"Sure... I'm okay with that... We have a lot to talk about and catch up on."
Hange asks in a curious tone, "By the way, Eren... who's this future holder?"
---
"I am giving the Attack Titan to my son... Aiden."
"Whaaat?! You're giving it to your son!?... He isn't even five yet..." The disbelief was evident in her voice, and it wasn't just her that was shocked; everyone was stunned to hear that Eren wanted to doom his son to a similar fate as his own.
"Eren!! Are you really giving it to your son? Eren... he is just a child... why are you willing to doom him to the same fate as us?" Armin asked, agitated. Everyone was upset, hearing how heartless Eren seemed to be.
Eren, in a sudden outburst: "At least let me finish before you jump to conclusions! You guys don't have to worry about the Curse of Ymir; I will address this issue in the announcement."
"Okay, okay, no need to get agitated, Eren... So, would you be kind enough to grace us with the reason as to why you want to give the Titan to your son?"
"Alright. Aiden is still young, untainted by the battles we've fought. He has the potential to see things differently, to make decisions that none of us would even consider. He's the future, and I believe in that future."
Jean, not wanting to put all the burden on a child, said, "I get what you're trying to say, Eren... but I can't live with myself knowing all the burden that we'd be putting on a child..."
"Jean... You don't have to worry about that. I already have a plan. I wasn't just lazing around while I was away with Mikasa. I have it all figured out. You guys don't have to worry about this at all," Eren said reassuringly.
Jean replied, giving in, "Okay, Eren, I'll believe you this time," while rubbing his head in frustration.
"Enough with the questions already! Now, you guys tell me what you've been up to all these years."
Hange, in a tired voice: "The usual... Oh! Did you know that Annie has gotten out of the crystal?"
Levi interrupted Hange, "I'm leaving since there's nothing important left to say."
"Hmm, you can go then," Hange said with a thoughtful expression as Levi slowly walked out of the office.
"Well, where was I... hmm, oh yeah!! Did you know that Annie left her crystal?"
"Yeah, I know about that. So, how's it going with her?"
"So, apparently, when she got out, she was so weak that she got caught by Hitch, but since she had been in the crystal, Zachary decided to let her go free, saying all those years of imprisonment were enough and that she hadn't brought down any walls. Since she was free now, we had Armin convince her to join the Scouts!" Hange said in an excited voice.
"What's even better is that she's been helping with my experiments, though she did put up a condition, a rather tough one..."
"Oh? What was this tough condition?" Eren asked curiously.
"Armin," Hange said, "would you be a dear and explain everything related to Annie to Eren here?" as she got up to leave her office.
"Yes, whatever you say, Commander."
"Wait, Hange, when is Historia getting here?" Eren asked hurriedly.
"Historia? She should be here soon, since she's coming by car and not by carriage," she said with a contemplative expression. "Well, anyway, I'm going to sleep. Don't take too long," she waved them goodbye.
"Well, as the Commander was saying, Annie put up a tough condition—that condition being that she wanted us to bring her father here from Marley. While it was a tough mission, we got it done with no problem, and now he lives inside Wall Rose."
As Armin finished speaking, Eren asked him a crucial and very important question: "Why didn't she just run away to Marley? Why did she want to stay here?"
Armin hesitated but eventually answered, "Well, she saw how much the situation in Paradis had changed, and she decided to stay here," he answered hesitantly.
Jean, who was sitting next to Armin, slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Tell him the truth, Armin. This bastard got married without even telling us anything, so tell him the truth! And Eren, I hate to say this, but you look great with a man-bun," Jean said with a regretful expression.
"Well, thanks, Jean, thanks for the compliment and for not starting a fight. And your face has grown longer too; now you look even more like a horse," Eren said with a smirk.
Both Connie and Sasha tried their best to hold in their laughter, and Armin tried his best to stop Jean from fighting Eren. "Jean, stop it, calm down; you know he's just messing with you," Armin said with visible distress.
After some effort from Armin, Jean finally calmed down, but the scowl never left his face.
"Eren..., you shouldn't tease Jean like this."
"Leave it be, Armin; he never learns. Just tell him the real reason why she decided to stay."
Armin looked Eren in the eyes and dropped a bombshell on him: "Eren, Annie and I decided to... get married." But at the last moment, he broke eye contact, his cheeks burning bright red.
"What? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Armin?" Eren asked in shock and disbelief.