Rubbing his forehead as he stood up, Yago's tears had not even dried yet. The several instructors nearby also found it quite rare — it had been a long time since Keith had used a headbutt like that. It seemed this kid was really well regarded by Keith!
The other trainees also looked at Yago with new respect. Being able to trade blows with an instructor and even receive praise meant he was a dangerous character — not someone to mess with.
In just this short moment, the potato girl had already eaten more than half of her potato. Instructor Keith walked over to the girl with the bun hairstyle and asked,
"Who are you?"
"Annie Leonhart, from the southern area of Wall Maria," the girl named Annie replied calmly, her tone as cold as her appearance.
Instructor Keith did not ask further and directly turned to the next person. After rubbing his forehead for a while, the pain eased slightly. Yago looked at Annie.
"So her name is Annie. Her tone really is as cold as she looks. Strange — why do I feel a weird sense of familiarity?" Yago muttered to himself.
On the surface, Annie looked calm, but inside her emotions were surging, because she had seen someone here whom she should not have seen.
How is that possible? Maybe he just looks similar. But why are their names exactly the same? Is there really such a coincidence? Yago Norman. Annie stared deeply at Yago, as if trying to see through his body and into his brain.
"What are you doing!!!" Instructor Keith's furious roar stabbed everyone's eardrums. He stared at the girl in disbelief, potato crumbs still at the corner of her mouth, with the last bite of potato still in her hand.
The girl looked a bit dazed, blinking her big eyes. Instructor Keith roared, "I'm talking to you! Who are you!?"
Swallowing the potato in a hurry, the girl placed her right hand — still holding the potato — on her left chest and answered loudly,
"I'm Sasha Braus from Dauper Village in the Trost District!"
"Sasha Braus? What is that in your right hand?"
"Reporting, it's a steamed potato. I saw the kitchen staff had some ready, so I took one."
"So, you stole it?"
"No! I didn't. I just thought that if a steamed potato is left to cool, it would be a waste." Sasha said, glancing at the instructor.
"I asked why you are eating a potato at a time like this!" Keith's voice was terrifying.
Sasha froze for a moment. For some reason, she extended the last bite of potato toward the instructor with her right hand.
"Would you like some?"
Keith stiffly took the potato and carefully looked at the girl. He felt this recruit's brain might truly be broken. Sasha revealed a smile full of "wisdom."
"The camp! Run 50 laps! If you don't finish, you're not allowed to eat anything!" Poor Sasha.
But before Yago and the others could feel sympathy, Instructor Keith continued to everyone,
"Everyone else — men, 10 laps; women, 8 laps! If you don't finish, you'll be eliminated immediately! There are 286 trainees here right now, and I hope all of you can successfully graduate!"
Immediately, cries of despair filled the ranks. Yago's heart also stirred — one lap had to be at least 1,000 meters. Ten laps, ten kilometers?? That was basically a mini-marathon.
Complaining with their mouths, but with bodies that were very honest, several hundred people surged forward and started running.
The first three laps were fine, but after the third lap, people began falling behind one after another. Armin was one of them — his stamina was clearly no longer keeping up.
Yago led everyone, his stamina extremely abundant. Equally energetic were the youths named Reiner and Bertholdt, as well as the girl named Annie. And for some reason, Annie was following him closely.
Mikasa's stamina was also very good, but because she stayed with Eren, her speed was not fast.
Soon, Yago had already lapped many people. Seeing Armin gasping for breath, Yago chased after him and pulled Armin along to run together.
Before long, Reiner and Bertholdt overtook Yago, and Annie also passed him. When she went by, Annie even turned her head to glance at him. Her icy gaze left Yago feeling depressed. Had he somehow offended this girl at some point?
In the end, Yago forcibly ran an extra lap together with Armin. Armin collapsed on the ground, panting heavily, unable to get up for a long time, while Yago only rested briefly before recovering.
"Thank you, Yago. If you hadn't stayed with me, I really think I might not have been able to finish," Armin said between gasps.
Yago handed Armin a waterskin.
"No need to say that between friends. But Armin, you really need to train properly. Otherwise, if a Titan runs away in the future, you might not even be able to catch up, haha."
Yago sat down, picked up the waterskin, and was about to take a drink when a pair of slender legs suddenly appeared before his eyes. He looked up — it was Annie.
Annie lowered her head and looked at Yago just like that. Yago immediately felt the surrounding temperature drop by two degrees.
"Uh, hello? Your name is Annie, right?" Yago greeted her awkwardly, but she didn't respond at all. How embarrassing.
Yago stood up. At one meter seventy, he was quite a bit taller than the smaller Annie. Suddenly, he stuffed the waterskin into Annie's hand.
"Are you thirsty? Um, well, I haven't drunk from this waterskin yet. You can have it!" After saying that, Yago hurriedly pulled along Armin, who had just stood up, and left. There was no helping it — Annie's presence was too strong, and Yago was honestly a bit scared.
Annie looked at the waterskin in her hand, feeling somewhat at a loss. After quite a while, she finally muttered a quiet "thank you." Yago heard it, turned back, and smiled.
"You're welcome."
Annie turned and left. Her pale yellow hair flashed past. Yago's heart stirred — such a familiar feeling.
...
Annie walked alone along the road.
"Annie! What are you doing? Why do you keep getting close to that guy?" The tall youth named Reiner and Bertholdt suddenly stopped Annie.
"You must remember that you are a Marley warrior! Don't get too close to these devils! If your identity is exposed, we won't be able to complete the mission!" Reiner said sternly. Bertholdt nodded in agreement.
"Annie, Reiner is right."
Annie glanced at them indifferently.
"My affairs have nothing to do with you. As for the mission, I will complete it. Stop meddling." With that, she walked straight toward the girls' dormitory.
"Reiner, we..." Bertholdt looked at Reiner with concern. Reiner clenched his teeth. "Tch, forget about her. As long as our identity isn't exposed, let her be! Our target is the power of the Coordinate. Let's keep lying low for now and look for an opportunity later."
"Mm," Bertholdt replied verbally, but inside he was still hesitant. After so many years together, the people on the island did not seem like the devils the Marley government described. They were more like ordinary people of flesh and blood. Were their actions truly correct?
Bertholdt looked at his own hands, thought of something, and could only close his eyes in pain, hoping that what they were doing was the right thing.