A few hours later
"Jules.." I turned my head towards the source of the voice. "Hey kid.. how are you feeling?" I ran my fingers through his hair. "Armin!" Eren shouted as he ran towards us and then hugged him. "Huh? W-What's wrong? What in the world happened here..?" he asked us as he took in the surrounding. I swallowed hard before answering his question. His eyes grew wide as he heard me speak. "Why.. did you pick me and not the commander..?"
Eren flinched as he was suddenly kicked in the back by Levi and then Levi answered him why it was Armin. "I don't understand.. There's no way it's okay to let Commander die. If he's gone, then how will we go on..?" he asked, his eyes full of worry. "It's a shame we were put in that position.. Erwin entrusted Levi with the decision and Levi chose you. His life and a Titan's power rests on your shoulders.. No matter what anyone says, that's a part of who you are now" i smiled assuringly at him.
"Now then, if it's not a problem for Armin, we should get going. Levi, Jules, Eren and I will go investigate. You others keep a lookout" Hange said to the soldiers around us. "It's been a while since I've walked down these streets" i said taking in the surrounding. "Honestly, it feels surreal to me" Eren replied as he looked around. The memories still seem fresh to me..
"Right here, under this boulder" I said pointing at our 'home'. With the help of the team, i removed the boulder within a few seconds. Thankfully the fire didn't spread here "Eren" Levi signalled him to open the door. He nodded and then went towards the door and tried inserting the key. "This.. this key.. it doesn't go to this door.." Eren said nervously. "Step aside" i announced before kicking the door open.
"It almost feels like a laboratory down here" Hange commented as she looking around the room. "Yeah.. At first glance it's just a doctor's study. 'There's nothing suspicious here' is what he wanted people to think" Levi said as i examined the desk. My hand slightly brushed over the wooden glass that i used to bring over to Grisha whenever he wanted water. The glass moved a little before toppling over the desk. Oh no I crouched down to pick it up before something caught my eyes. I gasped before calling the members.
Eren inserted the key into the hole and a click sound was soon heard. "It's empty?!" he said in shock as he opened the drawer. "Look carefully, it's a false bottom" Hangi-san said taking it out. The bottom revealed three books and surrounding them were clothes. "These clothes are dipped in peppermint and charcoal" i sniffed it slightly "to remove bugs and absorb moisture". "How do you know?" Hangi-san asked. "Well.. I've helped Grisha a lot when he worked" i replied as memories flooded in. "What we are looking for must be in it"
Eren's hand was shaking when he put his hand on top of the book. I put my hand on top of his to which he smiled and then we opened it together. A portrait..? "Let me see it" Hange-san said taking the paper from Eren's hand. "It's far too detailed to be drawn by a person" she commented. "There's Grisha's handwriting" i pointed behind the paper. She turned it around and read it out loud. "This is no illustration. Instead, this uses light reflected off a subject and burns the image on special paper. It's called a photograph. I come from a place outside the walls where humanity lives in elegance. Humanity has not perished. I pray the person who finds this book is a fellow patriot"
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Thank you for reading episode 55.
Please let me know my mistakes.
