Chapter 5: Throngs of Customers
Chapter 5: Throngs of Customers
1720 26.04.921—
Jacob’s house was near the Tockerbrot bakery in Organbaelz.
“What the heck’s going on?!” In Jacob’s room, Sven turned her cold eyes on Rebecca, who was in bed.
“What? Is there a problem?”
“A problem?! It’s been two days, so your damages—I mean, your wounds—should’ve healed by now!”
Two nights ago, Meitzer defeated Rebecca and severely injured her leg. But humanoid Hunter Units are machines, not human beings. The damage didn’t reach her frame, so if she had autonomously healed her biological parts and used a simple repair kit, she should have regained the use of her feet and returned to the Weapons Development Bureau in Berun on her own.
“I am playing it safe. Unlike you, I am extremely careful, and make very certain before cautiously proceeding.”
Rebecca was sitting upright in bed and clinging to Jacob—the owner of the room.
“I’m not convinced that’s your reason.”
“Well, I do not need to convince you!”
“Um, Sven? This girl, uh...” The boy Jacob looked troubled by the way Rebecca was squeezing him.
“I’m sorry, Jacob. I never thought Miss Red would be so obsessed with love!”
“When it comes to obsession with love, I do not think I can beat you, Miss White!” Rebecca replied to Sven with a glare.
“Miss what?!”
“You said it yourself earlier!!”
The two humanoid Hunter Units were shouting at each other.
“Oh no! Calm down, please! Both of you! Okay?” Jacob tried to stop them. He didn’t know much about their relationship, but in their previous encounters, Jacob saw that they were neither strangers nor friends. They were more like sisters who didn’t get along.
“Anyway... um... she isn’t really inconveniencing me. Actually, I’m sort of happy.”
“Jacob?” Sven responded in mild surprise to this eleven-year-old boy admitting what wouldn’t be strange coming from a man—that he liked having a pretty girl fawn over him.
“Oh... I am not an inconvenience? Then let us do more! Can we kiss?!”
“Knock it off, Miss Red!!”
Rebecca was usually cool and collected, but when it came to Blitzdonner and his son Jacob, she forgot herself.
“I’m sorry, Jacob. But would you give us a minute?”
“Um... sure.”
Sven pried Jacob away from Rebecca, apologized, and asked him to leave them alone.
“Urm...”
“Oh, don’t be pitiful!” Sven thundered at Rebecca, but then quickly calmed herself.
“What is going on? Have you discovered who that man is?”
“Um...”
Yesterday, Meitzer had revealed a number of shocking facts to Sven. She was special even compared to the other humanoid Hunter Units. And Sven had admitted that she was indeed Meitzer’s daughter. She was confused by her own heart and realized that the only person she could discuss it with was Rebecca, another humanoid Hunter Unit.
“You, um... You have a master too, right?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?” Rebecca looked suspicious at Sven’s unexpected question, but she answered anyway. “Yes, I do. He is the best master in the world.”
“Oh... really?” If Sven was asked that question, she would have responded the same way, but hearing it stated so boldly, she wasn’t sure how to react.
“If you could meet him again, what would you do?”
Sven’s conversation with Meitzer had shaken what might be called her core. More accurately, she could no longer understand her own feelings. As a result, she was now hesitant to see Lud, the person most important to her, face to face. In order to take another hard look at herself, she wanted to talk about this with someone whose circumstances were so close to her own.
“That hardly deserves thought. I met him recently.”
“Huh? No way!”
“Why would I lie?” Rebecca’s casual reply caught Sven off guard. “It was during the rebellion in the capital. I was truly surprised. After all, he knew what I am.”
“He... knew?”
“Yes.”
“Ugh...”
Sven hadn’t revealed herself to Lud, so she hoped Rebecca’s words would provide a clue toward resolving her conflict, but they weren’t helpful.
“Why are you saying ‘ugh’?! Do you have a problem with my master the major?!”
“No, that’s not it. You’re so touchy.”
“Of course! I have no reason to tangle with you in other matters.”
“Argh! You’re a pain in the butt!”
Sven and Rebecca usually spoke so politely it sounded almost ridiculous, but they were military weapons. They were considerate toward people who didn’t know what they were. But they knew each other’s identities, so when speaking to each other, they used polite tones to make biting comments. Their courtesies were only superficial.
