Shiganshina District was connected to other towns by unpaved roads. Most building stones had been reserved for repairing and reinforcing Wall Maria and were not available for paving any roads. To begin with, the main mode of transportation was by horse, so it inconvenienced few people.
There were a number of major roads among the highways, and the artery that connected the Shiganshina and Trost Districts was vital to transportation and trade. Trost District was the town on the southernmost tip of Wall Rose, built in the same way as Shiganshina District. It would act as the front line of defense if Wall Maria were breached. For now, though, it was located well inside the Walls, so it was not as constantly aware of the Titans as Shiganshina District.
“Let me quickly explain today’s itinerary,” Solm announced as he drove the coach forward. “We’ll start by heading toward Trost District. It’ll take five or six hours. We’ll get lunch once we arrive.”
“If we have any appetite left, of course,” Angel mumbled, fighting his nausea. It had only been thirty minutes since they left Shiganshina District, but he was on the verge of being bested by travel sickness. His inner ears seemed to be thrown for a loop, and his vision was shaking violently. He had done a good job of not vomiting, but there was no telling how much longer he could stand this. Xenophon and Corina were even sicker than Angel, and moans came from both of their green faces. Talking about lunch was no different from torture.
“Either way, we’ll squeeze in a break in Trost District, then we’ll head to the factory city.”
“How long will it take?”
“A few hours, I suppose.”
“Great…” Angel sighed deeply. “But why are you our navigator?”
“It’s part of my job as your guard. It’s not like I was assigned to just be your driver.”
“I never thought the day would come when you’d be protecting me.”
“Well, someone else was supposed to take command… Basically, I’m here in place of a team leader that died during the last expedition.”
“A team leader? Do you mean Heath?”
“You know about him?”
“We never met, but a little.”
The image of his flattened head and flying brains was still fresh in Angel’s mind, but he had no intention of talking about it. The travel sickness already had him in an awful mood, and there was no need to make things even less pleasant.
In order to suppress his nausea, Angel somewhat forcefully changed the subject.
“By the way, have you decided when your wedding will be?”
“That’s abrupt.”
“You’ve been talking about it for a while, haven’t you?”
“I have?”
“Hey, you better not play too many games with Maria. You’ll make her cry.”
“I know,” Solm said flatly. “Have you heard the rumor that they might dissolve the Survey Corps?”
“When don’t you hear that rumor?”
Solm responded to Angel’s point with a bitter laugh. “The situation’s a little different this time. It’s honestly a critical moment for the Survey Corps.”
“You seem popular enough with the townspeople, don’t you?”
“The Survey Corps’ job isn’t to be popular.” Solm shrugged, then added, “The political situation is changing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the conservative faction is starting to gain more power.”
“Oh, the shut-ins?”
“The royal government isn’t a monolith. The reformers and the conservatives are constantly fighting each other.”
“And the conservatives have the momentum right now.”
In other words, there were many inside the royal government who argued that humanity should give up on the land it lost to the Titans and live a modest existence inside the Walls. If the conservatives gained influence, it followed that the Survey Corps, who ventured outside the walls, was in danger of being dissolved. Furthermore, the Survey Corps had produced very few results since their inception. The conservatives would naturally try to make an example out of the Survey Corps, and the only way to counter them would be to produce results impressive enough to shut them up.
The factory city seems like it might end up taking a different role, too.
As there were rumors that a mint would be built in the factory city, the place would probably continue to be a secret, but it seemed likely that the city’s scale would shrink as well.
“I bet we’d see a lot of changes if you could just bring back a Titan head.”
“I’d like to if we could, but…”
“You can’t kill the Titans?”
But as long as the Titans were organisms, they had to have weaknesses, and killing them had to be within the realm of possibility.
If I could just investigate the Titans, I’d be able to prove it.
Receiving permission to investigate them wasn’t something he could expect, though. The situation would turn around completely if they discovered that the Titans could be killed. It would be an inconvenient state of affairs for those who feared change, especially the conservatives.
“As a member of the Survey Corps, I want to be able to have a legacy.”
“So that’s why you can’t commit to getting married.”
“That’s why I’m expecting a lot from you.”
“Me?”
“Once the factory city becomes operational, you should be able to produce new and unprecedented weapons. The facilities to make them don’t exist anywhere else.”
“I don’t want you getting your hopes up too much.”
Solm and Maria’s futures, in particular, were too heavy a burden to bear. All Angel could do was develop arms and provide them to soldiers. It was Solm’s job to use those and leave a legacy.
New weapons, huh.
Angel took the Iron Bamboo in his hand and fell into thought.
While he had yet to be visited by any inspirations, he had a groundless faith that the Iron Bamboo would lead to some sort of amazing invention. That proved its hidden potential.
“But what I need right now…” Angel said as he lied down, “is some sleep.” He braced to fight the nausea assaulting him.
✦ ✦ ✦
The temperature dropped as soon as they entered the other side of Wall Rose. The elevation there was much higher than the area around Wall Maria. The closer to Wall Sheena one got, the higher the elevation became, and the area beyond Wall Sheena was a thousand feet in altitude. While it depended on the season, the temperature was as much as five degrees colder.
As the coach drew closer to Wall Sheena, it left the artery and entered a side road, doggedly making its way north. Even off the artery, they were heading toward Wall Sheena.
“Are we still far from the factory city?” Corina faintly let out, raising her hand. While her face was still pale, it wasn’t the sickened green it’d been immediately after departing. Her body must have been adjusting to the swaying carriage. The same could be said for Angel and Xenophon, but the main reason their travel sickness had improved was that the carriage was now moving slower. This, of course, had been by request, and it meant they were running far behind schedule.
Five hours had passed since they left Trost District, but they had yet to see a single building that suggested the factory city’s presence. Even if they had wanted to check the area, the sun had already completely set. The two soldiers who led the convoy lit the forest path with torches, but these only provided an unreliable light that outlined their surroundings. All that could be made out were coniferous trees: cypress, pine, and cedar. They were far from towns and villages, and there was zero pedestrian traffic on their path.
“We’ll get there in two hours if we hurry. But at this pace, it’ll take double that.”
Solm skillfully maneuvered the reins as he forged ahead on the narrow path that now nearly resembled an animal trail.
“So we either put up with nausea or face the alternative. What a pair of crummy options,” Xenophon said with a disgusted face.
Angel felt no different. “I’d rather not vomit myself dry…”
“Then you’ll just have to be patient,” Solm answered bluntly. He added, “We can’t go fast when it’s this dark out. I doubt we’ll be able to tour the factory city, either. Going at this speed is the best option, don’t you think?”
Solm’s proposal was convincing enough to silence the complainers.
“In that case, I trust myself to our coachman. I’m getting some sleep.”
Right as Angel made to roll back down, a shot rang out and the horses neighed. The coach came to a sudden stop, and Angel and the other passengers fell forward on the cart while their stacked luggage tumbled off.
“What happened?” Angel, regaining his posture, called out towards the driver’s seat and Solm.
“Keep your head down. You’ll get yourself shot.”
Solm grabbed the flare gun on his hip, pointed it above his head, and pulled the trigger. The released signal shot straight up into the air and was swallowed by the darkness.
For a moment, they were surrounded by silence.
Then, the White Star exploded in the sky above with a flash of light that filled their dark world.