#snk short stories
Late Night Stories Vol. 05 Reiner Braun A Story of Absent-Mindedness
“…You know it’s your turn today, Reiner.”
The recruits were busy training, marching through the night. They dragged their heavy feet, weary from the afternoon, as they carried torches in their hands.
“My turn for what?”
“…Remember when we pulled an all-nighter studying the other day?” Bertolt said next to him, causing Reiner to remember.
“Oh. To tell a story to keep everyone awake?”
“I’m begging you to… I feel like my feet are about to stop. I won’t fall behind if it’s an interesting story. I’d need to be in the group to hear it, after all,” Armin said, looking up at Reiner as he staggered back and forth, just barely keeping up.
“Okay. In that case… I’ll tell you a story from the other day.”
••••••
A few days earlier, Reiner was training with a group outside, when they were caught by a heavy evening squall. Of course, rain was no reason to stop a training exercise. If the soldiers didn’t have any rain gear, that just meant a drenched uniform. Their one saving grace was that they would be heading back to the barracks immediately afterwards.
“…Once all of you guys got back, the first thing you had to do was dry your clothes and wash off any mud with well water, right?” “ But you were squad leader then, Reiner, so you had to go and give a report before that,” Armin continued. Reiner nodded while a shiver ran through his body, as if he was remembering how cold he was that day.
“I finally gave my report to the instructor and went back to the well, then took off my shirt to start wiping off my body, but just as I did…”
••••••
“Aahh?!”
Reiner turned to face the shrieks and saw two female Training Corps recruits, Mina and Krista, passing by. Thinking that they must have been shocked to see him shirtless, he turned his back to them in a panic and apologized.
“S-Sorry. I’ll be done fast, so, just a minute…”
“N-No, we’re sorry, too! Don’t worry, you can finish up!”
“Really? Okay, then…”
Reiner paid no mind to the girls as they watched him wring his shirt with his exposed, muscular body, before starting to wipe it clean…
“Hey, Reiner? Um… Can we ask you a favor?”
“…And then the girls asked if they could touch my abs. It’s not like it would hurt anyone to say yes, so I let them, and…they said things like, ‘Wow, it’s really a six pack!’ or “What do you do to work out?’”
The girls didn’t hold back as they put their hands all over him.
“Heh! You’ve got a pretty solid chest, Reiner.”
“Wait, Ymir…! Hey, both of you!”
Ymir’s teasing stirred the girls on, as they started to touch not only his abs but also his chest, arms, and back. Reiner sighed at what a mess the situation had become.
“That…was surprising.”
“Wh-What did you just say happened…? Really? I’m so jealous of you!!”
While the situation could be seen as fortunate depending on one’s point of view, Reiner spoke of it as if it were a complete mystery to him. Jean, who was next to Reiner, impulsively threw his torch to the ground.
“Oh! Well, Mikasa wasn’t there, you know!” Reiner said.
“That’s not the problem here!!” Jean replied through clenched teeth. Marco tried to calm Jean while picking up his torch.
“Why don’t you try working out until you have a body like Reiner’s?”
“O-Oh, so I just have to keep working out…”
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” a smiling Armin said as he listened in on the conversation, shutting Jean down completely. “Vertical Maneuvering is your specialty. If you put on any more muscle, you wouldn’t be able to use your skills as well.”
“T-True, balance is important… Wait, don’t tell me that right now, Armin! Can’t you leave me the smallest bit of hope to cling onto?!”
This made Reiner notice that Armin, who tended to lag behind, was still in proper formation with the rest of the squad. He saw that everyone else was there, too and was satisfied to know that he had accomplished something by telling his story.
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
TRANSLATION: Ko Ransom
READ ALSO:Late Night Stories Vol. 03 Krista Lenz : A Heart-Pounding Story
Late Night Stories Vol. 03 Krista Lenz : A Heart-Pounding Story
“Nngh… Meaaaat… Breaaad… Mrrgh.”
“Wake up, potato girl! Your textbook is covered in drool!”
Whack!The dull sound of someone’s head being struck filled the room. It was late at night, but the girls barracks still glowed bright.
“Hey, whose idea was it again to copy the boys and pull an all-nighter?!”
“You, too, Ymir. Calm down…”
“Then do you want to give up and go to sleep, Krista? You know this test about the history and construction of the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment is ridiculously hard, right? And it’s even going to be counted in our overall marks!”
“Ugh… I won’t sleep. I’ll study.”
“L-Let us join, too!”
Mina and Hannah, two other recruits, gathered around the trio sitting around the table. Unable to sit there and watch everyone desperately try to rub the drowsiness out of their eyes any longer. Ymir crossed her arms and made a suggestion.
“Now that I think of it, the boys said they had someone tell a story to wake them up. Hey, Krista. Give us a story.”
“Whaat?!”
