"Levi Ackerman."
"Hange Zoe! Nice to meet you!"
Two completely different attitudes were directed at Asahi. The girl named Hange Zoe enthusiastically extended her hand, and out of courtesy, he also reached out.
"I am Asahi."
But before they could shake hands, Hange suddenly squatted down, grabbed his hand, and her eyes lit up as if she had found gold. While a very small tremor ran through his mouth, Hange relentlessly poked and pinched the surface of his skin as if conducting research.
"The Commander said your flesh is hard enough to compare to steel. Why does it feel so normal when I touch it?"
"Or is this a special function only used during combat?"
He could naturally control his body as he wished, like tensing or relaxing it, so in its normal state, his body wouldn't be much different. Only when strong movement was needed or sudden danger struck would his body automatically tense up to its strongest level. Furthermore, in terms of pure hardness, it still couldn't compare to refined solid steel, but all other aspects, such as resilience, flexibility, and load-bearing capacity, had surpassed it.
"You idiot!"
Levi Ackerman next to her couldn't bear to watch anymore. Without reserve, he smacked Hange on the head, making her cradle it. Asahi also took the opportunity to pull his hand back, letting out a faint sigh of relief. At the same time, he took a closer look at Levi. His surname was Ackerman—wasn't that the same as Kenny?
In any case, after all the interludes, both sides finally spoke properly.
"Did Erwin send you two?"
"No, we came ourselves. This boy wanted to meet you once to see what the person who killed hundreds of Titans and sealed the hole in Wall Maria looks like..."
As she spoke, Hange draped her arm over Levi's shoulder, constantly winking at him. Levi was not appreciative, disgustedly batting Hange's hand away, muttering constantly.
"Don't call me 'boy.' I'll stitch your mouth shut."
"Haha, see how funny he is? Oh, and me, I wanted to invite you to cooperate."
"Cooperate?"
Asahi frowned. Hange moved closer, putting on a pitiful expression.
"Lest you didn't know, I specialize in Titan research. Unfortunately, capturing one alive costs a lot of manpower and resources, so it's never approved."
"Please! I know this request is too much, but please catch one alive for me! With your strength, doing that is easy, right?!"
"Please! Please! Please! Just nod and agree, and I'll do anything you say!"
Hange switched to pleading mode, clinging to him and continuously begging and pestering. If not for a shred of self-respect, she might have even grabbed his leg and refused to let go, which was enough to show how large her obsession with "Titan research" was.
Levi, standing aside, had a face as black as a cooking pot, unable to stop himself from placing his hand on his forehead, his conscience aching. Initially, he didn't understand why this shameless woman invited him along to "meet" Asahi. At the time, partly out of curiosity, partly out of boredom, he nodded in agreement.
It turned out that Hange only wanted more people to "share" the embarrassment.
If he had known things would turn out like this, Levi would rather die than tag along with this thick-skinned woman.
Asahi sighed wearily once more. To the surprise of Hange, Levi, and Kenny, who was hiding nearby, he escaped her grasp so quickly that her pupils couldn't track him. Even Levi and Kenny, two highly experienced fighters, only saw a blurry afterimage.
"The rumors truly aren't wrong..."
"His speed is as fast as a bullet."
The two members of the Ackerman family thought to themselves.
"No need to look so miserable. I was planning to capture a Titan for research anyway."
He said with a smile. This wasn't an empty promise.
To save Grisha, researching the Titans was a certainty. And given Grisha's current condition, forcing him to transform into a Titan just for research would be equivalent to taking half his life. Of course, Frieda could also transform into a Titan for research, but Asahi wouldn't allow it. Since learning about the 13-year "Curse of Ymir," he wanted to limit the number of transformations as much as possible.
And naturally, capturing a live Titan for research was the best option.
Hange, currently unconcerned with her miserable appearance from earlier, looked intently at him, her eyes blazing.
"Really?! You'll catch a Titan for me?"
"This is for research, not for you... Why would I lie?"
"Asahi, from now on, you are my idol!!!"
She lunged toward him but he evaded her once more, causing Hange to crash onto the grass and eat a mouthful of dirt. But she still laughed maniacally as if she were on drugs.
"This woman... she's insane."
A vein pulsed on Levi's forehead. He had no dignity left here. He bowed his head as an apology to Asahi, then grabbed Hange's ankle and dragged her back to the base.
After they left, Kenny stepped out from behind the tree. He had heard the entire conversation.
"Tsk, I didn't think you'd be so patient with those kids."
"What is Levi Ackerman to you? He looks quite a bit like you."
"..."
"Your son?"
"No, blood-relation wise, his mother was my older sister."
"I see..."
Asahi suddenly made a motion to take something out from his person, causing Kenny to become alert and take a step back defensively. But remembering the bomb he had attached to him, he stopped after only two steps.
What Asahi took out was not a weapon, but a black armor suit, which he tossed to Kenny.
He caught the armor, feeling the considerable weight in his hands, and was surprised.
"This is..."
"A full-body armor suit. With this, you can conceal yourself better."
This gesture could be considered an offer to join his side. Kenny had the strength, enough cunning, and no loyalty to the government. He was indeed a suitable target to recruit.
He sneered, mocking Asahi without reservation.
"Your name is Asahi, right... Asahi, I'm different from you. You are truly a good person, a great man, and I'm just a tyrant."
"Before serving the Reiss family, I used to slit the throats of those Military Police pigs as easily as eating and drinking. After serving under the Reiss family, I killed quite a few people, including innocent ones."
"Hero, that's what the people call you. Shouldn't your job be to put an end to this tyrant?"
He started by mocking Asahi and ended by mocking himself. Kenny didn't know why he was like this. Perhaps from Asahi, he saw a part of Uri Reiss, the person he had once served, the only true friend in Kenny's life until now.
Did trash like him deserve salvation?
"Asahi, tell me..."
"Uri Reiss, and then Frieda Reiss, were always talking about love between people, about peace for humanity. And you, you don't say it, but your actions are always geared towards those things."
"How can you understand those things? Is it because of the power you possess? Does it grant you freedom?"
"I once thought, would we act the same if we both possessed that power? Even... a person like me?"
"No."
Asahi answered immediately.
"The reason I act this way is not because of this power, but because of myself."
"Power cannot make you truly free; only ideology can do that. Look at the Reiss family—the possessors of supreme power, yet generation after generation, they can only hide away in the chapel. And even if they leave the chapel, they are all still trapped within the Walls. Kenny, do you call that freedom?"
"Even leaving the Walls, you will still be trapped in this world itself. To be extreme, we can never be truly free physically."
"Only the spirit, will, and dreams achieve freedom. Your own freedom."
Kenny was stunned for a long time. He looked at the armor in his hands, then started putting it on.
Asahi's answer was general, but it provided everything Kenny needed.
"Aren't you afraid I'll put this on, defeat you, and escape?"
"Try it. If you can defeat me, I'll let you leave."
Seeing that Asahi didn't even blink, Kenny shook his head and laughed, putting on the face guard. His appearance was completely hidden.
"Deal."