Our new contract's no big deal.
Just selling a few guns to the local mafia.
Three trucks' worth, by land.
Normally I wouldn't bother with pocket change like this,
and I'm not exactly Mr Curry,
but I've got a big missile deal coming up the next week!
That's why we're doing this.
As usual I'll need you to guard the cargo and secure the area.
It may be small-time business, but the customer is nervous.
Be sure not to spook them.
Especially you, Lutz!
Huh?! Since when do I do that? Princess?!
Koko?
Were you listening, Valmet? Guess you weren't.
You were staring off into the distance.
I'm sorry, Koko. I spaced out.
No problem.
We have always stood on the borderland
I'm enjoying the view from here
Eeny meeny miny moe much the same
We have always stood on the borderland
I'm enjoying the view from here
Pike or shield? maketaku wa nai
Pike or shield? I don't want to lose
demo kizutsuketaku mo nai
but I don't want to get hurt either
te ni totte tashikameteta
I made sure with my own hands
kitto modorenain da
I guess there's no way out for me
Whose side are you on?
Don't want to know!
omoide wa kase
Memories are chains
Don't want to know!
atodzuke no love
Love is a side note
Don't want to know!
yasashisa wa ada
Kindness is a weakness
We have always stood on the borderland
hirogeru ryoute keep balance
Spread your arms to keep balance
yori takaku toberu hou he
Always try to fly higher
mamoritai yo bokura no
I want to protect you
tsubasa no nai kono senaka ni
even if there are no wings on my back
seotta
I'll shoulder it
Reality and dream
My subordinates were all killed, and I returned home alone.
After handing in their death reports,
I faced an inquiry commission.
And then this aloof, snow-white girl showed up right after.
My first impression of her was terrible.
Major Sofia Velmer, leader of the FRDF UNFID mechanized jaeger company.
That's an amazing rank to hold at such a young age. You must have worked hard.
Y-Young?!
Please. I'm an old woman compared to you.
What's wrong with this girl?
Why is she in a military facility?
How does she know my name?
Were you inspired by the elite military history of your family?
Your grandfather was an army group lieutenant general in the Winter War and the Continuation War.
Your father is an active lieutenant general who was appointed Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Defence.
Your brother is a lieutenant colonel serving as Battalion Chief of the Utti Jaeger Regiment.
Sadly, the events in Africa led to your downfall.
Who are you, girl?
After returning from the depths of hell, you find yourself holding two keys, major.
One is the key to your home.
Your family will assuredly nurse your wounds.
"Just forget the past and live here in peace, Sofia."
"Sofia, there's a nice man I'd like you to meet.
It's about time you settled down as a housewife."
A nice, humane way to live.
But your face tells me that you blame yourself more than the enemy.
I cannot deny the possibility that a warm family life would break you.
And what is the other key?
The key to the world.
By offering your life to the peace-keeping corps,
what have you actually given to that small African country?
Who was the enemy?
What did they want badly enough to assault the UN army?
Choose the key to your home?
No way.
The key to a squad, or the army?
Even the key to the whole country would be of no use.
But if you have the key to the world,
you might finally find the answers you're looking for.
Will you come with me, Valmet?
Koko...
Hill of Ruin
This is the pits. Couldn't get worse.
This place's hot, it stinks,
and it's noisy.
Gregoire,
don't cut them up so much!
That's why it stinks so bad!
But, Boss Dominique,
this guy shot me!
He's dead already! You're wasting time!
Liliane!
I think there's more of them, Boss Dominique.
No way. How many did you kill?
I got three.
I got three too.
I got three, so it looks like it's over. Withdraw!
This is the pits.
How long can it take to wipe out a gang hideout?
You're going too easy on them, Liliane!
Don't chop them up like that, Grego!
We won't see any money from this until we get the politician connected to that gang.
The pay's pretty bad for such tough work.
This whole hitman job just isn't my style.
That's not true, Boss Dominique!
I was all right in my younger years, but lately I haven't been able to stand the stench of blood.
Grego's a good cook, so I thought we might be able to open a restaurant.
A restaurant?
Did you hear that, Grego? A restaurant!
Grego and I don't exactly have hospitality written all over our faces,
so we'd hire you to handle the guests.
That'd be great!
I considered using army money,
but our next job pays really well.
That means they're that strong.
The location is Alexandria.
The target is an arms dealer.
Huh? Valmet?
Valmet?
Have we arrived, Valmet?
Jonah? What are you doing here?!
Looks like Valmet just up and disappeared.
That's true.
But even if one or two of my men vanish, it's business as usual.
"We started a whole new week. It's Monday."
