[Eren thinks he can sense his companion's agitation growing, and he isn't surprised. It's an agitating suggestion. He remains calm as he explains, though voice even, unbothered.]

It's the way the world works. It's the way the world has always worked. We've never known another way.

Even if it shouldn't be that way, how would we operate without? The militaries built on the backs of those children would crumble, and so, too, would the nations they protect.