A War Hero With No Regrets

11 – Uninvited Guest in Black Bok (3)

Why is she here?

Before Werner could even ask such questions, his body moved first.

He quickly turned back the way he came.

What started out as just a brisk walk soon grew to the point of running.

Thump thump, my heart was racing like crazy.

I feel sick. My vision became blurry and I felt dizzy.

He arrived at the dormitory, opened the door, went in, and locked the door.

“Kyaaah!?”

“Heo-eok, heo-eok…” Huh, wow… Ugh….”

Karin, who was changing her clothes into more comfortable clothes, was scared and screamed.

Werner approaches her, breathing heavily.

Just when Karin, who was unable to judge the situation at the moment, was at a loss as to what to do, an alarm sound rang in her head again.

Half naked.

Locked door.

I just said that it was clearly a misunderstanding. What kind of situation is this?

Just when Karin was so shocked that she stiffened, Werner approached her and grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Huh, huh, huh…” .”

“Gu, Director? Don’t do this… What are you doing… ?”

He tried hard to resist, but Werner did not stop.

Her face comes closer.

The rough breath passed by, sending goosebumps across her cheek.

Werner’s face, which had always been expressionless or showed only minimal emotion, was painfully distorted due to a mixture of all kinds of turbulent emotions.

The sense of disparity felt in that appearance.

Her fear consumed Karin Maven’s mind as she felt the pressure of her hand holding her shoulder.

“Ugh, ugh…. Don’t do it….”

The moment when she finally couldn’t hold it back and closed her eyes tightly, bursting into tears.

Cow!

Her hand that was holding her shoulder went limp, and Werner fell to her floor.

“Eh… ? Gu, Director? Director!? Hey, come to your senses! Director… !!”

A body trembling as if in a seizure.

“Oh, what should I do…” !!”

Karin, who belatedly confirmed the seriousness of her situation, hurriedly called her staff.

—-

“It’s nervous syncope. Have you been overly stressed or sleep deprived lately?”

“Ah….”

Karin nodded her head carefully.

Ever since she joined the strange organization called the Security Strategy Bureau, Karin had never seen Werner when he was not awake.

Even late in the morning and at night when he thought no one would be around, he was quietly smoking a cigarette.

It was partly because she didn’t move around much, but also because she could easily infer it from what John and others said.

If you look at the helicopter today, wasn’t Werner awake the whole time it was moving?

“It is absolutely stable. “If you’re here for the banquet, you need to get some rest for at least tomorrow.”

“Well, when will you be able to wake up…” ?”

“You will probably wake up within a few hours. Until then, please have a guardian by your side.”

With those last words, the doctor and nurse left the hospital room.

Only then was Karin able to shake off her surprise.

A person collapsed before my eyes, so I was lucky that I didn’t panic.

“… Ah.”

As I was sitting quietly next to the hospital bed and looking at Werner, he suddenly started shaking.

Did I have a seizure again?

The moment Karin went to call the doctor and nurse, a voice she had never heard before came from Werner’s mouth.

“… “Please don’t go.”

At first she couldn’t believe her ears.

Because she was so weak.

For a moment, she seemed to hear her own voice while locked in her room.

But as the next words continued, Karin unconsciously grabbed Werner’s hand.

“I… I was wrong… , leave me… Please don’t leave….”

I’ve heard this a lot somewhere.

These are the words Karin shouted without stopping whenever her bad memories came to mind.

Why?

The man who seemed infinitely tall, blunt, sharp and cold seemed weaker than anyone else.

Werner Grime.

No, Luthers Ethan said he was a war hero of the Empire.

I heard that in dozens of battles, not a single person was killed, and that even the attacks of the Titans were completely blocked using all kinds of cunning strategies.

Lion of defense, sentinel of the empire.

Not everyone is allowed to have a nickname that gives a sense of dignity just by hearing it.

It is completely different from the derogatory title of Shina, which was given because it takes the lives of others.

That was actually the case.

Werner treated Karin undeservedly well, but she pushed away his favor.

I couldn’t get closer.

She thought that she could not be with someone like Werner because she was an ominous, death-mongering being.

You never know when and in what form the terrible curse that takes the lives of others will manifest itself.

-Don’t do that! This means cherishing your body!

Ah.

At that moment, Karin recalled her memories of those brilliant days.

Meilin.

It was her older sister’s name, whose hair was as blue as the sky.

-Don’t do anything like this again. Instead, let’s take a walk by the lake with me. Until you stop having bad thoughts.

Meyrin said, looking at Karin’s forearm that was stained with her scars.

It was my first time seeing such a friendly hand.

Her Shinigami, her derogatory name that has followed her like a tag since her training camp.

