The three ladies retired to their rooms below Freya's deck when Eren had company.
Before she descended below deck, Nina assured Eren that she would assist him in his "endeavors" later. He needed to catch up with his academy mates at this point.
Eren uncorked a rare collection of White Raven ale he had in his collection and served it to Ken and Roody. As much as he wanted Ken to just leave him alone, the butcher didn't want to come across as a poor host to such influential people.
Eren, Roody, and Ken started talking about life after they left the academy. Upon completion of his on-field assignment, Roody was appointed as one of the Royal Guards within a dukedom in Lehan. He simply carried on with his on-field assignment duties, making full use of his academic background.
Due to this Roody also had an honorary post in Edinburgh's army as an officer. There was a chance that he would get transferred to the royal court if and when he broke into Master rank. Apparently, he also had a younger brother named Roody Jr who was from LA and in Ken's team serving as the captain. So Roody had many reasons to be present at the event.
Ken Riverine's life was not as straightforward as Roody's. His on-field assignment was at the border of Edinburgh. The Duchy of Lehan also had major parts of its eastern borders attached to the Badlands. Thus, operating at the borders was chaotic, even more so than at the Nightshade duchy.
But the monsters weren't the only opponents Ken had to face. Lehan's borders were also shared with the kingdom of Layos to a small extent. As a result, Ken had come face to face with Layos' forces many times.
Ken had many close calls during his on-field assignments. War teaches a lot to even its most dense students. Ken had learned to kill on the battlefield. And since he had chosen Fist Saint as his class, the kills were always up close and personal.
Ken took his time to deal with the reality of the world. He had his fair share of mental struggles. Through those struggles, he had come to realize that things were not all black or white as he thought them to be. It could be said that the on-field assignment's job was to teach exactly that to the academy brats stationed there.
Ken realized that what Eren had said to him at the time of their mission together was right all along. A ranker's path was wrought with death and destruction. One could limit its extent but not prevent it from being present in their life.
As a result, Ken started respecting Eren in his head a lot. He came to realize that Eren was way ahead of him when it came to having the mental fortitude of a successful ranker.
Ken was involved in a lot of search-and-destroy operations against Layos' forces. He also participated in a few rescue operations and then some espionage missions. Doing these kinds of missions non-stop had turned him into an experienced man.
Most of all, Ken didn't use his family background to help him in the pinch when he was in serious need. He stuck to his principles and found his way through the mountain of problems he faced. This was what made him particularly popular with the core of the army responsible for the duchy of Lehan.
Ken had entered the Expert rank a few months back. His breakthrough generated a very eye-catching phenomenon that shattered a bunch of mountains in the region. It was a testament to the difficult path he walked along as well as his grit and determination.
Of course, Ken kept goodness in his heart despite the challenges he faced. He would still prioritize his teammates' safety over his own well-being most of the time. He was willing to walk the extra mile for his friends. He still refrained from killing anyone unless he absolutely had to.
But after living through so many life-altering experiences and close calls, Ken had stopped being naive enough to think that others would return the favor to him. He had his own share of betrayals as proof of the cruelty of the world.
It was Roody who told Eren about Ken's operations and his heroic acts in the army. Ken scratched the back of his head and just laughed it off, feeling awkward about being celebrated as a hero by his army core.
Eren reviewed his hate for Ken as he listened to the hardships he had to go through. Eren found out that Ken was probably as miserable inside as his past self was behind his laughter and smiles.
Eren could see many regrets hidden behind the facade Ken had created for himself. Ken was still trying to come to terms with them.
Ken's suffering made it easier for Eren to accept him. His prejudice against Ken started dying. Misery loves company after all.
Eren also came to realize that Ken was genuinely a good guy. Something he refused to believe when he was in LA. His second chance at life had given him a lot of advantages but it also restricted his mind in a certain way at that time.
One of these restrictions was the assumption that everybody he met was a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing. Which was true for the most part.
Eren refused to accept that there were guys like Ken who were kind without there being reasons to be that way.
That refusal made him unable to accept Ken for who he was. The fact that Ken was indirectly responsible for Eren's downfall in his previous timeline was just an excuse his subconscious mind was telling him to stick to.
Of course, if Ken had not learned from his experiences and remained as dense as he was, Eren would not have lost all hope in him. The previous Ken was a liability. This Ken was tolerable to be around.
Ken in Eren's previous timeline was being used by the so-called goddess inside a mortal shell that was Sienna Slughorn. Alephee had said to Eren that the goddess had the power to interfere with the cause-and-effect system of Anfang to a certain extent to make a bunch of possibilities come to pass.
If Alephee's words were to be believed, Ken was just one of the tools the goddess had used to hurt him. The "tool" itself had no ulterior motives against him.
