"It's all right, Mikasa. You can choose whatever life you want. That's your right, and my job is to protect that right." Chen Si smiled fondly.
Moved by Chen Si's words, Mikasa recalled the horrifying sight of her father as he died.
She gazed at the back of the boy before her. They had only spent a short time together, but he was already one of the only two family members she had left in the world. Her eyes grew steadily wetter.
Chen Si suddenly charged forward, shattering the floor yet again.
He slammed a fist into the man's back and swept the tall, burly man's legs out from under him, knocking him to the floor. Eren landed on his backside, coughing incessantly.
Eren stared wide-eyed at Chen Si's fluid fighting moves, filled with admiration and envy. What he didn't know was that Chen Si had never learned any fighting techniques.
He was simply relying on the speed and strength of his Ackerman bloodline, copying the way he had seen other people fight.
Chen Si stomped hard on the man's back. A crack reached his ears, seemingly the sound of ribs breaking. Being strong really was convenient.
Chen Si smashed the man's face into the floor, making his already deformed features even uglier. The man had had his back to him earlier, so he hadn't gotten a clear look. Now that he lifted the man's head, that face was truly unbearable to behold.
How had Eren managed to look at that deformed face without so much as a change in expression? This was the man Chen Si had punched in the jaw earlier.
After waking up, he had wanted to take vicious revenge while Chen Si slept, but the fat man had stopped him, arguing that damaged merchandise wouldn't fetch a good price. The poor bastard had lost even his final chance at revenge.
"You little brats! Sooner or later, I'll sell you to the Underground beneath the royal capital! I'll have your mothers tortured right in front of you and make you..." The deformed man never finished his curse.
At that moment, all 639 muscles in Mikasa's body erupted with cracking sounds. The channels throughout her body began to open, streams of air coiled around her, and the floorboards beneath her feet burst apart, sending wood chips flying.
I have to protect Mom! I have to protect my brother! I have to make sure they can both keep living!
Mikasa's gaze sharpened, and she drove a dagger straight into the deformed man's heart. His eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the frail little girl before him.
"Brother, I can't leave you to face this cruel world alone." Mikasa's eyes were resolute. In that instant, the law of natural selection-survival of the fittest-took root in her heart.
"All right!" Visibly moved by her words, Chen Si answered at once.
Seeing that Mikasa had killed someone too, Eren changed his opinion of her and began studying her curiously.
Chen Si was momentarily speechless at the change in Eren's gaze toward Mikasa. Was Eren a born warmonger? His personality was the complete opposite of Grisha's and Carla's. Why was that? Chen Si fell into thought.
Mrs. Ackerman slowly regained consciousness. At the sight of the three corpses before her, her mouth fell open in horror.
Mrs. Ackerman immediately understood what had happened. She didn't care how the three children had managed it. She only knew she had to get them away from this dangerous place at once.
That night, Doctor Yeager came up the mountain with members of the Military Police Brigade. The soldiers stared at the three bloody corpses. One in particular was so mangled that it no longer looked human.
"Did three children really do this?" Both soldiers broke into a cold sweat.
"Eren, didn't I tell you to wait for me at the foot of the mountain? Do you realize what you've done?!" Grisha Yeager reprimanded him.
"I got rid of a menace! They were nothing but beasts wearing human skin," Eren replied stubbornly.
"Doctor Yeager, this wasn't Eren's fault. He was very brave. He saved our family." Mrs. Ackerman hurried to stop Grisha from scolding Eren.
"Ma'am, you've been through a terrible ordeal. I'm sorry for your loss." Grisha felt deep sympathy for what Mikasa's family had suffered.
Mrs. Ackerman hugged Chen Si and Mikasa tightly, saying nothing as tears filled her eyes.
"If we'd waited for the Military Police Brigade, they'd have moved them somewhere else already. We would have been too late," Eren continued to argue.
"Even so, you were only lucky. Eren, what I'm trying to tell you is that you can't put yourself in danger so recklessly!" Seeing that Eren still refused to back down, Grisha looked at him with the utmost seriousness.
"Doctor Yeager is right, but Eren wasn't just lucky. He has courage most people could never hope to match. Never mind children-even many adults couldn't have done what he did. It wasn't simply a matter of luck," Chen Si suddenly said.
Mikasa turned toward Chen Si, her lips slightly parted as she stared at him during his remarkably mature speech. Beside her, Eren gazed at Chen Si with shining, grateful eyes, tears faintly glimmering in them. He felt that he had finally found someone who understood him.
Seeing the gratitude and delight in Eren's eyes, Chen Si turned his head away.
Eren, I admire you very much, but I really can't accept Mikasa spending another lifetime suffering for your sake. She should pursue happiness that truly belongs to her. I'm sorry, Eren.
Grisha took a long time to recover after hearing those words. He glanced at Eren again, seemingly considering something, then slowly approached Chen Si and Mikasa. Noticing the blood on the hem of Chen Si's clothes and the faint, dried traces on his fingers, he felt surprised, but also a little more reassured.
Grisha glanced at an empty patch of ground out of the corner of his eye. Chen Si instinctively looked over too, but there was nothing there, so he paid it no mind.
Grisha looked at Chen Si and said, "You're Mikasa's brother, aren't you?"
"Yes," Chen Si replied.
At Chen Si's unwavering answer, a light flickered in Mikasa's eyes.
"Yes, Chen Si is one of our children too," Mrs. Ackerman added.
