Three weeks later, at the military central headquarters in Berun, the royal capital...
A man appeared in Marshal Elvin's room.
"I'm surprise you cam. Please, have a seat."
The room, which usually overflowed with stacks of documents and other materials, had been organized, and the old sofa had been exchanged for a new one.
This visitor was very important: Joseph Shylock, chairman of Billions Trading.
"I will get straight to the point. At present, we are-"
Elvin's principal objective in this meeting was to ask Shylock to become sponsor of the regular army, and prevent the Schutzstaffel from taking control of the Weapons Development Bureau.
"A billion sigs."
Shylock spoke just as Elvin opened his mouth.
"Whah?!"
Shylock's words surprised even the great hero, and he let out an unexpected yelp.
"This is about money, isn't it? That's all I can produce right away. If it isn't enough. I'll add 500 million next month."
The amount was enough to establish several battalions of Hunter Units.
"But I haven't even explained yet!"
"I know very well the situation you guys are in. Those Schutzstaffel jokers are after my money, but they won't let me earn any. So I'm better off with you."
The Shutzstaffel was trying to use Shylock's as a pawn.
But the regular army, while using him as a pawn, would also let him use them.
"From among the new patents that the Weapons Development Bureau is after, I want you to grant me those for technology that can be converted for civilian use. If you agree, then I will give you a billion more. Any objections?"
"You're already familiar with those conditions?"
Face with this man who held a very different sort of power than himself, Elvin laughed wryly.
"You might say that. And I'll only sell the Eldorai, which is now under production, wholesale to the regular army. It's a toy too great for those punks in the Schutzstaffel."
Billions trading was also manufacturing new weapons.
However, the production line was limited, so clients ordinarily had to wait their turn.
Shylock was promising to give the regular army exclusive use of the production line.
In other words, it was as if Shylock had bought everything Elvin and the regular army offered for the asking price. It was ideal.
"But there's one condition. If those Schutzstaffel goons harm my company or anyone involved with, including me, you'll handle it. Can you do it?"
"Of course. You are a valuable sponsor."
Even if it didn't actually deploys soldiers, with the army's commitment to backing up the company, the Schutzstaffel wouldn't be able to act.
"I don't want to bother that bakery again..."
"Huh?"
Elvin looked puzzled by Shylock's mysterious mumbling.
"Oh, nothing. I was talking to myself."
As Shylock sipped his tea, he asked Elvin a question.
"Hey, do you want to get into another war?"
He asked as if engaging in idle chitchat.
"No, a war now would-at the very least-destroy Wiltia."
Wiltia had been the victor of the recent Great War.
But Elvin, who was in the nerve center of the military, knew it was a victory on thin ice.
The nation's strength had been so exhausted that if the war had continued even one more year, the social structure might have collapsed.
"War is just one means of managing the nation. As long as it is just means, I will give it my best, but managing the nation for war makes no sense."
This was Elvin's philosophy.
"For at least the next five years, we should focus on rebuilding the national strength and administering the new territories. Otherwise the country will split in two from inside."
"That isn't enough."
Shylock disagreed.
"It will take at least another seven years!"
With a grin, the greedy businessman spoke as if bartering over purchase.
"Seven years? Is there something special about that number?"
"Yes, there is, I need at least that long to prepare an inheritance."
As he said this, Shylock smiled as if enjoying himself.
* * *
Jacob had repeated what he had told Shylock before.
"I don't want to kill you."
The boy had thought and worried over it.
"I don't think my father would like it."
Shylock wanted Jacob to execute him, and for Jacob to inherit a clean future.
That wasn't what Jacob wanted.
"It doesn't matter how evil you are, if you hadn't existed, then I wouldn't exist, I mean... I'm not sure how to explain this."
Leaving all the sins in the past and living with a clean slate so that he wouldn't face unnecessary troubles... that might be easiest.
But Jacob couldn't think that such a life was the right choice.
"My father truly loves my mother. That's why I was born. And you too... um... Grandpa... you loved Grandma. That's why my father was born."
The girl he had met was named Rebecca.
She was named after the woman his father loved: Jacob's mother. And she had protected him at the risk of her own life.
When they parted, she said this, "I just did what my master... I mean, what Major Blitzdonner would have done if he was here."
Perhaps she was right.
"I want to be openly proud of the blood in my body. Wiltia, Pelfe, the Degas... None of that matters. I want to be proud of myself because my existence is the result of different people who lived their lives as well as they could."
They lived their lives whether they were dirty or clean.
