The moment when hope is born
The morning light poured in through the window, illuminating the room and warming its interior. A cool breeze made the atmosphere of the room pleasant. In a bed near the window, Reiner slept heavily after the night of eating and talking to his brother.
Beside his bed, a male figure with a gentle gaze stared at the young man sleeping in bed. The appearance of a vein on his forehead did not match his face. Deciding that he would not wait any longer, the male figure sprang into action.
"It's time to wake up Reiner!" The figure screamed and pulled the sheet that was under the young man, knocking him to the floor and making him hit his head on the floor, a loud knocking sound echoing throughout the room.
"What is this for, Ludwig? I was going to wake up soon!" Reiner yelled at his brother, while his hands massaged the place where the crash occurred.
Ignoring his younger brother, Ludwig began to make Reiner's bed quickly, with a dexterity that only a housewife of many years could demonstrate. Finishing making the bed, Ludwig turned to Reiner.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Ludwig asked his younger brother, the question making Reiner think for a moment and widen his eyes.
"Is it 06:00 in the morning?" Reiner spoke hesitantly, as he looked out the window, with the sun already high in the sky, but even he didn't believe his words.
Ludwig, after hearing his brother's words, smiled and approached Reiner, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"It's already 8:00 a.m., you know I'll have to notify Commander Magath of your sloppiness, how you failed to stick to your exercise routine out of sheer laziness" Ludwig formed a pure smile, but one that made Reiner shudder.
"He wouldn't do that to me, but on second thought..." Reiner thought quickly about his brother's threat, he more than anyone else knew how strict his brother was when it came to physical training. After all, if it wasn't for his brother's brutal training with him, he would never have managed by his own effort to reach the rank of number four among warriors.
Immersed in his thoughts, Reiner did not hear what his brother was saying to him. Noticing his brother's inattention, Ludwig promptly flicked his brother on the forehead.
"Oh, you know how much it hurts?" After the complaint, Reiner took his hand off his head and placed his hand on the red mark on his forehead.
"This is for you to pay more attention to what people say, no person likes to be ignored" Ludwig replied to his brother with a sarcastic smile and crossed his arms.
"Pay attention now, I won't report you to the commander, but in return, you must help me with something I'll do today, an extra pair of hands is what I need" The younger brother's eyes shining with joy and excitement.
"Yes, of course I accept, what are we going to do? Tell me Ludwig!" Reiner cheers up after his brother's words, after all, it had been a year since he did any activity with his brother.
"Okay, okay, calm down now, you've just woken up, go take a shower and put on some light clothes, I'll be waiting for you in the kitchen, after all the-" Before Ludwig could finish speaking, Reiner shouted.
"Hunger is the enemy" Reiner shouted as he ran to the bathroom, as he couldn't delay his brother any further.
Seeing his brother respond with such words, a smile formed on Ludwig's face, rare the occasions when he smiled like this, a smile of genuine happiness.
"Yes, hunger is the enemy" After repeating his younger brother's words, Ludwig left the room, heading for his destination, the kitchen.
Loud running sounds could be heard on the first floor of the Braun residence, the origin being a young blond man, who ran around in his room, trying to get ready as quickly as possible, but in his haste, ended up with his clothes wrinkled.
"Ahh, damn it, because I always do it!" Reiner moaned with frustration when he saw himself in the mirror, his shorts were acceptable, but his beige shirt was totally wrinkled.
Reiner in his desperation did not notice the door being opened, a woman with blond hair entering, with an iron in her hand.
"Silly boy, quick, take off that shirt and give it to me to pass" Reiner turned to see his mother, following his mother's request, he removed his shirt for her to pass.
"While I iron your shirt, go put on your shoes and clean up the mess in your room, that's enough time for Ludwig to finish making breakfast and I iron his shirt" The mother commanded, since the house was her territory and everyone should obey, even Ludwig.
Hearing his mother's order, Reiner dutifully put on his shoe and cleaned up the mess he himself made. After a few minutes, Reiner completed his task and his mother finished ironing.
Wearing his freshly ironed shirt and his mother combing his hair with some gel that the young man did not know, he looked at himself again in the mirror, a whole new sight appearing in the reflection.
"Now you're presentable, come on, breakfast should be ready" His mother told him, not waiting for him, leaving the room and going down the stairs towards the kitchen.
"Calm down, mom, I should be the one in a hurry, but you're the one who's running!" Reiner screamed, running after his mother, almost slipping and falling down the stairs.
Arriving at the kitchen, the young man came across a banquet served on the table. There was bread, strawberry jam, orange juice and a rare drink called coffee, he even had a cup with a specially prepared coffee, his name was eiskaffee.
"They arrived just in time, I just put the food on the table," Ludwig said to us, as he read a new newspaper and drank the rare drink called coffee.
The mother promptly sat down in a chair and gestured for me to sit next to her.
After sitting at the table, the young blond stared at the beautiful food on the table for a moment, but soon took action and began to serve himself, feeling the wonderful taste of the food in his mouth he thought how lucky they were to be in this position.
