Under the blazing sun, the trainee soldiers donned their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment and ran through the forest, drenched in sweat.
Yes, running—no use of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment allowed. The trainees weren't even wearing gas canisters. As the instructors put it, if your Vertical Maneuvering Equipment breaks, you can only rely on your own legs to outrun Titans. And if you can't even run, then you're left behind to feed the Titans.
So long-distance running training while wearing Vertical Maneuvering Equipment was absolutely essential.
The trainees advanced together by squad, running as a unit, the movement of their Vertical Maneuvering Equipment producing waves of friction sounds.
Yago led the run, with Squad 34 following behind. Armin was running with some difficulty, with Ilse and Mady on his left and right, ready to help him at any moment.
On the other side, Marco's squad—Jean was running beside Marco, glaring irritably at Eren from Yago's squad ahead.
"Damn it! Losing to that guy Eren every time is seriously infuriating! No matter what, this time I have to score better than him!"
At that moment, Jean saw Mikasa's concerned gaze fixed on Eren, and his mood worsened even more. Jealousy really does drive people crazy.
Jean thought for a moment. As a resident of the Trost District, he had been through this forest before. If he remembered correctly, there should be a small path here. Taking that path to the destination would definitely be faster than the current route—and the instructors weren't around right now. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity?
Jean grew excited at the thought. If he took a shortcut first, then quietly appeared at the very front of the main group, he would definitely shock everyone.
Without hesitation, Jean waited for the right moment, slipped to the edge of the formation, and with a quick movement, dove into the bushes.
Marco: "Huh? Jean?"
Jean quickly pushed aside the grass, hid behind a large tree, and smugly began imagining everyone's shocked expressions when they saw him.
Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen minutes passed...
Sweat appeared on Jean's forehead. "Why is it so slow? They're still not here?"
Another five minutes passed. Jean swallowed with difficulty.
"I—I didn't take the wrong path, did I?"
Five more minutes passed.
"Damn it! I really took the wrong path!" Jean panicked as he tried to find the way back, but he had rushed too fast earlier and left no marks at all.
Jean looked at the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment without gas canisters, on the verge of tears.
"Damn it!!" His unwilling shout echoed through the forest.
...
After two hours, the trainees finally reached their destination. Everyone was completely exhausted. Armin lay sprawled on the ground, looking like he was about to die. The twin-tailed, cute girl Mina looked at Armin with concern. Eren also sat on the ground, panting heavily, and needless to say, Mikasa was right beside him, her eyes filled only with Eren.
Yago handed a canteen to Annie, and Annie naturally accepted it.
Not far from them, Bertholdt and Reiner were also sitting together. Bertholdt looked at Annie with a complicated expression.
"Reiner, Annie and Yago are getting closer and closer."
Reiner frowned and said, "Ignore her. That's just how she is. Didn't I say it long ago? As long as she doesn't expose her identity, she can do whatever she wants. It's just that we still don't have any information about the Founder at all. Next time, have Annie go deeper into the royal capital."
Bertholdt hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself. His indecisive nature made it impossible for him to say anything. In truth, he didn't really agree with Reiner treating Annie like a tool, but he felt awkward bringing it up, afraid of damaging the relationship among the three of them. In the end, he could only respond with silence.
Reiner, meanwhile, looked toward Historia, who was smiling as she tidied Ymir's hair, a trace of tenderness hidden deep in his eyes.
Yago yawned. At that moment, a trainee came running over in a hurry. Yago recognized him as one of Marco's squad. The trainee said anxiously,
"Yago, something's wrong—Marco and Jean are missing!"
The instructors still hadn't arrived, and no one really knew what to do.
The reason that new recruit went to Yago was entirely because of Yago's outstanding past performance. Many people subconsciously saw him as a leader. As the saying goes, when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up—whenever something happens, people naturally turn to the most capable person.
Yago was a bit dumbfounded. They were all grown adults—sticking with the main group, and Marco and Jean still managed to get lost? That was unbelievable.
Complaints aside, Yago still called everyone together. Those with decent stamina followed him to search, while others—like Armin—stayed behind to wait for the instructors and report the situation.
...
The sky grew darker and darker, and Jean's anxiety grew with it.
"This is seriously awful! This time I'm definitely going to be laughed at by that guy Eren!"
"Bang!" "Ouch!" x2—something collided, accompanied by two cries of pain.
Jean rubbed his throbbing forehead with his eyes closed, then opened them. The person in front of him was doing the same.
"Marco?! Why are you here?" Jean asked in surprise.
Marco scratched his head. "Ah, I saw you dive into the bushes and thought you needed to… you know, so I decided to wait for you. I didn't expect you to disappear, Jean, so I came looking for you."
Looking at the honest Marco in front of him, Jean didn't know what to say. Their families were neighbors, after all, and had always been close. Marco and Jean had been playmates since childhood.
Jean: "Then, Marco, do you know where the way out is?"
Marco: "...Uh, well..."
Jean covered his forehead. Right—he never should have asked. He'd known since childhood that Marco was terrible with directions. There was no point expecting anything now.
The sky was almost completely dark. Jean and Marco sat back-to-back. Jean couldn't help but complain,
"Marco, you idiot! Why did you come looking for me? Now look—you're stuck here too."
Marco: "Jean, we're friends."
Hearing that, Jean's heart trembled. From childhood to now, Marco really had always been Jean's best friend. Jean had always been stubborn, acting disdainful toward friendship on the surface, but deep down, he cared a lot.
"Tch, who cares," Jean muttered softly, though his tone sounded anything but sincere. After a moment, Jean spoke again. "Marco, do you remember our dream?"
Marco: "Joining the Military Police?"
Jean said firmly, "That's right! We have to join the Military Police and live a good life!"
Marco: "Yeah."
...
"Jean! Marco!" A startled shout woke Jean from his drowsiness. He looked up to see Eren holding a torch, loudly calling out to the other trainees.
For the first time, Jean felt that Eren's voice sounded somewhat pleasant.
In the end, Jean and Marco together endured nearly an hour of roaring reprimands from Instructor Keith, each received a Keith headbutt, and were awarded a bonus package of cleaning toilets for one month.
If it weren't for Jean and Marco's usually excellent performance, Keith would have gladly kicked them over the wall to feed the Titans.