Chapter 6: Beta Test

- Maybe we need to find another place.

Eren stood guard while I built the great weapon that could eliminate titans, my magnificent A-1 grenade launcher. If all goes well, I'll try to improve its design, but for now it looks pretty good, and most importantly, it can fulfill its main task.

- What's wrong with it? Take Armin's example, he keeps quiet and observes.

Now we were on the roof of our house, the exit to which was made by Grisha because of our requests, and Carla made him make a small fence, so that in case of what we did not crash. I equipped the roof for my needs, or rather for my personal assembly room and weapons storage, which I hide under the roof. There are 4 slingshots for launching grenades and big enough stones; 3 bows, made by me just in case and 20 arrows for them; I didn't store grenades here, because I was afraid of a lightning strike, which could cause the activation of shells, so they are buried in the ground, not far from the house, where there was a small shovel, also hidden just in case.

- Surely it was more interesting to watch the assembly than to keep an eye on the absence of prying eyes.

- You watched the last time we made bows, didn't you? Armin's interested, too, isn't he?

- Yeah. Uh-huh.

In the meantime, Armin had become a less intimidating kid, which had a positive effect on his condition.

- Whew, finally.

I took the finished weapon in my hands, which should have been tested for combat readiness, but it's too dangerous to do such a thing in the city, and it's a bit difficult to sneak it somehow outside the city limits, since we have to wait for the moment when Grisha decides to visit the Ackerman family again, though....

- Give me the stone, I'll check it like this for now.

The construction is made mostly of wood because of the lack of iron, which is also difficult to give the necessary shape.

- Armin, support me from the back. I don't want to fall off the roof from the recoil.

The spring was tensioned by a special lever on the left side, and the ammunition loading on the right. I set the rock, which was shaped like a grenade, and fired. The recoil was more than I expected, and Armin and I were thrown back, almost falling, but the fence saved us.

The most amazing thing was that no one even shouted, just shocked eyes.

- Okay, the recoil is at an acceptable level.

I can also try to install a buttstock, but that's for later. A strong advantage would be a sight, but it requires special lenses, which I don't know where to get, because I haven't even seen binoculars here. Maybe the military police have them.

- By the way, where did the rock go?

- I don't know. / I didn't see it.

- Oh, I just hope it doesn't hit someone in the head...

While I hoped I hadn't made a random person a fool or sent him to the hospital, Eren started talking about a recent expedition out of town.

- Shit, I completely forgot, Armin, we went to the woods outside of town with my dad four days ago, imagine that.

- Wow, what's there? Are there wild animals there?

- Well, a forest, lots of trees, that's all. I didn't see any animals.

While they talked, I lay quietly on the roof, embracing the warm sun.

- I see.

- There was a family of three living there: a husband, a wife, and a girl about our age.

- Wouldn't it be lonely for them to live there? In case of danger, they would have to cross the wall and then enter the city.

- ... I suppose not. You can do anything when there's only a forest around you.

- I guess you can.

I'll have to get my A-1 out of the wall and hide it somewhere in the woods to try it out with grenades. But how to use it there without attracting attention... Shit, so much fuss over one weapon, it's easier to just tell Grisha, and there already improvise, otherwise I'll go crazy from it.

- Let's play hide and seek for a pendel?

Suddenly Eren came up with a good idea, although a little strange at the end.

- Let's do it. / I'm in.

The host was chosen using the already favorite rock, paper, scissors, from which Armin came out the loser.

- Well, start counting here then, while we hide.

Without listening to the answer, we quickly went down the stairs, looking for a place to hide, but nothing good was found, because all the places had already been used at least once.

- Get in the barrel, it's empty anyway.

Eren hid in a wooden barrel near the house while I closed the lid and hid in another one nearby. We ended up sitting in them for about 10 minutes, though we might have been in them longer if something hadn't crawled up my leg and I jumped out screaming that Armin had noticed and found me and Eren.

- Ruin.

The latter had made an unflattering comment in my direction.

- Yeah, let's see what you'd do if a bug crawled up your leg. Let's catch it and throw it at you.

- Don't take your anger out on others, rather channel it into a task that requires more effort. For example, go to the gym.

