Lock followed Annie and glanced at the box in her hand, asking:
"Do you need help? Your box looks quite heavy."
Annie didn't look back, saying coldly: "No need."
Lock didn't let his machismo flare up and try to grab it, because he guessed it might contain Marco's or her own Omni-Directional Mobility Gear.
If he touched it, Annie would definitely have killing intent.
Lock then asked: "Want to get some breakfast? The first boat to the Royal Capital is still a while away; we have enough time."
Annie didn't answer, waiting by the roadside and looking around for a carriage.
Lock said, "The refugees just started trickling back today. All the carriages are coming into the city; there aren't any leaving right now."
Just as he finished speaking, a carriage suddenly appeared at the intersection and drove toward them.
Annie glanced at Lock: "?"
When the carriage stopped in front of them, the driver said cautiously to Lock, "Are you Young Master Leon? I've been ordered by my master to pick you up."
Ignoring Annie's changing expression, Lock smiled at her: "Let's go, get in."
After getting in, Lock took a bag out of a small cabinet and handed it to Annie: "Eat something first, otherwise you'll get seasick later."
Annie opened the bag and pulled out a bear-shaped chocolate cookie.
She took a bite and found it had a jam filling.
Lock looked at her and smiled: "Is it good?"
Annie nodded.
Lock explained: "This is a sample recently developed by the owner of this carriage. It's not for sale on the market yet."
Seeing that Lock wasn't eating, Annie handed the bag back.
Lock took one from the bag and waved his hand: "I don't really like these; you eat more."
Annie stopped being polite and sat across from Lock, eating quietly.
Lock seemed to remember something and said with a smile, "You eat more like a girl now than before."
He said proudly, "I wonder who taught you?"
Annie looked up at Lock while eating a cookie, but said nothing, which was a silent admission.
Lock leaned back lazily and sighed to Anni, "I checked last night. Only the two of us from the top ten chose the Military Police Brigade. Everyone else went to the Survey Corps. Oh, and Ymir and Historia went too."
Annie paused while eating the cookie.
Lock continued: "Eren has even become humanity's secret weapon. That's great; sounds very interesting."
After finishing another piece, Annie said, "Are you very interested in the secrets of the Titans?"
Lock leaned in close to Annie and said mysteriously, "I have a theory. That Colossal Titan and the Armoured Titan are beings just like Eren. The Corps can guess that much."
"So, is it possible they blended into the walls as humans after breaking through Wall Maria?"
"Is it possible they were the ones who killed those two test subjects yesterday?"
Annie didn't react, saying calmly: "The Military Police Brigade didn't find anything."
The carriage stopped, and the driver's voice came from the front: "Young Master Leon, we've arrived."
Lock acknowledged him and then said to Annie, "Let's get out. Take the cookies with you."
..."Ah, there are too many people."
Lock looked at the swarms of people returning from the Interior and couldn't help but sigh, holding his forehead.
He looked back at Annie, who was also frowning, and shrugged: "What should we do? Without the Garrison Regiment to maintain order, we won't be able to squeeze onto the boat at all."
Annie didn't want to waste time and asked directly: "Aren't you very strong?"
Lock stared into Annie's eyes, and Annie met his gaze calmly.
After a long time, Lock gave in.
He warned: "Don't laugh later."
Having said that, Lock worked up his emotions, and tears fell on the spot.
He turned around and wailed: "Father! Wait for me! I'm coming back to see you one last time!"
With snot and tears, and without caring how the people in front felt, Lock pushed them all aside.
What could the people being pushed aside do except complain about the bad luck? They'd heard the young man say his father was dying.
Lock quickly cut through like a knife through tofu, and Annie, carrying the box, followed closely behind with her head down.
Finally reaching the boarding point, Lock's expression switched in a second. He said calmly to the ticket seller who was about to comfort the filial son: "Two High-class Cabin tickets to the Royal Capital, please."
Successfully on deck, Lock turned to look at Annie, whose head was down and shoulders were trembling slightly, and said crossly: "Hold it in, don't laugh."
Annie couldn't help but say: "Your acting is truly top-notch."
Lock walked into the cabin, looking for their room while saying without looking back: "The whole world knows my father is in poor health. You have no idea how many times I've rehearsed this scene in my mind."
He stopped in front of a door, opened it with the key the ticket seller had just given him, and walked in.
The room wasn't large, with just two clean single beds, a washbasin, a set of table and chairs, a fruit plate, a pot of water, and two cups on the table.
After Lock entered, he lay down directly on the bed near the door and said indistinctly: "It'll be at least afternoon before we reach the Royal Capital. I'm going to take a nap first."
Annie scanned the entire room carefully, glanced at Lock, who had fallen asleep instantly, and put her box under the bed.
She took off her uniform jacket and boots, sat on the bed leaning against the wall, and continued to deal with that bag of bear cookies.
The boat slowly set off, heading toward the Royal Capital... Lock was kicked awake by Annie through the blanket. He sat up dizzily and asked: "We're here already?"
Then Lock saw Annie making a shushing gesture at him, her face solemn.
With his extraordinary hearing, Lock also heard the commotion outside.
He said in surprise, "Bandits hijacking the boat? For real? How many years has it been since something like this happened?"
Lock then got up and asked: "What about the Guard Squad on the boat?"
These large boats transporting across the wall districts are usually equipped with a special Guard Squad.
But calling it a squad, it's actually just three Garrison Soldiers waiting to die.
Guarding a boat is much easier than working on the walls, and you get to travel on public funds.
You can even carry some goods privately; there's plenty of profit.
So these positions are mostly filled by people with connections who couldn't get into the Military Police Brigade.
Expecting them to deal with a large-scale bandit attack is a pipe dream.
Annie said calmly: "They were captured without firing a single shot."
Then she stared at Lock: "Is it possible they're here for you, the noble?"
Lock rolled his eyes: "While it is a bit of a coincidence, how could they possibly know I'm on this boat?"
Annie didn't give up: "Maybe there's a mole on the boat who recognises you?"
Lock raised his hands: "Then I'll admit defeat."
The two of them chatted casually, neither showing any expression of fear.
Lock even seemed a little excited.
Annie saw Lock's mood and said flatly: "Can you withstand bullets?"
Lock was about to ask if she could when he was interrupted by a rough knock on the door: "People inside, come out, or we'll break the door down!"
Lock smiled unexpectedly: "Quite polite."
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