CHAPTER ONE
Mathias was dreaming. Reliving past experiences, aware that he was dreaming, but unable to wake regardless. A variety of scenes appeared then faded again. One eventually stuck, the outlines beginning to coalesce.
Needless to say, he recognized it right away.
It was the first time he’d met Rita.
Mathias was playing in a courtyard overflowing with green. Bright sunlight shone down. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain, a symbol of wealth. His father, Jörg, was chairman of the Kramer Merchant Association and one of the richest men in Quinta.
A man, still young, appeared in the hallway alongside the courtyard. Mathias felt his spirits lift. It was Henning, the district apothecary. He fashioned remedies for Mathias’ mother and made regular visits to deliver them. She had been ill and confined to bed for the last few years. Although he usually came alone, this day was different.
A young girl stood by his side.
She looked around Mathias’ age. Seven, perhaps eight. She was clinging to the hem of Henning’s garments, and she looked scared. At the same time she seemed entranced by the flamboyant build of the courtyard filled with greenery.
This had been their first meeting. At the time, Rita had worn her blond hair down below her shoulders.
Henning noticed Mathias and smiled and called out a greeting. He would have been around twenty-five at the time. Somehow he had the air of an artist about him.
Mathias returned the greeting: “Good day.” He was following his father’s teaching: Members of the Kramer family must never forget their courtesy. Even with the laboring classes.
“This is my daughter.” Henning glanced warmly down at the girl to his side. “Your father was kind enough to suggest I bring her.” The girl remained half-hidden behind her father, and he prodded her gently forwards. “Now, Rita, what do you say?”
The girl opened her mouth but couldn’t manage any words. Her face grew increasingly flushed until, finally, her eyes fell to the ground and she again sought refuge behind her father’s back.
“A little shy, this one. Think you could be friends?”
“Yes, of course,” Mathias supplied another perfect answer. He turned to face the girl─to face Rita. “My name is Mathias. It’s nice to meet you.”
“H…H…Hello,” the girl just about managed a response.
A couple of seconds later the girl added, “Ri…ta,” a little flustered.
It took Mathias a moment to recall that this was in fact her name. Perhaps she’d realized that, as he’d introduced himself, she needed to as well. He felt more and more taken by the girl.
“I should see your father first,” Henning said, lifting his eyes to the second floor. “Then it’s your mother’s checkup. Would you mind keeping Rita company for a while?” Henning’s eyes flicked back to his daughter.
“Of course. I can give her the tour.”
It was a phrase his father often used: Let me give you the tour.
Henning’s smile broadened. “Impressive, very becoming of the heir to a merchant association. Rita, make sure to pay attention to what Mathias shows you.”
At that point the outline of the world began to lose cohesion. Mathias found himself coming close to calling out Rita’s name.
The remembered scene receded, to be replaced by another.
As before, they were in the courtyard of the Kramer mansion.
Mathias and Rita were mostly unchanged, but there had been a shift in mood between them. Rita had already made a number of visits. While still a little deferential, she had become for the most part able to converse without hesitation.
“It’s this way, in the corner.”
Mathias crossed to the edge of the courtyard, but only after a careful scan of the surrounding cloisters. An afternoon sun inundated them. Apart from the two of them the mansion was empty─Mathias’ father and his retinue of servants were away.
Mathias crouched next to the roots of a tree and used his hand to clear some of the dirt. As he did, a metal handle came into view.
“Watch this.”
He hooked his fingers around it. With both feet planted firmly in the ground, he tipped his weight backwards. A square line appeared, rising slowly as an iron cover. The dirt and sand piled on top just trickled away. Rita stared in blank amazement.
“Mathias, what─”
“Just a second. I have to be careful, so it doesn’t fall.”
Keeping hold of the handle Mathias circled around and rotated the cover a half-circle before letting it gently down on the far side. Where the cover had been was a gaping hole a meter long and wide. A brick staircase led downwards.
“Come on then. There’s treasure I want to show you.”
“But…are we allowed? Without permission?”
“No, not really. I suppose Father would be mad if he found out. He doesn’t know that I know.”
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t…” Rita fidgeted with her hands and looked warily around.
“I’ll deal with him if he finds out. I’m pretty sure he’ll let it go if I say sorry. I can tell him I found it by chance and went in because I was curious. Come on.” Mathias lowered a foot down onto the first step and held a hand out towards Rita. “It’s a little dark, but it’s not scary if we leave the cover open.”
“Okay.” Rita, still hesitant, held out her hand. Their fingers made contact.
For some reason Mathias’ heart was beating hard.
Even though he’d explored the basement room any number of times before. Even though he knew there was no reason to be nervous.
Then he realized: It was the first time he and Rita were holding hands. Maybe that was why he was getting so worked up. He had heard that men became excited when they touched women.
Rita was still peering nervously around, apparently of two minds, but there were flashes of anticipation, of excitement, in her eyes. It seemed unlikely, however, that being in contact with Mathias was the cause.
