Blue Knight had taken major damage during the civil war that Vandarion had started last year, and it had been decided that a new one would be made rather than repairing the current one. It had barely been able to move and had taken heavy damage. It had been cheaper to start from scratch.
“Today is the day that the new Blue Knight is finally unveiled,” Theia announced.
“Haha, a lot has happened on the way...” Elfaria smiled.
They were currently on their way to the launching ceremony for the new Blue Knight. It was being built on the planet Waragthorn in the Bandiet system, so the group was heading there aboard Elfaria’s personal space battleship, Silver.
The Bandiet system had long been a thriving shipbuilding system, with many manufacturers’ factories lined up next to each other. There were plenty of planets and moons in the system that were rich in minerals, and it was also a transit hub for trade in the surrounding region, which made it easy for shipbuilding companies to expand their business.
When the order for the new Blue Knight had come in, those companies had cooperated and started up a new business called the Bandiet Shipbuilding Association. The decision was made to avoid a fight over which company would take the order and to avoid quality issues from organizations competing for the lowest price. The new Blue Knight was sure to draw the attention of the populace, so if the ship was well-built, the building company’s reputation was sure to rise, but if it failed, the entire industry in that system would be in danger. So all of the shipbuilders had come together. The appeal of that unity allowed the Bandiet system to just barely beat out another one known for its shipbuilding.
“Ralgwin attacked here too, after all.”
The first thing that came to Koutarou’s mind upon hearing Elfaria’s words was Ralgwin’s attack. He had launched an assault when Koutarou’s group had come to inspect the construction.
“That could have been a disaster if Fasta-san hadn’t helped us,” Ruth said and lightly furrowed her brows.
The attack had been defended against with Fasta’s assistance. There would undoubtedly have been more casualties if not for her. Ruth was also worried about Fasta herself. All kinds of things had happened during the construction of the new Blue Knight, but Ralgwin’s attack had certainly been the biggest.
“I recall all of the arguing over the design and blueprint,” Clan said with a shrug and a wry smile. She had been involved with the design and blueprint, and the Blue Knight had been a task she’d been racking her brains over for a long time. The design selection had left a particularly deep impression. It had been difficult to choose, as everyone had their own opinion of what the ship should look like. Some had argued that it should look like a normal battleship, others had wanted it to be a structurally strong round shape, and others had felt that it had to be humanoid. There had been several meetings about it, and several designs had been considered. Having been brought into the process as a technical expert, Clan had been caught up in the arguments.
“Still, why would they choose to make it humanoid? It would definitely be stronger if it had another shape,” Kenji said and laughed. He didn’t have any particular military or space flight knowledge, but he’d come to this conclusion from his experience building plastic models. A tank was clearly more stable than a humanoid of the same size. It was more difficult for a humanoid to aim in a firefight. When made with the same technology, a tank was definitely stronger, and the same applied to battleships.
Koutarou fully agreed, as if he’d hit the nail on the head, and nodded vigorously. “You’d think so, right? But in the end, they decided to brute force it.”
“Brute force?”
“In order to make the new Blue Knight humanoid, they created a new ship class even larger than the Royalty class,” Koutarou explained.
The discussion had ended with a brand-new Chivalry class of ships being established, and it was decided that the new Blue Knight would be built in a humanoid shape. Those who had pushed for other designs had been considering Koutarou’s safety, so making the ship larger and stronger than even a Royalty-class ship would have removed any reason to object.
“Seriously?” Kenji smiled bitterly. “They must be obsessed with that.”
Forthorthians were so fixated on the humanoid shape that they had even changed the rules. That was how much it meant to them, but Kenji couldn’t understand.
“You just don’t understand the dream, do you?” Theia said with a frown.
The Blue Knight had a profound meaning to Forthorthians. How could they ever allow the newly built Blue Knight, which would serve as his symbol, to look ugly? In contrast, Earthlings like Kenji and Koutarou himself didn’t feel that same meaning. Koutarou in particular hadn’t really seen himself as a hero. While Theia knew that was unavoidable, she was still unhappy about it.
“How do you feel about it as a fellow Forthorthian, Nal-chan?” Kotori asked with a smile. Nalfa looked up to Koutarou, and she was a local. Since Kotori got along well with both of them, she was interested in their differences in thought.
“You mean about the new Blue Knight?” Nalfa asked.
“Yeah.” Kotori nodded. “Theia and the others are royalty and related to this, so I was wondering what a citizen thinks about it.”
Just as Koutarou was involved in the legend, so too was the royal family. The legend of the Blue Knight and Silver Princess had existed for two thousand years. In that sense, it was inevitable that perception would shift in the opposite direction from Koutarou’s. So Kotori was curious about how the common populace felt.
“In my case, um...” Nalfa began. “I only wish that Koutarou-sama would stay somewhere safe forever.”
Those were Nalfa’s true feelings. Koutarou had done so much for Forthorthe. He had even saved the country twice. She couldn’t ask any more of him. If possible, she wished that he would be able to live the rest of his life in peace.
“But in reality, we can’t pull back Veltlion.” Clan felt the same, as did all people close to Koutarou. These weren’t opinions based on the will of the people or political convenience. With a powerful enemy like Maxfern before them, the name of supreme commander Layous Fatra Veltlion weighed too much.
“In that case...I would want him to be in an invincible spaceship,” Nalfa said. “I’m not sure how to put it... Um, I want him to have fun and win. No, that’s a weird way of saying it. Um...he has already fought enough, so I don’t want him to be in danger anymore, so I agree with the Chivalry class.”