MaruMA:SideStory01:Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Ahrweiler

After making sure that April got onto the train, DT finally stops his embarrassing actions.

To be honest, he’s already pulled out every trick in his book.

As for the other riot on the other side, obviously it’s the fight the French doctor started with the soldiers.

He’s even reciting poems in a foreign language that’s not German, causing the soldiers a lot of headache.

“Doctor--”

He thumbs backwards, signaling ‘get out of here now’. The unrelenting citizens, on the other hand, rush to the counter, or squeeze to the ticketing booth and demand a refund.

Fighting for their lives against the oncoming crowd, the two finally squeeze their way out of the line and rendezvous.

“W-what a scary riot.”

“Well, of course! After all, a day’s delay will plunge them into an even riskier situation, to ensure their own survival, of course they’d try their hardest!”

“Hm? Why would they be in such a rush to leave Berlin? Don’t tell me the stock market’s crashing?”

Regent laughs as he tears up his second class ticket, it’s not like they can get a refund anyway.

“You really are so carefree. No, I’m not surprised, I’m saying that sincerely! I finally understand the reason why Hazel liked you so much.”

No matter how you hear it, that sounds sarcastic, but right now DT isn’t angry at all.

Actually, after two years being partners with April, he really has become very patient.

But his wife says he’s become slower, and he can’t actually refute that.

“But is our little heiress there really okay? She was pulled onto the train by a stranger—And it’s one of those infamous SS officers! Really, when did she become so laidback?”

“No, DT, at the very least he’s no stranger. Didn’t we see him yesterday at the hotel? Besides…”

Regent puts on his panama as he weaves through the café swarmed with tourists and their luggage of all sizes.

“…His eyes… those pale brown eyes… that shine oddly, I feel as though I’ve seen them somewhere before. Is it Boston? Or during the war? If it was during the war, then it shouldn’t be him… No, maybe I have to look even further back in time.”

“Eh, really? Did we meet him before? Actually I’m really no good with faces.”

When it comes to DT’s expertise, he can only think of one thing.

“Anyway, we have to catch up as soon as possible. Right now the only possible way is by car, but that will only increase the distance between us. DT, we can’t get out of Berlin by taxi!”

DT stops a white car that had just let the passengers off, and sat inside, told the driver shortly “to the nearest airport” and then sat back onto the chair, looking pissed.

“Didn’t we just go to the airport? The air route has been blocked, and I didn’t know you knew German!”

“German? You’re wrong, I don’t know one bit of it! For these things you can use the global language! Like you, even you don’t know Chinese, you can still name Chinese dishes, right? It’s the same principle.”

The driver who stops at the red light, reconfirms if they want to go to the airport. Towards DT’s almost naggy reply, Regent seems rather impatient.

“But the airplanes have stopped.”

“It’ll fly.”

The car heads north and then turns left, slowly leaving the station. This is the opposite direction of the airport.

“The chances that those airplanes waiting at the airport won’t take off is pretty high, sure, but that’s because they’re passenger planes. But the airport has a lot of ‘planes’ that don’t take passengers, not only are the seats hard, but it’s also easy to get airsick on them, sometimes your entire body will be sticking out of the airplane, and sometimes it’s a matter of life and death. And if you’re unlucky, it can only seat two people.”

“You plan on flying it yourself?!”

“Well, of course. Haha, now you know why Hazel liked me so much, huh?”

This man is always losing his arguments with the teenage girl, but for some reason he always seems particularly happy when he’s mentioning her.

“The reason I partnered with her, is not to help her or teach her, that brat doesn’t need these at all. I don’t know what April herself thinks, but from the beginning Hazel always had very high ratings for her granddaughter, and I don’t think there can be a better teacher than Hazel. There’s no one in the world who can teach that kid, so all that’s left is for her to gather experience on her own.”

“Then why did you have to partner up with her? Because she’s underage?”

“As if. One of the reasons is that I’ve long since had a beautiful little wife, so she probably feels I’m safe; and another reason is that.”

DT points at the metal wire fence in the distance, and the sky behind it. There are quite a few small aircrafts parked on the wide cement ground.

“That’s my last resort for escaping. As long as the thing has wings, I can fly it. From gliders to double-engine planes, or fighter planes, As long as you can get me into the cockpit, even passenger planes aren’t a problem to me. But hijacking is out of my expertise, so I never got to fly a passenger plane.”

“Oh~ So you have such an amazing special skill… Wait a sec, that means you’re in charge of flying, and I’m in charge of hijacking?”

The man of the skies puts his hands behind his head and says, relaxed,

“Up to you, the strike zone is really big anyway.”

Something like hijacking, is not Regent’s expertise, either.

“…I think I’ll just settle with the American dollar.”

This is Bob’s expertise, now.

April is rather angry at the way they’re looking for transportation.

At first they planned to wait until morning and then find a car in Koblenz, but they couldn’t find a base or a second-hand car dealer anywhere. Deuter looks surprised at April, who’s sighing, “I shouldn’t have bought a car in Frankfurt.”

“That’s why I can’t stand you rich Americans, you just buy a car whenever you need one? The way you’re going, you’ll end up the king of car kings with several dozen cars.”

Just then Deuter, dressed in the black uniform, walks into a farmer’s house and seems to discuss something with the owner.

From a distance away, April sees the owner finally shake his head dejectedly, and then he hands some silver keys to the invader.

And then a small lorry drives out of a small garage, with paddy still loaded on the back.

“How did you make a deal with him?”

“Deal? There’s no need for anything like that, I just ordered him to hand his vehicle over for military usage.”

“You snatched it?! Unbelievable! You actually did the same thing as those horrible customs officers! My god—As expected of the infamous SS, that’s why I can’t deal with SS officers. You’ll return it after you use it, right? You’ll fill the tank right up before returning it, too, right? I’m saying this now, but borrowing something without returning it is a crime!”

“…You’re very petty for an adventurer.”

They follow the Rhine for around 60 km, passing by many beautiful bridges.

When they pass through Remasen, she’s hooked by the surrounding scenery, almost forgetting her own mission.

“If you have time to enjoy the river sights, you should use to look out for military vehicles.”

“You’re a real nag, of course I’m looking out. Though if I say a comrade of yours in the same uniform floating down the river, I’ll probably pretend not to notice.”

“Whatever you want, I won’t stop you even if you toss rocks at them… Is the Rhine really that awe-inspiring to you?”

