"Damn! Are these cookies made of gold? And this cake-did the King lay the eggs himself? These prices are insane!" Yago walked out of the dessert shop carrying a small basket, his expression sour. As soon as he stepped outside, he began muttering angrily about the owner's greed.
Of course, he kept his voice low, and hardly anyone heard him.
Who would have thought a few cookies and cream cakes could cost so damn much? Half of Yago's savings had been drained in one go-and that money was a whole year's worth of allowances!
Just then, a tall man wearing a dress hat walked past him. Yago frowned. There was something chilling about the man, something that set off his sense of danger. His reason told him to stay away.
Yago took another look at the man's retreating back. As he turned, he exclaimed in surprise, "Annie?"
A petite figure in a white hoodie, her hood pulled up, was quietly following the man in the hat.
With his extraordinary eyesight, Yago immediately recognized Annie's impassive little face beneath the hood.
Why had Annie come here? Yago couldn't figure it out, but he hurried after her anyway.
Annie kept her eyes fixed on the man ahead. This was her fourth time sneaking into Wall Sina, and the previous three attempts had yielded almost no useful information. This was also the last infiltration she had promised Reiner and the others. She had had enough of this life. If not for her father waiting back home, and that guy who always slacked off in class, she might have broken down long ago.
The man ahead was the target Annie had finally settled on. She had been following him for two days and had personally seen him enter and leave both the Central First Military Police Brigade and the royal palace. She didn't yet dare infiltrate the palace, since she had no way of knowing whether the King within the walls truly possessed that legendary power.
With the hood of her white sweatshirt pulled up, Annie followed the man closely while pretending to be merely passing by. After several twists and turns, their surroundings grew quieter and the pedestrians fewer, but she seemed entirely oblivious. Or perhaps her formidable strength simply made her confident.
At last, the man entered a dead-end alley. With nowhere left to go ahead, he suddenly stopped.
Annie reacted quickly and hurried to duck aside.
"Don't bother hiding, little girl. You've followed me all this way. What exactly are you after?" The man slowly turned, revealing eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
He had a narrow nose, a thin layer of stubble on his chin, and a wicked smile tugging at his lips. He was watching Annie with open amusement.
Annie jolted in alarm. When did he notice me? Her muscles tensed warily. Despite his sloppy stance, this man made her feel as though a hungry wolf had set its sights on her.
"You've misunderstood. I just thought you looked very much like my missing father." As Annie explained, she slowly shifted toward the alley's exit. She couldn't be sure she could take this man down without using that power.
Kenny seemed to have heard a joke and burst out laughing. "You're a funny one, little girl. Even a lie needs to make some sense, doesn't it? Look at your blond hair and blue eyes, then look at my black hair and black eyes. That's no way to claim someone as family."
"Believe whatever you want!" Annie said coldly. "Now I've confirmed that you aren't my father. Goodbye!"
With that, Annie broke into a run, but several sharp whistles cut through the air beside her ears. She dodged on instinct. Bang! Bang! Two chunks were blasted out of the wall in front of her. Frowning, she turned to see Kenny holding two oddly shaped weapons. They looked like the pistols she had once seen called "box cannons."
"Huh? I missed?" Kenny looked a little surprised. The girl had quick reflexes. "Well, that works too. Shooting a kid dead-I don't mind, but it does sound pretty bad." He put away both guns with a smile, though his eyes were filled with cruelty and murderous intent.
Annie silently raised her hands. It seemed there would be no peaceful way out of this today.
Kenny smiled. It had been a long time since anyone had dared stand before him and challenge him like this. It almost made him miss his little nephew. Wasn't he humanity's strongest soldier now?
How easy would humanity's strongest be to kill? Kenny grew distracted as he pondered it. Seeing her chance, Annie swept a roundhouse kick toward his legs. Don't ask why she didn't aim for his head. She couldn't reach it.
Kenny dodged effortlessly. Annie pressed her advantage without letting up, launching attack after attack-straight punches, roundhouse kicks, elbow strikes-each one vicious and aimed at him.
Kenny only dodged, never striking back. Instead, he watched her moves with interest, talking all the while. "Nice fighting technique, little girl. Who taught you? Getting this good at your age is quite something. Shame, though. Does all that training keep you from growing taller? Reminds me of my little nephew. He's a shorty too..."
Kenny's endless chatter grated on Annie's nerves, but she was also deeply shocked. This guy is terrifying. I've been attacking for so long, and I haven't even touched him once. At this rate, I'm in serious trouble.
At last, Kenny struck back. His attack was even more ruthless and terrifying than Annie's. He simply followed the line of her arm and twisted, dislocating her wrist outright. He showed no mercy whatsoever just because his opponent was a child.
Kenny had always been like this. Faced with anyone who posed a threat, he would do everything in his power to kill them, whether they were male or female, old or young. As long as they were an enemy, he believed they should be killed with every means at his disposal.
Annie went pale with pain and leaped back to put some distance between them. Holding her right hand, she gritted her teeth against the pain and forced her dislocated wrist back into place. She had also burned through a great deal of stamina.
The man, meanwhile, still looked as though nothing had happened. His eyes even shone with eagerness. Annie clenched her teeth. At this rate, I might really have to use that power near the royal palace. But that could expose my identity.
Annie's eyes filled with anxiety and uncertainty. After all, she was still only a fourteen-year-old child. Kenny rolled his neck. "Well, well. Looks like our little girl's at the end of her rope. Why not be honest and tell me who sent you? I might let you go."
Let Annie go? Of course he wouldn't. Kenny's rule was to leave no future threats alive. After all, he would grow old someday, and once he did, he wouldn't be able to stop someone from taking revenge.
Kenny advanced step by step. Annie slowly backed away, her eyes growing helpless and lost. Her right thumb nudged the ring on her index finger, and a sharp hook sprang out.
There was also a plain ring on the middle finger of her right hand.
"Annie! What are you doing here?" Annie turned in disbelief. Someone she had thought almost impossible to see here stood at the mouth of the alley, holding a small basket. Yago calmly watched Kenny-Kenny Ackerman.
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