by SOW
“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.
