2 The Three Women

A week had passed since Sven had started work at Tockerbrot.

After the bakery closed, Sven briskly tidied up inside the shop.

"Master, I brought in the sign from out front. Later, I'll clean the display trays and baskets."

Again today there had been plenty of customers, but there were still several pieces of bread left on the display shelves.

"We had so many customers today, yet we still didn't sell all the bread."

"Yeah, but that's bound to happen."

Sven looked distressed so Lud explained.

"There is a balance between supply and demand. In order to have a selection that will satisfy all our customers, we have to increase the supply so there will be unsold items left at the end of the day. But it's the perfect amount to use as a gift. Sorry Sven, but can you cram all the leftover bread into a bag for me?"

"Hm? Certainly, Master."

Lud brought in a large carrying case and put the leftover bread inside.

"I'm going to head out for a bit. You're pretty tired right? You can go ahead and--"

Before Lud could finish, Sven drew close to him as though she was biting off the rest of his sentence.

"I will accompany you! I would journey to the ends of the earth and back with you, Master!"

A spontaneous cold sweat broke out out on Lud's back.

"I mean, I'm just going up the hill right there... do you want to come, too?"

"Yes!"

Lud had a truck he used to carry wheat, and while he loaded the bread, Sven sat down in the passenger's seat.

"Going on a drive with Master... My heart can't handle it!"

It was difficult to call the truck romantic, but Sven's eyes were full of sparkles.

Lud felt a little guilty at how excited Sven was about a routine trip.

Sven was leaning forward in the passenger's seat and was muttering something.

"Hold on, you. If you stall out or blow a tire, I will tear you to pieces, one bolt at a time!"

It was as if she was intimidating the truck.

"What are you doing?" Lud asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, I'm just talking to myself."

Sven sat upright in a panicked fluster.

The truck was very battered and on the verge of breaking down, but today it was driving very obediently, almost as if someone had grabbed the engine by its collar forced it to listen to what they had to say.

They made their way up the small hill that overlooked Organbaelz to the small, church at the top. The church was very simple and looked desolate dilapidated.

"Truck ran well today. I guess it's still got some good days left in it."

"Ummm Master? Why exactly... What is our business in coming here?"

"Hm... Alms, I suppose?"

"What?"

Lud considered how best to explain, when a woman emerged from the church.

"Oh, it's you, Lud."

"Good evening Marlene"

Marlene was a sister of the church. Lud greeted her with the friendliest face he could make.

As Jacob had told him, a smiling face was very important in communication and since then, he had made as much effort as possible to have a smile on his face.

It didn't always work...

"Has something happened? Your expression is quite frightening..." Marlene looked worried.

Lud realized how much farther he had to go when he saw the worried look Marlene gave him.

"Um... Master? Who is this person?"

"Mr. Lud, who is this young girl?"

Sven and Marlene spoke at the same time.

But while Marlene just looked inquisitive, there was an almost imperceptible note of animosity and caution in Sven's voice.

"Sven, this is Marlene, she's a sister at this church. Marlene, Sven is helping out as a waitress at the bakery."

"So this must be the waitress that everyone in town has been talking about."

Sven looked puzzled.

"Yes, you're the very cute girl who is working at Tockerbrot, right?"

It seemed the stories about Sven had spread as far as the church on the outskirts of town.

"Cute... I'm..."

Sven had felt a little suspicious of Marlene but she suddenly changed her mind and shook Marlene's hand with both of hers.

"You're a good person!"

"Huh? U-uhm... Thank you."

Inviting the two of them into the church, Marlene smiled but was perplexed at Sven's abrupt change in attitude. It was as if a switch had been flicked and Sven decided Marlene was a friend rather than a foe."We don't need to stand here chatting. Please come in."

The inside of the church looked even more desolate than the outside.

Suffering from the remnants of clumsy repairs over the years, if it wasn't for the sacred crest decorating the altar - dingy as it was - it was difficult to see that it was a church at all.