"It seems like yesterday, when we were in the old house, where we could only eat a little so as not to miss the next day, now we have so much food, that it is likely that we will throw the food away, Ludwig and his mother always say that throwing food away is a sin, since we are wasting the blessings, we have. I'm going to set aside a little for Bertholdt, he was very down this week, maybe this will cheer him up a little" Bertholdt's air of sadness this week worried Reiner, after all why would he be sad? Since it was this week that they received their titans and this should be cause for celebration.
Focused on eating and thinking, Reiner did not listen to the conversation his mother and brother were having, until his mother got up from her chair, thus catching Reiner's attention.
"Are you going to mom yet?" Reiner asked, after all it hadn't even been ten minutes since they had sat down to eat and his mother was already leaving.
"Daydreaming again, Reiner? I was talking to your brother about visiting our relatives, but it looks like you two already have an event scheduled for today, so I'll ask Albert to walk me to the gate." The mother said, getting up and taking the utensils she soiled to the sink.
"I wasn't daydreaming, I was just thinking that we have a lot of food now and who was Ludwig thinking about making so much food? But come to think of it, why don't you take some to your uncles and Gabi? Gabi would love to eat these foods" I gave the suggestion to the mother, after all we wouldn't be able to eat all this anyway.
"You're right Reiner, we won't be able to eat all this, but I'd like to know before why your brother made so much food, right Ludwig?" The mother smiled towards Ludwig; a cold wind rose through my body with that look.
Ludwig, who was eating his bread quietly, looked at his mother with confused eyes and replied.
"Habit?" I made a smug smile toward Ludwig, a treatment I had undergone from the same and learned for my own use.
"Habit! You must change this habit, sir, we will not waste food in this house! Reiner pass me this cheese, I'll take it to your aunt's house, you two don't have to wait for me for lunch, I'll only come back at night from your uncle's house" The mother, after scolding Ludwig, wrapped almost all the food on the table, but before she hugged both of us and left for the entrance of the house.
After his mother left, the kitchen was taken by a frightening silence. I was even able to hear the beating of my heart, but Ludwig took the initiative to speak.
"Now that we're alone, tell me Reiner, how are you feeling after inheriting the armored titan? Did you have any strange reactions in your body or mind?" Ludwig asked unexpectedly about my state of health. I was already thinking that he was going to threaten me with some cruel training due to his mother's scolding.
"I didn't have any problems after inheriting the armored titan, in fact, I feel stronger and more resistant, if I get hurt my skin regenerates automatically, I still have some nightmares with memories of the old bearer, but tonight I didn't have any nightmares, so I think I've already adapted to the memories" I answered honestly, after all it was just Ludwig worrying about me.
"I see, I'm glad you adapted well to the titan! Have you been practicing the "reinforcement" I taught you daily? You will only improve with this skill if you practice every day, don't expect results if you don't put in the effort!" Ludwig spoke calmly to me, but his harsh words hit me, as he seemed to know that I didn't practice every day the technique he left for me.
I lowered my head in embarrassment, since he left an important task with me while going to war, but not following it to the letter, since whenever I practiced "reinforcement" on my body, I ended up fainting and arriving late for the training of the warriors.
"No, I stopped practicing six months ago, but there's a reason for that. Whenever I practiced at night, my body got very tired and that made me wake up late and arrive late for training at the barracks. Commander Magath doubled my exercise load as punishment for my tardiness!" I slammed my hands on the table and stood up. He had to understand the reason for me to interrupt the training he gave me, I would never stop something so important out of mere laziness, how could I disappoint him?
Ludwig stared at me across the table for a minute, until he shook his head and sighed.
"Calm down, I'm not going to fight with you, in fact, it was my mistake to pass this task to you to do alone, now that I'm here and you have the powers of the armored titan, we can intensify your training to make up for these months you haven't practiced" Ludwig replied to me, but when I heard those words I was in shock, He wanted to intensify the already brutal and painful training he gave me.
"Well, since you've finished eating, help me clean the table and wash the dishes, we have to go downtown to shop for our mission, as today is Sunday the stores must be full of people and the best products will be bought quickly" He spoke casually, but my mind was frying with his previous words, after all, how would he intensify the hellish training?
I stood with my hands on my head, despair taking over my whole being, already imagining the torment that would be caused to me by my own brother.
"I forgot to warn you, but the training will be in your titan form, I want to see if you can use "reinforcement" transformed into a titan, so you don't have to be desperate, now stop whining and go wash the dishes" Ludwig's words being a light at the end of the tunnel, but also piquing my curiosity, after all how would I use "reinforcement" in my titan form? While I washed the dishes, we got dirty, Ludwig put away the food and cleaned the table.
"How am I going to use reinforcement on my titan form? It's hard enough to pass "magic energy" through my own body, the difficulty and the amount required for a hundred times larger and bulky body must be immense" The doubts running through my mind and getting excited at the same time, after all "reinforcement" was a simple but incredibly powerful skill, apply this to the body of a physically strong titan like mine and the result will be scary.
Immersed in my thoughts and focused on washing the dishes, fifteen minutes passed, me finishing washing the dishes and Ludwig putting away the food and setting the table.
"That was quick, I thought it would take us longer to pack up, but since we finished quickly, you can leave these dishes running Reiner, I'll dry it when we get back! Now let's go, I don't want to run out of fresh vegetables" Ludwig said, seeing his smile, I felt envious, I wanted to be happy like that when I cleaned my room.
