Volume II:

Chapter 1: Cong Yun

It's late autumn, and the leaves on the side of the road are yellow.

The bleak cold wind swept across the ground, whipping pedestrians like a whip, causing them to tighten their necks and quicken their pace.

This is the headquarters building of the Black Forest Group in Hamburg, Germany.

Klute sat on a bench outside the conference room, smoking his beloved pipe. Although it was not ignited due to Alice's ban, it still lifted his spirits after a dry addiction.

"Have you found the cause?"

【Yes】

"What's going on?"

It's been about three months since I accepted Alice's permanent employment. Under the girl's unexpectedly iron fist, the situation of the Kaguya clan is firmly established - the separatists who have been seduced by external forces are forcefully sanctioned by her. As a result, a huge 'coup d'état' only made a fuss.

Except for Mr. Kaguya, who was not saved in the end, he was confirmed dead on the day of the asset transfer. It can be said that the Kaguya clan did not suffer much loss in this incident and still maintained its strength.

During this time, in addition to protecting Alice, Klut took over the security of the Kaguya Building. In his spare time, he is still investigating the situation in the Iron Will, trying to find out why he was not attacked last time.

While it was a good thing that he wasn't attacked, it wasn't a big deal to think about that day.

But afterwards, Klut was still a little concerned, so he specially arranged PPK to investigate, wanting to find out the truth of the matter.

[I confirmed the mission records of Team 404 from headquarters, and on that day, they happened to engage in a firefight with the saboteur, destroying the vandal's prosthetic body - according to the report submitted by the 404 team, an elite team was assembled around the saboteur. If it hadn't taken advantage of the raid, Team 404 wouldn't have had the confidence to win. 】

"Huh?"

An incredulous expression appeared on Kluet's face.

He had a lot to guess about it, from iron-blooded intrigues to the rise of the saboteur's intelligence—either way.

But was exactly annihilated by the 404 squad?

This is a reasonable situation, though. But compared to the previous possibilities, it made Kluet a little uncomfortable.

Is it that simple?

Is it that simple?

What a waste of feelings.

[Yes, that's it]

"I owe them a favor, this time. ”

If the saboteurs were not intercepted, but arrived at the battlefield without incident. So, what happens on that afternoon?

Klut couldn't judge.

So, for those girls who happened to help a lot, Kluet was really grateful.

Bring them some gifts if you have time.

Sweets and dresses or something...... I don't know if they have their own team building, but I heard that the headquarters is quite popular for decoration, so maybe you can put some thought into it.

[Anyway, boss, Miss Alice has been very busy these two days]

"Huh?"

PPK's words bring Kluet's reflections back to reality. He nodded and continued on with the PPK topic.

"After all, it's the head of the sect family...... I don't know much about Japanese culture, but that's probably what it is. ”

[That's really hard, just become the head of the family and face challenges]

"Who's to say it's not...... Black Forest Group, I didn't expect them to get involved in the military industry......"

Although the name is Black Forest, it has nothing to do with cake.

The company that appeared in the conversation between Klut and PPK was actually an industrial conglomerate formed by a number of large and medium-sized enterprises.

It was born in the late part of the last century and is mainly engaged in the production and processing of wood and steel.

And today, the reason why they are here is to negotiate with Kaguya. Its purpose was to cooperate with Kaguya in the field of optics and electronics, and to bid for a new generation of individual equipment for the Wehrmacht.

That is, power armor.

Is it hard to develop this thing?

It's actually not that hard.

Now that the bipedal balance technology and the motor coordinator have been very mature, the technical difficulties of the humanoid exoskeleton have already been overcome.

The remaining questions are just minutiae: price-performance ratio, and some detailed parameters.

It's like the first piston biplane of mankind, which flew almost dangerously before it was born. And after that, it's all about performance.

[However, is there really hope?]

"Who knows. ”

[Although Kaguya is also very powerful, in terms of cutting-edge technology, it is still Rice's products that are more prestigious]

"That said, but if everything is determined by quality, there should be only one country left in the world, and there is still one factory. ”

[That's what I said]

But that's not possible.