••••••
Now that she had been put on the spot, Krista looked around at everyone, flustered.
“B-But, what should I talk about…?”
“Oh, I want to hear a story about a time when someone made your heart race, Krista!”
Hannah’s proposal put a glimmer in all the girls’ eyes, aside from Krista’s. She looked skeptical, like she didn’t even understand what was being said.
“But…”
“It doesn’t have to be anything special. For example, a time you saw someone as a good person because of something unexpected they did. You know, that kind of thing!”
The girls all agreed as they looked on expectantly. Krista thought, and then she suddenly clapped.
“Oh! Then what about this?”
••••••
It happened during a training exercise meant to take place in a scenario where the recruits had to plan an escape with multiple horses from a Titan-filled area. Notifying the people of danger and evacuating them on horses during emergencies was an important part of a soldier’s duties.
At the time, Krista was in a team with Ymir and Sasha.
“The pack of horses meant for the citizens has made it to the Forest of Giant Trees!”
“I’ll use Vertical Maneuvering to be on watch! Sasha, you protect the rear!”
“Alright!”
As Krista led the horses from the front, she was concerned about Ymir overhead. Because there would be sudden Titan appearances during the training, log traps meant to recreate a Titan’s long, outstretched limbs had been placed in their way, as well as dummy Titans meant to obstruct them.
“In front!”
A dummy Titan appeared from nowhere in front of Krista. She immediately put her horse on a detour and made sure the pack had changed directions before using Vertical Maneuvering to leap into the air herself. But then—
“Guh?!”
“Ymir!!”
Now a log trap had appeared, this time in front of Ymir—
“HIYAAAAA!”
••••••
“…And that’s how Sasha saved us!”
“Yeah, that was pretty surprising.”
Though Sasha should have been in the back, she used her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment to appear in the very front, where she used both her legs to land a kick on the log, changing its direction. Thanks to her, Ymir avoided taking a direct hit while Krista was able to focus on destroying the dummy Titan, allowing training to come to a safe end.
“That was cool.”
“I’m sure it was just her intuition, but she did save us.”
Sasha had already fallen sound asleep while the story was being told, and Ymir forced a smile as she gently poked her head.
…But Mina and Hannah looked unamused, as though they had been deceived.
“Um… That’s not what we meant…”
“We wanted to hear a story about…well, a different kind of person, I guess…”
“What, that wasn’t good enough for you?”
“No…it did help us wake up, but…”
The disappointed recruits suddenly realized something. Couldn’t the trio’s trust in one another and their close teamwork be the cause of their high marks?
“…I guess that means we should be more serious about training, too, instead of just trying to hear about silly love stories.”
“Hmm? Mrrgh…”
“…It is plain annoying that the hero of that story is out cold right now, though.”
And so, the night marched quietly on in the girls barracks.
SOURCE:Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
TRANSLATION:Ko Ransom
Shingeki no Kyojin: Short Stories 4
Taking Shelter from the Rain Reprise
- Vol. 01 Erwin Smith & Sasha Blouse
- Vol. 02 Historia Reiss & Mikasa Ackerman
- Vol. 03 Nile Dok & Hitch Dreyse
- Vol. 04 Hange Zöe & Jean Kirstein
- Vol. 05 Levi & Peaure
••••••
Goodnight. Sweet dreams, dear Act II
- Vol. 01 Jean Kirstein
- Vol. 02 Mikasa Ackerman
- Vol. 03 Reiner Braun
- Vol. 04 Levi
- Vol. 05 Armin Arlert
••••••
My First Time Around
- Vol. 01 Bertolt Hoover
- Vol. 02 Moblit Berner
- Vol. 03 Nile Dok
- Vol. 04 Connie Springer
- Vol. 05 Mike Zacharias
- Vol. 06 Reiner Braun
- Vol. 07 Ymir
- Vol. 08 Jean Kirstein
- Vol. 09 Mikasa Ackerman
- Vol. 10 Hange Zöe
- Vol. 11 Sasha Blouse
- Vol. 12 Levi
- Vol. 13 Armin Arlert
- Vol. 14 Historia Reiss
- Vol. 15 Marco Bott
- Vol. 16 Annie Leonhart
- Vol. 17 Eren Yeager
••••••
Credits to @yusenki,@tsuki-no-uraand@nenithil for translating some of the stories and uploading them online. (ᗒᗨᗕ)
This Idiot finally gave in and browse their copy of Shingeki no Kyojin: Short Stories 3 to confirm the AU Smartpass Stories published inside it!
Ps:Can’t read Japanese, so matched names to website listing via Japanese Characters Shape, so dun expect me to translate the story till Kodansha USA release it in English! (シ_ _)シ
Pss:Thank you @tsuki-no-ura,@yusenki,@nenithiland@sapewloth for translating and uploading some of the stories, and @momtaku for proper translation of some of the titles.
