Once everyone in the Survey Corps had finished replenishing their supplies, they left their horses beneath the wall some distance away and climbed to the top.
In the faint moonlight, they could just make out a few Titans standing motionless below.
They switched on their flashlights and shone them over Shiganshina District, checking for Titans. Since the Titans had been advancing toward Wall Rose, there were not many left here.
Erwin drew his blade and pointed it at the Titans in Shiganshina before them.
"Clear out those Titans! The Support Squad will rest first."
Ming and Xiate sat on the ground, quietly recovering, while Erwin called Bai Yu over.
"Bai Yu, do you know where Doctor Jaeger lived?"
Bai Yu had known Erwin would ask him that.
"Yes. Are we going there?"
"Yes. Rest for now. Once the Titans have been cleared out, we'll head over. You were right-there might be clues in his house."
"Did you learn anything?"
Erwin merely shook his head.
"Nothing certain. We'll have to wait until we get there. You, Levi, and I will take a look in a bit."
At that, he raised his voice.
"Squad Leader Hange!"
"Ah, Commander Erwin. What is it?"
A female Scout with dark red hair tied back ran over, looking faintly excited about something. Her name was Hange Zoë, and she was in charge of Titan research in the Survey Corps. She had a rather unusual, um... profound passion for Titans.
"You'll be responsible for keeping watch for Titans around us."
"Understood."
Erwin glanced at the sky again. Sunrise was still a long way off. He drew his blade and leaped down from the wall.
Bai Yu stood atop the wall and glanced at the others below, then went over to rest with Ming and Xiate.
There were only twenty or thirty Titans in all, and they could barely move at night. They were just spread out rather far apart, which made clearing them out time-consuming.
Half an hour later, nearly all the Titans had been eliminated. Two cables anchored themselves in the wall, and a moment later, Erwin shot up from below and landed atop it.
"Bai Yu, let's go."
Bai Yu stood up and shook Ming and Xiate awake beside him.
"Ming, Xiate, time to work."
"Mm."
"I know. Don't you feel guilty waking up your adorable little sister, dear brother?"
Xiate clearly had not quite recovered yet, and delivered her complaint rather flatly.
"Well, I don't want to either."
"You're cooking when we get back, dear brother."
"Got it."
With Bai Yu leading the way, they quickly reached Eren's former home. A massive rock had smashed the house, leaving nothing but shattered walls and remnants of the roof.
"Mrs. Carla said there was a basement here. Look around for a hidden passage or anything like that."
Before Erwin could finish, Bai Yu kicked aside a rock by his foot, revealing a wooden panel with a handle underneath. It was clearly a basement hatch.
Erwin awkwardly trailed off, then shifted aside as though nothing had happened. Crouching down, he took hold of the handle and pulled the wooden hatch open, revealing a passage before them.
Erwin looked around at everyone.
"Bai Yu, Levi, come down with me. Everyone else, keep watch outside."
"Understood."
He switched on his flashlight and shone it inside, ducking his head as he entered first. The passage was not very deep; its far end was visible even from outside, only about four or five meters away.
When they reached the wooden door, Erwin seemed about to try the key in his hand, but a moment later-
Bang!
The lock securing the wooden door was knocked clean off.
Bai Yu pushed the door open with an innocent look on his face.
"This lock doesn't seem to work very well. Besides, judging by its size, your key wouldn't fit it anyway, would it?"
Bai Yu shrugged, as though he had done nothing wrong.
Neither of the others made much of it, and they followed Bai Yu inside, sweeping their flashlights around. The room was not very large. There was a candle lamp on the desk, and Bai Yu lit it, bathing the little room in yellow candlelight.
Several wooden cabinets stood around them, stocked with medicines, books, and assorted containers.
After all, Doctor Jaeger made medicines as well.
Bai Yu casually took a bottle of medicine from a cabinet. Yes, this one was for treating colds. It did not taste very good.
Beside him, Levi looked around and spoke flatly.
"Erwin, it doesn't look like there's anything here."
But Erwin was not so impatient. Still crouching by the entrance, he compared the key in his hand with the lock that had secured the outer door. Sure enough, it was not the key to that door. If it did not open the outer door, then it had to open something inside. Though he could not see it yet, there had to be somewhere he could use this key.
"Look for any mechanisms with a keyhole. There should be a hidden door or compartment in this basement."
"Hmm, a hidden door..."
Levi and Erwin began feeling around the room, while Bai Yu sat at the desk and leafed through the books. His right hand felt around here and there as he pretended to search. After a while...
"Erwin, there's a keyhole here."
There was a keyhole in an otherwise unremarkable wooden panel beneath the desk. Bai Yu tapped it.
He tried pulling it open, but it clearly would not budge.
Erwin and Levi both came over. There really was a keyhole.
"Try the key."
Erwin brought the key toward the keyhole. The other two noticed that his hand was trembling slightly, but neither said anything.
The drawer unlocked, but when they pulled it out, they found something unexpected: it was empty. There was nothing inside.
But Levi reached out and felt along the bottom.
"There's a false bottom."
As he spoke, he lifted out the wooden panel that appeared to be the bottom of the drawer.
Three books lay quietly beneath it. At that moment, Erwin could barely control his expression. His breathing grew heavier as he reached for the books and took them out.
He laid them flat on the desk and moved the candle lamp closer. Bai Yu had no intention of trying to read them first. After all, he already knew what they contained.
Erwin took a deep breath, then reached out with trembling hands and opened the book before him.
Before you continue