The two didn't struggle long before Mikasa separated them.
It was clear Eren had become much calmer compared to three years ago; he'd grown. Jean, however, still wore that carefree, lazy air and only had his sights set on joining the Military Police for an easy life.
That's actually normal — among those here, ninety percent share the same thought. The reason they worked hard was the hope of entering the Military Police; otherwise they'd rather till the fields than join the Survey Corps. After all, everyone could see the pathetic state they returned in after missions beyond the wall — who wants to end up a cold corpse on a cart?
"What a passionate idiot."
Ymir looked at the angry Eren and said, "The Survey Corps really suits him. That kind of hot-bloodedness could probably take out a few Titans." Then she turned to Lillian. "Hey, shorty, you still haven't answered my question. You definitely won't be in the top ten — so, between the Garrison and the Survey Corps, which would you choose?"
"Guess."
"…"
Ymir's face soured; Krista hurriedly interjected a few neutral lines to keep them from fighting again.
Time passed bit by bit, and graduation drew near.
---
Training ground.
Today was another day of human combat training; since graduation was coming up, everyone's enthusiasm had waned.
Besides, this exercise didn't add to the grades, so everyone was perfunctory. With Instructor Keith away on business and no one supervising, most of them just sat on the ground chatting.
"Do you think you'll make the top ten?"
"Don't know… feels unlikely."
"Yeah, those few people are a sure thing. You can tell at a glance their scores are high."
"I've already spotted four or five who'll definitely get in… it's tough. Hope I make it; if I end up in the Garrison who knows how many years I'd have to wait before applying to the Military Police."
"True, after all—"
Two trainees were discussing when a cold breeze swept over them. They turned and saw Annie walking past.
Her gaze was icy; the two shivered when they met it.
"Annie's terrifying…"
"Hey, is she going again?"
"Probably."
They watched her back as she walked silently straight toward the corner of the training field—where Lillian was sunning himself.
"Hey."
She looked down at Lillian from above: soft facial lines, gentle features, and the black eyes that were slowly opening.
"Training."
"Ah…?"
Lillian looked at her with some vexation. "Annie, let's leave it for today. The instructor's not here — isn't it fine to catch some sun for once?"
"Training."
"…"
Lillian inwardly regretted it.
Ever since he'd beaten Annie on the training ground, she'd made a point of seeking him out in training every time.
Even when Lillian later deliberately let her throw him to the ground once, she still wouldn't be satisfied. In her own words: "…"
Which was to say, she had no words.
Lillian didn't know what was going on in her head that made her so persistent.
"I mean… didn't you say you didn't like this kind of training? That it felt pointless? Why are you suddenly so keen now?"
"I want to win."
"You've already won. Many times."
Annie stared at him coldly and said nothing.
Lillian thought she'd probably noticed he'd been holding back, but what could he do?
Over time he had come to fully master that one-third of Titan strength inside him — he could use it however he wished. He could put force into a strike or pull it back, and he could control the slightest gradation of power.
In that case, for a human to beat him in one-on-one combat — not a friendly spar, but in actual fighting — they'd need lethal techniques.
If Lillian's heart were stabbed or his head chopped off, of course he would die. But in a sparring match or fistfight, he wasn't afraid of anyone.
Besides, nobody really knew the full extent of his strength yet. The most he'd ever used was perhaps one-tenth of it. If he threw a full-power punch… breaking someone's skull would be like smashing a watermelon.
That said, he certainly couldn't match the kind of destruction a Titan could do. After all, his surface area was limited — just two fists. A Titan's fist could crush a house in one blow; there was no comparison.
Lillian stood up; he didn't take a fighting stance, he simply asked Annie, "Annie, you're going to the Military Police, right?"
"..."
"In that case you should know how pointless this kind of one-on-one training is. It doesn't count toward your total score, so why waste sunbathing time?" He turned to walk away, but Annie blocked him.
"I said I want to win."
She finished speaking and gave him no chance to reply, suddenly lifting a kick. Lillian stepped back and frowned.
"Lots of people tried to hit on you before — you should understand the trouble that causes." Lillian said. "But now you're part of the problem too. Or are you just using training as an excuse so you can spend more time with me—"
"Huh!"
