Emma, clad in a specialized suit, was sparring with Marie, using a dual-pistol style.

The pistols she held were only capable of delivering an electric shock that would numb the body, even if hit.

Despite that, ranged weapons are still advantageous in combat.

Hitting an opponent once and stopping their movement would allow you to follow up with a barrage of attacks.

— That was the plan, at least.

"You're not hitting anything!?"

Emma fired shots in rapid succession, but Marie remained unfazed.

She dodged quickly and with minimal movements, walking towards Emma.

Emma, with her pistols, retreated and was cornered.

She had exhausted her energy, and pulling the trigger on the pistols no longer yielded a response.

Only the hollow sounds of "click, click" echoed as Emma tossed the pistols away.

"Then!"

She now held in her hands a pair of shock swords, short daggers that she had prepared at her lower back.

Two swords.

A dual-wielding style mimicking Charl.

(I don't have talent. Then, I'll overwhelm her with sheer volume!)

Emma, acknowledging her lack of talent, gave up on winning cleanly.

She abandoned the sword and pistol style she had learned at the Knight Academy.

Even if it was dirty.

— Her only goal was to defeat the person in front of her.

She swung the short swords inward from the outside, crossing them in front of her.

It was a strike meant to trap Marie, who was closing in, but she saw through it and dodged effortlessly.

Marie leaped to avoid the attack and then swung her left leg towards Emma's head.

Emma was blown away, but her specialized suit absorbed the impact.

Still, it wasn't painless.

Marie's kick, which penetrated the shock-absorbing properties of the specialized suit, made her head sway, preventing her from standing.

"St-still—"

Seeing Emma trying to stand up without giving up, Marie praised her earlier performance with a hint of joy.

"That was a better fight than before."

Emma, who had tried out many weapons, finally seemed to have found one what suited her.

However, Marie pointed out a problem.

"But, the timing of your weapon switching is off. You should always be aware of the remaining ammunition. Your switch to the short swords was too slow."

Emma, taking Marie's outstretched hand, stood up.

"I'll be more careful next time."

Marie sighed softly, looking at the unsteady Emma.

"It's a problem that your performance drops drastically when you wield different weapons in each hand. Should I have you use the same type instead —"

Emma was bewildered to see Marie, who was seriously considering her style.

(Why is she putting so much effort into training me?)

Emma wasn't part of Marie's faction.

She was more aligned with Claudia, her former instructor, so she could be considered a Knight of the Christiana faction.

Furthermore, Marie, a renowned Knight, even within the Banfield family, wielded power by the side of Liam.

Would a Rear Admiral like Marie bother to train a Lieutenant specifically?

She couldn't understand why Marie was so serious about her.

"Um, why are you training me so hard?"

When she asked her simple question, Marie stopped thinking and looked at Emma.

Marie, who usually gave off the impression of a mature woman, now had a childlike smile on her face.

"Because the person you follow had his eyes on you. — And because I like you."

"Me? I think Lieutenant Charmel is more of a genius."

"Nobody mentioned talent. And you know, I don't think that girl is a genius."

Surprised by the unexpected assessment, Emma widened her eyes.

"Huh? But, her knockdown rate is amazing. She's way better than me."

Looking at the dejected Emma, Marie had a look of "This girl doesn't understand."

"There are many so-called geniuses in the world. But, not all of them achieve results. Only those who truly achieve results are true geniuses."

Emma understood what Marie meant, but still couldn't help but think.

(Lieutenant Charmel has achieved more than me, right?)

Then, Marie spoke about Emma's appeal.

"The reason I like you is... you're incredibly arrogant, and you're suited to be a Knight."

Emma immediately denied it.

"Th-that's not true!"

"No, it's not. It's incredibly arrogant of you to protect Mealia, knowing that she's better off being abandoned, and to impose your ideals on her. It's outrageous."

" — Eh?"

Marie's words made Emma reflect on her actions.

She realized that her actions, which she thought were for someone else, were merely selfish.

"You seem to be unaware. The Mealia crew would be happier if they just festered away in their demotion or quietly discharged and lived a new life. Even if they were deployed with other units, they would only be a liability, right?"

"But, everyone has to live their lives in the military."

"They're just afraid of change. — It's wonderful arrogance to want to keep those people tied to the military. You're suited to be a Knight."

Marie didn't criticize Emma's arrogance; instead, she found it appealing.

"Knights should be selfish. Of course, that's only if they have the strength to assert themselves."

Emma couldn't agree with Marie's unusual perspective.

However, she realized that she was arrogant.

