Broad streets, well-dressed pedestrians, and busy cargo ships.
Everyone who just arrives here can feel how different it is from the outside.
The residents of the Royal Capital seem to possess a sense of relaxation unseen by those on the southern border of Wall Rose.
They naturally feel superior to those outside Wall Sina, but as long as the others don't come to take away their livelihoods, they maintain a gentlemanly demeanor on the surface.
Being at the center of the world, they are naturally more concerned about the outside than those outside are, so the news industry in the Royal Capital is exceptionally developed.
Nobles, wealthy merchants, citizens, workers, students, and thugs—no matter their class or profession, they are all happy to chat about politics, war, and life.
It seems that residents of any national capital have this kind of temperament.
Lock only felt a sense of familiarity.
He reached out and hailed a carriage.
The driver took one look at Lock and Annie's clothes and immediately asked, "From out of town, aren't you?"
Lock was stunned. Annie aside, although his home was indeed within Wall Rose, he was still a member of one of the top noble families on the island; he couldn't be called a country bumpkin. How did the driver tell?
Before Lock could ask, Annie boarded the carriage with her luggage. Lock had no choice but to say, "Driver, to the Military Police Headquarters."
...They arrived at the exceptionally grand Military Police Headquarters and passed the guards at the gate using their Military credentials.
They headed straight for the Military Police Personnel Office.
A supervisor at the Personnel Office sipped black tea while flipping through their files: "Annie Leonhart, Lock Leon..."
He said with some surprise, "Both from the Southern Training Corps, I see."
Lock smiled and said, "Yes."
The supervisor was suddenly full of curiosity: "Then you were there? When the Trost District was destroyed by the Colossal Titan."
Others in the office also looked over.
Lock glanced at Annie's impatient expression and hurriedly said, "Yes, we were both there that day. We'll have a chance to chat about the details later. Could you please arrange our specific branch assignments? We want to report in before the end of the day."
The supervisor checked the time and, seeing they were in a hurry, didn't press further. He turned to look through the cabinet for the files that had arrived that morning: "Found it, Annie Leonhart!"
He looked at Annie: "You go to the Stohess District; they happen to be short-handed there."
"And then... Lock Leon."
"Eh? It's not here?"
After confirming Lock's name again, he still couldn't find the file and wondered, "That doesn't make sense?"
A nearby clerk reminded him, "Didn't someone from the Interior Military Police come for a file around noon today? Could it be that one?"
The supervisor realized. He said to Lock, "It looks like your file was taken by the Interior Military Police. It's not with us right now."
Annie gave Lock a surprised look.
Lock frowned and asked, "Then where should I go to find them?"
The supervisor laughed and said, "Look for them? You should just wait for them to come looking for you."
After the two left, the supervisor still found it hard to believe: "Why would the Interior Military Police take an interest in this kid who just graduated?"
A clerk suddenly said hesitantly, "Supervisor, don't you think he looks like someone?"
"Who?"
"The hero from Trost who killed the fleeing officer, the one in the newspapers."
The supervisor finally realized and said regretfully and angrily, "Why didn't you say so just now?"
"I should have asked for an autograph. You have no idea how much my daughter likes him."
...Walking out of the Military Police Headquarters gate, Annie looked at Lock and asked, "Was this arranged by your father?"
Lock gave a bitter smile: "That's the Interior Military Police, reporting directly to the King himself. My father is retired; he doesn't have that much power."
Seeing she couldn't get anything out of him, Annie turned to leave with her suitcase: "I'm going to report to Stohess. Goodbye."
Lock waved at Annie's retreating: "I'll visit you often!"
Annie ignored him and walked straight away.
Standing there, Lock felt a bit dejected.
He still didn't plan on waiting at home. He'd write a letter to his old man for some money first.
As for what to do before "awaiting further notice," Lock thought he should still keep an eye on Annie.
"After all, it won't be long before your story ends, Annie."
Lock smiled and also walked toward the east... He first collected a lot of existing rental listings for the Stohess District, then returned to a local inn at night to organize and filter through them for a suitable place.
Early the next morning, Lock went door-to-door to check the quality and ask the landlords if they would accept a short-term lease.
At noon, he sat on a plaza bench eating a sandwich, reading the newspaper, and playing with a kitten.
In the afternoon, he continued looking at the remaining houses.
Near dusk, he finally found a suitable place just one street away from the Military Police Branch.
Two bedrooms and a living room, a private bathroom, and a balcony overlooking the street.
A six-month contract, with one month's deposit and one month's rent upfront.
Everything was quite satisfactory to Lock, except that the price was a bit high.
The landlady was a widowed woman in her fifties living alone; the house was an inheritance from her husband.
Seeing Lock sign his name on the contract with a quill, she asked politely, "Mr. Leon, what do you plan to do with this house?"
Lock straightened the suit he had just bought and smiled: "Mrs. Anderson, I am a detective, and this will become the Mitra's First Detective Agency."
Seeing the confident smile of the young man before her, Mrs. Anderson chuckled: "Then what name do you plan to give it?"
Lock said the name he had thought of long ago: "Call it the Ymir Detective Agency."
"Ymir? Does that name have any meaning?"
Lock explained, "It's just the name of a friend."
...The next day, Lock went to the nearby Military Police Branch to go through the formalities. As a detective, he naturally had to register with them.
After all, the profession of a detective had always been one that skirted the edges of the law, so the Military Police naturally had to keep an eye on them.
To speed up the Military Police's efficiency, Lock even brought up Nile Dok's name.
The business license, which would normally take at least a week to be issued, was in Lock's hands by that afternoon.
The Military Police Officer even politely asked Lock if he needed a gun permit.
Lock thought for a moment and agreed.
Sometimes, a gun is indeed more convenient than fists.
Walking out of the office with his permit, Lock saw a squad of Military Police Recruits passing by; they were probably still in the pre-job training phase and had just finished class.
Lock spotted Annie in the group at a glance and greeted her with a smile: "Yo! Annie."
Having seen Lock long ago, Annie simply turned her head away, clearly not wanting to talk to him in front of so many people.
Hitch, beside her, was clearly very curious about Lock and pressed Annie with questions.
Marlo, walking in front, turned back to stop Hitch's chatter but was ridiculed by her instead.
Once the squad had walked away, Lock also left with a smile.
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