Chapter 2: Fake Blonde

In front of the main gate to the Weapons Development Bureau, located in a corner of Berun, the royal capital of the Principality of Wiltia...

“What’s going on?!”

The bureau’s head guard Major Sophia von Rundstadt raised her voice in fury. She was so angry that one of the security guards, Private First Class Sariya Richter was on the verge of tears.

“S-Sorry!”

“I’m not talking about you! What’s going on here?!”

It was midnight, when all work at the development bureau was drawing to a close. Suddenly, however, a Schutzstaffel force surrounded the bureau.

“It’s not just ten or twenty soldiers! They’ve mobilized at least two companies!”

According to Wiltia’s army regulations, a platoon had fifty soldiers and a company had two hundred. The number of soldiers surrounding the bureau was at least four hundred.

“We have confirmed armed trucks and artillery units. Impossible! We’re in the middle of a downtown location!”

PFC Sariya raised her voice in something like a scream.

“Have you contacted military command?”

“It seems they’ve cut our communications wires...”

“Tch!”

For a moment, Sophia imagined the worst: an insurgency by the Schutzstaffel. The leader of the Schutzstaffel was Genitz, whose desire for fame and success was insatiable. In Sophia’s opinion, he was capable of making the worst decisions.

“But... why here?”

Sophia was confused about the true intentions of the soldiers surrounding the bureau.

“Huh...?”

Meanwhile, a soldier who looked like a commanding officer approached with a few subordinates from the companies in front of the main gate.

“Are you Major Sophia von Rundstadt, head guard of the Royal Weapons Development Bureau?”

The badge on the man’s chest suggested he was a Schutzstaffel captain.

“I am Captain Rudolf Delz. Thank you for your service.”

His tone was polite, but he wore a slight grin.

Tch! How typical of the Schutzstaffel!

Sophia glared at him with contempt.

Thirty percent of soldiers in the regular army had retired due to post-war downsizing. Most of those soldiers were then reinstated as members of the Schutzstaffel. Many members of the Schutzstaffel glorified their backgrounds and held a warped pride in themselves, as if they were the chosen ones.

Or perhaps the Schutzstaffel selected such people on purpose. Those who take excessive pride in belonging to an organization will loyally obey any orders. They’re perfect pet dogs.

“What in the world are you doing?! Since when has the Schutzstaffel become a rebel force sending troops to the development bureau, which belongs to the royalty?”

Sophia intentionally condemned him with words that would hurt his pride.

“There is a problem, Major. You misunderstand.”

However, it didn’t appear to have worked on Delz, since the annoying grin still showed on his face.

“We received information that terrorists who support a rival monarchy are active in the royal capital. We are merely fulfilling our duty to preserve order.”

“Rival monarchy? Terrorists?”

Sophia had heard nothing about this.

“What kind of force is it? What sect and what faction are they from?!”

There were many anti-state groups, each with its own beliefs. The intelligence agency of the regular army had discovered over one hundred so far.

“We are currently investigating.”

“Where and how are they active? How many of them are there? What weapons do they have? What damage has been done?”

If entire companies had been mobilized, the trouble must be substantial. However, there was no sound of gunfire in the royal capital.

“We are currently investigating.”

“The development bureau’s communication lines have been cut. Did you do that?”

“We are currently investigating.”

Delz’s mouth loosened into a grin as he looked down on her.

“Why you...!”

He looked smugly into Sophia’s eyes, whose angry gaze was feared as the Dragon Slayer.

“We rushed here to protect the people of the development bureau. Security enforcement within the royal capital is the Schutzstaffel’s jurisdiction.”

The regular army’s headquarters were inside the royal palace, but the army itself was stationed outside the royal capital. The purpose was to maintain civilian control and prevent the military from taking over, but the arrangement backfired in this instance.

“Oh... Then this is easy to solve. Get lost! Nothing is happening! As long as our guards are here, there’s no need for your help!”

Sophia yelled at Delz, but his grin remained.

“I can’t let you do it your way, Major Rundstadt. A state of emergency is currently in effect for the royal capital. All public authorities are under the Schutzstaffel’s command. Do you know what this means?”

“No way... You...”

“You must leave here right now.”

Removing an active unit in the name of security enforcement was tantamount to calling them traitors.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... I’ve never been subjected to such humiliation!”

Sophia was laughing dryly. PFC Sariya, standing next to her, was now close to tears.

“Let’s fight then. Bring it on.”

Sophia’s voice was quiet.

“Huh? What are you—”

“I’m saying that if you can do it, then do it, you dogs of the lord lieutenant general!!”