“Um... Actually...”
Sven started to tell Rebecca about her conversation with Meitzer. But they were interrupted.
“—!” The two looked around at the same moment. Nothing was visible. And nothing was audible.
Nothing was visible or audible to a human being, that is. But they had sensors far exceeding human senses, so they detected something.
“The sound of an explosion?!”
“Gunshots... and multiple people!”
It wasn’t the sort of clamor that would occur during the day in a rural mining town. Calculating the direction and distance of the sound, it came from Tockerbrot.
“Tch!” Sven stood ready.
She would show no mercy to anyone who threatened Tockerbrot, no matter the reasons or circumstances. She was about to rush off.
“Be careful.”
“Hey. What about you?”
Her sister machine Rebecca didn’t budge.
“What? There is no reason I should help you. And I believe I informed you that I am forbidden from unnecessary contact.”
“Why you...!” Sven wasn’t really expecting help, but Rebecca’s cold manner angered her.
“Oh... Are you leaving, Sven?” Jacob’s mother Charlotte came in.
She knew that Rebecca was staying in her son’s room. Learning that Rebecca was Sven’s acquaintance and had helped Jacob in the past, she heartily agreed to let her stay. However, Charlotte’s father—Jacob’s grandfather—didn’t have a great reputation around Tockerbrot, so Sven told her to keep Rebecca’s presence a secret.
“Sorry for the intrusion! Oh...!”
Sven warned Charlotte and Jacob to stay away from the shop. “Make sure you tell Jacob! The shop—”
“Jacob? He just left for Tockerbrot.”
“What?!”
Jacob had been unable to go anywhere over the last few days because of Rebecca. Finding himself free, it was understandable that he would poke his head in at his friend Lud’s shop.
“What awful timing!” Before Sven could explain to Charlotte, the red girl was already out of bed.
“Umf!!!” She sprang to her feet, burst through the glass window, and made a beeline for Tockerbrot.
“W-What the heck?!” Having no idea what was going on, Charlotte was astounded.
“Sorry about that! I’ll make sure she pays for damages! Now I gotta go!!” Sven followed Rebecca through the broken window and ran toward Tockerbrot.
1725 26.04.921—
A little earlier...
“We have a customer!”
Lud and Meitzer were in the oven room talking. Their conversation was interrupted when the door to the shop opened, signaling a customer’s arrival.
“Hey!”
Just when Meitzer was getting to the crucial point in their conversation, he had to go into the storefront. Sven, Milly, Marlene and Jacob were all away at the moment. Lud couldn’t serve the customers because his face frightened them.
“... sigh...” Lud wished Meitzer could have stayed to talk a little longer. But then... “Hm?” From behind the oven room door, he looked into the shop. He peered through a peephole that gave him a narrow view.
“What is...” Jacob, the boy who hadn’t come over for a few days, was in the shop.
“Oh... you’re Jacob, right? Have you come to visit Langart?” Meitzer greeted him with a smile, but Jacob looked tense.
“S... Sorry, Mister.”
“What for?” Jacob looked pale and was sweating. Behind him stood an elderly woman. It was the same woman who had interrupted his talk with Sven the day before. She wore a gentle smile just as she had before, but it hung from her face like a mask.
What the... Looking through the peephole, Lud thought something was unnatural about that face. His instincts as a former soldier rang alarm bells.
“Oh my... Is it you again, Ma’am?” Meitzer looked at the woman in exasperation. “Didn’t I tell you not to come again?”
What is he talking about? Lud didn’t understand why Meitzer would say that. He moved closer to the door for a better look—but then something happened.
“General Douglas... You noticed, did you?” The old woman now spoke insolently with a man’s voice and an Augustan accent.
What?! Before Lud could budge, the situation became even more bizarre.
The old woman’s face split in two, revealing an iron mask. And that wasn’t all. The whirr of machinery sounded from her spindly, twig-like limbs as they extended. Lud recognized her new appearance.
“A mechanical soldier?!” As he cried out, one of the old woman’s... No, one of the mechanical soldier’s joints revealed a weapon barrel.
“Uh-oh!” Meitzer shouted and grabbed Jacob’s shoulders.
