by SOW
That’s strange... I’m worried about Sven, and yet all I can think about is that AI...
A wry smile appeared on his face. He glanced at the clock. It was night. Lud didn’t chase after Sven earlier because he couldn’t leave the bakery, but now he had to search for her.
“Hm?”
There was someone standing at the door.
“Mr. Lud Langart?”
It wasn’t Sven. A middle-aged postman in a navy blue uniform opened the door slightly and called into the bakery.
“You have a letter.”
The postman passed a brown envelope to Lud and left the shop with a bow.
Who could this be from?
No one knew where he was. There were two pieces of paper inside the envelope.
“?!”
When he read the first page, he thought it was a joke. He looked at the second page.
“... Haha, hahahahaha!” Lud started to laugh. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way this could be true.
“Hahaha... ha... ha... sniff, sniff...”
He was so happy, he was on the verge of tears. Lud put the letter in his chest pocket and dashed out of the store. He had to tell Sven immediately. She would be delighted. He knew she would be even more ecstatic than he was. He wanted to share his happiness with her.
Share? No! Together, their happiness would be doubled!
Although the Thanksgiving Festival was still a ways off, they might dance hand and hand in the streets.
Lud ran. He had to find the red-eyed, silver-haired waitress of Tockerbrot.
Tockerbrot was on the main road in town, and three streets over was the repair shop that Jacob’s grandfather ran. There was a large shack of sheet metal with a house attached, and in the storage lot next to it was a mountain-high heap of rusted steel drums and scrap.
“Anyway for now, just sit somewhere over there and I’ll bring over some coffee... wait, stop! There’s oil spilling out, it’ll get your clothes dirty!”
Inside the workshop, which was permeated with the smell of iron and oil, sat Sven and Jacob. Ten minutes earlier, on his way home from the bakery, Jacob ran into Sven. He had planned to chew her out for running off like that, but when he saw her pale face and her dress covered in mud and leaves, he called out to her anxiously.
“What’s wrong, Sven? Did something happen?”
As Sven turned to look back at Jacob, her movements were slow and lifeless.
“Jacob...”
After she woke up, Sven had tried to stagger back to the bakery. But as she got close to the shop, her legs stopped moving.
“Lud’s not mad at you for skipping out on work. Don’t worry, if anything he’s worried about you. Go back so he can relax, okay?”
Sven knew that was true.
“Sven... Did something happen?”
That’s not it.
“I’m scared... to see Master...”
Marlene’s words had caused her to malfunction. No, they had opened her eyes. She existed to make Lud happy and to help Lud realize his dreams. She was Lud’s servant, nothing more than a tool. That was the meaning to her life, her reason for existence. In spite of this, she wanted to make Lud her own. Sven didn’t know what she might do if she saw Lud now. She was terrified of herself, and scared to see Lud.
“Scared... You mean scared of his face?” Jacob didn’t understand.
“That’s not it!” Sven unconsciously raised her voice.
“It’s true that to someone else, Master’s face might be frightening, but for me, a face that charming... no, never mind.” Sven realized that she was about to blurt out something strange again. She didn’t understand anything anymore. She felt dizzy.
“Hey, come over to my house if you like. It’s close by.”
Still not ready to see Lud, Sven nodded her head.
Now, Jacob made them both coffee.
“Here. Unlike what you and Lud serve, this is the instant stuff, but think of it as medicine to warm up your body.”
The coffee Jacob handed Sven in a chipped mug was very bitter, and although there was no medicine in the coffee, it gradually began to soak into Sven and calm her down.
It appeared that this workshop had been used to service a piece of heavy machinery a few days ago.
“You know, I didn’t trust you at first,” Jacob began, sitting down next to Sven and taking a sip of coffee.
“I thought that maybe you were trying to trick or cheat Lud.”
“Trick?” Sven asked, not understanding.
“Isn’t it normal to think that? I was the one who suggested hiring a waitress, but who knows what might happen in that bakery on the brink of collapse, with such a frightening looking owner? It wasn’t certain that you’d even be paid.”
Jacob laughed cheerfully, and there wasn’t any contempt for Lud on his face. He sounded like he was the delinquent older brother-figure talking about his partner in crime.
“Not only that, a beautiful girl like you shows up and even says that you’ll take the job no matter how much it pays. Honestly... it would be impossible not to think that you were plotting something.”
Sven had noticed that when Jacob thought she couldn’t hear, he would pester Lud, asking, “Is there anything strange about that girl?”
“If that was the case, I’d never allow it to happen.”
Some people might be confused about why they would need a young boy’s permission to do anything, but Jacob was completely serious.
“But instead, you have been working yourself to the bone for that good-natured sucker. It looks like you’re just a kind person... so, thank you.” Jacob bowed his head.
“What are you saying? I’m just doing my job, that’s all...”
It was strange. Sven was happy when Lud thanked her, but when this boy bowed his head to her, a complex feeling rose inside her. It was like she was fidgety and her whole body felt itchy.
