The pronouncement deserved some room. Erwin considered it, and Levi, whose boundaries between game and gambit were not always in the places he expected even after all this time, and whose smiles were very seldom. He drew a deep breath; his chest lifted as he prepared to speak.

"A man who stands under a tree and collects the apples that fall isn't taking anything." The question had expanded in his thoughts. He rolled the stem of his glass between his thumb and forefinger, contemplative. "Even if he shakes the branches, he's merely hastening the inevitable. And if he planted the tree in the first place, even that inevitability belongs to him."

Another long swallow; then Erwin set down his glass and poured a little more for each of them. Only then did he bring his knight forward; bait for Levi's, promising swift movement into the midgame and its exchanges. He was continuing to mount his attack even as his opponent prepared his defense.

"Did you have something specific in mind, Levi?"