Yago glanced a few times at the departing Marleyan youth, but a muttered remark was caught by Yago's keen hearing: "A bunch of brats who don't know anything. Without the Eldians bathing the battlefield in blood, where would Marley's past stability have come from? So ungrateful—those Eldian soldiers on the front lines really aren't worth it."
The voice was quiet, but to Yago it was very clear, the tone filled with regret, respect, and sympathy.
Yago turned back in some surprise. The one muttering was the elderly woman in front of him. This made Yago rather astonished. He had heard that the older generation in Marley was extremely hostile toward Eldians, and this was the first time Yago had seen an elderly Marleyan show sympathy for Eldians.
So Yago naturally steered the topic toward the recent war between Marley and the Middle Eastern Union.
"Have you heard about the war between the Middle Eastern Union and our country? I hear the situation at the front isn't going well."
The old woman curled her lips and said, "How would an old woman like me understand all that? War isn't something us country folk get to stick our noses into. Better not to fight at all—once there's war, everything gets more expensive. These days even a loaf of bread costs twenty copper coins."
But Yago wasn't truly concerned about the war, so he asked the real question on his mind: "I just seemed to hear you mention Eldians earlier. More than half of the Marleyan army is Eldian—could it be that they're affecting our army? What do you think of these descendants of devils?"
At the words "descendants of devils," the old woman's expression changed slightly. The needle and thread in her hands slowed, and meeting Yago's gaze, she didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a long while, the old woman finally spoke: "Child, you're still young. You should learn to see this world for yourselves. In Marley it's always been said that Eldians are descendants of devils—but have you ever seen ordinary Eldians?"
Yago and Annie exchanged a glance and shook their heads together.
The old woman continued, "Eldians are just like ordinary people like us. What's devilish about them? They're the same as us—take off the armbands, who could tell the difference? I'm already over sixty; I'm not like those young men who talk nonsense all day.
"Eldians have brought many victories to Marley, yet Eldians themselves have gained nothing. Only their Marleyan officers add a medal to their uniforms. To be honest, we Marleyans ought to thank Eldians for their bravery and sacrifice.
"Child, it's not that I'm speaking for Eldians, but the Eldian soldiers on the front lines truly are bleeding and dying for Marley."
Yago was rather taken aback—so even an elderly woman from the countryside in Marley understood this much?
Gurgle—an ill-timed sound rang out. Yago froze for a moment and turned his head to look. Annie clutched her stomach and lowered her head. "A—Annie, was that your stomach? Are you hungry?"
Hearing Yago speak so loudly, Annie blushed and lightly punched him.
Thinking about it, they had eaten a bit of breakfast on the giant ship that morning, and since then it really seemed they hadn't eaten anything else. Now it was already afternoon, the train had been running for nearly three hours—it was no wonder Annie was hungry.
But this was an ordinary train, and there didn't seem to be any food for sale. Yago awkwardly patted himself down; all he had was that purse stuffed with gold coins.
Seeming to notice Yago's predicament, the old woman lifted the blue cloth covering the basket on the seat beside her. Inside the fairly large basket were several big pieces of bread, a small glass jar like a jam jar, and several thick sausages.
Smiling, the old woman handed Yago and Annie two pieces of bread and two sausages. Yago and Annie hurriedly thanked her and said they would pay, but the old woman waved her hand and refused.
"It's just a bit of country food—what's there to fuss over? Young man, you're not thinking things through. You're strong and sturdy—what if your girlfriend gets hungry?"
Yago just smiled at that, then broke the sausage the old woman had given him in half and handed half to Annie. A little secret: Annie could eat more than Yago.
Yago's action of handing over the sausage surprised Annie.
"What are you doing?!"
"I'm afraid Annie won't get full. Is it enough? Want half the bread too? Last time, Annie, you ate an entire pie in front of me—you really can eat."
"!!" Hearing Yago say she could eat a lot, Annie grew shy and annoyed.
Their playful bickering also amused the old woman across from them.
...
The train continued on. Not long after, at a small-town station, the old woman bent her back and laboriously tidied her things, preparing to get off. Yago and Annie also stood up to help, carrying the old woman's luggage and various bottles and jars off the train.
At the end, as Yago bent down to set the cloth-covered basket down, the old woman smiled and patted Yago on the shoulder, saying,
"Thank you, child. Live happily with your girlfriend."
As the train started up, Yago waved goodbye toward the old woman's direction from the window, until the train completely left the station. And atop the bread in the basket covered with blue cloth, a finely crafted gold coin lay there quietly.
Saying farewell to the warm and kind old woman—though they didn't even know her name—Yago and Annie both felt an uncommon sense of relaxation.
But thinking of the Rumbling launched in older Eren's memories, with nearly the entire Marleyan continent trampled flat, the village where the old woman lived was probably doomed as well. Thinking of this, a slight heaviness settled in Yago's heart.
The Rumbling—Yago had never really been willing, or rather never dared, to face that word. The price of unleashing it was too great, so great that no one could bear it. There were many kind people in this world like that old woman.
Paradis Island had too few choices. Only the Rumbling could deter the world. What to do next—Yago didn't have a definite answer in his heart, but in any case, he had to try his best.
His arm suddenly felt slightly heavy. Yago looked over and saw that Annie was leaning against him, her eyes already closed. Her steady breathing showed that she had fallen asleep. Without thinking much, Yago slowly took off his coat and gently draped it over Annie, then turned his gaze to the scenery outside the window.
...
A/N: A somewhat slice-of-life chapter—please be forgiving, everyone. With Yago's appearance, the Fate Titan has already changed many fates, so most of the Marley arc needs original creation (?●?). Although there's an outline, I am thinking is still a bit complex, so today I wrote this daily chapter to sort out the ideas (○?e?○).
The Marley arc will involve a great many things, and a large number of foreshadowings planted earlier need to be resolved there—for example, the protagonist's transmigration memories that everyone has long been curious about, the "half-transmigrator" identity of the protagonist that the author once mentioned, and my biggest piece of foreshadowing: Doctor Ebson and the artificial Titans. All these secrets will be revealed in the Marley arc.
Since we're on the topic, I might as well give a tiny hint: many of you have guessed that Doctor Ebson is a transmigrator, and that Yago's memories come from the doctor. Hehe—are the facts really like that? Please wait and see (=^▽^=).