Chapter 4: Be a Hero or be a Soldier.

...

"Joining the military behind this Walled Kingdom isn't an easy feat. At first, there was a lot of shouting and even we had our faith in the Chief God; their voices snapped us from our minds, and we were given our blank states to fill our purpose for joining the fight. Not for the name of the Chief God... but to the very survival that depends on us despite the odds were given."

...

...

"Ah, so you're the new hero for our great kingdom?"

...

"Y-Yes! My parents and the priests told me."

...

"Ah! Chief God be praised! Another blessed soul for the Order!" The priest spoke out with a brightened praise to the young white-haired girl. "We need people such as you to protect our people from this monster menace!"

The young Wilmarina walked around the hero barracks and saw several men and women trained on the fields. Swinging their swords, shooting their bows and arrows, even musketeers were present and hit several shots directly at their dummy targets.

"Who... are these guys?" She asked with curiousness in her eyes.

"They are Heroes, like you; Wilmarina. This very building is where they train to fight monsters." The old bishop said while looking over the apprentices. "At first, you must study and work hard on your mana before you could handle a sword."

"So when will my training begin?" She asked while looking up at the Priest. "If I work hard, would I able to meet my friend again?"

"Oh? Friend?" The priest then raised his eyebrow in question, wondering. "Your father has never mentioned that you were having friends before?"

"W-Well... There was this boy I knew before he got kicked out." Wilmarina said while looking down. "I just wanted to see him one day when I grew up!"

"Hm? A son of a servant? Your father mentions this not too long ago." The priest then realizes something. He heard about the incident from a few months prior. "Ah! Now I remember... that family which your father kicked them out."

"Y-Yes! That's them and I would-"

"No. My dearest Wilmarina, I will not allow you to think about that." Wilmarina's words were suddenly interjected by the priest. She looks up and saw that his gaze looks down at her with disgust. "That boy's family might have kicked out like rats for trying to usurp the Noscrims, yet I will let none of your thoughts create sin."

"Wh-What?" The little girl stuttered once she noticed the malevolence in his voice. "Is that... a sin?"

"Indeed, thinking over that would make you unbecoming of a hero." The priest then leaned over to the young girl. "Do you understand?"

The young Wilmarina then stuttered. She felt her knees shaken and the insidious glare of the priest made her feel uneasy as if life would have choked the hell out of her.

"I... I..." Her words felt shaken and unable to answer. She had made a promise to Elt which she will reunite with him someday once she becomes a hero, yet as if her cold personality is slowly creeping into her heart; making her unable to answer until she sees his wicked smile across his face, until...

"HEY, YOU! WAKE UP!" Then suddenly, she heard a booming voice and then looking around in confusion. "I SAID SNAP OUT OF IT MAGGOT!"

...

"Huh!?" Wilmarina snapped out of her thoughts before looking up to see Hugh, who's giving her a mean glare. "I-I'm sorry, I-"

"GOOD MORNING, MISS CADET! ARE YOU HAVING A GOOD DAYDREAM TODAY!?" Hugh screamed out, making Wilmarina flinch before standing firmly straight out of fright. "NOW THEN; TELL ME WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHERE DO YOU COME FROM!?"

"W-Wilmarina Noscrim of the House Noscrim, sir!" Wilmarina introduced herself with a salute, accidentally spitting out her noble status. "From New Lescatie, sir!"

"Well, well, an outsider with a noble status, huh?" The young cadet felt sweat beads roll over her face after hearing his voice growled like a deadly lion. "Interesting. Then what are you here for?"

"T-To join the military and fight the Titans, sir!" Wilmarina responded firmly. "I will dedicate myself to fight for the Chief God!"

"So? You're willing to fight for this Chief God of yours and slay Titans, eh!? Good for you!" Hugh raised his voice while scrunching his eyebrow in question. "Then what does your life depend on you to fight in such situations? Will you depend on your faith or your very survival?"

"I-... I choose-"

"WRONG! It's neither! You're here to dedicate your heart to fight something worthy! Even if it means sacrificing yourself!" Hugh interjected while leaning further down on her with a growl, making pressure on Wilmarina. "In your eyes, I can see you're nothing but a useless cattle that needed to be fed to the Titans! But here, you'll become the worst livestock that Titans would even try to eat you. Which makes you a good Titan bait in the Survey Corps!"