Lud placed the case holding the bread on top of the small, rickety chapel's table.

"Sorry to put you to trouble, Mr. Lud."

"It's okay, these are leftovers."

"Um... What exactly is this?"

Sven looked confused.

Lud had not explained why he was bringing the leftover bread to the church.

"About once a week I come here to give alms."

"Hmm... and what are... alms?" Sven asked.

"It's a but of a long story, but..."

It started about six months ago with the lack of customers at the Tockerbrot.

Lud hated throwing out the unsold bread that he had worked so hard to bake every day. It felt like his body was being torn in two.

One day, Lud noticed some children with their faces pressed up against the bakery window, staring hungrily at the raisin bread. They were dressed in shabby clothes and clearly didn't have enough to eat.

Even though they had heard about the fierce-faced baker, their hunger was greater than their fear, and drew them to the bakery.

Lud invited the children in and let them eat the unsold bread.

Lud was delighted that they enjoyed the bread. and put what remained in a bag and gave it to them.

The next day, Marlene visited the bakery to thank Lud.

The children he fed were from the church orphanage.

Her church had no benefactors so operating the orphanage was very difficult. The children and Marlene worked on the small church farm, performed some side jobs, and lived huddled together inside the church. Food was scarce.

Then the children appeared in front of Lud's bakery.

"I am thankful for your concern, but I ask that you ignore them from now on." Marlene said.

She didn't want the children to grow dependent upon charity.

"At first, people will give them charity with kindness. But if the children show up more often, they'll be turned away and looked at as dirty pests. Then it's the children who get hurt." Marlene explained.

Lud opened his mouth with a sad look on his face.

"I just want someone to eat my bread."

Lud told Marlene that he was a former soldier, and that after the war he had borrowed money to open the bakery, but no one would come in. Then, he had a single proposal to make.

"Could I bring it for them bread once a week? As an alms substitute for when I come to pray?"

Marlene gently smiled and accepted the proposal.

Lud finished his story.

It was a little embarrassing for him.

Sven's eyes welled up as she listened.

"I can't believe that something like that could have happened..."

Wiltia won the war. But since Pelfe had been annexed by Wiltia, its people should be treated as citizens.

However, the post-war restoration occurred in the victor's home country, with regions closest to the capital given priority. This meant that the rural and annexed areas were slow to receive any benefits from the war.

Poverty undermines the weakest among us first.

"I can't believe you had been driven to this... Master, how awful!" Sven cried.

"That's  what made you cry?!"

Lud agreed that it was quite pathetic for a baker to have to beg people to eat his bread.

He felt a deep gratitude towards Marlene and the children who ate and enjoyed the bread he baked.

"I came to Pelfe after the war... so there is also a gulf between me and the people here." Marlene said, with a forced smile.

Even though the telegraph network had spread far and wide, the railway extended to the edge of the continent, and airplanes flew around the world, the old suspicions and resentments toward outsiders in the rural towns did not change easily. Even now, the villagers treated the young sister as a foreigner.

"That's why... I could understand Mister Lud's feelings, too." Marlene finished.

As such, when Marlene saw Lud's situation, she was sympathetic.

"So now I come here and bring them bread. But, thanks to Sven, there have been more customers, and today's leftover bread was less than usual... Here, these are madeleines. Please share them with everyone."

Since his alms were less than usual, he had prepared a fresh-baked addition in a rush before coming.

"Oh my... They're still warm. The children love sweet things."

Marlene smiled happily as she accepted the paper bag.

"Hm...?"

From behind, Lud suddenly felt a glare stabbing him in his back.

This wasn't the first time. He had felt it last week, and the week before that, and the week before that.

He turned around and glimpsed a shadow peeking through a crack in the door.

"......"

Hiding there was a young girl around fourteen, who was glaring at him with intense hatred.Lud knew the girl's face very well.

Her name was Milly, and she was an orphan who lived at the church.

"Wh-what's up, Milly..."