Before Delz could finish his question, Sophia interrupted as though she just didn’t care.

“Fine. I’ll give you a thirty-minute extension. If you reconsider and leave, I will forget what you just said. Good-bye.”

Delz left, keeping his pleased grin until the very end.

“W-What have you done? What are you going to do, Major?”

PFC Sariya was panicking.

Sophia’s emotional words were in defiance of authority.

“They’re treating us like terrorists!”

“But we’re not of course!”

Sophia scolded PFC Sariya.

“Remember, they cut our communication lines. And that’s a risky action. This could turn into a debacle for them if we call up command headquarters!”

The Schutzstaffel’s soldiers were under direct command of the royal family, so technically they only followed orders from the monarch. However, Wiltia had a constitutional government. Royal authority was not absolute.

There must be political reasons... No... there’s something I don’t know. If I could just get hold of information that would foil this reckless action!

The fact that the Schutzstaffel had mobilized two companies was proof that it was trying by any means, even by force, to suppress the development bureau. And from that she could make an inference...

Was there something inside the development bureau that could upset the current order in the principality? Sophia was the head guard, but no one told her what was in the depths of the development bureau. Sophia couldn’t interpret the situation any other way.

“Anyway, summon all the guards! Put up barricades! Gather weapons! They won’t get away with this nonsense! If we can hold out until morning, victory is ours!”

“Y-Yes, Ma’am!”

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

Someone else was suddenly standing next to Sariya, who saluted in response to Sophia’s rapid-fire orders.

“Uwaaah!! Who’re you?! And how long have you been standing here?”

“Calm yourself, Private. That man is just a pervert! And he’s the director of this development bureau.”

Sophia calmed Sariya, who looked like a small, startled animal.

“Sophia? Is it normal to introduce me first as a pervert, and then by my position?”

It was Daian Fortuner, the director of the development bureau.

“What a mess. The lieutenant general is finally resorting to violence. Oh dear...”

Although the situation was tense, Daian appeared as relaxed as ever.

“Do you have something to say?”

Daian was responsible for the development bureau. If he wanted to take sides with the Schutzstaffel, Sophia would be on her own.

“No. I hate Genitz. Besides, I would never argue with a decision my beloved Sophia made.”

“Then give me command of security personnel assigned to the development bureau. I need more soldiers.”

“Sophia, you haven’t been very personable recently.”

Ignoring Daian, who was mumbling sadly, Sophia hurried to reorganize her unit.

There were about four hundred Schutzstaffel soldiers surrounding the bureau. By contrast, development bureau personnel amounted to no more than fifty, including Sophia’s guards and security staff.

“Didn’t someone once say that the attacking side needs over three times the defending side?”

Daian asked as if reading Sophia’s mind.

“That’s just a rule of thumb.”

Since the development bureau handled military secrets, it had strong security mechanisms already in place. However, the security was only to stop someone from infiltrating the organization and sneaking onto its premises. Armed insurgents from Wiltia, invading in full force through the front gate, presented a completely unexpected situation.

“I wonder if we can hold until morning. It’s already late autumn, so the nights are long now.”

Daian’s relaxed voice was annoying Sophia more than usual today.

“You...!”

“So I have a better idea.”

Sophia was about to yell, but before she could, the eccentric genius with the nickname Sorcerer put his index finger to his mouth and made a suggestion.

In Organbaelz, Thanksgiving is the last Thursday in October.

Wiltia, and most other nations, celebrated Thanksgiving on the first Thursday, but the people of Organbaelz had decided to change the date to the birthday of a saint in Pelfe that was closer to the anniversary of the opening of Baelz Mine.

Merging many celebrations, it was the most cheerful day of the year.

“What a problem!”

Inside Tockerbrot, Sven was muttering while cleaning.

“Are you talking about Lud?” asked Jacob, who had come to help.

If there was anything troubling this skillful, silver-haired waitress, there was a 99.99 percent chance that it was related to her beloved master Lud.

“Yes!”

She agreed and sighed once more.

The happiness of Thanksgiving dispelled everyday gloominess and there would be a bountiful feast. There would be salted pork spare ribs, smoked beef, baked whole chicken, and lamb sausages. And all-you-can-drink wine and beer would be available. Plus lots of sweets. Tockerbrot, Lud’s bakery, had been asked to bake those sweets.

“Do bakeries have that much to do on Thanksgiving?”

Sven answered Jacob proudly.

“Yes, they do. The sweets for the festival are called Königskuchen. There’s a sweetbread like a brioche, pies like kuchen, fried bread with jam inside like a Berliner, pies like galettes, and so much more!”

