I have some food for you guys, too.
H-Hey, guys-
She's fuming.
Even the corporal's late; that sure is rare.
Corporal-
Good mor-
Wait, huh?
Umm...
I found this lying there.
I-Is it a suspicious item?
No, it's not a bomb.
See?
...a bomb would've been easier to deal with than this...
Yeah...
Sergeant Major Oreld.
It's been how many times now that you've been tardy this month?
Umm...
Five... no, six...
Soldiers need to be punctual!
State your reason.
Are you... sure you want me to?
People jeer us as a cheery unit exactly because of these things!
Let us recite now...
...regarding the proper manner in which we need to portray ourselves!
All men, repeat after me!
Us, too?
I guess.
Three, and...
"We are..."
BOOBS!
Ah, 2nd Lieutenant!
Give me your boobs.
A baby!
What in the world...
He's so cute!
Is he an abandoned baby?
His name is Dieter.
Says here to "raise him to be a formidable soldier".
But they can't...
I see.
Currently, people are saying that the places that have money right now are the military facilities.
So, because of the harsh living conditions,
the mother couldn't raise him anymore and had to abandon him, I guess.
Call this a "tragedy that was caused by the era".
Quit joking around!
Do you think it's all right for babies to be abandoned because their parents had no choice?
Blaming it on the era, or calling it inevitable...
...those are nothing but excuses!
We need to restore society back to the stage where parents can't use inevitability as an excuse to throw away children!
H-Hey!
Toddler, why are you crying?
Have I said something to offend you?
Hey, say something!
What's wrong?
Just hold him.
Hold him?
He most likely wants to see mama and is crying because of that.
Hold him and he'll stop crying.
His mother, huh?
That's more like kite flying...
Now, now, toddler.
Don't worry.
Your mother may not be here,
but at least you're in Section III's hospitality, right?
He hasn't stopped crying even after I hugged him.
Now this is funny...
Hey, that's not polite, Oreld.
Alice, let me handle this!
You need to inject a lot of love when handling babies.
Hello, you lil' cherub~
Chuu~ chuu~
Huh, that's weird...
See, it's oneechan~
Cute lil' baby~
Love, love, cheek, cheek~
Master Sergeant, the way to show love is...
Sleep~ sleep~
Inside Mother's...
Sleep~! Sleep~!
Inside Mother's arms...
How come...
How come he hasn't stopped crying?
Could be hungry or a wet diaper,
one or the other, probably.
Very perceptive.
You sure are familiar with babies.
He just drank some milk, right?
I bet he probably peed in his diapers.
Yo, kid, go change his diapers.
But he's a guy.
Yeah, perfect lesson for you, right?
N-No! You take care of this, Oreld!
Me?
Okay.
Machs, do something!!!
Big guy...
You picked him up; show some responsibility...
Oh...
What's this?
Did Section III start a daycare center now?
Oh, that's perfect.
It's the most fitting mission for the cheery unit.
Are you saying you don't sell milk or diapers?
Obviously!
What kind of store do you think this place is?
But, all kinds of daily necessities should be available-
Telling me that isn't going to help.
Besides, why is a baby here?
Babies can appear in military facilities; that happens!
See, there's one right here!
No, they usually don't...
Now you've surprised me.
Huh?
Is this your child?
N-No, it isn't!
Telling me that isn't going to help.
Sleeping all peacefully...
Shall I contact stores inside the city?
Okay.
Do you have experience in raising children?
You'd help us a lot if you could do that.
No...
Could I... hold him for a bit?
Yeah.
He's gorgeous.
Looks like he only wants to be in papa's arms.
Papa?
Hmm, hmm...
Drip the warm milk onto your wrist to check the temperature.
How long do you plan on holding him?
Oh...
There's nothing we can do about it.
He'll start crying right after the corporal lets go of him.
Even so, I can't accept this!
Why would he only stop crying when the corporal is holding him?
To be held by a woman like me should feel a lot better!
You think?
It must be!
Oh, it might be imprinting.
So, the first one to find him was the corporal,
and he mistook him for his parent.
He's not a duckling...
Heck, it could be that big guy is his real parent!
Eh?
Is that true?
Of course not.
He doesn't look like the corporal at all.
Wait, don't tell me...
Is he really your child?
Of course not...
Y-Yeah...
So, what are we going to do about him?
We can't keep him forever.
Yes, we know, but...
Either we bring him to a proper facility or...
Because at this rate, he might hinder our work.
I'll go search.
I'll go search for his mother.
Are you serious?
It's unforgivable for a mother to throw away a child she endured so much pain to give birth to!
I will find this mother even if I have to look under every stone...
...and knock some sense into her imprudence!
Imprudence, huh?
That doesn't sound too bad.
All right.
Permission for your search mission granted.
Boss!
We got piles of work to do, and you're telling us to find an abandoned child's parent?
Hey, this is war relief, too.
What...
Don't be slacking, eh?
But...
What?
What now?
I think he wants to pee.
Well, carry him to the bathroom already!
Looks like he's really taken a liking to you, Corporal.
There, there...
LT...
Do you plan on picking out the baby's mother from all the people here?
Of course.
A sentry soldier saw a suspicious woman in front of HQ disappearing towards the black market this morning.
He clearly remembers the clothing and the stature of the woman, too.
Is that our only source?
Better than nothing.
Wait.
Imperial S.S. III here.
We need some information.