Wilmarina remained silent until Hugh stepped back, and his hand grabbed on top of her head. Then he turns her around in the opposite direction "Second row, to the rear!"

The trainees heard their drill instructor and then turn around, facing the other recruits before Hugh could move into the next row to inspect the new recruits. Wilmarina felt a wave of emotions welled into her heart, and it wasn't the same from the early days of her training as the new hero. This military would expect no praise of gods or fame. Even the soldiers of Lescatie she knew back then didn't have such mean-looking screaming instructors who spat mean words at the new Knights. But let alone such individual mindsets are kept themselves personal within the military of the Walled Kingdom.

'Why do I... feel so blank?' Wilmarina's mind uttered in question while her fist clenched. She had that memory from the past two years that had conflicted her to become a hero until it all got washed away from the Drill Instructor's constant screaming, which snapped her mind out of the stupor. 'At first, my mind had striven myself to train as the new Hero of the Order... but this feels different.'

Wilmarina then turned her gaze to the Drill Instructor who turns around and faced a new cadet in front of him.

'Do I have to fill up my purpose?... Something worthful and has a meaning?'

...

75th Training Corps, Northern Division. Military Training Grounds. Year 818.

"You! Who the hell are you!?"

"Paula Tronmail from New Lescatie, sir!"

"Paula Tronmail... so you're another Outsider from New Lescatie, eh!?" Paula felt frightened as the Drill Instructor leaned further down with an intimidating glare. "Then you're here to join our military to get outside the walls once more!?"

"Yes, sir!" Paula replied, while her right hand clenched above her heart. "I will dedicate myself worthy to fight Titans!"

"Well then! I like that motivation of yours!" Hugh raised his voice while straightens himself up and turned Paula's head around, thus letting her face in the opposite direction of another cadet. "You'll make a great Titan bait with those chests of yours! They're filled with extra calories, and that's enough to stuff up a Titan's stomach! Third row, to the rear!"

The rest of the third-row trainees soon followed his instructions and after that, Hugh turned away as Paula felt her body tremble with fear when she could see the Drill Instructor is even considered worse than an actual demon to call her a "Bait" for the hungry Titans outside of the walls. Hugh came up to the next row, then stopped and turned around to meet a new cadet; this time, it's a girl with blonde hair, cut in a bob-cut hairstyle.

"You! Who the hell are you maggot!?" Hugh screamed once more, startling the trainee. "State your name and where do you come from!?"

"Luciana Sausare, sir!" Luciana straightens herself with a salute. "From New Lescatie, sir!"

"New Lescatie? Hah! Looks like we have another outsider in our ranks!" The Drill Instructor said with a bitter tone while glaring down at her. "So why do you want to join in the ranks of our military, huh!?"

"To fight titans, sir!" Luciana raised her voice, straightly, which Hugh could understand her motivation. "I want to go outside again and slay them!"

"Good! That's what I like to hear! Now we have another titan bait with extra calories in the Survey Corps!" Hugh screamed back before he grabbed on top of Luciana's head. "Fourth row, to the rear!"

Once Hugh turned the stunned Luciana around, the other cadets soon followed. As the Drill Instructor came to another trainee and screamed the hell out of the recruit, a soldier and another drill instructor observe the entire scene while Hugh screamed at them to snap out from their dumbfounded stupor.

"Heh, this takes me back to the old days." A soldier makes a cocky smile while expressing pity to the trainees. "Poor lasses, this is their first day in the military."

At this moment, a younger soldier, fresh from the graduation ceremony, cocked his brow. "But why do drill instructors were always like that, sir?"

"This is a rite of passage where trainees should need to pass before training to become soldiers." The older Garrison Soldier replied. "They need to leave their civilian lives behind and dedicate themselves to fight titans or becoming the lazy asses behind the walls. This sort of method leaves them in a blank state of mind."

In midst of the trainee formation, Elt watched Hugh screamed at the last male cadet was having a determined look as he was about to introduce himself to the drill instructor.

"What's your name, maggot, and where do you come from!?"

"E-Eva Msytiv from New Lescatie, sir!" The cadet named Eva introduced himself with a firm salute.

