Shiganshina District was located at the southernmost edge of Wall Maria. It was a strangely built town, jutting out from the wall like a growth. Its structure seemed unthinkable if one took into consideration the fact that Titans roamed around the area outside of the wall, but in fact, it was built this way out of logical defensive reasons. While the Garrison was skilled at its job, patrolling all of Wall Maria with about ten thousand troops was not a realistic option. From this reality came the idea of drawing the Titans in. Having a town protrude from the wall and settling people there would naturally cause the Titans to gather toward their human prey. Attracting the Titans to a limited area made patrolling Wall Maria easier and allowed the Garrison to focus its strength. In other words, the residents of Shiganshina District were bait, and the Titans were like fish that swarmed to them.
This groundbreaking idea, however, wouldn’t work unless people actually lived in the town. Shiganshina District’s residents lived there knowing the risks because the royal government offered them tax benefits. This was enough to cause a stream of people to fill the town regardless of the risks.
The workshop Angel belonged to stood on the outskirts of Shiganshina District. It had been contracted to develop and manufacture the arms provided to soldiers, and a hundred craftsmen spent their days and nights sweating there.
Three years had already passed since Angel first asked to join the workshop’s ranks. He had stood out from the beginning, and he was now both its face and heart. He was nicknamed the master inventor. This, among other things, led to Angel receiving extraordinary treatment despite his young age. Not only did he have a private development lab inside the workshop, he was even allowed to have an assistant.
Still, Angel was not able to fully exercise his talents. The workshop’s products were order-made, so there was no way for him to develop equipment according to his own inspiration.
“They should just leave it up to me,” Angel sighed, idly scratching his head. “Can’t I be allowed to be a little more, uh, flexible?”
While Angel valiantly struggled to express his originality through small twists he’d add to his highly restricted orders, his inability to venture out on his own was a constant source of stress. Delivering a product that deviated just slightly from the order, even if it improved on performance, resulted in him being told to make it over again. His customers looked for arms that fit their initial description, nothing more.
“Ah, welcome back!”
The moment Angel opened the door to his lab, he found himself facing a girl in work clothes.
Corina Ilmari, a craftswoman at the workshop and Angel’s assistant. She was eccentric, having come to the workshop simply because she thought herself good with her hands, but she was also a realist who knew that she’d never go hungry doing corps-related work. As an apprentice, she mostly assisted Angel, but she had also made a special place for herself as the male-dominated workshop’s mascot. Even craftsmen, who were notoriously unforgiving when dealing with other men, broke into smiles when talking to a fifteen-year-old girl.
I understand how they feel, though.
Angel glanced at Corina. Instead of tools, she held a broom as she bustled about and diligently cleaned the lab. She must have been trying to do something about the cluttered lab while its master was out.
In addition to furniture, such as bookshelves, tables, and a bed, the thirty-square-meter lab also contained equipment needed for development, but the place looked as if a storm had passed through it. Junk that Angel called “inventions” was scattered across the floor, and any furniture functioned as little more than trashcans. While it was known as a development lab, it was also Angel’s private room, resulting in a truly chaotic space.
“You look gloomy. Did something happen?” Corina turned her curious, black eyes toward Angel, then suddenly looked startled. “Don’t tell me that Solm…”
Angel shook his head before Corina could express her condolences over the loss of a dear friend.
“He wouldn’t get himself killed that easily.”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
“Right?”
“He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’d die. Like you, Angel.”
“That’s a hell of a way to agree.”
Angel put his hand on his forehead and groaned.
“Those Survey Corps guys are definitely no joke. Even so, they were in terrible shape…”
“They were?”
“It started raining soldier heads.”
“Excuse me?” Corina yelped as she blinked.
“The Titans threw their leftovers to us from outside the Wall.”
Angel sighed then explained what he had just seen, sprinkling in gestures.
“So thanks to them, there’s brains all over. All the corps are out right now on cleaning duty.”