Together, they carefully treaded down the stairs. Rita’s hand felt amazingly warm. It was trembling a little and had a faint sheen of sweat.
The layout inside was nothing complicated. The stairs led down to a single underground room about five meters on each side. An adult might have found the ceiling a little low, but it was nothing to concern Mathias and Rita at the time. A collection of holes where the walls joined the ceiling filtered light into the room. Mathias knew they were positioned to lie in the shadows of various columns and the fountain.
Their eyes quickly adjusted to the penumbra.
“W-Wow!” Rita gasped.
Arranged neatly against the walls were objects of all sizes: sculptures and pots, shields, suits of armor that bore intricate motifs. An almost complete lack of dust attested that they were all well looked after.
“Father’s treasures. He keeps a few in his study, upstairs, but there are more here.”
“I-I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“They’re called artworks, apparently. Worth a king’s ransom.”
“A king’s ransom!”
“I think that’s why he keeps them hidden. People might frown if they thought he had too many.”
It was something Mathias’ father Jörg often repeated. That members of merchant associations and the royal government belonged to the privileged class. That the privileged were able to live extravagant lifestyles. In exchange, they were duty-bound to serve the laboring classes, to devote themselves to society as a whole rather than to personal gain.
However, they were not to flaunt their lifestyles without reason. There were people who didn’t understand the interplay of authority and duty, and it would not do to agitate them unnecessarily. Of course, even they were to be served. At the time Mathias had yet to develop a full understanding of such ideas. Even so, he had an intuitive grasp of why it was important not to “flaunt their lifestyles.”
“Savor?” Rita walked up to a naked sculpture of a man. She moved her head in to study the detail, but seemed to lack the courage to actually touch it.
“To see and enjoy. To savor such things is to refine one’s soul. That’s what Father always says.”
“How? You can refine your soul?”
“I’m not really sure, but he says it does wonders for his state of mind. If that’s true, though, I think Father should display them for more people to see.”
“I want to show my dad, too.”
“You can’t. Remember, this place is secret.”
Rita gave him a sincere nod in response and replied, “Sure.” She sucked in a deep breath, as though she was trying to absorb as much of the sculpture’s refined air as she could.
Watching this Mathias said, “We can come here again.”
“Really. On the condition that you tell no one.”
“Right. Okay.” Rita nodded feverishly. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
Her features were lit under a thin column of light. She seemed to be having trouble believing her luck.
Then, the pictures from Mathias’ memory began again to transition.
They were no longer children. Neither were they full-grown adults.
Mathias sat at the dining table with Rita’s family. It was their living quarters on the second floor above Henning’s apothecary. Wooden floorboards and white, stuccoed walls. There was no comparing them to the Kramer’s dining chambers, and the whole space was probably smaller than the mansion’s kitchen. Nonetheless, Mathias had kept up regular visits even after he was in his teens. He saw no harm in routinely exposing himself to the lifestyle and ideas of the laboring classes. It would help him think up─or search out─goods that pleased them. As Jörg had told him: Always consider the popular opinion.
Such motivations aside, Mathias quite enjoyed spending time with Rita’s family. On the table were candles and a paraffin lamp whose warm light perfectly complemented the room’s atmosphere.
“We’re so sorry to call on you like this,” Rita’s mother, Doris, said as she dished out their food.
She was an energetic and spirited woman. This contrasted with her husband’s more gentle disposition, but Mathias had never once seen them argue.
Mathias had lost his mother to sickness just two years earlier. As a result he was envious of the relationship shared by Rita, Henning, and Doris, but he never felt true envy. Even with his mother alive and well, he would not be enjoying the sort of ties Rita did with her family. Mathias’ relationship to his parents was more formal, and he didn’t view this as necessarily bad. It was simply the way of privileged families.
“Not at all─I was glad for the invitation. It’s a perfect break. The truth is my father had expressed a wish to come too. Unfortunately he finds it a little more difficult to slip away.”
“Out of the question! We couldn’t possibly host anyone as august as the chairman of the Kramer Merchant Association,” the mother shooed, and the daughter chimed in, “Yeah, I mean, he makes regular trips to the capital, doesn’t he?”
Since the loss of his wife, Mathias’ father Jörg had thrown himself into his work with even greater ferocity.
Henning decanted wine into everyone’s glasses. Today they were celebrating a special occasion.
“As I’m sure will you, Mathias,” he said. “One day soon you’ll find yourself no less busy.”
“Yeah, I bet.” A look resembling that of an abandoned puppy flashed over Rita’s face.
What they were saying was probably true. The merchant association was busy, and the volume of work was only expected to increase.
Mathias forced himself to sound relaxed when he responded, “There’s no need to exaggerate. I’ll be barging in every now and then if only you’ll let me.”
It was clear that Doris was being genuine. She welcomed him not as the scion of a merchant association, but independently of his status, and never sought anything in return. Rita and Henning were the same.
