I! Cleaner!

"You're dead!"

After spitting out the dirt he had bitten into, the adjutant, who had been dragged out of the cockpit and thrown to the ground, glared at the rogue prying the power block from the powered armor. He gritted his teeth, shaking his dazzling blond hair as he cursed,

"If you weren't the mastermind, attacking the Boarding Tower wouldn't necessarily be a capital offense, but damaging military powered armor and stealing its power blocks... each of these alone is punishable by death!"

"Squeak,"

"Stop it, you bastard! Do you even know what you're doing? This batch of powered armor is the private property of the Ryan Family!"

"Squeak, squeak,"

"Don't pry them off! The new Duke of the Ryan Family is about to marry into the royal family and regain control of the Upper House! Even if you manage to escape today, you'll be wanted by the entire Kingdom!"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak,"

"Are you even listening to me at all?"

He was listening, of course he was listening.

Leon gave a quick glance at the little blond, offering an inscrutable smile as he pried around the clasp and stepped on the Cursed Silver crowbar, snapping off the powered armor's power block.

He remembered that the Intelligent Machine "Atifei-128" on the Sky Clipper had mentioned that if the powered armor's power block were connected to her, she could be reactivated, and these things weren't easy to come by. It was best to prepare a few extras whenever there was a chance to get them.

"That's the property of the Ryan Family! Damn it! Put it down!"

Seeing Leon pick up the power block worth over ten thousand Gold Wheel and toss it brutally to the ground with a clatter, where it joined three other power blocks, the adjutant's heart was in knots, forcing him to curse angrily,

"You're finished! The Ryan Family will never let you go, and your wanted notice will be on every bulletin board in the Kingdom!"

Yeah, right, right!

After instructing Young Ha to take away the stacked power blocks, Leon, amid the fierce glares of several blondes, leaped off the toppled powered armor. Just as he was about to make his move to retreat, a rhythmic rumbling sound began to echo from afar.

Squinting, Leon saw twelve powered armors, each over four meters tall, emerging from the distance, kicking up dust as they charged towards him. Without a doubt, their target was him.

They sure got here fast...

Gazing at the mechanical beasts sprinting towards him and listening to the increasingly close roar of the steam engines, Leon couldn't help but click his tongue. Just as he turned to continue his escape, the little blond's jeering voice came from behind.

"I told you, you're dead!"

Staring viciously at Leon, the adjutant from the Ryan Family shook his blond hair, his face filled with satisfaction as he said,

"You barely avoided being blown up after taking us three down, and now with so many coming at once, you're definitely finished! Plus, our captain isn't like us; his powered armor was bought at a high price from the Crolock Kingdom... what are you doing?!"

"You're right, I can't stand up to so many powered armors; just their hot weapons would be enough to finish me."

Answering off-topic, Leon pulled out a rope and tied the panicked blond adjutant to himself back-to-back. Then, carrying him while sprinting madly, Leon calmly replied,

"To avoid being blasted to bits by so many cannons, I'll have to trouble you to shield me a little... oh, by the way, I can guarantee that the new Duke of the Ryan Family will sincerely appreciate your sacrifice!"