"Hahahaha! You'll be crawling back to the settlement tomorrow, won't you? I hear his mother works there. Supposedly, she's quite a beauty, too. What a pity." A nameless recruit Chen Si had no recollection of laughed brazenly with the others at his table.
Only after asking Marco did Chen Si learn that this was von Patrick, the son of Earl von Miroslav from within Wall Sina. He had come merely to pad his credentials. Whether he placed in the top ten or not, he could enter the Military Police Brigade directly when he returned.
Of course, with Kenny currently commanding the Central Military Police Brigade, ability mattered more than background. Even a marquis's son couldn't get in through connections. Otherwise, Patrick would have joined the Central Military Police Brigade directly.
"What did you say?!" The moment Eren heard someone mention Carla, he flew into a rage, nearly bursting the bandages around his head.
Hearing someone talk about her family, Mikasa also drew her brows together, her sharp gaze brimming with hostility.
The laughing nobody hadn't noticed Chen Si walking up beside him. Suddenly, Chen Si clamped a hand over his mouth. He desperately clawed at Chen Si's hand, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't pry it off. Muffled whimpers escaped his mouth.
"Tell me, why do some people have mouths but can't make a sound, while others have no mouths yet have people speaking for them? I don't remember you even taking the Balance Test." Chen Si's voice was icy.
Chen Si had no affection whatsoever for useless fools who relied on connections. Unable to stop himself, he tightened his grip, twisting Patrick's face more and more out of shape.
Armin froze at the sight. He hadn't expected the usually calm, easygoing Chen Si to suddenly lose his temper. He and Marco hurriedly pulled Chen Si back to his seat.
"Saliva all over my hand. Disgusting." Before leaving, Chen Si wiped his hand on Patrick in disdain.
Mikasa considerately took out a handkerchief and handed it to Chen Si.
"Bastard! Do you know who I am?!" Patrick roared, rubbing his face beneath the vivid red handprint.
The surrounding recruits all looked at him with disgust. He was always throwing his weight around as an earl's son and running his mouth. Watching Chen Si put him in his place, they were all inwardly cheering.
"Hahaha! Nice work, Chen Si! You damned little brat with connections, let's see who's better tomorrow. If you lose, get out of the barracks!" Eren spoke with excitement and righteous indignation.
Just as Mikasa was about to get up and knock Patrick down-
Bang! The door suddenly swung open.
"What are you all shouting about?! Don't you know this is a military barracks?!" Keith Shadis glared fiercely at the group before his gaze settled on Patrick, the only one still standing.
Everyone fell silent, their eyes turning toward Patrick.
"Patrick! You dodged the Balance Test today, and now you're making a racket. Go run two hundred laps, right now! If you fail the test tomorrow, pack up and get out!"
Shadis spat out those words and turned to leave. As an instructor with a military background, he loathed this brat who relied on connections even more.
Patrick didn't dare act out in front of Shadis. They were in a military barracks, after all. Even if he could complain to his father later, there was no telling what Shadis might do to him before then.
He had already marked down the instructor, Eren, Chen Si, and the others in his mind. Once he returned, he would have his earl father punish them severely.
Especially Chen Si. He would never let him off. Patrick viciously thought up one method of torture after another.
Unfortunately, he was destined never to get that chance. When he returned home, he would only discover that he had become an orphan... Not only had Zeyechuan killed Miroslav, but he had also taken Patrick's mother for himself before throwing her into the Wastewater Tank.
Zeyechuan had been rather reluctant to part with such a beauty, forty years younger than Miroslav. Unfortunately, Kenny was watching him constantly, and keeping her around would draw attention, so he had no choice but to put her down humanely.
Chen Si didn't know that Patrick had already become an orphan. A brat with connections like Patrick would undoubtedly run to his father whenever he couldn't handle something. Chen Si didn't care. If someone came looking for trouble, he would simply kill them.
Night.
The boys' dormitory.
"Are you two from Shiganshina District too, like Chen Si?" Reiner asked Eren and Armin.
"Yes, the three of us came together. Mikasa, too," Armin replied.
"Then you must know how terrifying Titans are. Why did you still join the Training Corps?" Bertolt asked as well.
"Unlike Eren, I never faced the threat of a Titan directly. But when I think about the Royal Government forcing the residents to take part in the Retaking Operation for Wall Maria, I can't just stand by and do nothing," Armin said wistfully.
"I see," Bertolt replied.
"Then where did you two come from?" Armin looked at Bertolt and asked.
"Beyond the walls..." A languid voice drifted down from the upper bunk. Chen Si liked sleeping up there. That way, even if the bed collapsed, he wouldn't have to worry about being crushed to death.
Reiner froze, then abruptly raised his head toward Chen Si.
Bertolt's hair stood on end, and he gave a slight shudder.
"It must be beautiful." Chen Si smiled at Reiner, showing a row of bright white teeth. He looked utterly harmless.
The sudden, baffling remark left everyone momentarily speechless.
Armin thought of the descriptions in that Forbidden Book.
Eren thought of the freedom beyond the walls.
Reiner kept feeling that Chen Si was hinting at something, but then thought he was being too sensitive.
"Reiner and I came from a village deep in the mountains southeast of Wall Maria." Bertolt lowered his head and changed the subject, giving the story they had agreed on.
Armin and Eren nodded in understanding.
"You're different from the people who don't know how terrifying Titans are, aren't you?" Bertolt said.
As soon as he began, Reiner hurriedly stopped him from continuing, then glanced at the other people in the dormitory.
The group left the dormitory. Finding it too noisy inside, Chen Si followed them out.
Along the way, Chen Si listened to much of Bertolt's monologue. He really was someone who lacked a mind of his own. Unfortunately, we're destined to be enemies, Chen Si thought with an inward sigh.
Saving someone was harder than killing them. Getting someone to switch sides was harder still.
So I'll have to ask you to die instead, Bertolt.
The group walked all the way to the edge of a cliff.
Chen Si and Eren stood together, while Reiner and Bertolt stood a short distance away. Armin stood a little behind the four of them.
The night stretched endlessly around them. Moonlight fell over the shimmering lake, surrounded by trees. In the stillness, a few birds that had yet to settle down for the night occasionally flew out.
Faced with such a scene, Chen Si couldn't help having all his thoughts drawn back to the view before him. Beautiful scenery could wear away the violence in people's hearts.
Each of the five had his own thoughts, but at that moment, they were all enchanted by the view.
Deep down, Eren had begun to accept that Grisha might never return. The basement of his home was his hope of discovering the truth.
Armin stared at the lake in a daze, thinking of the vast, magnificent sea beyond the walls that his parents had once told him about. They had compiled their descriptions of the world outside into a book, and both had died terrible deaths because of it.
"I'll definitely return to my hometown," Reiner said softly as he gazed at the scenery before him.
Hearing that, Chen Si couldn't help missing his family, his true relatives from his previous world. His background had not been particularly tragic.
His mother loved him dearly. Although his father spent most of the year away, setting aside the relationship between his parents, their family had been fairly harmonious. Both parents had treated him well.
"Maybe... I can go back..." Chen Si murmured, unsure whether he was answering Reiner or himself.
"You'll definitely make it back." Eren's voice came from beside him. Chen Si looked over, and as their eyes met, both nodded firmly.