A crowd could be seen in the center of Liberio, men, women and children entered and exited the shops with their purchases, but two people in simple clothes were avoided. Women looked on with disgust and disdain, men with anger and hatred, and children spoke to each other the word "devil."
Pretending not to notice the looks or hear the cruel words, the pair continued on their way until they arrived in front of a store with the name "Heimerich and Frida, for all your needs".
"It's been a long time since I've seen these two, I hope they're both well, but I wonder if you and your mother have been coming here often? Don't even try to lie, the state of the pantry already gives away that you weren't shopping properly and I would like to know why" Ludwig questioned, after all it was his family's food health that was at stake, he couldn't treat this as something simple, there should be something extra for his brother and mother not to be shopping in the city center.
Reiner lowered his head and clenched his fists, anger unexpectedly appearing on his face, something that surprised Ludwig, as he had never seen his brother display such emotion so strongly.
"It's nothing, just a few boys hit me and mom asked me not to come here anymore" The words came heavy from Reiner's mouth, as if he was forcing himself to say such things.
"I see" Feeling that it was not the time, Ludwig accepted his answer, but when a chance appeared, he would have the answer on that matter.
After Reiner's answer, the two brothers entered the store, products of various kinds were organized in their respective sections, further back was a stall filled with fresh vegetables and fruits, a pleasant smell of flowers permeated the store environment, making them both feel at ease.
"Those two really are good at running a store! A year ago, they barely had products to sell, now the store is completely renovated and full of expensive products, those two were not joking when they said they had a nose for money" His speech out loud caught the attention of a young man in uniform who was arranging the fresh vegetables, seeing the duo, he went to talk to the two.
The boy was of medium height, fair skin, and light brown hair. His face was nothing special, but his sharp eyes and calloused hands showed that he was a hardworking person.
"Hello, good morning! Sir! How can I help them today?" The young man came up to the brothers with a gentle smile and spoke politely.
Reiner raised an eyebrow, after all no store he went to treated him like that, in fact, he was lucky if he wasn't kicked out as soon as the employees saw his armband.
"Hello, good morning! I have a list of products with me, could you help me separate these products? It can be the best quality you have available in your stock" Ludwig replied to the young man and handed a very large list to the seller.
The attendant widened his eyes at the size of the list and even opened his mouth a little in shock, but quickly recovered from his shock and turned his attention to Ludwig and spoke.
"We thank you for your preference, sir, but I will have to consult my superior due to the size of the list and if we will have all this in stock, I ask you to wait just a moment, it will be quick!" The attendant, after communicating the warning, left the duo and went to the back of the store.
"Will he come back brother?" I asked Ludwig, after all he was never well served in a Marleyan store, of course here it was an exception due to Heimerich and Frida, but who was serving them was an employee, so why didn't he kick him out of the store?
"Why wouldn't he come back? With a shopping list that long, he wouldn't have to worry about his salary for a few months!" Ludwig spoke and laughed at his brother's concern.
"I know, but why did he serve us so well? He saw our armbands, but he answered well anyway! Doesn't he have some malicious intent?" I answered Ludwig seriously, after all it was not normal to be treated that way by a Marleyan they didn't even know.
"hahahhaha" Ludwig started laughing uncontrollably after hearing my words, my face turning red with anger and shame, after all what was funny about what I said?
After a minute of laughter, Ludwig pulled himself together and looked at me with a funny look and spoke.
"Understand Reiner, Heimerich and Frida are good people, but above all they are born merchants, so it doesn't matter if your customer is Eldian, Marleyan or any other people from a foreign nation, all that matters is to sell your product in as many quantities as possible! So why would they hire officials who would be prejudiced against other peoples? That would only be a loss of sales and money for them!" Ludwig explained the situation and it made sense, after all money was money, it wasn't something that changed and had emotions like people, so it didn't matter where it came from, it just had to come.
"Your explanation makes sense, but that fake smile doesn't fool me!" I told him, it's impossible for Ludwig not to have noticed that smile.
"Don't worry, it's just an attendant's smile. When you go to more decent stores in the future, you will see these smiles a lot, but think of it as just them putting a mask on you, after all no one likes to be served by a person with a closed and angry face! Now, we will stop wasting time standing here, grab a basket and get the vegetables. I saw a lady going towards the vegetables, I won't lose my vegetables to her!" Ludwig replied with a burning fervor in his eyes, his attention turned entirely to the vegetable stall and walked towards it.
Reiner snorted at his brother's order, after all he always said that over time he would understand how the world and people work, he used this excuse to finish a subject and then tell him to do something, but he trusted that his brother only did it for his good and without delay he went to get the basket.
After picking up the basket and returning to his brother's side, Reiner for the first time discovered how to select the best vegetables and fruits, since he never had to do that, as his mother and brother always did it and he only had to focus on training to be a warrior. The young man didn't see the point in knowing these things, but seeing how happy his brother was as he talked about how one cabbage was better than another, he was happy to be there with him, even if it was for something so simple.
With the duo's attention on selecting their items, fifteen minutes passed, and as soon as the duo finished picking up their items at the vegetable counter, the attendant returned, but this time with the company of a couple that the brothers knew very well.
