1 Good Service Starts With Your Smile

The fourth month of 920 E.C.-

In the newly-formed Pelfe region of the Principality of Wiltia stood the small mining town of Organbaelz, and on the edge of that town there was a bakery called Tockerbrot.

It had opened a year ago and was now in danger of going out of business.

"There we go! It looks great... Here Jacob, have a taste!"

Inside of Tockerbrot, the young owner passed his newest, fresh-from-the-oven creation to the young boy, Jacob, on of the owner's few friends and a regular customer.

"Munch, munch... hmm, what is this?" Jacob asked, as he bit into the enticingly-fragranced bread.

There was a sweet paste packed into the soft, freshly-baked bread.

"You like it? It's an invention from the east, called anpan. It's filled with a paste made from sweet, boiled beans. Over there it's known as a type of sweet roll."

The baker had learned this from an acquaintance from the Far East during the war.

"It's intriguing, isn't it? This is the kind of bread that a country of rice-eating people comes up with. Even the yeast they use is different; they ferment rice to make something called 'kome-koji' and use that to make bread."

Oddly enough, it paired very well with milk.

"Yeah, it's good."

"Really? In that case, it's a success!"

The owner was delighted with Jacob's seal of approval.

This bread couldn't be found anywhere else in the Wiltia - or anywhere else on the entire Europea continent.

"I'm sure that with my new, mysterious eastern-style bread, the customers will come rolling in!"

The owner clenched his fist, as if he was grabbing tightly onto his hoped for the future.

"... I still think it's impossible."

Jacob's reply doused his optimism in an instance.

"Why?!"

Even though Jacob was only twelve years old, he held his fingers up to his forehead and shook his head like a cunning old gentleman admonishing the owner for his foolishness.

"I'll start by saying that I think you're a good guy."

"Oh, um, well, thank you."

The owner made a puzzled face and wondered why Jacob was saying this.

"I think you're diligent and passionate, and you're always eager to learn."

"Oh, heh, don't make me blush..."

The owner looked down in embarrassment and scratched his head.

"But!"

Jacob thrust out his finger, as if to flip up the owner's drooping head.

"The real reason this bakery isn't popular... is you, Lud! Your face scares them away!"

Tockerbrot was in trouble and the reason was clear.

The bakery had no customers.

It wasn't because the bread didn't taste good. In fact, through the owner's hard work, the taste continued to improve steadily over time.

And it wasn't because the bread was too expensive. The baker's prices were as low as possible, low enough that children could buy it with their spending money.

The owner hadn't neglected to do market research either. He discovered the regional foods in the area and had an understanding of the flavors that the local residents preferred.

While it was true that the bakery was located outside the central part of the town, it was still on the main street. So the lack of customers couldn't be attributed to its location, either.

More importantly than anything else, there was no other bakery in town.

Everyone in town either baked their own bread or they were forced to buy the dry and tasteless bread sold on the peddler's truck, which was closer to crackers than real fresh, bread.

The lack of business wasn't caused by its competition.

The main reason the bakery was failing was Lud Langart.

Lud frightened people.

"Gaght!"

Looking at the stricken face of his friend, Jacob furrowed his brow.

Lud knew.

He knew that Jacob would never deliberately hurt someone.

So now, if Jacob was saying this to Lud, no matter how hard it was for Lud to hear, there was no doubt that he was telling the truth.

Lud had thought it strange for a long time.

When he greeted someone on the street, he would get no response. Children would run from him, young women would hide themselves in the shadows, and now and again even men would walk the other way at the sight of him.

Lud assumed this treatment was because he was a foreigner.

Jacob was almost half Lud's age, but Lud thought of him as an equal and as a friend. He knew Jacob would only tell him the truth.

"A-Am I really... that scary...?"

The reality was hard to accept.

"I mean, you're weirdly tall and absurdly buff, your eyes are way too sharp and penetrating, and above all there is that cross scar on your cheek. When you walk into a bakery and see someone like that, it's scary!"

"Th-that's..."

Lud was born with his height, he was in the habit of building up his muscles, and being a baker was hard work, so his arms grew even bigger.

"My scar... it would be hard to hide a scar this big..."

"To be honest, I should be used to it by now but if I don't properly brace myself before coming in, it can sometimes be bad for my heart."