Siting in the passenger seat, April sticks her head out of the window, feeling the cool mountain breeze on her cheeks.

“I’m not awed by the river, and the scenery in America isn’t any worse than Germany’s… but this place has a completely different kind of beauty, I really don’t know how to describe it.”

For example, the scenery of the wide open plains at sunset is really beautiful, but the ancient city dyed orange at twilight is another sort of beauty.

Although she never really considered which kind of beauty she preferred, but just seeing it for the first time, moves her in a way that’s indescribable.

“I just hope something so beautiful won’t be destroyed.”

“Destroyed? By who?”

The American suddenly falls silent, because even she knows the situation in this country isn’t stable.

The river meeting into the Rhine slowly comes into view, and as far as the eyes can see, the hills on both banks are all vineyards.

As for the area behind the vineyard, there’s a stone city wall standing, that’s Ahrweiler. April exclaims,

“It’s my first time seeing such beautiful city walls! Are there really people living in there? It’s not just a tourist spot that opens during the day, is it?”

“…Everyone beyond those walls are common families.”

But the scenery past the city gates isn’t common at all to April.

The old streets are lined with adorable wooden houses, and there are pots of plants at every window.

However, every flag hanging high above the streets has the ‘卐’ sign, it turns out that everyone here supports the dictator.

“God… But why do I feel a bit dizzy?”

“Because these wooden houses are slanted. But, is this worth being so moved about? Aren’t a lot of localized townships like this? What kind of a place do you Americans live in?”

“When you come to America, I’ll give you back those exact same words.”

Just imagining Deuter’s shocked expression when he sees the Texan scenery, April can’t help but giggle to herself.

But the happy tourist times end here.

Because there are five jeeps, hooded lorries, and official black salon cars parked by the city gates.

A couple of guards are yawning, bored, and the two hide in a corner behind the bakery to escape discovery.

“Ahrweiler has been targeted, as expected. When they say ‘pure water’, it’s either here or Donauschingen.”

“Regent was right, after all. He said that to open the Box, those people would definitely come to Ahrweiler.”

“Actually as long as you have a bit of common geological knowledge, anyone can guess that.”

“Well, you thought the same thing they did, too. Ah~ but that smell of food is really very nice.”

“You’re still thinking about breakfast rolls at a time like this?! That’s why I don’t want to partner up with women or brats! If you think this smells good, I suggest you don’t get close to any bakeries in the morning!”

“Stop mentioning anything about good food! And where’s Ahrweiler’s ‘pure water’, anyway? Is it in the church?”

“No.”

After affirming the guards’ equipment, Deuter reaches his hand out for the cargo hold of the small lorry.

He pulls out two guns and an old-looking rifle from the haystack, and tosses the one with the smaller nozzle to April, while she puts the gun into the haystack.

“The spring in Apollinaris was discovered in the vineyard, and fresh water gushes from it to this day. Hey, you had better keep that with you, if we’re attacked, that toy stuffed to your chest isn’t enough!”

“How rude of you! These are my bona fide chests—there’s nothing stuffed there!”

“I see.”

“What the hell are you agreeing for!”

But the spring was only discovered over ninety years ago. Although there’s no way to determine the Box’s year of manufacturing, but it shouldn’t be something so recent.

If the words and symbols were added afterwards, then they can’t deduce the year of manufacturing from that either.

But judging from the state of the metal decay, they can probably deduce the year those parts were added.

“Just those parts added later are already a couple centuries old. Why would a spring that showed up recently be assumed to be the spring? Technically there are older water sources in this world…”

“But the location must be in Germany.”

“Eh?”

“No matter what, it has to be in Germany. An object chosen by God to be holy, cannot exist in any other country, be it the chosen water or person. Sad to say, those are the times we live in.”

Deuter takes out the instrument case, and confirms that the metal lock is sound. He wouldn’t be planning on carrying the ‘Key’ around, would he?

“Don’t you think it’d be better for me to keep it? And Richard, I think those clothes are yours are too eye-catching.”

“I’m not called Richard…. Don’t tell me you want me to wear that?”

After looking April from top to bottom, Deuter looks at his own official uniform. How can his build fit into a girl’s clothes? Defeated by him, April sags her shoulders and says,

“I’m not asking you to exchange clothes with me, I just want to remind you not to be too conspicuous. Hand it here, I think it’s best if I take it, at least I can bluff my way in as a tourist.”

But unfortunately, April can barely take care of herself as it is.

The two of them safely get past the guard station, without their partnership being discovered.

Normal soldiers don’t suspect the SS officer at all, instead they even salute him energetically.

And even if April is only window-shopping without actually buying anything, they don’t pay any particular attention to them.

The spring in Apollinaris is situated in the vineyard beyond the city area. The main squadron seems to be already gathered there, because their occupation made the local atmosphere really tense.

Though they all support Hitler, it seems they’re not so fond of the SS.

When Deuter walks past in his uniform, people already start whispering in the shops.

If they walked on the road looking all authoritative, surely the locals would feel uncomfortable too. Watching Deuter with his hard expression from a side, April finally understands.

But then a familiar face enters her field of vision.

Actually it’s not particularly weird someone in a back uniform saunter around, everyone must be guessing ‘So the research on the Box falls under SS jurisdiction too.’ That blonde hair shining in the afternoon sunlight, in some ways, is just like the uniform, and not special at all.

But as that man approaches, her eyes widen into saucers.

It’s Coruna.

Herm Coruna is walking pompously with his customary confident smile.

“No way? Shouldn’t he be in Berlin?”

Although she really wants to ask his colleague Deuter, she can’t afford to make too much noise.

She tries signaling him when he coincidentally looks her way, but he doesn’t seem to understand at all, just mumbling,

“Something about football?” Not football, it’s Coruna, Co-ru-na, but it’s still useless.

April runs across the road like a little animal, grabbing Deuter’s hand and pulling him into a nearby shop.

Because they are the strange combination of a tourist and a soldier, it would be weird if they went into a souvenir shop to browse around.

Finally they just had to pretend that they were total strangers, standing together and avoiding each other’s gazes.

“Don’t look here! Look forward, keep this stance for now!”

“I didn’t think you would dance that strange dance in public, rather than saying it’s eye-catching, I feel it’s embarrassing.”

“Y-you think I like making those gestures?! Of course not! He’s coming! That guy’s coming!”

“Calm down, who’s ‘that guy’? Little Mustache?”