The rain would help somewhat, but cleaning bits of one’s fallen comrades would cause mental anguish to even the most hardened of soldiers. Just thinking about it was enough to turn one’s stomach.
“I was right not to go.”
“Yup. Still, I think it was good that I was there.”
“Why?”
“I was able to really feel how terrifying the Titans are. More motivation to develop arms, right?”
“Maybe, but I still don’t want to have to see that…”
“You don’t deserve to be called a craftswoman, then.”
Corina let out a frustrated groan.
“Speaking of which, I heard the cannons firing. Were they aimed at Titans?”
“Maria said they were warning shots.”
“How did it go?”
“Dunno.” Angel shrugged. “And that’s why we’ve never been able to make a proper weapon.”
“Oh. So is that why you look so gloomy?” Corina clapped her hands together with a satisfied expression.
“I’ve never seen a Titan before in my life. I don’t know how the weapons are being used, and they won’t even give me reports, either.”
“You aren’t getting any feedback.”
“Right? If they want to defeat the Titans, they ought to be sharing more information with me.”
“Maybe they’re not interested in defeating them?”
“It’s possible.”
It was common knowledge that Titans did not die. Even children knew. It was possible that someone had determined that there was no point in spending resources on trying to kill these immortal Titans. That would explain why they didn’t aggressively pursue the development of weapons that could do so.
“If we really investigated their behavior, we should be able to find a weakness or two.”
“The whole premise seems to be that they can’t be defeated. Overturning it might be hard.”
“That’s why we should’ve studied them earlier.”
If they could at least understand the nature of their enemies, they would no longer have to be irrationally afraid. But Angel was just a craftsman. Any suggestions he made would be quickly shot down.
That, or they’d call me a political criminal and throw me in prison.
He wasn’t even in the position to make a suggestion to the authorities.
As Angel wearily looked overhead, his eyes rested on a plant decorating the room. While he noticed in part because he did not normally have any, it was also just too imposing to ignore. It looked as if it had burst right up through the floor.
“Is that…bamboo?”
The erect rod marked with regular nodes was reminiscent of one, but it was not green like normal bamboo. Its silvery-white color gave it a decidedly metallic appearance. Its leaves were the same color and resembled thin knives.
“What’s this?” Angel asked, pointing to the bamboo.
“It’s Iron Bamboo,” Corina casually replied. “Someone from the Corps brought it here earlier. They want you to see if you can use it as raw material.”
“See if I can use it? Isn’t it bamboo?”
Angel approached the Iron Bamboo and flicked its stem lightly. It returned a surprisingly metallic sound. It seemed close to the sound given off by bamboo charcoal.
“Has this been processed?” As he touched the Iron Bamboo once again, he felt the trademark coolness of metal.
“It grows naturally in the mountains, apparently.”
“I thought ore had to be mined. Since when does it grow out of the ground?”
“I don’t know what you’re asking me for,” Corina mumbled.
No metal would ever grow. Still…
Some species of plants absorbed and stored metals found in the soil. It was possible that Iron Bamboo did so as it grew, accumulating them over many months and years.
I need to do some research at least.
It was true that large amounts of ore slept underground in the mountainous region. Investigating the soil where the Iron Bamboo grew would yield some sort of clue.
“All right, why don’t we test it out.”
Angel grabbed a dust-covered short sword resting on a shelf. It was one of the standard weapons issued to soldiers.
“Okay, let’s see what makes you special.”
Angel pulled the blade from its sheath and slashed at the Iron Bamboo with enough force to halve a piece of firewood. A shrill, metallic noise reverberated throughout the room, and a numbing shock ran through the blade.
“That’s amazing! You didn’t even scratch it!!”
Corina’s eyes shone with fascination as she looked closely at the Iron Bamboo. There was a faint streak on its stem, but it was otherwise unchanged. Angel had swung with the intention of slicing it cleanly in two, but the Iron Bamboo was far harder than he’d imagined.
“I see. This does seem like an interesting material to work with.”
Angel tossed the chipped blade to the ground.