The shop had received an order for all the sweets for that day.

“Oh... Yeah, come to think of it, there are different kinds of sweets every year, but usually they are nothing special. They never taste that great.”

Until this year, there had been sugar-covered fried bread, cookies made by regular folk, and cherry pies that were stale because they had been ordered and delivered from another town. There was no denying that they had been boring and mediocre sweets for such a special festival.

“Didn’t we start selling lemon pies last week?”

“They were very popular.”

Since they added refrigerating equipment, Tockerbrot’s sweets menu had grown. The reaction of the townsfolk was enthusiastic, which was why they asked Lud to provide the sweets this year.

“To be honest, I want master to turn down the offer.”

Sven complained with a troubled look on her face.

“We can afford the ingredients, but we won’t make any profit. It’ll just take too much effort, time, and manpower.”

Instead of a profitable work order, it was more like being a festival sponsor. They wanted Lud to provide sweets instead of donating money.

“But he’s willing to do it, right?”

“That’s right. He’s stubborn and won’t budge.”

Lud had been delighted when he heard the news from Marlene. He already had work piling up, but in his spare time he researched sweets for the festival.

“It’s unusual for Master to show such enthusiasm.”

Sven had tried in subtle ways to convince him to refuse, but it hadn’t stopped Lud.

“I guess that’s understandable, considering what happened last year.”

“Last year?”

Sven looked at Jacob, who wore a bitter smile with his arms crossed.

“Um, it was last year when he came to this town. You know, people avoided him for a long time.”

Lud Langart, who was a kind and loyal man, had one drawback. He scared people. Women ran away, children cried, adult men got the shakes, and even thugs were afraid. Once, after encountering Lud, a man had handed over his wallet, bowed low to the ground, and begged Lud to spare his family.

For a whole year, until Sven had appeared and dramatically reformed management of the business, no one visited the bakery. Lud’s appearance was that fierce.

“That’s why he closed the shop last Thanksgiving, kept the curtains closed, and stayed quiet inside all day.”

He didn’t want to upset innocent people by attending the festival.

“Poor Master!”

Sven couldn’t stop tears from filling her eyes. She covered her mouth and sobbed.

“But this year they asked him, right? Of course that would delight him! He’d try it even at the risk of his life!”

It was no exaggeration to say that Lud’s life depended on his passion for bread. The bread he baked pleased others. With that as encouragement, he made baking his life’s work and had undertaken its challenges.

Honesty and hard work were characteristic of Wiltians, but Lud possessed them more than most.

“Hmmmmm...”

Arms crossed, Sven pondered.

Lud Langart was without a doubt the most important thing in the world to her. She would face any difficult problem or strong opponent for him. However, this was troublesome because Lud often put himself in peril.

“He’s a former soldier, so maybe he pushes himself too hard.”

Jacob said this with a wry smile.

“Oh? You misunderstand, Jacob.”

“Huh? But I thought the military was so strict and dirty and sad that it makes you miss home. And they make you put up with it while saying, ‘It’s for the nation!’”

“It’s not quite like that.”

In the military, the most important thing was to train soldiers efficiently and correctly.

In order to do that, a soldier’s vital organs and mental state needed to be in top condition at all times. The military provided army medics and medical facilities in case of injury and sickness. To maintain the soldiers’ strength, it paid close attention to meal menus and nutritional balance. Moreover, the military had to provide appropriate leave and rotate troops in order to avoid fatigue buildup.

“For soldiers to perform efficiently, rest is necessary. Master was an ace pilot, so even though he was sent to areas with fierce fighting, he was so successful that he received a lot of leave.”

“Oh, so the military is solid when it comes to that stuff.”

“Well, I’ve heard that some people performed so many heroic exploits that they accrued too much leave, and since taking it was difficult, they gave credit to others.”

“Some people are weird.”

Jacob looked astonished.

“.....................”

Seeing that, Sven fell silent for a second.

“Huh? What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no, no... It’s nothing.”

Sven and Lud had recently learned that Jacob’s father was a former Hunter Unit pilot, like Lud. And he had been an extraordinary ace. He was so strong that he had accumulated a lot of leave as a reward, but he was a devil-may-care man who had shared his kills with junior pilots.

There were things that Jacob was better off not knowing. Jacob knew his father was a soldier but not that he had been a monster-class ace pilot. Following the wishes of Jacob’s mother Charlotte, they decided not to mention it until Jacob was a little older.

“Anyway, the military is much more logical than people on the outside imagine.”

