by SOW
Did he say I’ve been through hell? Was he talking about himself? If so, he must have been through hell many times.
Shylock wasn’t a soldier. He was a civilian, a non-combatant. Nonetheless, he possessed the ferocity that came from experiencing agonizing life-or-death circumstances, over and over.
“I’m going in.”
Shylock walked past Lud without looking at him and put his hand on the shop door.
“Wait!”
Shylock tossed something over his shoulder just as Lud spoke.
“What’s this?”
It was a gold coin. Lud was so unfamiliar with the currency that he wasn’t sure of its exact value, but it was certainly worth enough to buy all the bread at Tockerbrot and still have plenty left.
“I’m your customer. I don’t care if you’re an ex-soldier, but if you’re a businessman, you shouldn’t turn away anyone, even an enemy.”
He would not permit Lud to restrain him and went inside the shop as if he wasn’t interested in listening any further.
“You’re...”
As Shylock went inside, his eyes met Sven’s. Lud followed in a hurry, but Shylock did not show the slightest interest in Sven, who was the main cause of yesterday’s incident.
“Wait a second. Please, don’t bother the boy.”
As Lud finished his sentence, Shylock called out.
“Jacob? Where are you? It’s your grandpa!” Shylock’s voice was unexpectedly silky and gentle, completely unlike his harsh manner earlier.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Both Lud and Sven widened their eyes in surprise.
“Sorry about before, Jacob. Your grandpa was a little frustrated. I apologize, so please come out!”
He wiped the stern expression from his face and put his full effort into a smile that wouldn’t scare Jacob.
“Excuse me?”
Hesitantly, Lud spoke to Shylock, who was wandering around the shop looking for Jacob.
“What?! I’m busy right now!”
When he turned around, his glare returned and his voice was threatening. But it was impossible to feel intimidated after hearing him plead for Jacob to come to him.
“What do you mean by grandpa?”
“I am his paternal grandfather!”
“What?!”
Shylock’s reply greatly surprised Lud. It wasn’t just that the frightening man Jacob had met when visiting Saupunkt turned out to be his grandfather. This man, who claimed to be his grandfather, could tell Jacob the whereabouts of his father.
Didn’t Jacob say he doesn’t know his father?
When his mother was a prostitute, his father was one of her customers. Jacob had told Lud that he knew nothing more than that.
“Jacob? Come out! Look! I brought many things you might like!”
Despite Lud’s confusion, Shylock continued speaking to Jacob, who was hiding somewhere in the shop.
“Hey, Poracho! Faran! Bring the presents in here!”
Shylock yelled at the thugs—Poracho and Faran—waiting outside the shop.
“Yes, Sir!!”
His two minions hurriedly brought in gift boxes of all sizes, wrapped in pretty paper and ribbons, as well as snacks piled high in a wooden box large enough to hold an adult.
“See? Your grandpa brought lots of toys and sweets for you! Come to Berun with Gramps! I’ll treat you to a feast!”
He had prepared all these treats to lure Jacob. He must have bought them in neighboring communities, since a small town like Organbaelz didn’t even stock such products.
“Berun... Do you intend to take Jacob to Berun?”
“I told you not to interrupt me! I’m busy right now!!”
Shylock shouted at Lud and his expression showed great frustration.
“Jacob... Please, can you say something?”
He begged this with his silken voice, but Jacob didn’t reply.
I don’t think Jacob will answer because he is scared. I hope he stays silent.
Lud tried not to look at the door to the office, where Jacob was hiding.
“Jacob? If you want, I’ll hire a dozen pretty girls to be your private maids. Do you like big boobs? Or big butts?”
Shylock was running out of ammunition to persuade Jacob, so he stooped desperately to vulgar bribes.
“He’s bribing a child with women?!”
Lud was stunned by this, but—
Rattle!
The door of the office shook, revealing Jacob’s hiding place.
“Finally!”
“What?!”
Shylock and Lud both reacted to Jacob’s sudden decision to give himself away.
“I found you, Jacob! Now come with Grandpa!”
“That’s not fair!!”
Jacob called out angrily as Shylock tried to break open the office door.
“I... I don’t get it.”
Lud knew that Jacob was mature for his age, but he was still 10 years old. Lud was slightly disappointed at the thought that Jacob was persuaded by the offer of girls rather than toys and sweets.
This is no time to worry about that!
“Outsiders should stay out of our family business!”
Shylock growled murderously at Lud as he tried to stop Shylock from taking Jacob out by force.
“I’m his friend! I can’t stay quiet when my friend is in trouble!”
Lud shouted back in equal measure.
“Tsk... You need another one, huh?”
With a look of disgust, Shylock reached into his pocket. But what he withdrew wasn’t a weapon. He held out another gold coin to bribe Lud to keep his mouth shut.
“I don’t need that! And I don’t need this, either!”
Lud refused the coin and tried to return the one he had received earlier.
“Don’t you understand? No one, whether he’s a kid or an adult, could respond to such a sudden demand! Why don’t you give him some time to think?”