••••••
Shingeki no Kyojin: Short Stories 3
TEXT
- Vol. 01 Erwin’s Letter
- Vol. 02 Eren’s Notes
- Vol. 03 Nick’s Instructional Notes
- Vol. 04 Connie’s Battle Plan
- Vol. 05 Jean’s Textbook
- Vol. 06 Nifa’s Coaster
- Vol. 07 Sasha’s Card
- Vol. 08 Bertolt’s Answer Sheet
- Vol. 09 Keith’s Gradebook
- Vol. 10 Hange’s Invoice
- Vol. 11 Reiner’s Bookmark
- Vol. 12 Ymir’s Proceedings
- Vol. 13 Marlowe’s Patrol Record
- Vol. 14 Historia’s Oath
- Vol. 15 Marco’s Diary
- Vol. 16 Annie’s Military Police Book
- Vol. 17 Uri’s Gospel
- Vol. 18 Levi’s Signature
- Vol. 19 Armin’s Sketch Book
- Vol. 20 Mike’s Game Record
- Vol. 21 Rico’s Report
- Vol. 22 How to write Frieda
- Vol. 23 Mikasa’s Recipe [ Summary]
••••••
Some Stories of Determination
- Vol. 01 Eren Yeager
- Vol. 02 Jean Kirstein
- Vol. 03 Hange Zoe
- Vol. 04 Sasha Blouse
Late Night Stories Vol. 01 Jean Kirstein : A Story of Disappointment
Late at night, a languid atmosphere lingered in the air in the boys barracks. In front of each of the recruits surrounding a table was a thick textbook on tactics, along with a variety of notes.
“Ugh… I’m so sleepy…” Connie said as he rubbed his eyes.
“This test is ridiculously difficult… Even I’m not close to finishing the materials,” Reiner shrugged.
“That’s why we’re all here pulling an all-nighter. You’d better not sleep,” Eren said, fighting back a yawn as he nudged Connie, who had his head in his hands. As Armin watched, he suddenly clapped.
“I know! Why don’t we all go around telling interesting stories so that we don’t fall asleep?”
“You want to tell interesting stories?” Jean echoed. Armin smiled back at him.
“That’s right… For example, Jean, why don’t you tell us about a time you were disappointed?”
“Hunh? Why me?!”
“I see… I might not fall asleep if we did that.”
“Good idea. I want to hear that, too.”
Though Jean was against the idea, he had no choice after all the others agreed. His shoulders fell.
“You, too, Marco?! Ugh… Fine.”
••••••
It happened when Jean went shopping with Marco. As part of their training duties, recruits had to calculate the food that would be needed during a fixed duration march, then go buy it.
“So you went in your military uniforms?”
“Yeah. But Jean said prices would be high in towns, so we went to a nearby farming village.”
While one could describe it as simply going shopping, this was actually an important part of their training that required a firm grasp on the many factors that went into a march.
“…And so, the shopping went fine. But…”
Jean sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
••••••
To the society inside the Walls, being a soldier meant having a stable job that allowed one to live off the people’s taxes.
…And so, to put it plainly, recruits were popular. The farmers and other young citizens of the village, both men and women, saw them as possible marriage partners who had promising futures.
Just as Jean and Marco finished shopping and had loaded their wagon, it happened.
“Um… These are for you.”
A number of girls from the village handed them snacks. The two gave their thanks and took them without a second thought before opening the packages, but…
“…Huh? What’s this letter?”
“Hm?! There’s no letter in mine!”
The bread that Marco had been given came with something extra, and it was clear to both of them what it was…
••••••
“Bfft… Haahaha! So no love letter for you, Jean?”
The entire table burst into laughter, beginning with Reiner. Jean did everything he could to protest as they roared.
“Don’t laugh! It was our first time meeting them, you know! What’s the big difference between me and Marco, anyway?!”
“I have a feeling I know what it is. You look like a bad guy, Jean, and Marco seems like someone you’d have a more stable life with.”
“Hey, what’d you just say about my face?!”
As Armin tried to stifle his laughter and explain the workings of a woman’s heart, Marco hopped in from the side to try to smooth things over, since he was the only other recruit involved in the story.
“It’s okay. I turned them down by saying that I didn’t know if I’d be able to become a full-fledged soldier or not.”
“Again, why would you turn them down there?! It only makes it sting more!”
The recruits laughed to one another, to the exclusion of a desperate Jean.
“Ah, all that laughing woke me up… That was a good idea.”
“I bet we could use it during camping training, too.”
“I’ll pick who tells the story next time!”
“I like that idea,” Armin smiled as he looked around. Now that his fellow recruits were awake, they began to switch gears and dig into their homework.
The night was far from over.