That was Jacob's belief.
"Jacob... did you... did you just call me Grandpa?"
"That's not the point! Just... let that go! I'm embarrassed!"
Jacob answered and laughed, taken aback by his grandfather who was trembling, near tears.
"Give me more. Let's see... When did my father leave home?"
"I think it was on his eighteenth birthday."
"Then wait until I'm that age! I'll make things clear with you then! I don't know yet about inheriting your company. I'm still a child, you know."
Until then, Jacob would learn and ponder many things and reach a decision on his own terms.
Jacob promised that he would make the choice for himself.
"Understood. I will prepare over the next seven years for whateve decision you reach."
Thus Shylock and Jacob made a deal.
Shylock was a businessman.
For him, a deal was something he had to keep, no matter how small the issue.
Therefore, he undertook the responsibility to keep the world safe for at least another seven years.
And yet, Shylock was happy.
"It's a heavy burden. But the weight of this kind of responsibility isn't so bad."
* * *
At the Weapons Development Bureau in Berun.
Daian was receiving a report from Rebecca.
"I see... That girl was reckless. By connecting her own reactor to that machine... If that had gone wrong, she might not have been able to turn back into Sven!"
Stunned, Daian raised his voice as he sat at the desk in his office.
"But she came back. That means she developed a firm identity as Sven. All is well."
Daian was laughing as if he found it all funny.
Once again, her report seemed to satisfy him.
"By the way, Rebecca? You weren't involved in anyway, were you?"
"I do not understand your question."
In her report, she had purposely avoided mentioning her own involvement.
Although she had acted against orders, she had not been indirectly involved with Lud and Sven, so she decided there was no obligation to report it.
"I see..."
Daian stared at her with eyes that seemed to see all.
"Well, if you say so, then it must be so, I trust you."
"Then I shall continue about my duties."
Rebecca exited the room without showing the slightest agitation.
"Ha ha ha... Machines are incapable of telling lies. My dear daughters are growing up to be quite the attractive ladies!"
Daian seemed to know everything, and he laughed as if he enjoyed it.
A short while later, Sophia arrived, banging on the door of the office.
"Oh, Sophia! How nice to see you! We had a delightful time at the restaurant the other day, didn't we? Oh! And the musical we watched beforehand! That was a pleasure! Tonight, we're going to see that new movie, aren't we? I reserved VIP seats!"
Daian welcomed her with a wide smile, and Sophia replied with refreshing grin as well.
"More importantly. Director Daian, I heard that the increase for your research budget was approved."
"Oh, how do you know that? Yes, it's true. We will resume development of the new mass production machines that had been postponed. It will be a highly developed version of the Eldorai, currently in production. I hated the heavy design of the Teepneuen, so I'm very pleased."
With Shylock as a sponsor, the research budget of the Weapons Development Bureau had increased to its wartime levels. For Daian, that was equivalent to receiving a mountain of toys.
"I see that you're happy. That's good to know."
Sophia laughed to see Daian so pleased.
"Um... Sophia? Is anything wrong?"
Daian noticed Sophia's unusual mood.
She had patiently entertained Daian over the past month like a suffering penitent, or a saint undergoing torture, to ensure that he wouldn't go over to the Schutzstaffel.
However, that was all about to end.
"About our plans for tonight, with all due respect. I'm afraid that today is the fifty-eighth anniversary of the death of my mother's grandmother's grandfather uncle's cousin."
"What?!"
"And tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after the day after tomorrow, and all the days after that... All our plans for the next month, actually... I'm very sorry, but due to important matters. I must excuse myself."
"Huh? What? Sophia?! Sophia?!"
A calendar was hanging in the office.
It was filled with Daian's dates with Sophia for this week, next week and the week after that, and Sophia had just canceled them all.
"Well, I gotta go now. Enjoy your holiday!"
Sophia spun around and strode away.
Her face was bright, like that of a criminal freed after finishing long years of hard labor.
"Sophiaaaa! That smile is too cruel!!"
The smile on Sophia's face as she felt was more radiant than any smile Daian had ever seen.
* * *
Little changes were underway in Organbaelz, as well. Actually, they were big changes.
"It has gotten bigger..."
A fire had broken out at Tockerbrot.
And Shylock had paid for the repairs.
He claimed it was because his men had set the fire.
The Schutzstaffel had lit the fire, but it was true that his thugs had spread the gasoline.
This was his way of apologizing.
"Don't we have twice as much land as before?"
Lud was stunned as he stood facing the newly-constructed Tockerbrot.
