Late Night Stories Vol. 01 Jean Kirstein : A Story of Disappointment
Late at night, a languid atmosphere lingered in the air in the boys barracks. In front of each of the recruits surrounding a table was a thick textbook on tactics, along with a variety of notes.
“Ugh… I’m so sleepy…” Connie said as he rubbed his eyes.
“This test is ridiculously difficult… Even I’m not close to finishing the materials,” Reiner shrugged.
“That’s why we’re all here pulling an all-nighter. You’d better not sleep,” Eren said, fighting back a yawn as he nudged Connie, who had his head in his hands. As Armin watched, he suddenly clapped.
“I know! Why don’t we all go around telling interesting stories so that we don’t fall asleep?”
“You want to tell interesting stories?” Jean echoed. Armin smiled back at him.
“That’s right… For example, Jean, why don’t you tell us about a time you were disappointed?”
“I see… I might not fall asleep if we did that.”
“Good idea. I want to hear that, too.”
Though Jean was against the idea, he had no choice after all the others agreed. His shoulders fell.
“You, too, Marco?! Ugh… Fine.”
It happened when Jean went shopping with Marco. As part of their training duties, recruits had to calculate the food that would be needed during a fixed duration march, then go buy it.
“So you went in your military uniforms?”
“Yeah. But Jean said prices would be high in towns, so we went to a nearby farming village.”
While one could describe it as simply going shopping, this was actually an important part of their training that required a firm grasp on the many factors that went into a march.
“…And so, the shopping went fine. But…”
Jean sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
To the society inside the Walls, being a soldier meant having a stable job that allowed one to live off the people’s taxes.
…And so, to put it plainly, recruits were popular. The farmers and other young citizens of the village, both men and women, saw them as possible marriage partners who had promising futures.
Just as Jean and Marco finished shopping and had loaded their wagon, it happened.
A number of girls from the village handed them snacks. The two gave their thanks and took them without a second thought before opening the packages, but…
“…Huh? What’s this letter?”
“Hm?! There’s no letter in mine!”
The bread that Marco had been given came with something extra, and it was clear to both of them what it was…
“Bfft… Haahaha! So no love letter for you, Jean?”
The entire table burst into laughter, beginning with Reiner. Jean did everything he could to protest as they roared.
“Don’t laugh! It was our first time meeting them, you know! What’s the big difference between me and Marco, anyway?!”
“I have a feeling I know what it is. You look like a bad guy, Jean, and Marco seems like someone you’d have a more stable life with.”
“Hey, what’d you just say about my face?!”
As Armin tried to stifle his laughter and explain the workings of a woman’s heart, Marco hopped in from the side to try to smooth things over, since he was the only other recruit involved in the story.
“It’s okay. I turned them down by saying that I didn’t know if I’d be able to become a full-fledged soldier or not.”
“Again, why would you turn them down there?! It only makes it sting more!”
The recruits laughed to one another, to the exclusion of a desperate Jean.
“Ah, all that laughing woke me up… That was a good idea.”
“I bet we could use it during camping training, too.”
“I’ll pick who tells the story next time!”
“I like that idea,” Armin smiled as he looked around. Now that his fellow recruits were awake, they began to switch gears and dig into their homework.
The night was far from over.
SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 2
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