It was comforting, and Mathias felt grateful. By then he was already beginning to receive preferential treatment from those around him. The stream of people who approached with ulterior motives was never-ending.
“All that aside, the amazing one here is Rita,” Mathias changed the subject to the young woman next to him. She was dressed in the uniform of the Garrison Regiment. It was brand-new and crisply starched, without a single crease or blemish.
“Hmm? Me?” Rita blinked in apparent surprise.
Many citizens entered the Training Corps by the time of their fifteenth birthday. This didn’t mean they all became soldiers. A certain percentage was guaranteed to flunk out.
Rita, however, had lasted her two-year training period to become an official member of the Garrison Regiment. While she may not have ascended to the Military Police Brigade─entry to which was restricted to an elite group of the highest achievers─Mathias had heard that she had excelled among her classmates.
“I know, such a surprise! Who’d have known she had that kind of backbone? Though you’d be shocked how strong her arms─”
“Mom, that’s terrible!”
“You’d never have imagined it, going by how she used to be.” Henning regarded his daughter with a dazzled grin. “She never even went out and preferred to be cooped up indoors.”
“And look at her now, a soldier.”
“Yes, well…” Rita drooped her head, peering up at Mathias. “That’s thanks to Mathias.”
“Indeed. You’re spot on there,” Doris agreed with a deep nod. “Didn’t get on with the neighborhood kids at all. If Mathias here hadn’t kindly offered a hand, well, who’s to know how you’d have ended up!”
“You have our thanks,” Henning said, lifting his glass and tipping his head towards Mathias. Following his signal, the others reached for their own drinks.
“Please, there’s no need. I was just the same as Rita. I didn’t even go to school.” During his childhood, Mathias had been taught exclusively by his personal tutor, one of the mansion’s servants. “I didn’t have any friends my own age. Rita was irreplaceable in helping me learn about the outside world.”
“That’s silly. Definitely not true.” Rita cast her eyes downward, her face flushed as though drunk.
But Mathias’ gratitude to her was genuine.
“Now, shall we make a toast?” Doris suggested.
“To celebrate the end of Rita’s training and her joining the Garrison.”
“Make sure you eat your fill,” Doris urged. “Today’s a treat. I mean, it probably won’t compare to what our betters are… Ah, mmm, that’s by the by. Sorry if I’m being annoying.”
“Not at all.” Mathias smiled and began to help himself to the oil-pickled fish, stewed meats, steamed vegetables, and variety of cheeses on display across the dining table. “This is really great.”
“I mean it.”
“Thank you. I’m glad, even if you’re just being polite.” Doris showed a big smile. Adding food to all of their plates, she said, “You know you really have grown into such a decent young man. Never once rebelling.”
“It’s true,” Henning agreed, “you find so many prodigal sons out there.”
“They’re just a minority.”
“Well, yes. But I enjoy it.”
Every day, Mathias’ father Jörg drilled into him all kinds of knowledge, from stock fulfillment, sales strategies, and managerial techniques to methods of ingratiating oneself with the royal government. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was worthwhile. And Mathias believed it when Jörg told him that hardship builds character.
“Well, I think it’s admirable. In light of our situation,” Doris turned her eyes to her daughter.
Rita shrank into her chair. “You’re making my ears sting.”
“When this one was little, she was always calling ‘Daddy’ and trying hard to learn the ropes.”
“Medicine?”
“That’s right. Then before we know it she finds this obsession with being athletic. I do wonder if it was in her blood.”
“Huh? My blood?”
“Oh, nothing. Umm…you know…just that I used to be partial to a bit of exercise, too, when I was younger.” The answer sounded evasive especially since this was Doris.
“You did? I didn’t know that about you, Mom.”
“Anyhow,” Henning intervened, “Rita doesn’t need to worry about the business.” No doubt thinking about the apothecary below, he threw an unconscious glance toward the stairs. “I’d be happy to end it at my generation. It’s nothing special.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Doris seconded with a big nod.
“You don’t need to do that! I’m not going to let it fold. I’m planning to take it over someday, and I still study remedies…sometimes?”
“Don’t look at me,” Mathias recused himself with a wry smile.
Their dinner to celebrate Rita’s entry into the Garrison proceeded without further mishap. Eventually it grew late, and they brought it to a close.
“I’ll walk with you back to the mansion,” Rita offered as Mathias got to his feet.
“No, it’s okay. You’d be alone for the return trip. That’s far more dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine, I’ve got my training. What do you think I joined the Garrison for?”
“Well, if you insist…”
Losing three against one, Mathias left the house with Rita.
Together they wended through the nighttime town’s alleys.
The sky blinked with stars. The streets were cast in pale light from the nearby houses. It was busier than they’d expected, and they passed people scurrying home, late-shift workers on their way out, jovial drunks.
“It really is great news. Congratulations,” Mathias said, still faced forwards.
“Thanks.”
