"That's not a very pleasant assumption. How could Bertolt possibly be a Titan?" Reiner waved his hands repeatedly.
"But what if he were?" Armin pressed.
"Well… then I suppose I'd be devastated. We grew up together, and now we've fought side by side for years as comrades," Reiner said, steadying himself.
"And if Bertolt were a Titan and wasn't accepted by others, what would you do as his friend?" Armin pushed further, grasping at straws and trying every angle.
"Well… why are you asking that? Did one of your friends run into this problem?" Reiner deftly turned the question around. Right now, he needed to confirm whether that 15-meter intelligent Titan was Eren.
"Yes. Eren is very likely a Titan." Saying it seemed to drain all of Armin's strength.
"What?! That's impossible. How could a Titan be a human? That's absurd," Reiner quickly denied. If attention focused on Eren, capturing him would become much harder.
"Oh, anything's possible. Maybe you or I could turn into Titans too, right Armin? Hahaha," Chen Si teased Reiner again.
By now, Reiner was almost used to being startled. He'd developed some resistance.
"You're always making jokes like that, Chen Si. Annie was really upset by that joke of yours," Reiner hurriedly changed the subject.
"Oh? Why?" Chen Si asked curiously, waiting to see how Reiner would spin this.
Mikasa also glanced at Annie. She didn't have a good impression of her.
"You don't know? Annie's been into combat since she was little. She trained in martial arts growing up. The other kids always called her a tomboy. Comparing her to a Titan—a creature that only knows how to devour humans—that's even worse than calling her a tomboy," Reiner said seriously.
"I see. That makes sense. She is a girl after all. I should go apologize," Chen Si said, rising and walking over to sit beside Annie.
Watching him leave, Reiner finally relaxed. He'd successfully diverted that constantly startling guy.
At the same time, Mikasa and Bertolt both turned to look at Chen Si and Annie. Two hostile gazes met in midair.
"Annie, Reiner said my words upset you," Chen Si began.
Annie immediately understood what Reiner must have said—he was trying to clear suspicion from her.
"No," she said, turning her head away from Chen Si.
Chen Si stood up and moved to her other side. Annie turned her head away again, refusing to look at him.
Nice one, Annie! Hahaha, she'll never like you, Chen Si. Give up!
Bertolt was overjoyed at the sight.
Seeing her reaction, Chen Si stopped moving and sighed softly.
"Annie, when I said you were like a Titan, I didn't mean to insult you. What I meant was that your fighting skills are as powerful as a Titan's. I've learned a lot from you."
A faint light flickered in Annie's eyes.
"And even if you were a Titan, so what? You're kind. You were willing to share your last bit of food with children in the refugee camp. I consider you a friend. These past three years with you have made me happy. No matter what you become or where you go, you'll always be my friend. Even if you were a Titan—so what?"
Chen Si spoke earnestly.
Annie remained silent, but waves stirred within her heart.
Forever… friends… she repeated inwardly.
Seeing she still didn't speak, Chen Si slowly stood, putting on a lonely expression.
"Annie, do you know? Silence kills love. If you hate me, I'll quietly leave."
He even pretended to wipe away tears.
Perhaps his acting was too convincing. From a distance, Mikasa's anger surged to the maximum. She assumed Annie had said something cruel to hurt Chen Si.
Bertolt, meanwhile, was delighted. Great! Annie doesn't like Chen Si. I still have a chance!
Just as Chen Si was about to walk away, Annie suddenly reached out and grabbed the corner of his shirt.
"I wasn't silent," Annie said flatly—but the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her.
Chen Si felt a flash of joy but turned back with a sorrowful look.
"Do you have some final words to say to me…?" he asked pitifully.
"Do you really consider me a friend?" Annie asked.
Without hesitation, Chen Si turned as if to leave again.
"So after everything I said, none of it reached your heart. It seems these past years of friendship were just one-sided on my part."
The moment he turned, Annie stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him back.
Is she going to attack? Mikasa immediately stood, glaring at Annie like a tiger ready to pounce.
"Isn't that Chen Si and Annie? What are they doing?" a soldier changing his gas canister asked.
"Are you dumb? Annie grabbed Chief Chen Si's hand—she's obviously confessing!" another gossiping soldier said.
"What? Then I don't have a chance anymore?" a female soldier said sadly.
"Hmph! Chief Chen Si would never accept Annie the tomboy!" a twin-tailed girl declared sweetly.
The surrounding boys wore complicated expressions. If only they knew the modern term for that kind of cutesy act.
"You're my friend too," Annie said softly, looking away shyly at the hand holding Chen Si's.
Chen Si immediately broke into a bright smile.
"Yes, we're friends forever. Good friends should share a hug."
He stepped forward and hugged her.
Annie's body trembled slightly. In her mind, eight hundred different combat techniques flashed by—ways to throw him off—but she forcibly suppressed them. Slowly, she raised her arms and hugged him back.
"Ah! The Chief accepted Annie! No!" The twin-tailed girl fainted on the spot.
"Hey! Are you okay?!" nearby soldiers rushed to her side.
"Look! Mikasa seems really angry."
"Why would Mikasa be angry? Aren't she and Chief Chen Si siblings?"
"They're not biological siblings!"
"Oh… then this is a battlefield of love."
The crowd buzzed with gossip.
Mikasa radiated terrifying killing intent. Even the air around her seemed to compress.
"Calm down, Mikasa! Calm down!" Armin frantically waved his hands, trying to soothe her.
Sasha, who had just arrived with a few peanuts hoping Chen Si would electrify them for her, was so intimidated by Mikasa's aura that she didn't dare approach.
A woman in love is terrifying… she thought to herself.
Off to the side, Bertolt's jaw nearly hit the ground. His mouth hung open, unable to close.
How did it turn out like this…?