Annie swung another punch, her face growing a little darker.
Lillian could see that if he didn't put her down properly she wouldn't let it go, so he reached out and met her fist with his open palm.
Thud!
On contact Lillian immediately closed his fingers and trapped Annie's fist. She knit her brows and tried to pull away, but it felt like her strength disappeared into quicksand — utterly powerless.
She knew Lillian was incredibly strong, so in a flash she abandoned the attempt to withdraw and instead dropped her body, sweeping a leg toward Lillian's ankle.
Lillian didn't budge. A muffled grunt came from Annie — her kick hit Lillian's ankle as if she'd kicked an iron plate; the momentary pain knocked her fighting ability right out of her.
"So much for assassination-level power — you can't cut through a meatshield fighter." Lillian muttered under his breath, then reached down with his other hand, grabbed Annie's calf, and applied force up and down at the same time, flipping her onto the ground. He then pressed his leg across her thighs, pinned her arms with both hands, and looked down at her from above. "Satisfied?"
"..."
Annie's cold blue eyes seemed ready to spew flames; her body twisted and struggled violently, but Lillian's limbs were like blocks of iron and held her immobile.
"Hey, shorty, what are you doing? This is broad daylight — if you're going to do things like that you should wait till night when no one's around." Ymir's teasing voice sounded, and Lillian looked up to realize they were being watched — many of the male trainees, perhaps used to being bullied by Annie, were secretly giving him thumbs-up and admiring glances.
What the heck...
Lillian suddenly realized how bad his position looked — it was straight out of a movie villain's attempt to assault a woman. He hurriedly let go, stood, reached for Annie's arm, and hauled her up off the ground.
Smack!
Annie slapped his hand away; a flash of unwillingness and something undefinable crossed her eyes. She turned and walked off silently into the distance.
Lillian sighed.
The excitement was over; the crowd dispersed. Ymir and Krista came over. Krista looked worriedly at Lillian. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"Huh? Krista, does he look hurt to you?" Ymir narrowed her eyes. "He looked like he was enjoying it to me. So? How did it feel to have the 'ice princess' Annie pinned underneath you?"
"Ymir..."
Lillian glanced at her and curled his lip. "What? Jealous? Want me to pin you down too?"
"You can try." Ymir smiled coyly. "But if it were me, that slap wouldn't have hit your hand — it would have landed on your cute little face."
Lillian couldn't be bothered to answer. He watched Annie's figure walk away into the distance and thought she probably wouldn't come back after this.
Well — graduation was coming soon; there wouldn't be many more chances.
"Tsk, still not over it, huh."
Ymir gave Lillian a mock-serious look. "But you two are actually a good match."
"Huh?" Krista, beside them, looked puzzled. "Why, Ymir?"
"You know — both shorties."
"Lillian isn't short anymore." Krista held up her hand to show his height. "He's taller than me now."
"Ha ha ha!" Ymir swept Krista into a hug. "Krista, you're just too adorable~"
"Eh?"
Krista hadn't quite registered, and Lillian sighed again. It's true — he was taller than her now. But the problem was Krista hadn't grown much either; she was only about 1.5 meters tall, nearly twenty centimeters shorter than Lillian.
"Right, he's taller than you now."
Lillian reached out to ruffle her pretty, soft golden hair, only to have Ymir swat his hand away. "Get your dog paws off!"
"If mine are dog paws, then yours are octopus claws."
"Octopus?" Krista asked curiously. "What's that?"
Oh no!
Lillian's heart jumped. The island's humans didn't know marine creatures at all—let alone octopi; they wouldn't even recognize an ordinary carp.
But… Krista didn't know, while Ymir—the one from Marley—might.
Lillian glanced at her. Sure enough, Ymir's brow was slightly furrowed and the look in her eyes was a little strange.
"That… I read about it in a book," Lillian forced out. "It said it has lots of legs and wraps around enemies to entangle them or something. I've never seen one; probably someone bored and making it up."
"Ohhh…"
"From a book," Ymir said, looking at him. "Can you lend me that book? I'm curious, too."
"I read it when I was a kid—no idea where it ended up."
"That's a pity."
"Yeah."