"Another outsider from New Lescatie, huh?" Hugh then glared down at the cadet, which made Eva firmly gulping down a lump through his throat. "Well then, Eva. Your name sounded pathetic for a boy like you! Did your parents gave you that name!?"

"Y-Yes, it was my parents, sir!" Eva replied while stuttering.

"What!? I can't hear you!" Hugh screamed as he then leaned closer, which gave the cadet some pressure. "You sounded like a meek girl which I can't hear a single word from you!"

Then Eva snapped out with a yell. "IT WAS MY PARENTS, SIR!"

"Good! Now I can hear you clearly, then what are you here for!?" The Drill instructor then asked while giving an intense glare to the poor cadet. "What sort of purpose are you here for joining us, Eva!?"

"To go back outside the walls, sir!" Eva answered with his voice raised, while his eyes almost welled up in tears. "I'll contribute myself worthy to slay Titans, sir!"

"Very well, that's good to hear!" Then Hugh spins Eva around. "You'll make yourself a good titan bait. Now, trainees of the tenth row, to the rear!"

...

...

"After introducing ourselves to the Drill Instructor, our first day of training in hell had just begun..."

...

Barracks Messhall, Nighttime.

...

"So Elt, I've heard you're one of those outsiders!" A Trainee asked Elt from the other side of the wooden dining table. "You came from the outside the walls, right? Then how do Titans look like?"

Elt lowered his spoon and noticed a group of trainees were staring at him with curiousness and excitement. The outsider such as himself sighed deeply.

"Well, they're giants that looked like nude humans in your history books," Elt replied before looking down in somber. "When they arrived, the city where I once lived was decimated... I still remember how many people were eaten alive while running away from them for two years."

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear that." The trainee felt his shoulders weighed on him, getting sympathetic towards Elt. "Pardon me for asking. I mean, you've been through a lot to wander on Titan territory, but it's a miracle that you survived and able to find the Walls."

"Don't be..." Elt made a small smile before looking back at the trainee. "Your name's Joshua Simon, am I correct?"

"Yup! I signed up in the military to join the Survey Corps!" Joshua spoke up with pride in his voice. "When I heard the news about outsiders coming into the walls from six months ago, I was so moved to dedicate myself and go beyond Wall Maria to meet the remaining survivors of humanity!"

"I see, I hope there are people still out there, waiting to be rescued," Elt said with heartfelt. "After joining the Survey Corps, we could break through the Titan territory and save some people."

"But getting past there seems tedious." Elt and Joshua turn around to another trainee, who raised his hand. "I'm Frank Moller if you guys still remember me in the entrance ceremony."

"Damn... if the Survey Corps had a lot of support from the Central Government." Joshua sighed before looking over to another table. "Huh, speaking of which... isn't that girl your friend as well?"

Elt noticed Joshua points his index finger and look in its direction to see Wilmarina was surrounded by trainees, mostly girls from the entire mess hall.

"So your people worship a deity known as the Chief God?"

"What do you guys out there eat?"

"What clothes do you wear in Lescatie?"

"Do girls with bunny ears exist from the beginning of time as humanity?"

The trainees bombarded Wilmarina with a hundred questions until she felt her head swirls in dizziness. On the left side from where Wilmarina sat, Luciana, Alameria, and Paula felt sweat beads rolled on their foreheads while expressing concern and worry at the poor girl.

"Ugh, they should have asked us." Alameria sighed in pity. "I mean, we're outsiders too, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes people forget about us after the entrance ceremony," Paula said with a downcast while twirling a bowl of soup with her spoon. "Joining in this military through the entrance ceremony is unlike anything from what the soldiers from the Order spoke about."

"Huh... So Wilmarina is a Noscrim... I never knew about her family name until the entrance ceremony" Alameria and Paula turned to Luciana, which she has a suspicious look on her face staring at Wilmarina. "I heard from my mom that the Noscrims is an infamous family in Lescatie until they were all eaten alive after the Fall of Leiden."

Alameria and Paula stared curiously at each other before Alameria replied. "You... never asked for her family name before?"

"N-No, I only called her by name..." Luciana then looks down in embarrassment. "I could've asked."