"I-I'm trying. I try to have on a bright smiling face..."

"Okay, smile"

Lud gave a big grin...

But instead of a smile, it looked like Lud was distorting and straining the muscles of his face.

"You know... a smile like that says, 'Shall I give you a lesson, fool?' Watch out'"

Lud had given the smile his all. Maybe he was truly beyond help.

"Lud, as long as you are the one standing behind the counter, this bakery will have no customers... It's sad, but that's the truth."

"Th-that can't be..."

Lud held his head in his hands and slumped low.

He resembled a demonic beast trembling in fear at the word of God.

"I'm saying this for your own good. Why don't you a part-time helper? Then you can stay in the back baking the bread. I think that's the best idea."

"B-but..."

If Luke could save the bakery, he would do anything.

And actually, between baking the bread, dealing with customers, cleaning up and doing all the other chores, it was a lot for one person to handle.

He worked without a break but there was a limit to how much he could do on his own.

"Hmmm... in that case Jacob, could you-?"

"No way! That isn't happening!" Jacob shook his head.

"Our repair shop is in trouble, too. We're so understaffed. I would hire our watchdog Marjes to help out if I could. Sorry, but it's impossible."

The war was over and with it, an end to special procurements for the war effort. The repair shop that Jacob's family ran had to cut staff, and now the whole family had to fill in.

"Besides that, if a man is kneading the dough, and baking the bread, and a man is the one stuffing the bread into the customer's bag - there's way too many men! It's nothing but men!"

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Hire a waitress!"

Jacob brought his face close and shoved his pointer finger in Lud's face.

He looked like a detective that had found the critical clue needed to solve a murder case.

"You understand, Lud? This town is small, and it's a mining town. There is a mountain of dirty men here. There is a ton of them. But, if you put a beautiful waitress in front of them with your delicious bread in her hands? That's the way you will draw in customers!"

It was true that Organbaelz was a mining town, and there was little other industry, including restaurants.

The only restaurants served food that tasted so bad it made you wonder if they were even trying.

"You have to hire a girl, and if possible, make her wear a frilly outfit or something. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!"

Lud started to think that Jacob was getting carried away with his own good idea.

"I've thought this for a while but... could you actually be a Sparian?"

Sparia was a penisular nation south of Wiltia.

This country had a long history but its citizens were known to be lively and many of their men were womanizers.

They had a reputation for being overly passionate and theatrical.

Lud didn't dislike Sparia, but from his experience, he didn't want to join any military campaigns with them if he didn't have to.

"What are you saying? You already know that both my parents are Wiltian."

Jacob had blonde hair and blue eyes, the characteristics of a model Wiltian citizen. Still, Lud couldn't help wondering if maybe he had a little Sparian blood.

"A waitress, huh..."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not exactly..."

Jacob's suggestion wasn't wrong, but...

"I'm... not good with women..."

Lud was raised in the military since childhood. He spent most of his youth on the battlefield.

The only woman around him was like a substitute older sister.

"Well, you gotta decide, Lud."

"Hmm..."

He was Lud Langart, a former Hunter Unit pilot for the Principality known as The Silver Wolf, who made enemy soldiers tremble in fear.

But now he was the owner of the Tockerbrot Bakery.

He couldn't just obey the orders of his superiors.

He had to think for himself, decide for himself, and take responsibility for everything himself.

"... Alright."

This might be the first or second most important decision of Lud's life.

And even he didn't know if he was preparing to fight or just readying himself for defeat.

Several hours later, with help from Jacob, Lud had created a Help Wanted poster and tacked it up in  front of the bakery, on the notice board in town, on the wall of Jacob's family factory and on the church's message board.

"Now hiring a waitress! Looking for someone with a fantastic smile! For details, please see Lud Langart, owner of Tockerbrot."

The people of the town just thought the serious-faced baker was behaving strangely again and laughed it off.

For the first few days, Lud was nervous, thinking that someone would knock on his door at any moment.

However, the people for the village were sure that no young girl would want to work for that bakery.

Even if there such a girl, her family would stop her.

No one responded to the poster and soon Lud forgot all about it.

And then one day a young girl was seen staring at the poster on the town notice board.

"... Lud Langart."

The girl whispered the name on the poster, great emotion echoing in her voice and the loveliest of smiles spreading across her face.

