"No need to crowd, everyone. We have plenty of food for everyone."
In a manor, a large number of civilians were gathered, forming queues to receive food. Not far away, temporary tents were erected for shelter. Although Wall Maria and Shiganshina District were no longer in danger, due to reconstruction and the lingering presence of Titans, residents living in the surrounding area near the Shiganshina intersection still couldn't return to their old homes.
While not exactly starvation, hardship definitely existed. Maintaining the livelihood of many people wasn't just about throwing food at them; it also involved housing, sanitation, organization, management... many issues.
Therefore, not only the government but also the noble domains had to take in a certain number of citizens to alleviate the burden on other concentration areas. This particular location was the Reiss family domain, and a food distribution event was currently underway.
Of course, the nobility didn't provide free meals; more accurately, they didn't help for free. Living in the domain also required farming or labor.
After the coup in Wall Sina ended quietly, Frieda Reiss had more freedom than before. She could have chosen many paths, such as staying in Sina with the Survey Corps or going to Asahi's research institute. However, she decided to return to the Reiss family domain.
She did not reconcile with the Reiss family, or her father. Instead, she established her own separate "household" here, and no one had the right to forbid Frieda. Because in some way, since she inherited the Founding Titan, she had become the owner of every inch of land inside the Walls.
Frieda now only wanted to do the work she felt she should have done long ago: helping her people.
And, naturally, Frieda was not alone. There were soldiers stationed around, along with Kenny Ackerman hidden somewhere unknown, protecting her every moment.
Kenny sat leaning against a tree, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings through his face mask. Although he seemed to have transformed from an assassin into a full-time bodyguard, this period was still much more relaxed than before.
Regarding communication, it was easily resolved through the equipment on his armor. Asahi, even from a distance, could keep track of the situation.
Near him, the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed. Kenny tilted his head; the arrival was Frieda. She carried a bowl of hot porridge and was leading a child by the hand.
"What's the matter?"
"Oh, nothing much. Are you hungry?"
Frieda smiled, offering the bowl of porridge to Kenny. Without hesitation, he accepted it, flipped up his mask, and began to eat.
Although this was not the first time they had known each other, their previous situation meant their relationship was tenuous. It was only recently, when Kenny joined Asahi's command and became her full-time bodyguard, that their relationship had somewhat changed.
"No need to hesitate. What do you need help with?"
"Well..."
Her real purpose exposed, Frieda was slightly embarrassed. She pointed down at the child she was holding by the hand.
"That's all? You want me to protect her?"
"Yes, I'm asking for your help."
Kenny pondered. He knew a little about the child's background.
Historia Reiss, Rod Reiss's daughter, or more accurately, his illegitimate child from a brief encounter with a maid.
The little Historia looked at Kenny's grim face and timidly hid behind Frieda's skirt. This clearly showed that the relationship between the two sisters was very good, and the child completely trusted Frieda. The reason she asked him to protect the child was her fear that her father would target the girl, or worse, use her as a hostage to force Frieda to return.
In Kenny's assessment, that was entirely possible.
Simultaneously, in the area of the refugee citizens, the trio of children from outside the Walls—Reiner Braun, Annie Leonheart, and Bertolt Hoover—began to act.
"Just this one time. As long as we capture the Founding Titan, we can return home."
"We absolutely... cannot fail."
The three looked at each other and nodded. Reiner used a knife to make a small cut on his hand. Blood flowed down, and simultaneously, a bolt of lightning, as if to tear the sky, appeared.
...
"What, you mean..."
"That's right."
Inside the research institute, Grisha was still astonished by Asahi's words. So much so that he wanted to drag his exhausted body up to demand an answer, that this was not something to joke about.
Asahi was, of course, not joking.
Since coming here, Grisha had cooperated with him and the research team to conduct an experiment.
Grisha transformed into a Titan, then, under Hange's direction, performed the task of "assembling" a structure using pre-prepared materials. After the first transformation ended, Asahi told Grisha to transform into the Titan form again. This time, although he could still complete the assembly task, his speed and concentration had decreased. In the third time, these two factors decreased even more sharply, and the Titan body began to show deficiencies. Continuing like this to the fourth and fifth times, all the way to the seventh transformation, the Grisha Titan had almost completely lost its reason, even destroying the structural blocks it had assembled before. By the eighth time, the body was so incomplete and damaged that it couldn't move.
Asahi immediately sent Grisha to rest afterward; he was completely exhausted, having lost all consciousness. When he awoke, the first thing he heard was Asahi's words.
"I can separate the Attack Titan from you, Grisha."
When he realized that Asahi wasn't joking, he froze for a long time, then suddenly burst into tears.
Asahi did not offer comfort or do anything, simply allowing Grisha to release all his emotions. Having understood his past, Asahi could completely understand why Grisha was crying.
"Grisha, this statement, while somewhat contradictory... is still only a theory, my theory."
Asahi also informed him of a fact.
Before this, he had also probed the experimental Titan. It was indeed as he thought: the soul, or rather, the will of the person who was transformed, still existed, and it was also what sustained the Titan's body from dissipating. The specific dwelling place of this will was the nape, where their body had merged into one with the Titan body. That was also why when sufficient damage was done to the nape, the Titan would be killed and dissipate, because the will sustaining its body had lost its anchor.
Moving to Grisha's experiment, it completed his chain of thought. The reason Grisha became sluggish and gradually depleted with each continuous transformation was the wear and tear on his will. If the will was not strong enough, it could not even materialize a complete body.
Combining the two experiments, Asahi understood the difference between a completely transformed Titan and a special Titan.
Both were transformations from humans, but a normal Titan had completely merged with the Paths, so even though they still possessed a will, they were no longer people. Conversely, a special Titan still possessed its own will, which is also why its regeneration ability was limited.