"Carla, if Eren truly has something he wants to do, let him do it"Grisha spoke up at that moment.
Thanks to the memories future Eren had implanted in him, Grisha already knew — Eren would definitely join the Survey Corps.
Thus, he had no intention of stopping young Eren from chasing that path.
When the time came and his own lifespan drew near its end, Grisha planned to pass on the power of the Attack Titan to Eren.
And Eren wouldn't be joining the Survey Corps immediately anyway — it would take at least three to five years of training until he was of age to enlist.
By then, Grisha would have already entrusted him with the Attack Titan's power, making his position in the Survey Corps far less perilous.
Even though inheriting a Titan meant Eren would be bound by the curse of only thirteen years left to live, Grisha had no other choice. It was the mission passed down by the Owl — and later, by future Eren himself.
In the original story, Eren, as the final inheritor of the Attack Titan, used the Founding Titan's power to send memories to past holders of the Attack Titan, ensuring that the mission would continue.
The "Owl" — Grisha's predecessor — was named Eren Kruger.
Because of future Eren's intervention, Kruger even knew the names of Eren and Mikasa before they were ever born, and under that influence, passed the Titan's power to Grisha and gave him his mission.
To honor Kruger's memory, Grisha later named his son Eren as well.
"But still..."Carla wanted to argue but didn't know what to say.
Grisha had already made up his mind, and no matter how she tried, it wouldn't change anything.
Besides, Eren himself was incredibly stubborn — she could never sway him once he set his mind to something.
"Don't worry. I'll join the Survey Corps alongside Eren. I'll protect him" Mikasa said, trying to reassure Carla.
"I'm counting on you, Mikasa. But please be careful too" Carla replied.
"I don't need your protection! I'm not your little brother!" Eren immediately snapped.
"But... you are my family"Mikasa said softly, her voice faltering just a bit.
However, Eren had already moved on mentally, excitedly continuing to talk with Byakuya about the Survey Corps.
"Byakuya, what do you think about the Survey Corps?"Eren asked eagerly.
He really wanted someone who would approve of his dreams.
His mother, Mikasa, and most of the other kids his age dismissed his ambitions. Even his father, while not opposing him, hadn't openly supported him either.
"My opinion of the Survey Corps? It's about the same as yours — they're a group of admirable warriors" Byakuya answered calmly.
He meant it sincerely — he wasn't just saying it to make Eren happy.
"Really?!"Eren's eyes shone with excitement.
Finally, someone who believed in him!
"I think so too! Without the Survey Corps, humanity would never know what lies beyond the walls!" Eto added warmly.
Even though her words were based on Eren's currently limited worldview, from a different perspective, she wasn't wrong.
Without the Survey Corps — and without Eren joining them — many things would have unfolded very differently.
Today was the happiest day for Eren in a long time.
Both Byakuya and Eto supported him!
"Right, Dad — about the basement. What are we supposed to do now? We can't even go back to our old house" Eren suddenly remembered, turning to Grisha.
"Don't worry. We'll reclaim Wall Maria eventually. When that happens, you'll be able to see what's inside the basement" Grisha said.
The memories from future Eren had shown him many events yet to come — including the eventual recapture of Wall Maria and Eren uncovering the secrets hidden in that basement.
Inside were the truths Grisha had kept hidden — knowledge that, even with its limits, would completely upend everything the people of Eldia believed.
That was why Grisha hadn't told Eren earlier.If the Reiss family learned Eren knew these secrets, they would surely move to silence him — the royal government's most common method.
Erwin's father, for example, had been executed simply for daring to question the sealed truths of their history.
Even now, Grisha didn't feel confident that the time was right.
He wouldn't reveal the truth to Eren until Eren had inherited the Attack Titan.
"What's in the basement, Dad? Why can't you just tell me now?"Eren asked, curiosity burning in his eyes.
"Because it's something you need to see for yourself,"Grisha replied seriously, dodging the question.
"Alright then..."Eren could only stay curious for now.
....
Meanwhile, all the refugees from Wall Maria had safely evacuated to the inner territory behind Wall Rose.
Thanks to Rod's coordination, they were quickly resettled.
While sustaining them for a few months or even a year would be challenging, it wasn't impossible.
Now, the next major issue was the operation to reclaim Wall Maria.
Again, under Rod's secret maneuvering, the Survey Corps, the Garrison Regiment, and the Military Police Brigade all received direct orders.
Byakuya was appointed as the supreme commander, while the three major corps were ordered to send a selection of their best soldiers.
As for ordinary civilians — even if they were given vertical maneuvering equipment — sending untrained people to fight Titans would simply be throwing lives away.
Of course, besides the "Three Major Corps" there were also the Training Corps and the Central Military Police.
The Training Corps, as the name implied, was responsible for training new recruits and supplying talent to the main forces.
The Central Military Police were a separate entity from the regular Military Police. While the standard MPs maintained order throughout the regions, the Central Military Police served the royal government directly — and had close ties to the Reiss family. Kenny Ackerman, for example, was a member of the Central MPs.
However, there was one glaring issue:
None of the corps commanders knew who Byakuya was.
Appointing a total stranger as the supreme commander was bound to cause friction.
That was a problem Byakuya would have to solve himself.
First, he needed to meet face-to-face with the heads of the Military Police, Survey Corps, and Garrison Regiment.