Episode 10: Eren's Mystery
彼は誰も解明しようとしないミステリーだった
"Eren."
"Huh?" Armin turned his head towards her, and so did the rest of the group.
"Freedom," Mikasa spoke, brushing away the image and the momentary confusion in her head, "It's very subjective. I feel that you are responsible for your own freedom, no matter what you do, what you feel."
"Well, I don't really agree with it," Kristina hesitantly spoke, "Uh, you know, my mother was a friend of Eren Jaeger. She used to tell me that even though the entire world hates him… well, she still never thought ill of him."
"So you're telling me that your mom supports the guy who is responsible for the indescribable destruction of the entire world?" Levi folded his arms, his expression sarcastic.
Kristina thought twice before continuing, "I'll let you guys in on a secret."
No, she wasn't going to disclose her identity of being the heiress. That could backfire.
"I kind of know Eren's past… well, not all of it," she shrugged, shifting in closer to the group, and the others leaned in too.
"Eren's past? Well, that's always remained sort of a mystery to us," Hange gave a tight-lipped smile.
"My mother used to tell me about her youth, when she was friends with Eren," Kristina started, "Before the titans were destroyed, there used to be walls-"
"Yeah, fifty-meter walls!" Connie threw in the information he knew.
"Yes, that," Kristina continued, "And there used to be Survey Corps. They were the ones who fought titans and protected us. My mother and Eren were one of those people. Well, there were two other people who were Eren's best friends… I can't recall their names, though."
The other listened intently.
Kristina continued, "My mother always admired Eren for his strong sense of belief. She said that he witnessed his mother being eaten up by a titan, and he had a will to be free… he thought that the people behind the walls were just mere livestock for the titans to feed on, and he was going to change that."
"So did he?" Jean was too into the story.
"Mother said that he tried his best, until he found out that he was a titan shifter himself. Later, she got to know that it was his father who had turned him into a titan. I vaguely recall as mom said that there were more friends of his who were titan shifters too, but betrayed him. Reiner…? Annie? And a guy with a name starting with B; it was a tough name," Kristina had a sip of water.
"But why did his father make him a titan shifter?" Armin wanted to investigate.
Kristina nodded, "Eren Jaeger had a complicated past. My mom didn't tell me the exact reason, but she did tell me that even in a titan's body, he felt imprisoned. As if he was just being used for his abilities. Later on, he rebelled against the authorities, nobody knows why. He sneaked into Marley – which is across the waters – and caused destruction. While he was being hated in Marley, he was being worshipped by the people on this island."
"But there has to be a reason why a person with such abilities would rebel," Erwin thought aloud, "If Eren Jaeger felt imprisoned being here, then why didn't he move overseas?"
"Mother said that he wanted to protect Paradis Island," Kristina slowly spoke, "Mother said that the people all over the world hated us; they called us the Island Devils. Eren just wanted to free us from all the hate, and he sacrificed himself for us."
Nobody had anything left to say; everyone contemplated over the story.
Was it even true? – Erwin thought, knowing what their original mission was. They just had to ruin the future for Paradis, right? Why would they believe anything pertaining to Eren Jaeger? Weren't the fed the truth about him back home?
But on second thoughts, did they even know Eren?