Lud called out to her awkwardly.

The hostility in Milly's eyes didn't change.

"...I... never..." Milly quietly muttered while loathing.

"I'll never eat any of your stupid bread! Get out of here!" Milly yelled at Lud before running further into the church.

"What is wrong with that girl?!"

Sven looked enraged and began to run after her.

"Forget it, Sven. She's always like this, don't pay any attention."

Lud rushed to stop Sven and was surprised at the force and power in her tiny body.

"Always?! That child always speaks to Master like that?!"

Her anger was so fierce, it was as if too much coal had been thrown into a steam engine and increased its heat to a dangerous level. The only thing missing was the sound of whistling from her ears.

"I'm so sorry, Mr Lud, I'll make sure to sit Milly down and talk to her later..."

"It's okay, please don't be upset with her."

That was a lie. It wasn't okay. There was nothing more painful than to be rejected with such fury.Lud was certain Marlene understood this.

"... Well then, we'll be. I'll be by next week." Luke stood up.

"At least stay for some tea."

"Oh... next time..."

That was a lie, too.

Lud always refused Marlene's invitation for tea.

He felt somehow that he was soiling the church, which was Milly's only haven for rest and comfort. He never stayed long.

Marlene understood what Lud was thinking and didn't say anything further.

Lud said goodbye and sitting next to Sven, who was still shaking with indignation, he drove the truck towards town.

"Hmph!"

Sitting in the passenger's seat. Sven was still in a bad mood, and puffed her cheeks out in indignation.

"Are you still angry?" Lud asked.

Lud just felt sad.

The children at the church were afraid of Lud but none showed such open hatred as Milly.

Lud knew why Milly detested him and she had a good reason. There wasn't anything he could do about it.

But, it still hurt.

So Sven's reaction to Milly's behavior, as if she herself had been hurt, made him feel a little bit better.

"What was with her? I'll never forgive her." Sven spat out.

Gripping the wheel, Lud replied without moving his gaze from the road.

"... There's no point in getting upset. It won't change anything."

He didn't say this just to calm Sven, but because he needed to hear it himself.

"Actually, you know, that girl..."

On the short drive back to Tockerbrot, Lud told Sven about Milly and why she hated him.

It was a story that Lud wasn't able to tell without whittling away at his heart, little by little.

He felt like his dilapidated truck, stumbling with a bang and a crash over a road filled with ruts.

The next day, Tockerbrot had not yet opened.

The cleaning was finished, inside and out. The price tags were posted, and the bread trays and tongs were polished to look brand new.

It was a lot of work for one person, but Sven took care of it quickly and easily.

In fact, today, she had finished it all earlier than usual.

"Hmmm...?"

She had run out of things to do.

Sven continued to ponder what Lud had told her about Milly.

She had thought about it most of the night.

Now she tried to forget by keeping busy in the bakery.

But, now even that was finished. At this rate, she would again fall into the endless labyrinth of her thoughts.

"What...?"

Sven found a small notebook in one of the drawers under the counter.

It was the accounts book for the bakery.

It was perfect timing because in moments like this, rows of unfeeling numbers put Sven at ease. She flipped through the notebook and began surveying the entries.

"My, my, my, quite splendidly in the red, aren't we..."

Although the bakery had started to prosper, that success didn't yet show itself in the end results.

Sven decided to make some financial predictions and simulations based on their sales continuing to grow smoothly.

"Let's see... This goes like this... that becomes that... Huh?"

Meanwhile, Lud had been baking bread since early morning.

The flame from the kiln was hot so even for a former soldier, the work was exhausting.

"Here we go... Alright, they came out looking great today, too!"

The number of morning customers was growing because people liked the bread fresh out of the oven.

On Sven's recommendation, they now offered a small breakfast special, which was already popular. Bread really was best straight out of the oven.

As an experiment, Lud had started including free homemade apricot jam with the fresh bread.

He was excited to see if people would enjoy it.

"Master! What is this?!"