Lud hated all attempts to control others by force, whether with the power of money, materials, authority or violence. After growing up in the military, and living in war zones, he hated actions that bent another person’s will. Now, his friend Jacob was in trouble. He had to stop it.
“Tsk...”
Shylock clicked his tongue at the determination in Lud’s eyes.
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
After saying this, Shylock turned to leave the shop.
“Wait! I want to give this back!”
Lud was still trying to return the gold coin.
“I’m not so low that I take back money once I let it go.”
Shylock glanced around the shop.
“But, I’ll take this. Keep the change.”
He picked up one of the breads on the shelf and exited the shop.
“I’ve heard of that man somewhere...”
Sven mumbled as she watched Shylock walk out.
“Phew... I’m safe now... Thanks, Lud.”
Jacob thanked Lud with a relieved sigh.
“He’s no ordinary man.”
Lud spoke with a serious look, still staring where Shylock had just stood.
“Master?”
“Lud?”
Sven and Jacob caught their breath at the sight of Lud looking so serious.
“The bread he took was a boule, the best bread baked today! He’s got a good eye!”
A boule is a round bread whose name means “ball.” It was among the most basic breads, and its name is the origin of the word boulangerie, which means “bakery,” and the word boulanger, which means “baker.”
“Lud, this is no time for joking around...”
“No, Jacob. Master is serious.”
The two spoke in amazement at how Lud was such an absurdly serious baker.
A few minutes later...
Inside Tockerbrot, after the storm had passed, Jacob sighed, looking haggard.
“Yeah, for a moment, I wasn’t sure how that would end.”
They
caught their breath while sipping the milk tea that Sven made.
“Can you fill me in? If you don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“I’ll tell you. We’re friends.”
Jacob answered Lud’s question with a bitter smile.
“Somehow, I am Shylock’s grandson.”
“But you...”
“Yes. My mother was a prostitute. I thought there was no way of knowing which of her customers was my father. So I didn’t ask, and she didn’t tell me. But...”
Jacob hadn’t asked, but Charlotte did know who the father was.
“And this is the proof.”
Jacob picked up the goggles that he always wore around his neck and showed them to the others as he answered.
“I noticed them before. They must have been expensive. The metal part has a thin coating and the leather is cordovan.”
Cordovan is an exceedingly rare leather that can be collected only in small amounts from each horse, and is called the “jewel of leathers.” Jacob’s goggles were a collector’s item made of high quality materials by a skilled craftsman.
“There are initials written here. S.S. It must stand for the name of my father.”
Before he realized it, he was already wearing the goggles. His mother gave them to him when he was little, and he had worn them ever since.
“My father gave these to my mom so he would recognize me as his son... But it doesn’t make sense!”
Jacob said this with a laugh, but his tone suggested confusion. It was understandable. When he hadn’t known anything about his father, he hadn’t worried about it, but now that he had discovered even a little about him, he didn’t know what to think.
“That old man is the chairman of a company called Billions Trading.”
“Oh!!”
Upon hearing this, Sven raised her voice.
“What’s the matter, Sven?”
“I remember now! Joseph Shylock! The chairman of Billions Trading! Greedy Shylock!”
Sven had been wondering where she had seen him before, and now she remembered. She had seen a photograph of him in a newspaper she had picked up in the waiting room of city hall, where she had gone to file papers for the bakery.
“What kind of company is Billions Trading?”
“Its main business is consignment production of weapons. It’s what is sometimes called a ‘merchant of death’.”
Sven continued to explain in answer to Jacob’s question.
“According to rumors, he made money through unscrupulous means during wartime. In order to secure workers, he used women, children and sometimes, illegal immigrants. And people said he didn’t pay their wages.”
“Sven... wait.”
Lud tried to stop Sven, who was rattling on.
“The worst of it was that he was arrested on suspicion of treason against the nation before the Great War. And he paid money so he wouldn’t face prosecution. Anyway, no one is as shady as he is.”
“Sven, that’s enough!”
Lud stopped her with a rough voice.
“Oh... I’m sorry!”
Too late, she realized why. Jacob would be upset at learning how evil his grandfather was, even though he just met him.
“It’s all right, Sven. I understand. It seems like my father must have left home for good reasons.”
Jacob said this with a dry smile and gestured with his hand.
“What do you mean?”
“My father and that old man didn’t get along. So my father finally left.”
Unlike Shylock, Jacob’s father was an honorable man. He and Shylock had fought viciously ever since his father was young, so the son had eventually moved out.
“He illegally gained a place in the military register, changed his name, and became a soldier. Then the war started and he met Mom. That’s what I heard.”
“Oh... Your father was quite an adventurous man himself!”
Sven said this in a voice either impressed or stunned. Since Jacob’s grandfather had been corrupt, his son had become as tough as necessary.
“That’s all anyone knows about my father. There’s no information about what happened after that. That’s all Mom knows.”
“If they could find out that much, they should also be able to discover where he is, but— Oh!”