"I found you."

Tearing the poster off the message board, without any hesitation, as if she were charging off to battle, she walked down the main street of Organbaelz.

Tockerbrot seemed under the spell of the god of tranquility and, resting his chin on his hands at the counter, Lud let out a sigh.

He had prepared freshly-baked bread, homemade jam, and delicious coffee and tea.

But no one opened the door to his bakery.

There was a small bell attached to the door so Lud would hear customers enter, even if he was working at his bread kiln.

But, the bell never rang.

Occasionally on a windy day, Lud would rush from the back at the sound of the bell, only to be disappointed to find no one there. Even he thought this was sad.

"......"

Lud took out a mirror just large enough to fit neatly in his hand.

He tried smiling.

Grin...

But his smile seemed to say, "If this is the level of strength that you dare to oppose me with, then your foolishness is actually extremely impressive. I shall express my respect for your grandiose foolishness by giving you a choice - in what way would you prefer to die?"

Lud was a diligent and serious man.

At the end of each long day when the bakery closed, he cleaned the story and the break kiln, and experimented baking new types of bread.

And on top of this, he added a new item to his daily regimen.

Smiling practice.

And the result of a month of training was this frightening smile.

"Sigh..."

Lud had forgotten how to smile.

He was sure that he must have smiled when he was a child.

He couldn't remember smiling since then.

Thinking back on his childhood, Lud's face became more warped and his expression was even less like a smile.

Cling cling...

The bell rang.

Expecting Jacob, Lud stood up to prepare tea with milk.

Jacob always stopped by the bakery on his way home from school to buy a piece of bread and enjoy some small talk with Lud. All that awaited him at home was work for his family, so a snack at the bakery was Jacob's small escape.

Jacob's allowance money was not much.

Lud often told him that he didn't need to pay. Lud thought of Jacob as a friend and was just happy that he came, so he felt awkward taking his money.

But Jacob just said, "I'm not so bad off that I need to accept charity, especially from a bakery that looks like it's going out of business."

Usually, Jacob was easily flattered, but his Wiltian pride far surpassed Lud's, despite being a native-born Wiltian himself.

At the very least, Lud would treat him to his favorite milk tea, free of charge.

"You're early today, Jacob."

He was about to ask Jacob if he was skipping school, when Lud's words got caught in his throat.

"... Huh?"

It wasn't Jacob standing there, but a young girl.

She had lovely, long silver hair, and was wearing a white dress and a wide-brimmed hat. The bright red pupils in her eyes stood out from the rest of her. She was beautiful.

"... Smile."

The girl smiled. It was a smile that was not just attractive, but captured the heart of anyone who saw it.

The smiling women Lud had seen over the last ten years were either smiling to get at the silver coins in his wallet, or from their devotion to God.

So when he saw the friendly smile of this young girl, it was as if he was seeing the beautiful wings of a bird from a legend or fairytale.

"Ah... Ah?! W-Welcome!"

If it wasn't Jacob, then this must be a customer.

In a fluster, Lud greeted the girl.

A smile might be dangerous, thought Lud, in fact it was probably better to be expressionless.

His face was stiff and strained.

"Excuse me... I saw this poster, so I came here..."

In the girl's hand was the Help Wanted poster he had put up a month ago.

"Has the position already been filed?"

"Huh? Oh, that..."

Lud was surprised. He had already half-forgotten about hiring a waitress for the bakery.

"... No, not... yet..."

When human beings encounter something unexpected, or when they are in a situation they can't understand, they unconsciously behave as they did in a similar situation.

Regardless of what Lud was actually thinking in his head, he looked like a soldier who had fallen into an enemy trap and was caught in a pincer attack.

"Really? That's great!"

A giant smile spread across the girl's face, like that of an angel.

In an instant, the lonely bakery was enveloped in light and cheer.

"Oh, um, y-yeah, great..."

Lud didn't know what to say but the girl didn't hesitate.

"My name is Sven. Would you allow me to work here starting today? I am fine with whatever wage you can provide. Or you can pay me in kind."

"O-oka--"

Sven stepped closer to Lud and rattled on, almost begging Lud.

"I don't have anywhere to go... That's why if possible, I... Would it be possible for me to live here in the bakery?"

