But at least I’ll be free. It seemed like the only way to overcome his present difficulties. The eventuality probably allowed for far more constructive plans than plotting a jailbreak in his current cell.
“I suppose I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Cardina Baumeister. And you?”
“…Kuklo.”
“Hmm? Where have I heard that name?” wondered Cardina, staring without reserve.
“It is common,” came Kuklo’s blunt reply. While he didn’t know what kind of information was out there about a Titan’s son, he was sure the facts had been embellished into a bunch of worthless stories he had no interest in hearing. “I think I’ve heard your name before, too,” he countered.
“Well, it’s a pretty famous name.” Cardina shrugged. “So, why did you get thrown in here?”
“I didn’t do anything!!”
“No need to stare daggers at me…”
While Kuklo had no defense for his unauthorized trip past Wall Maria, he was in prison for “leading the cultists in an attack on the Inocencio family.” It was a ridiculous charge, but the victim’s testimony provided by Xavi had ruled the day, and unable to mount a proper rebuttal, Kuklo had ended up incarcerated. The alias of “Titan’s son” may have worked against him as well.
Shit… While he knew Xavi bore a grudge, he hadn’t expected to be smeared with a crime. If either of them was a murderer, it was Xavi, who had killed the cultists. Yet, between the remonstrations of the Titan’s son who had fled the scene and the testimony of the victim of a cultist assault lay a large gap in credibility.
“It’s a pretty common story down in these cells. People caught in political warfare, and so on,” Cardina remarked with a shrug. “That would be me, as it happens.”
Kuklo suddenly remembered. Oh… He was Sharle’s…
Of course he remembered hearing Cardina’s last name. Sharle was going to be married into the Baumeister family. In other words, Cardina’s father was Bruno Baumeister, who’d fallen to a plot. Known as a conservative vanguard, he’d been made the reformers’ prime target. It wasn’t shocking in any kind of political struggle.
Kuklo now knew Cardina’s background, but there was something he still couldn’t understand: his level of composure. Being banished to the outside world meant certain death.
Finding Cardina’s demeanor unnatural, Kuklo demanded, “What happens once we’re outside? Eaten by a Titan, and that’s it?!”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“I don’t want to be eaten by one of those things.”
“Well, neither do I.”
“So…”
“Have you ever heard of a town named Naraka?”
Kuklo shook his head.
“It’s a town outside the walls. Supposedly, it was built by criminals who were no longer allowed in the country. Oh, and Naraka means Hell. Seems like an unimaginative name, but that’s just my opinion.”
“Supposedly?”
“No one knows if Naraka really exists or not. It’s only a rumor,” Cardina said matter-of-factly. “But it makes sense. It’s a hiding place for criminals, so they don’t want anyone knowing where it is.”
“What if it’s not real?”
“Then we can build Naraka for ourselves.” Cardina hardly seemed hopeful about its existence and apparently intended to create the place.
But things wouldn’t go that smoothly. With Titans roaming around, even the most cunning plans were meaningless. Kuklo knew down to his bones how ruthless the outside world was; he could see that creating a town there was just wishful thinking. The unreasonably powerful Titans wielded such destructive force they could turn all to dust, and Cardina’s plan would be crushed with the flick of a wrist.
“I understand why you’d be worried, though.”
“Because it’s impossible.”
“But that’s not quite true,” Cardina said, oddly confident. “Are you aware that the Titans supposedly come from the south?”
“South?”
“I don’t know the full details, myself. But all of the soldiers stationed in Shiganshina District are proof that there are a lot of Titans down there, right? The royal government also softens taxes and whatnot to make life easier for the residents there.”
“Because they’re using humans as bait.”
“It’s a convenient way to draw them in.”
“So?”
“The Titans come from the south, lured by the smell of their food, and get stuck around Shiganshina District. Which means…”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t be thick. It means, if you get banished, go north.”
“I see…” In other words, they could find the town of criminals Cardina spoke of there. “But why? Why would you tell me this?”
“Nobody else around here is going to believe a story like that.”
“But I will?”
“Well, you have to admit, you’re pretty stupid,” Cardina said, not mincing words. “Even after all you’ve been through, you keep on trying to escape. Only an idiot would fail to take the hint.”
“I can’t tell…if you’re insulting or praising me.”
“Why, it’s a compliment, of course. Regardless of your motive, it’s a sign of your strength of will. That’s why I decided to tell you about it.”
Kuklo nodded in understanding, then began considering Cardina’s plan. He already knew in his heart what he would do, though.
I cannot escape from this prison. My only hope is that his story is true. With no prospects for escape, exile was unavoidable. It was a gamble, and a long shot at that, but his only option was to accept Cardina’s proposal. Kuklo had no desire to lend a hand to a criminal, nor did he intend to live in Naraka, but there was no telling what could happen outside the walls. He needed to search for any way back even if it meant working with outlaws.
“I’ll help you. It’s hell out there…” Kuklo muttered with a grave look. “But I have business on the inside.”
“I see. And that’s why you want to escape. Keeping someone waiting?”
“…You might say that.”
“It’s a girl, isn’t it?” Cardina teased, but Kuklo didn’t answer.
If Cardina learned it was Sharle waiting for him, he’d surely be surprised, but Kuklo wanted to stay out of any further trouble. Fortunately, Cardina didn’t press the issue, but there couldn’t have been a worse place to run into him.
Kuklo scratched his head and snorted at his luck. Soon, though, his expression clouded over, and his thoughts began to take him outside the walls.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kuklo’s course of action in preparation for his exile was to rest his spirits. By replenishing both his body and his mind, he’d be ready to take on the outside world in peak condition. In practice, though, that wasn’t how it felt. Resting his spirits sounded good, but sitting there and doing nothing until the day of his release was a passive measure. All it did was irritate him, but he knew that there was not much to be done in a cell.
A punishment worse than the death penalty… For humanitarian reasons, executions were carried out in ways that inflicted minimal, if lethal, suffering. Meanwhile, exile brought with it the highest degree of mental and physical agony, eclipsing the death penalty to make it the ultimate punishment. Kuklo couldn’t help but think that it was an outrageous sentence.
The Titans seemed to live only to eat humans. They were undeniably monsters. But that was all they were.
They’re just hungry… Their stomachs were empty, so they ate. Their bodies were large, but it was a normal thing to do. Humans were no strangers to the act.
Humans are scarier. Seeking the cruelest way to kill their own kind was nothing but demonic.
In any case, Kuklo had no choice but to do anything he could to survive. It was hard to imagine any worse circumstances, with neither weapons to fight with nor a mount upon which to flee. His only option was to pray to the heavens that he didn’t encounter a Titan as he pushed northward with all his strength. He couldn’t rely on the mirage that was Naraka, but the bit about the Titans coming from the south was persuasive enough. If Cardina was right, the farther north they went, the lower their chances would be of meeting a Titan.
“My life has always been like this…” Kuklo sighed deeply.
“Hey, chaos can be fun,” Cardina pointed out in a carefree tone.
“Speak for yourself…”
“Well, all that desperation makes you feel alive, right?”
It also meant living on the brink of death. Perhaps it was the perfect way to describe Kuklo’s life.