“Langarrrt!” The man shoved Jacob toward Lud, who had noticed the danger and rushed out from the oven room.
“Meitzer!!”
Then the barrel fired a shell with a poom! It was a grenade launcher that fired explosive shells.
“Gah!!”
Meitzer used his body to contain the blast. There was an immediate explosion. The blast was much less destructive than it would have been, but it still significantly damaged the room.
“Ungh!!”
Lud was only just able to grab Jacob from Meitzer and take him to shelter in the oven room.
“What the?!”
No human being could suffer such a blast and survive. Its power would blow a person to bits finer than mincemeat.
“Who are you people?!”
There were more mechanical soldiers. They were disguised as an old man, a housewife, a mail carrier... One after the other, as many as twenty people appeared who looked normal at a glance, but parts of their bodies were mechanical with projecting firearms.
“L... Lud? Who are these people?” In Lud’s arms, Jacob was trembling as he asked.
There were limits to even Jacob’s unusual maturity. Faced with these bizarre visitors, it would be irrational not to be afraid.
“What should we do?” The mechanical soldier dressed as a mail carrier asked.
“Objective complete. Retreat is permissible.” This reply came from a mechanical soldier disguised as a housewife and equipped with a gun that looked like a baby.
“Eliminating witnesses is advised.” This from a mechanical soldier wearing the reading glasses and clothes of an old man.
“Agreed. To be thorough, let us torch the place.” The mechanical soldier disguised as an old woman gave the order.
When did these soldiers infiltrate town?!
These monstrosities blended in with the ordinary townsfolk. It was like the plot of a cheap horror novel. But reality was more ruthless than fiction.
Urgh!
Lud had experience fighting a mechanical soldier. His opponent had been a Greytenite mechanical soldier called a Dreadnought, made of machinery from the neck down. And Lud had been powerless against him.
But compared to him, these are nothing.
The mechanical soldiers in front of him now were not nearly as advanced. The military technology responsible for them must have been less sophisticated in development or had prioritized secrecy over quality. Lud could handle one or two of them.
But... There were too many. He couldn’t defeat them all. Even worse... Jacob was beside him. Jacob’s safety was of the utmost importance. Should I escape out the back with him? No, they’d immediately catch us!
That left only one option. Lud could serve as a shield and allow Jacob to flee out the back. That was the only choice. However...
But... Ordinarily, he would have swiftly reached that conclusion and acted immediately. And he would have said, “Jacob, don’t worry about me, just save yourself!” But he couldn’t say it. His mouth clamped shut. He remembered what Meitzer had said just moments ago...
“But that’s cruel for someone whose greatest happiness is to lead a life with you.” He thought of Sven. If he served as Jacob’s shield, Lud was sure to die. He would never see Sven again. He would never talk to her again. Everything would end for him.
............! His body froze and he couldn’t move. He couldn’t move because of fear.
“Proceed.” The barrel of a gun hidden in the old woman’s cane turned toward Lud.
It was too late to run. They would never escape in time. Everything would... end. Just when despair clouded his vision, she appeared.
“What’re you rotten scumbags doing?!” Faster than a bullet, sharper than a blade, and burning with anger hotter than fire, Sven’s kick smashed into the side of the old woman’s face and sent her flying.
“S-Sven?!” Lud was stupefied. She had appeared with timing too good even for a convenient hallucination.
“Master! Are you all right?!” And this was no hallucination. It was the real Sven. Hearing the explosion, she had arrived in the nick of time. “I’m so glad!” The silver-haired girl turned a heartfelt smile on him, then looked around. The half-demolished shop surrounded them.
“You dirty, rotten...” Unsteadily, Sven glared at the mechanical soldiers.
Tockerbrot was Lud’s castle, his holy ground, his life. They had defiled it, destroyed it, and—to make matters worse—tried to kill Lud.
“I’ll kill you all!” Sven’s red eyes shone. They actually radiated light. The rezanium reactor in her chest had released all restraints, so she could kill her foes at full strength—efficiently, thoroughly, and mercilessly.
“Who... is this?” The mechanical soldiers were startled. But Sven was not the only one to concern them.
“Why did you involve Jacob in this?!” A pure red girl stood opposite Sven behind the mechanical soldiers.