"Eh? O-okay..."

"Really? Thank you, that's great!"

The inside of Lud's head was still in chaos.

But Lud had said okay. Not only had he hired her, he had agreed to let her live in the bakery.

"Huh? Live here?! Wait a second, that's a bit much..."

Over half of Lud's house was taken up by the bakery. His actual living space was a single room used as an office-parlor-bedroom-study, and an attic that was a storeroom.

But, before he could explain, Sven jumped up in glee, flew over the counter and wrapped her arms around Lud's neck and embraced him.

"He-wai-hold on-Ah?!"

"I will do my best, with the utmost dedication and selflessness. I'm looking forward to working with you, Master!"

It was a passionate embrace, as if they were two lovers reunited by the strings of fate.

Here in the small mining town of Organbaelz a small tale - unknown to history - began in a small bakery, on the verge of collapse.

That same evening, there was a small uproar in Organbaelz - a dull town without a shred of excitement.

It wasn't because someone had died, nor was it because someone had come back to life.

However, a crowd of people had formed and there was a great commotion.

"Attention everyone! At Tockerbrot we have a wide selection of tasty croissants, bagels, and baguette sandwiches for you to try. Please stop by!"

Wearing a black and white waitress uniform and a lace headband, Sven generously showered everyone with her smile.

Men after all, are stupid.

The sight of a beautiful young girl - lovelier than even the actresses on stage at the Grand Theater in Berun, the capital of Wiltia - attracted the men of the town as if they were mice led by the flute of a piper.

"Come try the newest item on our menu! The mystery of the Far East, sweet and delicious, our higly-praised, freshly-baked 'anpan' is now available!"

Sven not only looked beautiful, but her voice was sweet, like a melody from heaven.

She had completely captured the men's eyes and ears.

To close the deal, she gave a smile that would make even an angel run for the hills in defeat.

Her smile was enough to capture the men's hearts. Not just enough, it was more than enough; no, it was one hundred times more than enough.

That day, Tockerbrot recorded the greatest number of customers since the bakery opened.

The men knew that the owner of this bakery was a foreigner with an unpleasant look in his eyes and a frightening face.

But, Sven's smile had the power to overcome even that fear.

"Th-this one, please!"

Holding out his bread, the customer's nervous voice became high-pitched and excited.

"Thank you very much! So, you have two here, that will be two sigs and three krants, please."

Sven took the customer's money and gently placed the bread in a bag, as if it was her beloved child, before passing it to the customer.

Her fingertips briefly touched the fingers of the customer.

"Thank you very much for your patronage. You'll come again, won't you?"

She placed her hand over the customer's as she spoke.

"Y-yes! Certainly! Definitely!"

The men left the shop with bright red faces, as if they were drunk. Everyone pushed and shoved in line, waiting impatiently for their turn to see Sven up close.

The gluttonous and fat Laurel reached the counter holding a tray overflowing with bread to buy.

"Oh my, so much! Gentlemen who eat so much are very powerful and strong, they are truly splendid" And with the other men in line watching, she held Laurel's greasy hands for a moment.

"Hold on a second! I'm buying five weizenbrots and three kipfels!"

"Crap, I've only got three rolls!"

"I won't lose! I've got zopfs, pretzels and roggenbrots, ten of each!"

Men, after all, are stupid.

More bread per customer was sold that day than ever before.

In a shadow by the kiln, Lud watched the scene unfold with a complicated look on his face.

"What's with the strange face?"

"Jacob! I've told you not to come back here, haven't I? This is where I handle the food!"

"It's fine, I'm already here," Jacob reassured him. "More importantly, that girl is amazing, she's got all of the men wrapped around her finger. Where did you manage to find that waitress outfit, anyways?"

Sven had found a broken sewing machine left in the storeroom by the previous owners and asked Lud if he had any cloth she could use.

Unfortunately, the only thing Lud had was an ancient black felt carpet.

Nevertheless, Sven took it and after several hours in the storeroom fiddling with the sewing machine, she emerged in a beautiful waitress outfit.

Even the seamstresses at the Thieves' Market in Nepolis would grow pale at the speed and brilliance of her work.

She also added lovely embroidery to the headband and apron.

Lud knew that the black cloth had come from his old carpet, but he didn't recognize the white silk of the embroidery.