SOURCE:Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints: Selected Cases
The Case of the Anonymous Invitation - File No. 11 Krista’s Side (2/3)
One day, the Training Corps received a letter with no address inviting someone to a meal.
Speculation about its sender, as well as the intended recipient that this sender must have forgotten to write, was the topic of much discussion even after they returned to the barracks.
“I wonder who that invitation was for? A boy, or maybe a girl…?”
“I really would like to know! Oh, I’m so jealous!”
While the girls barracks were always alive with discussion, it was especially animated today. Krista smiled as she listened in, and then the conversation turned to her.
“If anyone is going to get a letter like that…don’t you think it’d be Krista?”
“What…?”
Everyone’s attention suddenly turned to her, putting Krista at a loss.
I don’t remember ever saving anyone…
••••••
“The letter said it was by someone who was saved, right…? I don’t remember ever doing something like that…”
Confused, Krista tried to nonchalantly signal the nearby Ymir for help.
“You’re always fussing over people, even when you don’t realize it yourself. So…I could see someone mistaking that for you saving them, can’t you?”
Hmm…I’m not very happy to hear that.
Krista knew that her kindness and caring that everyone thought so highly of wasn’t the real her. She was afraid of being praised for her false compassion, and so she desperately tried to find something that would let her deny it. Not out of the kindness of her own heart… but out of selfishness.
“Um, didn’t Marco also say something like, ‘When I got lost on that mountain, I thought I was going to die by the side of the path'…?” In other words… I think the person who sent that letter must have met the person it was for during mountain training the other day.“
••••••
"Mountain training…? Oh, that really tough one?”
“Now I remember! Where we had to hunt, even though we didn’t have enough food… I was ready to steal other people’s prey, forget about saving them.”
The girls in the barracks all held their heads heavy in their hands. Memories of the harsh, mentally and physically exhausting multi-day training exercise was still fresh in their minds.
“It would’ve been amazing if you managed to pull that off, potato girl. You shoulda tried.”
“There was no one to try on! The squads were far away from one another, and we were nowhere near any populated paths… We only saw our squadmates during that exercise.”
“…And even if you did, you wouldn’t get yourself invited out for a meal if you robbed someone in the middle of the road.”
Though Sasha talked about how tough of a time she had during training, Ymir was mildly bewildered by the toughness she showed regardless of the fact.
“I didn’t have any chances to talk to anyone outside of my squad, either. I had a hard enough time keeping up with the training exercise… You know that, don’t you, Ymir?”
“Oh… True. Unfortunately, I don’t recall coming across anyone rich enough to have a 'restaurant they often patronize.’”
“Oh… So it must be for someone in a squad that helped someone out.”
Krista’s gentle nudging had taken the girls’ conversation into a different direction.
••••••
As the group excitedly recalled their stories about the rigorous mountain training exercise, one girl raised her hand.
“Oh! I was in Reiner’s squad during the training… I want to say that he was the squad leader and that he saved a civilian then.”
“So the letter was for Reiner?!”
“Hmm… But if it was, that would be a little…”
“Wh-What do you mean by that? Come on, details!”
While it was only getting later, there seemed to be no signs of the discussion coming to an end. Krista simply watched them with a relieved smile, completely uninterested.
Phew… I got them to stop talking about me.
…And so she failed to catch the truth of the matter when it was revealed. While she would be fairly shocked to learn it alongside the boys a few days later, she was at least satisfied that she was now free of any suspicious.
SOURCE:Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints: Selected Cases
The Case of the Anonymous Invitation - File No. 10 Marco’s Side (1/3)
Before the recruits could sit down for their long-awaited dinner, Marco was stopped by an instructor. In his hands was a wooden box filled with stacks of paper.
“Marco Bott… You’re on duty today, right? This is mail for the recruits.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be sure they get this.”
Marco gave the soldiers their letters from family and friends as per his assignment. Just as he thought about sitting down, he noticed one letter left at the bottom of the box.
“Hm? This envelope… Where’s the address?”
He picked it up and checked both sides, but it was only addressed to the recruits of the South 104th Training Corps, his own group. There was no indication of any name.
…Who could it be for?
••••••
…Maybe I should return it to the instructors. I’ll bring it back to them later, Marco thought, and held on to the mysterious envelope before starting his dinner. Jean, who sat next to him, quickly noticed the item placed next to Marco’s plate.
“Is that for you? It’s a pretty nice envelope.”
“No… I’m not sure. There’s not even a sender written on the outside…”
The corpsmates were starved for a good story during their grueling days spent training, so when they heard Marco say this, they excitedly joined in.
“If it just says it’s for the South 104th Training Corps, couldn’t that mean it’s for all of us?”
“Or maybe…it’s a trap set by the instructors to see if they can spot a spy?”
“Pop quizzes even during mealtime? Give me a break.”