"Well, she is a Noscrim. But Wil is the last member of her family." Alameria answered before Luciana widened her eyes in surprise.

"Yeah, she's very lucky that Elt rescued her," Paula replied with a nod. "I've heard from Elt about her father sacrificed himself to give him and Wilmarina some time to escape."

"Wh-What?...I ... I didn't know about that."

Upon hearing that, Luciana perked up in confusion and surprise. Her mother told her about stories of the Noscrim Patriarch has unfathomable selfishness of greed, but she didn't come to realize to hear the fate of the infamous Priest would sacrifice himself to save his only daughter. On another dining table besides Alameria, Paula, and Luciana. Eristia was busy eating her loaf of bread while Yuriy watched over the scene that revolves around Wilmarina before he heard Merse placed her empty cup on the table.

"Ah~ That's refreshing!" Merse spoke up in delight. "So, Yuriy, how do you felt about entering the military?"

"W-Well, I feel like I just almost snapped up my mind," Yuriy replied with a downcast while doing a nervous smile. "Although, Hugh is indeed terrifying."

"You need to grow a pair of balls, Yuriy," Eristia said emotionlessly while munching her food. Her words brought Yuriy to reel himself back in shock. "If you can't do it, then chances of dropping out are highly likely."

"That kinda hurts, Eristia~" Yuriy looked down with a comical look while tears streaming out like a waterfall.

...

"After we introduced ourselves to our new friends, we learn to study about the weaknesses of Titans."

...

Trainee Barracks, four months later after the Entrance Ceremony.

Inside a classroom, Elt sat beside Yuriy and Joshua before looking down at his notebook and pulls up a pen. Their teacher was busy writing some sentences and after that; he draws a depiction of a Titan.

"Listen very well, students. The Titans are humongous humanoids which awfully resemble humans that stood from two to fifteen meters tall." Their teacher spoke. "Since humanity didn't know the source of their origins. We also do not know how they appeared and their intentions only have one thing is to devour humans and ignore other life forms."

Then the teacher points his chalk to a depiction of a kneeling headless Titan with smoke above its neck.

"As you can see here, Titans possess incredible regenerative abilities." The teacher explained. "Even when a cannon blew its head off or any part of its vital spots of its body, they can regrow in a rapid state within seconds."

Then some students gasped out of fear before one student raised a hand.

"T-Teacher, are you saying that Titans are unbeatable?"

"No, not entirely true, and they have one glaring weakness." Wilmarina looked closely as the Teacher drew a back of a Titan, showing its exposed nape and circled on the area. "You should strike here. Deeply cutting off the nape or destroying it with explosives will severely damage the Titan's regenerative ability and dies."

Thus the Teacher drew a depiction of a skeleton with smoke.

"After dying, a Titan leaves no remains behind and they evaporate quickly." The teacher then pulls up a suitcase behind the teacher's table and opens the case, revealing a pair of well-crafted swords. "Since ordinary steel isn't enough to pierce Titan flesh, these blades were made of a special alloy called Ultra-Hard Steel, and this one is one of them; made from an Iron Bamboo, forged along with other rare metals. They are flexible and capable enough to cut through the tough skins of Titans with ease."

Wilmarina then wrote her notes. 'So their weakness...'

'... lies on the Nape.' Elt finishes as he wrote the sentence in his notebook. 'Now we know how to kill them!'

"However, students. There is one last thing I will also explain; Since two years ago. The Survey Corps discovered new types of Titans that had mysteriously appeared." Their Teacher then explained further with a grim look in his eyes. "These new Titans barely have any features of human faces. Several sources explained by the Scouts that these Titans lacked hair, they have pale eyes and exposed teeth. There are even accounts about Titans developed sharp claws and creating massive weapons using special hardening."

Once Wilmarina heard when he mentions those Titans, she couldn't help but felt her heart gripped in pain. These Titans with the lack of hair, having pale eyes, and exposed teeth always haunt her mind as she remembers how many people from all the way since Lescatie were devoured by these giant monsters from the past two years. Around the classroom, students worried themselves about the recent information of the new titans.