"You don't mean to tell me... did you use the clothes that you were wearing too?"

"Yes! My underwear is enough for sleeping in, and once I'm awake, I'm ready to work."

Lud wondered if she had been sewing her outfit almost naked?

Imagining the scene in his, Lud blushed slightly.

"Master?"

"Ah, Hahahaha! N-Nothing! But what are you going to do without a spare set of clothes?"

Lud wanted to provide that for her he didn't have any way to do so.

"Hehehe... You don't need to worry about that. I will be able to take care of ten thousand customers before this clothing wears out."

As Sven said this, she chuckled to herself like an elite soldier boasting about a new weapon.

Over fifty customers had visited the shop just that day. If business continued like this, it wouldn't take a year for Sven's prediction to come true.

But Lud's thoughts were in turmoil.

"I don't know."

"What?" Jacob asked.

"Does this mean that as long as there's a cute girl here, anything will sell?"

Lud had believed that as long as he made good products seriously and with all his effort, people would come to the shop to buy them.

However, he was no told that Sven's smile was more important than the many days he had persevered.

He was thrilled that customers had come. But it made him sad too.

"How naïve!"

Jacob shook his finger and admonished the troubled Lud.

"You're naïve Lud! If you could sell something just by having a cute girl smile, then everyone would be doing it! But that's not true, is it?"

"What does that mean? Ow!"

Lud was depressed and stooping lower than usual, so Jacob's finger stabbed him in the nose.

"I'm saying that customers aren't that stupid. I'll you something. You're going to get even busier from here on."

"Huh...?"

Jacob chuckled to himself. The next day, his prediction came true.

"What the heck..."

The next day, men drawn by the stories of Sven's beauty visited Tockerbrot again, and - in numbers surpassing the men - women and children came too.

"Heh, heh, heh. Just as I expected."

Barging once again into the kiln area, Jacob smiled, but Lud just stared in awe at all his customers, too dumbfounded to scold Jacob.

The wives of the men who had come home from the bakery the day before, laden with all the fresh bread, at first were furious at the unnecessary expense.

"Why in the world would you waste money like this? Even thought we already have dinner?!"

Sven's magic didn't affect the wives. They resented and blamed her.

However, food is innocent, and that night they ate Lud's bread with their dinner.

"Oh my..."

"This is?"

"Delicious!"

Since there was no other bakery, everyone had always baked their own bread. They didn't even want to touch the nasty, preserved bread that the peddler came to sell.

But, there was no comparison between their bread and that baked by Lud, who day and night perfected his recipes and technique.

Those women now remembered that bread could be delicious. Their desire to eat and savor properly baked fresh bread was suddenly rekindled.

And Tockerbrot had many different baked treats on it shelves, priced low enough for all the townspeople to afford.

Hungry for the small donuts covered in nuts and chocolate, the children came to the shop, copper coins held firmly in hand.

And, not only did Sven's smiling face capture the hearts of the men, it gave a sense of security to the women and children.

"Thank you very much. Here is one of our newest items, free of charge. Please visit us again soon!"

For the women, Sven wore a smile of warm friendliness and respect.

"Thank you, here you go. They were just fried so be careful when you eat them."

For the children, her smile conveyed good humor and kindness.

"I don't it..."

Lud trembled as he eyed the bakery overflowing with customers.

This had always been his dream.

He had longed to have a crowd of people eating his bread.

He was so happy that he was on the verge of tears.

"Sniff, sniff"

Or rather, he was already in tears.

"You understand now, right? The girl was the key that opened the door to the treasure room. Inside are the treasures that you've polished and shined, all lined up. Everyone is here for that!"

No matter how much a beautiful girl improves sales, if the product being sold is unappetizing, the sales won't last.

The reason Jacob had advised Lud to hire a waitress was because he knew that as soon as the villagers tasted the bread baked by this dour-faced man, it would capture their hearts and never let go.

"Master! The pumpernickel has sold out! Please provide more as soon as possible."

Sven's voice came from the storefront.

"C'mon, what do you think you're doing! If you show your face in the bakery, the customers will run away. Keep quiet and bake the bread!"

Jacob jabbed Lud with his elbow as he spoke.

But despite his words, tears of sympathy welled in Jacob's eyes.

