Wall Sheena, Stohess District
"Commander Erwin, you owe us a perfect explanation. Why didn't you bring back Eren Yeager, whom the King ordered to be summoned?"
Facing the interrogation from the head of Stohess District, Erwin, seated opposite him, appeared extremely calm.
Levi stood beside Erwin. This was an exquisitely furnished conference room, where the power of the entire Stohess District was concentrated. Present were Erwin's former comrades, including the commander of the Military Police, Nile Dawk, as well as several minor nobles and priests of the Wall Church. Surrounding them was a ring of Military Police soldiers holding muskets.
"District Head, please allow me to explain this matter slowly. At the same time, I believe everyone present should take a look at this report." Erwin stood up, bowed, and addressed the room.
As Erwin's longtime friend, and with years of experience honed as commander of the Military Police, Nile knew that these powerful figures weren't particularly concerned with the true purpose of the Survey Corps. At the very least, they needed to know Eren's current situation.
So Nile spoke up. "Erwin, put that aside for now. Where is Eren Yeager at this moment?" If he didn't remind Erwin, who knew what ideas certain influential people inside the Walls might get.
Erwin glanced at Nile and said, "Eren Yeager is currently stationed at a Survey Corps outpost within Wall Rose. The other new recruits have also been assigned to a different outpost. As for why, that is precisely what this report explains."
"Wait a moment—are you saying that none of the new recruits returned to Stohess District?" a Wall Church priest suddenly interjected.
Erwin looked at the questioning priest. The Wall Church usually didn't meddle in such affairs—why would he ask this? Still, Erwin answered,
"Yes. None of the new recruits have rejoined the main force."
A strange glint flashed through the priest's eyes, and he fell silent.
...
Hiss! The sound of steam evaporating. The napes of two Titan bodies leaning against giant trees were split open, and two figures stepped out. Yago tore away the flesh stuck to his face and looked at the wooden cabin before him.
This was a supply station of the Survey Corps. Behind Yago, Annie followed at his side, her blonde hair hanging loose.
After eliminating more than a dozen Titans, the Fate Titan and the Female Titan relied on their formidable endurance to run all the way here.
Yago and Annie came here to resupply. After all, they couldn't appear before people in Titan form, and Annie's Female Titan had, to some extent, caused casualties among the Survey Corps.
Yago had seen Annie's memories and knew she had already done her best to avoid harming Survey Corps soldiers. No matter what happened afterward, Yago would choose to stand with Annie. Even if Annie were guilty, Yago was willing to bear it together with her.
The wooden door wasn't locked. Titans wouldn't climb trees to pry open locks anyway. Opening the door, Yago and Annie split up to search for supplies.
Prying open a wooden crate and seeing the relatively new Vertical Maneuvering Equipment inside, Yago let out a sigh of relief. Remaining in Titan form was no small drain.
On Annie's side, she found some signal flares and gas canisters.
"Strange. Why is there no food here?" Yago rubbed his slightly hungry stomach.
Annie was replenishing the gas for the Vertical Maneuvering Equipment. Perhaps unused to leaving her hair loose, she occasionally reached up to brush aside strands that slipped in front of her eyes.
Yago thought for a moment, walked over to another crate, and found several brand-new cloaks inside. He unpacked one of them and pulled out a few threads, twisting them together.
While refilling the gas, Annie suddenly felt someone grab her hair. Startled, she turned her head—and saw Yago carefully smoothing her hair and tying it up with a rather ugly piece of string.
"Don't move! I'm almost done!" Noticing Annie turning around, Yago panicked and directly pressed down on her head.
He managed to finish tying a bun before Annie could get angry. Annie touched her hair, a little surprised—it was actually tied pretty well.
"All set. Annie looks better with a bun!" Yago said, very satisfied with her hair.
"Huh? Are you saying I don't look good without a bun?" Annie shot back, zeroing in on the key point.
"Uh—how could that be? Annie looks good no matter what!" Yago's survival instinct went into overdrive.
Annie rolled her eyes at him and continued refilling the gas.
Yago walked outside the cabin and stared at the grass beneath the trees, as if deep in thought.
...
"What? Yago is also a Titan? How is that possible?" Eren, who had just woken up lying in bed, was shocked, his face full of disbelief.
Armin and Mikasa were by his side. At this moment, Armin told Eren an even more astonishing piece of news.
"Eren, we can almost confirm the identity of the Female Titan as well."
Eren thought of the Female Titan who had bitten off his legs and pressed, "Who is it?"
"It's very likely… Annie."
Eren's eyes widened. What was going on? How had all his companions turned into Titans?
"Th-this… Annie is a Titan too? Then Yago—is he with Annie?"
Armin shook his head. "No. According to what Mikasa said, the Titan Yago turned into seemed to fight the Female Titan, which gave the captain and Mikasa a chance to rescue you. And earlier, during the Battle to Retake Trost District, Yago also transformed into a Titan to help."
Never imagining that a companion of three years would turn into a Titan and attack him, Eren fell silent for a moment.
"What's the situation now? Where are we?"
Seeing how badly shaken Eren was, Armin swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue. That speculation was better not told to Eren for now.
...
"So the identities of the Titans who destroyed the Walls have been confirmed? Erwin, you're not joking, are you?" Nile asked with a disbelieving expression.
Erwin replied calmly, "It's not one hundred percent certain, but we have more than a ninety percent chance of confirming that those enemies who can transform into Titans are hiding among the Survey Corps' new recruits."
The head of Stohess District looked uneasy—half unable to believe it, half deeply worried. He asked Erwin,
"So that's why you didn't bring those new recruits back, correct?"
Erwin nodded. "Yes, District Head. Bringing them back rashly could very well cause casualties in Stohess District, so I took it upon myself to station the recruits at various outposts and assign elite soldiers to guard them."
Hearing Erwin's words, the district head finally let out a sigh of relief. If Titans were truly hidden among the soldiers, Stohess District would indeed face disaster.
"Then does the Survey Corps require assistance from the Military Police? As for the royal capital, I will report truthfully to the government. The government should understand."
Erwin stood up and said solemnly, "Thank you for your trust. As for the Military Police, if we can obtain their assistance, that would naturally be ideal. Commander Nile, what do you think?"
Nile said, "Tch. The Military Police will deploy!"
Erwin was clever—he knew he had to get the Military Police involved, otherwise the people in the capital wouldn't be at ease letting the Survey Corps act alone.
"Good. Everyone, we have long been on the defensive. But now, it's time for humanity to strike back!" Erwin declared with ringing conviction.