"So, are you going to arrest me now, Officer Rayan?"
"Yeah, manufacturing and selling drugs... you wouldn't be thinking, 'I'm pretty, maybe he'll let me go,' would you?"
"Of course not," Carly smiled. "If it were other men, maybe I'd try. But you... Campa said countless times that if you caught him, it would be over. The others in the bar too, cursing you out when they were drunk was practically a regular show."
"So I'm that popular," Rayan nodded. "Not bad. Well, for Mr. Elliot's cake, I'll give you some time. Go back and talk to your father, and come find me to surrender tomorrow."
Carly looked surprised and puzzled. "Cake?"
"Also, Campa probably wasn't the only one selling this codaine. Mr. Elliot probably can't stay out of it either," Rayan said. "Remind him. If I get any evidence, he should understand what I'll do."
As he spoke, he took out the broken cigarette he had picked up from Campa's house and handed it to Carly. "Give this to your father too. If I'm not mistaken, it should be his."
"..."
Carly didn't ask any more questions, put the broken cigarette in her pocket, waved at the two of them, and walked away.
Annie watched her figure disappear from sight. "Aren't you worried she'll run away? Or is it that you actually hope she will?"
Rayan smiled without answering, looked at the sky, the sun had already set, and shadows gradually enveloped the interior of the wall it was dark.
"A whole day, wasted my rare day off looking for a 'Breaking Bad' character, what a waste."
"What Breaking Bad character?"
"Nothing, let's go back and eat, I'm hungry."
He said, stepping forward. Annie followed behind, about a step behind. After walking silently for a few minutes, Rayan in front suddenly said, "Speaking of which... tomorrow's district patrol is very heavy, we're really short-handed. That date of yours, is it really that important? Can't it be another day?"
"No."
"Must you go?"
Rayan asked again. Annie looked at him; he was walking in front of her, and she couldn't see the expression on his face at that moment.
For some reason, the firm words she should have said immediately hesitated. And in that moment of wavering, the figure of that man floated into her mind, and his words echoed again: "Annie... it was my fault. Even now, I won't beg for your forgiveness. But there's one thing I need to ask of you, even if it means being against the whole world... even if the whole world hates you, Dad will always be on your side! So, it's a promise, you must come back..."
What must be done must be done, no matter what.
Annie: "Ah, I must go."
"...Mm."
Speaking softly, Rayan looked at a small shop by the roadside and said, "Wait a moment," before walking in. He came out a moment later with two cups of lemonade.
"Dead tired after a whole day," he said, taking a large gulp. Half the cup was gone in an instant. He also handed the other cup to Annie. "Hitch said you like lemons, right?"
"...Thank you."
Annie didn't refuse, took it, and took a sip. A strangely flavored liquid flowed down her throat into her stomach.
She frowned, looking at the cup in her hand. Expired?
Expired.
Before the thought could fully form, a strong stimulation suddenly erupted from her body. Intense fatigue and drowsiness rapidly spread throughout her body. The speed at which her body went limp was so fast that she couldn't even hold onto the cup. With a "clatter," it fell to the ground!
Annie's face changed drastically. She instinctively looked up and saw that Rayan was now almost right in front of her, his black pupils filled with complex light.
Damn it!
In an instant, she realized that there was something wrong with the lemonade Rayan had given her! Before she completely lost consciousness, Annie's right thumb forcefully struck the ring on her index finger!
"Poof!"
Blood splattered. Annie took one last look at Rayan, who had preemptively used his hand to grasp the iron hook on the ring. Her heart sank, and a blurred sound reached her ears, as if Rayan was saying, "Just sleep for a while." Then, the last trace of her consciousness also disappeared.
Her body went limp and completely collapsed. Rayan spread his arms and scooped her up. Looking down at the face with its still-furrowed brow even in unconsciousness, he sighed inwardly, then pulled up the hood of her jacket, covering her face, and quickly left.
...
"Knock knock."
"Come in."
The door to Erwin's office opened, and Levi walked in, glancing at him. "Still not asleep? It's already past midnight, and we have the expedition outside the walls tomorrow."
"...A little restless."
Erwin leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Levi, do you think Rayan will show up tomorrow?"
"Don't know."
"And if the intelligent Titans really appear, can our ambush really capture them?"
"Don't know."
Levi looked at Erwin. "Erwin, worrying about this is useless, right? Even if the ambush fails to capture them, that Eren brat can fight. If he can't, I'll capture those intelligent bastards."
"You're right, Levi, 'worry' is indeed the most useless emotion," Erwin said. "If Rayan is a Titan and appears on tomorrow's battlefield, then even if we can't capture him, as long as we check the Military Police's absence records afterward, we can make a judgment."
"Erwin, you actually hope he isn't, don't you?"
"That's right."
Erwin didn't deny it, saying calmly, "Judging from the note he gave me reminding me of this, if he isn't an intelligent Titan, then he can undoubtedly become our comrade; but if he is, then even if he has disagreements with other intelligent Titans, it will be very difficult to turn him, because we know nothing about them."
"..."
Levi thought for a while before saying, "After this expedition outside the walls is over, regardless of the outcome, we should start formulating a plan of action against Rayan, right?"
Erwin nodded slightly, then stood up, walked over to Levi, and patted him on the shoulder. "Our human counterattack has only just begun."
...
Girls' dormitory. Ymir had just finished showering and came in from outside, drying her hair. She saw the blonde girl with her hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a robe and sitting at her desk, writing something.
"Christa, what are you writing?"
Ymir leaned over to ask. Christa immediately covered the contents of the paper with her hand, a somewhat awkward expression on her small face. "Writ, writing."
"Huh?" Ymir saw her reaction, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. "Hey, Christa, you wouldn't be writing a love letter, would you?" she said somewhat jealously. "Seriously, don't you like me anymore?"
"What love letter! No, it's not!"
Christa shook her head like a rattle upon hearing this. After a moment, she stammered, "It's, it's a will..."
The smile faded from Ymir's face.
"Because the commander also said that the casualty rate for new recruits is very high, right? So... although it seems like it wouldn't matter if I died, I'm still afraid of leaving without saying goodbye," Christa said. "So, I'm just writing some farewell words."
"Christa, what are you saying?"
"Huh?"
Christa looked at Ymir in surprise. The usual casualness on the latter's face was completely gone.
"'It wouldn't matter if I died I don't want to hear those words even once more."
"Ymir..."
"Put away your will once it's written," Ymir took off her clothes, lay down on her bed, pulled up the covers, and turned to close her eyes. "Or you can throw it away, it will never be needed as long as I'm here."
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus chapter.
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Try Other Fics I Have
•SAO: I replaced him?
•Anime: I Want Harem
•DxD: I am S man
•Anime: Curse Of Immortality
•Genshin Impact: I have Broken System