Three branches guard the last of humanity: the Garrison Regiment, the Military Police Brigade, and the Survey Corps.
The Garrison Regiment is tasked with reinforcing and repairing the walls. The Military Police Brigade operates within the inner walls, serving the king and maintaining order among the people—but entry is exclusive. Only the top ten cadets from each year's Training Corps may apply, and seasoned Garrison soldiers may qualify for transfer.
Then there's the Survey Corps. The most dangerous of them all. They venture outside the walls, confronting the Titans head-on. Their death rate is terrifyingly high.
At the gate ahead, I spotted three more Garrison soldiers. Like Hannes, they were slumped over and visibly drunk.
"Huh? What's wrong with drinking a little?" one of them slurred, chugging another bottle, their posture slack and carefree.
"Aren't you all supposed to be on duty?" Eren asked, anxiety flickering in his eyes as he looked between the swaying soldiers and the red-faced Hannes.
"Yep! It's our shift today to guard the gate," Hannes chuckled, his steps light and unstable. "Sitting here all day gets real dull, so we spice up our drinks. A little alcohol never hurt anybody, right?"
Eren's expression darkened. "Can you even fight in an emergency like this?"
"Emergency?" Hannes tilted his head, confused. "What kind of emergency?"
"You know—if the Titans break through the wall and flood the city!" Eren shouted, his voice echoing beneath the archway.
"Whoa now, Eren. No need to shout…" Hannes grinned, scratching his head.
"Pffft! This kid's full of fire!" one of the black-haired soldiers stood and approached us, laughing as he placed his hands on his hips.
"If those monsters ever break through the wall, of course we'd fight! But come on, it's been a hundred years since that happened. Not even once!" the man added with a boozy swagger.
"But it's exactly that kind of complacency that's dangerous!" Eren protested fiercely. "My father said so!"
"Dr. Yeager, huh?" Hannes blinked, sobering slightly. "He's earned his respect, I'll give you that. When the epidemic hit this district, he saved us all. A real hero."
He glanced up at the looming wall above them, as if the memory of the doctor's deeds sparked something deep inside. "But Titans… they're not like disease. When we repair the wall, we sometimes catch glimpses of them beyond. And honestly, I don't think they could ever do anything to a fifty-meter wall like this…"
The confidence in his voice was misplaced. He stared at the wall as if it were invincible, never once imagining it might fall.
"So… you're telling me you've never actually prepared to fight them at all?" Eren asked, his voice low and bitter.
"That's right," Hannes replied with a lazy grin, echoed by a few shoulder shrugs from his fellow soldiers.
"What kind of soldier says that?! You're not Garrison Regiment—you're just Wall Maintenance Workers!"
"That doesn't sound so bad," one of them muttered, chuckling again.
"But Eren," Hannes added, more seriously now, "if it ever comes to the soldiers actually fighting, that means the worst has already happened. So long as we're lazy and lounging around… it means peace is holding. Isn't that a good thing?"
"...Even if I spend my whole life inside these walls… eating, sleeping, and doing nothing… wouldn't that just make us livestock?" Eren muttered.
Hannes froze.
The words hung in the air like a challenge, and the other soldiers couldn't help but laugh.
"This kid's got guts, huh?"
"He can't even do anything, but still talks big! Right, Hannes?"
There was no point in arguing anymore. I gave Eren and Mikasa a nod, and we walked away from the stench of alcohol lingering around the Garrison post.
The three of us walked side by side down the cobbled path. Our home wasn't far now.
"Eren, I really think you should reconsider joining the Survey Corps…" Mikasa said softly, breaking the silence.
"Why? Do you think it's stupid?" Eren asked sharply, not hiding his irritation.
"It's not about being stupid or not…" Mikasa replied, casting a quiet glance toward me. I kept my eyes forward, saying nothing.
Just then, the city's bells rang out loud.
"The Survey Corps is back! The front gate is opening!" Eren's eyes lit up with hope. "Come on, Sandra! Mikasa! Let's welcome the heroes!"
He grabbed our hands and pulled us through the crowd toward the city gate.
People lined the streets, standing in silence as soldiers rode in through the massive gate. Eren climbed a stack of crates to get a better look. He wasn't tall enough to see otherwise, and his admiration for the Survey Corps made his eyes burn with intensity.
Cloaked in green, the returning soldiers rode in slowly on horseback, heads bowed low. Their bodies were splattered with blood—some their own, some not.
These supposed symbols of freedom—these heroes—couldn't meet anyone's gaze. The wagons behind them told the real story.
Some survivors limped beside the horses, their limbs bound in bloodied bandages. Others were silent… dead weight in the carts. Corpses and dying breaths dragged back from the outside world.
Of the proud hundred who rode out beyond the walls… only a handful returned.
"There's so few of them left…"
"Guess the Titans ate the rest."
"They brought it on themselves, going out there… If they'd stayed inside, this wouldn't have happened."
Adults around us whispered their judgments. But one voice broke through the murmurs—an old woman.
"Moses… Has anyone seen my son Moses? Where is he?" she cried, clutching at a soldier near the front.
It was the Commander of the Survey Corps.
"This is Moses' mother. Bring it forward," he said softly.
The street fell silent.
A soldier handed the old woman a bundle wrapped in blood-stained cloth.
Her hands trembled as she unwrapped it, revealing a severed arm. The blood was fresh.
That was all that remained of her son.
"…This is all we could recover."
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