Mission 62 (
Summary[]
Part 1[]
"Turn around and you're dead."
In Luwen, Eastern Westalis, four boys pretend to be soldiers fighting a war between Westalis and Ostania. While their trench goes under fire, one of the boys, "Advisor," quickly turns the situation in his side's favor. He uses some string to drop a pot on the head of "Major," knocking him out. While "General" gets distracted by this, Advisor sneaks behind him and points his gun at the boy's head, telling him that he will die if he turns around. General refuses to back down and gets shot in the head with a rubber band. While Major and General complain about losing again, Advisor is told that he gets intense when they play war games. Advisor, who will one day become Twilight, replies that when he plays a role, he gets pretty into it. General tells Loid that he will not get a rank until he gets some proper military gear, to which Loid says that his father is strict about those things. "Corporal" tries to reason with General, reminding him that Loid found their secret hideout, an old army storage depot. While playing cards, the boys plan a sleepover in their hideout. Afterward, the children march back to the town and go their separate ways.
Twilight tells his dad of his plan to join the military
Loid returns home and sees his father inside. With his toy gun still in hand, Loid tries to hide it behind his back. His father chastises him for playing soldier and tells him to focus on his studies and future. Loid says he plans on joining the army with his friends, and his father refuses the idea, calling him a coward. After Loid proclaims he will kill all the monsters from the East, his father slaps him. He asks if Loid knows anything about these "Ostanian monsters" and tells him there will be no war and that he should be hoping for peace instead of conflict. Upset, Loid breaks his toy gun in his hand and runs to his room. Loid's mother argues with her husband, questioning his treatment of their son, while he justifies it for Loid's own good. In his room, Loid calls his father out for speaking about peace while fighting with his mother.
The next day, Loid and his friends hang out at the town square. While buying croquettes, the adults ask the boys to help prepare for the upcoming town fair. While helping out, Loid asks if there really will be a war. The adults assure him that the new pact the East and West put together has ended such conflicts. General then teases Loid, saying whether there is war or peace, Loid will not be let in the army for not having a proper soldier uniform. When Loid protests, he gets reminded of the toy gun he just broke and is embarrassed.
Twilight lies to his dad
Returning home, Loid sees his father who is preparing to leave for a work trip. Loid tells him about a reference book he needs for school and asks for pocket money. His father is happy to hear his, which shakes Loid. After Loid receives the money, his father promises to take him to the town fair when he returns. Feeling guilty about his lie, Loid calls out to his father but stops himself.
After buying the soldier set, Loid goes to the secret hideout and shows it off to his friends. As the boys get ready to play, Loid gets overcome with guilt and decides to help set up the fair, leaving the hideout. At the croquette shop, Loid talks with the croquette lady about war and the people of Ostania. Loid starts feeling conflicted, realizing how different things are from what he thought they would be. Loid asks the croquette lady if he can make ten dalc in a day if he helps out at her shop, hoping to pay back his father. Loid then thinks about apologizing to his father and asking his friends if they can play a different game.
Suddenly, a bomb is launched into the town and destroys the secret hideout. Meanwhile, the radio broadcasts a special alert, with reports that the Ostanian Army has crossed the border and is launching its attack on the eastern provinces of Westalis.
Part 2[]
Twilight watches his hometown in ruins
Loid sees the bomb's smoke on the horizon and is confused. Another bomb is dropped on the town square, and Loid is caught in the explosion. During the blast, a chunk of rock hits his head, knocking the boy unconscious. Loid reawakens with minor injuries, having been protected by his helmet. As he gets up, he finds the collapsed croquette shop and the destroyed town square. Loid stands still in shock and disbelief until he hears another explosion go off in the distance. Two people run past him, telling him that the Ostanian army is coming and they have to evacuate, which puzzles Loid, remembering the adults saying there would be no war. Loid's mother arrives shortly after and is relieved to see him safe. She takes him home to gather their things, as they will be staying with her uncle in Kielberg. Loid objects, saying he still has school and that the town fair is tomorrow, and his mother tells him there will be no town fair. After packing up, Loid takes one last look at what is left of Luwen as he evacuates with his mother.
Twilight's mother comforts him
At Kielberg, Loid and his mother grieve over his father's absence. As the news report on the developing war, Loid tells himself that grown-ups are liars, citing the people who said there would not be a war, including his father. Loid admits to also being a liar for lying to get money from his father and vows to tell him the truth when he returns. Loid quickly gets frightened by the sound of another explosion and runs to his mother in tears. His mother comforts him, assuring him that everything will be okay. Sometime later, Loid sits by a bridge and excitedly catches a fish for dinner. As he returns home, he hears sirens go off as the town is about to be hit by an air raid. Loid is carried to the shelter, and despite the people's protests, he rushes outside to find his mother. Loid goes to his family's house, where he discovers the remains of his mother. Now all alone, Loid cries out, standing in the rubble of the town.
From that point onward, Loid spent the next few years surviving on his own amidst the chaos. Having lost everything he ever cared about and left with the things he despised, Loid decided to join the army. Taking the identity of "Roland Spoofy" and lying about his age, Loid fought in the East-West conflict, using his skills as a tactician to win his battles. As the war continues, he wonders how many more corpses he must pile up before finally seeing the light of dawn on the horizon. While stationed in the mountains, he hears a man get caught in one of his traps. Loid fires at the scruffy-looking individual, who calls for a time-out and begs him not to shoot.