Sven appeared, her face darkened in anger.

Unlike Jacob, Sven didn't barge into the kiln area whenever she felt like it. Instead she simply yelled from the entrance.

She never went against Lud's orders.

"... Sven, what's wrong?"

As he stuck his head out of the kiln area, the shop's account book was thrust into Lud's face.

"What is the meaning of this? All of the numbers on this balance sheet are wrong!"

But, that wasn't the important part. Sven could fix the mistakes in the account book herself.

The big problem was the repayment schedule for Lud's debt.

In order to open Tockerbrot, Lud took out an expensive loan and had been paying it back month by month.

"Master, with the interest rate on this loan, no matter how hard you try, you will never pay it off. This combination of simple and compound interest is illegal! Where in the world did you borrow this from?!"

With simple interest, the interest rate is calculated on the original borrowed amount.

Compound interest is when the amount of interest is added to the original amount borrowed, and then the interest increases based on that combined amount. It is also known as snowballing interest.

Lud had borrowed money from an illegal loan shark.

"This interest rate is absurd... This is from a back alley lender, isn't it?" Sven asked.

"There wasn't anyone else who would lend money to someone like me, with no guarantee or collateral."

Even if you included the retirement money that soldiers are awarded when discharged, it would still only cover the initial start-up and the first few months of operating costs.

On top of that, without enough customers throughout the first year, the debt continued to grow.

However, that didn't mean that they could let things continue this way.

"We need to draft a rebuilding plan."

Sven showed Lud the plan she had drawn up on some leftover advertising pamphlets for the store.

It was titled, "Operation Spring Storm: Plan to Defend Tockerbrot to the Absolute Last." Sven opened the first page.

"First, we will take out a loan from the bank. We will use that money to pay off the illegal loan. It will be a lot of money but as long as the interest rate is within legal limits, we can pay it back."

The contract was illegal, but if Sven and Lud weren't careful there was a chance that the loan sharks might harm the bakery or Lud.

"A bank... with the war over and an end to any special procurement, no bank would be willing to lend money to a own baker."

"But, Wiltia is the victor nation, right? Between the restoration of the war-torn regions, town and city redevelopment, and the pioneering of the new frontiers, banks aren't in any sort of credit crunch."

The new region of Pelfe was annexed by Wiltia when they won the Great War, and since Lud had headed to Pelfe to start his business, he was a splendid pioneer. But, in order to receive new financing, they had to show the bank that if it lent money to Lud, he would pay it all back.

"If you can show that Tockerbrot is running smoothly, and that business is expanding with a bright future, it will be fine."

"Sven, at this rate, I'll never be able to return it all, even if we maintain our current customers. Any bank would think twice before lending to me."Sven had a different suggestion. "Yes, continuing with out present sales will be difficult. That's why starting today, shall we begin our new sales activities?"

"What?"

"Yes!"

Sven told Lud the new strategy she had just come up with that morning.

Organbaelz was a mining town.

However, the laborers in the mine rarely visited the bakery.

This was perhaps because they didn't know about it. If that was the case, the sales activity that Sven had in mind was to go directly to the mine workers and promote their breads.

Taking a case full of fresh bread, Sven and Lud got in the truck and drove to Baelz Mine.

"But, can we just show up without notice?" Lud wondered aloud.

The mine was private property, and they would need permission to sell bread there.

"We aren't going to sell anything today. We will give the bread to the mine workers as a gift."

Sven's objective was to get a contract to sell bread to the mine's cafeteria.

Baelz was a small mine but it had more than two hundred hard-workers with big appetites.

Selling bread in the cafeteria would mean several times more customers than they now had.

This could be a big break, Lud thought to himself, but he was still uneasy.

Arriving at the mountain, the two made their way towards the office.

"Weeelll, if you show up out of the blue like this... it puts us in a bad spot, you know?"

With an air of a middle-aged man who just couldn't get ahead in life, the mine's chief of general affairs did not seem pleased to see the two of them.

