by SOW
“An inspection tour is important. He will see many things that he would miss without experiencing the atmosphere at each location.”
The corporal couldn’t help speaking up.
“When did I grant permission for chitchat, Corporal?”
“My apologies!”
Hildegard gave her subordinate a lesson with another kick.
“Who is that old man, anyway?”
“Oh... He’s the chairman of Billions Trading.”
Vanessa’s face showed surprise that Hildegard didn’t know this.
“I already know that! I’m asking you to give me details!”
Hildegard had not known this, but her discomfort when others recognized her ignorance and immaturity showed through the cracks.
“Joseph Shylock was originally a rich man, but during the Great War, he earned huge profits delivering military goods. People say his total assets are enough to buy a small country.”
The corporal had spoken again, for the third time.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I spoke without your permission again!”
He shut his mouth in a hurry. Afraid of a third punishment, he begged for forgiveness by deeply bowing his head.
“And?”
“Huh?”
“Tell me more! I grant permission, so out with it!”
“As you wish. Thank you!”
Despite the scolding, he seemed happy to continue.
“Mr. Shylock used his enormous fortune to expand into a new business—the industrial consignation of weapons for the military of the Principality of Wiltia.”
It was almost impossible to produce all the weapons the military needed at the military factories. Further, the operation and maintenance of a manufacturing base would be highly inefficient. So the military contracted with the heavy manufacturing industry and entrusted it to produce the weapons developed by the military.
Weapon designs and new technologies were the most sensitive of all national secrets. For that reason, the only companies to receive these commissions were those that had a long-standing relationship with the government, making the entry of newcomers nearly impossible.
However, something unusual happened during the Great War. The Hunter Units.
“Enemy nations, as well as high-ranking members of our own military, questioned the practicality of Hunter Units. As, of course, did most existing business enterprises. Thus, they all fell behind in preparing their production lines.”
No one had heard of these Iron Giants that could stride through war zones unopposed. This new weapon, using technology that had never existed before, could not be built by the current manufacturing base. And Shylock had bet money on that. He spent most of his fortune to establish a large-scale Hunter Unit manufacturing facility. Moreover, he gathered highly skilled workers from parts factories and prepared the perfect production line.
In war, implementation of new weaponry is so important that it can determine victory or defeat.
Although Shylock was new to the business, the military had no choice but to hire him.
“It is said that the Hunter Units produced by Mr. Shylock’s Billions Trading accounted for more than 60 percent of all Hunter Units in the Great War.”
“Wait a second.”
Hildegard interrupted the corporal.
“Did you say 60 percent? Does that mean that Teepneuen, which we use, was made there?”
A look of awful disgust showed on Hildegard’s still somewhat childish features. Her expression looked as if the food she was eating had been processed from worms.
“No. The Hunter Units used by the Schutzstaffel are produced at the military factories.”
“I see. Good. I would hate to use weapons made by the Degas Clan.”
With a relieved smile, Hildegard adjusted her position on the sofa.
“...............”
The corporal remained silent for a moment. He appeared uncomfortable at Hildegard’s bias against Shylock because the blood in his veins came from a different ethnic group.
“What? Is there some problem?”
“No, not at all!”
If he voiced his thoughts, she would deliver another brutal kick. The corporal kept his silence and stared at the floor.
“So the point is that he’s a merchant of death who raked in money during the Great War? What a filthy parasite! But... he’s got money. If we could get him on our side, the lord lieutenant general would gain the power to silence the regular army.”
At this point, the regular army and the Schutzstaffel were at a stalemate, but both had areas of dominance; the regular army due to its vast numbers, the Schutzstaffel because it controlled the royal capital. If the Schutzstaffel claimed Shylock, who had enormous financial power, that balance would crumble.
“To do so, we must court him carefully.”
The Schutzstaffel had attempted several negotiations but had never managed to reach an agreement with Shylock. He had influence with aristocrats and the royal family. The authority of the Schutzstaffel didn’t get anywhere with him. Therefore, they had switched to a means of persuasion better suited to him.
They decided to discover Shylock’s weakness, seize it, and force him to nod his head. To that end, the Schutzstaffel had looked into every aspect of his affairs. However, so far they had found nothing they could use on him. He had no close friends, girlfriend or lover, or even a family. Or so it seemed. But the brilliant Intelligence Bureau of the Schutzstaffel discovered one fact of which even Shylock was unaware.
“Organbaelz? We must take custody of his grandson, who lives there.”
Wearing a cruel smile, Hildegard read the documents from the Intelligence Bureau. Attached to the documents was a photograph, taken secretly and from a distance, of a boy with goggles around his neck.
The day after Sven’s trial sales run, Lud received her report inside Tockerbrot.
“That’s all, and I think the results of the recon-in-force op were quite good.”
“I see... I never thought about retail consignment.”