“Waa! What shocking words! Ah, don’t look there! It’s not, no matter how brazen I am I still wouldn’t call the dictator ‘that guy’. No, it’s that guy! Herm Coruna!”

“Lieutenant Coruna? Why would that man…”

April grabs a nearby handmade souvenir, holding it as though appraising it. It’s a nutcracker Hitler, what an unfortunate sign.

As for the slightly chubby male salesperson directly in front of them, he turns his body around, completely ill-at-ease.

“He can’t have come in after me, right? What a bother, though I’m still single--”

“He shouldn’t have that much free time, right?”

And the response is even more direct.

Coruna arrived earlier than them, which shows that he’s on a mission related to the Box.

Since he belongs to the Cultural Department, and was in charge of the art auction, so he’s probably tasked with taking care of and moving the items confiscated from the emigrants’ hands.

“In that case, ‘Mirror’s Depth’ counts as something under the Cultural Department?”

“Cultural? You’re saying that has the recognition of the Cultural Department.”

What an impressive title.

“Excuse me, you two, my husband has been scared stiff since just now.”

“What?”

The solidly-built lady owner speaks up to the duo, and they raise their heads in unison, seeing that the salesman in front of them has broken out into a cold sweat and curled up into a corner. Crap, they kept staring for too long!

“Ah, no, no! Don’t mistake me as someone with him, that’ll make me very troubled, he’s not my partner at all.”

“Is that so? Then I apologize. Because the two of you just happened to stand close to each other, and seemed interested in the same item.”

She looks at Deuter’s hands, and realizes that he’s holding a Hitler nutcracker too, and its coloring scheme is very unique.

An inexplicable sense of duty rises within April, and she feels that she has no choice but to bluff her way through.

“Really, how could I have confused him with my uncle? But isn’t this man a member of the SS? Of course he would respect and love something like this from the bottom of his heart—”

“Speaking of the SS~”

The completely fearless lady owner talks to her with the relaxed attitude of women conversing.

“Miss, you’re here sightseeing, right? Although you came all this way, I still have to warn you to not approach the spring.”

“Why?”

“Staring from daytime yesterday, there’s been a ton of army squadrons, and they’re building something goodness knows what at the spring. Actually we’re really worried too, if the spring dries up and we can’t make more wine, then we really wouldn’t know what to do. Even if we want to see what’s going on, but they erected tents there so we can’t see a thing. My son did sneak in, though, and he says there’s a dirty wooden box at the bottom of the spring. What are they playing at? Although I don’t know if they’re doing some experiment or ritual, but the military did something so unhygienic, now what are we supposed to do about this year’s wine! I say, Mr Soldier, since you’re in military uniform too, could you help us put in a word, and ask them not to simply mess things up?”

“Ah? Okay.”

The lady owner suddenly directs her words at Deuter, but maybe because he’s not used to interacting with normal people, he jumps in surprise.

As for April, she immediately buys a pair of sunglasses, determining that Coruna had left before she walks onto the street. No matter how you look at her, she’s a suspicious figure.

“Why are you so stupid, how can you act all timid at a time like that? You should have taken out your intimidation skills from that time you stole someone’s car. But at least now we understand the situation a bit more. The Box is here, and those people definitely think that the Apollinaris spring water is the ‘pure water’. They’re sure that the water here is the Key, but the truth is they’re wrong.”

“We have to get the Box back before they try anything wrong. If by any chance they discover the real Key, I alone can’t handle it with my power.”

“Oh, but you’re not alone, are you?”

Deuter’s eyes reveal an intense sense of disappointment.

“I may as well be alone.”

“Don’t you have me?”

“…Not only am I alone, I have a brat pulling me down too… Listen closely, I’ll take this chance to tell you now, even if later we successfully get the Box, I won’t hand it over to you. Even if you say you’re the heir or the owner or whatever, that thing can’t fall into anyone’s hands. If you try to take it to America, I won’t hesitate to open fire and stop you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hesitate to counterattack.”

Just then April hears the sound of a jeep and quickly hides behind a sign.

Passing by them is a team of grey uniforms.

“Last time you caused such a scene in Boston, it wouldn’t make a difference if you opened fire on us now, right? But before you attack, please give a word of warning. It’s just that I’m the type of person who gets more worked up when I’m warned.”

Just then she remembers Regent’s advice.

Back then there were a lot of people who wanted it, they were probably willing to pay a lot for it.

This time they must prevent that from happening, and then quickly bury it in a safe place, where no one can misuse it…

“I made a promise.”

If they successfully got back ‘Mirror’s Depth’, she’s going to bury it where no one can find it. That’s something humans must never touch, and must never be allowed to touch.

“And we must use this chance when those people are obsessed about the spring water, to make sure they never find the ‘Key’.”

“What do you mean by that, Graves?”

“Because ‘pure water’ does not mean water, but the blood of a child not yet born into this world.”

“Blood?”

The door must be open with pure water, and only pure water can open it.

Rikhiart Deuter smiles bitterly, his gaze resting on the leather instrument case, then he uses his deep, gentle tone to express sympathy for that child’s fate.

“…What a bloody way of saying it… But then again, if even ‘Wind’s End’s Key is a disgusting left arm that will never rot, it’s no wonder that the Keys to the other Boxes won’t be beautiful or elegant to any extent.”

“Perhaps.”

She can’t help but wonder, scared, what the remaining two Keys are.

After going past the city gates, in the middle of the lush green vineyard not too far away, there’s a huge pale brown canvas, very much like the circus tents she used to watch lions performing in.

There are armed soldiers everywhere, and officers in grey going in and out.

They shouldn’t all be from the Cultural Department, but also the combat team that the land army has a hand in, too.

There’s a truck with the cover removed parked in front of the tent. Unfortunately, the cargo bay is empty.

“Are you trying to sneak in hiding in a place with lax security like this puffy dress?”

“Is that funny? And that’s not a very classy joke.”

April bumps Deuter’s side, changing her tone into one ready for battle.

“Hand me a gun.”

“Didn’t I give one to you just now?”

“I don’t want that kind, I want a machine gun or a rifle.”

“Do you know how to use it? Little kids shouldn’t hold such dangerous…”

She grabs the rifle from Deuter, who continues to mince his words, and then she kneels down, using the empty wine barrel to stabilize the gun.

“I’m already 18, and besides I was already shooting beasts in Alaska way back when I was ten.”

“Who gave you such a scary education!?”

