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Lud and Sven arrived in Berun, the royal capital. First, they had to find lodging as a base to launch their search for Meitzer. Although his exact identity was unclear, as a general for the major nation of Noa, Meitzer was a man of significant social standing. He wasn’t the kind of person a mere baker—whatever that baker’s past—could meet simply because he wanted to. Their request for a meeting would be discarded before it could even reach Meitzer. However...
Some in their group had both official and backdoor connections that could be used to make contact. Daian was the director of the Royal Weapons Development Bureau, Blitzdonner was an agent for the intelligence agency Apuvea, and Sophia had been in charge of Meitzer’s security.
They hoped to get permission for a meeting in one day, but...
“What is the meaning of this?!” At their lodging, Sven raised her voice.
“Shouting at me won’t help!”
They had received responses to two of their three requests. Rebecca had come that night to tell them that Daian’s and Blitzdonner’s requests had been denied.
“Whatever the circumstances, that’s odd.”
During Meitzer’s visit to Wiltia, assassins from a rival nation tried to kill him. As events unfolded, he had hidden temporarily in Organbaelz. It would make sense if, now that he had returned, Wiltia would prevent encounters with anyone unknown in order to avoid another attempt on his life, but...
“The director and Major Blitzdonner are special, aren’t they?!”
Even if official channels were closed, it should be possible to arrange a meeting unofficially.
“As I said, asking me won’t help!”
Sven was gripping Rebecca’s lapels and almost shaking her as she questioned the girl. Breaking free of Sven’s grip, Rebecca responded.
“Like the director said, something inside the military... inside the Wiltian government, has caused confusion.”
“What did you say?”
Rebecca had taken on the role of messenger because Daian sensed the situation was abnormal. Some kind of incident was rocking the royal capital, and all of Wiltia.
“Is that the reason he can’t have anything to do with us?” Lud asked, uncertainty on his face.
“No, something has happened to Meitzer himself.”
“He wasn’t killed, was he?!”
Sven shook in surprise. She had recently experienced the shock of having someone who had been alive and well one day, suddenly disappear from the world the next. Mary Ville Mehl was a lawyer with a past connection to Lud, but she had become embroiled in certain dangerous affairs and departed this world.
“We will see. The director is using his connections to find a way, but...”
“Something happened?”
Genitz’s face appeared in the back of Lud’s mind. The man had attempted a coup and almost conquered the royal capital. Was something on the same scale occurring now?
“What shall we do, Master?”
“Hmm...”
He might have said there was nothing they could do at present. That’s how powerless Lud’s group was.
“This leaves only Sophia’s request. It would be good if we could learn something.” Lud spoke softly in hope that their last connection would open a way forward.
Meanwhile, Sophia...
“General Douglas is missing?!”
“Keep your voice down.”
When Sophia visited Marshal Elvin in his office at Wiltian military headquarters to inform him of her return, he told her about Meitzer’s abduction.
“But... why?!”
“I don’t know. We had secretly assigned guards to go with him, but they haven’t returned. I suspect they’ve been killed.”
Two days had passed since Douglas Meitzer asked Elvin to allow him to visit the Association for Space Travel.
“I’m at a loss. Presently, we’re negotiating with the embassy of Noa. We’ve ceased communications with the island itself, but we won’t be able to cover it up for long.”
Before Meitzer came to Wiltia, assassins had attacked and he had temporarily disappeared. The embassy of Noa had tried to hide that disgrace from Wiltia, and Noa had no recourse but to send a penguin in his place in order to buy time.
“I didn’t think saving that penguin would mean they would pay us back like this.”
Sophia thought it was ironic. Noa’s ruse would normally be taken as mockery, and handled through official diplomatic routes. However, if dissidents kidnapped Meitzer in Wiltian territory, things were different.
“Well, I used the penguin disturbance as a pretext to buy some time, but... only three days. If we rescue Douglas Meitzer in that amount of time, they’ll agree to act as if nothing happened.”
“Three days? That’s not long.”
That schedule was too tight to investigate this abduction.
“............”
“Marshal?”
However, Sophia didn’t see urgency on Elvin’s face.
“Do you... by any chance have an idea about who did it?”
“Yes.”