Sven had discussed doing business with the owner of the general store. The man had said that he wouldn’t charge Tockerbrot for using space in his store. If they could deliver goods three times a week, his store would benefit. According to the store owner, since Saupunkt’s economy was improving, the townsfolk preferred higher quality foods even if they cost a little more.
“The economy is improving?” Lud asked.
Lud knew little of the world since his life was consumed by baking bread from morning to afternoon in the small town of Organbaelz.
“I hear that big businesses from Wiltia are coming to Pelfe, so there will be factories and shops in Saupunkt, too. It seems employment in the town has rapidly expanded.”
“I see... That must be why Charlotte is thinking of moving there.”
“The population of the town will likely increase soon. Local businesses are searching for new trials. So I was thinking about rounding up a few more shops for retail consignment.”
“Hold on a second! I understand the economy is doing well, but even with more retailers, I can’t bake any more bread than I am now.”
Lud immediately slapped down Sven’s proposal, which would steer them toward even more aggressive sales management.
“Why don’t we get more ovens?”
“We don’t have that kind of budget.”
The shop was already deep in debt when they took the additional loan from the bank to expand the building. Sales were good, but the balance of payments was still in the red.
“Don’t worry! I already have an excellent plan!”
Tockerbrot’s recovery from the brink of bankruptcy wasn’t just due to Sven’s looks and charm. It was because of her wise sales recommendations. There was no way this same girl would miss such an obvious flaw in her sales strategy.
“We should get involved in stock management.”
“Stock management?”
Lud’s parents had been merchants, so he was
born into a business-oriented family. But he had lost his parents before he had a chance to learn the business. He lived the rest of his life amid the smell of gun smoke on the battlefield. He had heard of stock management, but knew little about how it worked.
“We’ll ask the consignees for investment, which we can put toward a production increase.”
“Um, does that mean we’ll be borrowing money from individuals instead of the bank?”
“No. It’s not a loan, but an investment. So it would be more accurate to call it joint management through an exclusive contract, rather than retail consignment.”
Sven’s plan was to grant exclusive sales rights, and in return for delivery of product, they would receive investment from each retailer, and split the profits as dividends.
“Do you mean it’s a loan that we don’t have to pay back? What kind of numbers trickery is this?!”
Lud didn’t exactly understand it, but Sven’s plan was the best way to further develop his business without increasing its debt.
“But there’s one condition...”
Sven’s face clouded a little.
“What? Don’t ask me to bribe them!”
“No. They want me to—”
“No!”
Lud shouted before Sven could finish her sentence.
“I want lots of people to taste my bread! For that, I will quietly suffer any pain! But I will not put you through something horrible for it!”
Lud was usually a very reticent person. In fact, since he wasn’t good at speaking, he couldn’t say very much.
“Um, Master...?”
This time, however, his tone was so firm that it surprised Sven and made her wonder if he was the same Lud Langart she had known.
“We don’t need retail consignment so badly that you have to do such a thing!”
“Um, what are you talking about?”
Sven asked him in confusion.
“I mean, instead of giving them money, they want you to...”
There were way too many vile people in the world. Many of them would take advantage of another’s weakness and ask for money. In the absence of money, some might ask to use another’s body. And Sven was so beautiful that people couldn’t help but turn to look at her. Some were sure to entertain lascivious thoughts.
“That’s not what I meant! He asked me to draw people into the store! When I was standing in front of his business, he had many more customers!”
“Huh?”
The world wasn’t completely full of lowlifes just yet.
“Oh... really?”
Lud blushed from embarrassment after realizing he had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
“Yes. But I can’t afford to miss work here three days a week, so I didn’t know what to say. Um... Master?”
“Uhhh... No... Um... Ah ha ha ha!”
Lud could only cover himself by laughing at Sven, who was confused.
As she watched Lud, Sven smiled.
“Master... by any chance... um... did you think that I would be someone’s plaything? But... how could you?!”
Despite her words, she seemed rather pleased. This beloved man, to whom she devoted everything, hated the thought of someone else touching her. Sven felt the rezanium reactor inside her chest—her heart and brain—firing faster than usual.
“D-Don’t worry, Master. My body and soul belong only to you. I have no intention of letting any other man touch me!”
“S-Sven...”
Her eyes wet, Sven drew close to Lud.
“In fact... if you wish... I will offer you my body.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and she clasped her hands over her chest in a pose that suggested the promise to give him everything.
If only Lud had stretched out his arms...
“Hide me, Lud!!”
At that moment, Jacob appeared, throwing open the door.
“Why now?!!” Sven cried out.
As she tried to grab Jacob, her eyes looked about to overflow with tears, if she had the ability to cry.
“Jacob! Why couldn’t you have waited another 30... or at least 25 minutes?!”
“Why such a specific number?”
Sven didn’t know what might have happened in exactly that amount of time, but she sorely regretted the missed opportunity.
“What’s wrong, Jacob?”
Lud was panicked by Sven’s unexpected offer, and was delighted to be saved by Jacob’s perfectly timed arrival.
