"The experiment is over, everyone retreat immediately!"
After digging Eren out, Hange immediately gave the order to retreat.
Levi turned and ordered Historia, "Go sit in the carriage with Eren."
Linde was about to follow when Levi called out to him, "Where do you think you're going? You're riding ahead of me."
Linde said helplessly, "Yes, Captain!"
Hange looked at the white smoke rising from the valley, her heart sinking slightly.
As expected, it was impossible not to cause a stir.
Now they had to be prepared for the enemy having discovered this place... After confirming no one was following, everyone cautiously returned to the stronghold.
It wasn't until the next day that Eren woke up.
Hange reviewed the entire experiment for Eren, who had completely lost his memory of what had happened before he passed out.
In Eren's first Titanization, he simulated plugging the great hole in Wall Maria with a Hardening Titan body, but absolutely no Hardening material was produced.
Afterwards, endurance and intelligence tests were conducted as planned.
Eren completed all initial commands perfectly, but an hour later, he became confused.
He even wrote "My father, he..." with a branch, followed by illegible handwriting.
And then he detached himself from the Titan's body.
After resting for thirty minutes, Eren underwent a second Titanization.
His height dropped to 13 meters; he still couldn't complete the Hardening, and he failed the intelligence test, becoming driven by a desire to devour everything he saw.
The loss of control lasted for a while until his strength was eventually exhausted, and the Titanization was undone.
Resting for another thirty minutes, Eren underwent a third Titanization; his height was less than ten meters, and he could no longer stand on his own, so the experiment was terminated early.
Listening silently until the end, Eren lowered his head and said in frustration, "So, the operation to retake Wall Maria is impossible for now, right?"
He clenched his fists: "Because I... have no way to use Hardening."
"Yeah." Levi wasn't in the mood to comfort a child; he said directly, "We're greatly disappointed. Thanks to you, the air today smells as foul as a sewer."
"In short, this is the current situation, and it's absolutely terrible."
Seeing Eren being spoken to like that, Mikasa couldn't help but chime in, "But Eren did his best."
"So what? Is effort useful? This guy just can't plug that hole!" Levi only saw the grim reality.
"Even if you blame Eren..." Mikasa's voice rose significantly.
"Hey!" Levi interrupted, "I'm not blaming him; I just have a sharp tongue."
...After the complaints were finished, Hange finally came out to summarize: "Alright, Hardening can't be completed, so we can only take another path."
"Next is the investigation into the Wall Cult and related organizations."
"The people of the Wall Cult might know the method of making the walls, which means information about Hardening."
"And..."
Hange looked at Linde and Historia standing aside: "Why is it the Reiss Family, and not the King, who knows all this?"
"I hope Erwin, who went to The Capital, can find some clues."
Hange stood up and walked to Linde's side, patting his shoulder: "I'm really sorry, Mr. Linde. Please forgive our caution; after all, we still don't know the stance of your father, the former Capital City Councilor."
"According to you, your family is close to the Reiss Family? Do you know any other information about them?"
Facing Hange, Linde's attitude was unusually sincere: "I've said it before, I'm only following my father's orders to protect Historia, I don't know anything else."
"However... my father also said not to disturb her; the Reiss Family will definitely take her back when the time comes."
Historia looked down at her feet.
"When the time comes?" Levi glanced over. "When is that? And why would a great noble insist on taking back an illegitimate daughter who has been abandoned for five years?"
Linde shrugged and shook his head: "I don't know about that; my father didn't tell me."
"Tch! Your father is just like Eren's; they both keep secrets from their own sons."
Eren held the key on his chest, remaining silent.
Linde smiled: "I understand them; they probably didn't want their children to shoulder the secrets they've kept all their lives too early."
"Captain, if you had a child, would you tell him when he was young that before you became the strongest Soldier, you were actually a thug from the Capital Underground City?"
The scene suddenly went quiet... Mikasa's mouth hung open, and Historia's eyes widened.
Hange held her forehead helplessly: "Ah, he actually said it..."
Eren had heard about it from Petra, but he was quite surprised by Linde's courage at this moment.
Levi didn't react much: "Noble boy, who did you hear this from?"
"I heard it from the Captain when I was in the Central Military Police Corps."
Hange's expression changed; this meant the Central Military Police Corps might have already marked the Survey Corps for elimination.
Levi showed a mocking expression: "It's truly an honor to be remembered by them."
"Alright, stay here until Erwin's next order comes."
He looked at Eren, Linde, and Historia: "Especially you three."
...Perhaps considering that Eren needed rest, Levi also couldn't stand Linde putting on noble airs here.
In the evening, Linde was finally asked to work in the kitchen.
Linde thought about making stir-fried potato shreds to dazzle them, but found there wasn't even a wok for stir-frying.
He could only sigh and honestly peel potatoes there.
Jean, Armin, and Historia were also there.
Everyone knew it was impossible to let Sasha into the kitchen.
"Linde, just prepare the ingredients; leave the rest to us."
Jean reminded him from the side: "I still remember when Instructor Shadis punished you by making you cook for everyone alone; don't even mention how bad the food was that day."
Armin remembered too: "Exactly, Sasha even cried and scolded you for wasting food."
Being reminded of his past embarrassment, Linde's face turned red, and he retorted, "I didn't know how back then, and that old bastard Shadis was always looking for ways to make me look bad."
Jean shook his head: "Scolding the instructor again. Linde, did you not suffer enough back then?"
"So what if I scold him? Can he still control me now?" Linde looked disdainful.
The three were chatting and laughing, ignoring Historia, who had been silent.
She looked at the boiling pot in front of her and secretly poured a packet of powder hidden in her sleeve into it... "If you agree, put this in the pot while you're cooking."
"Linde... what is this?"
"Don't worry, it'll just make them sleep more soundly at night. It won't harm their bodies at all."
"But if we put it in the pot, won't we have to eat it too?"
"You don't need to worry about that; I have my ways."
"Linde, is what you said true? Can you really take me to see Ymir?"
Linde rubbed Historia's head and smiled: "When have you ever known me to break my word?"
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