Eren looked at her. Mikasa's heart skipped a beat, but all that was for nothing; his gaze didn't even linger on her for a second, and as if he were surveying the surroundings, his gaze passed her like everyone before her.
But then her eyes turned cold when she saw Eren gazing at a girl. Although only her back was visible in Mikasa's vision, it was enough to tell that she is a woman.
His gaze was full of appreciation for her beauty; she understood that from her memories when she was little—it's the same gaze her father had whenever he was complimenting her mother.
But little did she know, there is no different gaze for love and beauty; the person you love starts to become the most beautiful for you, and your standards of beauty become that person.
But if you don't have any particular one as a standard, then a misunderstanding will happen, just like with Mikasa.
Just when the instructor blocked his way, Eren reverted his gaze to the straight-neck position. Mikasa; her knuckle tendons were making crackling sounds. She can't believe that Eren is looking at some other girl and ignoring her. She just wants to punch a knuckle tattoo onto that pretty face which is so captivating.
But unlike Mikasa, Armin, who looked at the situation more clearly, understood who that blonde-haired girl is.
"Historia," he said in a very low voice, so that only he could hear.
Eren wants to find the Founder's power with the help of Historia. Armin can't decide what to do in this situation.
If Eren gets the Founder's power, then there's a chance he will start the Rumbling. But Eren himself told him that he won't start the Rumbling until Marley attacks first, which he knows is inevitable.
Marley will attack Paradis; they need the island's resources and the Founder's power to continue their world dominance. Armin is stuck in a tough situation between a rock and a hard wall.
So he decided to wait. Even if he wants to do something, there's no one who will believe in him blindly like Eren did. If not for Eren, he couldn't even be alive to this day, let alone entering the power circle that fast.
He is helpless and powerless, and there's no direction of the future that he can see these events taking them.
At the present, as they are eating their food silently, some people approached. A girl with twin-tails first moved forward; she tried to have a chat, but after Mikasa's direct and short replies, she thought that they didn't want to talk, so she retreated.
Then a boy with a particular hairstyle, advanced for his era, came forward. With a light blush on his face and a somewhat stiff smile, he tried to start a conversation with them.
He said something to Mikasa, which she didn't seem to hear. But when he was about to repeat the words, Mikasa—who was already annoyed since the morning, and now these people coming back-to-back—snapped and looked at him with eyes like she was gazing at a dead person.
A chill ran down Jean's spine, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He took a step back and wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking to keep his distance from Mikasa in the future.
Both, after finishing their dinner, also went into their respective quarters for boys and girls.
In the boys' quarters, Armin saw Eren sitting alone on his bed. Unlike the previous timeline, there's no one hovering around his bed; only his side of the bed is quiet in the middle of the chirping atmosphere of the cabin.
Like before, Connie, Reiner, and Bertholdt started to talk. Armin, still believing them to be friends from the past timeline, was still in that mindset and started talking to them as if the enmity between them and the Eldians was a thing of the past—which it certainly was, but only for the Armin who had traveled back in time.
Just like that, the night passed and the sun rose once again. Today, they are going to take an aptitude test for the ODM gear.
Eren, after breakfast, came to the training grounds with Sasha, who had breakfast with him today.
On the way, they also found Krista, who greeted them politely. Behind her, they saw Ymir. From Eren's memories, Ymir and Krista shouldn't be that close of friends by now. Eren didn't bother with her and just greeted Krista back.
They all, standing on the training ground, looked at the scaffold-like structure in front of them. Well, the old, bald instructor hadn't come yet, so Historia tried to introduce Ymir to Eren, but neither of them seemed interested in introducing themselves to the other.
Krista laughed awkwardly, but thankfully, the instructor had arrived. He introduced them to the ODM gear, how it's used, and the requirements to use it, which dispersed the awkward situation within their small group.
Annie, Mikasa, the twin-tailed girl, and others came one by one and did their aptitude test. Sasha and Historia had passed with ease. Now, it's his turn for the test.
But then Eren stepped forward and said he had something important to report that can't be said in public. They walked a distance from the training ground. Then the instructor returned with Eren and told him to do the test on the other device.
This time, there is no bumping of his head, no hanging upside down, nor the humiliation of being a failure. He passed with flying colors. The training and exercise he was doing for the past two years—this was nothing compared to it.
And by the way, he didn't even start advanced military training because it can hinder the growth of this body, which isn't worth it. Although a Titan's power gives regeneration and stuff, the host can still die of starvation. Similarly, a Titan's power doesn't affect the natural growth of the host much; it depends entirely on the host.
By the proper nutrition and exercise he was doing at the house of his father's acquaintance, he is much stronger and taller than the original Eren Yeager at this age, who was burning with rage under malnutrition.
Just think what nutrition you can get from bread and porridge on a daily basis. In his memory, that merchant had also come in the past timeline, but Eren didn't go with him because, rich though the merchant was, he still couldn't take care of three children, so Eren had refused to go with him.
He didn't tell Mikasa and Armin about that so they wouldn't be stressed over his decision. Although Eren acts like a hothead, his actions always prioritized the safety of his friends.
continue—