After passing through the towering inner gate of Wall Rose, the three arrived at the refugee camp.
The camp was densely packed with people, and the smell of body odor and rotting food made it hard to breathe.
Ellie, Annie, and Reiner went to great lengths to barely secure a corner barely the size of three blankets under a low wall at the edge of the camp.
“This is way too crowded…”
Reiner couldn’t help complaining as he sat down heavily on the ground, wiped the dust off his face, and looked at the sea of people surrounding them.
You couldn’t even find a flat place to lie down here!
Annie sat hugging her knees in the innermost spot and replied coldly:
“It’s already good enough to have a place to stay.
Do you want to go fight the adults for a tent?”
“Alright, alright, you two watch the luggage and the horses here, I’ll go line up to get some water.”
Ellie patted the dust off her skirt, picked up three empty water skins, and walked toward the water supply point.
The line in front of the water supply point was terribly long, so Ellie followed the line forward out of sheer boredom but suddenly, in the neighboring grain-receiving line, she saw three familiar figures.
A black-haired boy with green eyes, a black-haired girl wearing a red scarf, and a thin, bob-cut blonde girl…
boy.
The three people were Eren, Mikasa, and Armin!
Holy crap!
Ellie felt a bit excited but, outwardly she kept her composure, only secretly sizing them up out of the corner of her eye.
At this time, Eren was still just an ordinary boy with a stubborn face, completely devoid of the shadow of his future self.
Mikasa, on the other hand, was just like in her memories; even in the chaotic refugee camp, her attention was always focused on Eren.
As for Armin…
His smooth blonde bob, fair and delicate little face, slender and frail little build…
Ellie had only one thought…
Can someone grow up to be this cute even as a boy?
She really couldn’t be blamed for mistaking his gender at first glance!
Armin’s appearance was extremely cute even as a girl!
Seeming to sense the gaze, Eren, who was standing in line, suddenly turned his head, and his gaze happened to collide with Ellie’s.
Eren was stunned for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly.
“How come I feel like this girl looks a bit familiar?”
He remembered that on the morning before Wall Maria was breached, it seemed he had seen this blonde girl under a tree?
But because Eren stared for way too long, Mikasa, who was standing in front of him, keenly sensed the abnormality, she turned her head following Eren’s gaze, looked in Ellie’s direction, and then cutely tilted her head slightly.
Little Mikasa puzzled.jpg
“Eren, Mikasa, what’s wrong?
It’s almost our turn, don’t lose focus.”
Armin quickly pulled on the sleeves of the two, pulling their attention back.
Eren then withdrew his gaze, but still couldn’t help glancing back at Ellie again.
“What a strange girl…”
Seeing this, Ellie on the opposite side quickly turned her head away, pretending to look at the scenery.
Scaring the little loli to death…
She didn’t know whether Eren at this period had inherited his father’s Power of the Titans but, now was not the best time to contact the main character group!
She was making a strategic retreat!
…
The line moved forward slowly and when it was Ellie’s turn, the soldier in charge of the water supply only half-filled the three water skins, before impatiently waved his hand to urge her to leave.
Ellie held the water-filled leather bags and retreated from the crowded crowd and as for the identity registration line, it was terribly long, and looking over at a glance, there was simply no end in sight.
Several garrison soldiers sat behind wooden tables, questioning the refugees one by one about their names, places of origin, and family backgrounds.
Ellie couldn’t help frowning, given their situation, this wouldn’t be easy to get through.
If they were ordinary refugees, that would be easy to talk about.
After all, Wall Maria had been breached by titans, and when running for their lives, who would bother to bring household registration documents?
As long as they made up some casual lie that sounded plausible, the registration personnel mostly wouldn’t probe deeply, but Annie and Reiner were different! This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
After all, the two of them grew up in Marley, and whether it was their spoken accent or living habits, they could easily give themselves away, if they ran into an experienced registrar who asked a few more questions about the nearby villages, they would probably be exposed on the spot!
It seemed that to successfully infiltrate inside the walls, they had to find someone with enough weight to step forward and vouch for them but the problem was, where on earth could they find such a person?
Right at this moment, a melodious bell chime suddenly came from the distance, and she could see several church personnel wearing the insignia of the triple walls were pushing wooden carts through the camp, distributing bread and hot water to the hungry refugees along the way.
Ellie touched the keepsake of the Church of the Walls hidden inside her lapel, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Oh my, how could she forget this group of holy tricksters?!
Isn’t this just a coincidence?
On the surface, the Church of the Walls talked about the three walls all day long, but in secret, what they truly swore allegiance to was always the Reiss Family!
And although Ellie couldn’t directly reveal her identity as Rod’s illegitimate daughter, she had a genuine church keepsake in her hands!
With this thing as a foundation, and then weaving a tear-jerking refugee story…
fooling a local priest into stepping forward to guarantee for three homeless children couldn’t be easier!
After finishing getting the water and returning to the corner, Ellie looked at Annie and Reiner huddled under the low wall and cleared her throat.
“You should be able to see that a place like the refugee camp is simply unlivable!”
“Let’s go, grab your things, we’re going to a good place!”
Reiner stood up with a blank expression and grabbed the horse.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s fine, just follow me!”