“Just let me hide somewhere! Anywhere!”
“Um... how about in the oven? No, go to the back office!”
“Danke!”
Shortly after Jacob ran in back, the shop door opened.
“Hey! Did a snot-nosed—No, a spoiled rug rat— I mean, did a boy come in here?”
Two men dressed like gangsters—in black suits, black ties and black hats—came in.
“Gyah! You!”
They jumped at the sight of Sven, as if she were a monster.
“Excuse me. Are you traveling entertainers or something?”
“No, you idiot!”
Their reaction looked as exaggerated as if they were actors in a comedy. Lud almost offered them some change.
“Hey, you’re the thugs from yesterday.”
“Oh, it was these two?”
Sven recognized the hooligans she had beaten up yesterday, and Lud finally understood why Jacob was running away.
“I’m surprised they chased him this far.”
“They’re persistent.”
Sven and Lud whispered to each other so the men wouldn’t hear.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Give me the boy!! Or should we trash your shop?”
One of the thugs made as if to kick a shelf holding loaves of bread.
“If you do, I’ll peel off your skin and pickle you, you pigs!!”
“Hunh?!”
The man’s leg halted in midair upon hearing Sven roar. Apparently, their fight yesterday had made more of an impression on these two than she thought.
“There’s no choice, Master. I’ll have to take care of them.”
“No, you mustn’t.”
Lud restrained Sven, who was about to drive the two thugs out of the shop.
“I’ll handle them. You stay inside the shop.”
“But...”
“You tangled with them because you went to Saupunkt for this shop. That means the responsibility for this clash lies with me as the owner of the bakery.”
Lud let Sven and Jacob show initiative, but he had pride as the shop owner, and although Sven was stronger than he was, he believed that a real man should protect women and children.
“Let’s go out front and talk.”
Leaving Sven inside the shop, Lud went outside with the two men.
“What should we do, Bro? He looks strong.”
“You, moron! Did you forget what happened yesterday?”
The men turned their backs on Lud to confer.
“That skinny girl was demonically strong! So maybe a law is at work here where a guy who looks demonically strong, is really weak!”
“Bro! You’re so smart!”
“You bet I am!”
“..................”
They were whispering, but Lud could hear everything.
“Excuse me?”
“What? We’re still talking!”
“Well, um... I know my staff caused you some trouble yesterday, but Jacob isn’t the kind of boy to steal. There must be some kind of mistake. So would you please leave now?”
Lud tried to convince them in his earnest manner. He believed they would understand if he looked straight into their eyes and spoke sincerely.
“Y-You... What’s with that scary look?!”
“Are you an assassin?!”
However, it just alarmed them.
“Anyway, give us that snot-nosed—I mean, that boy!”
“I cannot do that.”
Lud replied firmly to their repeated re
quests to hand Jacob over to them.
“S-So you wanna fight?!”
Lud’s face was so focused that it made him look even more intimidating. Despite their words, the thugs were truly scared.
“Argh! Well then, let’s fight!”
As if deciding the conversation was going nowhere, the older man swung his arm and punched Lud.
A dull fump sound rang out, as if he had hit a tire.
“Gyaaaooow!”
After a crunching sound, like dry branches snapping, the thug screamed, clutching his bent wrist.
“You... What’re you wearin’ under your clothes?”
“N-Nothing.”
“Don’t lie! It’s something really thick and hard!”
“That’s just my chest...”
Lud had served on special military missions ever since he was 10 years old. Sophia, who was an expert in army fighting, had trained him after he became a Hunter Unit pilot. Now, he spent all his time performing the exhausting labor of a baker, which involved heavy lifting, so his body was covered in layers of muscle like the steel plate on an armored knight.
It made sense that the ruffian’s fist, no stronger than a fruit knife, would break when punching Lud’s chest.
“Bro, I just realized somethin’! You said someone who seems strong might not be strong, but this ain’t like that! This someone looks strong and really is strong!”
“Shut up, you lackwit! What’s with this baker?!”
“I’m...sorry.”
If someone apologizes with tears in his eyes, even if he was wrong, you have to wonder if you are actually to blame.
“What are you fools doing?!”
Another voice joined in.
“—!!”
The two thugs tensed. The atmosphere suddenly grew taut. This man possessed that much power and intimidation.
“Are you an ex-soldier? If so, you must have been through hell.”
Shylock spoke.
Who is this guy?
Seeing Shylock, Lud was reminded of battle scenes. Shylock wasn’t an old man, but he had passed the prime of life. He was a big man, but compared to Lud, an ex-soldier, it was doubtful that he had better than average physical strength. Lud was certain of that with just one look.
He has sharp, discerning eyes... Just like a wild eagle’s.
Shylock had a piercing glare. Lud had a reputation for his fierce scowl, but his was not as sharp as that of the man in front of him. His gaze was even more intimidating than Sophia’s, which was called the Dragon Slayer.