This boy was Lud’s friend and shouldn’t have been anything more than a Class 2 Safeguard Target—a companion to Lud, the Highest-Priority Safeguard Target—whose existence and well-being had to be taken into account in order to prevent any negative impact on Lud. On the battlefield, he would just be a civilian; one Sven would be coded to keep out of harm’s way as much as possible. And yet, Sven’s chest felt like it was burning.
“... Jacob, how did you become friends with Master?”
They were friends despite their difference in age and Lud’s intimidating manner. It couldn’t be just because they were both Wiltian.
“Hmm... We first met when he brought his hunk-of-junk truck to the workshop, I think. I thought he was crazy to drive a thing like that.”
A foreign, scary-looking former soldier turned baker. Jacob’s first impression of Lud wasn’t good.
“I didn’t like him. You know, I didn’t like Wiltians, or soldiers.”
“Why... After all, aren’t you...”
Jacob had blonde hair with blue eyes—a distinct trait of the people of Wiltia. He might have been born in Organbaelz, but he looked Wiltian. Because the two countries had shared a border, there were many Wiltian-Pelfish people.
“Actually, I’ve never seen my father but I do know he was Wiltian. So it’s true that I’m a genuine Wiltian.”
“Was he killed in the war?” Sven asked. Sven feared that she was forcing him to talk about something painful, but the reality was even more depressing.
“No, but I don’t really know anything about him. My mom was a prostitute.”
Jacob said this so lightly that Sven thought that there might be a different meaning to the word, but she had understood him correctly.
Many Pelfish people crossed the border and went to work in Wiltia to escape Pelfe’s long economic recession. Jacob’s mother was one of those people. But Jacob’s mother was a young girl struggling to survive, and began working at a brothel operated by the military as a licensed prostitute.
Then, she became pregnant with Jacob. The town’s people spread rumors when
the girl returned with a large belly after having told everyone she was going to Berun to become a café waitress. Gossip continued after Jacob was born and he was teased by the other children.
“That’s why I didn’t like Lud. When I heard he was from the Wiltia military, I thought for sure that he was a cold-blooded, heartless man.”
“Then, why? If that’s the case then...”
Jacob continued his story.
One day, about a month after he met Lud, Jacob was bothered by classmates at school and it grew into a huge Jacob-versus-all fight. Jacob soon fell to the ground and was kicked and stepped on, unable to put up a fight. Then, Lud appeared.
“Oh man, when Lud showed up, everything changed right away! Suddenly this expressionless giant was standing there glaring at us. The other kids were scared and ran off.”
“Oh. That was probably...” Something came into Sven’s mind.
For the most part, Wiltians are stout and sturdy, but Lud was particularly well-built. In addition, his long years of military service had given him a sullen look, and when he was nervous his face would stiffen up.
“I think he was trying to break up the fight...”
“I wondered what he had in mind making such a grisly face, but that’s just his face, right? But I seriously thought he was going to kill me.”
The only reason that Jacob didn’t run away with the rest of the children was because he couldn’t stand, so Lud took him back to his shop to treat his wounds. Even then, Jacob still didn’t trust Lud. He was a Wiltian soldier, just like the guy who skipped town after knocking up his mother. He hated even being touched by Lud, but he was terrified that Lud might hit him, so he let Lud bandage him up. While he did, Jacob scanned the inside of the shop and noticed all the bread on display. It looked so delicious that Jacob wondered if it had really been baked by the man in front of him.
“Want some?” Lud handed him a piece of bread.
Jacob was on the verge of stretching out his hand for the bread when his pride awoke.
Do you think I’d ever accept charity from the likes of a Wiltian soldier?!
Jacob took out his few precious copper coins and thrust them at Lud.
“I haven’t sunk low enough to accept charity! I’ll pay for it!”
He gathered up all the guts and pride he had in these words. Jacob didn’t care if he was going to get hit. It was the final line he had to prevent anyone from crossing.
“What do you think Lud did when I said that?” Jacob asked Sven.
“I don’t know...”
“It was pretty unexpected you know.” Jacob bent over giggling to himself.
“The guy started to cry. And he grabbed my hand and said, ‘Thank you. Thank you. You’re my first customer!’”
Sven was amazed. That meant that Lud had not drawn in a single customer since the bakery opened the month before. It also meant that Lud had cried in joy at his first customer, even though it was a young boy who was there against his will.
“Oh my...” Sven placed her hand on her forehead, at a loss for words.
“Well I ate some. Some of the bread, I mean. And, man... the guy’s bread is incredible. When I told him it was delicious, he started crying and thanking me all over again!”
The next day Jacob returned and peeked into the kiln area of Tockerbrot. There he saw Lud covered in sweat, baking bread hour after hour for customers that might never come.
“You know, my mother won’t tell me what type of person my father was. That might be why I thought all Wiltian soldiers were cold-blooded brutes, but I learned that there are guys like Lud, too. I thought maybe my dad might actually be a person like him. It’s probably not true but...”
Jacob put the palm of his hand over his chest.
“Lud—he can be an idiot, but he’s straight-forward and works as hard as he can.”
The smiling young boy sounded proud and determined.