It was often said that the military used human beings like tools, and that was exactly why it treated people properly and with care.

The outside world had no right to judge military affairs when it was full of dishonest businessmen who took advantage of their employees’ poverty, and didn’t give them sufficient wages or vacation.

“Yeah, well, you know... If the military tried to handle everything idealistically, then it wouldn’t be able to win battles that it actually can win.”

Sven spoke as a former Hunter Unit.

It doesn’t matter how much enthusiasm you summoned, or how many pretty proverbs you spouted, a car won’t go without gas.

Because she was a machine, Sven noticed things that humans found hard to see.

“That’s why we need to have the proper framework in place to pursue lofty aims.”

In the meantime, they needed to add fresh workers in order to accomplish Lud’s goals right now. As quickly as possible.

“Isn’t there anyone—even if they aren’t that skilled—who has what it takes to be a baker?!”

Reality isn’t that convenient.

Sven knew that, but the question slipped from her mouth anyway.

A man and a woman were walking along a street in Organbaelz. They were too close in age to be father and daughter, but they didn’t resemble each other like a brother and sister. The young man had somewhat dull eyes. He squinted as if he disliked sunlight and pulled the bandana holding back his unruly hair down over his eyes.

“We’re about there,” the young man murmured.

Tockerbrot was close. The shop’s name written on his document was the location of their target.

“Don’t let your guard down! But you’re the Wolf Man, so there’s no chance you’ll screw this up!”

The girl walking next to him said this with a cold, sinister smile, not in keeping with her looks.

She had blonde hair and blue eyes and was around fourteen or fifteen years old. She was too young to be considered a woman and she looked childish.

“Can’t you lighten up the way you talk?”

She had a very sharp way of speaking. If she could at least smile cheerfully, she would be adorable for her age.

“What?! Do you understand your position here?!”

The girl tried to be menacing with a deep, threatening tone in her voice.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m saying they’ll find out who we are. It took a lot of effort to make you look like that, but you’re gonna ruin it.”

“Urgh!”

Her ferocity was lost on the young man, and he answered her casually. The girl finally understood and hurriedly put her hands on her cheeks. She did this as if to loosen muscles that she didn’t ordinarily use.

“How does this look, my big brother?”

The girl smiled as cheerfully as possible, with her cheeks, the space between her eyes, and her temple twitching.

“I appreciate the effort.”

The young man decided to grade her effort later.

“Well, here we are.”

The bakery was a little bigger than reported in the document. Apparently, the shop was expanded after a small fire, when the owner claimed the land next door.

“Well, shall we go?”

Despite the man’s chiding, the girl’s eyes had regained their murderous stare. She reached into her pocket and was about to pull out what was hidden inside.

“Don’t. I’ll go in first. Don’t do anything until I give you a sign.”

He stopped her, exasperation creeping into his tone.

“What?!”

With a glare, the girl’s voice rose in anger, but the young man pressed the point.

“You brought me all this way to assassinate him. You called on me because you can’t beat him, right? Then follow my instructions.”

“Urgh!”

Unable to reply, the girl bit her lips.

Oh man... How is this gonna go?

With a weary look on his face, he opened the door to the shop.

“Oh! W-Welcome to Tockerbrot!”

Reacting to the cling-clang of the bell, a small waitress stammered as she greeted them.

“.....................”

It smelled delicious inside. It was the tantalizing smell of sugar and freshly baked bread. The shop was redolent with mouth-watering aromas.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s here...”

Behind him, the girl mumbled something, but he didn’t catch it.

He scanned the shelves of the shop. There were croissants, coupe bread, Danishes, focaccia, Vienna bread, brioches and bagels.

It was hard to believe that this was just a country bakery. There was a plentiful selection of products and they all looked delectable. So delectable compared with the salty, rock-like bread he had been fed in the underground prison.

“Huh? We have customers?”

Someone else entered from the back of the shop.

For a moment, the girl behind him tensed, but the young man didn’t budge. Just hearing a voice, he could tell whether it belonged to a boy or a man.

This wasn’t his target. He must be the boy named Jacob.

“Huh? I haven’t seen you two around here.”

Right away, Jacob engaged them in conversation.

“............!!”

But the girl was increasingly jittery and tense.

The young man silently sighed. He was amazed, and doubted there was anyone less suited to an undercover mission.

“Yes. We just arrived. There was a recruiting call for new hands to work in the mine in town.”

“I see.”

With his arm, the man hid the girl’s face, which had broken out in a cold sweat, and he answered as naturally as possible to avoid raising any alarm.

