"Captain, are you hungry?"
Feeling utterly bored, Lock touched his belly and asked.
Levi pointed to the cloth bag next to him and said, "There are military rations in the bag. Go get them yourself."
"Oh..."
Eren and the others have been gone for over an hour and haven't returned yet.
Armin felt guilty for using The Corps' most valuable possessions, and soon after waking up, he went to help with the work.
After all, the plan was to return to the Trost District by the same route tonight. With so many veterans gone, the personnel arrangements needed to be re-planned.
Besides Erwin and Hange, only Armin is capable of doing this job.
Oh, Levi is fine too, but he'll have to keep an eye on Lock.
Lock pressed the back of his hand against Sasha's forehead and said with satisfaction, "The fever has gone down. It seems it wasn't an infection, just heat absorption."
"But it would be best if you could eat something."
Lock looked at the military rations in his hand and clicked his tongue.
This time, the Survey Corps went light, carrying only this kind of dry rations.
But how can a seriously injured person eat such dry food?
Lock asked, "Captain, do you have a pot? I want to cook some porridge for Sasha."
"Get your identity straight!"
Levi glanced at Sasha and then said, "Call Armin here and see if the recruits have any. Ask him to bring it up to you."
...
Soon, Lock and Armin started shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Armin!"
...
"Armin!!"
"Ah?!"
Do you have any pots?!
"What?!"
"pot!!"
"What?!"
"pot!!!"
...
Not long after, Armin returned to the wall using the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear: "Lock, what did you say you wanted?"
Lock looked at him rudely: "Are you doing this on purpose?"
"How could that be?" Armin waved his hands frantically, speaking rapidly, "How could I possibly be jealous of you for taking Annie away and eating her just because I ate Bertholdt and saw his memories, and therefore deliberately make things difficult for you, Lock?!"
Armin took a deep breath: "Lock, you have to believe me, I really didn't hear you!"
"It's so noisy!" Sasha, who was lying on the ground, suddenly spoke with her eyes closed.
"Keep your voices down, you two," Levi ordered.
Lock found Armin's strong reaction amusing.
"Just kidding. Do the recruits have a pot? I'll cook some porridge for Sasha."
Armin calmed down a little, then shook his head: "No."
"However... there should be some in the house downstairs."
Lock asked with some disdain, "It's been five years, is it still usable?"
Just then, Armin suddenly remembered something: "Lock, wait for me."
Armin jumped off the wall, but quickly returned.
Lock noticed that he was holding an iron kettle and three iron cups.
Armin explained: "This should have been used by Reiner and the others, because it's made of iron and wasn't broken."
"Iron?" Levi glanced at it in surprise. "They're really extravagant."
Lock opened it, smelled it, and laughed, "Isn't this for making coffee?"
"Coffee?" Armin asked. "What's that?"
"Oh, it's a drink from Reiner's hometown, similar to our black tea."
Lock looked at Armin: "I know it from Annie's memories, don't you remember?"
Armin shook his head awkwardly.
You'll gradually remember it later.
Holding the kettle, Lock asked again, "Armin, could you please bring my bag up from below for me again?"
"It should be on the horse that Marlo was looking after."
"Oh, okay." Armin glanced at Levi, and only after receiving his consent did he go down and bring up the cloth bag that Lock had mentioned.
Lock watched Armin running up and down and suddenly felt like teasing him.
As he took the bag Armin handed him, he gently grasped Armin's hand and gave him a sincere smile: "Thank you, Armin!"
Armin shuddered...
Levi frowned as he looked at Lock.
As for why the two reacted so strongly, it's because Lock was using Annie's voice.
And it's not an imitation, it's Annie's original voice!
Startled, Armin quickly withdrew his hand. He looked at Lock and said in a trembling voice, "Lock, you... Can you really turn into Annie?"
"What, you still don't believe me? Do you want me to show you right now? Armin ~" Lock still used Annie's voice.
"No...no need, I have something to do, I'll go down first." Armin fled in panic.
"Hahaha!" Lock covered his mouth and chuckled.
Levi mocked, "With your abilities, you should be very popular with those nobles."
Lock rinsed the kettle, then switched back to his original voice and laughed, "Captain, that's a stereotype. Not all nobles are perverts who like to play around with pretty boys."
Levi stared at Lock coldly and said, "I'm really sorry, but none of the nobles I've met are good people."
"Hey, he,y hey!" Lock's voice rose a few decibels: "Captain, if that's the case, I'd say those orphans in the Underground only know how to steal."
Levi, seemingly unfazed, said: "Because you parasites haven't contributed a single bit to this count,ry yet you possess vast land and food, while we can only struggle to survive like this."
Lock was preparing to start a fire when he looked at Levi and smiled, "Sorry, our work was done long ago when our ancestors established this country with the first King Reiss."
Levi said, "Your twisted logic is really something else."
Lock set up the metal frame, took out millet, dried meat, and salt from his bag, and poured them into the kettle, then added water from his canteen.
He earnestly advised, "Captain, how is this twisted? Look at those Military Police leaders, they all live like nobles after this coup succeeded."
"Why don't you think about why they get all the benefits when it's clearly us, the Survey Corps, who do the most work?"
"And then there's that welfare farm Historia runs for the poor. The royal family paid for it, the nobles paid for it, so it's understandable that the Survey Corps has no money, but why doesn't the Military Police, which is so rich, have to pay?"
After a long silence, Levi asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Lock sighed. "I just want to say that there is no absolute fairness in the world, because everyone has selfish desires."
Turning his head, he said with some pride, "Of course, we Survey Corps are all idealists who are willing to sacrifice everything for the future of humanity."
Levi lowered his head in silence, thinking of many of his fallen comrades, and of Erwin's confession to him not long ago...
They weren't as selfless as Lock claimed, but they were all willing to give their hearts for a shared, nobler goal.
This is also the reason for the existence of the Survey Corps.
...
"Alright!" Lock poured a bowl from the pot and handed it to Levi: "Captain, you haven't eaten anything yet, have you? Try my millet and meat porridge."
Levi glanced at it and said, "There were no drugs in it, were there?"
Lock clicked his tongue, took a sip himself, and then handed it to Levi.
Levi still didn't take it, saying, "Get me a different bowl."
"Okay!" Lock turned his head and pouted.
---
A/N: 40+ Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded.
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