Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 2

Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 2

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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A life spent piloting giant machines to destroy giant monsters was a life well-lived.

Truth be told, I had doubts about my previous existence’s opinions, especially as I grew older and gained new experiences. Though I recalled much of my previous life, and used what I could to my advantage, I was my own person. A young lady of the Dukedom was inherently different from a hobbyist with a “nine-to-five.”

In my previous life, I had been attracted to women. Now I appreciated their beauty a great deal, but my preference was for men.

That was just one of many differences between my previous life and who I was now.

However, while day after day of fighting against monsters ground upon my seniors and had them searching for their next reprieve, all I felt was fulfillment as I looked upon days and days of expeditions.

The hunting down of stray packs of house-sized beasts was a thrilling affair that netted me with bounties from kills that did little damage to their hides. Incursions into hives and nests of voracious predators that swarmed their foes was a study of tactics, strategy, and teamwork that thrilled me thoroughly. Sightings of legendary beasts, such as temperamental dragons, excited me as Chevaliers of the greatest orders came together in massive hosts, “raids” as my previous self would have called them, to fight and demolish the beasts over the course of hours.

Indeed, though I was different in many ways from who I used to be, my previous self was completely correct.

There was nothing better than fighting in a Chevalier built for me against worthy opponents that granted me the means to improve my Chevalier even further.

I was so enamored with my life with the Order that I nearly missed the day when I would have to return to court, to the academy where nobility learned and grew close with one another, in order to strengthen the entire kingdom.  The academy was the beginning of the lives of many noble ladies… but all I saw with my attendance was a strict schedule that would remove me from most excursions, even after I secured the funds to create a facility to service my Chevalier and after giving it the ability to quickly traverse the land.

My heart wailed after compiling the numbers and evaluating the scheduling thrice over.

I would only have enough spare time outside the academy to attend two raids a week!

If only I didn’t need to attend the academy, I would be able to continue living a fulfilling life of pushing my limits, improving my personal Chevalier, and finding incredible monsters to kill! With the academy’s multiple requirements and events, my rank as a Chevalier Captain will have the be  temporarily suspended.

Well… I supposed that at least there were classes available within the Academy itself for artifice and manufacturing of weapons.

Those, at least, would serve me in the future.

I let loose a sigh, before shaking my mind free of those thoughts, albeit after sending my father a letter to remind him of the necessity of my attendance at the Academy. Though he was wonderful and insisted that I had enough influence and fame to do as I wished, and that he could shield me from repercussion until I could stand on my own, I did not wish to place any undue stress upon him.

The academy was a place where the crown gathered information upon the next generation of nobility. It is where both upper and lower nobility intermingled to forge alliances which will decide the future of the kingdom. Not only that, but potential heirs to the throne will also be in attendance, as well as foreign princes of countries allied to the kingdom.

To eschew attendance would mean becoming an unknown variable in the eyes of all, and being unknown meant being a potential threat.

My past insisted that would be “epic” and “awesome,” but he was reckless and preferred to be cool over being rational.

I had to constrain those particular desires with some difficult, since it did have appeal, but I did constrain them.

I would attend the academy for four years, even with the restraints it placed upon me, for the sake of my family.

Though, if my rank amongst the Chevalier Orders began to fall, I would most certainly consider leaving halfway through, if I am not permitted leave to rectify the issue.

Above all else, I wished to become the greatest of the Chevaliers.

Adhering to social traditions and expectations was a courtesy that I was willing to extend to society, but one that I was willing to withdraw if they did not extend me courtesy in turn.

With that in mind, I set the thoughts of the academy aside to read of the latest foe my Order of Chivalry sought to fight next.

A pack of wyverns that breathed flame?

My goodness, it seemed like I was going to restock my lightning bolts sooner than expected!

What a pleasant surprise!

…

Constantine exited his Chevalier with a grunt. He pulled himself free of the alchemical fluid that filled the cockpit and pulled off the artificial connections between himself and his Chevalier from his armor. He struggled for a moment, before placing his hand on his chest, and applying a familiar spell to his chest that allowed him to easily purge the breathable, protective fluid from his lungs.