Seeing the pair of brothers, the couple widened their eyes and smiled, as if they were seeing old friends.
"Sorry to interrupt your shopping gentlemen, but I'm afraid we have a problem regarding your shopping list!" The attendant spoke loudly, this time not a fake gentle smile, but a smile of genuine derision, but before the attendant could proceed, the man behind him spoke.
"You can go back to your duties Richard, these two Frida and I will attend, you can forget everything we talked about and you can separate the whole list they gave you, separate it as soon as possible!" The man who spoke these words was Heimerich and by his side was his wife, Frida.
The salesman turned to Heimerich, surprised, taking over his whole body, after all they had just talked to him to dismiss both customers, but now suddenly he has totally changed his mind.
"But sir and -" Before the salesman calling Richard could finish his answer, Frida interrupted him sharply.
"Richard, just do what my husband told you and don't question it, these two are our friends, I think you understand what I mean by that, right?" Frida spoke dryly, a speech so brusque not matching her stunning beauty and long blond hair, but one that terrified the salesman to his soul.
"I understand, I apologize for what happened, I will separate the items right now" After saying such words, the salesman left discreetly with the list in hand and went to separate the items.
Watching the scene unfold in front of them, the two brothers had the same thought. "Never make Frida mad at you."
"Well, now that we're on our own, can we get on with our business, right young Braun?" Heimerich spoke towards Ludwig, the man always acted lightly when interacting with them, but this time he was acting very formal, as if something had changed.
"Why this formality Heimerich? I just came to buy a few items for a celebration, what's special about that?" Ludwig replied, a relaxed smile towards the man.
"Your small purchase will take 60% of the items in my store, obviously I have to treat such an esteemed customer with respect, but when that customer is the famous hero of the divine bow who won the war, of course I have to treat him in a special way" Heimerich smiled and laughed after saying Ludwig's title.
"Hero of the divine bow? Why would Ludwig have this title? I know he can use reinforcement and create weapons with some effects, but that's not enough for him to receive such an extravagant title!" Reiner looked at his brother and was worried about what he saw.
Ludwig's relaxed smile disappeared for a long time, taking his place was an ugly and pale face, as if he had just heard something horrible, but my curiosity was greater than the fear I had of Ludwig and I took action.
"Hero of the divine bow? Why should my brother have such a title, Sr. Heimerich?" I asked the man, after all he knew more than I did by the way he spoke so casually about the subject.
Heimerich was surprised by my question, it seemed that he expected me to know about such a subject.
"I see that young Ludwig remains a very modest person, even after so many deeds, a commendable quality indeed, but to answer your question young Reiner, the hero of the divine bow is known to be the one responsible for ending the war so quickly!" Heimerich spoke admiringly of Ludwig.
"Always jumping from battlefield to the next, following him was a chant to two ancient gods, which always ended with a flash in the sky and a rain of light that razed the whole earth and eliminated all enemies, imposing fear on all of Marley's enemies" In the last part of the speech, he could feel a hint of anger when referring to Marley's enemies.
Before Heimerich could continue, Ludwig interrupted him sharply, a threatening tone in his voice toward the man.
"How? How do you know this, answer me, Heimerich!" Ludwig spoke in a loud and deep voice, startling the couple.
"Come on Ludwig, calm down, only high-ranking commanders, nobles and well-connected merchants like me know about your deeds, I only said this because I thought you would like to hear your title, but I see it was a mistake, I apologize" Heimerich spoke calmly, even about Ludwig's pressure, as if it were something banal to him.
After Ludwig heard the man's response, he calmed down and his body relaxed, as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"doesn't like what he did, but he did it anyway. I share this feeling, that's why your visit here is so timely, how about you and I discuss some important issues in my office?" Heimerich spoke casually, a gentle smile forming on his face.
"Thank you for the invitation, but I will pass, I will just wait for the separation of the products and we will leave" The denial of the invitation took Heimerich by surprise, after all he didn't usually have his invitations denied, but that wasn't enough to stop the man from continuing to insist.
"You see, Ludwig, the matters I need to deal with you are extremely important and in a way, can influence the fate of this country and all the Eldian people, after all it is something that the head of the Tybur family himself asked me to communicate to you!" Heimerich spoke, but this time in a serious tone, as if his own life was at stake.
"Tybur? The noble Tybur family that has the titan war hammer, what people of the high nobility would want with my brother" A genuine fear formed in Reiner's heart, even if his brother was strong, it didn't matter, after all the Tyburs had the strength of a country at their disposal, all it took was a command and the Braun family would no longer exist.
Ludwig's eyes widened, surprised by the mention of the name Tybur, after all, what would the most important noble family in the country want with him? He was already serving as a soldier, what more could they want?
"If the Tyburs want you to give me a message, then it must be important! Reiner has finished sorting out the light items on your list, remember to make sure you're picking up the correct items. I will accompany Mr. Heimerich to his office, I will not be long." Ludwig gave the instructions to me and left for the back of the store.
A Reiner, confused about what was going on, was left accompanied by Frida, who did not join the pair of men for the conversation in the office.