With her most angelic smile, Sven offered him some bread.

"Here, will you have a bit of what we've brought? I can assure you that it tastes delicious."

The chief resisted but before he knew it, Sven had moved next to him.

Her movement was brilliant. If they were on the battlefield, she would have pierced through the general affairs chief's heart three times over.

"We-well... I guess it couldn't hurt to try..."

Completely enchanted by the young girl, and grinning like a fool, the chief was unable to refuse and ate a bit of the bread.

"... Wow, this is good."

He widened his eyes in surprise and took another bite, and then another.

"This bread is the result of countless hours of quality analysis, on top of our minute attention to every detail of the creation process."

"But, this is expensive, isn't it? No matter how good it tastes, something this expensive is..."

"On the contrary, please look at this price list I have prepared."

Sven took out a price summary.

She had written the list with lettering so accurate and easy to read, it was as if it had been printed on a typewriter.

"This is... pretty cheap." The chief of general affairs was surprised.

"Absolutely! We have set our prices as low as possible."

If they could sell to a business in large quantities, the risk of unsold bread would disappear. Further, the cost of individually packaging the bread would be unnecessary, so the price could be dropped a great deal.

"Today's food becomes tomorrow's energy! When you enter into an alliance with Tockerbrot, you are ensuring a shining future for your mine!"

The conversation was entirely in Sven's control.

She had a way of speaking that would make the faces of both first class salesmen and first class swindlers grow pale. As if the signed contract was only a matter of time. But...

"... I do think it's a very good idea, but it is difficult."

The chief's face clouded over.

"Why would that be?! The bread tastes good and is cheap, there's nothing to complain... could it be collusion?" Sven's voice rose.

It was common practice for someone acquainted with a business proprietor to buy low-quality goods at high prices and pocket the difference.

Lud knew that many industries had these long-term arrangements, and that it would be difficult for a new business to gain a foothold.

"No, no, no, that's not it, it's not like that!" the chief protested, waving his hands.

"It's just... you two are, no... you.. you're the owner, right?" He pointed at Lud. "He's the problem."

"Me?"

Lud was taken aback.

There was no way that the big, burly miners could be scared of Lud.

"You, you're ex-military, right?"

"?!"

Lud had never kept his military background a secret. But, he never talked about it himself.

It must have gotten out somewhere, maybe someone at the government office said something, or just speculation from the scar on his cheek, but whatever there was no sense in denying it.

"Yes, I am..."

"I see... There are a lot of Pelfe-born workers at our mine. Please don't misunderstand. I don't harbor any ill-will but I don't want to provide any unnecessary stimulus."

Pelfe bordered Wiltia, and had always strongly influenced its neighbor, bot politically and culturally, so when the annexation first occurred, Pelfe people were largely in favor.

However, when Wiltia committed and act of treachery to Pelfe, public opinion changed in an instant.

"Is that so..."

Lud understood and began to feel as if cold, heavy chains were cutting into his entire body."

"In that case--"

Before Lud could finish, Sven spoke up.

"In that case, please allow me to speak with the people directly!"

The general affairs chief tried to stop her but he could not oppose Sven's vaguely threatening look as she said, "If you tell us that the people won't accept it, the only thing we can do is to speak with them directly, correct?"

With that, the two of them entered the miner's small break shack, close to the open mine.

"Excuse me please!"

The small shack overflowed with the stench of sweat, earth and tired men, but Sven's voice rang out.

"I have come from Tockerbrot, I am the waitress there. My name is Sven."

In her hands was the case filled with fragrant, fresh bread.

"I have refreshments for you all!"

It was just before lunch, so the laborers gazed hungrily at the case as though it contained treasure. Better yet, the beautiful Sven was carrying the delicious-looking bread and the combination erased any suspicions the men had.

"Ooooh!"

"Hey, little girl, can we have some?'"

"Amazing, I heard the rumors, but she's like a fairy..."

The men were immediately charmed by Sven and reached out for the bread.