He wiped the remains from his beard and gratefully accepted the water offered to him by his squire.

Their air around the camp smelled of blood and dragon flesh, as well as the scent of burning air in the wake of lighting, even after an hour spent ensuring the deaths of all the monsters and prey.

“Report.” Constantine cast his gaze towards his squire as the floating platform they stood upon gently lowered them both to the ground. It was almost dizzying to go from being a Chevalier, with all its power and glory, back to a mere human, but his lifetime of experience allowed him to overcome it. “Causalities?”

“Five Chevaliers have received moderate damage. They require several days to repair, but their pilots are fine.” Constantine struggled to remember the name of his squire. He’d had many over the years. The position of a Grandmaster of a Chivalric Order was difficult, but he endeavored to fight with his Chevaliers rather than simply rot and grow old, even if his body was strained more with each battle. He had Squires for mere months before making them underlings of his officers to learn on the field. They typically resigned thereafter. “Besides that, nothing of interest occurred.”

Constantine raised an eyebrow at that phrase.

“Oh? Nothing? Truly?”

“Y-yes?”

Constantine grunted at that and ceased to try recalling his current Squire’s name. The young man had no worth on the battlefield, if he thought that such results were normal and nothing supernatural occurred.

“Return to your post. I will be doing my rounds.”

“Very well, Grandmaster!”

The pompous young man didn’t even bother hiding his relief, while Constantine marched towards the nearest Chevalier to his own… and enhanced his body with strength and magic to kick at its ankle and yell at its pilot.

“Stop wasting mana and leave your damn Chevalier, Captain Lenore!” His voice echoed through the ashen battlefield littered with the corpses of dead, beheaded Wyverns and looming Chevaliers with pilots being attended to by their Squires at their feet. After six hours of fighting, most Chevaliers were physically, mentally, and magically exhausted and could barely stand… but his First Captain stood tall and alert over the battlefield without any sign of tiredness at the age of seventeen. “I’ll throw you off the highest tower I find, if you force me up there to get you!”

His words earned him a few smiles his First Captain’s attendants. As according to custom, ladies of noble houses were given maids to attend to them instead of male squires. This was because most ladies simply trained and gained “experience” with the Chevaliers instead of actually going into battle.

Constantine offered the ladies a resolute nod. They were tired after a day of traveling, were walking and waiting in a battlefield for their lady, and yet they still stood tall and proud in their black-and-white, skirted, and laced attire.

He glared at passing Squires and even a few of his Chevaliers who gazed upon them like oases in a desert to dissuade any thoughts.

If they were so lusty, they’d use their pay and visit a town for courtesans.

He would not tolerate the mistreatment of ladies-in-waiting from the lower nobility in his Order.

However, he would also not tolerate insubordination from the daughter of a duke, so his temper flared as nothing came from his demand of his First Captain.

Much to his consternation, however, his First Captain responded and acted just before any denunciations could be stated aloud.

Lenore of House Baude’s Chevalier knelt as its back opened to allow for its “spine” to open. Unlike most Chevaliers, including his own, Lenore’s Chevalier disgorged its entire interface after storing its alchemical protections within tanks. The pod was armored, capable of limited flight like mage-powered carriage, and meant to act as an emergency escape mechanism and vehicle if required.

Constantine wished for one for himself, and the Baude Household graciously offered him a discount on the modification process for his vehicle, as well as the rest of his order.

He was in the process of accruing the money necessary to get those upgrades.

“Grandmaster Constantine.” The Lady of House Baude addressed him as she rose from her pod. Unlike him she was already dry in her form-fitting armor, which showcased her body well enough to distract the younger men, so her maids hastily covered her up with a cloak that covered her to her knees.  Still, her fine, if stern beauty was enough to attract the male gaze, though a glare from him made the soldiery scamper. “I was securing the perimeter.”

Constantine felt his temper rise at the lie… and didn’t hesitate to reach out and grab his First Captain’s head with his hand, squeeze just enough, and lift her up with just arm strength alone.