"Well, now that those two hardheads have gone to talk, how about we separate this list, Reni? I have the impression that they will take a while" Frida said, using a nickname she hadn't heard in a long time, making her blush.
"Are you right, Frida, tell me, do you know what a passion fruit is? He put it on the list, but never heard of such food!" His brother's gastronomic knowledge never ceased to amaze Reiner, he would make strange combinations that turned out very well or look for exotic vegetables and fruits.
Frida looked at Reiner surprised, after all the name of the fruit he mentioned was a recent discovery in the new continent, called "new world" by Marley, only a few shipments had arrived in Liberio, they only managed to get a few boxes of this delicacy, with a good financial benefit for the captain of the ship.
"Your brother is really full of surprises, but well, lucky for you we have this fruit, but due to its rarity, its price is high" Frida directed Reiner to a bench where there were several yellow balls that were spoiled.
Reiner looked at the strange fruits in front of him and wondered what his brother was going to do with such a strange thing.
"Reni, could you give me the list your brother left with you? It will be easier for me to separate" With a polite speech and gentle look, Frida managed to win all hearts, Reiner being no exception.
"Of course, here's Frida, I think we're going to need more baskets, I'll get two more, I'll be right back!" With a basket already full of vegetables, Reiner returned to the entrance of the store.
Reiner returned with the baskets and, for thirty long minutes, the pair separated all the items on the list, not missing any. It was also enough time for Richard to finish the huge list, being a total of twenty large crates, with the most of the various items.
"I didn't imagine that I would give so many crates, how are we going to transport all this?" Reiner looked at the sheer amount of products in front of him, wondering where they would transport those products.
"Don't worry, we have a car to transport large deliveries to our customers, I already told Richard to start loading the products" Frida said proudly, after all, her store was the only one that had such a service available in all of Liberio.
"Now that we're done with the list, tell me Reni, what is your brother coming up with doing with so much food?" Frida asked, out of genuine curiosity, after all she knew how good Ludwig's food was, and she wouldn't miss a dish he made if it were possible.
Reiner stopped to think after Frida's question, after all, he only knew that he would help his brother with an event today, but he didn't know where said event would be and for what.
"I don't know, Ludwig only said he needed my help, since we were going to do an event today, but he didn't explain to me why" I answered honestly to Frida, after all I was as in the dark as her.
"It's a shame, then, your brother is always so mysterious, no wonder the girls melt for him! Come on, a new type of chocolate has arrived on the market filled with pieces of cookies, do you want to try it?" After finishing reasoning what Frida had just said, Reiner's eyes widened with pure ecstasy.
"Yes, I want that, Frida" Reiner ran after Frida, who had already gone towards the candy counter.
Heimerich always considered himself a man of luck and business, but he was never the best at dealing with politics, his wife was always the one who surpassed him in this regard, but as a joke of fate, he found himself trapped in a situation that would shape the future of the country, unexpectedly due to a young Eldian that he happened to meet and who ended up developing a business friendship.
This seemingly ordinary young man has the power to cause a gigantic wave of change in the country, the constant wars and unbridled conquest was beginning to take their toll on Marley, economic blockades, lack of technological innovation and unexpectedly a discontent of the younger people with the treatment given to the Eldians, of course these were not even close to being half of the population, But just the fact that they existed already showed a sign of change in Marleyan thinking in relation to the Eldians.
Of course, the profit of the war was still greater to suppress such effects, but in a few years, this will no longer be enough, with the technological advancement of other nations, it was a question until the greater military power of Marley, the titans became obsolete and unnecessary, but a variable emerged, as a possibly divine sign appeared in the form of Ludwig Braun.
An Eldian with abilities so unique that they surpassed anything seen in nearly a thousand years since the first titan, Ymir, emerged.
Now, in front of him, the young man read the letter that the Tybur family had entrusted to him. He was curious about the contents, but didn't dare to open the letter, as it could very well cost him and his beloved Frida's lives.
"This man is crazy!" Suddenly, Ludwig spoke, placing the letter on the next table and taking a deep breath.
"I don't know about the content of this letter, but for you to act like this, it must be something very delicate" My concern was genuine for the young man, after all he knew him well enough to know that his concern for people was genuine.
Ludwig was always a good-hearted boy, but who, for better or worse, was born with a power that can cause changes in the world, but that would cost the lives of many people and this saddened Heimerich to the core of his being, because he knew that it would only hurt the poor boy.
"For all intents and purposes, we didn't have this conversation Heimerich and this letter doesn't exist. I thank you for delivering this to me, I'm glad I can trust you!" A happy and genuine smile took shape on the boy's face.
"Stop being stupid, boy, since the matter is settled, let's return to those two. Frida and Richard must have finished sorting and loading their items" I took the action of closing this matter, since the longer it extended, the worse it would be.
With Heimerich's response, the pair got up and left the office, but when they returned to the presence of the other pair, they witnessed a mess, candy wrappers scattered all over the floor, and two people eating chocolate wildly behind the counter.
The scene left the male duo in shock and shame.
"Frida" "Reiner" The two shouted in unison.
"Ludwig, you're not going to tell your mother, right? I ate five chocolate bars, right!" I told Ludwig apprehensively that I was driving the car towards the border between the Eldian and Marleyan parts.
