[At the army banquet.]
Harvey: Is this seat taken?
Sorry, but I’m having a little trouble with my legs and I prefer to sit near the exit. I hope you understand.
Carter: Oh, don’t be a stranger.
Even if I did want to shoot you, I certainly wouldn’t pick a day with the media in attendance to do it.
Harvey: Hahaha, your jokes are as bad as always, Carter. You can tell by the look on your subordinate’s face. Isn’t that right, my good man.
Captain Yegor: …
Carter: I don’t think what I said was a joke. You can tell by the look on my subordinate’s face.
Captain Yegor: …
Harvey: Well, whatever, it didn’t work. Ah, Kryuger-san, how good to see you.
Even if I used these none-too-nimble legs of mine to think about it, there’d be no other choice but you for this Carter-led joint operation between the army and PMCs.
But speaking of which, it was thanks to you that Carter could make such big waves.
If you hadn’t sent Lyco off back then, I guess… we’d all be playing cards in a nursing home now.
Kryuger: …
Harvey: Ah… and this is the Commander who’s distinguished himself recently?
Persica thinks very highly of you, and she has exacting standards. You should cherish that… honor? I guess you can think of it that way.
...Oh, my apologies. I haven’t introduced myself, have I? I thought Kryuger-san would have told you about me before you filled your position.
I am Harvey Welkin, CEO of Important Operation Prototypes Manufacturing, or in other words… the boss of the company that everyone calls IOP.
The dolls you command were essentially all manufactured on my company’s production lines, except for a select few… haha, but that’s not important.
Carter: Harvey-san, if you simply came to introduce yourself...
Harvey: Of course not. I simply saw the great benefactor who helped me build my company, and the big client who keeps placing orders with me.
They must be up to something big now that they’re together. How could I, as a supplier, not come over to offer my congratulations?
Carter: If you’re trying to get wind of the operational details, I’ll remind you that it’s a military secret.
Harvey: From what I know, secrets don’t exist over the dining table, especially when there’s good wine to be had.
Carter: I’ve stopped drinking for years.
Harvey: Then you must have lost so much joy in your life. Still, it’s hard to fault you, General. You’ve always been a practicalist, and you’ve always focused on the outcome when looking at things.
It’s true; in one’s life, the journey has to be interesting, but if it all comes to naught then it was a wasted life.
Carter: And? What are you trying to say?
Harvey: If your aim is to finish off SF, then all this joint operation stuff is unnecessary.
Permit me to be blunt, but what I mean is that if you really, truly wanted to deal with SF, Kryuger-san could handle that by himself. Am I right? Now, the important thing is whether people are so bored that they want to stir things up, or whether dealing with SF was never the aim of those people in the first place.
Kryuger: …
[Carter glances at Kryuger]
Carter: We are working with Griffin to experiment with better joint operation models. Harvey-san, I’ll have to arrest you on the charge of threatening national security if you persist in babbling nonsense.
Harvey: That bad habit of threatening people hasn’t changed, Carter. You’re in charge of logistics, you don’t scare me. Let the people from State Security worry about arresting me.
Besides, I came here to support your operation. Where there’s a war, there’s bound to be orders. Frankly, I’m overjoyed.
Carter: …
Harvey: Alright, alright, that’s all. Since I’ve come all this way, I ought to go downstairs and rub shoulders with those media moguls downstairs. I know you two can’t stand me either.
I’ll be seeing you, then.
[Yegor immediately moves to block Harvey’s path.]
Carter: Let him go, Captain. I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good dinner.
Harvey: Very good. There’s precious few young people in this day and age who’re that obedient.
I hope you live longer, so we can meet again.
[Harvey leaves.]
Kryuger: Don’t mind him, Commander. He’s a crazy old man.
If you ignore the nonsense that comes out of his mouth, his products are actually quite reliable.
Carter: I think he still resents you for taking Lyco away.
Given his perspective, he probably doesn’t understand how we’re trying to lay a solid foundation for the technology of the future.
He’ll be thanking us once he reaps the rewards, Kryuger.
Kryuger: I understand, it’s all in the past. There’s no point thinking any more about it.
Carter: Good, then let’s move onto the main event. We’ll need to define the general direction of the upcoming operation.
Kryuger: Yes, we’re looking forward to that.
Kryuger: Eliminating SF is not a desired outcome...
What did Harvey mean by that...