The things Gale was familiar with wouldn't work in this situation; there were no precedents for what he was experiencing.
The moment he changed the fate of many people around him, that altered destiny began taking new paths for which he was not yet prepared.
Only then did Gale realize that this was now his life, not something that belonged only to people he once knew simply from watching a television show.
When Eren transformed, Gale's mind worked quickly on countermeasures that could favor his situation. Knowing he didn't have many alternatives left, he used his power to persuade Hange, who now believed most of what he said.
"Do you remember what we talked about?" Gale wanted to know if Hange remembered the characteristics of an intelligent Titan.
Hange then stopped and thought about the characteristics. "They appear suddenly, wrapped in lightning. They are there from one moment to the next where originally there was nothing. Yes, that is an intelligent Titan, just as the records indicate…"
"Then is he the enemy?"
"It's Eren. Can you see him?" Gale pointed at Eren in Titan form, who didn't know what was happening.
"Are you sure he has full control of that Titan's body?"
"He must have it. He hasn't attacked us, and he just prioritized the safety of his best friend above anything else. That tells me he at least has control." Gale thought for a moment and said, "We don't have the manpower for this right now, so we should focus on our objective, and if Eren has control, use it."
"What did you say? Use the power of the Titan!"
"That's right. Instead of keeping Eren under arrest out of fear, we should let him transform into a Titan to help us. Just like the enemy, for some reason he is an intelligent Titan."
Studying the enemy in a desperate moment was something Gale hoped Hange would understand. She was the only one who might grasp his point.
They were desperate. Without the necessary armament for a coup, all of them would fall into the hands of the central government.
If what they now knew was buried deeper than the bodies of their comrades, everything Hange had done with them would mean nothing, and she was not willing to give in.
"They don't feel hunger. There is no record indicating that the King of the Walls, the Colossal Titan, or the Armored Titan have fed on humans. Even in the records, conscious Titans do not feel hunger."
"Even if I can accept that… what about the workers?" Hange, lost in thought, voiced her concern while looking at all the terrified workers.
"Just come up with a reason—like Eren was created by the government and is an experimental subject who can transform into a Titan. A simple ultra-secret experiment, the ultimate weapon of the Survey Corps to reclaim lost land."
"Will this really work?"
"It will work as long as you increase their wages. In a few days, they'll understand that Eren doesn't eat people."
"But… we have no idea where this man got such overwhelming strength. Is it really okay to trust him so easily?" As one question was answered, more arose in Hange's mind.
"Captain Hange, if Eren had wanted to cause trouble, he could have destroyed the blast furnace right now, wiping out every plan we have to reclaim territory from the enemies outside. I've known him for a long time, and it's obvious he doesn't know why he turned into a Titan."
After saying that, Gale paused and continued, "Instead of wasting time searching for the reason, we should make use of what we can. Every minute and every second matter."
"We can't afford to waste time. The Military Police could find this factory at any moment."
"If by then we haven't manufactured enough weapons, it will all be over."
The conversation between Gale and Hange was only heard by the two of them. The others present remained still, fearful of the Titan.
Hange turned to look at Eren, unconscious on the bed, and hesitated for a moment.
That Titan stood 15 meters tall, making him a troublesome opponent even for the battle-hardened Survey Corps. When they encountered Titans of this size during expeditions beyond the walls, Erwin always ordered his troops to surround them.
Turning giants into a source of labor was something that had never been considered before.
After all, although giants possessed immense strength, they were fundamentally incapable of communication.
So it really is possible for a person to become a giant… At 15 meters tall, the components of the blast furnace must be like toys to him.
He could lift iron ore—something that would require more than a dozen people to move—with the same ease as a stone.
Just thinking about it made it clear that if Eren transformed into a Titan and joined the construction of the factory, efficiency would increase exponentially.
The secret of the Titans was very close to Hange. She wanted to fully understand Eren, but she couldn't… Erwin had been imprisoned, and the situation was far from promising.
They could barely save themselves, so they had no time to unravel the mystery.
"Alright!" Hange took off her glasses, cleaned them, and said, "But it seems his condition has ended. It doesn't matter, we still have to wait for him to wake up and get his permission."
"I'll talk to him." Gale, like a true planner, knew he was the right one to pull the few strings still under his control.
That night, Mikasa and Armin knocked on the door.
