Editing City Series:Volume1 Chapter 6 (section)

===Part 1===

'''12/25/1935

It was 5:25 AM and the Kaiserburg filled a large factory. The large machine tools such as cranes and winches had only been used to remove the Lanze skewering one of the engines, so they were now pushed up against the wall.

Thirty hours had already passed since the repairs had begun.

The wound to the engine was deep, but it was on the way to a full recovery with the help of the ship’s own self-repair ability and the Breuer Company’s technicians.

The Kaiserburg itself simply hovered as if none of that mattered.

An old man stood next to it. He was Steinmetz.

He looked up at the ship and heard the voices of the younger technicians repairing it on the inside. The ship was sealed, but the factory was so quiet he could still just barely hear them.

He could tell they were excitedly discussing something. It seemed to be an argument over the mysteries and problems with the ship.

A ship that could fly to space would have to be endlessly fascinating.

“…”

He had a sudden thought.

…''Space, huh?

He loved airplanes and flying through the sky. His interest in that would never wane. That was why he remained in this abandoned factory.

He had spent forty years with airplanes now.

In that time, he had come to realize that this was exactly where he belonged.

And there was something he needed to do now. The girl who had come to play here when she was young had grown up and was asking for his help.

She had a single goal: flying this ship to space.

“A lot of people would think it’s impossible.”

But they could not let that discourage them.

If this test succeeded, it would undoubtedly usher in a new age.

Steinmetz stood at the source of that.

Some people would race ahead to make this crazy idea a reality, but others had to support them. They both needed each other and all either of them could do was what they needed to do.

Repairing the Kaiserburg was his only way of assisting their journey to space, but that was something only he could do.

“…”

Strength filled his gaze and his silently wandering eyes looked up at the ship.

Suddenly, a face poked out from below it and short blonde hair dangled down. It belonged to Else who was working on the lower wiring.

She looked to him, briefly pulled her head back in, and lowered her legs down.

With her boots, work outfit, work gloves, and short hair, she did not at all look like the daughter of a wealthy family. In fact, she had oil stains all over her clothes and face.

“I’ve replaced the lower wiring and non-emblem panels. How much longer on the exterior?”

“If that’s all you’re doing, you should finish in another five or six hours.”

“Geh. …I’ve still got that much to do?”

“This ship is not like any we’ve worked on before. And the exterior is far from uniform, so it requires a lot of parts. …But I’ll help from here on. Together, we can cut the time in half.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ve been working since last night. Aren’t you tired?”

She shook her head.

“Not at all. I’m not sure how to put it, though.”

She lightly turned back toward the Kaiserburg.

“Maybe this is what it feels like for a carpenter to build his own house.”

“His own house?”

Steinmetz frowned. The Kaiserburg was an aircraft or an aerial ship. It essentially had no living areas.

Even so, the young woman in a work outfit spread her arms as if to embrace the ship.

“Don’t you think making your own place in the world is great?”

She turned around and showed him her bright smile.

The old man was taken aback by the term “place in the world”.

For him, that term referred to airplanes.

…''I get it now.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Else changed the subject.

“Oh, right. What did you find out about the Lanze after removing it?”

That lance of light had stabbed into the Kaiserburg. The odd weapon was a bullet made of ether yet it retained its form without naturally scattering into its surroundings.

Steinmetz pulled a small piece of metal from his work outfit’s breast pocket.

It was shaped exactly like the bullet portion of an 8mm round.

“This is the true identity of that lance.”

“Eh? That is?”

He nodded.

“Normally, large weapons like fighter craft will have a field emitter installed which fires the bullets. The bullets are made entirely out of ether, so they will dissolve into the raw ether floating in the air and eventually disappear.”

“But this one had a core?”

“Yes. As far as I can tell, the surface is covered in tiny emblems. You could probably fire this thing from that machinegun you carry around. The bullet is entirely supported from within using the emblems carved into it, so it’s just as powerful as a Schwert. …No, given its speed, it would be even more powerful.”

“Let me see it.”

He handed it to her and she stared at the bean-sized bullet.

“I see. It’s made from a spirit stone.”

“Yes. It works just like this ship’s engines. Any impact to the flat bottom end will trigger the emblems to gather ether in a lance shape. It’s a lot like a miniature version of…what was it called again? Oh, right. A Panzer Emblem.”

“The military’s been working hard to make something like this.”

She smiled bitterly and looked Steinmetz in the eye.

“The soldiers have a tough time too.”

“What?”

“After a discussion, I promised to meet one of them up in the sky.”

She toyed with the Lanze bullet in her fingers.

“Can I borrow this?”

“Hm? I don’t mind, but don’t use it for anything you shouldn’t.”

“Sure. I was just thinking I could use it for something fun.”

“I’m pretty sure that falls under the category of things you shouldn’t use it for.”