The room suddenly felt smaller.
My eyes remained fixed on the doorway.
Every instinct screamed at me.
Not because I was in danger.
Not because an enemy was attacking.
But because I knew who was standing there.
Or at least, I thought I did.
Carla stepped aside politely.
"Please come in."
A boy entered the house.
Blond hair.
Strong build.
Nervous expression.
At first glance, he looked completely ordinary.
Just another child.
Just another refugee.
Just another face among thousands.
But I knew better.
The moment our eyes met, the system reacted.
[Ding.]
Target Identified.
Key Character Confirmed.
Reiner Braun.
My heartbeat stopped.
It really was him.
The future Armored Titan.
One of the people responsible for the destruction of Wall Maria.
One of the people responsible for Carla’s death.
One of the people who would eventually become both enemy and victim.
For a brief moment, anger surged through me.
A dark, violent anger.
If I wanted to...
I could expose him.
Right now.
I could scream.
Accuse him.
Try to change everything.
Yet reason quickly returned.
No one would believe me.
Not Carla.
Not Grisha.
Not anyone.
To them, Reiner was simply a child.
And the uncomfortable truth was...
They wouldn’t be entirely wrong.
At this moment, he really was just a child.
A child burdened with a mission he never truly understood.
A child carrying responsibilities far too heavy for his age.
That realization made my anger more complicated.
Not weaker.
Just... more complicated.
"Thank you for allowing us to visit."
Reiner bowed slightly.
His manners were surprisingly good.
Exactly as I remembered.
The perfect soldier.
The perfect infiltrator.
The perfect liar.
Or at least, that was what he tried to become.
Grisha entered a moment later.
His attention immediately shifted toward the injured woman accompanying Reiner.
A simple medical consultation.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing suspicious.
Yet the system clearly disagreed.
[Ding.]
Hidden Mission Triggered.
The Armored Warrior.
Objective:
Establish contact with Reiner Braun.
Reward:
Rare Gacha Ticket.
My eyelid twitched.
The system wanted me to interact with him?
Seriously?
Of all people?
I considered ignoring it.
Then I remembered one important fact.
Information was power.
And Reiner possessed plenty of information.
Not intentionally.
Not yet.
But eventually.
Perhaps getting closer to him wasn’t the worst idea.
A few minutes later, the opportunity arrived naturally.
While Grisha examined the patient, Carla prepared tea.
That left me and Reiner sitting alone.
Awkward silence filled the room.
Then Reiner spoke first.
"You live here?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"It’s nice."
A strange expression crossed his face.
Almost envy.
Almost longing.
I knew that look.
Reiner’s life had never been easy.
Not in Marley.
Not anywhere.
The boy sitting across from me wasn’t yet the warrior who would destroy a wall.
He was simply someone searching for a place to belong.
For a brief moment, I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Then I remembered Carla being crushed beneath rubble.
The sympathy vanished.
"I like it here."
Reiner smiled weakly.
"Must be nice."
There was something sad in his voice.
Something broken.
A warning sign of the person he would eventually become.
We spoke for another twenty minutes.
Nothing important.
Nothing suspicious.
Just two children talking.
Yet by the end of the conversation, the mission completed.
[Ding.]
Mission Complete.
Reward Granted.
Rare Gacha Ticket Obtained.
Excellent.
At least something useful came from this encounter.
Eventually, Reiner and the woman left.
The moment the door closed behind them, I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
That had been dangerous.
Not physically.
Mentally.
Seeing him in person changed things.
The story felt more real than ever.
The enemy had a face.
A voice.
A personality.
And that made everything harder.
Far harder.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
My thoughts constantly returned to Reiner.
If he was here...
Then the others were here too.
Somewhere inside Wall Maria.
Bertholdt.
Annie.
Waiting.
Watching.
Preparing.
The countdown continued.
Unstoppable.
Then a system notification interrupted my thoughts.
[Ding.]
Timeline Divergence Detected.
Progress Increased.
1% → 5%
I sat upright.
Five percent?
The increase was enormous.
What had changed?
I quickly opened the details.
==================
Cause:
Unauthorized Early Contact.
Key Story Character Interaction.
==================
My eyes widened.
Meeting Reiner had altered the timeline.
Not dramatically.
But enough for the system to notice.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Perhaps the future was more fragile than I thought.
Perhaps even small interactions mattered.
Then another notification appeared.
One far more surprising.
[Ding.]
Special Reward Available.
Due to Timeline Divergence.
Reward:
1 Random Draw.
My grin returned instantly.
Free rewards were my favorite kind.
Without hesitation, I claimed it.
A small wheel appeared.
The spin lasted only seconds.
Then—
Ding!
[Reward Obtained.]
Skill Acquired.
Observe Lv.1.
I blinked.
Observe?
The description appeared.
==================
Observe Lv.1
Allows limited analysis of people and objects.
Information quality scales with level.
==================
My eyes lit up.
Now that was useful.
Very useful.
Especially considering who was hiding inside the walls.
The ability to gather information could become invaluable.
Immediately, I tested it.
A nearby chair.
Nothing happened.
Then a small window appeared.
==================
Wooden Chair.
Condition: Good.
Estimated Age: 4 Years.
==================
I laughed.
Simple.
Yet effective.
And if it worked on people...
A dangerous possibility immediately formed in my mind.
Could I use Observe on Reiner?
On Annie?
On Bertholdt?
Could I uncover secrets the original story never revealed?
The thought alone was exciting.
But before I could explore it further, a final notification appeared.
Bright red.
Urgent.
[Ding.]
Warning.
A major timeline divergence opportunity will occur within 90 days.
Prepare accordingly.
Reward Potential:
Extremely High.
For several seconds, I stared at the message.
Ninety days.
Three months.
Something important was coming.
Something capable of drastically altering the future.
And whatever it was...
I intended to seize it.