(I tried to force Liam-sama to acknowledge me. I really am a bad Knight.)

She was dismayed, believing that Knights should be noble, not arrogant.

Marie continued, unfazed.

"And I know the most arrogant Knight in this world — Liam Cera Banfield."

As Marie uttered that name, the Knights training around them stopped moving.

The name was special to them.

It was the name of their savior, who reigned over them as their absolute master.

In the ensuing silence, Emma refuted.

"Liam-sama is a great person! He's not arrogant! He rules with benevolence for the benefit of his people, and he even goes to battle — he's a wonderful lord."

Strong as a Knight, and a wise ruler.

Emma truly believed that Liam was an ideal person.

Seeing that, Marie seemed quite pleased.

"Wonderful loyalty. But, Liam-sama is arrogant. And he has the strength to see it through — It's something he admits and declares openly."

" — But."

"Liam-sama constantly says, 'The development of the territory is for my own benefit. I don't think about the people at all,' you see."

As Emma hung her head, Marie spoke of Liam's true intentions.

"He's said to have been intelligent since he was young. That's why he was understood — In the end, he realized that protecting the territory, implementing good governance, and caring for his people were all arrogant ideals of his own."

"Is that arrogance?"

"It is. After all, he thinks that if it's for the sake of protecting his people, he can destroy space pirates. A true saint would find a way to save both. But — I agree with Liam-sama's thinking."

Emma whispered.

" — So, he calls himself evil?"

"Yes. It's probably that his ideal of justice is on an incredibly grand scale — To the point that if he can't achieve it himself, he'll become evil. He's truly a noble person."

As Marie wore a serious expression, Emma recalled what Claudia had told her before.

Liam, who declares himself to be evil.

It wouldn't be strange to acknowledge that he is the most arrogant.

Seeing that Emma said nothing, Marie said in a comforting tone.

"Acknowledge that you are arrogant. And possess the strength to see through your own will. Only when you have the strength and the responsibility can you become a full-fledged Knight."

Emma couldn't fully accept Marie's unique perspective.

However, there was one thing she understood.

" — Am I arrogant?"

To that question, Marie smiled and replied.

"Yes, you're a cute, arrogant Knight."

Emma thought.

(That man is arrogant, but he's also more noble than anyone else. If that's the case, I'll aim to be a super-arrogant Knight.)

Emma pleaded with Marie.

"I want the strength to be arrogant—the strength to see through my own will."

Marie acknowledged her wish and took a stance.

"Then, you should thank this woman. This Marie Marian will train you to be a full-fledged Knight."

◇

Some time had passed since Emma had begun living on the flagship.

The third platoon on the Meara was enjoying their lax days.

The hangar.

In front of the hangar where Atalante was fixed, Molly stood with maintenance tools in hand, fuming.

"Doug and Larry are slacking off so much now that Emma-chan is gone! I heard she is getting yelled at because of us, right?"

Larry, who was sitting on a container playing a game console, was fed up with Molly's lecture.

"It's the higher-ups who are complaining. Anyway, what's the point of yelling at those who can't be ordered around in Mealia? Like always, the higher-ups don't understand the situation on the ground."

"You're always shifting the blame! Ugh... Doug is off drinking and won't even come to the hangar. We finally got Emma-chan to get us new machines, but—"

Molly was upset because she felt that Emma's efforts were being wasted.

Larry was bewildered by Molly.

"If just because of that one person, we got new machines, then it wouldn't be so much trouble. It was just a coincidence. It was a coincidence."

"— Do you really think it was a coincidence that we got new machines because of her?"

This was the Frontier Security Unit, which had been relegated to the backwaters.

The military wasn't so kind as to equip such a unit with new Raccoons and modify their flagship just out of whim.

Molly's logical argument left Larry, who was probably annoyed, without a response.

Next to the third platoon, three Nevans of the elite platoon were lined up.

The Nevans were finished with maintenance and adjustments.

Their pilots lived a more disciplined life compared to the rest of Mealia.

"I wonder what Emma-chan is doing right now."

When Molly expressed her concern, Larry sighed softly.

Although it seemed annoying, he was probably guilty because of Molly's attitude.

He put away his game console and headed towards the cockpit to adjust the machine.

"Larry?"

To the confused Molly, Larry blushed.

"We need to adjust the machine, right? Let's finish it quickly."

Seeing Larry, who had been playing games, show some initiative, Molly was happy.

"Okay! Then, let's review the settings we've been neglecting. It should take about five hours."

"— Five hours is out of the question."

Larry's cheeks twitched at Molly's relentlessness.

Just then, an alert blared throughout the ship.