"Airi, I... can I go see Zofia?"
Carrying a basin of water, Airi Ambers turned her head and saw Gabi standing behind her with a conflicted expression.
As if she had thought of something, a trace of regret appeared on Airi Ambers' face. After letting out a soft sigh, she said,
"It's better not to, Gabi. Zofia has only just woken up not long ago. You shouldn't disturb her right now."
There was something else Airi Ambers didn't say aloud.
The awakened Zofia simply didn't want to see Gabi at all. Airi Ambers also didn't want to hurt Gabi by saying it directly, so she could only decline in this subtle way.
Of course, how could Gabi fail to understand such a subtle hint?
But knowing she was in the wrong, she couldn't say anything in response. She could only force a stiff smile before turning away in loneliness.
Watching Gabi's departing figure, Airi Ambers also felt a little regretful, and at the same time sorrow for these Warrior candidates.
Gabi had already forgotten her Eldian identity. For the sake of honor as a Marleyan, she could even abandon her own companions.
That kind of person made Airi Ambers feel faintly uneasy. She was still a child not even ten years old—so what would she become when she grew up?
In comparison, Zofia, who had blocked a fatal gunshot for her teammate, truly impressed Airi Ambers. She hadn't expected this quiet, seemingly reserved girl to be so brave.
What was even rarer was that after several days of probing, Airi Ambers discovered that the little girl didn't seem to have been completely brainwashed by Marley.
So perhaps...
Gabi walked along the road with her head lowered in dejection.
At that moment, Falco and Udo approached from the opposite direction carrying a small basket. Inside the basket were fruits they had finally managed to exchange for with the canned food they had painstakingly saved up. They were specifically bringing them to visit the injured Zofia.
As the two got closer and closer, Gabi nervously prepared to greet them.
But Falco and Udo had already noticed her.
Falco's expression changed, and a trace of struggle appeared on his face, as if he were wrestling with something. But in the end, it all vanished. He chose to ignore Gabi entirely, walking straight past her with Udo without saying a single word.
Udo's attitude was even more obvious.
When he passed by Gabi, he even snorted heavily, his voice full of indignation and disdain.
Their attitude dealt a heavy blow to Gabi.
The greeting she had been about to say never even left her lips before she swallowed the words back down.
Gabi turned around and stared blankly as the two of them walked toward the tent where Zofia was resting.
She vaguely saw Falco and Udo enter directly.
The tightly stretched string in Gabi's heart suddenly snapped.
Her body went weak, and she collapsed onto the ground as waves of grievance surged into her heart like a rising tide.
A sharp, sour feeling filled her nose, and her eyes were instantly soaked with tears.
"Why! What did I do wrong?! I... I just wanted to prove myself! What exactly did I do wrong? Falco! Udo! Zofia! Why don't you understand me? We were all trying to become Marleyan warriors. Where did I go wrong?"
The broken Gabi bit her lip and roared in a low voice, her fingers digging deeply into the muddy ground.
The alienation from her companions felt like a heavy blow.
On the battlefield, she had recklessly acted without regard for her companions' safety, charging forward on her own. That reckless behavior had led to her companions being severely injured and nearly losing their lives.
This incident quickly spread throughout the entire Third Regiment.
The Eldian soldiers of the Third Regiment instantly changed the way they looked at Gabi. None of them had expected such a young child to be so cold and impulsive.
Many of them were also secretly shocked by how thoroughly the Marleyans had brainwashed these Eldian children.
Thus, in a very short time, Gabi was almost completely isolated by everyone.
Falco and the others were also thoroughly disappointed in her. Falco would never forget the moment he held the injured Zofia while shouting Gabi's name, only to receive a cold and indifferent look from her in return.
The distance from her companions and the contempt of her own people were not the final straw that crushed Gabi.
The true final blow came from the attitude of the Marleyans.
Do you remember the Middle Eastern officer who escaped back?
According to military law, he should have been executed.
However, he brought back an important piece of information—information that, after being reviewed by the high-ranking officials of the Middle Easterners, not only spared his life but even allowed him to retain his officer status.
The next day, the Middle Eastern newspapers launched fierce condemnations against the brutality of the Marleyans.
They accused the Marleyan leadership of having lost their humanity, claiming they had actually sent children only a few years old onto the battlefield to draw enemy fire.
The Middle Easterners even used this as an excuse to attribute the entire victory in the battle for the Grayle Fortress stronghold group—originally publicized by Marley—to the involvement of those children.
The rough implication was that the Marleyans were despicable and shameless, using children to attract gunfire, while the Middle Eastern soldiers were kind-hearted and simply could not bring themselves to shoot at children.
But the shameless Marleyans took advantage of the Middle Eastern soldiers' kindness to launch their attack and won the war through despicable means.
Therefore, the Middle Easterners would never acknowledge the Marleyans' shameless victory.
The Middle Eastern newspapers even published what they claimed was "evidence" of Marley sending children into battle.
It was a photograph showing Gabi charging toward the fortress while holding a grenade.
The Middle Eastern propaganda enraged the Marleyan high command.
Originally, Marley had held the advantage in public opinion because the war had been started by the Middle Easterners first.
But now the situation had suddenly reversed completely.
The key point was that Marley had no way to refute it, because the other side had physical evidence.
Marley could only swallow their bitterness. They had never imagined that these Warrior candidates would actually rush onto the battlefield.
So while Marley publicly denied everything in the newspapers with stubborn insistence, the high-ranking officials were simultaneously raging at their subordinates layer by layer for their incompetence.
The scolding eventually reached Warrior Unit commander Magath.
That was also the reason why Magath had been so furious on the train that day.
What Gabi received was not Marley's praise or commendation.
Instead, it was endless insults and belittlement.
The adjutant sent from headquarters even pointed directly at Gabi's nose in front of the Eldian soldiers of the Third Regiment and called her useless, lowly trash, a damned devil-blooded descendant, and more.
Those words instantly chilled Gabi's heart.
She had fought desperately, even abandoning her companions for the sake of it.
And in the end, all she received was being called useless by the Marleyans?
The excuse she had always used to deceive herself finally shattered completely before her eyes.
So what exactly had she been doing all this for?
A feeling called regret enveloped Gabi.
But does a regret medicine really exist in this world?
Once some things are done, they are done.
You can never pretend they never happened.
...
Leaving Gabi aside for now...
Yago frowned as he looked at the intelligence report in his hand.
It had just arrived from Paradis Island.
It was also a letter personally written to him by Erwin.
But the contents of the letter greatly shocked Yago.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo