[9] Chapter 07: One Layer

"What do you mean that you want me to kill you?"

Shylock and Jacob were talking inside the storehouse, and Jacob was shocked to hear his grandfather's true thoughts.

"This involves you, too. I carry blood from the Degas Clan. Have you ever heard of them?"

"I think that was a desert tribe, wasn't it?"

Long ago, there was the European Empire, for which the continent was named, and the Degas Clan had been a nomadic race that lived in the remote desert.

"I guess that's the only way to describe them."

They were called the Degas Clan, but they hadn't displayed any particular ethnic characteristics.

Anyone born to the Degas was considered part of the clan, but on the continent of Europea, the Degas Clan became the target of contempt.

"Apparently, about one thousand years ago, the ancestors of the Degas were from a nation that the European Empire had defeated, and then confined to the desert. It's a strange story from a millennium ago, and there aren't many records about the empire."

People will often find reasons to scorn others, even with no basis.

People threw rocks at the Degas, calling them the "failed tribe" and "descendants of war criminals."

Since they didn't have their own territory, they drifted around the world, but whatever they went, they were treated as an inferior caste.

"My great-grandfather put roots down in Wiltia. He was your great-great-great-grandfather. Ha! I guess you could say he was your ancestor! But..."

After the Degas were settled in Wiltia for over a hundred years and had become naturalized, obtained citizenship, paid taxes, and fulfilled their obligations, people still treated them like outsiders.

Shylock wanted Jacob to understand his family background painful as it was.

"It was terrible. When I was a child, people threw rocks at me. And if something went missing in the neighborhood, the police would come to my house before searching anywhere else."

The excuse for discrimination against the Degas may go back one thousand years, but the true reason is something much darker.

As the Degas Clan received unkind treatment everywhere, the connections among its members grew stronger, and they overcame many hardships.

As a result, over a long period of time, the Degas established an extensive tribal network across borders and spanning the continent.

And as it progressed with the time, their network became formidable weapon in business and finance.

People looked down on the Degas as an inferior caste, but some among them grew even wealthier than the nobility.

However, this accelerated the discord between the Degas and longtime residents in their communities.

People questioned why they were poor while these outsiders were rich.

Some thought that Degas must be stealing what they should have.

Many believed that all the Degas were sneaky.

"The Degas could not entirely absolve their selves. Many had made exorbitant profits or used their wealth and power to seek revenge. In the end, they hated others and were hated. I was much of that myself."

The local people shouted that they were superior to the Degas, and the immigrants argued that the locals were simply jealous because they were poor.

This irreconcilable conflict continued.

"How about you? Didn't you participate?"

"No, I didn't want to... Because I love Wiltia."

Shylock answered Jacob with some embarrassment.

"I was born and raised in Wiltia. And I only speak Wiltian. I love the culture, and while there were many people I hated, there were also lots of good people."

When Shylock went to school, he had hidden that he was from Degas Clan.

One day, however, people found out.

Friends suddenly avoided eye contact and stopped talking to him.

"I was a little older than you are now, and I was no longer welcome in the classroom. But when I hid in the back of the school building, the poorest student found me, split her lunch bread in half, and gave some to me."

Shylock's family was wealthy.

He didn't need anyone else's food, and she probably knew that.

However, silently and with a serious gaze, she thrust out the bread as if to say, "Eat it!"

"Then she sat down next to me and started eating her bread. So I ate too... and the next thing I knew. I was crying because I was so happy."

There were many people who judged others with prejudice.

But there were also many who didn't.

"By the way, that was you grandmother. She was a good woman."

"Why are you telling me this romantic story? Tch!"

Jacob snapped disgustedly at Shylock, who laughed with nostalgia.

But, Jacob also wore a faint smile.

"Wiltia many not have become my motherland, but I decided to love it, and I thought it would love me back."

Shylock inherited the family business from his parents and worked hard.

But not just for his own benefit.

He worked hard every day, fighting off buyers and refusing offers of collusion so the poor would have access to inexpensive but highly quality goods.

"Nonetheless, I was arrested on suspicion of treason."

"Huh? Why?"

Actually, Jacob knew about this.

Some people in Wiltia still accused him of treasonous business activities and used this incident as a proof.

"It was right before the war started. The country needed money to pay for the war, so ordered the wealthy classes and merchants to contribute part of their assets to support the national effort."

