Yago's Idea

A hundred years ago, humanity's King Fritz had built three walls, each fifty meters high, to defend against the Titans.

These were the outermost wall, Wall Maria, which protected the agricultural districts; the second, Wall Rose, which protected the commercial and residential districts; and the last, Wall Sina, which protected royalty and nobility.

The land behind Wall Sina was a place countless cadets dreamed of as they trained desperately, as though they could live there in happiness and safety forever. But was that really true?

In a dim underground bunker, Yago crouched with keen interest beside a man who looked fairly old. The man was intently dismantling a damaged set of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, his meticulous care oddly at odds with his bulging muscles.

Yago's eyes shone as he watched the man carefully assemble the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. "Lynch, what's this part here?" The man's name was Lynch Seda. He had supposedly once been a young nobleman, but unfortunately, he had developed a fanatical passion for Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.

And so Lynch had become the kingdom's chief researcher in Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.

"This? It's the calibration mechanism. When you use Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, this little device controls the angles at which the cables fire." Lynch answered every question Yago asked, perhaps because he saw something of his younger self in him.

Early that morning, Yago had arrived with Scott and the others at this estate dedicated to researching and manufacturing Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Once the handover was complete, Scott had offered to show Yago around the Survey Corps' base in the royal capital.

But Yago had shaken his head and asked whether he could stay here and take a look at the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear instead.

Scott had hesitated. What was the point of leaving Yago in such a dull, boring place?

Just then, however, a Scout had found Scott and informed him that he needed to attend an internal Survey Corps meeting. Scott could only ask his old acquaintance Lynch to look after Yago, saying he would return to pick him up that evening.

The estate was quite heavily guarded. At least two or three squads of Garrison Regiment soldiers were openly stationed around it, to say nothing of the guards out of sight.

Lynch had no choice but to take Yago to his office. To his surprise, Yago was intensely enthusiastic about Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. His questions never stopped: he would ask about one component, then chime in about another gadget, and his questions grew increasingly insightful.

Lynch gradually went from giving perfunctory answers to genuinely discussing the subject with Yago.

Yago was thoroughly enjoying himself, too. For some reason, whenever he met someone devoted purely to research like this, he felt an irresistible urge to talk and learn. Besides, if he learned enough, he had a broken set at home he could repair.

Lynch had not only the Survey Corps' Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, but also the models used by the Garrison Regiment and the Military Police Brigade. The Military Police Brigade hardly ever used theirs, though. As Lynch put it, "Giving Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to those pampered soldiers is a complete waste!"

Despite their size, Lynch's hands moved like butterflies, dancing deftly over the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Under his hands, the gear quickly came apart into individual components, leaving Yago dazzled.

Through their conversation, Yago soon came to understand the various components of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Lynch also told him the history of its invention.

The Survey Corps had been founded over seventy years ago. Back then, they had no Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. Armed with nothing but courage and passion, they had bravely ventured beyond the walls to uncover the world's secrets.

They had carried only long blades and shields. Unfortunately, courage and passion could do no damage to the undying Titans. Humanity's first expedition beyond the walls had ended with the Survey Corps almost entirely wiped out. A soldier named Anheil Yard, devastated by his comrades' gruesome deaths, had come to hate humanity's helplessness against the Titans.

His research had led to the birth of the first generation of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear. That first model could only ascend and descend vertically, and it was still in the testing stages.

But one day, an evil Titan Cult had emerged within the walls. They had actually opened the gate and let in a ten-meter-class Titan. That incident had left roughly five thousand people dead or injured.

In the end, a young soldier named Kuklo had used Omni-Directional Mobility Gear to slay the Titan for the first time, giving humanity hope that they could defeat the Titans. (The author adapted this part a little. Kuklo's story in the original prequel is also very good, so I recommend checking it out.)

After countless rounds of research, the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear of today had become a highly refined weapon.

Yago marveled at the greatness of those who had come before them. To dare confront Titans with their flesh-and-blood bodies, relying on courage alone-the early Survey Corps had truly been extraordinary.

"By the way, Lynch, you're pretty amazing yourself. It feels like none of these faults can stump you."

Lynch allowed himself a rare moment of pride. "Of course. Not to brag, but no one understands Omni-Directional Mobility Gear better than I do. Even the Anti-Personnel Omni-Directional Mobility... ah." He abruptly stopped talking.

Yago was examining the discarded equipment Lynch had piled off to one side and had not caught what he said.

Seeing that, Lynch said nothing more.

Yago dug two relatively intact blade handles out of the scrap. He studied them thoughtfully, then held them against his lower legs to test their position a few times. His eyes lit up.

He leaned over beside Lynch. "What? A rotating mechanism? I do have one, but what do you want something like that for?" Lynch was puzzled by Yago's request, but Yago merely chuckled without explaining.

A rotating mechanism was not difficult to make, and Lynch soon put one together for Yago. It looked like a disk with a strap attached. Yago held this against his lower leg a few times as well.

Lynch saw what he was doing, but merely thought the boy was strange and asked no further questions.

With the rotating mechanism in hand, Yago was in an excellent mood. His conversation with Lynch had also taught him a great deal. At the very least, he now understood where his set of Omni-Directional Mobility Gear was damaged.

After letting Lynch know, Yago left the estate. Just outside was a market. He had to admit that the area within Wall Sina really was prosperous. Merchants and pedestrians streamed past without end, and lavishly dressed nobles were a common sight-a stark contrast to Trost District.

Yago looked around and suddenly spotted a dessert shop directly opposite the estate. He felt his pocket. Cadets received a monthly allowance, and since he hardly ever spent his, he had saved up a fair bit of pocket money.

Apparently, hungry refugees had once stripped Trost District's dessert shop bare and nearly beaten its owner to death. Even now, no one dared open another dessert shop there.

Thinking of someone, Yago decided to take a look inside. If he remembered correctly, all the sweet sponge cakes at that picnic had ended up in one person's stomach.