Part 3[]
Twilight points his gun at the scruffy man
Loid recognizes the man as an Ostanian soldier, who surrenders and explains that he is a deserter who got lost wandering the mountains. He begs for something to eat, but Loid ignores his pleas and prepares to end him. The deserter pleads with him again, saying he does not want to die without ever being with a woman. Loid is amused by this and wonders how even the enemy can seem human. He gives a cigarette to the deserter, who starts talking about a research experiment at a university. In it, the test subjects were shown something unpleasant while unaware of the context, but when a certain idea was placed in their heads, they had a complete shift in opinion. Loid tells the deserter to get to the point, so the deserter explains that the whole war is pointless, caused by a diplomatic fiasco, and forcing regular people to fight each other.
Loid strongly believes that Ostania started the war, but the deserter tells him that Ostania says otherwise. The deserter then talks about the bombing of Luwen, saying it was a false flag operation. Loid gets riled up and points his gun at the deserter, saying that those bombings took all his friends, and the deserter retorts that he is in the same boat. Loid kicks down the deserter and prepares to shoot him, blaming Ostania for taking everything from him. He recalls his father's question about knowing the "Ostanian monsters" and seeing their evil deeds. Loid tells himself he has, which is why he will do the same to them in order to avenge everyone's deaths. However, Loid hesitates to shoot and is promptly shot in the head, only being protected by his helmet. His attackers are the Ostanian army that had been pursuing the deserter. Not wanting to get caught, the deserter flees. Loid also makes his escape, and as he stumbles down the mountains, he wonders what he is doing.
Twilight cries after seeing that his friends are still alive
After suffering multiple injuries, Loid gets sent off the front lines to recover. While recuperating, Loid reunites with General, Corporal, and Major, who miraculously survived the bombings as they chased after him right before the first bombing. While they are happy to see him alive, Loid starts to tear up, having blamed himself for their supposed deaths. With the friends now together again, an excited Loid invites them out to a restaurant, only to learn that they are to be deployed tonight for a military campaign, but they promise to hang out once they return. However, Loid would find out that the operation they were assigned to was planned recklessly, and all that came back from his friends were their dog tags.
With the loss of his friends, Loid reflects on his path up until this point. He comes to understand that he truly knew nothing about this war he was fighting in. Without knowing the reason why and coming to his own conclusions, Loid picked up a gun and obeyed his country's orders to fight those he hated. He concludes that "Ignorance isn't bliss. Ignorance is weakness. Ignorance is a sin."
Twilight thinks about his purpose to enlist as a spy
After some time, Loid is approached by a man who knows his real name and that he enlisted with a fake name and age after Loid's reunion with his friends. The man reveals himself as military intelligence and has come to recruit Loid, stating that his skills were better suited for information, the strongest and essential weapon of all. The recruiter adds that Loid would be court-martialed if he refused to join them. He then instructs him to pack his things and meet him at the station at noon on Tuesday. Sitting down to think about his decision, Loid holds his friends' dog tags in his hands and tells himself that all the information in the world will not bring them back and that nothing he does will allow him to return to the days of his youth.
Loid arrives at the station and realizes the man is who he claimed to be. The recruiter then takes Loid's belongings and tosses them into a fire, then tells him that he must throw away his name and rank and become a shadow for the sake of his country. Loid tells the man that since there is no one left who knows his real name, he does not care, nor does he care about his country and winning the war. The man asks what Loid's reason is, and as a youthful group of children pass them by, Loid claims there is none. Upon joining military intelligence, Loid meets his new commanding officer, Sylvia Sherwood, whose orders are to turn him into a first-rate intelligence operative through the harshest means necessary.
The Forgers prepare to have dinner
Reliving his training days, Twilight jolts up in a cold sweat. Yor is happy to see him awake, commenting on how he was tossing and turning. Twilight remembers he is in "Loid's" house and tries to collect himself, thinking about what he just dreamt of. Anya asks if he had a bad dream and tries to read his thoughts, but Twilight's mind is cloudy as he says he does not remember. Anya pats her father's head, assuring him that there is nothing to be afraid of, which embarrasses him.
Loid wonders why he was asleep on the sofa, and Anya reminds him how he fainted after she got a Tonitrus Bolt. Loid quickly worries about how this damages Operation Strix, and Anya apologizes for messing up. However, he asks Anya if it brought her closer to Damian, which she confirms. Loid says it is a good thing, telling her that friends are important and to cherish them, thinking back to his old friends. Anya and Yor look in silence, which gets interrupted by the growl of Bond's stomach. Loid decides to prepare dinner, and upon Anya's request, he makes hot onion soup. Afterward, the Forgers sit in the living room to enjoy their meal.
Characters[]
Trivia[]
- This is the first chapter to be released in three parts. In the volume release, the three parts were combined to be a full chapter.
- Throughout the chapter, Twilight's real name is not revealed and is redacted by black boxes. In the synopsis on the official English release of Volume 10, he is referred to as [REDACTED].
- The second page of Part 1 has a callback to page 59 of Chapter 1, in the form of Twilight having his target at gunpoint from behind.
- The password used by young Loid and his childhood friends on page 14 of Part 1 is a reference to the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. "Flash"-"Thunder" was a sign-countersign pair used by Allied troops to identify friendly forces during the first 24 hours of the operation.
- The name of the Westalian Prime Minister during the war is mentioned to be Adner. This is a reference to Konrad Adenauer, the first West German Chancellor.
- On page 19 of Part 2, Loid's battle against the Ostanian soldiers mirrors the pretend battle with his friends on page 1 of Part 1.
- Loid's friends' dog tags appear to be based on German dog tags from World War II.
- This chapter reveals that Twilight and Franky first met during the war as soldiers on opposing sides and that Sylvia was Twilight's mentor upon his recruitment to WISE.
References[]