Silence permeated the room until…
Levi suddenly grabbed him by the cloak.
"Don't mess with us! You bringing us here is what caused Furlan's death in the first place, and now you want us to be punished for trying to protect him!"
"Commander!"
Miche, who was nearby, tried to intervene but was signalled by Erwin to stop.
"Really think about it. Who killed him? Who's your actual enemy in this situation… Me? No! It was the Titans! They are the enemy of mankind!"
"So will you really let his sacrifice be in vain? If you kill me now, his death would have been for nothing."
"…"
"Will you choose the path that honours your friend and strives to serve humanity, or the one where you stay a criminal?"
"…Tch!"
Levi reluctantly let him go.
Watching this, I was internally panicking.
Not because they were arguing, but for a totally different reason.
How will I get to Shiganshina now?
If I escape now, I can make it there in time.
But not only could that raise suspicion for predicting what would happen, I would also disobey Erwin and prove that I'm not a trusted soldier.
But… Does it really have to end this way?
Then a grimmer thought came to mind.
Wouldn't it be better if I just allowed the invasion?
With my current strength, it's not possible to defeat Reiner and Bertholdt. At most, I can only save a few lives.
So is it really worth the risk?
After all, trying to do anything about it would significantly alter the course of the story, and it would put me at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, with the power of the Founding Titan being able to alter the past and future, I really don't know whether my actions would amount to anything, as it may end up all leading to the same point in the future.
Especially since Eren needs the Smiling Titan to kill his mother.
Trying to sort out these complicated thoughts, I let out a sigh.
"There's not much I can do… I guess we'll accept the punishment…"
***
In a cellar beneath a castle, Levi and I were facing our punishment.
In hindsight, this was merely a slap on the wrist, since in Erwin's mind, we had already become indispensable soldiers.
Despite that, he was still punishing us so as not to set a precedent for unruliness.
Anyway, Levi had surprisingly accepted the punishment and was sitting alone calmly.
That was until he abruptly looked at me with a solemn expression.
"Hey, Lucian, when you got there, was he still alive?"
Ah… He must be talking about Furlan.
"…I tried, but I couldn't make it in time."
"Hm, I see…"
That was the extent of the conversation.
"…"
This was followed by an awkward silence.
Levi accepting the fact that his death was largely out of my control didn't change the fact that I was still shrouded in guilt.
Perhaps it was showing on my face, because Levi broke the silence.
"Say, even if I went, the outcome would've been the same… There's nothing that could've been done."
"O-oh yeah, I guess."
After contemplating the past for a while, the boredom of imprisonment took over, and my eyelids naturally closed.
I was woken up by the sound of rattling metal.
Erwin came inside the cellar with a distraught look.
As expected, it must have been news of Shiganshina.
"Levi, Lucian. Your sentences have ended prematurely…"
"Eh, that quick?"
Levi involuntarily muttered in surprise.
"A more important situation has taken precedence over your punishments."
"…And what exactly could that be?"
"…It looks like the Titans have invaded Shiganshina and breached Wall Maria."
I wasn't surprised, but Levi beside me was clearly taken aback by this development.
"Hmm, Lucian, you're surprisingly calm despite hearing the fact that the walls have been breached for the first time in a hundred years."
"N-no! It's just quite unbelievable, is all."
"I see. Well, you two get settled. The news has shifted public opinion regarding funding, so we'll receive far more Scouts soon who will need training. Your expertise will be needed."
Before Erwin left, he gave one last message.
"Oh, and I'm also the new 13th Commander. So you must follow my orders from here on out. Expect changes in our ranks."
When we got out, gossip was everywhere.
There were constant murmurs about the Armoured Titan's sudden appearance at the gate of Shiganshina, the Colossal Titan breaking Wall Maria, and Keith Shadis's retirement due to the shame of his failure.
It seemed he had taken responsibility for nurturing more Survey Corps soldiers himself.
Well, it's nothing I didn't expect.
As I was walking back to my room, I suddenly felt something cling to my back.
"Eh? Who is it?"
"…I-I'm sorry. I made a mistake again. A-nd this time, Furlan…"
Behind me, Isabel squeezed out an apology in a tiny, trembling voice.
Is that Isabel?
"It's not your fault, Isabel. Don't beat yourself up. There's nothing we could've done."
"I was so happy that we got to live on the surface together that I got complacent. If only—if only I were as strong as you and Levi."
After that, she began to sob whilst leaning on me.
Not knowing what to do, I just stood there.
The next day, we were all assembled at HQ for training.
As we lined up, I spotted Isabel amongst the crowd.
"Isabel! Over here!"
"E-eh?! L-Lucian?!"
When I called out to Isabel, she ignored me for some reason.
She turned her head away, the tips of her ears flushed crimson.
"Huh? Is she angry at me? Was I too rude yesterday?"
"Listen up! As your new Commander, there will be some significant changes made. As you may have heard, the sudden appearance of the Colossal and Armoured Titans has led to humanity abandoning Wall Maria, losing a third of our territory and 20% of the population in the process."
"However, this does not mean humanity will yield to the Titans!"
