Dust-covered memories (II)
"Stop following me! Do you believe I'll beat you up?" Annie said angrily to the boy behind her. Enduring her father's devilish training every day had already exhausted this eight-year-old girl, both physically and mentally, and now there was this guy who was sticking to her every day.
Yago shrank back in fear when he saw Annie's angry expression. Of course he believed it, because yesterday Annie had really grabbed him, pinned him to the ground, and given him a good beating, and his butt still hurt from the kicks.
"Well, actually, we can discuss this. I can just watch from the sidelines," Yago said with an embarrassed smile.
Over the past few days, Yago has roughly understood the situation of Annie's family. Just as Gray said, Annie's father, Mr. Leonhardt, does not look like Annie at all. Mr. Leonhardt Black Hair and light black skin, and he does not look like Annie's Blonde, blue-eyed father at all.
"..." Annie took a deep breath, estimated the distance between herself and Yago, and after confirming that she couldn't catch up, she gave up the idea of beating Yago up again, and went home with the food she had bought.
Yago cautiously watched Annie's retreating figure. "Annie, if you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes. See you this afternoon!"
At the very edge of the Eldia Internment Zone, towering walls separate the Eldians from the outside world. Several large openings in the walls allow Marley factories to recklessly dump industrial wastewater into the Eldians- inhabited area, showing no regard for the health of the Eldians.
But the Eldians had long been tamed by the Marleyan and were quite docile, silently enduring everything, just to atone for the sins of their so-called demonic ancestors.
On the empty ground, three logs stood upright. Eight-year-old Annie's face was flushed, his head was covered in sweat, his legs were trembling, and his legs under his khaki pants were red and swollen, in excruciating pain.
Annie endured the pain and kicked the wood again and again, while a burly, dark-skinned man stood beside her, watching Annie with a cold expression.
With a loud bang, a crack appeared in the thick wooden stake, and at the same time, a piercing pain shot through Annie's brain.
"Okay, that's enough for today. Tomorrow we'll increase the training intensity; we need to break two wooden stakes," Mr. Leonhardt, Annie's father, said curtly, then turned and went back into the house, his eyes catching a glimpse of the small figure on the other side.
Annie watched her father leave, struggling to hold back a tear. Her father didn't like her looking so weak. "My God, Annie, you're amazing!"
Hearing Yago's shocked voice, Yago touched the crack on the sturdy wooden stake and felt a chill run down his spine.
Annie didn't say anything. He didn't know when he had gotten used to this clingy guy watching him train, and his father didn't object.
Of course, there was a reason why Annie could tolerate Yago watching and secretly learning his father's fighting techniques.
The paper package in Yago's hand exuded a sweet, cloying aroma. Few girls could resist the temptation of such a sweet and soft dessert, let alone an eight-year-old girl.
Annie's father was just an ordinary Eldia worker, whose meager income was barely enough to make ends meet, as evidenced by their living conditions. Annie even went hungry sometimes due to the intense training.
Annie opened the paper package and started eating without any hesitation. Yago sat next to her and watched. Upon closer inspection, Yago noticed that the previously slovenly Yago had become clean and tidy, his messy hair was now neat, and especially his black eyes.
Annie, of course, didn't notice any of that; she just thought Yago looked much more pleasing to the eye now.
"Hey Annie, does Mr. Leonhardt really want you to become a warrior?" Yago asked.
With his mouth full, Annie mumbled, "What's it to you?"
Yago scratched his head. Yago hadn't learned much these past few days while staying near Annie's house, except for learning a trick or two by luring Annie with desserts.
As for Annie's training, Yago was terrified just watching it. Imitation? He felt his small frame couldn't handle it.
Yago leaned closer to Annie and said with a smile, "So, do you think I have any hope?"
Annie glanced at Yago, "I could take you down with one hand, you'd better give up. Besides, the Warrior Unit don't need orphans."
Yago's face darkened. He had never understood what an orphan meant before, but now...
Noticing that Yago's expression was off, Annie realized that what she had said might not have been quite right. Unfortunately, aside from teaching Annie superb fighting skills, Annie father had never taught Annie how to comfort people.
"I... I'll teach you a whip kick!" Annie said somewhat flusteredly. Yago's eyes lit up. "Is it the kick that knocks Gray down?!"
Annie nodded, but Yago's smile suddenly froze, and he asked warily, "You're not going to use me as a punching bag again, are you?" The last time Annie was severely scolded by his father, Annie, with tears in his eyes, used the excuse of teaching Yago skills to let Yago experience what it meant to be thoroughly beaten.
Annie blushed slightly, a rare occurrence, and said, "No! Are you going to learn or not?"
"Learn, learn, learn!" Yago was very willing.
Through the crack in the door, Toss Leonhardt withdrew his gaze, a slight wavering in his heart. He shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Heh, why be soft-hearted? It's just to elevate my own status." But looking at the two children, the resolute Leonhardt wavered for the first time.
Carrying the box, Yago nimbly weaved through the streets. Yago job was to help Ms. Maddie-na deliver desserts, and his reward was some of the desserts he made that day and a small amount of money—not much, of course, but a token of kindness from Ms. Maddie-na in taking care of Yago.
To be honest, Yago's job search was all because of Annie. Originally, Yago was just lazing around every day, content with just filling his stomach. But after meeting Annie, for some reason, Yago subconsciously wanted to perform better.
Or rather, Yago had some form of worship of Annie.
"Ah!" Yago suddenly slipped, lost control of his body and fell, the box flying out of his hand.
When Yago got up, he was stunned. There was an open box on the ground, with jam-covered Sweetbread scattered all over the floor.
The man in the black overcoat leaned on a gleaming cane. His hair was meticulously combed beneath an elegant top hat, and behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses were a pair of black eyes the same color as Yago's.
The man frowned, looking at the jam stains on his trousers. Yago sensed something was wrong, because the man didn't have the Eldians Armband, meaning he was Marleyan! And judging by his clothes, he was a wealthy Marleyan.
Why would the Marleyan come to the Eldians settlement?
Although Yago did not understand the feud between the Eldians and the Marleyan, his experiences over the years had taught him that offending an ordinary Marleyan was a very troublesome matter.
"I'm sorry, sir! I've soiled your clothes!" Yago readily admitted his mistake. For ordinary Eldians, it was unwise to oppose the Marleyans; even if Marleyan killed an ordinary Eldians, they wouldn't receive particularly severe punishment.
Yago could only hope that the Marleyan wouldn't retaliate too severely.
"It's alright, Younger Brother. Where are your parents?" To Yago's surprise, the Marleyan didn't seem to care at all, and even bent down to ask Yago questions with a smile.
Yago was a little confused. "I don't have parents, uh, sir, you really don't care about your clothes?"
"An orphan?" the Marleyan murmured, a glint in his eyes. "Of course, it's alright. Let me introduce myself. I'm a Scientist; you can call me Doctor Ebson."
(Regarding the protagonist's identity, Muzi is set as a semi-transmigrator. As for what a semi-transmigrator is, Muzi will explain it slowly later.)
Thank you all so much for your support! ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧ To be honest, Muzi originally thought I'd have to write this Titan on Muzi my own (๑•́ωก̀๑), but I never expected so many Titan to support me! (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡ Thank you so much, and thank you for all the gifts and tips! (╯3╰) Muzi will read every comment carefully, so please feel free to share any suggestions or comments you may have.