Somewhere along Wall Sina, a battlefield had come to an end, leaving a pile of corpses on the ground.
"Is everyone dead?"
"It seems so, but what do we do with the bodies?"
"Don't worry, let them rot. Wild animals will surely do the job."
"Are you sure?"
"Damn it, hell yes. I lost many of my men, and I'm not staying here to watch more of this shit."
"All right, let's go."
…
A few hours later, a young Gale, no more than ten years old, suddenly opened his eyes and looked around in fear.
"Gale Hawthorne, same name…" Gale muttered his name several times before recovering part of the memories of this body that was not his own.
After understanding his situation a little, he got up from the ground and looked at the endless field stretching far into the distance.
Around him lay dozens of dead men, all wearing three-dimensional maneuvering equipment, known as ODM gear, which Gale recognized perfectly because his memories allowed him to identify the world he was in.
The warm wind blew across Gale's face, sending a bit of sand into his eyes.
This was a world where everyone was supposed to fight for freedom, but here there was no fighting at all—only survival. A world dominated by Titans, a land destined for eternal suffering.
Gale, who was a noble in this world, had made the terrible decision to go to the border of Wall Sina in order to see the Titans, study them, and learn from them.
As the heir to a powerful conglomerate in this kingdom, he became the target of his own family, who sought to see him dead on this foolish mission so they could seize the fortune that rightfully belonged to him.
Without a doubt, this was a bad start for Gale, who had his hands tied due to his age.
"I suppose we're the same…" Looking in the direction of Shiganshina, Gale thought of different ways he might escape from his assassins.
After thinking it through, Gale searched all the bodies, and when he was ready, he murmured, "I must hide for some time and find a way to escape."
With that idea in mind, he walked as far away from Wall Sina as possible, hoping, with luck, to reach Wall Maria, because no matter what he did, death was hanging around his neck.
…
A few months later…
In what seemed to be a barn, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the shed, illuminating the body of a child who seemed to be working very hard. Gale, holding a pitchfork, was spreading hay on the ground in front of the cows and sheep.
"Moooooo!"
"Baa! Baa!"
A nauseating stench rose from the cows' droppings, their tails swaying from side to side, driving away the flies that buzzed nonstop.
"It's time for a bath, Gale."
Gale smiled and left what he was doing. Then he took out a bucket and a brush to bathe the cows in the stable, and also picked up some scissors to shear the sheep.
Although the wool had not grown very much yet, it was already summer, and shearing it would make the sheep feel cooler.
After a hard day of work, Gale went to the kitchen to collect his reward: a sausage sandwich and a glass of milk.
He looked for a spot far from the mansion where he worked and sat down in the shade of a tree, eating his lunch while gazing at the prairie undulating in the distance, the wind whispering through the wild grass, creating a wave-like visual effect.
Gale narrowed his eyes, leaned against the trunk of the large tree, and took a deep breath.
"At least it feels so good to be alive…" Gale thought, remembering everything he had done so far to find a way to work on this farm as a child.
After moving away from the battlefield where all his servants had died, Gale found a way to have a slave smuggler sell him to the owner of this farm.
He did not want to draw attention to himself, at least not until he had the strength to defend himself on his own.
Now he was a child, at least five years younger than he had been before dying.
In his previous life, he had been a little over sixteen years old—at least, that was what he remembered. Gale realized that as his working days on this farm passed, the memories that shaped his previous life were becoming blurry.
But that was not important right now. What truly mattered was not drawing the attention of his assassins. Gale knew that by now, his family was aware that he was missing, and since they could not find his body, they would not be the only ones searching.
That was why, until he could defend himself, he would not reveal his identity.
Being on this farm was the best idea he had come up with.
The farm supervisor had a good reputation; he treated his slaves and servants well. That was why Gale chose him—he hired a fake slave trader to sell him specifically to this place.
Because of that, although Gale was a slave, he was actually quite free and lived a comfortable life, aside from not receiving a salary.
He ate well, slept well, had a light workload each day for his age, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery whenever he was free.
He had no intention of escaping for the time being.
The outside world was far poorer than the farm.
It was a world close to the Middle Ages. On the farm, one was safe and could eat meat while fulfilling one's duties. But anywhere else, extreme poverty existed; even getting enough food was a problem.
For now, he did not want to do anything big. He was already very happy that God had given him a second chance at life, and he did not dare to ask for more.
He feared that if he acted too foolishly, God would take away his chance to live a full life.
With nothing but his conscience to rely on, Gale believed this was enough. He only wanted to live a peaceful life, to feel the sun, the fresh air, and freedom every day.
After finishing his lunch, he dusted himself off, stood up, went to his room to fetch a handmade kite, and began to run across the meadow.
It was a kite he had made himself.
He held the string, thinking that if he could create something like this, other ideas in his mind could also be brought to life.
However, suddenly, he saw a carriage coming down the road.