They had indeed arrived in town a short while ago.

When lying, sticking to the truth as much as possible is more successful than spinning falsehoods. There was less chance of slipping up and revealing one’s true colors.

“You’ve got a sharp eye!”

He said this to Jacob in a friendly voice and with earnest surprise.

It was a small town, but the population was at least one thousand. It would be surprising if the boy recognized the faces of everyone in town, even if he grew up here.

“Yeah. After all, I’ve never seen that girl behind you.”

“Huh?”

He didn’t understand.

“You remember the face of every girl in town?!”

The diminutive waitress spoke with an amazed expression on her face.

“No, even I can’t do that. Only teens, twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings.”

“That’s a lot!!”

The girl was stunned at his reply.

“Heh... Heh heh...”

The young man laughed dryly. The boy’s reply had been surprising, but now he understood.

“............”

However, the girl, still half-concealed behind the man, remained stiff.

Apparently, on her previous mission, the girl had tried to kidnap this boy, Jacob. And Jacob had seen her face.

So it was natural that she would be tense, but it wasn’t necessary given the effort they had put into her disguise. After much fuss, he and the corporal had convinced her to dye her hair blonde and wear newly invented colored compact lenses—the existence of which was still secret—that fit directly onto the eyeballs and would change the color of her eyes.

If she presented herself boldly, he would merely notice a resemblance. But her nervousness was asking him to be suspicious.

“Sorry, my little sister is shy around strangers.”

So he decided to rectify the situation.

“Oh? Hmm...”

Jacob’s expression didn’t look entirely satisfied.

The boy has good intuition...

Some people are like that.

He was the type to catch on quickly and see things clearly. He didn’t miss anything even slightly out of place. Perhaps Jacob had been born with this ability rather than gaining it through practice.

“I’ve heard from people in town that the bread here is delicious. We came to buy lunch. What do you recommend?”

He forced a change in their conversation.

Besides, they had come here as customers. It would be strange to come to a bakery and not talk about bread.

“These casse-croûtes are tasty. I think they would be perfect for lunch.”

Casse-croûte meant a light meal.

As the name suggested, it was a baguette with ham, cheese, and vegetables inside. It was a perfect sandwich for a snack.

“Um, if y-you want, you can eat over there! And you can have coffee or tea!”

The waitress at Jacob’s side stammered as she made her sales pitch.

She appeared to be extremely shy and awkward. It was doubtful that such a girl could be a good waitress, but it was appealing how hard she tried to speak with the customers.

The girl pointed at an eating space with several tables and chairs.

“I see... Then we’ll take that and... this apple Danish looks delicious, too!”

“It’s v-very tasty!”

The girl broke into a bright smile.

“Um, that’s my favorite of all our breads! It’s yummy! Uh-huh!”

The waitress clearly liked it. She started talking enthusiastically but then remembered herself and hurriedly resumed speaking politely and professionally.

“Heh...”

The young man chuckled.

“I’ll take that, too. It sounds like you really recommend it!”

“Y-Yes, Sir! Um, would you like coffee or tea?”

With a smile, the waitress asked another question, perhaps from happiness because a customer had purchased what she recommended.

“Which do you want?”

The man asked the girl behind him, and she glared at him sharply.

“Hey, what’re you thinking?!”

She hissed at him under her breath.

“Do we have the free time to eat here?!”

“If we relax and sit down rather than wandering around the shop, they won’t be suspicious. Use common sense.”

“Urgh!”

The girl bit her lip again in frustration at the young man winning the argument.

“Okay, two coffees, please.”

“Comin’ up!”

The waitress couldn’t have been very different in age from the girl behind him, but she responded brightly and bounced back to the kitchen.

“Let’s see... Hmm, they do look tasty!”

The man sat in a chair in the dining space and picked up his casse-croûte. Inside, there was only ham, cheese and vegetables, but this kind of simple food was the most delicious.

“Tch! Why do I have to buy and eat something made by that man?!”

The girl next to him was still complaining.

“Yes... it’s good. I haven’t had bread this delicious in a few years!”

Since returning to Wiltia, and even before that in Filbarneu, he’d had nothing good to eat.

“He uses quality wheat, but it’s not just that. The bread is firm, but it has a nice texture when you take a bite. He must have made this specifically to be sandwich bread. It’s designed to taste best when enjoyed with a filling.”

The exterior was crispy, but the interior was puffy and soft, and where the two met was fresh lettuce, ham and cheese. Everything blended together and increased the flavor beyond that of the individual ingredients.

