Swallowing the last bite of dinner, that tasted like chewing tree bark, Ellie dropped her wooden spoon in agony.
“One day, I’m going to have roast meat for every single meal…”
She forcefully swallowed the bread in her mouth, her gaze suddenly shifting to Annie sitting across from her.
Annie had just finished eating and was leisurely wiping the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.
The dim, yellowish light fell upon her short, light-blonde hair, casting a faint halo around it.
At this moment, Annie practically seemed to be glowing in Ellie’s eyes!
Annie Leonhart!
Setting aside those two overpowered freaks from the Ackerman family, she was an absolute master of hand-to-hand combat who ranked among the top three in the original story!
Grappling, joint locks, close-quarters combat—she was a master of them all!
Ellie suddenly remembered that when the two of them had first met, Annie had indeed promised to teach her a few self-defense moves if the opportunity ever arose.
With such a great opportunity right in front of her, wouldn’t it be a huge waste not to seize it?
“Annie…”
Ellie scooted her stool closer, little stars practically glittering in her eyes.
“Will you teach me hand-to-hand combat, please?”
Annie glanced at her.
“No time.”
“Please, Annie, you clearly promised me before—”
Ellie grabbed Annie’s arm and rubbed against it back and forth like a spoiled kitten.
Although her inner soul was that of an adult, Ellie could now shamelessly exploit the advantages of her current body without the slightest psychological burden.
I mean, seriously, who could possibly resist the sweet pestering of a cute little loli?
“…Let go.”
“Not unless you promise to teach me!
Just once, okay?”
Being stared at by Ellie’s big, adorable eyes, Annie finally couldn’t keep a straight face.
“Y-You!
Even acting cute is useless!”
Her little face flushed red.
Hey, hey, don’t turn your face away while saying something like that!
Is that mouse stealing leftovers by the warehouse really so fascinating to you?
Besides, this is already the second time, Annie!
“Tch, does acting cute really not work on girls my age?”
Ellie’s cute little head drooped toward the ground in disappointment.
“I just feel…
that being shielded behind you and Reiner all the time and being unable to do anything is really upsetting…”
“My strength is small, and I can’t help much in frontal combat, but I can’t just wait for other people to protect me every time I encounter danger, right?”
“At least next time, I hope to stand beside you guys and fight shoulder to shoulder with you!”
Annie: “…”
She sighed helplessly.
“Fine, fine.
I really yield.”
“…First off, I’ll only teach you once.
If you can’t handle it, don’t bother me about it ever again.”
“Yay!
Annie is the best!” Ellie said happily.
Ten minutes later, the two of them arrived at an open space behind the camp.
Ellie put away her playful expression, her gaze turning serious.
The opponent before her was Annie, she had to take this seriously!
She slightly bent her legs, lowered her center of gravity, and assumed a defensive posture with one hand forward and the other back.
This was a stance she had developed during her dagger training over the past four years and although it wasn’t perfect, it was far from completely amateurish.
A trace of surprise flashed through Annie’s eyes.
This brat actually had some moves?
“Not bad, but…”
Annie kept her hands in her pockets, her tone deliberately taunting.
“Actual combat and striking a pose are two completely different things.
“Alright!
Haah!!!”
Ellie let out a cute battle cry and took the initiative to attack and as she closed in, she deliberately extended her right hand slightly, revealing an obvious opening.
Based on what she had learned over the past four years, Annie would most likely seize her wrist in response and as long as Annie reached out, Ellie could immediately twist her wrist and counter-control her opponent!
Hehe!
Ellie could practically already see the glorious scene of herself counter-controlling Annie, but, Annie merely glanced indifferently at the right hand Ellie had deliberately offered.
She had absolutely no intention of reaching out to grab it.
“Eh?”
An ominous premonition suddenly welled up in Ellie’s heart.
Before she could even react, Annie had already sidestepped, hooked her toe behind Ellie’s leg, and swept her lower leg out from under her.
Ellie had already shifted her center of gravity forward and the moment Annie hooked her leg, Ellie lost her balance completely!
“Bang!”
“Ouch!”
The little loli landed solidly on her backside, kicking up a ring of dust upon impact.
She sat on the ground, clutching her rear, and looked up with a dumbfounded expression.
No way!
What happened to grabbing the wrist as agreed?!
Why aren’t you playing by the rules?!
“Your judgment was wrong.”
Annie looked down at her from above.
“Don’t assume that just because you deliberately expose an opening, your opponent will definitely move according to your expectations.