Back then she had shot a huge grizzly bear, apparently it had already killed three people.

Although she didn’t kill it, but when their eyes met, that fellow did definitely say this—it said, ‘Little girl, you’re not bad!’ Though of course it used bear speak.

April carefully takes aim, and then counts to five in her throat.

Once she reaches five, she pulls the trigger, and the next four shots hit all four tires on the truck.

The last fifth shot was aimed for the fuelage, but because she missed, she roughly tsks her tongue, and it takes until the sixth shot to blow a hole. Fuel slowly flows to the panicked soldiers’ feet.

“Unbelievable! I actually missed one!”

“…What kind of education could have created such a scary brat like you…”

They take advantage of the soldiers’ attention on the truck and run to the back of the tent. Not long later, those soldiers will start looking everywhere for the enemy outside. They roll up the waterproof cloth and stick their heads inside, presenting an ugly stance with only the lower half of their bodies sticking out of the tent.

Inside the tent, slightly dim since the sunlight is blocked out, the situation is vastly different from what April imagined.

A thick pipe sticking out from the ground is connected to a huge silver water trough, and there’s even a drainage valve to adjust the amount of water at the end, that’s where the water flows into the tray from.

“That’s the spring water? Why is it completely different from what I imagined—”

“Stop making a fuss, that’s because the bottling factory is still under construction. But even a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you should be able to guess that.”

“Not that, shouldn’t the water flow out from the rocks?”

The duo creep forward, pulling the rest of their bodies inside too, and then they hide behind some building materials, out of sight. There are a few armed soldiers inside, while the other few subordinates are searching the area, and the only officer is wandering around aimlessly. But what’s really surprising to April, is that they actually let more civilians than she thought come in. And just when she was thinking in her mind that a super secret special unit like this would definitely reject any onlookers, then launch their secret plans, too.

“Don’t bother about that first, the most important thing now is to find the Box.”

“Personally I think there’s no need for that.”

Two soldiers are carrying a wooden box over. They seem to want to officer in grey to look at it, but the man doesn’t confirm it particularly, just nods his head lightly.

“It’s a major in the army, could he be the commanding officer here? But that sure is a half-hearted way of dealing with it… But it could also be because he doesn’t know that it has some special powers… What’s the matter with you, Graves?”

“That box is dirty and unassuming, so I’m a little disappointed.”

“…You really dare to say something so disrespectful to God, don’t you.”

What the duo of soldiers brought is just a normal, unremarkable wooden box with a cover. The color of its surface is already black as coal, and the metal sides have rusted too, the size is approximately that of a child’s coffin. If it was a normal grown man, even if he wasn’t particularly strong, he would probably still be able to lift it on his own.

The surrounding crowd suddenly starts a commotion, because the wooden box is placed just near the drainage valve.

April realizes that her tightly-clenched fist is shaking. She’s nervous, so much so she thinks that she can hear the agitated heartbeat of Deuter, standing next to her and almost blocking her entire body.

“T-the spring water really isn’t the ‘Key’, right?”

“I should be the one asking that, right?”

The soldiers work hard to open the cover, and a woman nearby makes a sound like a scream.

“W-what do you think you’re doing!? How can you simply open the Box like that?”

“Quiet! We just have to destroy the lock to open the cover. There’s an indescribable dimension within the Box, should we call it a dimension … we could also say it’s a wall or a door… It feels just like a calm tornado. If we want to calm it down and successfully connect to the dimension within, then we must have the ‘Key’.”

Although he’s talking about connecting special dimensions or whatnot, everyone can only understand his base meaning. If she’d known this would happen, she would have first read Grandmother’s favorite Jules Verne’s works, though just the pictures on the cover alone had her retreating.

“Have you seen inside the Box?”

“No, never, but I think my ancestor was the person who sealed that power inside. That’s the legend that must be passed down through the generations in my family.”

The soldiers who peeked inside close the cover with a bang, then cover their mouths and nose with their hands and starts coughing hard, bending their bodies.

Did they see something they shouldn’t see? Or is there some mechanism inside that spews poison gas!?

As a result everyone present starts moving towards the exit, including the soldiers on guard and the officer who seems to be the commander. What an irresponsible team.

“I-it’s okay!”

The poor sacrificial lamb is choked so badly tears are flowing down his cheeks as he waves one hand. Although everyone heaves a sigh of relief, they then immediately look annoyed. Because there’s a stench inside the tent, as though feces were splashed around.

“The air inside is horrible!”

“Ahh—Ai dun wan na assep za boh ahymoa, wha on uth dith ze pewus ower puh ih theh (I don’t want to accept that Box anymore, what on earth did the precious owner put inside?)”

And so there’s an unsure reply.

“…Sir! Is it eggs?”

“Yoh dun hah to ansa sho sewusly (You don’t have to answer so seriously)!”

There are some lower ranked soldiers who couldn’t stand the smell and ran outside for a breath. There’s nothing better than having less enemy soldiers, as long as everyone runs out for a breath like that, they’ll be able to just waltz in and take the Box away. On the condition that she herself must be able to stand that stench, you could even call this a stench-resisting war.

The soldier forced into this unlucky job decides to open the cover again. After the hinge creaks, the innards of the ancient wooden box is finally revealed.

And then, the soldier prepares to push it right underneath the drainage valve. Although his movements are obviously unstable, but maybe he just wants to get it over and done with quickly, so his pushing force is really strong.

But something seems to have gone wrong, because the Box doesn’t change at all, as though the cover was never opened. Even though April knows very well that they’ll never succeed, she still prays silently in her heart.

So the soldier pushes the entirely opened Box right below the place where the water continuously gushes out. And just then—

“Wait! The spring water in Apollonaris isn’t the ‘Key’, y’know.”

Who is it? Who’s it with the big mouth?

The entrance to the tent is pulled up dramatically, and the afternoon sunlight beams in directly. A black silhouette is standing with his back against the sun, and he has a little patriot next to him, too. April suddenly wants to hold her head and beat her chest.

“..Can someone strangle that man’s neck, please? And put more force into it!”

It’s the Lord Blabbermouth, Lieutenant Herm Coruna.

There’s also a little kid behind him, whose head can barely reach his waist and looks about ten years old. He’s dressed like one of Berlin’s famous mini soldiers, so there are young troops who idolize the dictator even in a backwater place like this. His cropped-short, soft blonde hair, and greenish-blue eyes are both very beautiful. When the freckles on his face disappear, he will surely decide to join the SS. He rushes Coruna, his cheeks rosy and his voice childish,

“The real ‘Key’ isn’t the spring water! So even if you put the spring water inside, the great power won’t awaken!”

