Epilogue: Parting

The entire incident—from the Schutzstaffel attack on the Royal Weapons Development Bureau to the death of Genitz—seemed to take a long time but had actually lasted only ten days. History would later record it as the Ten-Day Commotion.

“Whew, this place is totally wrecked. Repairing it will take some time,” said Daian.

He was once again seated in his office.

“It was indeed quite tumultuous,” said Hanussen.

The beautiful imperial sage was seated on the sofa wearing a dour expression.

“I must thank you. I never thought you would keep your promise.”

“Hmf!”

Genitz had stolen the third body, a prototype humanoid Hunter Unit. Hanussen had handled the original arrangement to use it as a guard for the monarch. It hadn’t been the royal sage Hanussen’s idea, but she was the only person with a proper connection to the genius scientist—and weirdo—Daian. To compensate for her failure, Daian had asked her to deliver the message about the reset code.

“Did that automaton get her heart back?”

“Do you mean Sven? Yes. It’s quite surprising.”

Daian appeared inordinately pleased at this result, which had surpassed his expectations.

“I hear you gave Yamato the prototype? Is that all right?”

“Well, I got Elvin’s approval as an extra safety measure.”

Yamato’s people excelled at learning. Europeans tended to look down on Aesians, and some poked fun at Yamato as a nation of copycats, but that was a gross misunderstanding. Yamato’s people grasped the essence of things.

“Is that all right?”

Hanussen repeated her question.

“Someday, that country may independently produce humanoid Hunter Units.”

“And if they do, that’ll be fine.”

As a developer, he would normally fear anyone copying his original creation, but he didn’t care.

“In that case, I’ll just go swipe the new technology that they develop!”

He would abandon his pride to get what he wanted. That was Daian Fortuner’s way of life.

“Oh, then I won’t say anything. Except I will ask one thing.”

Hanussen’s eyes narrowed.

“What is beyond that door?”

“Well, if you don’t know, then I certainly don’t!”

“Hmf!”

Daian answered as if he might know or might not—or he might have a guess—and Hanussen shot him a bitter look as she stood up from the sofa.

“Then I have nothing to gain from talking to you any further. I’m leaving.”

Hanussen strode to the door, but then it opened from the other side.

“Sophia von Rundstadt reporting! Oops... sorry!”

At that moment, Sophia appeared.

“It’s quite all right,” Hanussen said without meeting her eyes.

Hanussen packed everything into that terse declaration: “You don’t have to apologize. You don’t have to mind me. You don’t need to have anything to do with me.” Then she left Sophia and walked out.

“Oh my! Sophia! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

After the incident, Sophia had returned to her role as captain of the Weapons Development Bureau’s guard.

“Um... just a little matter of business.”

“Oh? Have you come to beg me to take you to dinner tonight?”

As usual, Daian said something ridiculous in his carefree voice.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I know, I know! I’m a foolish idiot, right? I get it, but just don’t punch me— What?”

Daian’s features froze at the unexpected answer.

“You were a lot of help, so to repay you, I thought... Anyway, we’ll split the bill! I won’t let you treat me!”

Sophia turned away as she spoke. Then she spun on her heels and left the room. A few seconds after exiting the office, there was a loud shout—“Yahooooo!”—behind her. But she pretended she hadn’t heard.

In the marshal’s office in central headquarters at the royal palace...

“Yes, you were a big help this time. You really went the extra mile. Hmm? Yes, that’s right. You merely did what your own circumstances dictated, and that just happened to be good for me, too. Heh heh... It’s the same in war and business, right? All right, good-bye.”

Elvin ended the call and hung up.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“No, that’s all right.”

Elvin apologized to the man in his office. He placed the receiver in the storage case that opened like a book, closed the lid, and locked it.

“Is that the hotline I’ve heard of?”

“Yes.”

After the kidnapping incident, Elvin and Shylock made a secret agreement that the regular army would handle any attack by an armed organization as a condition of a capital tie-up with Billions Trading. Therefore, they had established a hotline for contacting each other at any time. It was a small wireless phone kept in a locked case disguised as a book.

“Is that another one of Daian’s inventions?”

“Yes. It’s so expensive that widespread use is difficult, even for the military.”

The Schutzstaffel had completely severed communications from the royal palace to the outside world. But that only applied to communications by wire. Wireless communications, especially on devices this small, were beyond their reach. So while sealed in the command section, Elvin used this phone to contact and deliver messages to the outside world through Shylock. This had been decisive in reclaiming the royal palace, much as it had in the sailing orders for the Defairedead.

“By the way, shouldn’t I have told him about you? Wouldn’t your father have been happy?”

The man before Marshal Elvin was an investigator from Apuvea. Apuvea was an intelligence agency in the principality of Wiltia. It engaged in wars of information with its foreign counterparts, in addition to observing and arresting anti-government elements and rebels.