“I now know for certain that half the blood that runs through these veins also runs through someone like him.”
Jacob’s face had an air of nobility and grandeur. The strength to overcome the wounds he suffered from his unfortunate birth and the pain of his early childhood had become his personality.
“Well in short, before he’s a Wiltian, or a former soldier, or whatever, that guy’s just a really kind idiot, right? That’s why I became his friend. After all, I’m a nice guy, you know?”
Jacob awkwardly scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Lud’s foolishly good-natured and kind. That’s why I’m sure he’s worried about you. So go back and see him, okay?”
“... Okay.”
The mug in Sven’s hands had grown cold but something warm started to grow inside her chest. She realized that Lud had an outstanding friend who saw his good side clearly.
“Hey Jacob, is someone here?”
Standing in the doorway was the owner, Jacob’s grandfather. The black in his hair was overwhelmed by the white, and he wore a cross scowl. It was difficult to believe that any of this man’s blood was inside Jacob, who always had a smile on his face.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sven and I am the waitress at Tockerbrot.” Sven politely introduced herself, but as soon as Jacob’s grandfather heard the name of the bakery, his face grew even more distorted.
“Jacob, have you been going to that store again?”
“Grandpa, you don’t have to say it like that! What has Lud ever done to you?”
“Quiet!” He turned to Sven. “You can get out of here! This is my workshop!”
Jacob’s grandfather hated Lud. Considering his grandson’s origins, it wasn’t hard to believe.
“I apologize, please excuse me...”
Sven obediently got up to leave. As she did, a small machine part caught her eye. Sven recognized it. It was a part from a cylinder joint, made of cheap aluminum, and a piece this shoddy could only mean one thing.
“Excuse me, sir... what is this?” Sven asked, picking up the part and showing it to Jacob’s grandfather.
“That?! Don’t go touching stuff you shouldn’t—”
“Answer the question!” Sven cut him off with a cold voice filled with anger.
Both the old man and Jacob cowered.
“This is... This is the part from a T-3 II’s transmission. Why is something like this here? Explain yourself!” Sven demanded.
It was a part for a weapon used by the August Federation that Sven had fought against many times called the “Beast of the North.” She knew it well. She had smashed and scattered these weapons and had seen what they looked like inside.
“T-3 II... Sven, what’s that?”
“They comprised the main part of the August Federation’s tank forces. Why would a town in Wiltia-owned Pelfe have something like this?”
“I-I don’t know! Don’t make false accusations!”
Sweat appeared on the old man’s forehead. He wasn’t really a bad man. He was just a civilian who didn’t know anything. Even if he tried to hide the truth, he wouldn’t be able to deceive Sven.
“I don’t know... All I was told was they needed maintenance for some heavy machinery.”
Sven looked directly at the old man, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. Sven’s voice again grew violent.
“Stop your useless excuses! Even if it was brought here with all of its main armaments stripped off, there’s no way you could mistake that for simple construction machinery!”
Even a child being questioned about some mischief could come up with a better excuse.
“Grandpa, why are you servicing tanks? It can’t be...”
Jacob’s voice shook as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying.
When there is a dispute between two major powers, both countries exhaust their own resources, and a third country swoops in to reap the benefits. They give weapons to those inside who are dissatisfied with current rule and teach them to fight. These dissidents believe they have justice on their side and are manipulated i
nto becoming terrorists.
Jacob’s grandfather was contracted to service a weapon supplied to terrorists in Pelfe from the August Federation. This small machine part was an irrefutable piece of evidence. Claiming that he had no idea what he was working on would not help.
“You’ve done something quite foolish, haven’t you? Aiding the enemy is a serious crime. The worst case would be the death penalty. Civilians should stay quiet and keep out of things that they don’t understand.”
“They raped my daughter! Is what I’m doing any different?” the old man whined, sinking to his knees. But Sven was unmoved.
“That is something you’ll have to settle with those who come to take you.”
A person’s feelings don’t matter to the colossal beast that was the nation-state. But few people understood this. A war can start with the firing of a single bullet. And yet, to end a war, sometimes many thousands of soldiers firing millions of bullets aren’t enough.
“Sven... Is Grandpa going to be arrested? Me and mom, too?” Jacob was near tears.
“I won’t allow that to happen, Jacob.” Sven replied.
If anything happened to Jacob, Lud would be devastated. If the terrorists acted, it would also put Tockerbrot in jeopardy. That was something Sven had to prevent at all costs.
“Jacob, please call one of the military installations, give them this identification code, and act like you’ve been tricked. Play the victim any way you can.”
Sven quickly jotted down a ten-digit number and passed the paper to Jacob. It was the identification code Lud used when he was in the military. Sven predicted that the military would believe the message came from Lud and respond leniently. There was no glory in taking the head of an old man who had been used. And that wasn’t the only problem.
“Alright then, Mister...”
Jacob’s grandfather was aware of his own folly, and looked as if he had aged ten years as Sven interrogated him.
“Who introduced you to the people who brought the tank here?” Sven pressed the old man for answers without her bright red eyes blinking once.