Deuter, who most probably hates kids, is mumbling to himself. And the grey-uniformed soldier who seems to be the commander asks the boy excitedly,

“Then, what do you say the ‘Key’ is?”

The little patriot in his replica uniform looks even more proud of himself, replying,

“They said the pure water isn’t the Apollonaris spring, but a kid’s blood or something. They said all that in front of our family shop!”

And then, he uses his thin, fair fingers, to point directly at them.

“Haih~ I’m really very lucky, to be able to see the Box at such a close distance—”

April wriggles her wrist non-stop, talking to the man with his back against hers. She seems to plan on venting her steam on Deuter, because right now she really wants to get that off her chest.

“Isn’t that very good? After all, you always wanted to see the real thing from the start, and besides, it’s my pleasure to let my Young Lady see it in person.”

“What, I didn’t want this kind of a close look! And what do you mean, your pleasure, stop saying things you don’t mean!”

“That should be my line, shouldn’t it? April Graves. Really, nothing good comes out of mixing with kids.”

Deuter is busy wiggling his shoulders, trying to loosen the ropes a bit. Because their hands are tied tightly together, and they’re sitting not far away from the drainage valve and the Box.

“Stop moving! You keep knocking into my shoulder blade, it hurts!”

“You should savor the pain while you’re still alive!”

Looking down at his captives, Herm Coruna’s lips curve into a condescending smile.

“I really can’t imagine how the two of you got together… And Frau Graves, I really am too disappointed in you. I didn’t think that not only didn’t you choose me, but you went and found ‘this freak’. And… God~ And you’re actually still single!”

“That last reason for your disappointment in me, I don’t quite understand it.”

Even though she knows resistance is futile, but trying to escape, April still attempts to speak to Coruna,

“I say, Lieutenant, these ropes are too tight! If you tie us like this the blood circulation will be cut off in no time!”

“I apologize for that part, young miss, but unfortunately not everything has to go your way! Because even though that man back-to-back with you is stupid, he’s also an excellent soldier. If we tied him normally, he’ll break free immediately. After all, whenever we mention Lieutenant Rikhiart Deuter, we know that he’s the man who repeatedly made it out of an impossible situation in the enemy camps in one piece.”

“Then tie me separately from this guy! I’ll introduce DT to you as a token of appreciation.”

“You mean that Asian?”

“That’s right.”

Although it’s a little ridiculous to bring this up now, but Coruna really does hesitate for a while.

Deuter curses as he tries to rhythmically twist his left hand.

If he really was an excellent soldier, technically he shouldn’t have been subdued so easily.

But back then he was aimed at by everyone present… even the villagers, so he naturally had no other choice than to raise his hands in surrender. She never thought that there would be so many hunters on the street, even if she wants to throw caution to the winds and start a gunfight with the military, she can’t bring herself to hurt the innocent uncles and aunties.

“Don’t waste your time.”

The man whose blonde hair and blue eyes go very well with his black uniform, slowly crosses his arms before his chest.

“Although this might make you very uncomfortable, but please bear with it, just for today. On that note, young miss, you’re going to become the first person to be cleansed by the holy water from the Box, such an honor amongst honors has no parallel! You’re really lucky, I’m quite jealous of you!”

“Then I’ll let you have it.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

April subtly glances at the place where the construction materials are kept.

Good, no one’s gone near there yet.

Because she hid the leather case in the crack between the extra reinforced steel bars and the waterproof cloths there.

If in this situation even the arm was taken away, goodness knows how badly Deuter will scold her.

“About that Box...”

The grey-uniformed man who seems to be the commander walks over with the child who caused this tragic ending.

The young boy is proud and excited, his face still rosy as a tomato.

“Just because we said the spring isn’t the Key, you really believe it? The problem is I’m an American who’s never even seen what the Box looks like, and a pampered heiress to boot!”

Deuter mutters, “Now she finally admits it.” Of course, she pretends to hear nothing.

“And you are being played around by someone who doesn’t know anything, isn’t that too far away from your German conservative and practical gaming rules?”

“Young miss, this isn’t football, y’know.”

The man who seems to be the commander grabs April’s chin as he says.

He’s wearing the badge of a major and has no excess fat on his face, making him look like wooden and stony.

And his eyes are sunken too, the people around him probably call him the Major of Death.

“If it’s just an American girl’s words, of course we wouldn’t believe it. Because that would just be a tourist’s joke, we’ll just hope you go back to your country as soon as possible. But if the person you’re talking to is Lieutenant Rikhiart Deuter, then that’s another matter altogether. He’s the only person in this country who own something like the ‘Key’, and that’s also the only reason the President favors him so heavily, even promoting him all the way to Lieutenant in the SS. It’s just very unfortunate, because it looks like the spring water isn’t the Key to ‘Mirror’s Depth’… But since that man believed what you said, then we can’t let this go.”

“I—can’t—stand—you, the truth is he doesn’t think anything of it at all! Right, Richard!”

“I’m not called Richard…”

Until now he’s still wriggling his left arm, unwilling to give up. Her back hurts like hell where his shoulder blades knock into her, why won’t this man just give up already.

“Is that so? Lieutenant Rikhiart Deuter. Oh, yes, Lieutenant, a few days ago when my subordinates went collect that left arm, he found out that it was stolen by someone the previous night. Although the staff there says it happened at night so he’s not sure, but in your heart you should know the answer, right?”

“Really?”

The Major of Death’s intimidating gaze fixes on Deuter with his lighter-colored eyes, but his attitude doesn’t change.

“Hmph, so that’s how it is.”

The Major of Death turns around and walks down the pedestal, taking one step away from the Box.

“I had long heard that all of Colonel Hughe’s men are arrogant.”

Seems like that colonel is as annoying as Deuter.

“Is that team of yours called the Complaints Team?”

April asks her comrade, who’s back-to-back with her. Of course he doesn’t reply, because even he couldn’t care less about the division he belongs to.

The commander hmphs coldly, scrutinizing the drainage valve and the captives in turn, and then he calls the two soldiers who were in charge of carrying the Box over, letting the child in the small size uniform stand in front of the Box.

“All right, young patriot.”