“If you want to die, just tell me, and I will pulverize you until even your bones disappear!” Rebecca’s eyes glowed red in anger.
“Now you will die!” The two girls, who had once been known as the Silver Wolf and the Crimson Hawk, shouted at once.
“R-Run!! Ruuun!!” This command didn’t come from one of the mechanical soldiers. It was Lud, who just nearly met his death, but now warned his opponents. He was a merciful man. He couldn’t even kill his enemies. Or those who tried to kill him. Lud knew well the two girls’ combat abilities. Crude mechanical soldiers, even twenty of them, would be powerless against Sven and Rebecca.
“What?!” In the confusion, however, the mechanical soldiers did not hear his warning. To be precise, Sven and Rebecca were already attacking before they could hear it.
“Ugah?!”
“W-What?!”
“Sh-she is too fast!! Like an arrow!”
“Retreat! No... it is too late! Gyaah!!”
“Reinforcements! Call for—”
It wasn’t really a battle. It was a one-sided demolition, an onslaught. It was unilateral slaughter, by two girls in a rage, one white and one red.
“Whoa... Wow...” The fight was so decisive that Jacob, whose life had just been in danger, muttered without concern.
The two girls ripped the mechanical soldiers into scrap, tossed them aside, then ripped some more.
“Ungh!” But they had given in to their anger so completely—
“You...”
—they missed someone who was still alive. They had failed to completely immobilize that opponent.
“Damn youuu...!!” The mechanical soldier disguised as an old woman, whom Sven first kicked aside, rose to her feet. An arm and leg were broken and half her face was crushed, but the soldier could still move. And she could still fire her remaining explosive shell. She pointed the barrel at Lud and Jacob.
“Master!!” Sven immediately placed herself between the weapon and Lud. But she wasn’t using herself as a shield. “Hyah!!!” She did it to deflect the shell with a kick.
Grenade launchers fire explosive shells, but its shells aren’t like the bullets of handguns. They fire something like a small missile. The shells travel slowly enough to follow with the eye. A humanoid Hunter Unit could intercept the shell before it exploded.
“Master! Get down!!”
But that would only prevent a direct hit. It wouldn’t prevent the explosion or stop the blast.
Sven covered Lud. She could withstand a blast of this intensity. At least according to her calculations. However... unforeseen circumstances can always overturn calculations.
“Gaaah!”
Sven’s calculations had been accurate. A blast like this really wouldn’t kill her. She successfully protected Lud and secured her own survival. Indeed, she had calculated correctly. But she had overlooked one important factor.
“Agh...”
The first one to notice was Jacob. “Sven... You...”
And then Lud noticed, too. “Huh...?”
Seeing their reactions, Sven understood. Her exterior had indeed withstood the blast. However, it had not been able to shield itself from the debris and rubble propelled by the explosion. A piece of debris had stabbed Sven through the back and was projecting from her chest.
“Um... Master?”
This damage would not destroy a humanoid Hunter Unit. It wouldn’t even render it inoperative. But it would certainly kill a human being. A human would spit blood, collapse and die. It would be astonishing if that didn’t happen. She should be dead, but...
“Sven... Oh...” Lud shook his head sadly. Visible through her pierced chest was, unmistakably, a mechanical body. And the sight would allow no evasion. Lud couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen or act as if she were just a little unusual.
Sven, the popular waitress of Tockerbrot, wasn’t human. She was an automaton. Sven knew that today, right now, Lud clearly saw what she was. And Lud knew that Sven knew.
“Svelgen!!! Get up!” Rebecca shouted at her.
They had not yet silenced the enemy. The mechanical soldiers that were still functional moved to attack Lud and Sven.
“Aaagh!” But Sven didn’t move. She was immobilized by the shock of Lud discovering what she hadn’t wanted to reveal.
They heard the sudden roar of a dragon.
“—?!” Rebecca looked up.
In the sky above them, spreading its massive wings, was a dragon. No... it was a Wyvern, a large Wiltian transport aircraft, and it was coming in at low altitude.
“What is that doing here?!”
The aircraft that Rebecca used for her regular flights to Organbaelz didn’t suddenly appear in daylight like this.
The explanation was soon apparent. A hatch opened in the aft section of the Wyvern and soldiers jumped out, one after another. It was a surprise attack by an airborne division. By penetrating deep into enemy territory and descending by parachute, they could directly engage a specific location.
