Editing City Series:Volume1 Chapter 2 (section)

===Part 3===

Else was unsure what to do about the object before her eyes or the man standing in front of it.

A young man wore a lab coat and apron over a work outfit and a giant mixture of metal pipes and panels sat behind him. Also, a plump elderly man in a work outfit stood on top of the machine.

…''Who are they?

She could not deny that an exasperated look appeared on her lips as she aimed her submachine gun at them.

Even she thought the look in her eyes was harsh, but she felt that look gave her even more strength as she asked a question.

“What are you two doing?”

The young man in an apron tilted his head and asked a question of his own.

“And what are you doing here, lovely little lady?”

“Cut the flattery. What are you doing at our home?”

“This is your home? Do you live in the woods?”

“Do you ''want'' me to shoot you?”

“No, no. That sounds painful.”

“Then answer me. I really will shoot you next time.”

He looked down at the frying pan in his hand.

“Um… Didn’t you already shoot at us?”

“The first shot was practice, the second was a warning, and the next one will be for real.”

This much was no more than a greeting.

The young man must have caught on because he smiled and scratched at his head.

“Hmm. I feel like you’re skipping quite a few steps here. Could you explain how we ended up in this situation?”

“Y’know, you’re the ones making this so complicated. What is that machine behind you?”

“Oh, this thing? It’s a secret weapon of the military.”

He casually dropped a bombshell of a statement.

Else lowered the submachine gun without thinking and looked at the young man without using the sight.

“A secret weapon?”

“Yep. The military told us to hand it over after we built it, so we ran off.”

“The military? Then this-…?”

She looked up at the mechanical mass behind the young man and her eyes met with the man standing on top of it.

She lowered her head a bit on reflex.

…''I think I’ve seen him somewhere before.

To check on that, she spoke to the young man in front of her.

“Who are you two?”

“I’m Walter, second-in-command of the Wagner Laboratory. The ship behind me is the dp-XXX Kaiserburg that was built there and the guy on top of it is the lab head, Paul Wagner.”

She recognized the laboratory name and the older man’s name.

“I’ve heard of you! You taught emblem technology at my university until two years ago!”

The professor laughed on top of the Kaiserburg.

“Oh? So you’re a student at the University of Berlin?”

Else nodded and looked back and forth between Paul and Walter.

“And I read in the newspaper that there was a commotion at the Wagner Laboratory and the lab head and second-in-command went missing.”

“Missing? Oh, man. What do I do if my relatives put in a search request?”

“''That’s'' what you’re worried about!? What are famous people like you doing here?”

“Well, we used this new experimental weapon, but its power dropped like a rock and it malfunctioned. We decided it needed repairs and we happened to spot the perfect place to hide it down below.”

“The perfect place to hide it, huh?”

“Yeah, sorry about that. We thought it was a park.”

“Fine, whatever. …More importantly, can that machine really fly?”

“Yeah, it can even fly to space.”

She frowned at that.

“Sorry, but I seriously doubt that. You just said it malfunctioned, didn’t you?”

“No, no. It can make it. It was made to reach space.”

She sensed confidence in Walter’s fixation on the word “space”.

“Hey…”

“Yes?”

“When you say space, you mean outer space, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait. Are you serious? No one has ever successfully done that before.”

“It’ll be fine. As long as this thing grows properly, it can go anywhere.”

One word from his explanation did not fit, so she asked to make sure she had heard right.

“Grows?”

“Yeah, isn’t that right, professor?”

Paul’s only response was a meaningful smile.

Realizing that smile was filled with confidence, Else decided they were serious. She also remembered something that had happened in the past.

“But why are you keeping your attempt hidden? Before – you know, when that manned rocket failed – the military helped out and everyone was talking about it.”

She saw Paul’s expression stiffen at that and he spoke before Walter could say anything.

“We would rather not rely on the military. We want to reach space on our own while putting ourselves first.”

“That sounds childish.”

“Shut up. I’ve always been like that.”

Else smiled bitterly at the elderly man’s statement. She could somehow understand that way of thinking.

…''That must be nice.

That thought softened her expression.

“I see. So you’re just doing it as a hobby.”

“More or less. …Now, who are you?”

“Are you familiar with the Breuer Company that sells weapons?”

Walter tilted his head, but Paul looked up.

“I am. They were building a giant mansion in Berlin about when I quit the military.”

“That’s where you are now. I’m the president’s only daughter.”

“Wait! Else!”

A low voice reached them as a man on a horse burst from the forest to the side.

Else turned back to the two men.

“And that’s my father, Gaston,” she said more quietly.

“Else! Who are those people! And what is that giant machine!?”

“Shut up!” she shouted without turning around. “They’re criminals on the run from the military because they stole a secret ship!”

Gaston had clearly been planning to shout something back, but that explanation drained all color from his face. Else nodded, satisfied in the influence of her words. She could be cruel.

“W-wait! Why would people like that be-…”

“I said shut up. Obviously their ship malfunctioned and they crashed here.”

“I’m not sure that counts as ‘obviously’.”

“Don’t nitpick my wording. And either way, they aren’t bad people! Would bad people sit around leisurely cooking bratwurst?”

“I don’t think that’s the issue here.”

“Who cares if it is? We’re not opposed to the military, but we have nothing against these two either. Besides, no respectable person would sell someone out to the military.”

She knew her father was easily swayed by words like that. He seemed reluctant to let his daughter know he had to make nice to the military as a weapons dealer.

Even if his job required it, that was a weakness of his, so he fell silent when she brought it up. She felt a little bad for having done so.

“Now, then.”

She took a breath and spoke to the two behind her.

“You two, come to our place. You’ll tell us some interesting stories, won’t you?”