"That's a good thing! He bought the land to harass us, so there's no reason not to accept it as an inconvenience fee!"
Sven spoke with confidence, as if to say, "It all makes sense!"
Shylock and Bakery Billions had freely competed with Tockerbrot.
Then he had torn down Bakery Billions, given Tockerbrot the land, and dramatically expanded the building.
"Was it okay... to take their ovens?"
"They don't need them anymore, It's better to give them to someone who will use them than to throw them away."
Tockerbrot had received not one but two new ovens-a modern type that could also use gas-from Bakery Billions.
They had beefed up their production equipment without planning to.
"And even a refrigerator..."
"There's nothing more helpful than this for baking sweet breads!"
The large electric refrigerator Billions had used for its frozen dough had also been given to Tockerbrot.
Lud had no idea how much all this had cost.
"Redistribution of wealth is the most important principle of a healthy economy."
Sven was in a state of elation.
Since they had no money for business investment, this incident had turned misfortune into fortune.
"Shylock also offered to erase the shop's debt. But I think that would be asking too much."
The institution from which Tockerbrot received a large loan and the source of its debt, was a bank affiliated with Billions.
"Huh?"
Sven, who hadn't heard this, sounded flabbergasted.
"What do you mean, Master?! That was a once-in-a-lifetime chance!! Oh no! Oh no!!"
"But it would be a staggering amount, I couldn't ask that much from him!"
"Ooh, you're so absurdly conscientious! Argh!"
Sven's mood changed to anguish.
"But that part of you is attractive, too!!"
They heard the approach of a truck, which stopped behind them.
"You two are getting along as usual."
It was Jacob who stuck his head out from the front passenger seat.
"Oh, Jacob... Is that it?"
"Yeah! This was Rosso Repair Shop's final job!"
After getting out of the vehicle, Jacob proudly patted the body of the truck.
It no longer looked like the truck they had used for purchases and deliveries.
Rust and mud had been cleaned off, the old suspension that made a loud rattle had been replaced, and the body had been repainted and restored, so it looked as good as new.
The back of the truck was the best part of all.
The wooden truck bed was round on top like a loaf of bread and its side opened to display the freshly baked goods.
It was Tockerbrot Bakery's new mobile shop.
"It's splendid! I bet it cost a fortune to convert!"
"Don't worry about that. I asked Grandpa Joseph."
Shylock had also paid the fee for converting the truck to this mobile bread shop. But it wasn't a compensation fee for Lud. It was a present for Jacob on his eleventh birthday.
It was the first gift that Jacob had asked of his grandfather Shylock, who had been presenting birthday presents-one after the other-to cover the past ten years.
"Jacob, are you sure we can use this?"
Jacob was proud as he reassured Sven.
Jacob wanted them to make good use of this mobile shop to help Tockerbrot's business.
With the mobile shop, in addition to the retail consignment in Saupunkt, sales trips to other towns would be possible. The new equipment was an enormous blessing for Tockerbrot.
"It'll be useful, won't it?"
"But, it was your birthday present, so..."
Jacob's family wasn't wealthy.
Shylock had offered support for their living expenses, but Charlotte refused.
She didn't want to injure her own father's feelings by accepting Shylock's money. Her father was also Jacob's grandfather.
"What he actually offered was an assignation of a five percent share of stock in Billions Trading."
"That's enough to live on without working for the rest of your life!"
Sven was stunned by the crazy ideas about money that rich people had.
"It's okay... I want to provide a little help too."
For some reason, Jacob thought of Lud when he had learned what Shylock truly thought.
Lud didn't run away from his past but instead lived a new life accepting what had happened.
Jacob greatly admired Lud, who was like an older brother.
After watching Lud and his grandfather Shylock, Jacob couldn't chose to walk a pristine path by foisting his past onto someone else.
"Besides, we'll use it half the time anyway."
When Jacob said this, another person slid out of the driver's seat.
"Hey, Jacob! Does this look funny on me? I'm a little embarrassed."
It was Charlotte, Jacob's mother.
Charlotte wasn't wearing the plain and somewhat grubby clothes she had worn when visiting Tockerbrot.
She now wore a dress based on the Tockerbrot waitress apron, but redesigned for an adult.
"It's fine! You look good. You're still young, Mom!"
Jacob teased her affectionately.
Since the additional ovens had boosted production capacity, the only other problem for Tockerbrot outside sales project was the request from consignment retailers to send their pretty shop girl to attract customers.