Karin didn’t think that was particularly wrong.

Her father died during the war, and her mother was caught up in a widespread plague.

Karin and her younger brother, who lost their parents in an instant, were entrusted to an orphanage.

Even the orphanage was caught up in the Titan invasion and reduced to ashes.

All she could find among the collapsed concrete remains was her brother’s roughly severed arm.

In the end, the only place she could entrust her body to was the military.

This was the beginning of the nickname Karin Maven, the Shinigami.

I survived by killing my classmates at the training camp.

Survived an explosion so severe that not even the reserve building remained.

Even at the ‘Emerald Lake’ fortress where she arrived, there was not a single person who welcomed her.

It is natural.

Who on earth could like someone who drives death?

It was fortunate that she didn’t swear or shake her fist.

She did not even interview the fortress commander, saying he was denying it.

Except for Meilin, who was her roommate.

– Contrary to your scary nickname, you are very pretty! I definitely thought a gloomy person would come!

-Are you scared? Then, would you like to sleep in my bed?

-You slept very hard. I almost thought she was my sister! Come to think of it, they both end in Rin. Just do it my sister!

Don’t do this, you’ll get hurt too.

She was Karin, who desperately pushed her away, but each time Meilin came closer, as if to show off.

I tried asking her commander to change her room, but she said there was no way anyone would want to be with Karin other than Meyrin.

In the end, Karin Maven had no choice but to accept her.

The daily life I experienced in that way was so dazzling.

Sometimes I go out to town with her and eat delicious food.

-… Delicious.

-Right? This is my favorite Aglio Olio place. It’s a pasta restaurant run by a chef from the Republic of Romaria.

When I was on vacation, I also bought clothes at a large shopping mall.

-Does that suit you well? He looks like the bassist of a really popular band!

-What is that….

-Good meaning, good meaning!

Meilin’s positive energy was enough to completely change Karin’s life.

-Karin, what is it? Has it changed significantly?

-Are you a new soldier? No … what? That was you?!

Compliments have increased.

Her confidence also went up.

A ray of light came down to Karin’s life, which was dark, miserable, and full of only death.

Everything was fine with Meilin.

I felt like the eldest sister she never had.

Maybe he isn’t such a bad person.

I also had the expectation that I might be able to protect others rather than harm them.

And it didn’t take long for that anticipation to turn into great despair.

It was a regular patrol mission.

While patrolling with seniors I had become friends with through Meilin, a huge explosion occurred.

Afterwards, titans poured down from the sky.

Assault type titan.

Emerald Lake, the frontline fortress, was destroyed from that day on.

After that, Karin locked herself in her room and did not come out.

I can’t deny it now.

She is because of herself. Because she was so presumptuous in wanting happiness, she ended up making sacrifices to innocent people.

The very existence is a nuisance.

A reaper who takes away people’s lives.

She locked herself in prison.

The stronger the person, the faster he leaves.

The kinder a person is, the greater the disappointment when they lose it.

I definitely thought this time would be no different.

“… Don’t go.”

Karin could feel the sadness deeper than anything else in her voice.

The man in front of me was not a war hero who saved humanity.

He was just a wounded person like himself.

He is a person who desperately suppresses and binds up his wounds.

Because she was that kind of person, Karin was able to fully understand her emotions.

“Leah.”

Who are you calling?

She may have been Werner’s Maylin.

“Leah, Leah….”

But there was only one thing Karin could do now.

I don’t know who Leah is.

Although he is not a very proud person.

No matter what she does, she can’t heal the director’s wounds.

Clap your hands together.

And then he carefully says a word to Werner, who is groaning.

“It’s okay…” Oh no. Because I’m next to you….”

Perhaps the words Karin herself wanted to hear the most.

Those are the words Meyrin said to herself every time she trembled with fear before she fell asleep.

Karin felt the strength in her fingers slowly loosening as they touched her.

The pain and suffering on my face are gradually washed away, and my rough breathing calms down.

“….”

She carefully wiped away the tears that had gathered in Werner’s eyes.

Tuk, thud.

She didn’t know why she was crying.

—-

Werner opened her eyes.

When she turned her blurred vision and looked at her window, night had already fallen.

It’s ruined.

Werner muttered.

Judging by the fact that she was in a hospital room, it seemed like her seizures had subsided again.

She thought she had healed naturally after several rounds of treatment, but was she just suppressing it?

Just as she was about to raise her hand with a deep sigh, Werner found Karin Maven asleep, holding her hand tightly.

“….”

“Ugh, uh…. Are you okay….”

He looked at Karin in silence, and then she lay down again.

I felt like I had to sleep here today.