Chapter Text
Armin was sitting on the edge of the conference table, looking at Rang with round eyes, he raised his hand and pulled back the chair beside him, "Sit."
He said very briefly. Jean stepped over and sat down on a wooden armchair shown by the other party. His left leg gently wraps around the corner of the chair and sits flush with his right leg.
The morning sunlight streaming in through the windows illuminated the fine dust in the air, particles hovering above their heads. There were only three people in the room, Armin and Jean, and an old doctor from Stohess. Jean didn't know his name, but he was familiar with that face. He was in charge of the post-war crowd some time ago. For psychological rehabilitation work, every soldier has met him more or less face to face.
"Hello, Commander Kirchstein, I think you've seen me before." The old man raised his head from the table, his eyes sparkling.
"Yes, doctor, we have all been taken care of by you before." Jean replied respectfully, "Is there any urgent matter that came from afar today?"
"It's not urgent, but it can't be left alone."
It was Almin who answered instead of the doctor. He spoke quickly and took out the top few documents from the pile of documents in front of him.
"You should also remember that after the war we commissioned Dr. Roel and his team to do a psychological evaluation of every soldier. These reports have recently come out with results. It can be said that the results are very frustrating. Everyone There are more or less minor problems."
Jean's eyes lingered on those pieces of paper for a long time: "Is it that bad?"
"What's worse is that we have no way to provide psychological counseling to every soldier with our current manpower." Almin continued, "For those whose symptoms are not serious, we can only hope that they will recover on their own. gone."
"Then what should you do if the symptoms are severe?"
"That's why we asked you to come here today." Dr. Roel nodded, seemingly satisfied with the progress of their conversation, he pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and quickly cut to the next topic: "You should still Remember Reiner Braun?"
Hearing that name, I couldn't help frowning.
"Reiner? What happened to him?"
Of course he remembered Reiner, maybe he would never forget this name in his life. For a long time, Reiner's name and his deeds have been set on the pillar of shame of the traitors of Parady Island, and as myself who once foolishly regarded him as a friend, this is even more so. Unforgettable.
"He..." Armin hesitated to speak, "His mental state is very bad, terrible."
"Really? I heard that he bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Torres and built a house. He also plans to take his family to live there. Isn't he supposed to live comfortably?"
Although Armin's expression did not seem to be exaggerating, Jean couldn't help but refute him.
"You can read the report in my hand first. According to Dr. Roel's diagnosis, Reiner has a serious tendency to be world-weary and self-destructive. He resents other people's interference with him, and he is unwilling to accept any treatment or relief. "
Jean took the paper, and there was a scrawled signature at the bottom of the report, and he could vaguely make out the initials R and B.
"He has read the report? Knows his situation?"
"Yes." Dr. Roel nodded, "Because he refuses to cooperate with psychological treatment, we must let him know about his illness. If it interferes with other people, we can use this report to send him to a mental institution."
Jean repeatedly looked at the report in his hand. Indeed, under the column of case diagnosis, he saw densely packed writing, which fully showed how seriously ill this man named Reiner Braun was.
He handed the report back to Armin and straightened his body.
"Let, in short... I hope you can listen carefully to my next proposal, and don't rush to say no." Armin's tone became serious, "I don't think Reiner is suitable for living alone now, there must be a Take care of him personally and stop him from doing something stupid."
"Of course I don't have any objections to the leader's decision, but Armin, don't you think this is an unnecessary act? Since Reiner himself is not willing to receive treatment, why do we have to go against him."
Hearing his question, Armin's eyes changed from clear to full of sadness: "I have to do this."
"Are you pitying him?"
"No, Reiner is responsible for more than half of what he is today. He is not worthy of pity." Armin shook his head, "It's just that I can't see it. I'm not ready to attend the funeral of another 104th soldier."
Jean immediately understood the meaning of Armin's words. He swallowed, as if he wanted to swallow the pain of the past into his stomach, but they began to turn into a raging fire, and the faces of countless old people were reflected in the flames.