It wasn't mandatory.

However, that made it worse.

"Since it was my choice and I managed my shop with a low margin but high turnover. I didn't contribute. But within a few days the police came. Before I could say anything, they took me into custody."

After the arrest, the police had roughly questioned Shylock with punching and kicking.

Shylock had shouted, "There must be a mistake!" But the police didn't listen.

Reasons didn't matter.

The police raised irrelevant matters such as the fact that he belonged to the Degas Clan.

"They threw me in a prison for thought criminals. It was where they locked up anyone who spoke against the war. The prison was foul-smelling... Meals, in particular, were the worst."

Prison food is often called "smelly rice," but the meals served in prison back then were unspeakably awful.

Twice each day, the prisoners received a soup with boiled salted meat and a weak gruel of rice and beans.

The food literally smelled because it was made with spoiled ingredients.

"I wanted to push the disgusting food away, but when I did, the other fellows in my cell would fight over it."

They were all honorable men-teachers, scholars and clerics-accustomed to speaking pretty words and winning respect from others.

But they had turned into starving animals. They scrambled for scraps of food and despised each other. Some got into fistfights.

"It was astonishing. I was shocked to see the human beings could be so ugly. But no, they didn't become ugly. Human beings are animals who hide this kind of ugliness under their thin skins."

At that moment, Shylock felt fear deep in his heart.

He realized that if the situation continued, he would become animal too.

That same night, he used everything of value he had, even going so far as to pull out a gold tooth, to bribe the guard so he could contact his family. He ordered half the money from his shop to be donated to the government and the other half used as a bribe to the military and police.

The next day, Shylock was released.

However, he wasn't declared innocent.

His status became "suspension of indictment due to insufficient evidence."

"From then on, I did whatever it took to earn money. I even did business with the military. And I took many risks, but that didn't matter. I worked harder than ever before as long as it meant earning one more copper."

Sadness was visible in Shylock's profile.

"You're saying all humans are animals. And that's why you used beastly methods to make money?"

"No!"

Shylock denied Jacob's accusation with a ferocious voice.

"People are animals underneath. There's no doubt that. But if you maintain that one layer of skin, you can live like a human being. If you can eat until you're full, you don't have to steal other people's food."

Shylock had worked desperately and made his company grow.

He established several branches and several factories, and he hired many workers.

"I... I will never make the people of this nation that I love turn into animals. I swear that I will never force them to lose that layer of skin. That's why I need money. And I don't just hand out money. That would mean treating people like little more than dogs."

Shylock created jobs and employed people so they could earn their own money. And if they could live on that money they would be able to pursue a life appropriate to human beings.

"When I talk about money, sanctimonious folk look away, but the way I see it, they're making a big mistake. People may not live for money, but they can't live without it!"

For that, Shylock would have done anything.

After that Great War started, Shylock hired anyone from the war zones, whether they were widows, orphans or refugees.

"It was very hard for immigrants who came to work in Wiltia during the war. Money transfers for accounts with foreign names were sometimes confiscated to avoid foreign capital outflow. I would collect their money temporarily and sent it under my name through the bank affiliated with the company."

"Does that mean..."

His alleged theft of worker pay was one of the reasons Shylock was thought to be an unscrupulous merchant.

Jacob was surprised to hear the truth behind this.

Despite the good intentions, Shylock could not explain himself because he was circumventing the law.

"Your mother, Charlotte... If I had found her sooner, she might have avoided suffering through such hard times."

Shylock's eyes looked sad and indignant at the limits of his power.

"Don't say that... If she hadn't, I wouldn't have been born."

Jacob sound confused and Shylock apologized.

"Yeah, I guess not. I apologize. You're right... Your birth was the most fortunate thing that happened to me."

"Fortunate?"

"Yes, I have made a great deal of money through unscrupulous means. And I have grown my company."

The feud with Tockerbrot had only gone for a few days.

It was just a humorous anecdote compared to Shylock's many other shady business activities.

"I wouldn't have made money otherwise. But I can't brush aside my wicked conduct. That's why I want you to drive me out and take everything I have. I'll take my evil to Hell, and I want you to lead the clean company that remains."

There was no other way before.

Shylock had no other choice.

It was eat or be eaten.

Shylock had any number of justifications, but as time went on the past had slowly gnawed at him from inside.

