Leaning against the train window, Gabi's brown eyes reflected the scenery rushing past outside, yet her behavior left her companions puzzled.
Normally, at times like this, Gabi should have been the liveliest one. Hadn't she always longed to head to the front lines to prove herself as a Warrior candidate? But the way she had acted along the journey was completely different from what she used to say. To put it simply, Gabi had spoken less along the way than Zofia had.
Falco felt a little worried about Gabi's condition. Children might be naïve about feelings; they might not even know what it means to like someone. But children are the most sensitive when it comes to emotions.
Ever since joining the Warrior unit, Falco had developed a slight fondness for the straightforward Gabi. As they grew older, that fondness only increased. Simply put, Falco had fallen for Gabi.
Gabi had once asked Falco why, when their family already had Colt—Falco's older brother—becoming a Warrior candidate, allowing their whole family to become Honorary Marleyans, Falco still worked so desperately hard.
Falco had been at a loss for words. He couldn't exactly say it was because he wanted to show himself off in front of Gabi, could he? He couldn't admit it was for her.
Falco was simple and shy, but he was also smart. Becoming a Marleyan Warrior was certainly good, yet a Warrior only had a little more than a decade left to live. So in truth, Falco didn't want Gabi to become a Warrior at all…
"Gabi, are you okay? You've looked unhappy the whole way," Falco asked with concern.
But Gabi only shook her head. Zofia, who had been sitting to the side reading, closed her book and brushed her white bangs aside, speaking softly,
"Is it because of that Marleyan?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Gabi, Falco, and Udo all turned to look at Zofia. Their gazes made her shrink her neck a little awkwardly.
Everyone knew which Marleyan Zofia meant—the one in the black trench coat who had, without any reason in front of them, nearly strangled Gabi to death.
It was after that incident that Gabi had suddenly become so downcast.
The atmosphere sank into an eerie silence. Gabi's pupils contracted slightly. The scene from that day was still vivid in her mind. The killing intent in that young Marleyan's eyes still made her tremble when she thought of it. She didn't understand why he had such overwhelming hatred toward her. Weren't they becoming Warrior candidates to fight for Marleyans? Why were Marleyans still filled with malice toward them? What meaning was there in becoming an Honorary Marleyan?
Just as Gabi fell silent, Colt entered the carriage carrying a pile of snacks. He had bought them in advance at the station. The journey to the front line was long, and Colt worried that his younger brother and the other children would go hungry.
After obtaining Colonel Koslow's permission, Colt carried the snacks into Gabi's carriage.
When Colt walked in with an armful of food, the already hungry children burst into cheers.
Colt had deliberately bought plenty of sweets and desserts that children loved. After all, Falco and the others were only just over ten years old.
Falco excitedly lifted up an apple pie and handed it to Gabi.
"Gabi, it's your favorite apple pie!"
Looking at the fragrant apple pie in front of her and her companions' happy faces, Gabi finally showed a smile.
The children's cheers stirred another person in the carriage.
With messy gray hair and faint red marks pressed into her fair, beautiful face from having slept on the table, the Sea-Diving Titan Airi Ambers slowly sat up, still bleary-eyed, a glimmer of drool at the corner of her mouth.
Having slept the whole way, Airi had just been woken up and looked a little disoriented.
The rest of the Warrior unit had followed Magath to another front-line battlefield, where the war between Marley and the Middle Easterners had already reached a fever pitch, and Marley had fallen into a disadvantage. Thus Magath had taken the Warriors for emergency reinforcement.
Since that battlefield lay deep within the desert, it was unsuitable for the Sea-Diving Titan. Away from the ocean, the Sea-Diving Titan's combat power was hardly stronger than that of an ordinary Pure Titan. Although she still possessed some special abilities, once separated from the sea, she was nearly powerless.
So Magath simply assigned Airi, who couldn't fully display her combat strength, to serve under Colonel Koslow, accompanying the Warrior candidates—essentially acting as their bodyguard.
After several days of getting along, the candidates had grown very fond of Senior Airi, who was like a gentle and considerate older sister.
However, this Airi seemed, well… a bit too innocent (a little airheaded), and she also liked to slack off and sleep. No one quite understood how someone so simple could have become a Marleyan Warrior.
"You should eat too!" Zofia handed two large meat pies to Airi.
Seeing the steaming pies, the still drowsy Airi instantly perked up. She rubbed her flat stomach—she had been sleeping ever since the train started moving.
"Oh, no need… Zofia, you all eat," Airi said, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth. As a senior, she felt it would be a little embarrassing to accept so readily.
Colt smiled. "It's fine. I bought plenty of food. Please have some."
Airi: "W-Well then, thank you!"
And then, the Warrior candidates were stunned to discover another trait of Airi—she could eat. And not just eat, but eat a lot. Despite her slender frame, she consumed twice as much food as Colt.
After eating and drinking her fill, Airi stretched contentedly, rubbed her hairt, lay back down on the table. Before long, the sound of her steady breathing could be heard again.
Falco and the others exchanged looks. Airi was… quite a character!
As the sun gradually set, Colonel Koslow, having tidied his uniform, entered the carriage and announced that they were about to reach their destination.
Inside the Third Regiment camp of the Eldian forces, Yago sat with his legs crossed. He had originally planned to leave this place, but had temporarily changed his mind. The Warrior candidates would be arriving at this unit—this was a good opportunity.
If the Warrior candidates were coming here, then the Marleyan Warrior unit would sooner or later follow. Wasn't one of Yago's objectives the Intelligent Titans created by Ebson? Since there was now a ready-made opportunity, Yago was in no hurry to leave the camp.
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Check out my new interesting story "Naruto: Starting by Possessing Kimimaro." A transmigrator appears in Kimimaro's body, inheriting a powerful bloodline limit.