"What a brave boy. Well done." Grisha smiled in praise, his attitude completely different from the one he had shown Eren.
"Thank you." Chen Si gave a small smile, looking like an ordinary boy next door.
Eren's eyes widened. He couldn't understand how his father could have such double standards.
Grisha turned to Mikasa. "Mikasa, do you remember me? We met a few times when you were little."
Mikasa lowered her head sadly, her eyes filled with uncertainty as she said:
"Doctor Yeager, our dad is dead..."
"It's so cold..."
Chen Si hurried over to Eren. "Eren, could I borrow your scarf?"
By now, Eren's admiration for Chen Si, the expert fighter, was through the roof. Without hesitation, he took off his scarf and handed it over.
"Here."
"Thank you, Eren." Chen Si took the scarf and walked over to Mikasa, carefully wrapping it around her neck. Her eyes gradually brightened as she watched him in a daze.
"Mikasa, being sad or hurting won't change anything now. We have to be strong. Your mom is still here, and so am I. Just remember that I'll always be by your side. I'll give everything I have to protect you both, so be strong!" Chen Si cupped her cheeks in his hands and gazed at her gently, his words filled with strength.
Every word sank deep into Mikasa's heart. Tears immediately spilled from her eyes.
It was as though a genetic lock within her, already slightly open, shattered completely in that instant. Her Ackerman bloodline reached its peak.
Mikasa suddenly threw herself into Chen Si's arms, making him stagger so hard he nearly lost his footing. She sobbed loudly against his chest. All at once, she had found the person she would cling to for the rest of her life.
At the sight, Mrs. Ackerman's anguish eased a little, and she watched the two children with relief.
Chen Si hugged Mikasa tightly and gently patted her back. The shoulder he gave her to cry on foreshadowed the safest harbor she would ever have.
In Mikasa's innocent eyes, his simple gesture seemed to condense into a mist that would linger for years.
Chen Si had never truly realized just how powerful his words could be. In the world he had lived in before transmigrating, even the most moving declarations of love could not touch hearts hardened like stone. Locks that emotion could not open were often smashed apart by reality.
But to people as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, this was what they treasured most.
In that other world, Chen Si had once had a girl he loved. He had experienced the unconditional devotion they gave each other. He had enveloped someone in love, and he had been immersed in love himself.
They had shared their most passionate embraces in the fiercest heat of love. He could not believe that their love back then had been false, but he understood that love was like a flame: hot, yet fleeting.
What Chen Si did not know, and perhaps could not understand, was that an eternal love-the very thing he had never believed in-was slowly enveloping him...
Once Mikasa had cried enough, she quietly lifted her head from Chen Si's shoulder. Seeing the wet patch she had left there, she felt touched, but even more embarrassed. Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she dared not look him in the eye.
"Chen Si, Mikasa, Mrs. Ackerman, why don't you come live with us?" Grisha said.
"Huh?" Mikasa froze.
"Thank you, Doctor Yeager, but our family has always lived here. My husband is barely cold in his grave. I'd still like to stay here," Mrs. Ackerman politely declined.
"Ma'am, these three traffickers were clearly working together. They must belong to an organization."
Grisha stepped closer to Mrs. Ackerman and lowered his voice. "What you don't know is that these traffickers sell all their victims to the royal capital inside Wall Sina! There are probably nobles backing them, so this definitely won't be the last group of traffickers to come here!"
"How could this happen..." Hearing that, Mrs. Ackerman understood the gravity of the situation.
Chen Si's disgust for the nobles inside the Walls soared as well. One day, he would completely overthrow the ruling establishment within the Walls.
"So please stay with us. We have a spare room anyway. You and Mikasa can share it, and Chen Si can sleep with Eren," Grisha continued to urge her.
Chen Si kept getting the feeling that Grisha was particularly eager for them to stay at his house. Still, he knew Grisha was a very kind doctor, so he didn't see anything wrong with it. It seemed quite normal.
"I'll move away, but how could we impose on you by staying in your home? Doctor Yeager, I'll find a house. We can't trouble you like that," Mrs. Ackerman repeatedly refused.
"You've suffered terribly. Right now, you need somewhere peaceful to settle down and recover. Besides, finding a house isn't something you can do immediately," Grisha continued.
"That's right, Chen Si, Mikasa. Come live with us. It won't be any trouble at all, Mrs. Ackerman." Eren came over and took Chen Si's and Mikasa's hands, then looked at Mrs. Ackerman.
"Come on. Come home with us," Eren said to Chen Si and Mikasa.
"Mm..." Chen Si also thought moving in would be better. With Grisha's connections, they would surely be able to board a boat fleeing to the inner side of Wall Maria when the Titans came.
"Thank you," Mikasa said shyly. She was touched, and her opinion of Eren improved considerably.
"Look how well the children get along. Let the three of them keep each other company," Grisha continued to persuade her.
"Well... all right. I'm really sorry for the trouble, Doctor Yeager..." Mrs. Ackerman said, somewhat embarrassed.
"All right. Thank you, Eren."
"Thank you, Doctor Yeager."
Chen Si looked at Eren, then at Grisha.
After thanking them, Chen Si turned to Mikasa and said:
"Mikasa, come on. Let's go home."
"Mm. Let's go home." Tears welled in the corners of Mikasa's eyes again.
Watching Eren lead Mikasa's family at the front, Grisha stared at his son's back in a daze.
Eren, can this child really change the future...?