The still clueless boy is given a shock when his hands are grabbed by the adults. His face isn’t rosy anymore, and his freckles look more obvious because of it.

“Although you are still young, you’re already an impressive soldier of the Empire, and you should be able to join His Excellency the President’s youth army next year, but we really need your help, and not next year, but right now. How is it? Young patriot, can we ask you to sacrifice your life for His Excellency the President and the Third Empire?”

“That would be my honor!”

The around-ten-year-old boy is so nervous his lips are shaking, and he raises a hand stiffly.

April can’t help but look away. What does a child so young know.

The commander nods in satisfaction, and then signals the two soldiers.

“Impressive! Oh, young warrior, we are really too grateful to you. Then, use your blood as the Key to open the Box. When the Box has been successfully opened and become part of or strength, we brothers-in-arms will sing your name in praises, and spread the story of your use down the generations… Okay, do it!”

Deuter continues twisting his body.

Suddenly there’s a gun pointed at the boy’s temple, making his thin limbs freeze up. Looks like they want the child’s blood to flow into the Box, so they plan on blowing his brains out.

“Wait, what the hell are you doing?! You actually want to do something so scary…”

Although she’s so surprised she wants to straighten up, but because she’s tied together to Deuter, she can’t stand up even if she wanted to.

When his shoulders are grabbed and his mouth covered by the soldier’s hand, the boy starts to turn pale, sweating in terror.

But the unbelievable part is, there isn’t any commotion raised.

It seems like because of the Major and Coruna, the people here to watch the show doesn’t know the actual story behind it.

The finger on the trigger moves slightly.

To prevent this inhumane act, April yells on the top of her lungs,

“Even if you do that, it’s no use!”

The soldier ready to pull the trigger raises his head in surprise.

“Wait! Just wait a sec! Major of Death, I’ll tell you something good, actually I should say that if you don’t listen, you might regret it. You hear me? Dig your ears… Sorry, that was rude. Listen carefully! What they mean by ‘pure water’~ isn’t just the blood of any child! That brat from the Little Mustache pre-army didn’t hear us clearly, the truth is, that child hasn’t even been born in this world yet. It refers to the blood of a child not yet born into this world!”

“You say a child that hasn’t been born into this world?”

The commander frowns slightly, highly doubting if the child she said even exists, his expression clearly suspicious.

And April doesn’t give him a chance to interrupt, blabbering on,

“Ah, are you suspecting me?! Never mind, after all it’s up to you to believe it or not. But if you look down on it because it came from an American heiress, just be careful not to lose more than you gain! Because heiress is just another one of my identities I’m actually the owner of that Box!”

“Are you staking your claim on it?”

“That’s right. Actually I don’t have to stake anything, its current owner is me.”

“No, that Box was natural property the Jews plotted to take away, it can’t possibly belong to an American.”

“But the one who entrusted to Jago Bapu for safekeeping is none other than my grandmother.”

“Lieutenant!”

Deuter behind her and Coruna in front of her react simultaneously. The onlookers really can’t tell which lieutenant the commander is addressing.

“Is this young lady speaking the truth?”

Deuter replies ‘Ja’, while Coruna replies ‘Nein’, and the commander clearly accepts Coruna’s answer.

“This ‘Mirror’s Depth is the national property of our Germany. The great power hidden inside this Box, all of it exists for His Excellency the President and our country.”

“I share the same opinion, but this young lady’s information has piqued my interest. That’s why, Lieutenant Coruna, why don’t we use this new piece of information as reference as well, and complete the mission of finding the true Key?”

“Yessir!”

The Major of Death shoos the half-dejected young boy to a side, ordering his few subordinates and Coruna,

“Men, she said the Key is the blood of a child not yet born into this world. Do you understand what I mean? If you do, bring it here immediately!”

A borrowing race ensues on the scene.

The soldiers and Coruna jog away from the tent, and return a few minutes later panting for breath, bringing two young women with them.

At first April thought they would bring a baby over, and was ready to give them all the swear words in her arsenal, because if she doesn’t do that she won’t be able to control her sanity.

Of course, even if things really got to that point, she would do her best to stop them, no matter what she would try to save the baby’s life.

Although she hasn’t thought of any concrete plans, and her hands are still tied up, but if things got bad, she decides that even if she had to use all her strength to get onto her feet and swing the German tied behind her back, she would still do it to save the child being sacrificed.

But things don’t go as she expected, because the young women aren’t carrying any babies.

“What is this…”

The major moves his cruel gaze. When he glances at April on the ground, the veins on his bloodshot eyes become even more obvious.

“If ‘pure water’ refers to the blood of a child not yet born into this world… Then does it mean this, young lady?”

One of the women hesitantly reaches her hand to her stomach, and then it finally dawns on April. The other woman one step behind her is heavily pregnant too.

They’re both pregnant.

Both of the women are the pregnant mothers-to-be, they’re carrying unborn children inside them.

These cruel Nazis want to use the fetuses as the Key to the ‘Mirror’s Depth’.

Just thinking about makes her want to puke.

The commander nods proudly at his soldiers, and then gives a simple order,

“Cut open their stomachs!”

Everyone present looks like they heard an alien word, and is shocked into stillness.

Finally Coruna is the first person to understand the meaning behind those cruel words, and unsheathes his dark, glistening army sword.

The women aren’t shocked by what’s about to happen, but they scream terrifyingly at the shimmer of steel.

“Stop! You’re wrong, stop! That’s not it…”

April tries to stand up but trips over the loosened ropes and falls to the ground. And the support that was back-to-back against her suddenly disappears, so she’s still tangled by the ropes, falling backwards.

“Richard, where are you going…”

A long and loud gunshot rings out, and one of the soldiers holding down the live sacrifices falls on cue.

April instinctively looks behind her, only to see one of the villagers… a middle-aged man with a stony face holding a hunting rifle.

The smoke rising from the barrel is slowly dissipating.

Maybe he finally realizes the seriousness of the situation, because the man’s shoulders suddenly slump. Just then one of the screaming women stumbles back to her husband’s side.

“…That guy… wanted to… my wife...”

An old man nearby hurriedly presses them both to the ground.

Because all the soldiers who were on guard inside the tent, aim their guns at that man in unison.

“Get down!”

April turns around at the sharp sound from behind her, just in time to see the officer in black kick down the grey uniform, and even take the chance to grab the regulation gun from his waist as he falls.