Until you have absolute certainty, don’t casually try to predict your opponent’s movements.”
“Otherwise, the moment they refuse to take your bait, you’ll be the one who loses your balance.”
“I refuse to accept this!
Again!”
Ellie grit her teeth, slapped the dust from her hands, and climbed back to her feet.
The second clash began!
As soon as Annie closed in, Ellie keenly noticed that her opponent’s center of gravity was shifting to one side.
Oh no!
She’s going for another leg sweep!
Alarm bells rang loudly in Ellie’s heart.
She immediately stepped backward to widen the distance.
She should be able to dodge it this time!
However, Annie seemed to have anticipated that the little loli would retreat.
The foot she had originally intended to sweep toward Ellie’s right leg suddenly changed direction halfway through, hooking forward to catch Ellie’s retreating left foot.
“Eh?”
Ellie instantly realized that something was wrong!
“Thud!”
She lost her balance once again and fell flat onto her back.
Why again?!
This is seriously bizarre!
Can this woman’s legs bend around corners?!
Just as Ellie tried to crawl back up, Annie had already closed the distance in a single step.
One hand seized Ellie’s wrist, the other pressed down on her shoulder, and her knee pinned Ellie’s waist, locking the little loli firmly to the ground.
“You lost.”
Annie said flatly.
Ellie panted heavily, her entire body aching from the beating Annie had just put her through.
After falling several times in a row, she was already exhausted and completely out of breath.
A few strands of her short, light-blonde hair, dampened by sweat, clung to her cheeks.
Her amber eyes, previously filled with fighting spirit, were now covered by a thin layer of moisture and combined with the slightly reddened corners of her eyes from the painful falls, the little loli looked both aggrieved and pitiful.
Annie lowered her head, and her gaze happened to collide with those misty eyes.
For some reason, Annie—who had always been calm as still water and decisive in battle—suddenly froze.
In her eyes, the little girl beneath her, with her defenses completely open and her face full of panic and grievance, suddenly seemed to have a pair of golden cat ears and a swaying cat tail sticking out behind her. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Ellie looked just like a bullied kitten, pitifully drooping her ears as she begged for mercy.
…So cute.
Looking at the aggrieved Ellie beneath her, Annie’s brain inexplicably went blank for a split second.
No, wait.
What on earth am I thinking?!
If the person pinning Ellie down right now were Reiner…
Given that idiot’s personality, he’d probably blurt out something like, “I want to marry you!”
Right at that moment, Ellie, still beneath her, suddenly flashed a sly smile.
A great opportunity!
She had just been wondering how to break free, never expecting Annie to actually loosen her grip on her own!
With such a golden opportunity presenting itself, how could she possibly let it slip away?
Ellie violently twisted her waist and wriggled her body free.
“Wahahaha!
Annie, you’ve fallen right into my trap!” she laughed triumphantly.
Unfortunately, she had vastly underestimated Annie’s reaction speed!
Almost the instant Ellie exerted force, Annie’s body reacted instinctively.
She flipped her wrist and applied counter-force.
“Click.”
Before Ellie’s counterattack had even reached the halfway point, Annie had already pinned her back to the ground in an even more dominant position!
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!
It’s breaking!
It’s breaking!
It’s really breaking!
I surrender!”
“Have mercy, Lady Annie——!
QAQ”
This time, Ellie was truly well-behaved.
She laid limply on the ground, her legs no longer struggling, looking like a little rabbit pinned down by the scruff of its neck by a hunter, with only pleading left in her.
Annie released her hand, stood up, and irritably dusted herself off.
She had actually…
zoned out in the middle of a fight just now?
If this had been a real battlefield, that momentary lapse could have been enough to get her killed several times over.
All because Ellie looked pitiful?
Since when had she become so compassionate?
Even if her opponent actually cried, she shouldn’t have stopped in the middle of a fight!
“Wuu…
I’m not fighting anymore.
Not fighting anymore.”
Repeated crushing defeats had completely deflated Ellie.
She crawled up from the ground in frustration and patted the dirt from her clothes.
Sweat mixed with dust clung to her skin, making her feel terribly uncomfortable.
“It’s all sticky and filthy…”
Ellie pulled mournfully at the dirty hem of her clothes.
“Let’s go take a bath after all!”
Annie said indifferently,
“Whatever you want.”
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Annie couldn’t help but feel pity for her…
how sweet.
Spoke’s just straight up evil now, null went straight to that guys head.
have a good one 🙂
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