Lud didn’t continue. If a soldier went to war and then disappeared, it could only mean one thing. He had been killed in action. Jacob’s father had very likely departed this world long ago.
“I don’t know... People have given me a lot of information, so I’m confused. What should I do? Ha ha ha...”
Jacob was laughing, but it was obvious that he felt a little desperate. The secrets surrounding his birth—his father’s likely death and his grandfather’s role as a merchant of death—were too heavy for a 10-year-old to carry.
“Uh-oh... Seriously... What should I do?”
Jacob set his cup on the table and held his head.
“Jacob... Um, how about your family? I mean, what does your mother say?”
“Not much. But she did say that what the old man told me was true.”
Neither Lud nor Sven knew what Jacob’s mother was thinking. Perhaps she simply didn’t know what to say.
“Jacob, do you want to go with Shylock?”
“No.”
Jacob’s answer was clear.
“That old man... As soon as he found out I was his grandson, he put on a sweet face, but I know he’s thoroughly evil to other people. I don’t care if we have the same blood. I don’t want to be with him.”
Facing Shylock in the frightening circumstances yesterday in Saupunkt made Jacob want to stay far away from his grandfather.
“If you go with him, you can live in great luxury.”
“No thank you!”
“He said he would hire pretty girls.”
“To be honest, that did appeal to me somewhat, but... no.”
Even the prospect of money, luxury and women didn’t entice Jacob to compromise.
“I see. Well, in that case...”
Lud made a decision.
“You can stay here as long as you want.”
“Huh?”
Lud’s offer surprised Jacob.
“You can sleep on the floor in my room. Most meals will be leftover bread. And I want you to help in the shop. If you don’t mind that, then you can stay as long as you like.”
“Can I really, Lud?”
As Shylock had said, Lud was an outsider. However, when Lud said that Jacob was his friend, those true words were spoken from the heart.
“I don’t mind.”
Lud was a pacifist. He didn’t like trouble and wouldn’t allow problems to be solved with violence. He had tried to use words to resolve the conflict with the thugs. He was a pacifist, but he didn’t believe in peace at any price. He would never abandon a friend in need just to avoid trouble.
“Jacob, don’t underestimate my master. You know how he is.”
Sven said this with a shrug of her shoulders. It wasn’t clear whether she thought there was no use in trying to stop Lud or she didn’t want to stop him at all.
“Um... uh...”
Jacob, who was usually a more fluent speaker than Lud, looked as if he didn’t know what to say.
“Thank you.”
Embarrassed, he said nothing more.
Surprisingly, when people are truly thankful, few words come from their mouths.
That very day, Lud tried to write a letter to Shylock, but in the end, it was Sven who wrote and sent it. In summary, it read, “Jacob has no intention of going to Berun with you.”
“How dare you cross me...”
Shylock was a battle-hardened businessman, so those words alone were enough for him to guess the broader situation. The incredible fury that Shylock unleashed at that moment made Poracho and Faran—his pair of underlings—fear for their lives.
“Fair enough...”
He ripped up the letter and prepared to take action. An assault of s
wift decisions had been the secret to his business success. Lud and the others soon would realize this all too well.
Chapter 4: The Battle of Bolsburn
The next morning, before dawn...
Morning comes early to a bakery. If the baker doesn’t complete the preparations to allow the dough to rise by dawn, he won’t be able to line the shelves with his bread by opening hour. Therefore, since times of old, the baker must rise before the first cockcrow.
“Yawwwn, I’m sleepy.”
Tockerbrot was no exception. Jacob was now living there, so he too rose early and helped in the shop.
“Milly, aren’t you sleepy? You even have to commute here.”
“To be honest, it was hard at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
Jacob and the shop apprentice, Milly, were bringing in the day’s flour from the storage area outside. There was still a little time before sunrise. The light had yet to appear, but the color of the sky was changing from black to indigo.
“In the east, people say demons appear around this time of day.”
“That’s ridiculous! You’re a child, but don’t say such silly things.”
Milly was having none of Jacob’s chitchat.
“What do you mean? We’re around the same age!”
“You’re not 11 yet. I’m 14. I’m much older than you!”
There was only a three-year difference between them, but even though Milly was just an apprentice, she had a job, whereas Jacob was an unemployed dependent. Nonetheless, Milly was still childish, and demonstrated her immaturity by insisting on this slight difference in their ages.
“Hm?”
They heard a noise from somewhere.
“What’s that noise?”
The approach of a great rumbling sound caused the ground to shake.
“No way... Could that really be a demon?”
Pale, Milly stared out at the street. A line of shining eyes was roaring toward them.
Meanwhile, Lud was at the oven.
“Bread is a living thing.”
Long ago, he had heard that from a town baker who was no longer alive.
Baking bread was not just about mixing ingredients in specific amounts and kneading for a certain amount of time. It was a challenge that involved considerations such as the quality of the flour, the fineness of the salt and the pH level of the water. The humidity level, air temperature, environment, and even the season, all determined how the yeast fermented.