"These new Titans are called 'Soldier' types." The teacher informed the classroom. "Unlike Normal and Abnormal Types, these Soldier-types possess some human intelligence, making them very unpredictable. I advise you all to let only the Veterans fending them off and never push your luck to fight them alone."

At this moment, everyone around the classroom took it seriously to write it down.

"Interesting, no wonder why the Scouts aimed for the nape." Yuriy heard one of his classmates and look over at a young blonde woman. From what he remembers since the entrance ceremony, her name is Olivier Amaltia. She began writing important notes in her notebook. "So with the right momentum with speed and precision is necessary to slice them off."

...

From learning theories and other theoretical education, we had our aptitude tests.

...

75th Training Corps, Northern Division Training Fields. Six months after the Entrance Ceremony.

"Nng!... Hrg!"

"Come on, Thronmail! Is that the best you can do?!"

Paula is struggling to keep her balance as she was held up by the contraptions until Hugh watched over the other trainees and noticed Elt fairly kept his aptitude with a few moves.

"Impressive, so you could maintain on your aptitude," Hugh spoke up amusingly. "Elt Arner, you pass!"

Elt felt a wave of relief washed over him before he raised his arms in celebration while still being held by the contraption at his waist. Meanwhile, Wilmarina saw Elt completed his aptitude test as she struggled.

Then she moved her leg up to the side and her waist is still held up by the contraptions. Once Hugh saw her progress to keep up her balance, he drew a check on the list after a few minutes.

"Wilmarina Noscrim, you passed." Hugh told her. "Train harder!"

"Th-Thank you, sir!"

While observing the other trainees, Hugh heard someone screamed in the background and turned around; he saw Paula crashed her head on the ground and groaned in pain. The Drill Instructor then let out a sigh.

"Tronmail! Keep your balance steady!" Hugh spoke up sternly. "The military wouldn't see yourself useful for being an airhead!"

"Ngh! I g-get it now!" Paula then grits her teeth and struggles as she bends her upper body upwards to keep herself upright. "Y-You can call me an airhead, but I won't give up on this!"

"Airhead~" Paula then heard someone called out for her and saw Eristia, who is holding on to her aptitude fairly easily, is giving her a mischievous smirk. "I doubt you can pass this."

Paula suddenly felt a tic on her forehead to think Eristia would have struck her nerve. She grit her teeth out of frustration and clenched her teeth while Joshua, who's having his aptitude test, looks at her, dumbfounded, as Paula helplessly flailing her arms around like a crying toddler towards Eristia after the tease. Surprisingly, she keeps the contraptions upright despite how she flails around.

...

After that... we flew...

...

Training Area, one year later.

Under the dense forest, a person flew by at high speed, leaving a contrail of steam in the air. The young cadets shot a wired hook on the trees until she noticed a dummy target. However, this isn't any ordinary dummy target; while it only stayed stationary, yet the mechanism of its arms, head, and mouth was moving as it was a real titan.

"Wwweeeeeee~!" Alameria screamed out of joy as if she was soaring through, then she propelled towards a wooden mock-up Titan target. "Here we go!"

Alameria drew her twin blades and shot a hook into the nape section of the wooden mockup. Then she pressed the gas to reel forwards in high speed before she successfully cuts off the nape section.

"Whoa, these new dummy targets are absolutely useful." A soldier pointed out in awe at the wooden, mechanized Titan dummy. "Who knew the Gremlins could make these?"

"Beats me, but I can see this as an improvement for the military training courses," Hugh replied while crossing his arms. "While the new dummy targets can't move around, they can flail around like real Titans. Therefore, these trainees can become familiar with their variety of movements."

"Huh... but why didn't the military allow the Beastkin to join the military?" Hugh then turns his gaze to the soldier. "I mean, they might be useful to fight for us. Right?"

"It's more complicated than that," Hugh responded with a dark glare. "Last reports from the higher-ups had spoken to their views about the beastkins to join the military is highly unlikely."

"Uh... How so?"

"The intent and nature of those beastkins are undoubtedly undisciplined," Hugh answered, which surprises the soldier. "Desertion and unwanted copulation with male cadets are highly likely. We don't want any of those in the military when they're going to face Titans in a life and death situation."

"But I heard the Centaurs and the Black Harpies are joining in."