- That would be nice. Let's go to the ladder.

- Again?

Apparently Armin hasn't gotten over the last one, but that's okay, he'll adjust eventually.

- Yes, Armin, again.

After finishing the ladder on 10, we safely reflected on the everyday life, as there was no more energy for anything else.

- Shall we go for a run?

- I'm lazy. No energy left.

- Uh-huh.

They just lay on the bench, staring at the clear blue sky, pulling the consciousness into a real zen, from which it is almost impossible to escape without help, because of which I was pulled in. So we spent the rest of the day looking up at the sky, under rare conversations on various topics, mostly concerning further life and prospects.

There was definitely something about such a pastime... Nostalgic or something. Something that I could not feel in my past life because of the different environment, absorbed by the virtual world, mercilessly consuming the time of people, including me. Breaking free from such bondage was an almost unrealistic task.

In general, life after the death of my parents immediately shifted from child mode to adult mode. Childish naivety and colorful, unexplored surrounding world quickly faded. Even my grandmother, an old-school woman, to whom I moved afterward, lived only a couple of years, after all, she was 92 years old.... But her stories about her youth were so interesting, life in such exuberant times.... Then another move, but already to my godfather's house, where I later met Sergey ... During the time I spent here, I didn't even remember him. What fate befell him? Could he be here too? There are so many questions I can't answer, and I don't even want to answer them. I just want to enjoy life without any obligations. It's a shame that's not going to happen. At the same time so close, but also far from my happiness.

- You didn't fall asleep in there? It'll be night soon.

- No, we're just resting.

After I answered, Carla went home, which was the signal to go home.

- Let's get up.

- Oh, my back.

Like a sick old man, Armin clutched his back and staggered along with us. Everyone's face expressed an indestructible calmness, as if they had experienced life itself through nirvana.

- See you later, Armin. / Bye.

- Bye, guys.

As I walked him home, I had a funny thought.

- Why don't we race home?

Instead of answering, Eren, with a wide grin, quickly ran down the already cool and almost deserted street while I slammed on the gas and tried to catch up, losing precious seconds.

The impossible had happened, earlier I, who had always run in first, had suddenly lost, and I was only two steps short of victory. There was no precipitation, but gradually the feeling of initial superiority began to melt away, giving the final impetus for action, which I had not had the guts to do before.

- Я... I won!!!

- Haaaa, yeah. Congratulations on your victory.

- Yeah!

He went to the second floor, where, apparently, Carla was, because Grisha was sitting alone in the kitchen. To him I just had a conversation. All the time I was here, my sense of fear did not let me know that I have knowledge to which this state will probably take hundreds of years of development.

- Grisha, I would like to show you something.

Sipping tea, he raised his gaze questioningly.

- First we need to get to the roof. Shall we go?

He nodded, still not saying a word, which was a little alarming.

Could he have figured it out by now? Could he be like me? Grisha is much smarter than the people who live here, as rude as it may sound, but it is. I managed to find out that before his appearance in the city spread a disease, the treatment for which did not know, but found outside the walls, a man with no memory was able to cure everyone, and later married one of the patients, Carla. All the above described gives a good food for thought, because if he came from outside the walls, it means that there is another state there, and probably more developed, or it existed.

We were now heading for the stairs when Carla appeared on the path.

- Where are you going? It's past my bedtime, Eren's already gone to bed.

- He wants to show me the hole in the roof. I'll take a look, and I'll get the materials first thing in the morning.

To my surprise, Grisha himself answered Carla's question.

- Maybe better in the morning?

Grisha smiled, putting his hands on her shoulder.

- Why wake them up early, I'd better take a look now, and then, when I have time, I'll do it right away.

- Well... okay.

He kissed her on the cheek, and then Carla went into the bedroom, while I looked at the surprisingly interesting walls of the house. When I managed to count 45 cracks, Grisha called me.

- Come on.

Finding myself now in the right place, I thought about the speech, but eventually scrambled and pulled my A-1 out from under the board. Grisha's eyes went wide, not expecting something like this.

- What the hell is that?

- A grenade launcher made entirely by me. Haa, it's... It's so hard to articulate.

