Volume 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)
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 reines, 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 shi+p'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 shi+p and heard the voices of the younger technicians repairing it on the inside The shi+p was sealed, but the factory was so quiet he could still just barely hear them
He could tell they were excitedly discussing soument over the mysteries and problems with the shi+p
A shi+p 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 hy he remained in this abandoned factory
He had spent forty years with airplanes now
In that time, he had coed
And there was soirl who had co for his help
She had a single goal: flying this shi+p 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 hat they needed to do
Repairing the Kaiserburg was his only way of assisting their journey to space, but that was so only he could do
Strength filled his gaze and his silently wandering eyes looked up at the shi+p
Suddenly, a face poked out froed to Else orking on the loiring
She looked to his 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 loiring and non-eer 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 shi+p 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 froether, 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'h”
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?”
Stein was an aircraft or an aerial shi+p It essentially had no living areas
Even so, the young woman in a work outfit spread her arms as if to embrace the shi+p
”Don't you think reat?”
She turned around and showed hiht 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 re it?”
That lance of light had stabbed into the Kaiserburg The odd weapon was a bullet made of ether yet it retained its fors
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
”Norhter 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 eun you carry around The bullet is entirely supported fro 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 shi+p's engines Any iather ether in a lance shape It's a lot like a ht A Panzer Emblem”
”Thelike 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?”
”H you shouldn't”
”Sure I was just thinking I could use it for so fun”
”I's you shouldn't use it for”
It was 6:30 AM and the an early in Germany
Even after rising above the clouds, the sun had yet to come out
The Flaht line as purple filled the sky
He was testing the fighter's ascension ability
The roar of the engine filled the fighter It was still weak, but the ht resistance, but it was not perfect The fighter shook
Mayer faced the moon from the cockpit
His body was pressed into the back of the chair He had trouble breathing, but not enough to pass out
His thoughts were clear and a single idea filled his mind
How could he fight Walter and the others?
”Why a?”
When he had said he wanted to fight the night before last, Else had asked him a question
”You're just afraid of losing, aren't you!? But you also kno skilled you are, so you aren't prepared to go all out and crush your opponent!”
That was definitely true
”You think so that is mine alone, but what do you have!?”
She had taken a breath
”You've done nothing but borrow froht to stop us!”
Her harsh words had shocked him
They had also reminded him of what Oscar had told him
…Whatwhat exactly it is you should be
Her words had told him exactly what that had meant
He was not Walter Nor was he Paul or Oscar In that case, who should he be?
That ansould give hiht
…But how should I fight?
This was not like the tests and training he had completed in the past This was a competition that would have a clear result If he lost, he would lose everything
Why did he hope for a fight he had no confidence he could win?
He accelerated his fighter craft To continue rising, he had to continue accelerating
The needle slowlythe previous test
The sky was growing bluer and deeper
He accelerated further
The sky outside the as nearly indigo already, he saw the stars in the distance, and the altitude needle had reached the red danger zone
The Fla tremor
He accelerated His speed had dropped quite a bit because the earth's gravity had ensnared him
The altitude needle had reached the far side of the gauge
…Should I give up here?
He saw the moon in the heavens far above the sky The shi+p's ability to rise would be about at its limit
Its acceleration eakening
”Is this really enough?”
His question to hi transmission
”Mayer, you have ascended quite a bit You have set an excellent record”
It was Oscar
Mayer asked a question on reflex
”Coht the dp-xxx?”
He blatantly revealed his worries
After a short silence, the other man replied
”Mayer, do you have no intention of testing your own ability?”
…Testing!?
He almost felt like this was his first time to hear that word
…Why do I want to fight?
I don't care if I lose I want to fight so I can test what I can do when I go all out!
He was certain to learn that if he fought Walter's group He would directly take on the person he respected and had set as his own goal
Through that battle, he could confiro
Strength filled his gut
He forced a large burst of acceleration from the Flammen Ritter
”Mayer! Do not force yourself!”
”I'm fine!”
His tone was strong as he responded
His fingertips operated the field e ether wrapped around the fighter craft
The fighter stopped shaking and only solidified flah the cockpit s
”Activating Panzer E even more!”
With a lurch of impact, the Flammen Ritter rose intensely into the sky
Mayer smiled as he endured the inertia of the acceleration
At 8:38 AM, the sun had risen to a certain extent The sky was clear and filled with just enough of a chill to tense the skin A cold fog covered the Grunewald Forest
A single car was parked in the forest's airfield and a man stood next to it It was Gaston
His shoulders shook once and he sighed
He began to ith his face pointed straight forward
His gaze was on the giant factory Its large door was open and the nose of a shi+p could be seen within
”She really is doing this, isn't she?”
He approached, and saw a ranized the e of the factory
”Steinmetz!” he called out and quickened his pace
The other ram on the floor, paused, and raised a hand
”Oh, Gaston”
He tapped his back as he stood up and Gaston asked him a question
”How is Else doing?”
”She's checking the course in the office”
”I see”
He was relieved that his daughter was still so nearby even if she was planning to leave him She wanted to eventually fly into the sky and travel as far from this earth as she could
”She's a good girl”
”I think you mean rebellious”
”No, it isn't often you find someone who looks so at home in a work outfit”
”Is that supposed to be a cohter of a respectable family”
”Are hard workers not respectable?”
”I just want the Breuer family to be respectable”
The old man smiled bitterly at that
”She's quite so and exterior on her own She went two nights without sleep to do it”
”She did that much?”
The old man scratched his head and nodded
”Well, she messed some of it up, but I fixed it for her”
”Sorry for the trouble”
”Don't be Getting this shi+p to fly is an important job”
He looked up into Gaston's eyes from below
”Do you think it's important, too?”
Gaston hesitated but responded clearly
”I do” He lowered his gaze a little ”This shi+pthe world with trouble It could even start a war and that could destroy the world”
He took a breath and looked back up at the shi+p in front of him
”But…”
”But?”
”If the world would be destroyed by so it continue to exist? I feel like whatever place survives this will be a suitable place for Else and the people who can keep up with them”
That really sounds like soht
”This e we live in is definitely going to change”
”Ha ha ha That isn't soe it ourselves”
”Oh? Well said”
”I got that one frohter”
”Else said that?”
”A nice saying, isn't it?”
”She was just trying to sound mature”