Volume 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)
12/23/1935
It was the day before Weihnachtsabend
The flow of happy people could be seen even in the shopping district along Mehring Street which continued south froplatz, a fa to take time off of work and celebrate Weihnachts with their families It was a crowded area
A bicycle raced along the roads while avoiding those crowded areas It wasquite quickly
Walter wore his lab coat as he controlled the bicycle and Else stood on the back luggage area
They were on their way back from the national library in the University of Berlin
They had tried to check out an encyclopedia of ancient emblems, but the receptionist had said encyclopedias could not be checked out Else had been forced to secretly throw the book out theto Walter aited outside
In other words, they had stolen it
Incidentally, Else had been the one to suggest it and Walter had agreed
The encyclopedia was necessary to fix the Kaiserburg's malfunction
They had spent the entire previous day working out the cause
Siency shutoff had activated
If they continued running it like that, the engine would burn out and never work again Thisthe shi+p an unfinished and powerful engine, so they needed to carve in the proper output control emblem
Else had stuck with Walter and Paul for the day it took theotten to see the inside of the Kaiserburg and even its engines
The first surprise had been that the three cylindrical engines on the back and wings were sealed Thatany kind of jet
”To put it siine designs, it provides a y and doesn't need to create fire or wind using siravity techniques of the powerful divine spell users in ancient times”
As he explained that, Walter had opened the engine's outer paneling
Inside were the guts es
Else had seen so truly unexpected in the center
”A spirit stone!”
The spirit stone had been large enough to wrap ones arht in its place as a component
Spirit stones were norhter craft could fly for six hundred hours using a standard fingertip-sized spirit stone ht tihter craft was only five hundred hours
What Else had seen was absurdly large and it had detailed emblems carved into its surface
”What is this?”
”It's a new type of engine that has developed beyond the standard spirit engine We call it an eine”
”Where did you find such a huge spirit stone? …It isn't a fake, is it?”
”Of course not It was inside a crater in the southern ed into the air, so we searched for a fresh stone that had co, we could carve emblems into it like a normal component”
Wood could be burned more efficiently if it was first turned to charcoal instead of being burned as is Sireater power as a crystallized spirit stone than when it sih empty space
So what if an engine was created from that crystal?
”The engine itself absorbs ether froreat power That's why the Kaiserburg doesn't include a spirit stone for fuel”
”You ?”
”That's right”
He had readily affirmed that ridiculous idea
The ultra-high power aerial shi+p could fly indefinitely without refueling Of course it had been a military secret
”Well? Surprised?”
The young man had smiled as he asked that
That had been yesterday
”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 hi skirt
”Uraduate 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 so”
”Then you're the same as me I can't believe this”
”Eh? Did you say so?”
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 spaceshi+p Huber Talstrasse rode, isn't he?”
”Yes, but what about it?”
”When I spoke with hiht 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 e, but do your best”
She scratched her head as he s else
”I assu into space for Huber's sake, but what about you, Walter?”
Why was that young o 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 o farther than anyone ever has before? That's a favorite quote of mine”
Else sighed at that answer
”C'ive 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 throughto space”
”I see Being eager to learn is a good thing Is that how you learned about the professor, too?”
She could sense his sh 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 h reason to put to words
She wanted to know that reason for her own sake
…Do I have so like that too?
Just then, so odd passed by them
It was an armored reen 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 ar 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 so silly like that?”
”Try to be less blatant when you lie! …And look! Here they come!”
With nocars left, the soldiers cut across the street
The people watching the co
The bicycle continued on and weaved between the fleeing people at a decent clip
”Walter! Hurry!”
Suddenly, five soldiers ran in froun
”Get the traitors!” they shouted
Else turned toward them from the back of the bicycle
”Oh, shut up!”
She pulled a sub on her back The action was so natural that the running soldiers did not i 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 sideas torn apart All five of the soldiers disgracefully ju sure she did not hit the from their perspective
”Wah, ah, wah!”
Their screarew more distant and the bicycle accelerated
However, it was too soon to relax Still holding the subht 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 gli 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?
The Kaiserburg floated unreliably in the backyard of a large white mansion
Even in winter, the war too cold It was also a sunny day, so the top of the metal shi+p was comfortably warm
A man in a blue work outfit slept on top of that warm shi+p It was Paul
He was enjoying a pleasant nap for the first ti while
He was completely relaxed after the tension of the last few days had suddenly left him entirely
…I'm like an old man
Suddenly, a shrill noise came from his body
The co
He frantically sat up and pulled it out
”Hey, it's me What is it, Walter?”
The young etic voice replied to him
”Professor! Can you hear me!?”
”H happen?”
”The military is headed your way”
”What do you mean exactly?”
”A nationalto your current location Yeah, that's definitely what's happening”
”That isn't what I meant! Keep it simple”
”The military is headed your way”
”Are you trying to pick a fight with me!?”
”Mayer and his friends are already having a party and they've caused quite a commotion Can't you hear it?”
Sure enough, he could hear some unusual sounds fro the unfire and collisions
It see on
”H lady with you?”
”Yes, yes The 'young lady' is with him, old man!”
”You see lady, don't call me 'old man' Call me professor Got it?”
”Sure, sure Then how about you stop callinglady' I'm already twenty, you old professor”
”Hey, Walter Can't you do soirl?”
”Else, weren't you just saying so?”
”Oh, damn …Wait! This is no time to talk about that!”
”You're right, you're right Professor, given the situation, we'll recite the emblem from here Can you can carve it in as we do?”
