The following evening, Grisha called me down to the basement under the excuse that he needed help sorting medicine.
"You look a little rough, Jax," Grisha said with a faint smile as he pointed at the bruises on my face. "I heard that four of you fought nineteen people today."
"The issue from yesterday was not settled properly," I replied calmly.
I pulled a healing talisman card from my belt, placed it against my cheek, and activated it.
"Hiss..."
The pain faded quickly.
"Those guys brought reinforcements today. And that hotheaded Eren actually charged in after they provoked him. I had no choice but to clean up his mess," I continued. "Tomorrow, I will make them pay for it."
Grisha sighed lightly.
"I will talk to Eren about that."
He paused before continuing.
"Tonight, I want to talk to you about Marley. There are things you should know about the world outside the Walls."
He lifted a basket of herbs from the shelf and set it on the table.
"We can talk while we sort these."
Grisha glanced up at me again. My injuries were already seventy to eighty percent healed.
"I also need to prepare medicine for the other three boys," he said. "But you will not need any, right, Jax?"
I spread my hands casually.
"If I was not worried about shocking people, I would have healed completely already."
Grisha studied me carefully.
"I still cannot trace your background," he said. "Which country outside the Walls are you from?"
"Maybe you simply did not look carefully enough," I replied vaguely.
"That does not matter," Grisha said, tossing a herb into the medicine box.
"In any case, you cannot be a Marleyan. And you cannot compete with the Eldian Restorationists for the Power of the Titans. That alone is enough."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"
Grisha leaned slightly against the table as he explained.
"Marley has always sought to suppress and destroy certain bloodlines. They see them as dangerous enemies."
He then looked directly at me.
"More importantly, the Ackerman bloodline does not coexist peacefully with Titan power. When exposed to it, the body experiences a strong stress response."
He adjusted his glasses.
"This is something my colleague, Kruger, and I confirmed through research."
"Stress response..." I murmured quietly. "The so called hunting instinct."
My chest tightened slightly.
"Uncle Kruger..."
Grisha's expression softened.
"I am sorry for bringing that up," he said, patting my shoulder. "Let us move on."
He picked up another bundle of herbs.
"We should talk about Marley."
"But why do you trust me so much?" I asked honestly.
The question had been bothering me for some time.
Grisha shrugged.
"I do not have many choices," he admitted. "I am alone, and my strength is limited."
"If I want allies, I must follow two principles. First, they must not be my enemy. Second, they must not threaten my plan."
I pushed the basket of sorted herbs toward him.
"...Alright."
"It seems I meet both conditions."
"Tell me about Marley."
Grisha nodded and pushed his glasses up again.
"Then let us begin with the Titans controlled by Marley."
"This will make the rest easier to understand, because some of what I tell you may challenge your understanding of the world."
"You are overthinking it," I said, waving my hand dismissively. "My ability to accept strange things is quite strong. And I am not completely ignorant about technology."
"In fact, I might even know more than you do."
Grisha blinked in surprise before letting out a quiet laugh.
"Very well," he said. "Then we will begin with Marley's greatest weapon."
"The Colossal Titan."
"When Titan Shifters transform, a burst of lightning appears. The lightning produced by the Colossal Titan is several times larger than that of the other Titans."
He placed another herb into the medicine box as he continued.
"Because of its immense size, it can be used like a living siege weapon. In warfare, it can appear suddenly and destroy enemy fortresses in an instant."
"The Colossal Titan also has another terrifying ability."
"It can burn away its own muscle tissue to release extremely high temperature steam. This steam can repel enemies and kill anyone without protection."
Grisha paused briefly.
"Although it moves slowly and reacts more sluggishly than other Titans, its destructive power still makes it one of Marley's most terrifying weapons."
The basement fell quiet for a moment as I absorbed the information.