“I’d have probably been against it if you’d said it was the Survey Corps. But I’m honestly glad to hear you joined the Garrison.”
The former was tasked to investigate the world outside the walls. As they were all but guaranteed to encounter and battle with Titans, more than twenty percent of their number ended up losing their lives with each operation.
“My parents said the same. That they’d have been against my joining the Survey Corps.”
“The Garrison also performs bodyguard duty, doesn’t it? For example, escorting merchant association members when they travel to other towns.”
“That’s right.”
Journeying to another town did not mean leaving the walls to brave the lands where the Titans roamed. It only necessitated crossing through the interior. An escort detail merely needed to watch out for bandits or feral dogs.
Mathias went on. “So there’s a chance we could travel together. South to Shiganshina, or into the interior and Fuerth.”
“That…would be great. I’ll make sure to do my best.”
“Do your best?”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yeah.”
Rita let her hand brush over the hilt of the blade slung around her waist. The sheath contained the firing control for the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment; on her back she wore the motor that recoiled the wire. Mathias couldn’t say it really suited her. Maybe he just needed to grow used to seeing her with it on.
“Join? The Corps?”
“Right. The Training Corps.” Before he realized, Mathias had begun his confession. He wasn’t even sure why he’d chosen to broach the topic.
“You did?”
“I actually told Father I wanted to join, one time. It didn’t work. He just told me: ‘Everyone has a duty to fulfill. Yours is to devote yourself to people as part of the merchant association.’” Mathias had spent a long period in deliberation but had eventually taken his father’s words on board.
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“That would be because I never told you.”
They crossed a stone bridge. There was the faint susurration of water. Moonlight sparkled, reflecting off the surface.
Mathias continued to talk, his mouth seeming to work independently of his will. “I sometimes wonder why it has to be me. I think to myself that anyone could perform the same duty, and just as well. That all I have going for me is that I happened to be born a Kramer.”
“That’s just─”
“Which is why,” Mathias cut in, “I wanted to believe I had at least the same abilities as everyone else. To prove I was skilled enough to be a soldier if I’d wanted. Then I’d be choosing to serve in the merchant association.”
“That’s why you wanted to join the Corps?”
“Yes.”
“Nonsense.” Rita gave a reprimanding shake of her head. “You work really hard. You say you just happened to be born a Kramer, and yes, perhaps that’s true, but I’m sure people who weren’t born into it mostly don’t show your level of determination.”
Taken aback by this, Mathias found himself gazing intently into Rita’s face. She wasn’t particularly taciturn, but she certainly wasn’t the type to wax eloquent.
Nevertheless, it was with increasing fire that Rita continued, “There are so many jobs in the world, it’s impossible to experience them all. So there’s no way to really know who’s best suited to a particular role. In other words…I’m not sure how to say this, but all we can do is choose the work we’d be best at from among whatever options we have.”
Mathias was stunned. Until then he’d always considered Rita his junior, psychologically. He’d styled himself a kind of guardian who watched out for her. Perhaps the opposite had been true.
She was peering at him now with a worried look on her face. “You don’t want to? Work for the merchant association.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s not that I dislike the work… Actually, I quite enjoy it. I’m always learning something new.”
“Then you should do it with confidence in yourself.”
“Yes, you’re right.” Then, suddenly wondering, Mathias asked, “How about you? What made you want to become a soldier?”
“That…” replied Rita, turning ahead, her voice muted, “That’s a secret.”
Working for the Garrison included bodyguard duty.
They might be able to travel to another town together.
Requests were heeded if a soldier performed well…
That couldn’t be why she’d wanted to join the military, could it? Because she wanted to work alongside him? If that was it…didn’t that mean she liked him?
Mathias, himself, had feelings for her. As far back as he could remember, he had no other friends his own age. She had broadened his horizons, and he’d said as much during their dinner.
He stole another look at her profile.
She didn’t have the refined looks of girls from the privileged classes. But there was a definite beauty in her fresh vitality. More than anyone else Mathias knew, she was stridently individual and amazingly strong. She was furnished with an unshakable sense of right and wrong. If he asked her to become more than friends, she might say yes. While it was hard to imagine, he supposed they might start to go out together.
But what would happen then?
They might be happy for a number of years, but Mathias didn’t think that his father, Jörg Kramer, would ever consent to their marriage. Mathias was destined to become the head of his household. He was expected to establish matrimonial ties with a family who had influence in the royal government or who represented one of the other merchant associations. Such marriages of convenience were a part of work, one of the duties his social status demanded of him.
But it was stupid to worry about such things at this stage. He was no doubt just getting ahead of himself. He wasn’t even sure Rita had similar feelings for him. He felt ashamed for having let such wild fancy suck him in so quickly.
That had been just over a year ago.
Mathias sprang up.