Ellie blinked mysteriously and strode ahead.
Half an hour later, the three stood in front of a fairly large-scale Church of the Walls branch in Trost District.
“Are you sure you want to go in?”
Annie looked up at the church’s emblem, her brows slightly furrowed.
She had originally thought that the church keepsake on Ellie would at best reduce questioning when passing checkpoints.
But in such chaotic times, could the church really care about the life or death of three little refugees?
“It’s fine, watch my performance.”
( • ̀ ω • ́ ) ✧
Ellie smiled with confidence, pushed open the doors, and headed straight for a kind old priest standing in the hall.
After approaching, she walked up to the old priest with her head lowered, first following the rules of the Church of the Walls by gently pressing her right hand against her chest and respectfully bowing.
“Merciful Father…
May the triple walls of Wall Maria, Wall Rose, and Sina forever protect the citizens within the walls.”
Then, she took out the church keepsake brought out from the Reiss Estate.
“The father who took care of me said that if one day we got separated, I should take this keepsake to find other churches.”
“As long as they see it, the brothers and sisters of the church will believe my identity.”
She held the badge in both hands and handed it to the old priest in front of her.
“Please take a look.”
The old priest took the keepsake from Ellie’s hand and examined it carefully under the light cast by the stained-glass window and although the edges of the badge had been polished to a shine, the triple-wall patterns and church secret marks on it were real.
The old priest understood all at once.
The girl in front of him was indeed a child of the church!
“Child, was this keepsake given to you by your father?” he asked solemnly.
“Yes.”
Ellie lowered her head.
“When we were fleeing, we were separated by the crowd, he told me to keep heading north and find people from other churches…”
“However, after I looked back, I never saw him again.”
By the end, she choked up just at the right moment.
Oh heavens, King Fritz above!
The old priest held the keepsake, his face filled with pity.
“Poor child, may the walls guide that dutiful friend.”
He outlined the three walls on his chest, and then troubledly glanced at the church crowded with the wounded and orphans.
“The church shouldn’t turn you away, but as you can see, the hall and warehouse are already full of refugees, and even the chapel has straw mats laid out.
Even if I reluctantly let you stay, I’m afraid I can only let you sleep in the hallway…”
“Sigh…
What on earth should be done!”
Hearing this, Ellie immediately raised her head. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“Thank you, sir, we are not afraid of hardship, as long as there is a place to settle down!”
“We can work ourselves, whether it’s farming, feeding horses, or repairing houses, Reiner is very good at it!”
“Me?”
Reiner was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly patted his chest to guarantee.
“Right!
I can do all these chores!”
The old priest was amused by his appearance and then said:
“That being the case, I do happen to think of a place.”
He walked over to the desk and pulled a yellowed piece of paper from a pile of church property registers.
“To the north of the Trost District, there is an old farm belonging to the church.
It was originally responsible for supplying food to the church, but later, due to a lack of manpower, it has been idle for several years.”
“Although the houses are a bit dilapidated and the courtyard is overgrown with weeds, the well, warehouse, and fields are still there.”
“If you are willing to repair the houses and tend the land, you can also live there temporarily.”
Speaking of this, the old priest paused, his expression turning serious.
“Of course, you are children after all, I will still arrange for nearby church members to check regularly and register your names under the church’s name.”
“From now on, please come to the church once a month to prove that you are safe and sound.
Can you do that?”
“Yes!”
“That’s good.”
The old priest smiled with gratification.
“I will have people prepare some old bedding, food, and simple farm tools for you, and write a temporary letter of guarantee.
Although it may not allow you to obtain official household registration, at least it can prove that you are looked after by the church.”
“Child, being unwilling to be a burden to others is certainly commendable, but accepting goodwill is not shameful.”
“The walls protect us, and the church naturally should protect everyone who comes under the walls.”
Ellie’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you!
May the walls protect you, merciful sir!”
It worked!
Unexpectedly, in a quarter of an hour, Ellie had successfully persuaded the old priest with a half-true and half-false tragic life story and an incomparably “pious” belief in the walls!
The priest even used the church’s guarantee to issue temporary identification certificates for the three of them!
With this thing, the three little ones could not only work legally and receive rations, but in the future they could also use this identity to sign up for the Training Corps!
When the three walked out of the church gates, Reiner was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.
“Ellie…
You, you are way too amazing?!”
“Seriously, I thought I was going to end up begging for food in the refugee camp!”
Indeed!
Unexpectedly, now not only did they have a house and food, but even their legal identity inside the walls was traded by Ellie with a few tears!
Although Annie, walking behind, didn’t speak, a trace of undisguised shock also flashed in her eyes.
Was it settled just like that?!
No, that’s not right!
This girl was definitely not just an ordinary orphan inside the walls!
The gold content of her keepsake was definitely not simple!
As for Ellie, she stretched luxuriously, feeling refreshed in both body and mind.
“Phew—finally I don’t have to sleep on the floor, nor do I have to fight others for moldy bread!”
With the farm as their base camp and two ready-made laborers, the days ahead would be much easier!
================================================================ evil, manipulating loli :() That poor priest, he doesn’t know what he’s done…