The carriage bore an emblem of a sword and shield, indicating that it belonged to a noble. He quickly put away the kite and joined the others on the farm to welcome the guests.
The person who stepped down from the carriage was a young girl.
She wore a pure white dress and a straw hat, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders like golden threads. She was very cute, small in stature—much smaller than Gale.
A dark-haired adolescent took the girl's hand and said softly, "Historia, your mother is here too. You'll live here from now on, understand?"
The adolescent crouched down, looking directly into the girl's eyes. Beside her stood the girl, whose features resembled those of the adolescent, aside from her golden hair.
"Sister, aren't you coming with me?" The girl tightly grasped her sister's hand.
"I have other things to do, so stay here and wait for me, all right? If you behave yourself, I'll come see you when I have time." The adolescent, who seemed to be the older sister, smiled.
"Yes, I'll be good!" the girl said loudly.
The older sister kissed the girl on the forehead, and then the girl suddenly went still, standing there with a vacant look in her eyes.
"Please, take care of my sister," the adolescent said, practically ordering the nearby servants. Then she boarded the carriage and left, leaving only the woman and the girl behind.
"Gale, come with me to take the young lady and the madam to their room so they can rest," the farm supervisor said to Gale as he picked up the girl's luggage.
"Yes, Bob." Gale, sweating coldly, followed Bob into the mansion.
The woman requested a separate room, and after their belongings were taken inside, she locked herself in.
The housekeeper led Gale to another room, and Gale momentarily lost himself in his thoughts.
Of all the farms he could have ended up on, he was in the one with the greatest historical significance in this kingdom. The girl who had arrived at the farm with her mother was none other than Historia Reiss, the future queen of this country.
He had not recognized her at first, since she was a blonde child, but her name—Historia—combined with her physical features, told him that he was in the presence of a figure with an overwhelmingly large future impact.
Gale, who had thought he was safe, asked, "Bob, have you ever seen a Titan?"
"That's strange. Are you really interested in Titans? Did one of the servants tell you a story about them, and now you're afraid they'll eat you?" Bob asked with a smile on his old face.
"No… I only recently learned about the existence of Titans, so I wondered if you'd ever seen one…" Gale, who until now had only thought about surviving, remembered the Titans more vividly.
As he looked at Historia, the girl who would become the future queen of this country, he felt a mix of emotions…
"We'll talk about giants later. Clean the young lady's room." Bob placed the sleeping Historia onto the soft velvet bed.
"Yes, I understand." Gale nodded and picked up a broom and a mop to get to work.
After sweeping, Bob said to him, "Since everything is finished, let's go."
Gale nodded and took a step back, then went to the shed where he stored food to feed the livestock.
At night, Gale lay in his room, staring at the ceiling, tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep.
During the day, he had cautiously asked other people and confirmed several things. First, Titans truly existed in this world, and just like in the story, they ate people.
Second, he confirmed what he knew about the walls.
Third, the place he was in—inside Wall Maria—fulfilled his goal of being in the safest location. But something he had not considered was that he was lucky enough to be on one of the many farms where an important part of this world's history would unfold.
And if that girl was Historia, then before long, everyone on the farm, including the woman who was her mother, would be murdered, and his peaceful life seemed about to end.
Gale knew of the future events, but he had never imagined that he would be standing at the exact place where one of them would occur.
After thinking it over, Gale swallowed hard, recalling the bloody scenes he had witnessed years ago and the desperation he had felt as he watched what would happen later.
Now that he might even become the protagonist of one of those bloody scenes, the stress in his body only increased.
"No, calm down. Historia is still on the farm, which means there's still a long time before the day the wall collapses arrives, and this is one of the safest walls, so my situation isn't that bad."
There was still time for him to prepare.
What comforted Gale a little was that he had only one goal for now: to escape from this cursed farm.
If he didn't leave, he would be killed.
But… how could he escape?
His false information was stored in the safe of this mansion, so if he escaped now, it would draw too much attention due to Historia's arrival, and later he would not only have to worry about his family that wanted him dead.
Within the walls, the Reiss family was the imperial family, and not even a slave could leave alive with a secret.
Even Historia only survived because her father intervened; even so, she was exiled. Now, what would happen to him—a child fleeing from his assassins?
He did not have the ability to face assassins like Kenny, whom he suspected to be the killer sent to murder him.
If Kenny attacked him, he would die a horrible death!
"What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…?" Gale was extremely anxious and could only calm himself by thinking that there was still time. Historia had just arrived at the farm, and there were still at least several months—or even years—to plan and prepare.
But after thinking about it coldly, he felt it was unnecessary to worry too much.
He had already died once, so what else could he be afraid of?
With that thought, Gale immediately calmed down.
After showering, he went straight to his room and soon fell asleep, but in his dream, he heard a voice that seemed both near and far.
"No, no, no! Why would I make such a basic mistake? Ugh! How annoying!"
It was the voice of an old man, and it sounded as if he were criticizing himself for making some kind of mistake.