As the young soldiers bantered back and forth, Marco was pensive.
I see… If it is part of our training… I would be the responsible party here.
He thought for a while before coming to his decision.
“Okay, let’s try opening it. I’ll take responsibility.”
“Nice, Marco!”
Marco calmed his cheering corpsmates before slowly tearing it open. A piece of letterhead just as fancy as its envelope was inside, and it contained beautifully written words…
…What?!
What Marco saw on the letter was much more complicated than he expected.
Can I…really read this out loud?
“What’s the matter? Was it a trap from the instructors after all?”
“No…it doesn’t look like that, but…”
While he hesitated to read it aloud, it was something he needed them to know. He looked the sheet of paper over from corner to corner, and only when he could find nothing that would identify who it was addressed to, Marco asked everyone to be quiet.
“…No, I think I need to be serious about passing along these feelings. If anyone thinks this is for them, raise your hand, even if I’m still talking.”
Marco calmed himself as much as he could before beginning to read in an objective tone.
“‘You saved me during training the other day. I just had to tell you how I felt, which is why I decided to write this letter…’”
“What…?”
••••••
“‘…You must be tired from all of your training. There is a restaurant I often patronize in Trost District. I’d like to ask you to join me for meal there. I await your reply.’ …That’s all the letter says.“
Marco looked through the crowd to see if anyone had identified themselves as the letter’s addressee…but instead, all of his corpsmates were talking among one another.
"A-An invitation to a meal?”
“Doesn’t that mean it's…”
“A love letter to one of us?!”
The recruits had read into the meaning of the letter, and now they all excitedly looked at one another.
“Huh? …No one knows whose this might be?”
Marco tilted his head, causing Jean to slump his shoulders beside him.
“Even if they did, they’re not going to say it was them after that letter! They’re gonna reply in secret, duh!”
“…Will they really?”
“…I’m at least glad to know that it’s not for you.”
Well…I guess it’s fine so long as someone replies, even if it’s in secret.
With that, Marco felt that the case of this letter was over. However, he had planted the seeds of endless rumors among the *Survey Corps.
••••
••••••
*It’s likely here, the Official Translator, Ko Ransom, had made a mistake in translation and meant to say “Training Corps”! (• ε •)
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints Selected Cases
The Case of the Corps Tea Party - File No. 09 Levi’s Side (3/3)
“According to Oluo’s explanation, some high-grade tea was accidentally sent to the Survey Corps, and so the mighty Military Police Brigade are coming all the way here just to retrieve it…”
“Is it really worth getting that worked up over? It’s hard enough to get adequate food to eat, so I doubt there are many soldiers out there who have discerning tastes in tea.”
The notice regarding a collection of provisioned tea had arrived as soon as they woke up. All of the soldiers under Levi had their heads tilted as they tried to understand this inexplicable situation.
It is true that these tea leaves are a lot more tolerable than the ones we normally get. But…I think the truth of the matter is…
While the theory about the Survey Corps being unsuitable for the luxury goods that accidentally reached them did make sense, it wasn’t a good enough reason for the Military Police to be acting so frantic.
“…Oluo, bring the tea leaves here. There’s something I want to check.”
Just then, Levi recalled the way the Military Police Brigade “did business” and that’s when he decided to check for himself.
******
“Eren, give me that spoon over there.”
The tea that had been brought to the room was barely any different from what was normally supplied to the corpsmen. As Levi hated to get his hands dirty, he took a thin, long teaspoon from the recruit and calmly stirred through the leaves.
“What is that beautiful stone?!”
…A moment later, a large, glimmering rock was there in Levi’s hand. A rock that in their walled society could only be seen in Royal and aristocratic estates… It was a decorative gem that lowly soldiers such as the Survey Corpsmen had only ever seen in illustrations.
“I-Is that what you call a jewel?!”
“I’ve only ever seen gems that shine like that being treated like the holy treasures of the Wall Religion…!”
“What is that, Captain?!”
He brushed the tea leaves off the gem and rolled it on the table.
“This is what the Military Police have been looking for…from the very start.”
Then, based on his experiences along with stories from old acquaintances, Levi began to give his own thoughts on the incident.
“They were trying to cover up their bribes by hiding valuables inside tea that they claimed was a donation…? Really?”
“No matter how rotten they may be in the inside, even the Military Police have to take a neutral appearance. It doesn’t look good for them to be taking money directly…”
“But food is a different matter. Like Oluo said, luxury goods or not, no one’s going to complain about them donating tea that any regular citizen could get and say that it should have been used as alms.”
Levi’s talented soldiers quickly digested what he said and arrived at the truth themselves.
“And some stupid MP must have mixed things up. So now they’re saying the tea isn’t fit for consumption and are trying to retrieve it,” one of them said, playing with the shinning rock… Outside of the Walls, it was nothing more than a worthless pebble. Eren agreed with the corpsman, looked at the gem with curious eyes, and asked.