Just like the Degas Clan today, still pelted with rocks over a grudge from a thousand years ago.

"Bad kings must die. Then a good prince arises, and no one objects. That is you, with Degas blood but born between Wiltia and Pelfe."

Shylock wanted Jacob to use his past as a stool for stepping into a new era.

That was what he meant when he had told Jacob, "I want you to kill me."

"B-But..."

Jacob was extremely upset.

If Shylock had been no more than an evil merchant, it wouldn't have bothered him this much.

But the reality was different.

This old man tried to make a world without poverty, a world where no one starved, a world where no one was reduced to their true animal like nature...

He wasn't making excuses for what he had done as necessary evil. Instead, he even accepted his own obliteration.

"You sound just like him!"

Jacob thought of the man who was his friend.

Instead of abandoning his past, he had chosen to bear it and live in suffering.

"Him?"

As Jacob clutched his head, he heard a noise beyond the door.

"What is that?"

Shylock was suspicious.

The Schutzstaffel soldiers were congregated on the other side of the door.

There were about ten soldiers, each one armed with a gun.

The faint noises sounded like there was a fight going on.

They heard the sound of a body thrown against the wall, followed by angry voices and screams.

"-?! Gunfire!"

"W-What's going on?!"

Jacob was uneasy and remained quiet in the corner of the storehouse with his grandfather, Shylock.

After a while, there was only silence on the other side of the door.

And then...

"-?!"

Suddenly, a woman's hand punched through the door.

"W-what?!"

The door was made of wood, but it was still heavy.

Even several men repeatedly hurling their bodies against it could not have broken through.

It was impossible for a woman's hand to penetrate the door.

"Are you... Jacob Rosso?!"

And yet, a girl with red hair and red eyes stared at Jacob through a massive hole in the door as if it weren't the least bit strange.

* * *

Sven and Lud ran until they reached the first Baelz mine.

There was no one there.

But, even with help, there was no way to fight against Hunter Unit.

Sven's aim was to use a certain object.

"Oh... that's right! This thing!"

Lud finally understood what she intended.

It was the industrial Hunter Unit sold by the government for use in mining.

"Only a Hunter Unit can defeat another Hunter Unit. It's no longer a hunter or a soldier, so maybe we should just call it armored machinery."

Most of its armor had been removed and it didn't have any weapons.

"I'll activate the reactor, Master you go to the cockpit and-Master?"

There wasn't much time left before Hildegard would arrive in her Teepneuen.

Nonetheless, Lud looked pained as he stood in front of the industrial Hunter Unit.

"Master, what is it? Are you worried about piloting after two years away?"

"...No that's not the problem."

Making a tight fist, Lud responded with a question.

"Can we win?"

"Why do you sound so worried? You could never lose to someone like her!"

Sven knew Lud's piloting skills better than anyone.

Unless he were to face someone like Major Blitzdonner, the hero of the Great War known as the Crimson Hawk, the fight was well within his capabilities.

"That's not what I mean... Can I win without killing her?"

"But... Master...!"

Lud had sworn to himself that he would never kill again.

He had killed too many enemy soldiers in his past and had been involved in indiscriminate massacres that had taken the lives of innocent civilians.

Now he was a baker who made food so that the others would live.

He would fight but he would never kill again.

But could Lud bypass the principles of war and the essence of battle?

"Excuse me, Master."

Sven planted herself in front of Lud and stared at him intently.

"Agh!"

Lud's guard immediately went up.

There was a motivational technique often used in the military.

A soldier would strike the face of a panicking soldier to wake him up.

Lud had encountered it a lot in his soldiering days.

However, instead of a hard fist, in the next moment, Lud felt the softest thing in the world.

"Mmmm..."

Sven brought her face close to Lud's and pressed her lips against his.

"Mmph?!"

In his surprise, Lud's eyes rolled back, showing the whites, as their lips remained attached.

After a few seconds, Sven pulled away.

"...It'll be all right."

As Sven said this, she smiled in her special way for the person she loved from the bottom of her heart.

"You can do it. I promise."

Sven said this with certainty but gave no reasons, which was not like her.

Even as a weapon, Sven had always been cautious, and would tell Lud, "Optimistic thoughts lead to death." But this time, she expressed only her faith that Lud Langart would make everything all right.

"Oh, uh... Yeah, thanks."