“It is the Wiltian airborne! Who called them?”
Wiltia was one of the strongest military nations, but it closely guarded its aviation power. It guarded its paratroopers, who operated in conjunction with aircraft, even more closely. The soldiers and their equipment were far more valuable than regular troops and equipment. The only one who could call in such a strike would be...
“Yes, there is such a person.” Rebecca recognized the first soldier to land and now understood.
A hero of the Great European War was called the Black Spear. That woman had piloted a black Hunter Unit, and had accomplished exceptional military feats. People had compared her to a devilish knight wielding a long spear because she usually carried an anti-aircraft gun as a long-range rifle. And her name was...
“What a bunch of scum-buckets!!” It was Sophia von Rundstadt. Before she could hit the ground, she fired her Gerlich anti-tank rifle.
“Captain?!” So many unexpected events were occurring but this one appearance surprised Lud more than the others, so he raised his voice in surprise.
Bullets were picking off mechanical soldiers. Each bullet could pierce tank armor on impact. Half machine also meant half human. Even the mechanical soldiers could not withstand the barrage, and one shot through the mechanical soldier in the appearance of an elderly woman.
“You’re not getting away!!” Sophia had landed. She turned her gun on the mechanical soldiers attempting to flee. “Nuh-uh! I won’t let you get away!”
But before she could shoot, a girl who had touched down at the same time nailed the mechanical soldiers with astonishing leg strength and muscular power.
“Im... possible!” The mechanical soldier dressed as a mail carrier was panicking. He had strength surpassing a human being’s, but he couldn’t stop this innocent-looking little girl.
“Hilde! I got one! I even gagged him so he cannot commit suicide!”
“Uh, yeah... I see that! Ugh... my legs are shaky!” The girl spoke casually and, like a hunting dog seeking praise for catching her prey, she waved at her master Hilde, who had just landed with the assistance of another soldier.
“That girl...” Rebecca recognized the voice and made a suspicious face. The girl was Lillie, the third humanoid Hunter Unit.
“Captain... and Hilde, too? Why are you here?!”
Sophia and Hilde each had a past with Lud. The two would come to help whenever something happened to him. But it wasn’t possible that they had learned of this current situation and rushed here from Berun.
“Um... we came to pick up someone.”
“But, um... why did you bring a penguin?”
“There’s a reason for that!” Sophia looked as if explaining why a penguin was strapped to her back would be difficult.
“We came for General Douglas Meitzer of the Noa military.”
“Douglas... Meitzer?!” Lud raised his voice in surprise for the nth time that day.
“It will take forever to explain.”
After subduing the assassins at the goodwill ceremony, the penguin General Douglas told Sophia that there was another General Douglas. The circumstances had suddenly changed. After putting the screws on staff from the Noa embassy, it became clear that there was a human General Douglas in addition to the penguin.
“Why is everything always so complicated?!”
“Noa sent him in another vessel as a joke on Wiltia.” Lud looked astounded, and Sophia sounded the same as she explained. “But then a problem arose.” His aircraft malfunctioned on its way to Berun. “It was probably due to sabotage of some sort.”
There was no doubt that August was responsible for the assassin disguised as Ambassador Abignon, the fallen mechanical soldiers, and the airplane malfunction.
“General Douglas forced the two crew members on board to abandon ship. Then he made a crash landing in Lake Merevin nearby. We confirmed that much before he disappeared. That was three nights ago.”
“Oh...” Meitzer had appeared in Organbaelz the next day. But that raised questions. “Why didn’t General Douglas immediately summon help?”
“I don’t know. Apparently, he’s known as a total nut in the Noa military. The staff from the embassy of Noa didn’t know what to do, so they tried to pass off the penguin Douglas as the real Douglas to buy time.”
It was such a reckless plan that they must have been completely discombobulated to even consider it.
“So, we readied a transport aircraft to fly here, leading an airborne division to the rescue. That was five hours ago.”
“Talk about a forced march! But, um... I’m surprised you were able to pinpoint his location!”
“Hmf! Well, about that...” Sophia looked away as if answering Lud’s question was difficult.
Meanwhile, Rebecca stared at Lillie with suspicion. “Have I met you somewhere before?”