"Here you go, please take as much as you want! Grin ♪"

Enthusiastic cheers erupted in the shack.

Until...

"Hey!"

While not very loud, the voice was deep.

The atmosphere in the room changed and everyone in the room froze and turned toward an elderly man sitting at a table in the back of the room.

"Nice to meet you, Mister...?"

"I'm Laurel, I'm the foreman here."

Laurel returned Sven's bright smile with a scowling look.He appeared to be over fifty years old, and the strong muscles and deep scars from wrestling the earth gave him the look of a seasoned soldier.

"Who gave you permission to come here?"

Laurel glared at Sven with hard eyes like a water buffalo that would send a lion flying if provoked.

"We received permission from the man at the office."

Without shrinking back, Sven returned his look.

"That damned geezer does whatever he feels like... Get outta here, we don't want you here."

As though he was driving off a stray dog by saying, "If you don't get outta here, I'm dumping water on you, and then I'm gonna drive you off with the rod." Laurel waved his hand at Sven.

However, Sven wasn't like a dog. She was more like a wolf, and she looked him directly in the eyes.

"Please tell me why."

"It's bread from a Wiltian soldier; I don't know what he might have stuffed in there."

Lud didn't say anything.

he had fought no major battles in Pelfe.

But, his comrades had. He didn't doubt that Laurel had lost precious people at the hands of Wiltian soldiers.

"You're an awfully narrow-minded mole boss, aren't you?"

"What?!"

With a careless smile, Sven had insulted not just Laurel, but all the men at the mine.

It was as if she had tosses a stick of dynamite into a tanker filled to the brim with oil.

Mining was hard and dangerous work. The miners confronted cave-ins, lack of oxygen, and poisonous gas eruptions.

These men felt a strong sense of pride towards their work and their profession.

Sven had spit on their pride.

"Who you callin' a mole...?!"

She saw a raging fire on the face of Laurel, and all of the other miners as well.

"Oh, am I mistaken? Not a mole, but a worm? Perhaps a mole cricket?"

Her contemptuous smile poured more fuel on the fire. it flared higher, and began to change into a hell fire.

"This bitch! You better be read--"

"Hold you tongue!"

Sven's powerful yell silenced the uproar. Walking quickly, as if the floor was giving way under her feet, Sven approached Laurel.

A miner reached out to stop her but at Sven's glare, he retracted his hand.

"Let's see if you body is smarter than your brain." Sven suggested.

She ran her hands across the table near Laurel, brushing off the ash trays, bottles and glasses, and placed her elbow on the table.

"Shall we settle things like this?"

She had taken up an arm wrestling pose.

The stillness that dominated the shack was so overwhelming that Lud could almost hear the silence running through it.

"... Pft."

Someone snickered, and as if the signal had been given, there was a loud burst of laughter around the room.

"Bwahahahaha."

It was understandable. A delicate, lovely girl had challenged a giant like Laurel, who could wrestle three grown men with one hand, to an arm wrestling match.

"If I lose, then you all can do whatever you want to me." Sven added.

Suddenly, the men's laughing stopped.

"If I lose, I will let you use me however you want."

It was true that these men could be vulgar and disorderly, but they were still human. They weren't beasts that pounced on any woman they saw. However, Sven's suggestion almost seized their reason.

"Leave."

Laurel had not lost his head, and he was furious.

"Don't wreak further havoc here. Leave now. Do think an arm that looks like the stem of a rose is going to be any match for me?"

"Should I interpret that as a declaration of surrender, Mister Cowardly Mole?"

Ignoring the ultimatum, Sven's will to fight remained.

"Don't come crying to me."

With a sound like a hammer striking, Laurel placed his elbow on the table.

"Let's make this clear. The loser will obey the orders of the winner, right?"

"Do what you want!"

Laurel wasn't planning to treat Sven like a toy.

He hadn't fallen that far.

But, Sven's contempt had gone too far. Laurel would give her a painful lesson.