Due to the nature of the organization’s work, the personal information of its investigators was of the utmost secrecy. Not only were their identities concealed, but many faked their own deaths so that official records listed them as deceased before they started work. Just like Erich Blitzdonner, the ace pilot once known as the Crimson Hawk.

“That stubborn old man would just get old if things got too comfy.”

“We lost much in this ordeal, but our gains were significant.”

Approximately 10 percent of the bigshots in the Schutzstaffel who had been co-conspirators with Genitz were arrested as national traitors, 30 percent were ejected from the army, 30 percent were pressed into retirement, and the remaining 30 percent were assigned to the regular army in various districts.

“The arrest of the Council of Nobles is significant. They were a militant faction opposed to Wiltia’s current policy of advancing international cooperation.”

Palace security had formed a palace guard as a force restricted to protection of the royal family and the palace. It would function to prevent a commotion like this from recurring.

“And we decided to erect a monument bearing the names of those who died in this conflict so they can be mourned, whether they were from the regular military or the Schutzstaffel.”

Now that the commotion had passed, it was important to prevent grudges from forming. If left alone, people’s hatred would persist, so it was important to replace it with sorrow.

“And what of former Lieutenant Hildegard von Hessen of the Schutzstaffel?”

“Hildegard... Oh, the young girl?”

After the incident, even though Hilde had been Genitz’s direct subordinate, it was decided that her rank be revoked and she would enter officers’ school for retraining. This was in consideration of her background, circumstances and, above all, her youth. After that, it was up to her whether she remained in the army.

“It’s unofficial, but His Majesty requested that we show maximum consideration for the others involved in this matter, and we have obliged.”

“For the king known as The Man of Three Phrases, that’s practically talkative.”

“Furthermore, Hildegard expressed a desire that we engrave the name of a man called Heidrig on the monument.”

“Heidrig...? Oh, that man... Understood. That’s appropriate.”

If someone had asked what good that would do a dead man, Elvin would have found it difficult to answer. But including Heidrig was important. The point was to offer unto the dead a vow to never forget.

“One more misstep could have caused the outbreak of a Second Great European War.”

“Yes, Wiltia’s allies and enemies alike would have descended upon Berun and turned it into a sea of fire. Even worse, there’s...”

“Yes. The new explosive.”

Genitz had revealed a new bomb developed by the Royal Weapons Development Bureau. It was a weapon of mass destruction that had yet to receive an official codename.

“According to our intelligence, another country is developing a similar weapon.”

Blitzdonner relayed the information with a look of dismay.

“If another Great War erupts, development will accelerate and reach practical application.”

Sometimes, war drastically stimulated scientific development. The new bomb could be introduced into actual combat and give rise to multiple tragedies like the one in Lapchuricka.

“If another Great War occurs, one year will generate as many casualties as ten years did in the last war.”

“They didn’t use technology from the Door to make that bomb, did they?”

“No.”

Blitzdonner looked dismayed again.

Analyzing the Door’s technology had led to Wiltia becoming the most technologically advanced nation in the world. However, an accelerated pace of scientific and technological advancement could greatly increase Wiltia’s current mastery. Possibly increase it to the point where humanity would create its own hell.

“It occurred to me that Genitz’s tactics are always of the sort dreaded by those in the military. But if you look at it with cold objectivity, his methods always minimize casualties and achieve victory the fastest way.”

At times, Genitz had paid no heed to civilian and urban deaths, and at others he had abandoned friendly forces, leading to tens of thousands of deaths. By winning quickly, however, he avoided the hundreds of thousands of deaths that would have resulted from a lengthy conflict.

“He wanted to revive the European Empire with himself as supreme leader. That’s why his ambitions were unusual. And they only accelerated during the latter half of the Great War.”

Numerous weapons had been developed during that time, making it possible to kill more efficiently.

“Right before this incident occurred, a prototype of that new explosive was completed.”

Elvin was thinking. Genitz had been in a hurry. Perhaps that was because he thought that if he didn’t hurry, another Great War would grip the world. A battle in which the human race just might eradicate itself.

“He may have wanted to complete unification of an empire in order to stop confrontations between nations.”

“Lord Marshal, are you suggesting that he was attempting to protect humanity?”

“In any case, he’s dead now.”

However, Genitz had persisted to the end in seeking the Door. It may have been beyond that portal... Perhaps there was an overwhelming power capable of eradicating humanity’s current capacity for destruction. If humans wouldn’t give up war, then perhaps there was a way to control humanity with the power to dominate the entire species.

“But he rushed. Nonetheless, the scope of his vision and insight were fit for a king.”

Genitz was dead, and the Schutzstaffel’s ambitions were broken. That would result in permanent peace however.

“As we sit here, the next “Corporal” may be on the rise.”

Another who hides behind a mask, mixes with the crowd, and works behind the scenes to incite the next war.