“What are you going to go with this gem, Captain?”
“…That’s up to Erwin.” “We’re going back immediately,” he announced, and began heading back to the Commander, the head of the Survey Corps.
******
“I see… It’s a good thing you were you quick to figure out what was really going on. Let’s let the MP in charge of this know.”
Erwin’s reaction to hearing what had happened was flatter than they expected. As there could have been more than one stone, he briskly ordered his aide to ask the Military Police how many items were “unfit for consumption” and to arrange for an investigation of all of the tea to make sure that no foul play had taken place.
“…So you’re going to hand them back without a word?”
“I think it’d be more convenient for us to have the Military Police owe us one rather than turn the entire Brigade against us because we pilfered a couple of pebbles. Not happy, Levi?”
Levi had no objections to Erwin’s decision. He thought it was best to let Erwin handle the way he dealt with the military brass and other branches himself.
“I’ll leave all of the political maneuvering up to you.”
“If you have any requests, I’ll be happy to pass them along as ones by the first individual to discover the goods.”
“Hmm…”
Levi recalled the tea he’d had a single sip of that morning. It was undeniably excellent.
“I don’t care about these pebbles, but the tea was good. It’d be nice if they supplied us with more of the same.”
Erwin grinned before repeating Levi’s simple request in his own trademark way.
“Okay, I’ll let them know. I’ll ask for them to supply you with tea next time with whatever made it ‘unfit for consumption’ taken out.”
He then turned his back to Levi in order to go meet the MP leading the case himself as Levi returned to his own job.
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints Selected Cases
The Case of the Corps Tea Party - File No. 08 Annie’s Side (2/3)
“…And so some of the tea shipment distributed the other day included some that was absolutely unfit for consumption. Today I need you to collect all of the tea sent to the military and give out new tea in its place. That is all.”
The Military Police Brigade officer’s words sounded even more stern than usual. That still didn’t mean that he would rethink his tendency of handling off all his work to the recruits, though. He simply ordered them to get results fast before returning to his room.
“That’s weird. The food supplies we give to the Survey Corps and Garrison are always second-rate. Why would we go this far over some bad tea?”
“While Tea might be a luxury, it’s still something you put in your body. Someone would need to take the blame if anyone’s health was affected.”
Among her fellow recruits, Annie stood alone, wondering how she would get out of this annoying Mission.
…This is stupid.
******
The recruits began to disperse, and Annie casually turned around as she stood behind them all. In what must have been their haste, the door to the officers’ quarters was cracked open.
…None of them are drinking today?
Annie noticed that the scene she glimpsed inside was different from the usual one. She split off from the others and listened in from the shadows.
“…So do you think we’ll be able to find it?”
“There are only so many places it could have been distributed, so it’s just a matter of time. What’s annoying, though, is that some of it has already been sent off to the Survey Corps.”
They were talking about the “unfit for consumption” tea. The officers seemed to be uncharacteristically frantic in their search for it, and MPs belonging to ranks so high that Annie had never seen them working before streamed in and out of the room.
The Survey Corps…
“This is Erwin we’re dealing with here. If he finds it, he might even try to use it against us some day…”
Some of Annie’s friends would be in the Survey Corps. Not only that, this tea seemed to be such a big deal that it had the potential to turn into a major scandal that could be used against the Military Police Brigade.
It’s just some tea. Why would they be this obsessed with it? I think…it might a good idea to look into this.
Her past experiences told her that if she had a little more information, she might be able to use it as insurance if worst came worst. Annie pretended to go back to work before heading toward the records room.
******
…The day the tea we’re supposed to recover was sent out, the brass was scheduled to meet with important Wallists. But…the plans were canceled right after the shipment.
Fortunately, the Military Police had plenty of time to create documents. They kept reasonably detailed records of plans and shipments going in and out.
These are yesterday’s records of donations from the aristocracy… They gave money, as well as…precious metals?
“Hey, Annie. What do you think you can get done looking at records like that? Are you sleeping with your eyes open or something?”
“…Yeah, maybe.”
“God, you’re boring!”
Annie parried another MP’s snide remarks before looking at more records.
And the records of where these metals were kept…don’t exist? They were taken somewhere before they even had a chance to go into storage…
Annie understood where that “somewhere” was.
“…I get it now,” she muttered so that no one else could hear, slowly shutting the records. She was done with the case now…and decided to skip as much work as she could.
******
“Make any progress, Annie? It seemed like you were looking into some sort of records the whole time,” a serious recruit asked Annie, his hopes high. She had no intention of telling him the truth, though.
…I can’t have any attention on me. I’ll just ignore this.
“…Not really.”
“Like I said, she was slacking and just pretending to work. You’re the only one who took this seriously, Marlowe.”