I'm glad you're so light-spirited.
I'm your owner!
And Lehm, you're the director of a PMC!
Don't you feel responsible?
I get what you mean, Koko. And yes, I do.
But you know...
At the same time, I bet you're thinking,
"I always knew this day would come."
Am I right?
But Jonah?!
No luck, Princess! Not a sign of her!
We couldn't reach her by phone, either!
That kid Jonah's missing too!
He went with Sis.
Probably.
Are you okay? Calm down, Princess!
I'm perfectly calm!
They'll both be back, Koko.
I know that!
Let's get to work!
Hurry up and finish packing!
We've had days like this before.
Jonah, go back to Koko.
Please.
I can't do that.
Jonah!
This is for your own good!
I came here for Koko's sake.
I paid for a lot of stuff by becoming Koko's subordinate.
That's why I act in her best interests.
You don't want to go back either, right?
Looks that way.
That would be bad for Koko.
No one can be missing from Koko's team.
This kid...
The people we met in South Africa were your enemies, right?
So you asked that agent, Schokolade, who started working for Koko after South Africa.
You had her look into it for you, right?
You got her to investigate the leader of those South Africans behind Koko's back.
You're full of surprises, aren't you?
I still know nothing about you, Jonah.
I'll help you too, Valmet.
Don't hit me with all of this at once.
Give me some time to think.
I'm sorry I punched you.
Let's cool our heads with a shower.
This is the pits.
Have you seen the files?
I have!
Now I see why this job pays so well.
It won't be easy to get these people.
Pretty nice collection for a mere arms dealer.
Ex-Delta? Ex-FRDF?
These two are beasts!
Let's save them for later.
There's also a police anti-terror squad guy, a JSDF soldier, et cetera...
What's the JSDF?
The Japanese army.
This one fought in the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict for the Italian army.
You heard of those guys?
They fight wearing helmets emblazoned with a black wing.
Boss Dominique, you're so well-informed!
These guys are way too tough.
Oh, I just had an idea! Let's kill them one by one!
Split the job into ten.
That's a good idea.
What's wrong, Liliane?
Check out this guy!
Ugo! He's funny!
Ex-mafia? The others are all ex-army men, but he's from the mafia!
Let's deal with Ugo first, then.
Shaojiang!
Please let me serve you one more time!
I have been defeated twice already by the Hekmatyars.
Please give me this chance to restore my honor!
Karen, just call it your "duty".
The people of this country are sensitive to such phrasing.
They are constantly embroiled in conflict,
and spend 80% of their resources on weapons.
I have told you I don't mind failures of this magnitude.
The Daxinghai company is mine.
Officially, you are no longer part of the Chinese army and work only as private security guards.
But the Central Committee got word of your crushing defeat
and ordered me to give you some time off.
A reasonable order, coming from this country.
We have no choice but to obey.
No... Will you even rob me of the very reason for which I followed you?
You were battle and power incarnate.
You fought for the country's interests,
and answered to none but your instincts to fight.
That's what inspired me.
I don't care what trifling job you bestow upon me.
Just let me stay by your side, Shaojiang.
If they take away your reason to fight, what will be left?
That's enough, former first lieutenant Low.
Oh, I apologize. Please do be careful not to slip in the mud.
Lee! You bastard!
I am your superior!
Not anymore. I was promoted to first lieutenant.
But never mind that. The Shaojiang will continue to fight,
even without you.
The Daxinghai company is growing every day,
so much that in China, the Shaojiang is the symbol of Africa.
My new squad will handle his protection.
Shaojiang!
I will return tomorrow.
Chen Guoming is nowhere as old as he looks.
They say he aged in a flash after his leg injury.
He stepped on a mine in 2001.
Continue.
Major Velmer's...
The one who annihilated Valmet's patrol platoon in the Finnish UNFID company was Chen.
That's one thing I'm sure of.
He had a real weird way of fighting.
He'd rush the enemy head-on, wielding two guns with knives attached.
When I heard that, he sounded like a kid addicted to the thrill of battle.
No wonder he aged so suddenly when he couldn't run anymore.
He made a name for himself in the Middle Asian conflicts,
but was then moved to Africa in the '90s, probably on orders from higher up,
and since then he's been much harder to trace.
They say he was a political sacrifice.
The Daxinghai company specializes in guarding powerful people, oil refineries, and pipelines for oil and gas.
They introduce and set up arms manufacturers with the locals,
and assist the local armies and militia.
They are an autonomous division responsible for dirty work on a light but widespread scale,
and serve to spearhead the spread of Chinese political influence.