The gun is pulled out of the holster, and in the shortest distance possible it makes an elegant curve, the safety falling off at the same time, and then he fires one shot at the grey uniform’s stomach. Then he aims at the soldier just about to turn around and fire at him, the legs of the soldiers still watching the villagers, and the wrist of the young soldier who’s holding the pregnant lady’s arm.

Since the interval between each shot is so short, they can’t even hear the sound of the cartridge turning.

When all the bullets run out, he grabs the regulation gun from a fallen soldier, and fires another three rounds.

As for the last shot, it penetrates the sword-wielding Coruna’s right shoulder.

Deuter’s left arm is slumping at an unnatural angle, but just with his right hand he took out all of the German soldiers in the tent.

“Nobody move!”

Maybe it’s because of the pain, his teeth are clenched, and he says aiming someone else’s gun at the commander rolling on the ground.

“If you value your life throw away your weapons! And those outside, don’t come in, or else the next shot won’t be aimed at his side!”

Just as April finally frees herself of the ropes, those who were shot are pressing their wounds and crouching on the ground, while the others throw down their weapons.

“Richard, your arm…”

“All the commoners go outside! Graves, are you hurt?”

“No, I’m as lively as ever.”

“Good, then you go prepare the car. Listen up, there’s no need to purposely buy it with money. Two minutes, get back here immediately within two minutes!”

“Got it.”

April rolls up the waterproof cloth, and leaves the way they came in.

Be it the jeep or the lorries, there are soldiers nearby standing guard, and right now she doesn’t have the energy to avoid detection.

Just then, a familiar little lorry suddenly stops not far away from her. The lady owner of the souvenir shop pokes her head out of the driver’s seat window, saying,

“I drove it here! This is your car, right?”

“Thanks, but why are you doing this?”

“The one who should be thanking you is me, you people saved my son, didn’t you?”

So she’s the young patriot’s mother.

Upon returning to the tent, Deuter uses his helpless left arm and teeth to pull out the bat-shaped thing from the pile of construction material and tie it tightly. The gun in his right hand is still aimed at the major, though.

“Dynamite?! Where did you get that kind of thing from…”

“I want to load the Box onto the car, can someone help me?”

“I was forced to help, she threatened me!”

The lady owner winks and signals, ‘let me do this’, because this way, she won’t be blamed after all this either.

April helps her lift the Box onto the back of the lorry, and even covers it with hay to disguise, but there’s no way to hide that ominous feeling.

“Richard, it’s done.”

Deuter nods without even turning around, and then he lifts the entire bundle of dynamite. That’s a prey even more dangerous than guns.

“Before I count to ninety, none of you are allowed to move, if I find out that any of you have moved before time, then I’ll light this thing up and throw it inside.”

And then he starts counting while running towards the lorry.

“Graves, give me the instrument case!”

“Got it!”

April picks up the leather instrument case, and even helps Deuter wrap it up in the tent material.

She stops Deuter and then goes around to the driver’s seat, getting behind the wheel and practically flying through the town centre.

It’s just that her shocking driving and accelerating, raises a protest from the passenger in the passenger seat.

“Don’t swing around so much! Or the Box will swing right off!”

“Of course it won’t! Can you stop looking down on me? I learned how to drive when I was 16!”

“…That’s only two years.”

“We should be talking about your arm! What’s wrong with your arm!? And there’s a lot of cold sweat on your forehead!”

“My arm’s dislocated.”

“Dislocated… I can’t, I can’t, just thinking about it makes me want to faint.”

So that’s how he managed to get free from such tight ropes?

“But pushing the bone back in is even more… Damn, they’ve caught up.”

His shoulder knocking into the lorry car door, Deuter glances at the rearview mirror and tsks. The first bullet scrapes past the car, and the two quickly lower their heads.

“No way, aren’t your German ninety seconds way too short!?”

“It could be that they’re too stupid, so they only counted to ten.”

Now isn’t the time for jokes.

The enemy is catching up in two jeeps and a black Benz, the Major of Death and Coruna are surely inside too, and they’re relying on their numbers to shoot at them.

Luckily one bullet brushes past between the two, smashing the front and back windshields.

“Damn, Graves, are there any more bullets in the gun?”

“There are.”

Holding the heavy metal weapon, Deuter immediately shoots a few rounds out the back.

The soldier sticking out of the black Benz falls to the ground, and one of the jeeps has its tire punctured, driving into a shop.

The remaining two cars continue to follow them closely at a distance, they plan to use long range guns.

“Are they trying to snipe us with rifles?”

“The reinforcements aren’t here yet? Where are the reinforcements?”

“If we really had reinforcements, I’d have called for them ages ago.”

April spins the steering wheel to the left, shooting past the town gates without slowing down.

Greeting them is the one way road in the vineyard, now they have absolutely no way out.

“That’s too weird. You’re different from us, you should be acting according to military instructions, right? Since you’re acting on that Colonel Hughes’ orders, then you just have to report to your superior officer that you’re in danger and need help, then the colonel should send you reinforcements, right? Not to mention…”

Just then a bullet slices past the air in the car, and they shrink their necks in unison. This bullet was rather dangerous, huh.

“Not to mention, why are you German soldiers fighting amongst each other? Speaking of which, all the problems started with you. At the museum you were hiding from them too, and just now too, not only did you hurt several of them just now, but now you’re starting a gunfight with them? What the hell’s going on? Have you betrayed the German army? That Colonel Hughes, is he the type of commander that doesn’t care if his subordinate betrayed the army?”

“No.”

“Then could it be that to complete a mission that you need to risk your life for, you have to be ready to kill your own comrades in cold blood, and even lose your own life… Then that’s too scary!”

“It’s not what you’re thinking!”

Deuter groans in pain, pressing against his dislocated left shoulder.

He seems to want to use the pain to hide the huge secret he’s going to tell, and finally he can’t help it anymore, yelling out in a voice that won’t lose to the gunshots,

“The colonel doesn’t even exist! From the beginning there was never any person called Colonel Hughes in this world. That’s just a fictional character those of us operating in secret within the army created.”

April pauses for five seconds, and then says in surprise,

“…What!?”

“Not all the people of this country never doubted the current situation, and not all of them idolize or blindly follow that dictator. There are still people like us who are worried for Germany’s future, and want to bring the country back on track. If people in the Party knew about it, we would be executed for treason, but we’re still mentally prepared for it, and we’re willing to fight to the end for our beliefs. And no matter how big the risk, we have to stop this out-of-control train. Maybe we’ll lose our lives for it, maybe our families will be threatened. But even so, even so…”

Rikhiart Deuter looks up into the sky.