The attention was taken off of Annie thanks to another recruit who was napping alongside Annie in the records room. She couldn’t help but let one thing slip out when she saw his ever-fierce attitude.
“What the officers are looking for…has probably been taken far, far away already. It’s up to the MPs there now…”
“That doesn’t make it alright for us to slack off, though! Sheesh…”
Still, the words didn’t seem to be enough to make him take notice of anything. He was either a true idiot, or maybe what you’d call an honorable man. Annie knew people like that existed.
If the shipment was sent to the Survey Corps…I don’t need to be the one acting like some kind of righteous hero.
Annie also thought the right kind of person to expose this corruption would be just that kind of person.
[PART 1 | PART 3 ]
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints Selected Cases
The Case of the Corps Tea Party - File No. 07 Oluo’s Side (1/3)
“All that’s left is the tea. Can you take care of it, Oluo?”
“Yeah… I got this.”
It was, as always, a busy morning.
The Survey Corps Special Operations Squad, also known as Squad Levi, was working to make yet another simple breakfast from their provisions in the old Survey Corps headquarters they temporarily called home.
“…Hm?”
As his fellow soldiers carried trays to the table, Oluo began to make some tea, his superior officer’s favorite…but Oluo felt like something was off as he performed this simple task.
These tea leaves… While the average person would think they’re regular leaves…
He looked at the tea he had just opened with his own hands and was sure.
There’s no mistaking it. This…is going to be an issue.
******
As Oluo brought the teapot into the dining hall, the “issue” was already beginning to manifest. Everyone was looking with suspicious at a sheet of paper that seemed to be from Levi, their leader.
“What’s going on here, Petra?” Oluo asked as calmly as he could.
“We got a report from the Military Police first thing in this morning. It said the tea we were supplied with the other day was ‘unfit for consumption,’ and that we should return it all without opening it up.”
“Unfit…for consumption?”
That was strange.
The Military Police had given them the notice, but they were known to hoard all the best meat and luxurious alcohol for their own use. They considered the Survey Corps utter idiots.
“They’re the kind of bunch that would go out of their way to give us the bad-quality stuff…”
It seemed like they would have loved the chance to get rid of anything unfit for consumption by handing it off to the soldiers at the bottom of the totem pole. As everyone wondered why they would bother to take it back, Levi asked a question.
“Oluo, did you use the tea yet? Did you notice anything?”
The Captain’s voice was calm, almost as if he knew exactly what was going on.
I knew it… That Tea…!
Oluo nodded and gradually began to give his opinion as he poured each of the others their tea.
******
“Now listen… Tea comes in different grades. But that doesn’t have anything to do with its quality… It’s all a matter of the size of the leaves…
Of all the corpsmen present, Oluo was the only one to see the tea they had been given. He also knew that something was different about it.
"Does that have something to do with this commotion about a recall?”
“Stay cool, Petra… The truth isn’t going to sneak away from us. It’s right in front of your eyes, after all.”
“Stop talking like such a creep. I’m telling you to give us your conclusion.”
Oluo handed his offended corpsmate her tea as he explained.
“The tea that makes it all the way down to us is a blend of late-picked, poor-quality teas. No matter how high the grade, there’s not going to be any noticeable change in taste. However… This was something different. The tea had a young colour and a deep aroma… While the size and shape of the leaves is no different from our usual blend, the actual product is something entirely different. This is made from the leftovers of the kind of first-flush tea leaves that those damned aristocrats drink in the interior!”
“The colour of the tea being lighter than usual is proof of that,” he proudly concluded.
******
His squadmate Eld took a small sip. He did feel like something was different about the taste, but he cocked his head to the side.
“…So you’re saying they accidentally sent some high-quality tea our way, and that they’re trying to take it back because we’re not worthy of it?”
“It’s not like cover-ups are anything new for that bunch… Someone was probably too drunk and sent us the wrong supplies by accident, and now they’re trying to hide the fact and get it back by claiming the tea isn’t fit for consumption.”
Oluo looked to the captain he so respected for backup. Levi took a sip of the tea in his hand and seemed to enjoy it more than usual before he sighed.
“You’re right… This does seem a little better than the cheap tea we always get. Oluo’s reasoning must be right. But…”
“Captain?”
Everyone in the squad, including its recruit, had their eyes on Levi, who seemed to be deep in thought.
So he’s saying…that’s not all…?!
Oluo was on pins and needles as he waited to hear what words would come from the mouth of the man he unconsciously aspired to become.
[PART 2 | PART 3 ]
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
Three Viewpoints Selected Cases
The Case of the Sacked Squad Leader - File No. 06 Nifa’s Side (3/3)
Hange’s lab had been sacked despite it being a locked room with no way in or out. Hange, who was inside, had no memories of the incident, and everyone was trying to figure out the true story behind what had gone on.