For a moment he was thrown by the unfamiliar ceiling. Then he remembered. He was no longer at the family mansion in Quinta District. The warm comfort of the courtyard was gone. Mathias and the others had traveled into the interior the whole of last night, reaching Fuerth District on the western flank of Wall Rose. The room he was in now was a guest room in his father’s townhouse. He’d stayed here a number of times before while accompanying the senior Kramer on business.
Weak afternoon light streamed through the window. The sun was already getting ready to set. He’d apparently been asleep for quite some time. He got down from the bed and slipped on his shoes.
It was cold. He hurried over to the closet, took out a jacket, and slipped it on. His luggage was unpacked and sorted. One of the servants must have seen to it while he was asleep. His memory seemed finally to clear.
Of course. He’d been so exhausted when they’d arrived in the morning, he’d collapsed into the bed and fallen fast asleep.
He stepped through the door. The wood-floored hallway showed no sign of life, but he sensed the presence of people downstairs.
“Father!”
Mathias half-tumbled down the steps. He stopped on a landing when he noticed Suzanne, one of their servants and his home tutor, talking with someone in the entranceway. Perhaps she was detailing to a worker whatever items they needed sent across.
She had been in the employ of the Kramer family for as long as Mathias could remember and had to be in her late thirties. She looked a good ten years younger, though, and they were more like friends than teacher and student.
“Do you know about the others? Everyone from Quinta. Have they made it already?” Mathias asked as he reached the first floor. He had in mind Rita, Henning, and Doris.
“Oh, Mathias…”
A faint look of pain flickered onto her face. Mathias didn’t fail to pick up on the change. He couldn’t have missed it, even if he’d wanted to.
“Did something happen?” He took a step closer. “What about Rita, her family? Are they here?”
“Not yet.” Suzanne’s answer was unambiguous, even as she hesitated, averting her eyes.
“The Titans─they arrived earlier than expected. That’s what I was told. So…half of the population got stranded inside.”
“Does that…” …mean Rita is there too?
Suzanne didn’t answer. She wouldn’t look up.
Why? “What─what happened?”
“The Garrison Regiment was deployed, to protect the evacuees.” Her voice was trembling, her mouth quivering as she spoke. “They told me that, apart from a few, they were all wiped out.”
It dawned on Mathias what she was trying to say.
Rita was dead.
At the very least, nobody knew if she had survived. Mathias felt as though a chasm had opened inside him.
“Why not?!”
Mathias was openly arguing with his father. It was perhaps the first time he’d ever done so. Jörg’s work colleagues had gathered in the townhouse’s study and stood around the large writing desk. Mathias recognized a few of the faces, but there were some he’d never seen before. The latter had to be representatives of the Fuerth merchant associations or delegates from the royal government.
“This matter concerns the survival of a great many people. And it isn’t something I’m able to influence by myself.”
“That’s not true! Of course it’s within your influence. You have the resources to mobilize soldiers whenever you see fit. Isn’t it the merchant associations that keep the military stocked with food and equipment?”
“Yes, but these are not normal circumstances. You must understand at least that much.”
“They might get through the wall if we don’t act now!”
After hearing about Quinta from Suzanne, Mathias had requested Jörg to dispatch a rescue party. Negotiate with the government through the merchant association! But convincing Jörg had proven difficult.
“We know they managed to close the gate siding the interior. The Titans might have breached Wall Maria, but that doesn’t mean Quinta is about to fall too.”
“They’re completely isolated. They’ll run out of food.” The district had been hemmed in by Titans on both its interior and exterior sides. The terror its residents had to be facing was unfathomable.
“They have stockpiles.”
“They’ll run out, eventually.”
“I’m not saying that I intend to do nothing. Our guests are here to discuss potential measures.” Jörg motioned his eyes toward his assembled colleagues. The large writing desk did have sheets of paper strewn roughly across its surface. Mathias didn’t doubt that they had been in the middle of a heated debate when he’d come running in.
“What kind of measures?” he asked.
Jörg remained utterly impassive. “It’s of no concern to you.”
“Why not? You always bring me in for your meetings, whatever they are about. You tell me to watch closely and to pay attention. You say experience is everything.”
“We lack the time to be dealing with amateurs. As I just told you, these are not normal circumstances.”
“But─”
“You’ve lost your composure. People who fail to remain calm are a liability. Even as I speak you impede the progress of our talks.”
Jörg’s colleagues neither agreed nor disagreed. They simply exchanged a few uncomfortable glances. Mathias knew he couldn’t challenge his father’s words, but he was far from satisfied.
“Mathias, I will do my best. You must understand.”
Jörg, who was aware how close his son was to Rita, how they’d been friends since childhood, stared straight into Mathias’ eyes. It went without saying that the senior Kramer recognized Mathias’ worries and his desire to confirm as quickly as possible that Rita was safe. That was exactly why he was asking that Mathias “understand.”
There was nothing Mathias could say to alter his father’s stance. He realized that much at least.
“Of course… Gentlemen, please forgive me barging in.”
He bowed his head to the assembled dignitaries then turned on his heels.
