Chapter 19: The Calm Before the Sproutstorm
Day 11
There's something strangely holy about the morning of the eleventh day.
No, not because Eren was up early chanting mantras or bathing under a waterfall—he barely remembered to wash his face. But the silence that wrapped around the valley had the kind of hush that made you feel like something big was watching. The sky was wide and pale, clouds soft as sheep wool, and even the birds had decided to give him space.
Or maybe they were just scared of Lira's scarecrow drone that now stood guard over the main field with a rotating laser eye.
Eren rubbed the sleep from his face as he stepped out of the farmhouse, the wooden steps creaking under his bare feet. His linen shirt was half-buttoned, and his hair looked like it had declared mutiny sometime during the night.
"Morning," Mira called from the fence, already there with a basket of harvested red-shelled beans and her ever-present blush.
She was in her usual linen dress, slightly dust-streaked, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Her braid swayed with her steps as she walked toward him. The girl had this knack for catching him off guard—not by doing anything dramatic, but by just... being there. Always warm. Always early. Always wearing that look like she couldn't decide if she wanted to hug him or run away screaming.
Eren offered a sleepy wave. "Did you sleep out here?"
"No," she said too fast. "I just... like being early. I watered the skyroot rows. And the mint-leafed radishes, too."
"You're not trying to outshine me at my own competition, are you?"
Her eyes widened. "What?! No! I mean—wait, your competition?"