“Would you mind repeating that statement, First Captain?” Constantine asked his First Captain while her maids tittered and complained about her treatment. However, he knew better. The maids were present, thus Lenore tried to use them as a shield against his wroth, because he preferred to be gentlemanly. He called her bluff by treating her as he did normally: strictly, because he wouldn’t get through her battle-obsessed skull otherwise. “Did you say anything OTHER than an apology for not immediately doing as you’ve been told by your superior?”

“N-no, Grandmaster Constantine. I apologized. I did not make an excuse as to why I stayed too long in my Chevalier.” Lenore sweated in his grip and cast her gaze to the side. She pressed her fingers together frantically as he held her up like a very delicate doll. The maids were squirming and worried, but the regular soldiery took the scene in stride. “Please put me down.”

“Hmph.”

Constantine grunted and did so after shaking his head. The Lady Baude idly poked at her lightly-squeezed skull, before standing straight and offering a bow to her superior. The wizened Grandmaster loomed over his First Captain, took note of how she glanced idly towards the battlefield and all the standing Chevaliers, and sighed while pressing his temple with his thumb and forefinger.

“Lady Lenore of House Baude, as of this day, you are on leave for your attendance to the Academy.” Those words had his First Captain suddenly give him all her attention for the first time in months. Constantine spoke sternly and quickly, as to stall any complaints his First Captain would have. He was already cross with the fact that he had to lose his First Captain, so he swallowed the bitter pill quickly and deftly. “The Duchess Baude bid me to have you and your servants seen off this very moment. Her reasoning is that you would otherwise thunder into the Academy covered in blood and guts of monsters after stalling your leave for as long as possible.”

The heiress of Baude opened her mouth, closed it, and then frowned as her shoulders slumped.

“She’s always three steps ahead. How? How is she always three steps ahead of me?” Lenore muttered with both surprise and confusion. Constantine watched over his First Captain for a moment aand idly enjoyed the sight of her being a regular child instead of being battle-obsessed Chevalier. “I wanted to stay until Friday to finish off this flock too. There was a big one that I could’ve used to make a lance!”

With just a single phrase, the young lady Constantine briefly saw vanished to never be seen again.

Of course, instead of not wanting to leave the Order that she’d been with for so many years, she wanted to stay to get another weapon for herself.

Constantine smiled for a split second, before allowing himself to grin at the chance of disciplining his hot-headed, wildcard of a First Captain.

“Servants of House Baude, if you all would.” Constatine addressed the first of the maids attending to Lenore, as he swiftly pointed his finger at his First Captain and called upon his magic. Lenore’s eyes widened as she realized that she wasn’t going to get the opportunity to argue for an extension of her stay. “I will see you once you have gained the ability to return to us in a few months, my First Captain.

Lenore might have been a young woman even with nearly a decade of battle under her belt, but he did not YET outstrip her Grandmaster in terms of skill. With speed and confidence, Constantine pressed his index finger against her forehead and cast a simple Sleep upon her. Her magic was great and refined, but it was sapped from battle, and he knew how to conserve and use his own better. She fought against the drowsiness, but was soon falling asleep.

She fell into the arms of her maids, who were ready to carry her to her magical carriage nearby, but through the powerful spell the blonde heiress still managed to somehow speak.

“My Chevalier… noooooooo….”

Constantine sighed at the words, even as he approached the pod that had carried his First Captain, and pressed the controls to return it to the main body. Without a pilot, the Chevalier would stand tall and be fit for transport.

The aging grandmaster grunted and cast his gaze upon his lightly-struggling First Captain in the grips of over half-a-dozen maids.

“Your Chevalier will arrive the day after you do, Lady Lenore, I swear on my honor.”

He rarely swore nowadays, but he was content with his decision, as what little fight in his First Captain faded away and she allowed herself to be taken away.

He had half a mind to send a letter to his old friends to get some sway going to allow her to stay with the Order without repercussion… but he dissuaded himself from it.

Lenore chose to go to the Academy for her family’s sake, despite all her achievements and reputation across the land.

She remained a dutiful child who would not ask her parents to endure a fight the needn’t.

That was something to be respected and admired.

Though, if she disliked the Academy and wished to return to the Order earlier… well… Constantine wouldn’t hesitate to reclaim his First Captain.