Dust-covered memories (I)

"Who! Who stole my bread?!" The baker, with a slovenly beard, a greasy apron, and bloodshot eyes, shouted angrily at his stall.

People around were drawn to the scene, but after a quick glance, they lost interest. After all, that guy's bread was notoriously awful; who would actually steal it?

Pedestrians came and went on the street. The baker glanced at the faces of those around him with resentment before heading back home.

In the Alley by the street, a pair of dark eyes withdrew their gaze.

"Ugh, this is awful! If the bakery on the next street wasn't closed, I wouldn't even bother with this place!" The little boy, huddled by the trash can, muttered as he disgustedly tore into the hard, rock-hard black bread.

The boy's clothes were worn and even ill-fitting, and upon closer inspection, his shoes were mismatched. The only relatively new item was Armband his shoulder.

His gaze shifted to the street outside, where almost every pedestrian wore the same Armband. Yago didn't understand what the Armband meant; he had worn Armband like everyone else since he could remember.

The Armband is a token used by the Marley to distinguish Eldians. Every Eldians must wear it, or they will be subject to the most severe punishment. To put it bluntly, it is to distinguish the Eldians are treated like livestock, from the Marleyan.

The different colors of the Armband also represent the status of different Eldians. The red Armband, which represents the highest honor, is only worn by those who become warriors fighting for Marley and their families.

The yellow Armband is worn by Eldians who are qualified to become Marley Warriors.

The silver Armband is Armband uniform of all ordinary Eldians Soldiers; on the battlefield, they are also the cheapest cannon fodder of the Marley.

The Eldians are the lowest and most numerous group of commoners, and their light brown Armband represent their most lowly lives.

Yago didn't understand these intricacies. From the time he could remember, he had only ever strived to fill his stomach. He was oblivious to the feud between the Eldians and the Marleyan.

After all that, Yago's identity became clear: an Eldia orphan without parents. Orphans like him were born every day in this Eldians- populated area.

Many Eldia parents, whose own lives are already difficult enough, are simply unwilling to raise a child who is destined to be called a demon by the Marleyan.

Yago was the same; his thin body, wrapped only in a dirty cloth, was destined to lose its body temperature in the cold wind, just like most abandoned babies, and eventually close its eyes forever without having to bear the identity of a demon.

Unfortunately, an old man from Eldia who was collecting trash couldn't bear to see the baby crying in the cold wind and took him home.

The old man had no name. He was clearly very old himself, but he still insisted on taking care of his child. He collapsed one winter after Yago was old enough to remember things. At that time, Yago didn't understand anything. He only remembered that the Master always looked at him with kind eyes was taken away by a few people without Armband, and his body was cold.

No one paid any attention to Yago, the Eldia orphan who had just learned to speak. Another group of wandering Eldians occupied the hut left by the old man, and Yago was driven away.

Yago has no surname because the old man didn't give him one; in fact, the name Yago was just a few words the old man pieced together from a tattered newspaper.

Having lost his home, Yago began his life as a wanderer, stumbling and struggling as he grew up. This orphan, who should have frozen to death in the cold wind, survived thanks to the kindness of an unknown old man. What will he bring to the world?

After swallowing the last bite of black bread with difficulty, Yago angrily threw the remaining half on the ground. "Pah! Serves me right for having no business. The bread is so awful, even a dog wouldn't eat it!" Yago was furious. After years of living on the streets, he had honed his skills in petty Yago quite well.

Just as Yago finished speaking, a stray dog suddenly appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the bread that had been thrown on the ground, and ran away.

Yago was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and down, yelling at the dog's retreating back, "You spineless dog!"

After filling his stomach, Yago wandered around the nearby streets until he reached a wall. Yago looked at the few armed Soldiers without Armband at the wall's exit and wondered what it would be like outside the wall.

The Marley Soldiers stood guard lazily, their eyes filled with contempt and disgust as they looked at the Eldians wearing Armband.

Yago tugged at the Armband on his shoulder. The only new thing the Master had ever given him in his memory was probably the light brown Armband.

Seeing no hope of getting out, Yago pursed his lips and turned to wander off in another direction.

"Leonhardt? That's laughable. You don't look a thing of that cowardly father. You must be some adopted bastard from who-knows-where, hahaha."

The laughter coming from around the corner caught Yago's attention, and he slipped to the corner and peeked out.

Three teenagers wearing Armband surrounded a Blonde girl with her head down. The boy in the lead was verbally abusing the girl and forcing her to hand over the money she had, which they had seen her leave home with.

"Hey! Gray, what kind of skill is it to bully girls? It's hilarious."

Gray, who was forcing the girl, heard a familiar voice, turned around, and said, "Hey? Isn't this Yago? What? You little bastard without even a surname, you want to be a hero and save the damsel in distress?"

The girl, who had been looking down, also raised her head, her light blue eyes looking at the boy with surprise.

It was obvious that Yago knew this Gray. Although Yago was alone, he couldn't be intimidated. Originally, Yago didn't want to get involved, but Gray's " bastard" comment made Yago extremely unhappy.

Three minutes later...

Yago, his face flushed red, was pinned down by two children older than him, and his face was bruised.

Gray, now sporting a black eye, crouched down, gritting his teeth, and poked Yago's head, saying, "You little brat, you hit pretty hard!"

Yago's hands were firmly held down, unable to move, so Yago promptly chickened out and said with an awkward laugh, "Na, Gray, are you kidding? We've known each other for so long, how about I become your underling from now on?"

"Heh heh, I don't need a bastard as my underling!" Gray sneered and punched Yago in the eye.

"It's over." Yago resignedly closed his eyes.

Thump! A dull thud followed the sound of a body falling. Yago asked in confusion, "Why doesn't it hurt?"

Yago opened one eye and froze. Gray lay limply on the ground, and beside Gray, a pair of raised legs slowly lowered. Cold, light blue eyes looked at Yago and the two children holding him down.

"Damn it! How dare you ambush our boss!" The two henchmen roared in fury, determined to avenge their leader.

Three seconds later, the two henchmen collapsed next to their boss.

"Siguni, so amazing." Yago murmured. Yago was stunned by the girl's powerful skills just now, and only realized what was happening when she walked away indifferently. He then chased after her excitedly.

"Wow, that's amazing! What kind of move was that? You took down Gray in one go!" Yago chattered excitedly around the girl.

"Can you teach me? Hey!" The girl suddenly turned around, her eyes sharp, which startled Yago.

"Don't follow me," the girl said calmly.

Yago stood there awkwardly, scratching his head, watching the girl's retreating figure, Courage to ask, "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl stopped, seemed to think for a moment, and said without turning around, "Annie Leonhardt."

Yago muttered to himself for a moment, then called out, "My name is Yago, it's nice to meet you, Annie!"