And how may I help you elites from the army?
We're looking for a woman.
Have you seen a young woman holding a basket containing a baby?
I don't know.
She wore a black shawl and has a thin build.
Like I just said, I don't know.
What about you?
We're looking for a child's mother.
Anything would help.
Please tell me if you know anything.
Let's go.
These people really don't know about it.
Get your hands off.
I'm not done-
LT!
Look around you.
We're interfering with business.
After eating baby food...
Hmm, how many months old is Dieter-chan?
There, there, there...
Well, just give up and keep on holding him, Papa.
How uncooperative of these people!
They should be ashamed!
People here have tight lips.
We're only here to look for a baby's mother.
Why is it necessary to keep that a secret?
They're all suspicious.
Everyone here is treading dangerous waters.
Dangerous waters?
In times like this,
if you try to live without breaking any laws,
you won't get any business done.
Are you saying they're committing crimes?
No laws govern this place!
If you say something offensive,
we aren't guaranteed to live even if we're soldiers.
That's foolish.
Do you think I fear the blades of the criminals?
I don't; that's why I'm worried.
Anyway, just leave things around here to me.
It'll take us forever if we just ask one stand at a time.
Aren't these army goods sold through illegal channels?
What?!
Now, stay calm...
It's more important to find the baby's mother right now, right?
What do soldiers want from here?
Long time no see, pops.
Oreld?
Looks like the rumor about you joining the army was true.
Well, sign of the times.
They know each other?
Yeah.
And, what do you want?
We're actually looking for someone,
and I thought you might know something, pops-
I don't, actually.
Oh, don't worry, we're not looking for anyone suspicious.
It's a mother of an abandoned baby we're looking for.
Abandoned baby?
A baby was left in front of the gates of HQ this morning.
Would you happen to know something about it?
I don't think I have anything to say to people from the army.
You guys are interfering with my business.
Just go home, will ya?
Anything is fine.
Can you tell us anything?
Who're you?
We're from the Imperial S.S. III.
We request your cooperation.
Imperial S.S. III?
Now, this is funny!
Oreld, you were assigned to the cheery unit?
Why you...
LT, let me handle things here.
LT?
This little girl here?
Oreld... you've totally become a loser now...
Before, you were a wretched guy.
Now, you're letting a girl like her drag your nose around.
Pops...
How about it?
Do you have any intentions of coming back to this town?
You entered the army, but you got thrown into a useless unit...
How dare you call us useless!
Under the name of war relief, we, the Imperial S.S. III,
work day and night to expedite the process of getting all civilians out of the war disasters-
You said you were looking for the mother of an abandoned child, right?
Correct.
How ridiculous.
Hearing this "war relief" thing makes me even sicker.
Don't feel like you've accomplished something by doing just that.
This town is filled with abandoned children and war orphans.
Are you telling me you're going to take care of all of them?!
Huh, LT?!
Why don't you cut it out already?
What did you just say?
We took a modest approach, and you get all cocky?
Stop saying all this bullshit and spill what you know already!!
Interesting... you brat...
You can talk pretty big, too, huh?
Trying to take me on? Come back in ten years!
Well, looks like you guys know where I come from now.
There's nothing we can do?
We accomplished nothing, huh.
Don't let your spirits down.
Hey, you're not going to drink your juice?
You're not going to drink it?
No...
Then, can I have it?
C'mon, please!
Please!
S-Sure...
All right!
Yum!
Thanks, oichan!
Oichan?
See?
They all grow up strong even if they don't have parents.
I'm sure that baby will be the same, too.
Okay.
Are we going back?
We're going to search another round!
Oh... I see...
God...
My legs are dead...
And? No results?
Oh, where's the baby by the way?
He started making noises again,
so the corporal took him out for a walk.
Poor corporal...
Hey, he brought it on himself.
I think we had way more trouble, though.
I'm definitely going to feel muscle aches tomorrow.
He finally went to sleep.
Babies sure are cute.
Yes.
I couldn't find his mother.
It can't be helped.
But, there are numerous children that have lost their parents to the war.
Helping this one child out isn't going to change anything.
Lieutenant...
Even I know that much, at least...
But now that I have seen this child,
I can't just walk away from him now.
That's...
Hey!
Your baby's waiting for you!
You're Dieter's mother, right?
My husband was a smuggler.
He had no choice...
My husband came back from the war and didn't have a job...
That was the only thing he could do to help us survive.
Why did you throw away your child?
You can't say it?
On a train inspection, the smuggled goods were found.
He got arrested, right?
And with the two of us left,
I didn't know what I should do.
Rather than having me raise him,
I thought he'd be more fortunate for the army to raise him...
That's absurd!
Did you really think that was the right thing to do?!
Did you really think he'd be more fortunate like that?!
I'm sorry...
I did such a horrible thing to this child...
But...
You came to see this child...
Dieter...
Forgive me.
As a member of Section III, I cannot guarantee the both of you a happy life.
But, this I promise you.
I will make this society into a place where happiness isn't an extravagance.
I ended up forgiving her since she was crying,
but that was different.
She wasn't apologizing to us,
but rather, to the baby.
I wanted... to hug the baby one more time...
Mer-kun, the 2nd lieutenant is going to see her fiancee!
It's so mind-boggling!
Huh? This guy?
How... weird...
Next time, "Dancers: The Lead and The Follow".
Come get us if you're not scared!