"...I understand." After a long silence, Jean chose to accept Armin's proposal, "Then what should we do, who would be willing to take over the task of taking care of a patient?"
"In fact, I already have someone in my heart."
Armin's eyes turned to him quietly.
"Wait...! You mean me to be that person?"
"After comprehensive consideration, you are the most suitable, and Dr. Roel also thinks so. Your psychological evaluation report can be regarded as a model student among our group." Armin pursed his lips, "Others If not, I worry that their appearance will make Reiner's situation worse."
"Annie too?" Jean asked involuntarily. In his heart, no one would be more suitable than Annie. Both she and Reiner were from Marley, and they were both holders of the power of titans. The most important thing is , they did a lot of things together that I'm sorry Paradis Island.
"Annie is a girl, there will always be inconveniences."
Armin answered solemnly, but judging from the flushed color on his face, he just didn't want his crush to take care of other men
"Pieck, she and Reiner must have a lot in common."
"Pieck will return to Marais next month, she is not used to life on the island." Armin shrugged.
Jean struggled and thought over and over again, he really couldn't think of other candidates, he wanted to shirk this matter to his good friend Connie, but Armin saw his thoughts, and told him from Connie's psychological evaluation Judging from the content reflected in the report, he has a lot of hostility against Reiner alone.
"In other words, their conflict will become more intense. Of course, it will be one-sided. Connie will not make it easier for Reiner, and I think that even if he does too much, Reiner will not resist. He is willing to accept punishment. Then It's also one of his performances of giving up on himself." Armin explained slowly, "Perhaps you may still ask, since this is what I proposed, why didn't I take care of Reiner in person, the answer is obvious, because I am too busy Well, Jean, it's hard for me to get away from a patient, so this has to be done by you. Do you understand?"
Jean did not want to understand that this was a disaster for him. It is true that his dislike for Reiner has been diluted a little after the war, but that does not mean that he can bear him completely. For him, Reiner is still the traitor who killed Marco , and the person who indirectly killed Sasha, he is a bastard with two lives on his back, if possible, he doesn't want to see him again.
At least don't want to see him every day.
"Actually, you don't need to live with him. After all, you are busy with other affairs as a commander. Your life is still focused on the investigation corps. When you are free, you only need to check on his situation regularly and chat with him. God, take him out to relax."
"You also need to bring this document with you and ask him to sign it."
Dr. Roel leaned forward and handed another paper full of words to Jean.
"what is this?"
"It's a guardianship agreement." Armin replied, "If you want to become Reiner's guardian, you will naturally need the consent of Reiner himself. Once he signs it, it means that he will give you the right to make decisions on all matters. , you also have a responsibility to take good care of him. Whether it's while he's alive - or after he's dead."
Dr. Roel followed Armin and then explained: "Of course death is just a contingency. If one day he really takes that step, you need to inform his family of his death in time and deal with him. legacy, and it was with this in mind that we considered it necessary to find a suitable guardian for him."
"..."
It was difficult for Jean to concentrate on thinking. His subconscious mind was still unwilling to accept that he was going to take care of Reiner. Similarly, he did not want to think about what happened after Reiner's death, just as Armin said. As he said, he wasn't cold enough to go to the funeral of a contemporary without changing his face. Reiner was no longer a friend to him, but he was no longer an enemy either, and his departure only brought them a deeper sense of loss.
"I know what you said, give me some time and let me think about it."
"Of course, you can think about it for a while, but try not to take too long."
"I'll give you an answer within a few days." Jean straightened up, and he didn't forget to take away the materials Dr. Roel handed him, including the thick stack of medical records and guardianship agreement.
He stepped to the door, and when he held the handle, Armin's voice sounded from behind.
"Jean, if possible, I don't want to have that eventuality." Armin's voice was tense, and when Jean turned his head, he found that he was sitting there motionless, with shadows cast by the sun under his eyes, "After all, he was once our friends."