When my boss investigated Chen's business practices...
What the hell? This is totally normal!
...he was rather disappointed, and now he gets pissed if the topic is brought up.
I wasn't sure if it was okay to tell Valmet about all of this.
Why?
She'd be well within her rights to want to know about it.
I never thought much of the guy, but I can't even imagine what goes on in her head.
When you called me and mentioned Valmet, I was prepared to get beaten up.
Oh, and she said this too:
"Thank you. Koko's the one who unlocked the door to the world for me."
This is fascinating.
I've traveled with Koko all around the world,
and yet now I find myself back in the country where it all began.
What're you looking for in this hick town?
You don't really look like you're here to spread love, so I'll tell you straight.
No matter how confident you might be about your own strength,
stay out of the Chinese district.
Once it was just a town built by gas miners,
but now it's full of dangerous types. Militia and the like.
Not even the locals dare set foot in there now.
If you wander in carelessly you'll be caught in a heartbeat.
Thanks. I'll heed your warning.
Let's stay in the next town.
Okay.
So wait, we don't look like decent, peaceful people to you?
Not at all. You're soldiers, right?
I can tell just by looking at you.
We've checked the cargo in those trucks, Ms Hekmatyar.
It is of most excellent quality.
Thank you very much!
All that's left is to arrange payment, and the keys are yours.
Ah, yeah, yeah.
This is high-grade stuff. Uncut, of course.
The smarter you are in dealing it, the higher your payment.
This is why I hate small-time jobs.
You wouldn't pay in advance even if I told you to.
What? What you grumblin' about?
I take money as payment. Does this look like cash to you?
Whoa!
What the hell're you doing?
Boss!
I'm so glad I didn't bring Liliane and Grego with me.
They'd get all excited and want to deal with them here and now.
They took out ten amateurs in a second. No surprises there.
Valmet and Jonah are missing. What's the meaning of this?
This might be a good chance.
Understood, Boss Dominique.
Lili, get moving!
We're going in?
What should I wear, Grego?
How about a black shirt and black shorts?
Roger!
A boss should always smile.
I thought that was the agreement you two had.
It's not always possible to hold up one's end of the bargain.
Right! I was thinking the same thing.
What's wrong with the princess?
Dunno. I'd say this is pretty usual for her.
Huh? Did they blow out your brains, too?
Then what, R?
Would you want to deal the stuff they tried to pay us with?
We're no drug cartel.
If those mafia guys are dumb enough to get themselves killed, that's their business.
The Princess did the right thing.
I realized something was up with Valmet.
I was the one who ordered Jonah to go with her.
If it's something important enough that she'd sneak out without a word...
Let's just say, I'm prepared too.
You're good. I never realized.
Valmet's always had a screw loose.
I think sending Jonah will prove to be a fruitful decision.
To me... To me, Valmet is...
She's more than just an average soldier.
I've spent more time with her than with my parents.
She's a sister, a teacher, and something more.
You shouldn't say that out loud, Koko.
Plenty of men fight while worrying about stuff like that.
"Is my boss worth risking my life for?"
"What am I worth?"
I don't really care though.
If their boss answers those questions for them, they'll stop worrying and turn into cowards.
Sometimes it's your job to be insensitive, I guess.
Damn, what a waste of time!
Let's go home!
Yeah!
That hits the spot!
Bath time, bath time!
Well then, let's begin our patrol.
Sure.
Full barrel?
Sure.
Huh?
Goddamn.
Tojo! In front of the Princess' room!
Yeah!
Lehm! Ugo! R!
Two minutes.
Liliane makes as much of a ruckus as possible,
and Grego uses that time to get Ugo.
You're pulling out in two minutes. Understood?
Goddamn, how many times do I gotta get stuck in the ass by a kid?!
Duck!
How many?
Can't tell!
Just a kid!
There should be more!
Stay away from the corridor!
Wilee!
Ugo!
R!
Mao!
Lehm!
Ugo! Lehm!
hikari yokotaeru watatsumi
Sea god, with light as your blade
soukon no ma ni yurameku ayamachi
Your mistakes burn in the scars you bear
fujou shite iki wo tsugi
Breaking the surface, you take another breath
tokasare majiru dake no zouai wo te ni shita
and the love and hate you found fade into each other
mujun haramu kono sekaigoto
In this world full of contradictions
ooitsukushiteru zakudou no ne ni katamuku yume
your dreams are attracted to the intrigue that hides it all
ashi wa mou nai
Your support vanished
suiheki wo tsuranuku kodou
and your heartbeat breaks the watery walls
Hill of Ruin phase.2