Chapter 21

The next day...

The sun had just risen over the beautiful Paradis sky. All the refugees who still remain with energy to continue working are tending the fertile soil to start planting as many seeds as possible, this includes the trio of spies and the young Zirken who has just appeared beside them.

"Good morning!" - Zirken.

"..." - Annie, Bertolt and Reiner.

"Vish... You guys are in a bad mood early this morning. Cheer up guys, the sun is gracing us with your presence today!!!" - Zirken.

"Are you talking about this killer sun? Or the sun that is roasting our heads?" - Reiner.

"Eh? But look on the bright side, we don't have to step in the mud puddles all the time hehe." - Zirken.

"You mean those mud puddles?" - Bertolt as he points his finger at the huge mud puddles near them.

"Wow, how come I didn't see something that size?!" - Zirken.

"Speaking of seeing, where did you go last night? We haven't seen you since you went to the bathroom." - Reiner.

Upon hearing such a question, Annie for the first time began to take an interest in the dialogue and was now waiting intently for the boy's answer. Even if she didn't even notice it.

"I got lost on the way back, so I had to sleep out here." - Zirken with her left hand scratching the back of her head.

"You must have been pretty cold..." - Bertolt.

"Not at all, it wasn't even that cold. I snuggled under a tree and slept soundly. - Zirken.

"You should start memorizing the path. Or else you'll soon get sick and be sent away. - Reiner, pretending to care.

"I'll take your advice, hehe." - Zirken.

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After spending the whole day working again, none of the children were very tired. The three young warriors of Marley were used to spending days training, especially Annie who trained incessantly in martial arts with her father.

However, to them it was abnormal for a seemingly ordinary child like Zirken to not be almost fainting from the great effort they put in one day due to the lack of staff.

"How come you can still walk normally, Ezir, you don't feel any pain or anything?" - Reiner.

"Eh? No, no, I'm all sore too." - Zirken.

"You don't look..." - Bertolt.

"It's because my father made me train martial arts every day to use them when I join the military." - Zirken with a bead of sweat on his forehead.

"!!" - Annie.

'So he also...' - Annie.

"Military? What are they?" - Reiner.

"Huh? Don't you know? It's most kids' dream to join the military police." - Zirken.

"Our village was quite isolated, so we don't know much." - Reiner.

"Then like a good friend, I'll explain them! There are three types of troops among the military: The garrison troop, whose duty is to monitor the walls; The exploration troop, full of crazy people who go out to explore outside the walls; And lastly we have the military police, who maintain order and safety of the citizens inside the Sina wall." - Zirken.

"Sina Wall?" - Bertolt.

"Don't you guys know that too? Well, it's the last wall of humanity and it's where the king, the nobility and the rich live comfortably. That's why everyone wants to join the military police to live in the comfort and safety of the Sina Wall." - Zirken.

'That's if you take away the corruption that runs wild in there...' - Zirken.

"I see..." - Reiner, suddenly becoming thoughtful.

*Ding* *Ding*

Cutting off the conversation, the shrill sound of the bell indicating that the food was ready resounded through the ears of the refugees present.

"Finally the food is ready! I'll go secure mine, see you guys!" - Zirken, hurriedly running to the line that was forming and leaving the three thoughtful young men behind.

"I told you he would be a source of information." - Annie.

"You are right. Thanks to that, we now have our next goal. Let's enlist and infiltrate the military police." - Reiner.

After a few minutes of arguing, the three finally went to the lines where they were handing out the food. However, it was obviously already crowded and the trio ended up in the last few seats, the two boys being a few seats ahead of the girl.

When it was finally their turn, Reiner and Bertolt got a piece of bread and a bowl of soup. This was the bare minimum to get them through the night without suffering from hunger after a hard day's work.

However, Annie was the only one who, as usual, was unlucky to be last in line...

"You were unlucky little girl, we only have that bread now, kekeke." - Soldier.

The bread, or rather the tiny loaf that the soldier gave the girl, would not be enough to satisfy even half of the hunger she had at that moment. Her eyes were wide with shock, not because she could barely get food, but because of the mocking face the man in front of her was making. It was clear to her that he did not want to give her the food she actually deserved.

Then all the shock and surprise was replaced by a feeling of anger and indignation....

"Demon son of a bitch." - Annie as she took the small loaf of bread and was about to leave.

"What did you say?!" - Soldier almost put his hands on the girl's shoulders.

However, he was interrupted by the golden haired boy who suddenly appeared between the man and the girl, while keeping his hands occupied by his food.

"She didn't mean anything, sir. She's just hungry, isn't she?" - Zirken.

"Yes..." - Annie hesitantly and containing her anger.

"Tsk, just go brats!" - Soldier.

"Yeah, yeah." - Zirken.

The boy immediately put all his food in his left arm and used his free hand to hold the blue-eyed girl's hand. This surprised her, but she decided to ignore it for the time being so that they would get away from there.

After some time walking, the two of them reached the front of their hut to which they were assigned. The other two colleagues were already inside as they got their food earlier.

'I have to go soon.' - Zirken, as he let go of the girl's hand.

"Here." - Zirken, giving Annie her bowl of soup and half of her bread.

"Huh? What about you?" - Annie.

"It's bad, I have diarrhea. I have to go right away!!! Eat for me!!!" - Zirken, leaving the scene at the fastest speed he could show and without giving the girl a chance to respond.

"..." - Annie.

"Idiot..." - Annie.

She still didn't understand anything and didn't know how to react, but she just accepted it and kept walking until she entered the cabin again. As she opened the door, she ignored whatever the other two were talking about and sat down on her bed. After eating, she placed her bowl on the bed and began to stare at the hand in which Zirken/Ezir held it.

'Why did I feel a void in my hand after he let go?'- Annie.