Mathias fled the townhouse. He feared he might go mad if he sat idle.
He roamed the streets with no clear purpose in mind. The ground was cobbled stone, with white stuccoed buildings rising to either side.
The appearance of the town was unchanged since his previous visit. The atmosphere, however, was notably different. The air was charged and tense. Passersby wore tight expressions and nobody smiled. Until now, Fuerth had been located wholly within the interior. Great walls and vast tracts of land had locked it away from the Titans’ domain. But the status quo had undergone a dramatic shift.
It was exactly as Jörg had said. The monsters were converging towards the district’s own wall. For the residents of Fuerth, the events in Shiganshina were very much their business.
“The wall…”
Before Mathias knew, he had arrived at it─on the side facing Wall Maria, which surely now had to be labeled the exterior.
Fifty meters tall, mankind’s lifeline.
Right now the setting sun cast it in dark shadow. Below, where it met with the ground, were rows of basic lodgings that had been thrown up by the refugees.
“But we’ve only been here half a day…”
The majority of the structures consisted of nothing but cloth strung over supports scavenged from disassembled wagons. They were little more than tents. At the same time, a few buildings were made from wood and other more substantial materials. Huddled between them, refugees were busy beginning preparations for their evening meals, lighting stoves and setting pots and pans. The smell of the cooking wafted over, faintly mixed with the odor of sweat and human waste. Mathias was forced to realize that not everyone had townhouses to sleep in like he did.
“What am I doing?”
Members of the privileged classes were duty-bound to serve the masses, obligated to help. And yet Mathias was, at present, unable to do a thing. The majority of evacuees were being forced to live in discomfort, and Rita…hadn’t even managed to escape. There was even the possibility that she’d given her life in an attempt to protect everyone else.
No. Wrong.
She was in Quinta, and she was alive. Waiting even now for assistance.
“Yes. She has to be…”
Mathias noticed something: a line of people in the periphery of his vision. Perhaps they were rationing food provisions. For some reason, the majority of those lining up were young men.
He began to walk towards the front of the line. The men threw him suspicious looks. He felt a little tense; the laboring classes were known for being short-tempered. And he’d heard that many nurtured an ill-founded dislike of the privileged classes─that they held the privileged responsible for everything lacking in their own lives. Even though, Mathias knew, the truth was the other way around. The privileged classes’ able efforts supported the people, who would have no choice but to live like animals if not for the elites’ intellect and knowledge.
But no, the people couldn’t see it. Fixated on mere outward differences in lifestyle, they seized on every chance they could to voice condemnation.
Mathias wasn’t dressed in a way that made him stand out. Just a cotton shirt with woolen trousers and a jacket, a common and unassuming outfit. Yet even now he remained conspicuous among the other young men who stood in line. There was the cleanliness of his skin and hair, the quality of fabric he wore. He didn’t doubt that he offered a striking contrast.
Looking around he couldn’t see anyone from social strata comparable to his own. He became acutely aware of the innumerable eyes trained on him. Redoubling his efforts to pay no attention, he focused instead on reaching the front of the line. He came to an unexpected halt when he saw the building up ahead.
“The barracks?”
The stone edifice towered upwards in line with the wall. The grounds stretching out behind it seemed to be of considerable size. The crest of the Garrison Regiment─twin roses over a shield─hung beside the main entrance.
The line came to an end just in front of the building. A desk had been set up in the middle of the street. Uniformed troops sat interviewing the refugees at the front of the line, scribbled notes, then handed separate slips of paper to the young men before sending them on their way.
“Don’t even think about cutting in.”
“Who else?”
The voice belonged to a hawk-eyed youth with noticeably bulging arms. The archetypal image of the laboring classes. The type of person it was best not to needlessly aggravate. Mathias was unhappy to note that his own hands were trembling slightly. Why was he letting himself get so intimidated by people like these?
Making sure to appear polite but firm, Mathias countered, “I’m not about to cut in. And I won’t, but what are you all queued up for? I assume this isn’t for food provisions?”
The youth exchanged glances with the men lined up around him. “Yeah right, we should be so lucky.”
“They’re recruiting volunteer soldiers. Don’t bother if you ain’t got the backbone,” a squat man with broad shoulders added from behind. He looked a little older.
“Volunteer soldiers?”
“We’re gonna take Shiganshina back,” the hawk-eyed youth explained. “If we jam the hole, that’ll stop any more Titans getting in. After that we only need to take down the ones between Wall Rose and Wall Maria, and all’s back to normal.”
It was true that success was far more likely if they were mopping up a limited number of Titans rather than battling a never-ending flow.
“The plan is to send in a vanguard and see.”
“Only just been announced. Not surprising you hadn’t heard yet.”
“Wait, you said the plan is to take back Shiganshina? What about Quinta?”
How could they be planning to leave Quinta alone when Rita and so many other people were stranded inside? Although the young man in front of him had done nothing wrong, Mathias had ended up sounding accusatory.