Nifa, who worked under Hange, said she had carried tools for her superior officer’s experiments until moments before the room was locked.
“You can put Unit #1, the log mockup, in front of that bookshelf. Unit #2, the pendulum, goes in front of the desk, and put Unit #3, the wire trap, next to the shelf.”
The room was by no means large, but Nifa brought model after model for the trap into the room.
Is it really okay to put these inside here…?
Still, they didn’t have unlimited resources. They would have to run at least a few experiments using smaller mock ups before doing anything at larger scale. Nifa knew this, which is why she obeyed Hange’s instructions.
******
“I want to be alone for a bit, so I’m going to lock myself in here, okay? You take care of it if anyone comes by, Nifa. Give any documents or anything else that isn’t urgent to Moblit,” Hange said before swapping their glasses out for goggles. It seemed like they were getting ready to hunker down and start researching.
The Squad Leader didn’t even sleep last night… I don’t want to leave them on their own, but…
While Nifa was concerned for her Squad Leader, she believed in Hange, someone who had made it out of more than a few life-or-death situations.
“Please don’t do anything unreasonable.”
“Aren’t Survey Corpsmen always doing the unreasonable?”
“We’re inside the Walls right now. I’ll come get you when it’s time to take a break.”
Hange would be fine as long as they got the rest they needed. Nifa and the other squad members just needed to be on top of things. Having convinced herself, Nifa closed the door and heard it lock from the inside.
******
Petra was shocked when she heard Nifa’s explanation of the prototypes and leaped to her feet.
“You tested heavy pendulums and log traps inside of a room?! Isn’t that really dangerous…?”
“They’re smaller because they’re prototypes. At most, they were the size of this chair,” Hange said while gesturing to show the size of the prototypes. But Levi was still dumbstruck.
“Why did you lock the door? Did it not strike you that no one would be able to come in and help if there was an accident?”
“That’s right! You should have at least had someone else…”
When Nifa heard Petra say these words, she recalled that Petra was the type of soldier who put a strong emphasis on teamwork.
…But that wasn’t to say that Nifa’s corpsmates didn’t think of one another, either.
“I was working with traps that can activate out of nowhere. If someone who didn’t know what was going on came in and set one off, it’d be dangerous.”
…Yes, that’s the kind of person Hange is.
Hange may have appeared to me caught up in the experiment, but they cared about others, too. It was that kindness that lead to the accident. The rest of Hange’s squad knew that, which made them share the responsibility for what happened.
“…At least one of us should have stayed.”
“It’s fine with me, I’m still alive. I just don’t remember. So, Nifa, what do you mean when you say you figured it out?”
“Let’s go back to the scene one more time.”
The blame would be Hange’s alone unless the truth of the matter was revealed. Nifa knew that she had to prove her hypothesis, and so she went with her officers and squadmates to the room where it all happened.
******
The room remained in shambles. Still, Nifa’s eyes landed on a single piece of debris. She ran over Ang picked it up.
“Look! You changed the size of the model, didn’t you!”
“Oh… Now that you mention it…”
Nifa had brought a piece of wood used to support one of the prototypes into the room, but a table was now attached to it.
“That’s right, the small-scale experiment went well, so I thought I’d adjust it so that it’d reach a seven-to-eight-meter-class Titan…and put the pendulum trap on the desk…and that’s when it happened.”
As soon as Moblit heard Hange said this, he immediately began to scrutinize the desk and the size of the trap, compared that to Hange’s height, and arrived at the same conclusion as Nifa.
“So this log pendulum must have gone swooping down and hit you in the head, Squad Leader. That’s what caused you to pass out…
"…And then the base gave way, causing it to hit the shelf…”
“…Which caused the books to fall onto your test equipment, which is how we ended up with this mess… Excuse me, Squad Leader.”
Just to make sure, Nifa stood tall and raised her arms, thrusting her hands into Hange’s ever-tied hair.
“You have a huge bump on your head!”
“Oh, I do. Well, you know how sometimes bumps don’t hurt that much depending on where you get them!”
“I guess that happens every once in a while, but…”
Hange’s temporary memory loss must have caused them to forget the pain, too.
“…We’ll write apologies as well. We came up with these traps as a squad, after all.”
Everyone nodded at Nifa’s words before moving straight to cleaning up the room.
“I’ll take all the blame for this. We did learn that the weapons, while small, do at least work on humans.”
“Before you do, can you please go to a doctor to get that bump checked out?”
“You never know,” Nifa said, “once we start cleaning up, we might find out that surprisingly little equipment was destroyed.” After that, she pushed Hange out of the room.
“Sorry, I’ll get you something to make up for this,” the squad heard their leader say. They only shrugged as they began the work of picking up books and gathering splinters of wood.
SOURCE:Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