“Hey... are you seriously savoring the taste?!”

The girl said this in astonishment, but he couldn’t help it because delicious food is simply delicious food.

“You should eat.”

“Me?!”

“It will be unnatural if you don’t. It’d be strange for anyone to resist this scrumptious bread.”

“Urgh!”

She had come here disguised as a regular citizen in order to murder a guy who might be in the back of the shop. Thus, she had to do everything a normal person would normally do. It was simple logic.

“Okay, I’ll eat it!”

“Yes, and make it look as though it tastes delectable!”

“Urgh...”

She was irritated, but she put the apple Danish to her mouth, took a bite and began chewing with a spiteful look.

“It isn’t awful, but...”

“Can’t you just admit that it tastes awesome?”

Faced with her stubbornness, the young man sighed out loud this time.

“You don’t understand how I feel.”

As she mumbled and reached for her coffee mug, she raised her voice.

“Hey! There ain’t no—I mean... Oh dear! I don’t see any sugar...”

There was a small jar of milk but no pot of sugar.

“Coffee is better black.”

“I can’t drink it without sugar!”

He was about to call her childish but remained silent.

“S-Sorry!”

The waitress rushed over with a pot of sugar cubes.

The man felt sorry and was about to say something pleasant to the waitress when a woman came in.

“I’ll carry that for you!”

A waitress with silver hair and red eyes whisked the sugar pot away from the girl and approached their table, wearing a smile.

Who is this woman?!

A chill ran down the young man’s back.

At a glance, she was just a woman. Just a... No, she was too beautiful to be in a rural town. She had flowing silver hair, eyes like jewelry, and long arms and legs without any blemishes or moles. Most men would lose their souls and go weak in the knees if she stared at them with that smile in her innocent eyes.

Her appearance was unusual but not abnormal. Rather, the atmosphere around her was intense and spirited. The aura she emitted was uncommon. She gave the impression of a battlefield in the form of a lovely young woman.

She has the ferocity that even a veteran back from battle doesn’t have?!

The young man had repeatedly told the girl with him to behave naturally. But now he couldn’t help feeling the need to defend himself. If he were just a regular guy, then she would just look like a pretty girl to him. But he felt a kind of terror of her.

“Hurry up and give it here!”

However, the girl with him seemed completely unaware of how unusual this girl was.

“Sure. How many would you like, officer of the Schutzstaffel?”

“Let’s see... Three— ?!”

The unusual waitress had asked so naturally that the girl, Schutzstaffel Lieutenant Hildegard von Hessen, answered in a military manner.

“How did you know?!”

Hilde’s words came out in a questioning scream, tinged with fear. Her cry revealed clearly who she was.

“To waste my master’s final show of mercy, you must really want to die!”

The silver-haired woman’s voice was extraordinarily lovely. But her words were too sinister for such a lovely voice.

“Argh!”

And yet, Hilde believed there was a chance for her to recover. She mistakenly thought Sven was just a waitress. She pulled out the gun hidden in her pocket and tried to point it at Sven.

“Gah!!”

However, Sven, seeing Hildegard’s movement, was quicker and sprang into action, instantly knocking Hilde’s gun to the floor.

“You incorrigible snot!”

The smile vanished from Sven’s face. This time her voice was cold enough to freeze water.

Uh-oh!

The young man made his move.

There was no doubt that the woman would kill Hilde if he didn’t. He snatched up the fallen gun. He pointed it at Sven—but it was no use. The woman moved at a speed that surpassed human comprehension.

At such close range, she would just dodge. Should he take someone hostage?

Without turning his head, he glanced around the shop. Both the little waitress and the boy named Jacob were too far away for him to secure before Sven would intervene. In fact, they were hiding behind the counter.

What a woman!!

Hilde’s disguise wasn’t perfect, but she still was hard to recognize at first glance. Nonetheless, Sven had penetrated the camouflage in a moment, and had the children out of the way without attracting notice.

Now what do I do?!

The young man—the Wolf Man—realized all this in less than a second. It was very quick thinking, but when facing Sven, he would be allowed no more time.

However, a savior appeared unexpectedly.

“What’s the matter, Sven? What’s all this about?”

A large man stuck his face out from the room in the back of the shop.

“Master! Don’t come out!”

Suddenly desperation showed on Sven’s face, which until now had looked like a cruel executioner’s.

It was unexpected and disarming. This woman, who had shown such ferocity and had an aura of mystery, had given voice to her own weakness. He wanted to ask why, but the reason didn’t matter. What was important was the end result.

“Don’t move.”