The hawk-eyed youth shrugged. “Quinta’s safe. Well, maybe not safe. But the Titans haven’t got in at least.”
“I’m worried too. My wife and kids are back there,” the middle-aged man with the broad shoulders added. “But the government’s telling us our first priority is to take care of the Titans. Who are we to say otherwise?”
“I’m sure we’ll check it out at least,” cut in a plump man, who looked anywhere between twenty and forty. “Whole load of villages between Wall Rose and Wall Maria. Might be there’s people there who didn’t make it all the way.”
“Meaning, we do what we can, but our main goal is to take back Shiganshina,” the hawk-eyed youth said in conclusion.
Inasmuch as the plan placed Quinta on the back burner, the thinking matched Jörg’s…or rather, it was probable that Mathias’ father had played an important part in drafting the plan.
Of course. How could he not be involved? It seemed very likely that the operation was exactly what they’d been discussing in the study. If nothing else, they would have debated which supplies would be provided by which associations and to which theater. And yet his father had chosen to keep Mathias in the dark.
“Unbelievable…” He was being treated like a child, taken out of the loop on key matters.
“You one of the refugees?” the man with the broad shoulders asked.
“Yes. Sort of.”
“Like I said, don’t bother if you ain’t got the backbone.”
“Dressed like that, I don’t imagine you need it,” the hawk-eyed youth said, sneering a little. It was safe to assume he wasn’t particularly well disposed to the privileged classes.
“Need it?”
“Money. Compensation.”
“I see. If you volunteer, you receive compensation…”
It was obvious now that he considered it. Part of the money would be donated from the fortune of the Kramer Merchant Association. Mathias cast a fresh look down the line. The back seemed to stretch even farther.
“And that’s why you’re all…”
“That’s true for some, but you’ll find all kinds here. Myself? I’m not in it for the money,” the man with the broad shoulders asserted.
Mathias remembered what the man had said earlier. “Of course, your wife and children.”
“I was sure they’d come on ahead, you know. Then I hear they hadn’t been able to find a wagon. So I’ve no choice, gotta clear the Titans if I’m to see them again.”
“Seems there’s people from Fuerth here too, the poor. In no small number,” the plump man added in his shrill voice.
“I can see the attraction. You’re guaranteed some money, and if you slay a Titan you become a hero.”
“Damned fools, the lot of them.” The man with the broad shoulders stared ahead, eyes brooding. “They ain’t seen it. Only reason they can talk like that.”
“Didn’t just see it─I’d be dead if I’d been two wagons back.”
“Wow…”
Mathias’ thoughts jumped to Rita. Right. There was a chance this man knew if she was safe or not.
“What about soldiers? Garrison soldiers. Were they there with you?”
“They were. Why do you ask?”
“How were they…doing?” Mathias tripped over the words.
The man looked puzzled, but narrowed his eyes as though tracing his memory. “They were doing all they could. Fighting hard to protect us. I was watching through a gap in the tarp, mind, so I can’t say for sure. Even then…” He faltered there.
“What?”
“I heard that most of ’em died. Can’t say I’m surprised. It was hell out there.”
The Titans were said to devour their victims indiscriminately. This man had no doubt witnessed such a sight firsthand. An image briefly formed in Mathias’ mind of Rita writhing in agony, but he quickly pushed it away and asked the man another question. “How about a young female soldier with blond…short blond hair. Did you see anyone like that?”
“I don’t think so. Mind you, would’ve been the last thing on my mind. I think that was true of all of us.”
The three men regarded Mathias with what were now grave looks. They had doubtless guessed his predicament.
The plump man opened his mouth. “The soldier, she a friend?”
“Yes. A friend.”
“There’s a lot here like you,” said the broad-shouldered man. “People who’ve had a lover or family killed, volunteering with a mind for revenge.”
“Doesn’t mean they’re better than us. I’m volunteering to support myself, so I don’t have to beg in the streets,” the hawk-eyed youth muttered irritably.
The man with the broad shoulders nodded. “You’re free to do as you like.”
“But,” Mathias, a thought suddenly occurring to him, inquired of the broad-shouldered man, “how can you do this─after having survived such a traumatic experience?”
“I see it the other way around.” He brought his muscular shoulders up in a shrug. He had probably held a job in manual labor. “It’s because I did that I know I’ve got to fight, to make sure my family never has to go through what I did.”
After that, Mathias thanked the three men, then added himself to the back of the line. It went without saying that he had decided to volunteer for the operation to reclaim Shiganshina. As part of the campaign, he could travel outside the wall. That meant he might be able to reach Quinta. Unlike the man with the broad shoulders, Mathias wasn’t interested in taking the fight to the Titans first. His most pressing need was to ensure Rita’s wellbeing. He hoped, if possible, to bring her back to Fuerth where things were─at least for now─safe.
The sun grew lower, spreading longer and longer shadows. The volunteers and buildings were slowly fading into uniform darkness even as Mathias stared at them.