Long ago, a strategist said that war was but one form of diplomacy. In diplomacy, cutting deals is paramount. Elvin had accepted the conditions because he already suspected who the abductors were.
“The Security Department did it.”
“So that’s where...”
It was the armed organization nominally used to preserve the peace at public facilities in the Principality of Wiltia. Due to its secretive nature, the investigation after the recent rebellion had not extended to this group, allowing it to become an enclave for many of Genitz’s followers. The members were war hawks who rejected peaceful methods and truly believed that if another war occurred, it would end with Wiltia ruling the world.
“In the recent Great War, our nation was victorious because Noa maintained its neutrality. It would be foolish for us to let the primary cause of our victory slip away.”
Elvin shook his head in exasperation.
“General Douglas said he wanted to visit the Association for Space Travel. I don’t know why, but apparently the unit is made up of Genitz’s supporters.”
Elvin had ordered a subordinate to investigate. The bizarre situation that came to light was dizzying.
“What are they thinking?”
Sophia was talented but serious—some would describe her as stubborn—so she couldn’t even imagine what this situation might be.
“A lower-ranking officer will explain further.”
At that moment, as if perfectly timed, an officer entered the room.
“Are you the Azure Shudder?!”
Sophia recognized the man. Wiltia had many ace pilots, but only some were given nicknames. Lud was the Silver Wolf and Blitzdonner was the Crimson Hawk. The nicknames raised the morale of their allies while breaking their enemies’ fighting spirit.
“Long time, no see. Major Rundstadt, I believe we haven’t met since the ceremony celebrating our victory.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Azure Shudder was the nickname of Leia Toolman, the man who stood before her. He had yet another name. The Bulletproof Baron. He was the captain of the guard unit serving directly under Marshal Elvin and was Elvin’s right-hand man.
Sophia didn’t think he surpassed her as a Hunter Unit pilot, but in combat ability as a soldier... During the post-war confusion, he completed many difficult missions and had come to be called the Bulletproof Baron.
“Hm?”
The military saber at his side rattled.
“This? The captain isn’t comfortable with a European saber, so we ordered this from Yamato.”
Yamato was the island nation off the far eastern edge of the eastern continent. In Yamato, they called sabers katana. In addition to their strength, they were as beautiful as works of art.
The sword hanging from Toolman’s belt was from Yamato.
“I’d offer a more detailed introduction, but unfortunately, there’s no time.”
“Yes, I understand. Go on.”
Prompted by Sophia, Toolman explained the situation.
“First, look at these.”
He presented a number of documents. Among them was a page that looked like a blueprint.
“What’s that?”
“The Security Department calls it Verne 1. Supposedly, it’s a rocket.”
“Rocket?”
“A rocket is a type of vehicle propelled by chemical fuel for enormous propulsion, and is capable of reaching outer space. This rocket, however, is for unmanned flight.”
Under the rubric of scientific and cultural progress, the Security Department had been providing financial support to the Association for Space Travel.
“How do they plan to use it?”
“Major... once launched, this will indeed fly into space, but depending on its trajectory, it could cross national boundaries and directly attack distant enemy nations.”
The impact of science and technology could be both a positive and negative. A deadly poison, if weakened, could be a medicine.
The rocket developed by the Association for Space Travel was a new weapon, never dreamed of by anyone in Wiltia, the entire continent of Europea, or anywhere in the world. It was a long-range ballistic missile.
“What? And those people are trying to build one?!”
“No.”
Sophia was gripped by shock and revulsion as Toolman continued.
“They’ve already built one, and they’re going to launch it in three days.”
“That’s incredibly dangerous!!”
If they launched such a missile, it would set off chaos around the world. What had started the recent Great War was a shooting committed by a single unruly youth in a small nation. This time, the spark for a Second Great European War would be Wiltia.
“If they actually use this as a missile, where would they drop it? I suppose it would be August.”
August and Wiltia had signed a cease-fire but not a peace treaty. When it came to international treaties, their relationship was as fraught as if they were still at war.
“Can they do that?”
“We can only estimate from the blueprint, but a specialist said it’s quite possible.”
“Argh!”
Without thinking, Sophia hit the wall. If the marshal hadn’t been there, she would have kicked the desk and pulverized it.
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