"They were only allowed because they were born with brains, to begin with." The Drill Instructor explained while closing his eyes in deep thoughts. "But they will be trained properly and disciplined in separate training grounds."

Hugh then brought up his paperclip and observed the trainees from the wooden platform; writing notes on their overall strengths and weaknesses. Then he noticed Alameria swung on another target.

"And that's a seventh!" Alameria celebrates as she flies over to the next target.

"Alameria Crescentria, a cool-headed individual with quick wits. Yet her boastfulness might take her on a lack of teamwork."

"Hyaaaaah!" Paula screamed her war cry, which sounds pity for the Instructor's ears.

The young trainee draws her blades and cut off the nape section, yet that cut wasn't deep enough.

"Damnit! Not deep enough!" Paula cursed before heading straight to another wooden mockup. "This time, I'll do it successfully!"

"Paula Thronmail, her grades had improved over time, and her skills on her use of 3DMG are on average. Yet she's an airhead which leads to her lack of self-awareness."

Above the trees; Yuriy soared over the air and saw a glimpse of a wooden mockup target before quickly descending and drew his sword.

"This one is mine!"

Just before he could land a hit on his target, an orange blur flew past his view in an instant and saw the nape section has been cut off.

"N-No way!" Yuri gawked in disbelief and saw Eristia landed her feet on the tree branch. "Not fair! I was supposed to hit it!"

"Tsk, you're too slow, Yuriy." Eristia made a mischievous smirk before shooting a hook to another tree. "I bet you can't compete with me in terms of speed to the next target!"

At that moment, Eristia flies away and heads towards her new target, and drew her swords. That is; until a silver blur flew past through her in much to her disbelief.

"WH-WHAT?!"

"Haha!"

Merse appeared beside her and shot a hook into the nape section before reeling herself with the 3DMG towards the target and cuts it off.

"I thought you were faster, Eristia! Hahaha!" Merse mocked mischievously at the orange-haired trainee. "I bet one day, Yuriy will surpass you~!"

Upon hearing that, Eristia grits her teeth as her eyes dilate in rage after hearing Merse's mockery towards her.

"I swear, I'll beat you!"

"Eristia Vitral, she handles her 3DMG very well and her attacks are quite precise. However, her cold and hotheaded personality made her distant from others."

"Yuriy Karelstein, a decent person with extraordinary grades. But his reactions were slow, which makes him quite a dimwit."

"Merse Dascaros, a boastful individual, yet her use of 3DMG to take on targets is remarkable."

"Take this!" Luciana cried out as she sliced off the nape of her target. Then she smiled after seeing the result that had landed a successful hit. "Good! Now I'd take on another dummy!"

"Luciana Sausare, her grades were average and takes clever executions based on her skills, yet naïve on her own."

In some parts of the training grounds, Joshua saw a Titan dummy. He shot a hook on a giant tree before pushing his feet and jumps onto the target. Then he swung both of his swords to cut off the nape section.

"Haha! Got one!"

"Joshua Simons, an optimistic country-bumpkin from Wall Rose, but his executions were creative and flawless."

As Joshua flew, he swung to the next Titan target until Frank soared past Joshua from the flanks.

"Frank Moller, a very calculated individual with a moral sense of awareness in mind."

In the other parts of the training grounds, Wilmarina and Elt flew past the trees until they saw two wooden mockup targets in a distance. Both of them split up and aimed their swords at the nape sections before cutting them off.

"Ha! Did you see that, Mary?!"

"Yeah, you've gotten better, Elt!"

"Wilmarina Noscrim, a student with excellent grades and superb skills which can perform perfect executions. A prodigy among the students."

"Elt Arner, he doesn't have any unusual talents. Yet his grades were above average and he has good wits, which makes him second to Noscrim."

Ely flew through the trees before propelling up into the air after flipping himself up. He felt relaxed as a cool breeze of air had brushed through his skin, as if he looked into the descending sun from the horizon.

...
When we finish our three years' worth of training through this hell, we will become soldiers... to reclaim our lost homes.
...

...

"Reinel! Keep up the pace!" Hugh screamed towards a purple-haired female cadet, struggling to run on her feet while wearing a raincoat. She takes part in the training under the heavy rain along with the other Cadets of the 75th Training Corps. "Keep up! Move you sons of pigs!"

