"Alright then," Grisha said with a nod as he took out a pocket watch and glanced at the time. "It is 8:57. We have been talking for more than forty minutes without realizing it. Let us continue tomorrow night, Jax. Over the next few days, I will teach you some essential knowledge. The rest you will learn through practice. You should head back now. Eren and the others are probably getting anxious."
I stood up.
"Yes, but we should also come up with a reason for why you called me down here," I said. "Let us say it was about herbal knowledge. That could help when preparing medicine."
"You know how to prepare medicine?" Grisha looked slightly surprised.
"A little," I replied with a shrug. "And about Eren's situation…"
"Forget it," Grisha said, waving his hand dismissively. "I will let him off this time."
I left the basement, my mind still spinning from everything I had just learned about the truth of the world and the Restoration Faction.
"Forget it," I muttered, shaking my head and pushing the thoughts aside. "We can deal with that tomorrow night."
I walked back toward the previous room and opened the door.
Inside, Mikasa looked worried, while Eren sat on the floor restlessly. The moment the door opened, Mikasa immediately stood up, and Eren turned toward the entrance.
"Jax," Mikasa said as she hurried over to me. "What did Uncle talk to you about?"
"Just some herbal knowledge," I said casually.
I gently ruffled her hair. The small expression of contentment on her face made her seem like a cat enjoying a pat.
"Uncle said I can help him prepare medicine from now on."
"Oh really? Jax, you even know herbal medicine. I do not know anything about that," Eren said as he stepped closer.
"Nonsense," I replied, rolling my eyes. "When Uncle tried to teach you these things, you screamed like you were being dragged to slaughter. You said learning something that difficult was pointless and that joining the Survey Corps would not require it anyway."
"Uh..." Eren's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Well, about what I did today…"
"Relax," I said, patting him on the shoulder. "I already spoke to Uncle for you. He said he would let it go this time."
"That is great!" Eren nearly jumped into the air. "Thanks, Jax!"
"Considering Eren's talent for getting into trouble, Aunt Carla will probably complain to Uncle again in a few days," Mikasa said calmly, pouring cold water on his excitement.
"Hey, Mikasa, it is not that serious!" Eren protested.
Mikasa ignored him and looked at me instead.
"It will be fine," I said with a small smile, spreading my hands. "At worst, we will deal with it together. If someone bullies Armin again, we will fight back."
"Alright!" Eren clenched his fists, full of energy.
Mikasa, on the other hand, seemed to realize that if things continued like this, she and Jax would likely stay busy cleaning up Eren's trouble.
"Then let us continue reading," I said, reaching toward a nearby book. "This one is about Count Rove."
Before I could grab it, Mikasa slapped my hand away.
"No. I want to hear a story."
"Mhm," Eren agreed immediately, nodding again and again. "Jax, tell us a story."
Entertainment inside the Walls was incredibly limited.
Nobles passed their time with activities such as hunting, chess, and lavish banquets. Ordinary people worked all day simply to survive. As for books, most were history texts or reference materials. The government strictly banned books that described the outside world. Armin even owned one of those forbidden books.
Other than that, the only stories available were dull biographies of nobles or writings that praised the king.
Half a month ago, I told Eren, Mikasa, and Armin part of a fantasy story. Since then, they had started asking me for new stories every day.
At this point, in their eyes, I had become a living story encyclopedia.
"Armin is not here right now," I said hesitantly.
The truth was that I only remembered the general outline of the story I had been telling them. Everything else depended on improvisation. Keeping it going required a lot of mental effort.
After the long conversation with Grisha earlier, my brain already felt exhausted. I really did not want to start thinking again tonight.