"Yeah, that's right... I'd better get baking! I'll bake until this body burns up!"

"I don't you think you have to go that far..."

Since he had been discharged from the military two years earlier, and since he had opened the bakery a year ago, this was the first day that Lud had truly been happy.

It was time to close up the shop---

"Thank you very much, please come again."

With a big smile on her face, Sven sent off the last customer.

"Phew..."

"Thank you for all your hard work, Master!"

Sven showed Lud a different face than the one she showed customers. This was the face of someone gazing at the most precious person in the entire world.

"Please, have a drink."

Sven carried a silver steel tray with a cup of piping hot coffee.

"Thanks, Sven."

Lud was happy. A lot of customers had come today, too.

He heard the woman who managed the general store on the corner say, "It was very delicious!"

When Lud had first come to town, she had trembled and averted her eyes.

Now that same person ate his bread and said that it was delicious.

"Seriously, thank you Sven. This all thanks to you."

Think back, Lud thought that Sven had planned to attract the male customers from the beginning. In that case, it would make sense for her to go out in the evening when the men were on their way home from work, rather than at lunch time.

"T-that's... I haven't done anything. All of this is because of the taste of your bread, Master. I am only trying to be as helpful as possible."

Sven furiously shook her head, as if she did not deserve such an honor.

Suddenly, Lud began to have a strange feeling.

Sven said, just as Jacob had said earlier, that it was Lud's skill at baking that was responsible for bringing in customers.

But, while Jacob knew this because he had visited the bakery so often, why Sven believe so strongly in his abilities when they had only just met?

And why did Sven treat a fierce-looking person like him with such kindness and goodwill?

Sven didn't know Lud. She was such a beautiful girl that he was sure if they had met before, even in passing, he would have remembered for decades to come.

But somehow Lud didn't feel like he was meeting her for the first time.

She would suddenly look at him with a big, broad, smile that would put him at a loss for words, and he would feel a mysterious sense of nostalgia.

Just having her at his side put him at ease, and changed his chronic worry into peace of mind.

He hadn't experienced this since leaving the military.

"He Sven... Um... Have I met you somewhere before?"

Sven's face stiffened in surprise.

"Huh?"

"This doesn't feel like the first time we've met. I feel like I knew you before... somewhere..."

"Master... Um..."

Sven's voice, which had been so bright and clear while chatting with customers, became flustered, and her eyes clouded as if she had suddenly come down with a fever.

Snap!

"Ouch!"

"Huh?"

"Ahh!"

The metal tray snapped in two, like a wafer.

It was a cheap tray, so it might have been cracked, but it was unusual for it to split so cleanly in two.

"I, I-I-I'm so so-so-sorry! I've destroyed a precious piece of equipment for this store... I apologize for this..."

"Forget it, are you okay? Are there any cuts on your hands, or your fingers?" Lud put the panicking Sven's hands in his and studied them for any cuts.

The distance between the two of them narrowed, and their faces were close enough to feel each other's breath.

"Um, aaaaahhhh..."

Sven became even more flustered.

She untangled her hands from Lud's and hid them behind her back as she recoiled.

"Um, I-I'm... I'm fine so... U-um, uh... Master, I am finished with work for today!"

Sven said this and ran off to the storeroom.

"Well then..."

Left behind, Lud stood confounded for a moment.

"Well then..."

Left behind, Lud stood confounded for a moment.

"Maybe... she thought that I was trying to make a move on her?"

Realizing that his question about meeting her before could be interpreted as a clumsy pick-up line, he shook his head in embarrassment.

Berun, the capital of Wiltia. Two hundred years old, the city took the shape of a circle, radiating out from the royal palace at its center.

Of course, the security forces closely guarded the royal palace but there was another building that required even stronger guards around it.

That facility was the Royal Weapons Development Bureau, where the weapon that had completely redefined the battlefield - the Hunter Unit - originated.

Inside the Development Bureau, Sophia Von Rundstadt stormed down the hall with a furious look on her face, her combat boots echoing after her.

The room she was headed for was the the office of the Director of the Weapons Development Bureau.

"Major Sophia Von Rundstadt, sir!"

Practically breaking down the door with her knock, Sophia charged into the room without awaiting a reply. Inside was a grinning man who only annoyed her further.