With his eyes on Sven, as she held Hilde, Heidrig the Wolf Man—considered to be Wiltia’s most brutal special forces soldier—leapt up and pointed his gun at Lud Langart.

Oh no!!

Silently, Sven bitterly cursed her own carelessness.

After finishing deliveries, she had spotted a couple of customers and noticed immediately that one of them was Hildegard, whom she and Lud had encountered during a previous incident in the mine.

The reason she recognized Hilde was simple. It was the girl’s voice. A human being wouldn’t have noticed, but Sven had registered Hilde’s voice patterns in her database. The girl’s voice had been audible through the Hunter Unit speaker when Hilde piloted it that night in the mine as she mercilessly pursued Sven and Lud. There was no mistake about it.

So Sven had spurred Jacob and Milly to hide behind the counter, and tried to capture the girl. However, the calm, composed, and skillful waitress had failed in her plan. She had acted without saying anything to Lud, who was working in the oven room.

She didn’t simply forget. Sven was driven by an inability to forgive. By coming here, Hilde had broken her promise to Sven’s beloved master Lud, who had spared Hilde in a remarkable act of mercy. Moreover, she had stepped inside Tockerbrot, which was Lud’s holy ground. Sven attempted to catch Hilde quickly before Lud noticed so she could terminate her in the cruelest way possible. However, that plan had backfired.

“Don’t move. I have no idea how fast you are, but you’re definitely slower than I am when pulling a trigger.”

Heidrig’s gun was pointed at Lud’s head. Even from this distance, it would cause a critical injury.

“Urgh! Why you...! Don’t you get it?! I have a hostage, too!”

Sven seized Hilde and twisted her arms behind her back. Sven’s fingers were around Hilde’s neck. The strength of her grip would easily break Hilde’s neck.

“D-Don’t worry about me! J-Just kill him!”

As Hilde shouted, her voice and body were shaking. She had a lot of pride, but apparently she wasn’t ready to die yet.

“If you can’t hide your fear, then at least keep quiet!”

Sven yelled at the girl, who had interrupted.

“...............”

Lud was the only one who was still calm.

“Why aren’t you upset?”

Heidrig, who was pointing his gun at Lud, was so surprised he blurted out the question.

“You’re not scared by my face, so you must be a soldier.”

“How could you know that?!”

Only veterans wouldn’t cringe seeing Lud’s face for the first time.

“Does that mean... Oh, I see...”

Lud looked a bit disappointed.

A soldier had to recognize and assess a situation quickly, or chances were high that the soldier would die.

So Lud had immediately grasped the situation in the moment between poking his face out and having a gun pointed at him.

“Master...”

Sven stared at Lud. She had hoped for some way to escape.

Lud was considered a heroic Hunter Unit pilot. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t also specialized in fighting with his body.

With the support of the installed AI, maneuvering a Hunter Unit was possible alone. If the machine had operational failure, however, the pilot must return to friendly territory from a battleground all by himself. Therefore, Hunter Unit pilots were trained in firearms, martial arts, and other survival skills. Since they didn’t wear armor, many were strong and highly skilled in fighting with their bare hands.

“Lemme go! I said, lemme go, you foul woman!”

But there were also many soldiers like Hilde, who was flopping around and fussing as she tried to break free of Sven’s grip.

“Hrngh...”

Lud groaned uncertainly.

“Well, what should I do?”

“Tch! What a mess!”

Neither Heidrig nor Sven could make a move since they held each other’s king hostage.

“Lemme go!!”

Only Hilde continued to scream.

They were deadlocked. They could release each other’s hostages at the same moment, but without a barrier between them, Lud and Sven were far stronger in combat in such circumstances. Heidrig probably knew that, because he wasn’t making any careless moves.

“Damn it, Heidrig! What are you doing? And you call yourself the Wolf Man?! Just kill him already!”

Sven’s face froze hearing Hilde’s words.

Oh, that’s... He’s younger than I expected. What kind of a monster did this little snot bring here?!

The legend of the Wolf Man had been in her database when she was an active Hunter Unit. He was a man hated in both Filbarneu and Wiltia as the most brutal special forces soldier.

“You’re... the Wolf Man?”

Lud’s face also registered surprise, but in a slightly different way.

“Heidrig... Wolf Man... Oh... I see.”

It was as if he remembered something, or saw someone unexpectedly.

Master...?

No sooner could Sven wonder at the slight change in her master’s expression than Lud made his move.

“—?!”

He tried to seize Heidrig’s arm with a movement so swift and bold that he appeared oblivious to the unlocked safety on Heidrig’s gun, with its hammer cocked, and bullets loaded.