“I will not allow that to happen,” Blitzdonner said to Elvin, who looked sad. “That’s why I killed myself to become who I am now.”

He removed his gloves and looked at the palm of his mechanical hand.

“For my child and his mother’s sake, I will extinguish all potential fires.”

Meanwhile, in the small mining town of Organbaelz in Pelfe...

“Now for some hard-core cleaning so we can open up shop again!”

There had been complications after the commotion in Berun was resolved, so they weren’t able to immediately return to Organbaelz. In the end, Tockerbrot Bakery had been closed for almost two weeks.

Lud and Sven raced around, mops in hand, to thoroughly clean the shop, including the oven room. With frightening speed, they washed the floors, walls, windows, shelves and even items like the baskets and trays for holding bread.

“We have to work hard! For the townsfolk, too!”

It seemed the people in town had been in an uproar wondering what happened to Lud and the others when they suddenly disappeared. Luckily, Marlene—who took care of Eris the cat, and held down the fort—had skillfully covered for them. But that only lasted three days.

With tears in her eyes, Marlene welcomed Lud’s group when they returned to Organbaelz. She had vied with Sven for Lud’s attention in the past, but she rejoiced at the waitress’s return and hugged her in a fit of emotion.

“These tongs won’t last much longer. Is it time to think about getting new ones?”

“Hey, Sven?”

As she happily worked, Lud suddenly spoke.

“What is it, Master?”

“You always call me master. Would you mind not doing that?”

Thankfully, Sven had come back as her old self. During the recent altercation, Lud implored her to live as she pleased. He had even been willing to risk the loss of all her memories of him to do that.

“You have a heart and can live freely now without the need to serve anyone, so...”

“Um, well about that...”

Fidgeting, Sven intertwined and twisted her fingers.

“So, uh, am I supposed to use your name from now on?”

“Yes, I think that’s better.”

“Like, um... Master Lud?”

“Yes, but without Master.”

“So, um... Lud?”

“Yes, that’s—”

“Kyaaah!”

Before Lud could complete his sentence, Sven turned beet red and shrieked.

“No, no, no... That’s taking things too fast! It’s... um... positively appalling!”

“What?!”

“I mean... you know! Suddenly calling each other Lud and Sven is just... no way... you goof!”

“Um...”

She was happily, embarrassedly, joyfully rocking her body as if dancing. Seeing that, Lud appeared troubled.

“The way it was before is fine! After all, no one’s forcing me. I call you Master of my own free will. And that’s just fine,” Sven said, before breaking into a bright smile.

“Oh? Then I guess that’s all right.”

If she decided freely, according to her own heart, then he shouldn’t press her further. If this is what Sven wanted, then Lud believed he should accept that.

“Oh... a customer?”

The bell over the door rang with a cling-clang.

“Sorry, but we don’t open until tomorrow!”

The CLOSED sign still hung on the front door.

Her feet pitter-pattering, Sven ran to greet the customer. But she came back right away.

“It was the mail carrier.”

“Who is it from?”

“It’s a communication from the bank.”

“?!”

Lud blanched at the mention of the bank.

Since Sven’s arrival, Tockerbrot’s finances had been improving, but they had been so bad before that he was still deeply in debt.

“What is it? A collection notice?”

In some ways, the bank was a more formidable opponent to Lud than the Schutzstaffel had ever been.

“Each month, I barely manage to send a payment, but... huh?”

Sven opened the envelope and was surprised when she read the document inside.

“What is it? A change in interest? An increase in payments?”

“No... You received an enormous cash transfer, so they want to confirm it.”

“Enormous transfer?”

Lud cocked his head. He didn’t recall anyone suddenly depositing money.

“How much was it for?”

“A lot. It’s enough money for a household of four to live on for ten years!”

“You’re right. Look at that number!”

With the money, keeping Tockerbrot afloat would be easy.

“Hm? Who sent it?”

The name of the sender was listed as Doppeladler Co., Ltd.

“What is that?”

Lud recognized the name. It was the name of a company created as a front for money laundering when the Werewolves illegally acquired wealth.

“Impossible...”

Then he suddenly remembered. Seven or eight years ago, Lud had acquired an expensive necklace while on a mission. Genitz had temporarily taken it, saying he would exchange it for cash and arrange it so Lud got the money when the time came.

“That idiot...”

Genitz had probably arranged for the money to be automatically transferred upon his death. He had remembered his promise and kept it.

“I wanted him to try my bread sometime.”

Lud and Genitz each refused to give ground, so they had never joined hands again—not even at the bitter end. Perhaps that had been unavoidable. It was sad, but inevitable. Lud couldn’t see it any other way.

“Do you know the sender?”

Sven asked with a mystified look on her face.

“Yeah, it’s an old friend,” Lud said.

Then he looked out the window and up at the sky.