Sven, who was the star waitress of Tockerbrot and handled the management, couldn't leave the shop. They had wondered what to do and then selected Charlotte to fill that role.
"Don't worry, Ma'am. It suits you."
Sven smiled. She had made Charlotte's dress.
Charlotte was older than Lud and Marlene, but she was still only in her twenties. After she had brushed and tidied her hair a bit, she looked quite pretty.
It was a perfect solution for her to work part-time as shop staff in the neighboring town of Saupunkt, since she needed a job after closing the repair shop, and she couldn't work in Organbaelz.
"B-But will it be okay for an old woman like me?"
"Of course! Why don't you smile? Smiling is a basic customer service!"
Sven lectured Charlotte, who was very nervous, about the proper sales smile.
"That's it. Use your charm to weaken the men."
"Don't say such a silly thing! What a child you are!"
Charlotte smiled at Jacob's teasing.
"Oh dear..."
Looking at her, Sven was stunned.
Even though she had always been pretty. Charlotte had looked unhappy before, with a shadow over her face. But by loosening her mouth just a little, she gave a warm, lovely smile.
"She's so pretty! I can see why Major Blitzdonner fell in love with her!"
Even Lud was impressed by her charm.
"Master?!"
Sven couldn't ignore what she had heard.
So far, in addition to herself, so many others had developed an affection for Lud, including Marlene, Sophia, Milly-and even Ellis, the female cat. Lud had been completely unaware of this. But now he was staring at an attractive woman, and that was a major blow to Sven.
Is this the charm of a wife? Or the power of a mother?
Lud had lost his parents when he was young, so perhaps he was attracted to older women who radiated motherliness.
For Sven to compete with that, she would have to get married! But she had no intention of being with anyone but Lud. So the best way would be to marry Lud. But for that, she needed motherly charm, so...
"Arrrgh!"
These contradictions distressed Sven.
"Um... Sven? Are you all right?"
Lud spoke softly to his partner, who appeared to be confused.
"N-No... It's just a little paradox... Ooh! What's that picture?!"
Sven took a deep breath to calm herself down and noticed a pretty illustration that had been painted between the shop name "Tockerbrot" and the rear end of the truck.
"Oh dear... Could that be... me?"
There was a cartoonish image of a waitress with silver hair and red eyes.
And there were wings on her back.
"Yeah. I used this occasion to draw a kind of mascot character."
"Draw...? Did you draw this?"
Lud asked this of Jacob, who admired his own work proudly.
"Yes. I like it."
"You really can do anything!"
Jacob was from an accomplished family. His grandfather was one of the best businessmen in the world, and his father was one of the world's best ace pilots.
He had inherited their blood, so it wasn't so strange that Jacob could do many things well.
Perhaps he would discover great potential in a particular area during the seven years before his inheritance.
"I'm pleased. In this way, I can brighten up Master's shop!"
The boy had pleased Sven with no more than a paint brush.
"Oh... Um, who's this other character?"
Breacketing the shop's name was a silver-haired waitress angel at one end, and another waitress-angel with red hair at the other end.
"Oh, yeah... This is the girl who rescued me the other day. She left before I could thank her, so I did this in return."
A girl with red hair, a red dress and red eyes... It was Rebecca, who had literally used her body to save Jacob that night.
"I didn't ask permission. Do you think it's okay?"
"Yeah. It's fine. She looks very cute!"
As the shop owner, Lud was no problem with Jacob's illustration. He thought it was dazzling.
"She was pretty. But if she had smiled, she would have been much prettier."
"Oh... I see."
Looking at Jacob's embarrassed face, Sven was confused.
This boy would never think of Rebecca as a Humanoid Hunter Unit.
She had heard that Rebecca had fought with superhuman strength, and Jacob knew she was a sort of relative of his father's.
However, Jacob just thought of her as an older girl who was very pretty.
What would Rebecca think if she saw Jacob's drawing?
Wondering about that, Sven shrugged her shoulders.
* * *
Meanwhile, someone was observing them from a great distance.
"........."
It was Rebecca Sharlahart, who had been assigned to watch Sven and the others.
Since she possessed the eyesight of a humanoid Hunter Unit, she could clearly see what was painted on the truck, and she could read the lips of the boy and understood what he was saying.
"Hmf! Like father, like son!"
Rebecca had sworn never to smile until the day she was reunited with her master, but her mouth loosened slightly.
Today, the girl with red eyes and red hair, who was wearing a red dress, also had cheeks that were tinged with red.
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End of Volume 3