“Agh!”

However, Lud wasn’t able to seize his arm.

Heidrig immediately spun his body halfway around and tried to place the muzzle of his gun against the back of Lud’s head, but Lud crouched and tried to break free. Before Lud could do that, Heidrig jumped to avoid a foot sweep and then unleashed a kick from that unstable position.

“......!!”

Instead of evading the kick, Lud used his thick arm as a shield. Simultaneously, he rose and threw a backfist, but Heidrig leaned back, narrowly avoiding the blow.

“Ooh! Agh... Huh? Whoa! Whah?!”

Forgetting about her pinned arms, Hilde gawked at the fierce exchange. Her eyes couldn’t follow the battle between these two men, both so skilled in fighting.

“Master, what are you—”

Sven’s eyes, however, observed their battle with precision.

Heidrig’s hand still held the gun, but Lud moved as if this was inconsequential. After they each landed a few blows, Heidrig pointed his gun once more, but he was a little too slow and Lud’s palm struck his stomach.

“Oof!!”

Heidrig’s body slammed against the door and flew out the front of the shop. The gun he had been holding fell to the floor. Lud stomped on it and kicked it to the other side of the shop.

“...............”

Heidrig raised his upper body and looked at Lud in silence.

“Why... didn’t you use it yourself?”

Lud pointed at Heidrig’s sleeve.

A hidden knife was barely visible inside the man’s sleeve.

“And that’s not all. You must have more inside your coat.”

“How do you know that?!”

“I could tell by the way you carried yourself and from the sound of your footsteps, which were too heavy for your weight.”

Heidrig swayed and stood. He grasped his coat with both hands and showed what was inside. A few grenades were hanging there.

“.........?!”

Sven’s eyes widened at the sight.

If he threw just one of those inside the shop, there would be an inescapable explosion. Even if Sven used all her strength, there was no guarantee she could protect even Lud. And Jacob and Milly were still hiding behind the counter.

“Well done, Heidrig! Use them! Kill them all!”

“I said shut up! Get that through your head, you dumb brat!”

In a rage, Sven yelled at the ranting Hilde, as if she might bite her.

“Heidrig, was it? I have your friend! If you try anything foolish...”

She was threatening him with the death of his comrade.

But after saying that, she stopped. The Wolf Man was a serious criminal, a former special forces agent of Wiltia who had eventually betrayed his own nation. If necessary, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to abandon his cohort.

“Sh-She’s right... It’s okay... So just do it!”

Perhaps Hilde had finally realized the danger, or perhaps her pride was forcing her to bluff, because she was pale and trembling as she ordered Heidrig to attack.

Uh-oh... This is bad...

The way he had flown toward the door had been unfortunate. There was no way for them to escape.

“I’ve lost.”

There was no way Heidrig would declare defeat.

“Please, just spare my life.”

Even less likely was that he would beg for his life.

“You see me begging...”

And there was no chance he would bow before them, but...

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Oddly, Sven and Hilde made the same sound.

Heidrig cast aside his hidden knives, grenades and a few bottles of some kind of chemical. Then he kneeled where he was and lowered his head toward Lud.

“What are you doing, Heidrig? Are you nuts?! There’s no way this will persuade them to let us go!”

Hilde raised her voice in panic.

“No, Master! Stay cautious! He may still be planning something!”

Thinking this could be some kind of trap, Sven didn’t let down her guard.

“Okay, you can raise your head now.”

Lud, however, simply forgave him.

“Whaaat?!”

“Whaaat?!”

Again, Sven and Hilde raised their voices together.

“Master, what’re you thinking?! Th-They’re—!!”

Sven, who thought she thoroughly understood the depths of Lud’s good soul, was utterly amazed at this.

“I can’t understand this!”

Hilde was trying to kill them. No good could come from forgiving someone who had been pardoned once but didn’t honor the kindness she had received.

“Yes... You’re right. They must take responsibility for their actions.”

“I understand.”

At Lud’s words, Heidrig reached out his arm as if expecting something.

“Do as you like. Break an arm or two. Cut them off if you wish.”

“Wh...”

“What are you saying?!”

He was so compliant that Hilde and Sven were at a loss for words.

“Very well. In that case...”

And then Lud gave them his decision.

“Can you bake bread?”

No one expected this.

“Huh?”

Heidrig looked befuddled.

“What?!”

Hilde’s jaw dropped.

“WhhaaaAAAT?!”

Sven couldn’t make any sense of her master’s mind.

So all three raised their voices in surprise.