𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒇 | A Yeager Story

[21] Vow

Mina's POV

To obey someone so faithfully is a rare and important value for soldiers. In this world where humans can easily turn from each other, finding that special someone who would always stay by your side is a treasure that must be valued.

And in my case, I chose the person who murdered my friend, a warrior from another nation known as the female titan. Her name is Annie Leonhart.

"Seriously?" Baffled, Ymir tilted her head in confusion before continuing. "Why her?"

"Why? Well..."

The reason is simple: Her conviction of staying true to herself as she does everything to go home eventually is something I deeply respect. Not everyone can do that because humans are selfish creatures who always prioritize their safety. However, even if Annie is someone who would do everything just to see her father once more, she still chooses to freeze herself just to protect her nation, which also includes her parent.

And as a daughter, more than anyone, I find myself empathizing with her.

Another reason is that there is no other soldier fit for this task, seeing that she crystallized herself for a few years. In short, her existence as of this moment, as long as she doesn't show her face to the other soldiers, won't affect the next scenarios. Annie, for me, is the perfect human to help me in my task of finding the object that would help remove the existence of the devil in this world.

After giving me a bored look as she yawned, earning me an eye roll, Ymir eventually gave me my memories that can help in my mission of persuading the said lady. By doing so, I can also start my plan on how to finally eradicate the creature that tormented every human being in this world.

"I can only tell you that it's located in Paradis," I remember Ymir telling me as we discussed how to fight off the devil a few years back, just before she threw me in world number three. "It's an object that has touched both an Eldian and Marleyan citizen. However, even I couldn't tell if there was a symbol that would show that it was from Marley."

"How useful," I recalled myself responding to those words as we continued to plan what to do next. "Then for me to find it..."

I would need the help of a Marleyan citizen.

And here I am, reaching out to one.

The method that I chose to persuade her may not be the best, but if I consider where we currently are and how much time I'll have with her, sharing my memories proved to be the fastest way of doing so. Besides, even if she had taken a lot of lives during the expedition, she couldn't ignore those scenarios she'd seen, especially if they were about the future.

I mean, I don't think anyone in this world would be able to ignore it.

My arm was still stretched out before her, waiting for her decision, when suddenly, the sound of the door opening alerted both of us, breaking our petrified state.

The first thing that came into my mind was to untie my hair and button the upper portion of my shirt to hide the bruise that Annie gave me. As for her, however, there was no time to bind her wrists to the ceiling. Luckily, there was an abandoned rope just below her, one that was supposed to bind her body to the ground.

I had to give it to her fast reflex and way of thinking because just when Captain Hange was about to step inside the dungeon, Annie successfully gave me the rope, prompting me to tie her arms as quickly as I could manage.

"Huh?" Captain Hange visibly froze upon landing her gaze on us. "Mina... what are you doing?"

"Um," Embarrassingly, I stuttered. "She complained about how uncomfortable she was in that position, so I let her down."