"Hah! Hah! Hah!" The female cadet panted heavily as she felt her lungs were becoming heavier. "If I can't reach... I'll definitely fail!"

As the cadet struggled to run with her 3DMG on her shoulders, a person behind her went past through her side. This cadet under her green cloak revealed to be another girl with raven hair and orange eyes.

"Francesca, come on!" The cadet cried out while panting heavily under her breath. "Just a little more!"

Francesca keeps up her tempo as her feet sprint at a faster rate to catch up with the other cadets. It's been over a year and a half has passed. The girl is still kicking in training with the military of the Walled Kingdom. Ever since she was born, her existence alone became a joke to the people of the royal castle, and even her three older sisters had mocked her because of having a frail body. Her sisters were chosen as the Heroes by the Chief God and receive her voice and only she, remain unloved.

When the Titans arrived and destroyed her homeland, her life changed for the past two years. Surviving with the remaining members of the Royal Family and her father, Castor Bistoa Lescatie was eaten alive while sacrificing himself to release the boats for the fleeing people and he shared the same fate as Priest Noscrim at the Fall of Leiden, the biggest fortress city of the now-defunct Kingdom of Lindeln. After his death, her mother and the eldest sisters, along with the caretaker, remained to move on with the refugees for the sake of their lives. After all, they were no longer Family Lescatie; they were renamed as the Reinel family from now on.

The people may lose their kingdom, yet they remain. But without a kingdom, the Royal Family became irrelevant and wandered throughout the lands, fleeing from the humongous giants that devoured its people. Yet with a stroke of luck on their side, they encounter the Survey Corps and entered the Walled Kingdom as their new safe haven to live in relative peace from the terrors of the Titans. That is not until her three older sisters still saw her as a nuisance and never get to see her for becoming useful, even if she was given medical treatment by the doctors of the Walled Kingdom, which healed her sickness.

She decides to join the military on her own.

"Huh~? Francesca is joining the military? How can she go that low?"

"From a being a Princess to a mere soldier, tch! What a joke! You were always the frail one!"

"At least we're chosen as heroes by the Chief God! If we're going up against Titans and knew their weakness, then what's the point of needing you?"

...

"I... I don't want to be a burden..."

...

After reminding those memories; her sisters that mocked her. Francesca grit her teeth as her eyes steeled with determination. "I just want to keep moving on and live a life of my own. Then I will call yourselves useless if you all depend on your self-reputations!"

"Kirsch, I'm going through!"

Francesca's determination heightens and made a faster sprint until she runs past Kirsch, despite the pain rushing in her feet. The raven-haired cadet couldn't help but smiled at Francesca once she noticed a look of her unfathomable dedication.

"Way to go, Francesca!"

Their drill instructor noticed someone catches up with the rest of the trainees until his mind stated a mental note.

"Francesca Reinel, While she may lack physical prowess despite her average use of her 3DMG. She has astounding grades and an unfathomable will of determination."

At the front, Wilmarina noticed someone catches up to them and turned her head around. Then, to her shock; she saw Francesca, panting heavily, with a painful expression on her face. She was utterly surprised to see the former princess is keeping up to their pace until Wilmarina grew a smile.

Back then where they were young, before Elt and his family were banished by Mary's father; the Princess was just a young girl with an illness. All alone on her own and with no one to take care of her. But the friend she knew wasn't the same girl from before; all she saw is a strong and determined girl, wishing to be growing up to live for her own.

Then Francesca heard voices, the words of her mother as if were a distant memory.

...

Chapter 4: End.

Author's notes: Sorry for the rush from the previous chapters. But will update them soon when I had the time. So, for the latest reviews from an Anonymous Guest; I'm afraid to say is that; No, from the first chapter, that isn't a Colossus Titan or any Titan Shifter, that's a Feral Titan (an Alien Titan, and not Eldian.) and also, the Warrior Unit hasn't been formed until Year 830-832. These shape-shifting Titans were still, possibly, currently under the control of the Tybur family.

So for the next chapter; I'm going in for an emotional rollercoaster when I'm writing because it will be very emotional that not even I could handle that I might tear up... also, I need a box of tissues because onion ninjas were inside my room.