Mikasa gazed at the tall wall in the distance and sighed. "It's been a year since we separated from Eren…"
"Yes, it's been a year…" Armin also looked up.
The wind tousled Armin's blond hair as he guided his horse across the grasslands, and his soldier's uniform reflected the clouds drifting with the wind.
"I've heard that the ocean is like the blue sky, with tides that rise and fall endlessly. It's a boundless lake of saltwater, capable of carrying warships that weigh tens of thousands of kilograms."
"Even a warship weighing tens of thousands of kilograms can sink into a bottomless abyss when the sea is raging."
"What kind of scene is waiting for us?" Armin was filled with anticipation. When he read about the "sea" in the book, he began to imagine everything described in those words.
Now, he finally had the chance to leave the walls, to witness his inner world firsthand, and to see the sea with his own eyes.
However, what made him happiest was that he no longer had to remain helpless.
At last, he and Mikasa no longer felt powerless when their friends were fighting.
Last year, Armin ranked first in his class at the military academy, graduating with twenty-eight certificates as a "Titan Handler."
A month after enlisting in the training corps, he was recommended to study at the Advanced Military Technical Academy, becoming the youngest and most outstanding graduate of that year.
Although he lacked some physical condition and combat skills, he was now an excellent technician.
Mikasa took a different path from his.
She demonstrated extraordinary talent in the physical aptitude test. Last September, she was transferred to the Royal Capital Training Camp, where Captain Levi personally trained her.
Armin and Mikasa were now part of this unit, and both had become some of the best soldiers, qualified to go to the front lines.
As Armin rode his horse, he thought, "Eren and Gale... They must be there…"
They had still been living together on the frontier when Wall Maria fell.
At that time, the four of them wore refugee clothes and walked barefoot through the mud.
Now… a huge gap had appeared…
Armin had mixed feelings. On his first night on the frontier, Gale said, "Humanity will defeat the Titans."
Two years ago, it sounded like an impossible joke, but Gale really did it. Two years later, he proved his worth with his actions.
That person had a special charm.
Although Armin knew that the government of Marley posed a great threat, he always felt that with that person around, no problem was insurmountable.
…
Three days later, the Marine Infantry Preliminary Team arrived at the outskirts of Wall Maria and came across a steel plant.
The chimneys of the blast furnaces spewed thick black smoke.
Beside them was the iron ore mine. There, Titans pulled carts, carrying baskets of ore and dumping them into the furnaces.
Molten iron, glowing red-hot, flowed from the pipes.
All the soldiers dismounted from their horses because they knew that from this point on, they would no longer use horses as a means of transport, but would instead travel by train.
Amid the noise of the foundry, they arrived at the train station.
There, a steam train was stationed.
Armin had studied at the advanced military academy. Its fuel was ice-breaking stone. The entire train operated with a steam boiler.
The combustion of the ice-breaking stone turned water into high-pressure, high-temperature steam. The steam was injected into cylinders to push pistons, which in turn drove the machinery to move the wheels forward.
Currently, only a very limited number of areas are connected by train, and very few people within the walls know that the steam train exists.
The first steam train officially began operation in February of this year.
The train had a total of five carriages. The seats were in the first three covered carriages, while the last two open carriages were equipped with large steel components, likely used for shipbuilding.
"This… is incredible…"
"How was this even made?"
"Are we really going to travel in this? What if it suddenly explodes?"
…
The soldiers participating in the preliminary exercises were astonished by the steel colossus before them.
This was far too risky for them.
Some people cautiously extended their hands to touch the surface of the train, but before they could even do so, they quickly pulled them back, as if afraid of angering it.
"Stop standing there like idiots!" Levi shouted coldly, without shifting his gaze. And a single shout was enough for the line behind him to fall back into order.
The passengers lined up neatly and boarded according to the previously planned divisions.
The carriage was very simple and empty.
It was obvious that the seats had been temporarily installed with anchor bolts.
The workers added three iron pillars on each side of the carriage to create two rows of free seating.
This must have been a cargo compartment. There was still some straw and wood shavings on the floor that hadn't been removed, and a faint smell of rice lingered in the air.
Armin and Mikasa sat in the third carriage, which had no windows but had ventilation openings at the top, allowing them to glimpse the outside scenery through the gaps in the door.
Shortly after boarding, steam began to billow from the locomotive, and the whistle sounded.
Amid the rumbling and clattering of the mechanical wheels, everyone felt a noticeable vibration.
The train began to move along the tracks.
Some people gripped the seat handles tightly, overcome with fear, but Armin felt no fear at all.
Once the train's speed stabilized, he slowly stood up and, after receiving permission from the conductor, headed toward the door.
As a technician, he was qualified to move along the train's structure.
The moment the door opened, a strong gust of wind struck his face.
Outside the train structure, mountains and rivers were shrouded in mist.
Armin saw neatly defined square fields, rice paddies shining under the sunlight, and giant men dragging plows and harrows to loosen the soil and sow seeds.
Holding the door handle and looking outside, one could hear the whistle of the locomotive and the steam bursting from its exhaust pipes, drawing a long trail.
In the distance, Titans could be seen transporting railway components, building the tracks under command.
Their enormous hands placed the rails onto the concrete base, assembling them section by section.
Amid the pleasant metallic hum, sparks flew as they struck with their gigantic hammers.
It was like… a world straight out of a fairy tale…
So beautiful…
Armin exhaled, narrowed his eyes, and slowly released the handle, feeling the rush of the wind.
At that moment, he felt free—completely free.
He believed that the world would keep improving, and that one day everyone would be able to sit on a train like him.
Transportation would become much more convenient, and once people earned money, they would be able to buy tickets and travel to various places with friends and family.
In the future, there would be sea voyages, where people could travel by ship to foreign countries and admire all kinds of landscapes across the ocean.
If they could sit down and have a serious conversation with the government of Marley, they would surely be able to clear up the misunderstanding.
For a brief moment, he forgot what he was supposed to be doing there; he simply felt… incredibly happy…