"My, my, Miss Sophia. Why are you in such an uproar? If I had known you had a problem, I would have come to see you myself."

Sophia met his amused gaze with a glare.

"I heard that the prototype is missing. What is the meaning of this? I demand an explanation."

Sophia was the commander of the security force stationed at the Development Bureau.

However, her rank did not place her under the command of the director.

She had been deployed to the Bureau's security by military headquarters, and even though he was a colonel, she had no obligations to follow his orders.

Further, if the director took actions that were deemed inadvisable by headquarters, she had the authority and the responsibility to stop him.

"And why would you know about that? That's strange... I am positive that I made sure no one would reveal that..."

"What?!"

Sophia felt blood rush to her head.

New weapons were currently being developed to prepare for the next war.

More than a month ago, the most valuable and highly classified of those weapons was suddenly lost.

The loss of this experimental and expensive prototype was extremely serious, and concealing that fact was close to high treason.

"Do you... do you understand what you are saying?! Our valuable prototype has been seized!"

Sophia had the authority to arrest the director right here and right now, depending on his answer.

The frightening eyes of the Devil's Black Spear gleamed sharply.

"Our valuable prototype has been seized by another country! How dare you sit there making such a face!"

 Sophia took a step forward and tried to grab the director by his collar when he thrust his palms out like a magician and stopped Sophia in her tracks.

"It wasn't seized by anyone, Major Rundstadt."

"Excuse me?"

The clownish man in front of her definitely had his own ideas and perhaps his own agenda.

"Think about it for a second. Major. On the outside of this facility we have your military security force. Inside, the most elite members of the Development Bureau's team are spread throughout the facility. In any case, Wiltia's ultra-top secret 'gate'--"

"Director!"

Sophia raised her voice to try and cut him off.

"That information is not something to speak of so lightly!"

"Hmph... My apologies."

While Sophia angrily faced the director, he momentarily hid his grin, and assumed an expression of seriousness.

Although the Great War had ended - or precisely because it had ended - and in order to prepare for the next war, the intelligence agencies of every country were trying to steal the secret behind the Hunter Units, so vital to the strategy of the Principality of Wiltia.

The director had started to talk about the very core of those secrets, the most important classified information.

Even in a private office inside the Bureau itself, it wasn't to be discussed casually.

"With no exaggeration, this facility is locked so tightly that not even ant could slip through our security, and despite this, over a month passed before you became aware of this situation."

"......?!"

Sophia finally realized what the director was trying to say.

The security at the Development Bureau was even tighter than the security at the royal palace.

If someone was going to steal the top secret Hunter Unit prototype, it could only be achieved by taking control of several divisions of troops and capturing the facility.

This had not happened.

The daily logs kept by Sophia's security forces reported nothing unusual.

"T-that would mean... it can't be... it left on its own?"

"As expected, you're very intelligent, Miss Sophia. That's right. The prototype actually broke out and escaped the Bureau of its own volition. No matter how much you barricade the outside from invaders, you can't do the same on the inside. Moreover, that was how she was built. It's her specialty, after all."

"I didn't think... it could be true..."

Sophia put her hands on her forehead with a horrified expression, as if she was in a terrible nightmare.

And yet, looking at the situation from a purely results-based perspective, the new weapon - a project that had seemed to be the product of a wild fantasy - was successful.

"We have already sent out a search party. No matter how it happened, it appears that our prototype passed the activation tests. The follow-up testing is the Bureau's job. Your job is to keep the Development Bureau building secure, am I correct?"

A spiteful smile appeared on the director's face.

"Damn!" thought Sophia.

Sophia's expression revealed her extreme frustration.

The fact that an entirely separate security force had been deliberately stationed at the Development Bureau was just one sign of its importance. Despite the military's attempts to cut post-war spending, the additional security force also displayed the increasing budget that was funneled into the Bureau year after year.

It as the same as the mice belling the cat.

Since Sophia's security forces had no authority outside the Bureau's grounds, there was no need for the Development Bureau to inform them that the prototype was gone.

"Please... Excuse me."

Sophia turned her back to exit the room.

"See you later, Miss Sophia! We should talk over lunch next time!"

"......!"

Without glancing back at Daian Fortuner, the Bureau director, Sophia slammed the door shut and left.