After transforming into a Titan, Eren took quite a while to return to being human. In his human form, he fell unconscious, and Hange, along with the Survey Corps, took him away.
As his only family in this world, they were afraid he would be treated differently, so they came to find out what was happening.
At that moment, Gale appeared and asked Armin why they had been on the wooden staircase during the day.
Armin said it was Eren who suggested it. The two had gone together to see what the blast furnace looked like in operation. Originally, they only planned to take a look from afar near the wooden staircase, but they made a mistake and ended up like this.
Armin and Mikasa asked anxiously, "What will happen to Eren? Will he be executed? Why did Eren turn into a Titan?"
"We wouldn't be here if they planned to execute Eren. I wouldn't allow it. Although the situation for him is bad, he's not in mortal danger—at least not for now. For the Survey Corps, there are more pressing concerns than a Titan."
"Is what you're saying true?" Mikasa didn't seem very convinced.
"Since they're desperate, I suggested experimenting with Eren's power to see if it can be useful in the work. Only that way can we gain leverage to use in his defense later and prevent him from being killed."
"Is that possible?" Armin thought that if Eren was not useful, given the problems within the walls, he would be killed.
"All of you know more than is spoken because you live in my cabin. You're not fools, but trust me. For now, let's go see Eren. He should wake up at any moment." Gale softened his words as much as he could; he had no other choice. First, he needed to earn the absolute trust of the people most important to the future of humanity.
Now that things had changed, building relationships with them was his best bet, and Gale would not waste this unique opportunity.
And so, Mikasa and Armin entered Eren's room.
Everyone stood there, and the atmosphere grew somewhat silent for a moment.
Late into the night, Eren's fingers trembled, and he opened his eyes.
Eren woke up and looked around in confusion. "What's going on? Why is everyone here?"
"Have you forgotten, Eren?" Gale asked, feigning extreme concern, and said, "You transformed into a Titan during the day."
"Titan…" In an instant, Eren remembered that unsettling perspective, the view from above… He recalled the image of his mother being swallowed by a giant, and suddenly he felt nauseous and vomited.
"Eren!" Mikasa rushed forward and helped him sit up.
"Did I really turn into a Titan? Mikasa?" Eren seemed in disbelief.
"It's okay. Eren is different from those man-eating Titans," Mikasa comforted him.
Fragments flashed through Eren's mind: his father's face, holding a syringe, handing him the basement key, saying that the answer was there.
He felt a headache and pressed his forehead.
"Since you are my best friends and I have trusted you, I will explain." Gale stood up from the chair and walked toward Eren's bed, then said, "According to all the data, the Titan Eren turned into is an intelligent one."
Slightly modifying his explanation, he told them the same thing the Survey Corps had told Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.
Gale told the three of them about his origins, as well as the history of the King of the Walls and the coup, and showed them the complete model of the weapon they were creating to overthrow the current government.
"In short, that's how it is." Gale extended his hand to Eren. "The Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan destroyed the walls, causing the destruction of your hometown and the death of your family. They, like you, were special humans who could transform into Titans."
"They are still lurking somewhere, preparing to launch another attack someday, but we don't have the strength to face them right now because the regime in charge of the walls is corrupt. There must be reform within the walls so we can work together and face the enemy."
"To achieve that, we need your immense strength to help us build the factory. Are you willing to help us?"
Eren was still processing everything Gale had just said, carefully considering its content.
The walls are hardened by the Titans he hates so much; special humans can transform into Titans at any time; new types of firearms; overthrowing the current government…
These things were too complicated for him to fully understand. What he grasped most quickly were the two enemies—the two Titans who destroyed the wall, the Titans who killed his family!
"We have to drive out all the Titans!"
"I understand! I'll help you!" Eren shook Gale's hand, his eyes burning with fury.
He was no longer weak and powerless before the Titans. Now he could transform into a fifteen-meter Titan. He had power, and he was determined to use it to achieve something!
Gale gave him this goal, so he accepted it without hesitation.
After that, Gale said to Hange, "Then… I'll leave the task of calming the workers to you, Captain Hange."
Hange nodded and asked, "Eren, do you remember how you turned into a Titan?"
Eren looked at his hands and nodded. "I more or less remember the feeling—it's blood. Yes, blood. I cut myself before falling."
"For some reason, even though it was my first time transforming, the sensation was strangely familiar, as if it had become a habit…"