[Translation] Smartpass AU Story - Levi & Eren.
Special thanks to @trippyridehome for providing the original story, and to @undercover-witch for her help translating it.
The air in the cellar was stifling as humidity rose from the damp stone walls. The old castle’s dungeon has long been abandoned, its iron bars destroyed and rendered useless. However, there was someone of value there.
“……I’m underground even at a time like this.”
“Of course. Got any complaints?”
The reply came from an indisposed looking superior officer who hastily brushed up his wet bangs.
The Survey Corps were training outside when it started pouring so heavily that the thick fog even blurred out the color of their smoke grenades. The unit leader who was overseeing the march fired a star-shell stopping everyone. The orders were for each squad to go take shelter from the rain in the abandoned buildings nearby.
“None. I understand the ins and outs of how this works.”
“It wouldn’t be a big deal if it was just my squad, but the whole Survey Corps branch is out on this training march… Catch my drift?”
A young man by the name of Eren sat hugging his knees, looking downwards in the dimly lit dungeon which was once divided by iron bars.
“I shouldn’t cause unnecessary distress for the squads that distrust my ‘Titan power’…”
Exactly. Levi, the superior officer holding the light, turned towards him.
Eren was still in his rain gear. He looked like a puppy abandoned on the side of the road. Rain drops were dripping off him and his ever-present frown was even worse than usual.
“For goodness’s sake… He looks like a damn beggar from the Underground City. He’s no longer who he used to be, he’s lost a lot and now he’s just dragging himself to wherever he’s told to go. Guess being called ‘humanity’s hope’ is taking a toll on him.”
After a deep, long sigh Levi gave a swift order.
“Take off that drenched raincoat and hand it over. I’ll set it to dry by the fire upstairs.”
He lethargically unclasped his rain gear and squeezed the excess water out of it before handing it over to Levi. Eren’s cold, trembling hand didn’t go unnoticed. Levi called out to his standby soldiers upstairs.
“…I can’t let him in the pits of despair like this.”
“Petra! Take Oluo and come keep an eye on Eren.”
Petra came down the stairs and saw Eren slouched, looking downhearted, while Levi obviously had no idea how to handle it. She made sense of the situation fairly quickly.
“Understood. Sir… Are we keeping him locked in the dungeon until the rain stops? That’s a bit…”
“It’s a temporary solution. Hange’s going to check whether the castle’s structure is sturdy enough to contain Eren’s Titan transformation… Once I get the confirmation, I will allow Eren to go out.”
“That’s great news. I hope you walk free soon. Your teammates are here as well. Would you like to see them?”
“They are? I want to, but I’m not sure how they feel…”
“They’d be delighted to see you! You’ve been training in different squads for a while now.”
Levi turned around to leave. After hearing Petra’s cheerful words of encouragement he was convinced once again that he did the right choice by picking her to be a soldier in his squad.
“Come on, quit moping around. The weather’s depressing enough.”
As he was climbing up the stairs Levi turned around and took in Eren’s slightly more relaxed expression.