"Don't worry, this will be our other little secret, but you'll have to do more exercise and eat more vegetables to make up for all that chocolate you've eaten, after all you have to be in shape if you want to be a good warrior" He spoke calmly, while his attention was focused on the street, to avoid hitting another car or person.
I sighed with relief after hearing my brother's answer, but with that matter settled, I decided to ask where we were going after all.
"Can you stop the suspense and tell me what we're going to do with so much food? Are we going to distribute it to the most needy? The last time we did that, they were angry that we were calling them miserable for simply sharing food with them." I remember vividly the scene, before Ludwig left for the war, he wanted to make a big donation to the families on the Eldian side, since we knew how hard life was there. At first, people loved it, but not long after, the whispers about being snobs started and giving them food scraps.
"Don't worry, Reiner, we're going to the veteran's hospital, the hospital is full, today we're having a party with all of them!" Ludwig spoke with a big smile on his face and I realized what it was all about, the soldiers who went to that hospital were the ones who were already physically and mentally broken, abandoned by their families since they could no longer serve as soldiers.
After the revelation of the event, we were going to do today, I decided to be quiet and watch the view, since it was rare sometimes that I had the chance to be in a car, especially a model as recent as Heimerich's, but fortunately the man lent his car to us, since he was very busy after our purchase, making a survey of the stock for product replacement.
The guards released us without causing any trouble, but they still looked greedily at the car and the products in it, luckily, they couldn't leave their posts, otherwise I feel like they would cause trouble for us. The car caught the attention of the resident Eldians and one could hear the whispering of the people, the main one being "Braun".
"It took a while, but we finally arrived. Reiner went inside and called Dr. Oswald, let him know that we arrived with the ingredients and that we will need some men to unload everything" Without delay, I ran into the clinic, while he parked the car.
The sight I encountered as I opened the door of the hospital was something I had seen many times, men and women without limbs or who were in serious mental states. I was not blind to the horrors of war, I was just lucky that Ludwig managed to prevent me from going to this specific war, my brother always said that I should close my heart to the horrors I would see in war, as it would affect my performance as a future warrior.
After some time, a nurse informed me that Dr. Oswald was in the open area behind the hospital. Driving there, I was surprised by what I saw. There were countless people organizing tables, cutlery and stoves. Among the people were two people I knew very well, Bertholdt and Marcel, my fellow warriors.
"Finally, you arrived at Reiner, we were starting to think that something had happened to you!" Bertholdt said, as he spread a cloth on a table with Marcel's help.
"It only took us a while because it was too much for the salesman to separate and my brother decided to talk to Heimerich, but did you already know that my brother was organizing this?" I questioned both, after all, it was not possible that he was the last to know this.
The two looked confused at Reiner, as if the question he was asking was silly.
"We only found out today, your mother came to warn your uncles and neighbors! Now we are all here" Marcel explained the situation, fortunately he was not the last to know. I continued to look for Dr. Oswald, who seemed to have completely camouflaged himself in the group of people.
I located the doctor and warned him about the load that was in the car and went back to talk to Marcel and Bertholdt, who were now arranging the cutlery on the table.
"Did you only come from the unity of the warriors? I thought more people would come!" I questioned both, even though I already had an idea why the rest of the members didn't come.
"Pieck came, only she's there at the hospital, helping the nurses take care of the women, Annie said she didn't have time to waste on these things, Zeke the same, but at least his grandparents came and Pig is very angry for not inheriting the armored vehicle and is training non-stop, I've never seen him so motivated, I think it's our family to be sore losers," Marcel said while laughing at his brother.
Reiner couldn't contain his smug smile after Marcel talked about Pig's state, after all he always did everything to diminish him in every way, but now the tables have turned, he was down and I was up.
"Will your brother be okay, Marcel? If he overdoes his training, he can end up injuring himself and even damaging his health. If it's too serious, he can even be kicked off the show." Bertholdt always being the voice of reason and a trusted friend, I felt very fortunate to have a friend like him.
"I'm aware, me and our parents have already talked to him about it, but if he continues, I'll give him a good scolding!" Marcel has always been the most mature in our group, sometimes the size did not match his mentality.
As we talked, I remembered that Frida had given me a hidden gift, courtesy of the house, she said, a chocolate bar that I had kept in my pockets!
"Tell me, guys, have you ever eaten chocolate?" I asked them both, probably they had never eaten, but at least heard about it.
"Isn't this what Sergeant Willian keeps eating during training? To hear that it is wonderful! How did you get this, I know that this is expensive even for the Marleyans" Marcel obviously knew what it was, he was always the best informed and intelligent of our group, no wonder he was appointed as the leader of the group, sometimes I wondered how he could have Pig as a brother.
"I got it as a gift from Frida, she owns the store where we went to buy the ingredients for the party" So divide the chocolate into three pieces, enough to satiate the three of us.
The group ate simultaneously and the reaction was varied. Bertholdt opened his mouth in shock when he smelled the taste and Marcel widened his eyes like a cat, both ecstatic with the taste.
"How can something be so good, after all, it melts in your mouth, tell me Reiner, how do we get more of it!" Marcel approached me very closely, a certain degree of madness appeared in his eyes, which made me move away from him a little.
