Editing City Series:Volume1 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 2===

[[Image:City_v01_073.png|thumb]]
“It’s been two years since I visited Berlin, but it hasn’t changed at all.”

Walter sounded completely carefree as he pedaled the bicycle.

Else asked him a question and held down her blowing skirt.

“Um, did you graduate from the University of Berlin? …If so, do you think we ever saw each other somewhere before?”

“Hard to say. I slept in the lab during university and left the country a lot in my fourth year.”

“Left the country? That must be nice. …Japan or India sound like fun.”

Walter’s shoulders shook in laughter when he heard that.

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. I just thought a girl would say she wanted to go to Paris.”

“Shut up. Everyone goes there. I’d rather go somewhere interesting.”

“Then you’re the same as me. I can’t believe this.”

“Eh? Did you say something?”

She asked him to repeat himself, but he did not respond.

To fill the gap, Else asked another question.

“Hey, that old guy is the ''meister'' who made the spaceship Huber Talstrasse rode, isn’t he?”

“Yes, but what about it?”

“When I spoke with him yesterday, I brought up that accident, didn’t I?”

“Don’t worry about it. Or do you want me to tell him you feel bad?”

“I can apologize for myself.”

“That would be better. It’ll probably be embarrassing, but do your best.”

She scratched her head as he smiled at her, but she suddenly asked something else.

“I assume he’s going into space for Huber’s sake, but what about you, Walter?”

Why was that young man trying to go to space?

It was an obvious question for Else who had been arguing with her father about her future.

Walter gently turned back toward her.

“What if I said it was because of my curiosity to see what no one has ever seen before and my ambition to go farther than anyone ever has before? That’s a favorite quote of mine.”

Else sighed at that answer.

“C’mon, can’t you give a proper answer? That’s from Huber Talstrasse’s last words, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. You know a lot about this, don’t you?”

“I looked through my house’s library after you said you were going to space.”

“I see. Being eager to learn is a good thing. Is that how you learned about the professor, too?”

She could sense his smiling mood through the shoulders she rested her hands on and he had avoided giving her the answer she wanted.

She thought about asking again but decided against it.

…''It must not be a simple enough reason to put to words.

She wanted to know that reason for her own sake.

…''Do I have something like that too?

Just then, something odd passed by them.

It was an armored military bus. The inside, sides, and even roof of the rough green vehicle were covered with soldiers and they seemed to be in a hurry.

“Walter, are we in trouble? That’s the military, isn’t it?”

“We’re fine. They won’t recognize me with so many people around.”

As soon as he said that, the armored bus’s external speaker produced a young voice.

“Walterrrr! I found you!”

At the same time, the steel box of a vehicle came to a sudden stop.

Smoke spewed from its wheels and they produced a raw screech.

The normal car behind it could not swerve in time and crashed into it.

With a tremendous sound, the armored bus hopped upwards and knocked a few of the soldiers off of it. Chaos quickly spread through the street.

The car that had failed to stop in time skidded to the side and more cars crashed into it from behind. More and more cars piled up from behind.

The simple but lively metallic sounds continued and were joined by people’s voices.

It was a quite a ruckus.

While watching the commotion from the bicycle, Else asked Walter a question.

“Didn’t you just say they wouldn’t recognize you?”

“Eh? Who would say something silly like that?”

“Try to be less blatant when you lie! …And look! Here they come!”

With no moving cars left, the soldiers cut across the street.

The people watching the commotion fled when they saw the soldiers charging.

The bicycle continued on and weaved between the fleeing people at a decent clip.

“Walter! Hurry!”

Suddenly, five soldiers ran in from the side, each wielding an automatic handgun.

“Get the traitors!” they shouted.

Else turned toward them from the back of the bicycle.

“Oh, shut up!”

She pulled a submachine gun from the bag on her back. The action was so natural that the running soldiers did not immediately realize what she was aiming at them.

“Waah!”

Once they did, they quickly stopped their running feet.

Seeing that, Else pulled the trigger, extended her arms, and endured the recoil.

“…!”

With a pleasant repeating sound, the sidewalk was torn apart. All five of the soldiers disgracefully jumped out of the way. She was making sure she did not hit them, but it must have been frightening from their perspective.

“Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!”

Their screams quickly grew more distant and the bicycle accelerated.

However, it was too soon to relax. Still holding the submachine gun, she caught her breath, lowered her hips, and sat sideways on the luggage area.

“Um, Else?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You can be pretty harsh when you need to be.”

“Yeah, it happens a lot, so don’t worry about it.”

“Else…”

“What?”

“I think we’re going to get along nicely.”

His shoulders shook as he suppressed his laughter.

“Oh, we’re about to enter the back alley, so we’ll be turning right!”

The bicycle tilted to the right, the back wheel slid a bit, and they charged into the alley behind a store.

In the process, Else caught a quick glimpse of the soldiers still pursuing them from behind.

…''This is pretty serious.

Her thoughts remained carefree even as a hint of unease entered her chest.

…''What’s going to happen now?