Yago arrived at the marketplace and, very familiarly, found Aunt Mary, who sold eggs.
"Aunt Mary! Please give me ten eggs!"
Aunt Mary, wearing a headscarf, saw that it was Yago and said with a smile,
"Why, if it isn't little Yago? Buying eggs again?"
In just over ten days, Yago had already become familiar with most of the vendors in this small marketplace. Yago's little mouth was sweet with words, and he was naturally good with people. Using a phrase from his memories, this was called being socially overpowered.
In the marketplace, everyone was happy to have such a lively little fellow around. Moreover, Yago was usually very enthusiastic and often came to help with small tasks—like helping them calculate accounts or carrying things around. And really, Yago was both fast and accurate with calculations, and his strength was noticeably greater than that of children his age.
After packing the eggs, Aunt Mary even stuffed in an extra one. Yago, being very good at flattery, praised Aunt Mary for looking much younger, coaxing her into smiling broadly.
...
Back at home, under Aunt Lucia's deft hands, the eleven eggs quickly turned into delicious egg cakes.
Lucia put many cakes into a bamboo basket and had Yago deliver some to the surrounding neighbors. Among them, Doctor Grisha's family lived very close, and there were also two children the same age as Yago—Eren and Mikasa.
Coincidentally, these two children were exactly the ones Yago had seen that day in the Survey Corps.
Eren was a hot-blooded child, longing to join the Survey Corps and explore the world beyond the walls, while Mikasa was a little girl whose eyes held only Eren and who didn't want him to suffer even the slightest harm.
Because of the Survey Corps, Eren quickly became friends with Yago. Along with Mikasa and their friend Armin, the four of them soon grew close and became very good friends.
After delivering to a few neighbors, Yago quickly arrived at Doctor Grisha's house. Doctor Grisha seemed to be heading out to practice medicine, and Eren's mother, Carla, along with Eren and Mikasa, were seeing him off outside.
Doctor Grisha also saw Yago and asked with a smile,
"Yago? Here to play with Eren and Mikasa?"
Yago lifted the basket.
"Aunt Lucia asked me to bring some egg cakes for everyone to try."
"Thank you very much."
After saying goodbye to Doctor Grisha, Yago walked toward Eren's home. Eren seemed to be arguing with his mother about something. Suddenly, Eren saw Yago and then ran over with an anxious look on his face.
"Yago! You came at just the right time! Tell me—living inside the walls like livestock, is that the stupidest thing of all?"
"Huh? What are you talking about, Eren? Isn't it pretty safe inside the walls?" Yago looked completely confused. Eren, meanwhile, wore an expression of "I treated you as a kindred spirit, but you betrayed me," then threw Yago aside and ran headlong into an alley.
Yago went to Aunt Carla's side. Aunt Carla was asking Mikasa to take care of Eren. Seeing Yago, she said, "Oh, Yago, I'm really sorry. Eren made a fool of himself in front of you."
"It's fine, Aunt Carla. This is egg cake Aunt Lucia made."
After handing the basket to Carla, Yago went with Mikasa to look for Eren.
Eventually, they found Eren at the entrance of a small alley. At that moment, Eren was confronting several kids who looked a few years older. Nearby was a blond little boy who clearly looked like he had been bullied—it was their friend, Armin.
At first, the bad kids were quite smug seeing Eren alone. Wasn't this just delivering himself to them? But then they saw Mikasa and Yago behind Eren and immediately lost their composure.
"It's Mikasa! And that freakishly strong kid! Run!"
The group fled in panic. Mikasa's combat power was terrifying, something they had already experienced. As for the other one, Yago—just a few days ago they thought he was easy to bully, but it turned out this kid was astonishingly strong, knocking out one kid per punch and even using some strange techniques that hurt a lot.
They scattered and fled. Eren thought they had been scared off by him and said excitedly to Mikasa,
"They ran as soon as they saw me!"
Armin, lying on the ground, ruined the moment.
"Weren't they scared off by Mikasa and Yago?"
Yago pulled Armin up from the ground and asked,
"Are you okay, Armin?"
"I'm fine."
After chatting for a while, Yago said goodbye to them. In the afternoon, he still had to go to the church with Aunt Lucia.
...
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was evening. The setting sun dyed the entire Shiganshina District a deep red, and Yago and Lucia were also about to reach home.
Yago carried the vegetable basket, walking beside Lucia.
"Strange, why do I keep feeling so uneasy?" Yago reached out to cover his chest, an inexplicable panic rising in his heart.
Lucia seemed to notice Yago's oddness and asked with concern,
"What's wrong, Yago? Are you not feeling well? Give me the basket."
"It's fine, it's fine, Aunt Lucia. I'm fine—just a little hungry." Yago scratched his head.
"Alright, I'll make something tasty for you when we get home." Lucia said with a smile.
Crack! A tremendous boom rang out, and the entire ground began to shake. Lucia and Yago couldn't keep their footing and fell to the ground.
Yago looked up. Their neighborhood was very close to the city wall. At that moment, Yago's eyes widened, his body trembling uncontrollably. On the fifty-meter-high wall, a gigantic head appeared—like the head of a Titan with its skin peeled off.
"A Titan?!"
...
On the other side, the three of them—Eren, Mikasa, and Armin—also stared in shock at this Titan's head. A fragment of memory suddenly flashed through Eren's mind. He looked up and said anxiously,
"That Titan—will it destroy the wall?"
At that very moment, outside Shiganshina District, the over sixty-meter-tall Colossal Titan raised its foot and viciously kicked toward the gate of Shiganshina District.
The gate, usually impregnable, was as fragile as paper before the Titan. In the blink of an eye, a massive breach was kicked open!
Countless flying stones fell into the city, and at the same time, innumerable Titans poured through the breach kicked open by the Colossal Titan. Humanity's nightmare descended!
Massive amounts of steam surged around the Colossal Titan, and in an instant it vanished without a trace.
That day, humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by Titans.
"No! That's the direction of my home! Mom is still at home!"
Eren shoved through the panicked crowd without hesitation, running toward where the stones had fallen. Mikasa immediately chased after him.
"Eren!" Armin shouted anxiously, but he was being swept along by countless fleeing civilians and couldn't break free at all.
Everyone was fleeing in panic. A priest wearing a clerical robe stood on a high platform, shouting loudly that this was God's punishment upon humanity. Unfortunately, in the very next moment, he was snatched up by a Titan—there was no need to say more, blood sprayed everywhere.
"Watch out, Aunt Lucia!" Yago's eyes split with terror as he pushed the dazed Lucia aside without hesitation. A stone as large as a millstone came flying over.
Lucia was pushed away, but Yago himself was struck by the enormous stone. Driven by the stone's momentum, Yago was slammed deeply into the wall of a house. Yago spat out a large mouthful of blood. He could feel that everything below his waist was completely numb.
Lucia snapped out of her shock, let out a scream, and threw herself beside Yago. She desperately clawed at the stone with her hands, trying to save him, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.
"Yago! Don't be afraid! Mom is here! I will definitely save you!"
In her panic, Lucia blurted out what was in her heart. She had long since regarded Yago as her own child.
"Mom? Cough, cough… do I have a mom too?" Yago said with great effort. Even though he could feel his life slipping away, his heart was filled with joy.
"ROAR!!!"