"Umph!"

At the signal, Laurel put just enough strength in his arm to knock this young girl down a peg or two.

It wasn't all of his strength. it was just enough to knock this small, young girl down a peg or two.

But, Sven's arm didn't move.

"What?!"

A look of surprise appeared on  Laurel's face.

He knew how much strength he was using.

It was enough power to force a well-built adult into submission.

But, Sven's arm didn't budge, as if there was a pole running from her elbow on the table deep into the earth.

At that moment, fear began to show on Laurel's face.

It wasn't a fear of losing.

it was sheer terror of the young girl in front of him who suddenly looked like a strange creature.

"Hehehehehehe."

Sven smiled, as if she realized his desperation.

That smile was different from the one she showed Lud or her customers.

It was a smile filled with contempt - as if she was looking down at a weak, foolish person and laughing at him.

"... Okay, that's far enough."

As easily as if she was turning on a water faucet, Sven flicked her wrist and Laurel's arm was pushed down on to the table, his body rotated and he crashed to the floor.

No one said a word. it was an unbelievable and impossible spectacle.

"My, my, what happened? Is the wax down there still wet, or something?"

Standing up, Sven mocked Laurel as he crouched, holding onto his arm.

"Dang, that... stupid..."

"You are the stupid one. Make sure you keep your promise."

She cast a cold gaze at the men nearby.

The men looked frightened and said nothing.

They were grown men, trembling at a slender, young girl.

Some might hear this story and laugh at the miners for being cowardly, but anyone who witnessed it would think better of it.

Sven no longer appeared human.

She looked like the demon wolf in legends who devoured the entrails of the gods.

"Master, I did it. Now our contract is--"

"Sven!"

Lud slapped her as she turned around.

"What?""If you have to go this far, I don't want this contract. I don't want their business."

Lud wanted people to eat his bread willingly, happily and he would endure any hardship to this end. But Sven was using brute strength to pin them down, pry open their mouths and force bread down their throats.

This was no different from the cruelty of the Wiltian army that the miners detested.

"The only thing you've done is damage these men's pride."

Saying this, Lud knelt down in front of Laurel and pressed his forehead to the floor.

"I apologize."

He was prostrating himself, begging for the men's forgiveness.

What exactly was he apologizing for?

Perhaps for Sven's actions, or perhaps for the actions of the military.

He just had to apologize to them.

"... Master, stop, please stop!"

Sven tried to force Lud to stand but he ignored her and continued to press his head to the floor. Laurel and the other miners stared dumbfounded, unable to say a word.

"......"

Slowly getting up, Lud turned his back and said.

"Forgive us for causing trouble. If you'd like, please eat some bread... there's no... there's no poison in it."

Saying this with his back turned, Lud felt like his chest was being torn apart.

Lud had made his bread with milk, butter, chocolate chips, almond powder and walnuts. He had not and would never add a speck of poison.

"If you can't trust my words... then throw it away."

Lud left the small shack.

"Wait, Master!"

Frantic, Sven followed after him.

Lud's expression was dark, and he was enveloped in a sadness so heavy that he thought it might crush him and kill him.

Lud got into the truck without saying a word.

Usually Lud would open the passenger door for Sven first but today he climbed in and rested his head on the wheel in defeat.

Sven opened the passenger door on her own and sat next to him.

"U-Um... Master..."

Looking at Sven's distressed face, Lud's heart felt another blow.

He had no harsh words for Sven.

He understood that, in her own way, she was thinking about Lud and about the bakery.

But, he didn't have the energy to worry about Sven.

Silently, he tried to start the engine and after a low murmuring sound the engine stalled. The truck had been so well lately, and for it to stall now felt to Lud like mockery.

Bam!

Lud bashed the wheel.

He wasn't angry at Sven; in fact, he wasn't really angry at all.

He had thought that when he stopped being a soldier, he wouldn't have to hurt anyone anymore.

But he had done something caused pain and sadness.