical transport ships, loaded with a large amount of cargo.

They were escorted by six hundred warships.

The escort fleet was dispatched by the Banfield family.

Among them was the light aircraft carrier Melea.

Melea, which was repaired at the Seventh Weapons Factory, had fewer mobile knights.

This was because it was modified as a technical test ship and had devices unrelated to combat installed.

Nevertheless, its performance had improved significantly compared to before the repair.

They also received the latest mobile knight at the Seventh Weapons Factory, the Raccoon, which was detuned for general pilots.

Melea, reborn after its renovation.

And the latest mobile knights.

They had an equipment lineup that even the Empire's regular army would envy.

In the center of Melea's hangar was the dedicated hanger for the mobile knight Atalante.

It was the mobile knight that had been successfully completed in development testing and formally given to Lieutenant Emma Rodman.

In front of Atalante were two girls.

Floating in the zero-gravity hangar in their work clothes were Private Molly Barrel.

She was wearing a jumpsuit, but she had taken off the jacket and tied it around her waist.

She was only covering her large breasts with the fabric, leaving the rest exposed.

Molly had a tired expression on her face.

"It's a bit cruel of them to put us into real combat right after the development test is over."

The one who spoke to her was Lieutenant Emma Rodman.

Even though she was a lieutenant, she gave off a strong impression of being a lively girl.

Her brown hair was in a bob cut, and she still had a youthful look on her face.

However, having experienced actual combat several times, her youthfulness was gradually fading.

In contrast to Molly, who was complaining, she was accepting the situation.

"It's proof that they have high expectations for us. After all, we're the unit with the latest mobile knights!"

Looking at the Raccons lined up in the hangar, Emma puffed out her chest.

She was smaller than Molly, but she had well-shaped breasts that could be held in one hand.

Seeing Emma's proud expression, Molly smiled wryly.

"Sure, it's better than before, but it's still the same old Melea on the inside, isn't it?"

"Uh!?"

Emma pressed her chest, feeling hit in a weak spot.

Yes, they had the latest mobile knights, but the pilots inside were the same.

The crew lacked motivation, and the pilots didn't even train properly.

Emma tapped her fingers together.

"Well, they've started training us more than before."

"But it only lasted three days. Doug and Larry have gone back to their old lifestyle. Well, it's good for us because the ship is cleaner. The only downside is that there's less space, right?"

Molly was the one who had been collecting debris and modifying it, calling it treasure.

However, the hangar space had become smaller, and now there was no space to modify her treasure.

Molly seemed dissatisfied.

"It's smaller than before. - Are you lonely, too?"

Sometimes, the crew would say, "It was more comfortable before."

The living environment had improved since the renovation, and the facilities had been updated and made cleaner.

However, some crew members did not like this.

However, Molly smiled with her teeth showing.

"I'm fine now, because I can touch Atalante and the Raccons anytime, my treasures."

"Ahaha, that's so Molly."

Seeing Molly, who was fascinated by the new mobile knights, Emma also smiled.

A young man flew towards the two of them.

A blond, blue-eyed handsome young man in a neatly-dressed knight's uniform - Russell Bonner.

His rank was captain.

Russell came to Emma with a serious expression.

"You look quite happy, lieutenant."

"Russell!? - Oh, captain."

And Russell was also a classmate of Emma's from the same knight academy.

As Russell stopped, putting his hand on a pillar nearby, Molly whispered to Emma.

"Who is he?"

"He's a classmate."

Seeing Emma's troubled expression, Molly seemed to understand.

Molly took a distance from the two of them, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

Russell glanced at Molly's attire and then blushed slightly, averting his gaze and coughing.

"What's going on with this ship!? Stop wandering around the hangar in your underwear."

Seeing Russell's reaction, Emma smiled wryly.

"I've warned her many times, but - "

(Even when I tell her, she doesn't listen!)

Melea was a place where unmotivated soldiers were transferred.

Russell looked disgusted.

"It's not just Molly. Your squad and the others aren't training properly. They don't follow the rules, even inside the ship, and they're all drinking during missions."

His face was red, as if he was getting angry.

Emma wanted to agree, but she couldn't be sincere because of Russell's attitude.

"This is actually better than it was before!"

"This is better!?"

Russell was surprised by Emma's reply and sighed, covering his eyes with his right hand.

"I heard that you were given a prototype development machine, so I thought maybe you'd be more serious, but this is all you've got? It seems you are not fit to be a knight after all."

Before graduating from the knight academy and heading to their assigned positions, Emma was told the same thing by Russell.

Recalling that scene, Emma clenched her fists.

"I can ride a mobile knight now, and I've been to the battlefield! What else do you want from me?"

Why doesn't Russell recognize her?

As that question popped up in her mind, Russell looked at Emma's face.

"It's clear as day when you look at this unit. You are a knight, yet you can't even manage your own squad properly. A knight is not someone who just fights."

As the two of them continued to argue, the crew of Melea who had been in the hangar gathered around.

Knowing that two knights were arguing, they gathered around curiously.

Russell looked at the crew of Melea and gave them a look of contempt.

He then turned to Emma and advised her.

"No matter how much the Banfield family updates their equipment, it's meaningless if the inside is rotten. It seems you have become corrupted without even realizing it."

Seeing the state of Melea, Russell seemed to realize something and left.

Emma watched his back and shouted.

"What!? We're not rotten!"