The Ballad of Heidi Trumbauer

Illusions of Force

"Aaah!" Marco shouted as he charged at Heidi with a wooden knife.

"!" Heidi quickly parried his blow by using her arm to knock the attack off center, grabbing the wrist of his sleeve and the lapel of his jacket as she sidestepped, using his own momentum to flip him over. "Humph!!" Poor Marco landed on his back with a thud.

"Oww..." he groaned in pain. He really should have listened when she told him not to hold to back...

"Ah, sorry!" she apologized sheepishly as she helped him back up. "I'm used to fighting my grandpa, so I don't really know how to hold back..." Marco stared at her, looking a mix of shocked and appalled. He hoped she was joking. She fought like this with an old man? More like, what kind of monster was her grandfather...?

"I-I see..." he said with an awkward smile, feeling a bit lame. "But you're really strong, Heidi. I was surprised."

"Thanks," she replied with a smile. "Let's switch. I can teach you how to use that move as well as how to block it, if you want."

"Oh, thank you," Marco said politely, but he wasn't sure he wanted her coming at him even with a fake knife... "But I wonder what this training is about. Soldiers fighting other people? I'd hate to see that happen."

"What are you saying, Marco?" Heidi asked, blinking. "Didn't you want to join the Military Police Brigade? There's a reason why they primarily use firearms like rifles instead of the 3DMG. To the king nestled safely in the interior, who do you think is actually the bigger threat? The titans, who live outside the walls, or the people who are already inside and living close to him?"

"...!!" Marco gasped in realization. That's right! Even though a large portion of their grades was affected by their ability to use the 3DMG, the Military police still needed special permission to use it. Until the fall of Wall Maria, only the Survey Corps carried it regularly. And yet, they were required to master the 3DMG so they could get into the top ten just to qualify to join the Military Police...

"I've heard lots of stories from my grandfather about old royal families, and nine times out of ten, betrayal didn't come from the outside, but rather someone close to them. In the worst case scenario, you could end up in a situation like this, where you're the one who's unarmed. Even if you use your body to shield the king, if you can't take the weapon away from his attacker before you die, then he'll just step over your corpse and kill the king next, so it's better if you can take the enemy out first. Also... you're a nice guy, Marco, so this probably hasn't occurred to you, but... not everyone who joins the Military Police is doing it purely out of loyalty to the king, and from what I've heard, a lot of them aren't afraid to abuse their authority, either. So even if the king isn't hated, there are probably ill feelings towards the brigade. People may see you in your uniform and attack you out of spite," she said, furrowing her brow in concern. "When that happens, are you going to shoot them, or would you rather be able to disarm them without any casualties?"

"..." Marco stared at her, stunned.

'Ah. Maybe I said too much...' Heidi thought, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. Sometimes she just went off a tangent and started to ramble...

"Please... Please teach me!" Marco said earnestly as he grabbed her hands, surprising her. She was right! Even if they weren't being graded on this, it was an important skill to learn if he wanted to be able to properly protect the king!

'How dare he hold her hands like that!?' Peter thought, seething with jealously as he watched Heidi practice with Marco (even though the sparkling atmosphere around them was all in his own head), tightening his hold on the opponent he had trapped in a side headlock.