Okay, I'll be honest and straightforward, death doesn't scare me anymore anyway, considering what I've been through, and it's getting harder and harder to hide it from now on. I'll end up getting caught no matter how hard I try.

- Grisha, I feel like I'm from another country. In my head is hidden a lot of ideas from vague memory, which I'm trying to recreate.

He was silent, staring at me intently.

- Learning your prehistory of appearing in this place..... You are from another country outside the walls, aren't you...?

After taking a deep breath and exhaling, he finally spoke.

- I was expecting this conversation.

He crouched upright on the roof, staring out at the dark canvas that was filled with illuminating stars.

- Yes, it is so. I am a stranger whose fate has brought me to this city, but I have no animosity toward the people who live here, quite the contrary. I think they are kinder here, although, as with everything, there are exceptions, especially at the top of the government. You started this conversation in order to be able to create without hiding from us, didn't you?

He has given out a lot of interesting information, but it is not useful yet.

- Yeah, well, the rest is secondary.

- He stood up and shook himself off, "You can create whatever your soul desires, but on one condition - try not to use your inventions in public.

- Okay.

That condition. It's very strange, but it's acceptable.

- Well, as long as it's okay, let's go to bed.

When I returned to the room, Eren was already snoring quietly, while I kept thinking about the very, very strange conversation between me and Grisha, which had lasted literally five minutes.

It felt like he knew the future, but it sounded so crazy. Reminds me of some theory about us living in a simulation from a past life, but what am I talking about. There are giant fucking monsters eating people here, so it's not like there's any reason to dismiss the possibility of such a superpower. The most important thing is that now I can test what my grenades are capable of outside the city, and bonus information about the existence of another state outside the walls, and even more developed. I had more questions than answers after the conversation. For example, he took my words so easily. It's so weird.

The next day Grisha once again went to the Ackerman family, which I took advantage of and grabbed a grenade launcher and a couple of grenades, which Eren's father put in his equipment bag.

As we left the city, we headed down a familiar path towards the forest, when suddenly Grisha started talking.

- Since we brought this gun with us, we'll have to show it to the Ackerman family.

- Do we have to?

- They live in a wooded area and will definitely hear the explosion, of course you can go a considerable distance away from them, but it could be dangerous.

- All right, let them see it.

Eren, who didn't understand anything, intervened in our conversation.

- What are you talking about?

- You'll understand soon enough.

In silence, we walked quickly enough to the house, where we were met again by the family in full.

- Okay, kids, you can play for a while.

They left us, and all three of them entered the house, talking about something.

- So what were you guys talking about?

Eren was still talking, his childish interest truly indefatigable.

- Hello, Mikasa.

- Hey.

- Hi, Mikasa.

After everyone said hello, I finally decided to answer.

- About the Grenade Launcher. It's in your father's bag right now.

Eren's eyes stared shocked at the house and then at me.

- So you said you couldn't tell anyone, right?

- How else can I test it if I can't get into the forest without it? There'd be a sound from the explosion anyway.

- Yeah. When are we gonna test it?

- I don't know, he has to tell Mikasa's parents first, and then we'll probably find out what the grenades can do.

Eren nodded satisfactorily, while Mikasa flapped her eyes in puzzlement, hardly understanding anything we said.

- What do you mean?

- A small cannon.

- Oh, I see. Let's play.

- Okay, let's play catch-up.

- Uh, okay.

- All right! [Laughs]

Everyone agreed with my idea. Also because of my good mood, I even decided to be the host.

- Run along.

Without any further questions, they ran in different directions, giving me the opportunity to follow one of them. My choice was Mikasa, since it was getting tiresome to chase after Eren time after time, and this way I could have some variety.

As expected, the girl was faster than Eren, but still not fast enough to get away from me.

- Come on, Mikasa, show him who's boss.

The stupid phrase made me laugh, and I slowed down as a consequence.

- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, God, ha-ha-ha-ha.

Mikasa also joined in the laughter.

- Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.

Only Eren alone stood with a stoic face while I took the opportunity and quickly touched the girl, taking her by surprise. Now it was already Eren who started laughing.

- Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, getting caught because of such bullshit, ha ha ha. Aaaaaaah!

- I'll get you!

The now disgruntled Mikasa, not paying attention to me, ran after Eren, well I was enjoying the show where Grisha's son was trying his best to escape from the girl, but nothing worked. After she caught up with him, he ran after the girl, who was rapidly pulling away from him, but the boy was not going to give up.

- Andrei, help!

That's something, but the spirit of Eren is full of, does not give up even in pre-loss situations, well done.

- Andrei, come here. Did you really do it?

Henkel Ackerman appeared from behind the ajar door, holding an unloaded grenade launcher. Without a second thought, I ran up to him.

- Wait a minute. Hand it to me carefully.

- All right, then.

Once I received it, I exhaled with peace of mind.

- Yeah, I did it.

- Well, well, well, yes you are a real genius. Now Grisha will finish with the inspection and let's go check it out, I'm so eager to see what it can do.

- He did not tell you what it does?

- Well, it can shoot these round iron with a ring?

He pulled a grenade out of his pocket while I clutched my chest, nearly having a seizure.

Fuck, I wish I had his courage.

- Yeah, he did, but I'd treat these things called grenades with caution, because if you're not careful you can blow yourself up, and that would result in almost instant death.

He looked at the balloon with horror, and then at me, stopping moving.

- Just pass it to me. Don't worry, if you don't pull the pin, or if you throw it against a hard surface with force, it won't explode.

Henkel carefully handed it to me and I loaded it into the grenade launcher, getting ready to test it. At that moment, a panting Eren and Mikasa approached us.

- We can go now.

From behind the head of the Ackerman family appeared his wife and Grisha with his bag.

Hmm, I just now noticed that Michelle Ackerman has a belly, and given her slim waist, she must be pregnant. That would also explain why Grisha goes over there so often.

- Michelle are you sure you want to see? Sharp noises can scare you.

While her husband inquired about her desire to see the explosion, Mikasa stared wide-eyed at the grenade launcher.

- Of course I do. It's not every day you get a chance to see the invention of a little talent...

- Thank you.

Her words flattered me, and I thanked her with a smile in return.

- If that's the case, let's get out of the way, or the crater next to the house won't look so pretty.

- Okay. / Okay. I'm gonna die of anticipation. / Does this thing shoot?

To the various phrases of the others, I moved a hundred meters away from the house, where I prepared to fire. The moment I pulled the trigger, my heart froze, as did the others' breathing.

- Better cover your ears.

Two seconds after the grenade touched the ground there was a powerful explosion, a gust of wind from which struck directly on the body. At the place where the shell landed there was a shallow crater and 2 fallen trees. There was no fire, by the way, so everything went as it should.

- Oh, wow.

Eren was the first to speak, as stunned by what had happened earlier as the others.

Grisha only nodded while the Ackerman family stared at the crater in shock, unable to believe such a result.

- Man, what kind of genius must one be to create such a thing....

The head of the family shook his head, still staring at the site of the explosion.

- It's amazing, Andrei, with your mind, any monster would seem like a bug.

The mother was now contributing her opinion as Mikasa suddenly spoke.

- What a terrible explosion...

- Now, now, now, calm down.

After that Michelle stroked her head, calming the frightened girl.

- Let's go back.

After Grisha's words we went back to the Ackermans' house, going to go home.

- Andrei, can you leave him here? It's dangerous to take him with us every time.

Eren's father's words made sense, because this time the guards had miraculously missed the protruding A-1 and the grenades.

- Well, I was gonna make a couple more anyway. Here you go.

I handed Henkel the grenade launcher and the bag of grenades.

- Oh, I feel like a kid getting a present.

- You can also load it with ordinary stones, as long as they are the right shape. And grenades better put in a secluded place away from the house. That's basically it.

- I understand. / I can't believe that a child created such a thing....

While Henkel nodded, Michelle shook her head in surprise, stroking Mikasa.

- Goodbye Henkel, Michelle, Mikasa. / Goodbye. / See you soon!

- Come on. / Bye-bye. / Bye-bye.

We said goodbye and went home, each of us with a slight smile on our faces.

I guess everyone got what they wanted.

___________

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