"Are you helping Ronan on purpose?" Martha looked at Harry as if she could see right through him.
Harry didn't deny it. He answered bluntly, "That boy is hardworking and has potential. He just lacks confidence. I didn't do much—just laid a solid foundation for him. With his current rate of progress, he would've reached this level soon anyway."
"I can see you care about Ronan a lot. So why don't you keep him here? The Survey Corps is too dangerous!" Martha's face was full of worry and reluctance.
Hearing this, Harry sighed and said, "You saw the look in that boy's eyes when he talked about the Survey Corps. He's made up his mind. And how could we crush a child's desire to see the outside world? The future belongs to the young—we've already shaped ours."
Martha: "….."
The air grew heavy with silence.
Ronan, still immersed in the joy of completing the system mission, was unaware of any of this.
Soon, another system prompt sounded in his ears, interrupting his thoughts.
Ding! Unlock conditions met. New achievement task [Forging Master] has begun…
"Forging Master? Come on, are you really trying to push me into blacksmithing now?" Ronan chuckled to himself. "My dream isn't to become the Blacksmith King~"
Still, he opened the task window to see the details:
---
[Forging Master]
Mission Goal: Become a Forging Master
Reward: Strength +5, Coordination +5, Weapon Mastery +5
Penalty: None
Time Limit: 6 Months
---
"Become a master forger in six months...? You sure think highly of me~" Ronan shook his head slightly.
As tempting as the reward was, he didn't plan to focus on this task. He knew his time for personal growth was running out. Soon, he'd be part of the Legion.
It was already the year 845, and while he didn't know the exact month Wall Maria would fall, he was sure it wasn't winter. That didn't leave much time, and the pressure was building fast.
After all, this wasn't just about him anymore. The partners and "family" that had long since become a part of his life also needed his protection.
Since he had come to this world, he swore—he wouldn't let those same tragedies repeat themselves.
Plots and fate? To hell with them!
With that resolve, Ronan trained even harder, though he was still unsatisfied with his pace of improvement.
There was nothing he could do—his base stats were already so high that even his own progress felt slow, and he had no good way to speed it up.
---
Finally, the long-awaited day arrived: the conscription meeting began.
In the square of the Garrison headquarters in Shiganshina District, a huge crowd had gathered—easily more than 200 people.
All of them were competing for just three slots to enter the Training Corps.
"The competition's intense~"
Standing at the gate, Ronan scanned the sea of people and suddenly felt like he was back in his past life, taking a civil service exam.
Of course, civil service exams had a much lower acceptance rate, and the competition was even worse.
Just as Ronan was about to step forward and eavesdrop on the other candidates' conversations, Hannes appeared in front of him. He looked around carefully, then whispered:
"Sorry, little Ronan... for some reason, this year's conscription meeting is different. It's no longer being handled by the Garrison Regiment. The Survey Corps came directly and took over the entire process. That means... the promises I made to you before might not hold anymore."
"It's fine," Ronan said calmly. "If the Survey Corps is handling it, then there won't be any backdoor deals, right?"
Seeing his composed response, Hannes realized he might've been worrying too much and nodded. "The one who came is the Deputy Commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith. You can be sure there won't be any favoritism or corruption."
"Erwin Smith..."
The image of Erwin leading the suicide charge against the Beast Titan appeared in Ronan's mind. The cry of "Forward!" in the name of humanity's freedom still echoed powerfully in his heart.
This was a man worthy of respect.
Coming back to his senses, Ronan looked at Hannes, who still wore an apologetic expression. He smiled and said reassuringly, "As long as there's no internal quota, I'll definitely be selected. Uncle, don't blame yourself. Just wait and see me dominate the field~"
"You little brat..."
Looking at Ronan's confident face, Hannes couldn't help but think of Ronan's father. He sighed.
"Like father, like son... both so confident, and both somehow make you believe them."
He added, "Alright then, I'll be watching your performance. But if you mess up, you're going back to Harry's shop to be a blacksmith!"
"Just wait and see! I won't let you down!" Ronan answered with a rare seriousness.
He then walked into the square...
Watching Ronan's back disappear into the crowd, Hannes felt conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want Ronan to pass—it would be safer that way. On the other hand, he feared that failure would break the boy's spirit and send him spiraling into silence again.
Shaking his head hard, Hannes decided to stop overthinking.
Whatever happens... is fate.
---
And Hannes wasn't the only one watching.
Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Harry and Martha were also making their way toward the square, equally anxious to see whether Ronan would be chosen.