Merchants are not artists and peddle goods only for profit.

If they can make enough profit by buying only used goods, they will not open up new production lines. If they can monopolize all the resources of an industry, they will not improve the quality of service.

Kaguya, Rice, the Black Forest, and even governments. Everyone is looking for profit, and it is to earn more money under limited conditions.

If you can earn 10 yuan from A, you can give up 6 yuan from B, of course, it is best to earn on both sides, but if the production is insufficient, then you can only make trade-offs.

"So, I can't be a businessman......"

[Boss, have you ever thought about doing business?]

"It's just about thinking about it...... When you retire, you always have to find something to do. I'll be old in two years, and it's time to think about it. ”

[I see]

The PPK fell silent for a moment.

Klut looked out the window and frowned at the dark clouds.

He doesn't like rainy days, which always make him lack energy.

He prefers snow to rain, at least winter clothes can keep out the cold of ice and snow, but raincoats can't withstand the humidity of the atmosphere.

When he was young, marching in the rain was every soldier's nightmare. It's nothing to step into the mud with one foot, it's a sudden situation, once you need to lie down in the face of danger, then the next situation is called hell.

Fortunately, Kluutter is no longer a soldier.

He didn't need to experience that terrible situation again.

[So, what did Daddy want to sell before?]

That's when Chicago's voice interjected into the conversation.

Although this girl was placed on a layer of vigilance, it seemed that because she was too idle, she had been paying attention to this side.

"Bread. ”

【…… Daddy, what are you talking about?]

"Bakery, at first I wanted to find a middle school and open a bakery next to it to sell bread. ”

[Not ...... Dad, this is a bit out of line with what you just said, it's just a bakery, how can it be related to business]

"Don't look down on bread!"

[No...... I...... Okay, Dad, I'm sorry]

"It's okay, that's what I thought at first. But my daughter had a long talk with me, and I think she made a lot of sense. ”

[Sister Koko...... What the hell did she say?]

She said...... Oh, it's out. ”

Klut was about to answer, but the door to the conference room opened.

Alice, who had finished the talks, walked out accompanied by 590. Her mood seemed quite good, and seeing Klute even secretly made a V-shaped gesture.

Klut grinned and walked over. He stood behind Alice and draped the thick coat he had prepared over the girl's shoulders.

"Well, the specific details will be decided next time. ”

"Of course, next time we will go to Japan, and then we will talk in detail. ”

The expressions on both sides were relaxed, which also made Kluet breathe a sigh of relief.

Although Alice was known to be a great child from the beginning, she was able to grow to this point in a few months and participate in the negotiations herself, and I have to say that her excellence was still beyond Kluet's expectations.

"So, what do we do next?"

After leaving the office building of the Black Forest Group, Alice's mood regains to the liveliness that a female high school student should have. She pinched her waist with both hands and turned her head with a look of anger.

As a result, a little bad feeling rose in Kluter's heart.

"Anyway, Kluet's daughter is also in Germany, right?"

“…… What?"

"I know, it's called Coco Heinledo. I heard that it was a weapon sales.,It's amazing.,It's obviously a girl.。 ”

What's going on with this old-fashioned tone? Why did it suddenly become condescending? What does this girl want to express?

Klute looked at the humanoid girls with a blank expression, and saw a five-faced entanglement.

It's not good.

"What do you want to do?"

"Just say hello. ”

"Coco is bigger than you. ”

"Some things have nothing to do with age, hehe. ”

"But I think it's rare to come to Germany. It's better to go to Griffin's headquarters and have a look. ”

"After that, let's go, let's go. ”

Is this girl's character? Why didn't you see it before?

Kluet, who was pushed into the car by Alice, only had one question echoing in his mind before he lowered the handbrake.

"I said, I'm fifty-five, you know?"

"What about the mature age, what's wrong?"

“……”

Bad, speechless.