“Um... I do not know! Maybe I resemble someone else?! I have common features, do I not?” Lillie replied awkwardly and didn’t look directly at Rebecca.
Sophia continued to explain to Lud. “That girl... She requested to come along. Then, during the flight, she suddenly indicated this location.”
“Oh...”
“Then, just as we were observing the area, an explosion occurred. So we made a U-turn and deployed the paratroopers.”
“You’re quite the reckless captain.”
Sophia behaved sensibly around Daian. However, Lud had witnessed her recklessness in wartime, and it had caused him a lot of trouble.
“That’s okay. Everything worked out in the end.”
“Yes, that’s right. Uh-huh... This feels sort of familiar.” During his military days, Lud had learned that it was pointless to object, so he just gave up.
“Anyway, where’s General Douglas? Where’s General Douglas Meitzer?”
“Um... about that...” Sophia was searching for General Douglas—Meitzer, the man at the heart of this—but Lud didn’t know what to say.
He was surprised to learn Meitzer’s true identity, since he seemed like just an unusual eccentric. And just minutes earlier he shielded Lud and the others from an explosive shell and was blown to bits.
“Captain Sophia, um...” Lud looked uncomfortable and began to tell her about the man’s fate, but then...
“Yoo-hoo! I’m right here!” Meitzer suddenly popped out from the rubble.
“Huuuh?!” Lud was speechless with surprise.
“Are you General Douglas? Um, why’re you naked?” Sophia asked in amazement.
There wasn’t a single scratch on Meitzer’s body. But that didn’t mean he had escaped the explosion. Burnt bits of cloth still clung to him where the explosion had incinerated his clothes.
“Um...”
“Now, now... calm down, Langart. Um, sorry. Could someone bring me something to wear?” Still stark naked, Meitzer calmed Lud while he borrowed some clothes from a Wiltian soldier.
“The Wiltian military... Or rather, the government will officially explain this incident.”
“Oh dear.”
He was a state guest, so they had to show at least minimal courtesy, but Meitzer had caused unnecessary trouble, so Sophia’s eyes were cold. “‘Oh dear’?! Don’t gimme that! This is a big problem that the Wiltian government can’t overlook! How are you gonna compensate for all this?!”
“Noa will accept the Liebenber agreement regarding Perry and promise to cooperate in every way.”
“Hm?!”
Perry was an island between Wiltia and Sparia, which was across the sea. Two hundred years ago, the Luftzand Domain, which was Wiltia’s precursor, had purchased the island from a Sparian noble named Liebenber, thereby annexing the territory. In recent years, however, Sparia had claimed that Wiltia’s right to the island was invalid, resulting in a sticky territorial dispute.
The focus of the dispute was the actual agreement with the noble Liebenber that had transferred ownership of the island. That document was in Wiltia’s possession, but opinion was divided over whether it was recognizable according to international law. If Noa backed it, the territorial dispute would turn in Wiltia’s favor.
“Urrrgh...”
“I can at least do that much to make amends. And now...” Meitzer approached Sven, who was sitting alone and trembling in a corner of the shop.
“What in the world are you?” Hearing Meitzer’s true identity and having Lud learn her true identity... It was all incomprehensible and depressing.
“For now, let’s cover that wound.” She had already removed the debris that pierced her body, but the open wound revealing her mechanical parts remained. “I wanted to help you... I’m sorry.” Meitzer offered a sincere apology and lightly patted her back.
He patted the wound extending all the way to Sven’s chest.
“—?!” Feeling a strange sensation, Sven looked up.
“My wound...”
“I can only heal what’s visible. Sorry.” Meitzer’s eyes were tender, like those of a father consoling his daughter, much as they had the first day he appeared.
“What are you? What do you want with me?” Sven repeated the questions she had asked him many times.
“General, soldiers have come for you. Hurry, please.”
Military reinforcements had arrived from a nearby base.
“Oh... is that all the time we get? Too bad. It was fun.” Meitzer sighed and turned his back to Sven. But first he answered her final questions. “Who am I? I am the Devil.”
“Huh?” He had answered her first question: “What are you?”
“And I came here to ask you a question, Sven.”
Then he answered her second question: “What do you want with me?”
“Sven, do you want to be human?”