Shinzou wo Sasageyo Ayanokouji

ℭ𝔥31:𝔚𝔬𝔯𝔡𝔰𝔪𝔦𝔱𝔥

Captivating the presence of the two individuals in question gave me an upper hand.

They were fundamentally humans and hence they had fundamental weaknesses.All that mattered was exploiting it to achieve success.

"Hah, don't play with us. We aren't mere children to fall for such a honeypot trap." Spoke up Bertholdt as he waved me off with a small glimpse of sadness.

Denial was the first reaction.

 I paused, choosing my words with care, letting them float in the air for a moment to seed doubt. My posture was carefully curated—casual yet subtly strained, a visual cue designed to betray an intended vulnerability.

"Considering that we are in captivity by yours truly, thinking of trying to trick either of you would simply backfire on me," I continued, my voice steady but tinged with a hint of weariness. "I don't have any way to escape other than by assisting my own captors. And it's not like you both can escape scotch-free. Dying as traitors of the very nation you served all this time would leave a very ugly and disgusting mark on your lineage.And all of this for some unknown individual or nation no one even knows. Truly a strange and worthless sacrifice of soldiers like yourselves."

It was a risky maneuver, to appear weak and cooperative, but in the game of shadows, sometimes the best light is the one you cast yourself.

"SHUT UP! DON'T ACT COY, KIYOTAKA. NOTHIN' WILL WORK," barked Reiner, his voice a harsh rasp that cut through the stillness like a knife

Anger was the second. 

"When was the last time we both got promoted? When was the last time we were appreciated by this goddamm worthless place. We never even got acknowledged for the work and sacrifices we did for this hell forsaken nation."  

Reiner was slowly revealing his other side, the side that I had hoped to bring out. His deep attachment to this nation was clearly evident. When someone plays a role for a long time, they begin to believe that they are the character. This was also true for people like Reiner, who had developed a strong emotional connection to this place. Therefore, my proposal had a good chance of being successful as it aligned with his values. He didn't want to see his reputation tarnished in a place that he considered his home, even if it was for a short while.

"Have you lost your mind?" Berthouldt wasn't as quick to accept this though as he tried to bring Reiner back to his senses.

"I have a question, is he really wrong? He isn't asking for much, is he? All he wants is recognition, which he will definitely get if only a select few know what happened today. If we follow my course of action, both of you may become the top candidates of our special forces, and fame and respect will be yours to take." 

Bargaining had begun.

I kept nudging the deal forward. I was sure he would bite on it, I have had enough time to observe them thoroughly.

Ymir seemed like she wanted to say something, but ultimately decided to remain silent. She may have been observing my plan and was curious to see how it would unfold. Interestingly, she didn't seem surprised by their act of betrayal. However, she didn't pose a threat at the moment, so I didn't feel the need to investigate her further. all of this was trying to get some words out but she decided not to, perhaps she could see my plan in action and wanted to see where this would lead to. She wasn't surprised at all at their betrayal however, which was interesting to say the least. However she wasn't a threat at the moment so I didn't find much reason to probe into her as of yet.