Winter passed and spring arrived. A full year had gone by. Yago had also completed a year of training in the cadet corps. In that single year, Yago had grown quite a bit taller, and his strength had naturally surged forward at a tremendous pace.
After the winter training, Yago's changes could be described as worlds apart. In the past, Yago's physical condition had already been stronger than that of most adults, so among a group of half-grown kids he had stood out greatly.
But the current Yago was almost as if his entire body, down to every cell, had been remodeled. The power buried beneath his physique was terrifying, not to mention the Titan power that Yago possessed.
Putting everything else aside, in the past Yago could instantly take down four fully armed but unguarded bandits. Now, Yago was confident that without using Titan power, he could face dozens of well-armed elite soldiers head-on—of course, the premise was that they weren't standing dozens of meters away aiming muskets at him. If it really came to that, no matter who it was, they'd be dead.
On a rare day off, Yago had originally planned to continue researching damaged Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, but Lucia called him over and dragged him out to buy groceries together. Eren and the others also went out with Carla.
Fourteen-year-old Yago stood beside Lucia. He was already not shorter than her, watching boredly as Lucia discussed this year's vegetable prices with the vendors.
At this moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind Yago, "You are… little Yago?"
Yago turned around and was pleasantly surprised. Standing in front of him was an old acquaintance from his time in the Survey Corps—the logistics Squad Leader, Scott.
Scott, who had been young four years ago, now had a thin layer of stubble on his face and looked much more mature. He was wearing the Survey Corps uniform, with a green cloak bearing the Wings of Freedom draped over him.
"Uncle Scott! Long time no see!" Yago greeted him enthusiastically, while also glancing at a carriage behind Scott. There were also two Survey Corps soldiers on horseback beside the carriage. Who knew what was loaded inside.
Scott scratched his head and sighed with emotion.
"I never thought that little guy from back then would grow this big. What are you doing now? Did you really join the cadet corps?"
Lucia joined in at this time.
"Our little Yago is the top cadet of this class now." Her tone was filled with pride in her child.
"Mrs. Lucia, it's an honor to see you." Scott saluted Lucia. As the widow of Squad Leader Vige, Lucia deserved the respect of Survey Corps soldiers. The two Survey Corps soldiers on horseback also nodded in greeting.
Yago familiarly jumped up and hooked an arm around Scott's neck.
"Hey, Uncle Scott, where are you headed? What's on the carriage?"
Scott was startled by Yago's action. This kid was really outgoing.
"Oh, nothing special. The carriage is carrying some Vertical Maneuvering Equipment that was damaged or malfunctioning during operations. I'm taking them inside Wall Sheena to repair them or replace them with brand-new sets."
When Yago heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.
"Wall Sheena? Vertical Maneuvering Equipment repairs?" Every single reason struck right at Yago's heart.
Yago turned around and excitedly asked Lucia, "Mom, I want to go with Uncle Scott to Wall Sheena! Is that okay?"
Lucia hesitated a little. "But they still have missions to carry out."
Scott smiled and said, "Mrs. Lucia, please don't worry. If Yago really wants to go take a look at Wall Sheena, we'll take good care of him."
At this moment, one Survey Corps soldier behind them looked puzzled.
"Squad Leader, but—" Before he could finish speaking, Scott shot him a glare and shut him up.
"Alright then. Letting the child see the world is a good thing too. Yago, I'll leave him in your care,"
Lucia agreed to Yago's request.
Scott: "Don't worry!"
Yago: "Great!"
So Yago nimbly climbed onto Scott's carriage. After saying goodbye to Lucia, the group set off toward Wall Sheena.
Yago crawled to the back and started examining the damaged Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. Scott drove the carriage, while the Survey Corps soldier who had been interrupted earlier rode his horse up beside Scott.
"Squad Leader, why are we bringing this little guy along?" the soldier asked in confusion.
Scott smiled and said, "It's just giving him a ride. This child was the one Squad Leader Vige risked his life to save back then. He also said he wanted to join our Survey Corps. He's the top cadet of his class. If he's truly willing to come to the Survey Corps, that would be quite good."
The soldier suddenly understood. Indeed, there had never been many cadets willing to join the Survey Corps, because the Survey Corps' missions were simply too dangerous—running outside the walls to fight Titans. By comparison, people naturally preferred joining the well-treated Military Police, where life was comfortable and easy.
Of course, only the top ten cadets of each class could choose to join the Military Police. But even if one couldn't make the top ten, joining the stable Garrison was still better than going outside the walls with the crazy Survey Corps to die.
In recent years, because Wall Maria had been destroyed by Titans, the people inside the walls had grown increasingly hateful toward Titans. As a result, the Survey Corps' numbers had increased quite a bit in these years. However, the number of high-quality soldiers was limited, and among the top ten cadets of each class, there were still almost none willing to join.
Now there was a ready-made top cadet. If they could properly win him over and pull him into the Survey Corps, it would be very encouraging.
Thus, along the way, Yago chatted quite happily with Scott and the two Survey Corps soldiers.
At noon, Yago ate some of the Survey Corps' rations. After resting for a short while, they continued on their journey.
On the road, Yago asked, "Uncle Scott, I heard that humanity's strongest soldier, Levi, is in the Survey Corps. Is that short guy really that strong?"
The expressions of the three people present changed at the same time. Scott guiltily glanced around and cautiously warned Yago,
"Yago, remember this—never mention height in front of the Captain!"
Yago: "??" Looks like I really underestimated that one-point-six-meter guy. He's got quite a bit of authority, huh.
Next, Scott went on to explain Levi's battle records to Yago—for example, during his first expedition outside the walls, he single-handedly slew an eighteen-meter abnormal Titan, and with his unique, spinning-top-like powerful combat technique, he wiped out over twenty Titans without suffering a single injury…
The dazzling record left Yago somewhat shocked, and at the same time gave rise to an eager, itching feeling, stirring a desire to challenge. This was the confidence brought by strength.
Yago: "When I join the Survey Corps, I'll surpass that short guy!"
Of course, he only said this in his heart. Yago didn't dare say it out loud. What if a one-point-six-meter guy suddenly popped out and chopped the back of his neck? After all, Captain Levi's battle record sounded truly terrifying.
...
Survey Corps headquarters. Levi, wearing a mask and seriously cleaning, suddenly sneezed without any warning.
"Captain, what's wrong? Did you catch a cold?" the little fangirl Petra asked with concern.
"It's nothing. Probably just too much dust," Levi said with a frown. "Petra, tell the others to come over. This room still isn't clean enough. It needs to be cleaned again!"
Petra immediately agreed. And so, the other members of Levi's squad could only miserably clean the room for the third time, even though it had already been cleaned twice.