"So from here on out, our expeditions will begin at Trost. However, due to the catastrophic result of the last expedition, our numbers have also dwindled significantly."
"Soon, the next batch of recruits will arrive, but for now, we'll focus on training our group tactics for the upcoming expeditions to retake Wall Maria."
***
With no expeditions occurring due to a lack of numbers, the chaos regarding the fall of Wall Maria, and the logistics involved in using the gate of Trost, time passed quickly.
Recruits from the 100th Cadet Corps graduated, and those who volunteered to enter the Survey Corps arrived at HQ.
With the year now being 846, that also meant only one year remained until the 104th Cadet Corps began training.
And there were four years until they graduated, at which point Trost would fall.
Anyway, with Erwin as the new Commander, training over the past year had also become more intense.
There was a focus on a whole range of tactics, including more emphasis on training existing, experienced soldiers to kill Titans using new tactics.
Eventually, the new recruits from the 100th Cadet Corps entered the ranks.
The once-empty barracks began to fill, and we were tasked with guiding some of them after I was made a squad leader.
I was tasked with teaching some new recruits tactics in the meantime.
It seemed Erwin had determined that it was suitable for me, as a veteran soldier, to nurture the new Scouts.
Seriously… a veteran after one year.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
Isabel lunged at me, knocking me off balance.
"Lucian! You're finally out of the briefing room! Why didn't you tell me that annoying Commander put us in different squads for the next expedition? Now I'm stuck in the 3rd Brigade near the centre."
Looks like she hasn't found out that it was my doing. After all, that's the safest spot in the formation.
"Be quiet… What if he hears you?!"
"I guess that's true… but I wanna be with you!"
Seeing her loyalty, I involuntarily patted her head, and she suddenly turned red.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?"
When I put my hand on her forehead to check, she flinched and stumbled back.
"N-no, it's nothing!"
"…Sorry, did I come at the wrong time? I wanted to ask if Squad Leader Lucian could help me with the tactics Commander Erwin discussed earlier."
Petra, the new trainee, suddenly asked with an embarrassed expression.
"Hey, you! Lucian is tired right now. Instead, I'll help you with the tactics!"
Isabel waved me away and took Petra away, slinging her arm over her shoulder.
"Are you sure you even understand it yourself—Ow!"
"Are you doubting my intelligence?! I've gone through it more times than I can count… so over fifteen times, at least!"
"That doesn't sound reassuring…"
"What's that all about? I guess she's excited to be a senior soldier."
Leaving Petra with Isabel, I made my way to the forest where the Titan-slaying training took place to relieve some stress.
There, I noticed Levi capturing the awe of the new Scouts as he was teaching them.
"How are we supposed to learn that?! I heard his rival, Lucian, can match his strength… Are they even human?!"
When I approached them, they jumped up in shock.
"Eh?! Squad Leader Lucian? What are yer doing here?"
Oruo, who looked way too old for his age and had a thick country accent, asked me in surprise.
"I've finished teaching my lot, so I came to train myself, but it seems it's occupied."
"Wow… so dedicated. Is it possible if you could teach us a thing or two?"
His eyes were gleaming so much that it kind of creeped me out.
"Well, I can't exactly teach you what I do… Sorry!"
In the end, I ran away.
Facing the eager expectations of these new Scouts was too much for me to handle.
I could help them with learning Erwin's tactics, but anything beyond that was outside my area of expertise, as most of my strength came from the system.
***
And so, the training and preparations continued until the day of the 25th expedition.
The first of these expeditions was solely to establish the extent of the lands within Wall Maria that had been taken over and infested with Titans.
Using that data, Erwin would lobby for more support from the Royal Government in the form of funding.
And so, we made it to the edge of the Trost District, facing the 50-metre-tall wall.
Behind me were my new subordinates.
Looking back at them, I felt guilty.
They were meant to be part of Squad Levi in the future, right?
Petra Rall, Gunther Schultz, Eld Jinn and Oruo Bozado.
They had graduated at the top of their class during their time in the Cadet Corps.
Erwin assigned them to me.
His reason was that I was one of the strongest soldiers.
When I mentioned Miche and Levi, he said their dispositions were unsuitable for handling fresh soldiers.
Well… Levi is quiet, and Miche has a weird smelling habit, so I guess he's not wrong.
"Is this really happening? We are the first to set foot in here since the invasion."
"What if there are more Titans than we anticipated?"
Oruo began blurting out his fears with teary eyes.
"Calm down, you guys. If anything, you should be grateful. There shouldn't be as many Titans out here compared to the outside, so it'll be easy."
"Is that true?! I guess we'll be fine since you're saying it. After all, I've heard you're the strongest in the Survey Corps."
Petra uttered that with pure confidence.
"Huh?! Who said that?"
"Oh, it was Big Sis!"
I facepalmed.
That's what she was teaching her.
"Okay, let's focus on the expedition ahead."
As I looked up, I noticed the Garrison Regiment reinforcing the wall above us with cannons.
"It seems they're doing something for once…"
Bing!
A large bell rang out.
"Thirty seconds until the opening! All hands, prepare to depart!"
Erwin commanded everyone.
And then the gates finally opened.
"The 25th expedition beyond the walls will now begin!"