The tension disappeared from Lud's face.

His desire to trust someone who believed in him overcame his worry about becoming a killer once again.

"Now, let's geat ready!"

Sven gave a mischievous smile and walked behind the armored machinery to activate the reactor.

"Whew...!"

A little embarrassed, Lud touched his lips.

He could still feel a trace of Sven's soft kiss.

Oh, nooooo! What did I just dooooo?!!

As she climbed up the backside of the former Hunter Unit, Sven silently screamed to herself.

For some reason, she had trouble controlling her emotions lately.

She had always been a little irrational when it came to Lud, but this was different.

When her feelings toward Lud were strong, she acted boldly in unexpected ways.

Did that start when I was given this body?

The problem was she had the body of a young woman. When she had been Avei, she hadn't possessed the concept of sexual difference.

But now look what had happened to her.

She now had a "heart".

Was her body affecting her behavior?

She didn't dislike it.

Actually, she thought it was fun, even in these circumstances.

She wanted to share more of her feelings with Lud.

To do that, she first needed to face the disaster coming her way.

With new determination, Sven opened the maintenance hatch located in the back of the armored machinery.

Then her faint smile froze in despair.

"No way!"

It had a security lock.

And since there was no activation key, she would need to activate the main reactor directly.

The space that should house the rezanium reactor, which served as the unit's brain and power source and was large enough to hold one person, was empty.

"This can't be... Why?!"

This seriously jeopardized Sven's plan.

The armored machinery that was delivered to Baelz Mine had malfunctioned, so the repair man had removed the broken part-the rezanium reactor-and taken it.

She couldn't operate the armored machinery like this.

It was just a big chunk of metal.

"What the hell?! This is awful!"

There was nothing she could do, No... There was one thing...

There was only one way.

Sven picked up the power transmission that was supposed to be connected to the rezanium reactor.

"Urgh... But there's no choice."

Sven was willing to sacrifice her life for Lud.

And now was the time to demonstrate this heartfelt vow through action.

However, she had one worry.

Would she able to return to herself again?

Not to become Avei again, but to continue as Sven, the girl who, out of love for Lud, took actions that even she didn't expect.

Oh... this is what Master was worried about.

Now Sven understood what Lud had been thinking.

The fear of losing oneself.

It could sometimes be worse than dying.

"It'll be all right... It'll be all right..."

Sven repeated the words to herself slowly, just as she had earlier to Lud.

Then she made up her mind.

"You're in luck, rotor machine! I'm gonna lend you the nickname Silver Wolf for a little while!"

Sven jammed the transmission's connector in her hand into her own chest.

The armored machine was now linked to the rezanium reactor in her body.

Even though the military equipment had been removed, perhaps because it would be dangerous in the vent of falling rocks, this unit - categorized as armored machinery-has airtight inside the cockpit.

However, the fire control system and indicator panel for the search device had been removed, so it felt bigger and less cramped than Lud expected.

Other than that, although there were slight differences, the levers and consoles were the same as in the model Lud used to pilot.

The only thing left was to power up the reactor and get moving.

Vmmm A heavy sound reverberated.

The control instrument lights came on and the video from the main camera appeared. Then...

"Long time, no see, Colonel Langart!"

Hearing that voice, Lud thought he was experiencing an auditory hallucination.

"Yeah, long time no see. Would it be better not to ask why you're here?"

Lud answered slowly, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Um... pardon me!"

The voice belonged to someone who was extremely sincere, frustratingly serious, and somehow, very human. It was the familiar voice of his old partner, Avei.

"Oh, I don't mind. Thanks. You came to help me."

Lud spoke nostalgically, as if reuniting with his best friend.

"Colonel, allow me to confirm the objectives and other specifics of this operation. Mission summary: incapacitate the approaching Hunter Unit without endangering the pilot's life. Am I correct?"

"Yeah. Sound all right?"

"No problem at all."

As Lud's spoke, he could feel his nervous sweat drying in no time.

It had been two years since he quit the military and over one year since he had become a baker. But it seemed as if that time had been a momentary sleep.

He felt that this machine was under his control.

He sensed that it wouldn't be so difficult to accomplish his mission, even with just this armored machine.

"Shall we begin, Colonel? Just like always!"

"Yeah, let's do this just like always!"

In that moment, Lud and Avei-the Silver Wolf-returned.