"Calm down, it's pretty simple, you just have to go buy it in a store on the Marleyan side!" The words came out of my mouth, before I realized I shouldn't have spoken.
Bertholdt continued with the same attitude, as if he was not surprised by my answer, but Marcel reacted in a totally different way, he lowered his head and clasped his hands so hard that he began to bleed, his eyes were full of resentment.
"Hey, Marcel, is everything okay? Your hands are bleeding" I was genuinely worried about him, after all Marcel was always kind and a nice guy to him.
Hearing Reiner's voice, Marcel looked at him and pulled himself together, apologized for the scene, and walked away.
"Don't worry about him, you know he was always jealous of you and your family for being able to go to the Marleyan side and having managed to live a better life than all of us here." Bertholdt's honest words hit me like a bucket of cold water, reminding me that I should be more sensitive to what I said. After all, people for some reason thought that we had changed our personality by going to live in the Marleyan part.
"Do you need help finishing fixing this, Bertholdt? I don't want to feel useless while everyone else works" I already wanted to help, but now I needed to do something as soon as possible. I hated the feeling of feeling powerless about a situation, that look of Marcel full of hatred being the culprit.
"Of course, we have to get twenty more tables and Reiner, the happiness and well-being of your family should be your priority, so don't think so much about what others say about you, let alone Marcel, he may be a good leader, but he is terrible at dealing with things he considers a defeat" Bertholdt's kind words being enough to calm me down.
With renewed motivation after Bertholdt's words, he and I began to set the tables for the celebration, while we did our part, the men did the heavy lifting and the women cooked, but to no one's surprise, the one who commanded the improvised kitchen was Ludwig, who had put on a cap and gave fierce commands to his soldiers. While everyone was working at their posts, the sun began to set, the stars and a cold wind announced the arrival of night.
Happy voices and delicious smells took over the place. All the tables were packed, some young people were even standing while talking to each other, but one feeling that everyone there shared was the purest happiness and joy.
"Tell me Ludwig, where did you find the recipe for this thing called "Kibe" It's wonderful, crispy, but soft and tastes so strong" Reiner's eyes widened as he ate the delicacy made by his brother.
"I was lucky enough to find a cookbook in an abandoned house during the war, I took the opportunity and picked up the book," Ludwig said, as he ate his own food, which consisted of a type of grain called "rice" with pieces of fried fish and seafood.
While both brothers ate and talked about their respective dishes, a couple of middle-aged gentlemen approached.
"Forgive me for the intrusion, but could we sit down with you? All the other tables are occupied," said the lady, her appearance already showing the effects of time on her body. But somehow, he showed no weakness.
"Of course, sit down with us, Mr. and Mrs. Yaeger, I'll get two more chairs from the stock, just for a moment!" Reiner spoke excitedly, with food still smeared on his cheek, he ran toward the stockpile.
After a few minutes, Reiner returned with two more chairs, sweat and dust adorning his entire face.
"Sorry for the delay, it's just that there were things going on in the stock and I don't want to talk about it" Reiner's face turned the color of a bell pepper as he said such things.
Ludwig smiled and nodded as the elderly couple laughed softly, already knowing what the subject was about.
"Won't your mother join us?" She questioned Mrs. Yeager, curious, about why a mother would not sit with her children at a celebration.
"Mom is drinking with our aunts and we've already eaten together, she also has her friends to have fun with, so we don't even worry, after all she must be drunk anyway!" Ludwid satiated the lady's curiosity, as he looked at his mother in the distance, who was drinking merrily with her relatives.
The couple looked at each other and laughed after hearing Ludwig's statement and turned to their plates, which had beautiful foods they had never seen or even dreamed of consuming.
"That brown ball of flesh is great! I recommend eating it with this red tomato cream, ketchup, the name I guess," Reiner said as he turned to his brother, while waiting for confirmation on the name of the cream.
For some reason, the couple did not react to Reiner's speech and stared at the plate with dead eyes, as if they were making a big mistake.
"Ludwig we thank you for the food, but we cannot accept it" Mr. Yeager said, surprising both brothers, who looked curiously at the couple.
"Tell me Ludwig, do you still remember the Eldian restoration group? What were my son and daughter-in-law part of?" A feeling of discomfort took over everyone present at the table.
Ludwig's smile disappeared and a tension took over his body. Reiner stopped eating and stared wide-eyed at the couple.
"Would you have any reason to bring this up now, Mr. Yeager? That was a long time ago and talking about such sad matters is not appropriate in a celebration like this" Ludwig recovered from the shock of the unexpected question, but he was still worried about what might come out of this conversation.
"Yes, I understand that this is not the ideal time, but I must do it now, otherwise my courage will go away and I will go back to being the coward I have always been" To the surprise of the two brothers, Patriarch Yeager did nothing, but began to cry.
"If I had been harsher with my son Grisha and prevented him from marrying that woman and getting involved with that damn group, so many things could have been different, I could have prevented it when the group was forming and had few affiliated people, but I was a coward and the worst thing is that I was an accomplice! The result was the death of all, leaving only six people left" Signs of despair and boundless pain began to appear on the old man's face, as if that pain had become something physical.
The brothers became concerned after hearing what the man said, but that concern was soon replaced by pity.
