Girl from Mitras ★ A. Arlert

Chapter 60 - A way to move on

After returning from the coast, everything changed. Y/N plunged into a new job. And, as she expected, it was hard. Every day she saw very sick people, starving children who didn't know where their parents were. When she did her experiments in the Underground City, she didn't pay much attention to her surroundings, thinking about her theories and work. Now, everything around her hurt her. It was hard for her to look at these people. Hunger, poverty, filth and disease flourished here, which people «above» had long forgotten about.

Changes began in the Underground City - people were moved to other parts of the city, and those who were ready to leave for the surface and live in half-destroyed cities and help restore them in exchange for food and shelter left altogether. One area was demolished to build a power plant. It was a joint project with Hizuru.

But even the emergence of the opportunity to leave and new jobs didn't help - the residents continued to rebel - they didn't like the intervention of «foreigners». Lawlessness reigned in the Underground City, even with the constant presence of the military police here, lawlessness has always flourished here. Only when the influence of the royal guard appeared here did the situation begin to change. And instead of lawlessness, riots and protests appeared. People are so accustomed to living in such a way that any changes seemed unacceptable to them.

Y/N was glad that from the first day officers of the royal guard were assigned to her, because after a week of her work there, people tried to attack her, calling her a traitor to the motherland. It was painful for her, because she only wanted to help these people.

Outside of work, Y/N continued to renovate her apartment. Damian helped her find a team of workers who were willing to get things done quickly enough. And as a result, after two months, her home was completely transformed. She liked what came out. Basically, she changed the furniture and interiors in the rooms, refreshing the walls and ceilings with fresh paint and wallpaper. She converted her father's room into her own. This decision was hard for her, it was difficult for her to cope with the emotions and longing for her father. She still kept his records, all his instruments. She left a couple of his favorite sweaters, which she herself loved to wear when she was at home as a child. However, as a result, she had a smile on her face. Only one room she didn't touch - her old room. She wasn't sure what to do with it yet. The room was small and she didn't want to make another guest room. Therefore, she decided not to spend money on this yet.

Already in October, she received an answer to her letter from Jean. He thanked her for the photographs, and sent her more films, as she wrote, even though it was a joke. He wrote about how happy they all were to know that everything was all right with her and the Captain, he talked about how they had just returned from a three-month diplomatic mission during which they traveled to other continents, visiting different countries and cities. Jean described to her everything they saw - it was a very long letter. Y/N read this letter with a smile on her face, imagining the landscapes and events that Jean described. He wrote about the emotions he felt, about how they all miss her and their home. Also, he wrote that her letter made them all think about what they were fighting for. For their home. He wrote that this trip helped them to make great progress in their goals, and now they decided to direct all their efforts to establishing ties with Paradis. She wrote back to him.

Also, Reiner wrote to her - in her letter to Jean, she mentioned that he, if wanted, could write to her if he felt that he needed it. He also told her about what was going on, and also talked about the general mood.

She worked hard during those months, but she still spent every weekend with friends — they had a «girls club» on Saturdays where they got together with Historia, Sasha, and Hitch, getting drunk and talking about all sorts of nonsense, and on Sunday she went to Levi. Their relationship became very strange and tense. She still helped him with physical therapy, although he began to coping on his own, they also drank tea together, discussing the past week, but she noticed that he hardly made eye contact with her. It bothered her. The closer he got to saying goodbye to his wheelchair, the more he pulled away from her. She was tormented by the thought that he had behaved this way – kind and calm - with her for almost a year and a half only because he needed help, otherwise he would have been as cold to her as before. It bothered her so much that sometimes her mind drove her to think that he was just using her, and in fact she was indifferent to him, like everyone else. These thoughts made her want to cry, because he was dear to her, and she sincerely worried about him.