The third and final volume of Rokurou Ogaki's Crazy Food Truck picks up where volume 2 ended. Arisa's been taken captive by the leader of some minor principality that isn't interested in being part of the larger global community. So Gordon has to team-up with his old subordinate Major Kyle, Kyle's subordinate Tanaka, and Arisa's little sister Myna, to rescue Arisa.
That's dealt with in one chapter, thanks to a heavily modified, even crazier food truck, and the soldiers not being too excited to fight when they learn they've been guarding giant eels for generations.
The remainder of the volume is about Arisa, and the terms of her existence. She's part of a major genetic engineering project that a lot of resources were invested in. More than that, her accelerated healing and other abilities need a periodic injection to maintain. An injection she's not getting while she's cruising around the wasteland with a man who's supposed to be dead.
(There's a few pages in there detailing why this famous general is supposed to be keeping a low profile. It also introduces a couple other members of Gordon's officer clique who we never see otherwise.)
Vald wants her back for the signs of progress. Colonel Sarah wants her back for Arisa's safety. Even Gordon agrees Arisa will be better taken care of if she returns, but Arisa disagrees. She'd rather stay with Gordon and eat his cooking, risks and all.
After that, it's pretty a running fight, as Gordon and Arisa try to survive a massive armed force, with a couple of assists. I'm surprised Ogaki didn't use this as the chance to bring in those other two characters he'd introduced. Have Kyle or Sarah give them a ring and see if they show up to help their old general out. We only know that Gordon's five subordinates were enough to help him survive one battle against overwhelming odds, but we don't see the battle. Maybe Ogaki originally intended for this to go more than 3 volumes? Or maybe he just liked the idea of Gordon having other friends that don't show up here.
I find myself more confused than ever how old Arisa is supposed to be. We're told she's 17 in volume 1, but here we learn her cells are "activated" cells, based off Colonel Sarah's. But Sarah admits she only started her involvement with this project after Gordon's "death." Which means 3 years ago. It's possible Arisa already existed and was enhanced by the injection of the cells, but Ogaki makes it explicit that she looks like Sarah (something Gordon hadn't noticed). Which makes it seem she's a child that was aged at a greatly accelerated rate.
All of which is to say, her and Gordon having sex seemed a questionable decision to me, not to mention unnecessary. Ogaki's established she likes traveling with Gordon, and she really likes eating his food. Gordon likes having her around, and likes how much she enjoys eating his cooking. Why does it need to be more than that?
I don't know if Gordon and Arisa's fate is meant to be sad or inspiring. They aren't trying to interfere with the grand plans of the people in the big chairs, but the planners still won't leave them alone. I think it's supposed to be inspiring, but it might depend on how the reader feels about "live free or die." It didn't really hit me any which way, which is surprising. I expected to feel something about it.
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