“Someone must stand up and stop this country, we can’t let everyone become Nazis.”

Maybe they noticed we’re not shooting back anymore, because the enemy starts closing in on us.

Although April slams down on the accelerator, but the horsepower of a military vehicle and a little old lorry are still different.

Now it’s only a matter of time before they caught up, and even if they could successfully escape this car chase, there’s no way they can dodge all those bullets. If they’re a slightly unlucky, they might even take a hit in the gas tank, and then all they can do is wait for the flames to engulf them and their cargo.

April suddenly remembers her grandmother’s dying moments, and smiles softly.

Gramma, I might meet the same fate as you. But her heart is surprisingly peaceful, calm, and the terror is fading away.

“I want to ask you something.”

Deuter, with his hand pressed on his shoulder and slumped into his seat, looks up at April’s question,

“Just tell me a bit more about the inner workings, what happened to you guys afterwards? How does everyone operate?”

“We split up and infiltrated different organizations and places, like a salon where academicians gather or the financial world, the educational field, of course there are our comrades in the army divisions too. Normally everyone just lives with the same mask, but if something happens that only we can solve, then we won’t hesitate to take action. And the best candidate to stop the military from misusing the ‘Mirrror’s Depth’ is me. Colonel Hughes is someone created in the files by our comrades hidden in the higher ranks so someone like me can operate easier. As long as I say I’m doing something for the colonel, I can bluff my way past most soldiers, but I have no way of contacting him, because there’s no such person, he simply doesn’t exist.”

“You say he’s a fictional character?”

“That’s right, so no matter how long we wait, there won’t be reinforcements. Even if my comrades know I’m in danger, they can’t help me, because we can’t let one person’s failure pull down anyone else. Although this is very cruel, but they can only stand by and watch. That’s how why we made it to this point.”

“Unbelievable!”

Deuter’s gaze is saying ‘why are you still saying things like that at a time like this’ as he looks at the driver’s side profile. She hits the gas with all she has, and after releasing it for a while, she continues hitting it.

“So that means your heart isn’t with the Nazis? You won’t salute the Nazis with one hand?”

“That’s right… And that’s why, dead or alive, I’ll always be alone.”

April, in the middle of driving, moves her gaze away from the road for a moment, looking at the depressed Richard as she says,

“Don’t you still have me?”

Richard wipes away his cold sweat with his fist, his face blooming into a rare, cheerful smile.

By now he has no more energy to bother with his dislocated arm, putting all he has into suppressing the urge to laugh.

“Then I’m no different from being al… Watch out!”

Their car is suddenly rammed into, turns out the black Benz was ramming into them from behind.

“Looks like they’ve stopped Operation Shoot Us into a Beehive, now it’s highly likely they’ll want to destroy us together with the car.”

Finally getting his laugher under control, Deuter continues muttering in a stiff voice,

“Graves, carefully slow down.”

“Why? Shouldn’t we put the pedal to the metal and get rid of them?”

“Don’t ask so much, just slow down! And when you get the right chance, jump out, you can do something as trivial as that, right? I’ll take care of the clean-up.”

Because he pulls something rather dangerous out of his jacket, April hurriedly speeds up even more.

“Wait, wait, what do you mean by that? You can’t even drive by yourself and you say you want to take care of cleaning up, don’t tell me you want to blow yourself up with bombs!?”

“I haven’t considered something so final yet, it’s just that I can’t let the Box we worked so hard to get back return to their hands so easily…”

“Have you forgotten? Richard, that Box is mine, y’know!”

Grandmother’s tone may be graceful but it’s also stern, and has a sense of authority that does not allow talking back to. Now, April prays that she’s inherited Grandmother’s way of speaking, and says determinedly,

“I forbid you from blowing it up of your own accord!”

“Even if you say so…”

Just then, there’s the sound of something slicing past the air, making both of them fall silent in unison.

Three propellers of different sizes each turn at their own pace. They realize that the sound is chasing up to them from behind, and naturally speed up the little lorry some more.

“Graves, behind us! Watch out behind us! Ah, it’s better if you don’t turn around! I take back what I just said, put the pedal to the metal! Otherwise we’ll be flattened by that plane!”

“Flattened… Could it be DT?”

The reinforcements are descending from the sky.

“It’s the reinforcements, Richard! Those are my reinforcements!”

Accompanied by the whirring of blades, the silver plane, flying at super low altitudes, is getting ready to slide into this one way road, and is throwing things at the black Benz and jeep from above. The things fly at the car top with a ‘thunk’, and just like that the car is squashed.

“April—We’re landing, you guys stay away a little!”

Normally in situations like this you can’t hear the people on the plane talking, but April thought she could hear it very clearly.

“Hey, why are you going straight into the vineyard!”

She ignores her passenger’s protest, daringly slicing her steering wheel towards the vineyard. The silver cargo plane flies past the lorry, gliding long, and finally stops. As for the soldiers afraid of an explosion, they scuttle away from the destroyed Benz and Jeep.

And then, the little lorry ignores the soldiers behind and returns to the road, rushing towards the plane in front. Right now April really wants to meet up with her friends.

DT has one foot on the cargo plane’s boarding ladder, waving his hand as he says,

“Hi, April! Did it go smoothly?”

“DT!”

This time even the tears flowed.

Although it was only two days since they met, she really missed his innocent smile and cheerful voice.

“What was that, DT! You just missed one train, what took you so long?”

“Aiya~ Sorry, sorry. Because dealing took a little time, but I found a really good cargo plane--!”

The Asian knocks the silver plane body twice, and holds out his palm at the wide-open cabin door.

“If there’s anything you want delivered, please use DT Air Carriers! Even if it’s just a Box, we’ll send it to your destination on time!”

“You’re way too exaggerated, it’s just an old wooden box, there’s no need to use a bulk carrier plane like this, right?”

Just then, Regent runs out of the plane.

“Hurry, April! Eh? Is that gentleman all right?”

Deuter presses on his helplessly dangling left arm, muttering.

“…Seems like this year’s red wine, can only… be reported as ‘no harvest’…”

The cargo plane’s wings fly horizontally past the vineyard, as though harvesting the Spatburgunder that has yet to bear fruit.

Back to Chapter 5

Return to MA Series

Forward to Chapter 7