Paul did not immediately understand Walter's question
”That is completely insane,” he replied
”Don't worry, professor You're Germany's best emblem technician, aren't you? You're the only one that can carve an emblem into stone with just a chisel these days, so how about showing off your skill?”
”Y'know”
”You can't do it?”
The voice co from the communicator was terribly dark and filled with disappointment
Paul replied on reflex
”Well, it isn't that I can't”
”Okay, then do it Do it right now Do it immediately Got it? That settles it”
Walter's tone ihtened and Paul frowned
”Fine then Give me two minutes to prepare”
”Understood Else will be the one reading off the e”
”Eh? Wait I can't read an emblem”
”E is a required course at the university, isn't it? Besides,the bike”
Paul heard Else continue to protest, but he stopped listening
He scratched his head in exasperation and stood fro
It see nap after all
Six long aerial aircraft carriers floated in the sky above a sea of clouds They were the Bladlikburg and others of the sa Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf, and Sechs
They were ale was a glass-covered basket attached on the bottoive a view of the area below This was the opposite of a normal shi+p or aircraft, but the upper deck had to be flat so the aircraft could take off or land
Currently, a man looked down on the sea of clouds froe
It was Oscar
He pressed the communication intercom to his ear and frowned
”You ran across him, but he ran away? And he has entered the Breuer family's land?”
He thought about what to do and instantly made up his mind
”Okay You have permission to pursue But you come up here, Mayer Only you can properly pilot the new craft”
He took a breath
”We cannot let them complete that shi+p”
And…
”The Tempelhof Airport should be closest We will also descend, so we should arrive in less than fifteen minutes Hurry”
After e that, he ended the communication
…The fate of the le shi+p
He smiled bitterly
Ger in the first half of the twenties
In the thirties, a man rumored to be a madman had taken political control Ever since, the nation had conored the disarmament proed military expansion
If Gerreat as bound to begin If Oscar's estilehandedly destroy Air Force Division 5 aka Eisen Vogel that he commanded
The inforner Laboratory had supported that estimation
And if that craft flew into space, the problem would spread beyond the nation of Geret the dp-xxx
…And that will lead to a war centered on this country!
He could not allow that to happen
The dp-xxx was an unerous shi+p
However, he had another thought as well
…What if we could properly use its abilities?
If so, Germany would most likely lead the world Aine and they now nearly ruled the world econoreatest automobile producer
Froy
Which vieas correct?
He did not know
Until he had seen the dp-xxx's ability for hiht they could siht it was a threat to the country that would only make the top brass of the military happy
But it had displayed ined It was entirely different froy and he had sensed the future in it He had seen many neeapons on the battlefield, so he knew to trust that feeling
It could not be allowed to exist, but it would be such a shame to lose it
…What should we do?
He thought
He did not have tiin in just a few minutes
He knehat he had to do: keep Ger drawn into a war And for that, he had to rethink what the purpose of the military was
A sudden thought occurred to him
…The military is meant to protect the nation
With that thought, he h
He immediately came to a decision
…We will hold the dp-xxx here and hide it until the time comes!
That was it That was the only possible answer
Strength filled his gaze and he barked orders
”Transfer the crew of artillery aircraft carriers Zwei and Fünf to other shi+ps! If this coht, the dp-xxx will use its Panzer E but a unit of men prepared to die!”
A plan for Zwei or Fünf would be sunk, but he would be happy if they could limit it to just that
”Once that is complete, all shi+ps are to descend at full speed! The battle begins!”
The bicycle raced through the forest The mansion was not far away now
The noise co from behind was their pursuers
”They sure are persistent Doesn't this count as trespassing?” asked Else while looking worriedly back
”We trespassed with the Kaiserburg too”
”What you did was landing or crashi+ng, not trespassing”
She raised her head just as they left the forest Her vision opened up and she saw a yard the size of a plaza There was a giant mansion beyond it and a sword-like metal shi+p floated in front of it
The Kaiserburg's nose was pointed their way
It ht push
Meanwhile, the bicycle slowed to a stop and the two stepped off of it
The Kaiserburg slid gently through the air and stopped in front of them There was no instability in itsto re Even Else could tell the shi+p could fly
She watched it in silence
…Thank goodness!
Walter glanced over his shoulder at her
”Hood”
”Else?”
”Eh?”
”Why do you look so nervous?”
”I-I'm not exactly nervous…”
”It's thanks to you we got it running You should be a little happier”
…I am happy!
But that hy she could not speak Even she felt her role had been too simple She had only opened the book to the entry Walter had indicated and recited the most powerful emblem to Paul
Walter could have done it if she had not been there
Even so, she had been the one to actually do it
It may have been indirect, but it really was thanks to her that the only shi+p trying to reach space could fly once more
Her pulse began to race
The man in front of her turned toward her with his usual smile
She smiled back
”Isn't this great?” she asked
”It is We can fly again”
He sounded almost embarrassed as he answered
At the very least, he was experiencing the same joy she had felt And it was an ordinary experience for hi space No nor to clash with the oal
He and Paul were betting their own lives on this shi+p and a chance to reach space
She had nothing like that Not only did she not have a physical representation like the Kaiserburg, but she had nothing in her heart either
…What is this? Am I jealous?
Just as she wondered that…
”Else! Move away from that shi+p!”
Her gaze turned to a deep voice and she saw Gaston rushi+ng out of the mansion He pointed behind Else and Walter
Without even turning around, she knehat thatthe yard
She heard so's outer paneling The gunshot reached her a moment later
If one bullet had flown, h, more and unfire joined them
The tail end of the Kaiserburg slid to the side and formed a wall in front of Walter and Else
”Else! Hurry over here! It's dangerous out there!”