"My grandson, the Grice brothers and you, the Braun family, have almost become victims of my cowardice, tell me! Since I can make up for my mistake, there must be something I can do. I can't participate in something as wonderful as this celebration, knowing that, through my fault, you couldn't be here today!" The old man looked desperately at his brothers, with eyes full of tears and pain.
For a minute, it seemed that the world was completely silent and it was even possible to hear the heartbeat.
"Mr. Yeager, I understand your pain and fear, but if I were in the same situation, I can't say I would do it differently, after all my family's life was at risk and what else could I do? Deliver them?" Understanding the sad situation the man was in, Ludwig already knew the answer the man needed.
"The past is gone, we can't change it, we just keep moving forward and be careful not to make the same mistakes! Now, because we haven't eaten these delicious dishes that we've made, I think they're starting to get cold," Ludwig laughed as he pointed to the dishes on the table, which were indeed already starting to cool down due to the cold winds of the night.
The light, non-judgmental response surprised the couple, it seemed like they expected a completely different response, but that wasn't enough for the elder Yeager.
"Please, there must be something I can do to atone for my attitudes, I can't just leave the past behind, I must make up for it somehow" He looked wide-eyed at Ludwig, eager for an answer.
"You are a renowned doctor even in the Marleyan part, but you have recently stopped practicing your profession! I talked to Oswald and unfortunately, we have no experienced doctors here at the hospital. How about you do me this favor and return to practicing your profession here!" Already knowing that he could not convince the man with words, Ludwig decided to settle a pending issue of his with the hospital and, in return, help relieve the poor man's pain.
Hearing the young man's words, a hesitation took over the man, as if what he was saying was absurd.
"From your hesitant look this seems difficult, but you wish to atone and have demanded something from me to compensate for your mistakes, I want you to return to practice your profession here as compensation or will you be a coward and reject my demand" This time Ludwig looked seriously at the man, as if he wanted an answer soon, his gaze should not be on a young man of his age.
"You're right, due to my weakness, I stopped practicing my profession and it brought me to the state I'm in! I came here and took your time with something as silly as my pain, but you didn't mock and respect me, I won't go back on my words, I can only move on! As if a battle spirit had returned to the old man's body, he pulled himself together and began to wipe away the tears on his face.
A genuine smile formed on Ludwig's face, happy that the man accepted his proposal.
"Well, now that we've settled our matter, how about we get some hot food? At this rate, I think they have already devoured half of what we prepared" From the way people were eating, it was very likely that more than half of what was prepared was already gone.
"Tell me, when can I get it?" Mr. Yeager began to speak, but was interrupted by Ludwig.
"Remember, today is a day of celebration! We'll talk about it tomorrow with Oswald, now let's go get the food!" Ludwig commanded, knowing that if he let him, the man would start working now and forget to eat.
After the man heard Ludwig's commanding tone, he understood that he should only eat and have fun that night and left for the large table, which was filled with plates.
"Thank you so much for helping my husband and understanding his pain, I will be forever grateful!" Mrs. Yeager, who had been silent all this time, spoke up and went to join her husband.
Now with the two brothers alone again, Reiner turned his gaze to his older brother and spoke.
"What was all this? I knew that the restorationists tried to enlist you, but I never imagined that the Yeager family was involved in this, did you know from the beginning?" Curiosity about what actually happened taking care of Reiner.
"Of course, and they didn't try to enlist me in their cause, but to put ideas about an Eldian empire, after all they couldn't risk having their group revealed by a child, but as an irony of fate, a child a little older than me revealed to them" Ludwig replied, as he looked at the Yeager couple who eagerly filled their plates with food.
Reiner was thoughtful with his brother's words, after all it was different from the story his mother had told him.
"Tell me, why do you think I planned this celebration and so many people volunteered to organize everything?" Such words confused Reiner's mind, for the answer was obvious.
"To celebrate that we won the war, right? Why else would we celebrate?" The younger brother looked at his brother, confident in his answer.
A shake of his brother's head confused him, as he seemed to be disappointed by his younger brother's response.
"This party is to celebrate the return of those who fought from the war, they risked their lives and out of pure perseverance returned alive to their families! But the most important thing is that all the people here have a good, positive memory, so that they can be reminded of having at least one moment of genuine happiness." Ludwig spoke calmly, but something clicked in Reiner's brain, and he can only feel bad for thinking that such a party was to commemorate something as horrible as the war.
"You don't have to feel so bad about something like this, you're still young and have a lot to learn, but just regretting it is a good way!" Ludwig laughed and comforted his brother, after seeing him become deaminated.
"But we cannot run away from war, after all we live in a violent world, the difference is that we have the power to fight the war and make a real difference! We are warriors but not weapons, we must fight to protect and not destroy, however, the time will come when we will have to do bad things, but I hope that such a day will never come, and I will do my best to prevent you from going through this! You can trust your big brother!" Ludwig put his hand on Reiner's head and ruffled his hair, not irritating the younger brother who was in deep thought about his brother's words.
After some time, the brothers joined the great table, sounds of people laughing and singing could be heard throughout the Eldian part of Liberio, something that would be forever remembered in the hearts of its inhabitants.