He suddenly came back to his senses.
Did he really need to go this far? It was true that he treasured Rita as a friend. She was the one person in the world whom he could wholly trust. The one person who accepted him for who he was. He felt secure with her.
The unshakeable truth revealed itself for the first time at precisely that moment.
Yet some cool-headed part of him began to blare out words of warning: So what? Are you going to let some fleeting emotion get the better of you? Let it go. Live in accordance with your status.
However he looked at it, his second thoughts were on the mark. Even if Rita felt the same, they could never end up together. Even if he brought her back from Quinta, after facing the greatest of dangers his only gain would be “to have saved a close friend,” a mere trifle. Wasn’t it better to remain in Fuerth, to submit to his father, to learn the business at his side and to prepare for the future? He was the heir to the Kramer estate, the future head of the family. To put himself in physical danger, and all for the sake of one girl─there was no behavior more self-centered, so completely unrelated to serving the people.
And yet… Mathias couldn’t bring himself to walk away from the line. If anything he was getting fed up with its slow progress.
Rita’s image refused to leave his mind. He was beside himself with worry that she was badly injured or suffering from hunger. Mathias would get to Quinta by hook or by crook. The feeling came like a premonition. It was as though a stranger were determining his actions, his decisions.
Perhaps I’m not qualified to inherit the Kramer name.
So be it.
The sun had set, and lights began to flicker through windows.
Mathias’ only fear was that they might announce they were done for the evening. This didn’t happen─instead, his turn came around faster than he’d anticipated.
Three soldiers sat behind the long desk. The setup allowed three volunteers to stand together before them. A bonfire crackled behind the soldiers, casting light over the volunteers’ faces.
A sullen-faced soldier with striking white hair dealt with Mathias. He had to be Jörg’s age, but was in far better shape. The slight redness of his nose was perhaps the result of regular drinking.
“Another refugee?”
“Yes.”
As a result of conversing with the hawk-eyed youth, the man with the broad shoulders, and the plump man, Mathias had lost the nervousness he’d felt talking to people so clearly unrefined. All three had most likely had their applications accepted without a hitch. Mathias realized now that they’d been good-natured people. They’d even gone so far as to show sympathy for his plight.
“Name, age, previous employment, health issues.” The white-haired soldier didn’t look up from his papers.
“Kramer, Mathias. Fifteen. Previous employment…” Mathias stumbled to an unwitting halt. How to explain it? He’d never done any work per se. He accompanied his father when buying supplies…studied methods for handling negotiations…helped put documents together. What could he say to include all of that? “Um…assistant, in a merchant association. No health issues.”
“Uh huh. Okay, I guess you can help with some of the logist─” For some reason the white-haired soldier broke off there and put down his pen. He peered slowly upwards. “Did you say Mathias Kramer?”
“I did.”
“Hold there a moment.”
The soldier got up from his seat. Keeping his eyes on Mathias, he flagged down a subordinate who was passing by and muttered something. The subordinate, also looking at Mathias now, said something in return. The white-haired soldier nodded, then came back and lowered himself into his seat. A soldier at his side with weirdly thin eyebrows peered across, looking as though he had something to add, but the white-haired soldier simply shook his head: Leave it to me.
Mathias balled his hands into fists. What was going on? Was there some kind of problem? Was it his age? Did he need parental consent? He’d seen other youths his age getting their applications approved without issue. Was he getting worked up over nothing?
The white-haired soldier found a document from one of the piles on the desk and, taking care to bring it up in a way that hid the contents, started to flip through the pages. Eventually his hand stopped; his eyes flicked a number of times between Mathias and the sheet. Finally, he spoke.
“I’m sorry, you’ll need to go home.”
Mathias’ blood boiled then froze. “Huh?”
“You’re not…qualified.”
The soldier’s tone had clearly changed. Why?
“That doesn’t make any sense. I’m obviously in better health than the people who were just here. I saw there was a woman before me, too! You accepted her! Why won’t─”
“I’m afraid I can’t say. You will need to leave the line.”
“The impertinence!”
Just who do you think I… Mathias had begun to say the words when it dawned on him. It wasn’t that the soldier didn’t know who he was. It was the other way around. It was precisely because he knew─or had been informed─who Mathias was, that he was refusing to accept the application.
“Father…”
Reading his son’s thoughts was nothing for the chairman of the Kramer Merchant Association. It should have been no mystery. Hadn’t Jörg’s incredible talents helped him reign as one of the town’s magnates?
Mathias drew a long breath, letting it slowly out.
“I understand.”
“We’d welcome you, ordinarily,” the white-haired soldier added, looking apologetic. “But I’m afraid the result would have been the same whoever was sitting here.”
Which meant the instruction had been sent out to every section of the Garrison: Turn down Mathias Kramer’s application. With that, Mathias knew that his plan of traveling to Quinta by joining the campaign was practically finished.
He gave the white-haired soldier a returning nod and took his leave.