NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Is Annie Jealous?
Haruto saw Annie's expression visibly darken. She usually had a cold face that warned people to stay away. But now, she looked like she was about to kill someone.
It was no different from when she had woken up after being drugged by Haruto before.
Seeing Annie's terrifying expression, Reiner felt a chill in his heart.
Why did it seem like Annie was genuinely angry?
Even so, he still shoved Haruto forward.
"Alright, Haruto, go teach her a lesson!"
Having angered Annie, Reiner immediately pushed Haruto out to take the heat. He looked at the furious Annie and felt a little apprehensive. Meanwhile, Ymir, enjoying the drama, jeered from the sidelines, "Go on, fight like a man!"
Historia was doing her best to hold Ymir back.
Haruto had no choice but to assume a combat stance.
In reality, his combat skills were excellent.
Even though he had never formally trained, he had gained combat technique memories from Annie and the armed personnel of the Foundation.
The Blacklight Virus was essentially a cheat code; just by absorbing genes, he could acquire the skills of others. On the other side, Annie also got into her fighting stance.
Without hesitation, Annie suddenly lunged forward.
She raised her elbow.
Haruto instinctively lifted his arm and turned sideways to block. But Annie immediately changed her move, swinging a whip-like kick toward Haruto's shin.
Such rapid transitions were beyond the reaction speed of most people. However, Haruto instantly jumped back, dodging the attack.
Annie, missing her strike, lunged directly at him.
Her arms spread open, one hand gripping Haruto's neck, while the other hooked under his arm.
A classic grappling stance.
Haruto immediately dropped his weight and lowered his center of gravity.
The two began a battle of strength.
At that moment, Haruto heard Annie whisper in his ear,
"Reiner and the others suspect you're a Titan because of the snow mountain incident. This is a test; they want to injure you and observe your healing ability."
This was the first time Annie had spoken to Haruto since joining the regiment.
After all, given her personality, suddenly talking to a stranger would be highly suspicious to Reiner and Bertolt.
Haruto was momentarily stunned.
He had already sensed that something was off about Reiner. Why would he randomly ask for a sparring match?
So it was because of his abnormal performance during the snow mountain training that Reiner suspected him of being a Titan.
After all, Haruto's squad not only survived the snow wolves but also carried back their supplies, along with an injured teammate.
Reiner believed Haruto must have used Titan powers in the snow mountain to achieve such a miraculous feat.
That suspicion was Reiner's real motivation.
Clearly, Historia was just an excuse.
As expected from Marley's top actor, Reiner's performances were so immersive he even split his own personality in the end.
"I'll go along with it. Let them confirm I'm a Titan, and when they make a move, I'll contain them."
He quickly made a decision. Annie let out a soft grunt of acknowledgment.
Then, she suddenly exerted force, as if she were determined to give Haruto a brutal beating.
"Hey, hey, we're just acting, don't take it so seriously!"
Haruto whispered.
"You bastard, what the hell are you even doing? Did you come to this world just to chase women?!"
Annie said viciously.
Clearly, the mission was one thing but at this moment, she genuinely wanted to beat Haruto up.
"I'm working on it! This is strategy!"
Haruto tried to defend himself.
But it was useless.
She kicked his leg, causing him to lose his balance.
Of course, if Haruto wanted to resist, Annie wouldn't stand a chance.
But right now, he was playing the role of a slightly above-average human.
So—
Thud!
Haruto was slammed onto the ground.
Annie mounted him and started delivering punches.
Haruto: !
He raised his arms to protect his head, subtly shifting his head side to side to avoid Annie's strikes.
For some reason, he felt like… she was jealous?
Spotting an opening in Annie's attack, Haruto pushed her off and then played dead on the ground.
Seeing this, the surrounding crowd gasped and inhaled sharply.
Reiner stared intensely at Haruto.
Soon, he noticed a faint wound on Gu Zeyuan's arm, but in the next moment, it healed before his very eyes.
At this moment, Reiner was convinced of his judgment.
However, that wound was something Haruto had intentionally created.
Otherwise, with his Ghoul-enhanced regeneration, even bullets wouldn't be enough to break his skin.
"Hey, Reiner, it's your turn now,"
Annie casually tossed a wooden training sword to Reiner. Reiner caught it, momentarily stunned.
Wait, this wasn't part of the plan…
As Reiner was about to brush it off,
Haruto, lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes and glared at him.
"Reiner, get in there! Weren't you just preaching about soldierly principles?!"
Reiner's face twitched.
Damn it!
"That's right. A soldier has moments where retreat is not an option; this is one of them!"
Reiner said firmly.
He also wanted to see for himself—
As a proud Marleyan warrior, could he really lose to a mere girl?
And so—
With a loud roar, Reiner charged at Annie.
Annie's eyes turned icy cold.
She had been truly angry just now.
Not just because Haruto was slacking off in the training corps. But more importantly, because that bastard had called her short.
And right in front of Haruto, no less!
With a swift side kick, Reiner was effortlessly knocked down. What followed was a merciless beating.
"Stop! Annie! Stop! This wasn't part of the training (plan)!"
Reiner screamed in agony.
Lying on the ground, Haruto watched this unfold and nodded in satisfaction.
This was perfect.
Historia ran over, reaching out to help Haruto up.
"Haru, are you hurt?" the little angel asked with concern.
Haruto patted the dust off himself and shook his head. "I'm fine."
Ymir walked over, sneering at him.
"Hey, you didn't look human at all when you were killing those wolves. But now you lost to that girl. Don't tell me you went easy on her just because she's pretty?"