Since Gale didn't have much time and didn't want to exhaust himself, he only organized the place where he would sleep before going to register his name with the soldiers.
The soldiers were responsible for maintaining order in this settlement, so he registered his residence there to make sure no one could occupy his home.
For now, he needed to find a place to stay, work on the design of the water wheel, learn more about the interpersonal relationships among the refugees, and find out who was a carpenter.
Dinner was not yet guaranteed, but that could wait. Near the farm, there was a river where many people stood barefoot in the water, trying to fish.
It was not an easy task; many people had spent an entire afternoon without catching a single fish.
Gale found ropes and joints of long poles and, using an inner-ring–outer-ring structure, made a simple fishing trap and placed it upstream, planning to come back the next morning to see if he had caught anything.
The area where they had been relocated was relatively rich in resources, with lush vegetation and a beautiful environment surrounding them.
It wasn't hard to find food: he dug up two artichoke shoots, picked some mushrooms and tea shrubs, and gathered a bag of red berries.
Although there was no meat, it was enough to fill their stomachs. He collected firewood, lit a fire with a flint, and peeled the artichokes after boiling them with only water.
At that moment, the noisy Eren, Mikasa, and Armin returned.
"What do we do? Only Mikasa caught one fish," Armin said worriedly.
"It's your fault for being such a bad fisherman," Eren said while carrying firewood. "If you hadn't scared the fish, we would've had a feast tonight."
"Eren, you didn't catch anything either," Armin said, easing his guilt by dragging Eren down with him, who was just as useless as he was.
"You two eat first, I'll go check the river again," Mikasa said as she handed them the fish she was holding.
"That won't work, it's already dark!" Eren shouted, wanting her to forget that terrible plan. "Mikasa, eat it yourself. We can go hungry all night."
"What if I go look for Uncle Hannes? I heard he's here too. The soldiers must have something to eat," Armin suggested thoughtfully.
"But…" Eren recalled his harsh past experiences and hesitated.
"There's no other way. If we go hungry on the first day, we won't have the energy to work tomorrow," Armin said, worried about not performing well at tomorrow's work.
The three walked noisily, then suddenly stopped and looked at Gale, who was cleaning the window of his house.
A campfire was burning in the fire pit, and a gentle aroma drifted toward them, giving off a pleasant smell.
While cleaning, Gale was eating berries—bright red berries, each one juicy and delicious, their sour flavor making one's mouth water just by looking at them.
Compared to the underdeveloped fish in Mikasa's hand, Gale's food, though completely vegetarian, looked exceptionally plentiful, especially considering that he had prepared everything himself and was calmly enjoying his dinner.
Suddenly, Eren clenched his fists, feeling that he had completely lost to Gale, who was alone.
Though there were three of them, they had accomplished less in a day than Gale had by himself.
They had even seen Gale's clean room, made with dried leaves and old sheets he had found in the house.
Gale had prepared all of this before they returned. In comparison, Eren had only wasted an afternoon by the river with Mikasa and Armin. Even though it was already night, they hadn't even prepared a bed to sleep on.
Aside from Mikasa, the two of them were soaked in sweat. How were they supposed to conquer the titans like this?
"Guys… did you spend the whole afternoon fishing?" Gale asked as he took out the trash he had gathered while cleaning.
"Hmm…" Armin scratched his head in embarrassment.
"You can come into my house to warm yourselves by the fire. If you stay like that, you're sure to catch a cold, and that means death," Gale invited them kindly, without any hidden agenda.
"We don't need your pity!" Eren waved his hand.
Humans are social animals, and Gale was no different. Sitting near the door, he took an artichoke and began to eat it. "You don't have the privilege to refuse my invitation. We are alive now because we humans know how to cooperate and use tools. A village is made up of chiefs, hunters, carpenters, merchants, and farmers."
After saying that, Gale looked at the trio and said, "Accepting and receiving help is also a very important skill. You can't expect a hunter, responsible for hunting, to make furniture like a carpenter, right? Come and sit down. There's something I want to talk to you about. I can share the food with you, but in exchange you'll have to answer my questions."
…
"Where are you from? You're so mature," Armin said while shirtless and warming himself by the fire, his clothes hanging on a rack. "You don't seem much older than us, but you can say such reasonable things."
"I was a servant. I was sold to a farm at six years old," Gale said, lying but remaining calm. "After I turned six, I never saw my parents again. From then on, I learned to survive on my own."
"Really?" Armin looked at the campfire and said, "You're really amazing. My parents were killed by titans. To be honest, I have no idea what to do now."
"Have you tried this vegetable? They're artichokes, already fully cooked. I also found some good mushrooms," Gale said as he handed an artichoke and the cooked mushrooms to Mikasa.
"Eren." Mikasa handed him some artichoke leaves and mushrooms.
"Thanks…" Eren said awkwardly.
"I just heard you mention Hannes. He's a garrison soldier, right? Do you know him?" Gale asked while eating. To the kids in front of him, he seemed quite normal.
"I'd say we know him," Eren said, looking displeased at hearing that name, then looked at Gale strangely. "Why are you asking?"
"I hope you can introduce me to Mr. Hannes," Gale said, always thinking about his plan. "I've invented an irrigation tool called a water wheel, and I hope Mr. Hannes can help me promote it among the refugees of the settlement so they'll help me."
"A water wheel? What's that?" Armin asked, quite interested in what Gale was talking about.
"In simple terms, it's an agricultural tool that uses the flow of water to rotate. It can automatically draw water into ditches and use the force of the water to turn a millstone."
"What's the point of that?" Eren asked disdainfully. "No matter how much food we have, if we don't kill all the titans, humanity will eventually go extinct."
"That's true," Gale agreed, but then asked, "But have you considered what the government will do if the food produced by reclaiming wasteland isn't enough to feed the refugees?"
"What will happen?" Eren asked nervously.
"Armin, do you understand?" Gale asked, knowing about his grandfather's history.
Armin nodded with a somewhat serious expression. "The government's intention is to ensure social stability as much as possible, and I'm afraid they'll try to reduce the number of refugees."
"That's right," Gale replied as he bit into an artichoke leaf. "By then, most of the refugees will be sent to Wall Maria to fight the titans, which will ease the food shortage. That's my opinion. I don't want that to happen, so I want to promote the use of water wheels."
"I know that no matter how much food we have, we can't kill all the titans, but food can keep us alive and give us the strength to fight them. One day, humanity will defeat them."
Eren, Armin, and Mikasa stopped chewing and looked at the boy sitting by the fire.
The flames reflected in his eyes, as if they were the fire burning in his heart.