"Only been here a week, and you've already stirred up this much trouble…"
At the Military Police headquarters, Commander Nile read the report from the Stohess District and found his impression of Lillian deepening yet again.
Although the report stated that "under the leadership of the vice-commander, a bandit gang of more than ten members was successfully eliminated," no one understood the inner workings of the Military Police better than Nile himself. Naturally, he knew full well that the real credit belonged to Lillian.
In fact, when the bandits had been escorted back to headquarters, the route deliberately went through the main streets. Many civilians had seen it with their own eyes. Once word spread, the vice-commander claiming the credit became rather meaningless.
"Let's just record it for now."
Nile had no intention of promoting Lillian directly. Doing so would violate the unspoken rules that held the entire system together.
The relationship between an emperor and the nobility was much the same. The emperor himself was the greatest noble—or rather, the embodiment of noble interests. In a feudal system, if an emperor acted against those interests, the only outcome was a change of emperor. Of course, in more modern times, as public consciousness awakened, aristocratic power lost its dominance and the people became the true force.
But within the Walls, that day was still very far away.
"Still… quite a few people are keeping their eyes on this kid."
Nile glanced at a sealed letter on his desk—it was from Erwin of the Survey Corps, asking him to closely monitor Lillian. No explanation was given, but knowing Erwin's character, it certainly wasn't a baseless request.
What surprised Nile even more was that Chief Commander Zachary had also mentioned Lillian to him in passing. From his tone, it sounded as though he wanted to bring Lillian under his own command. Since he hadn't said it outright, Nile hadn't raised the topic either.
In short, many eyes were watching this young man. Still… rising too fast was not necessarily a good thing.
---
"What do we do now, Vice-Commander?"
"Damn it…"
Inside the Military Police sub-headquarters in Stohess District, a battalion commander stood there with a miserable expression.
"Several other groups have already relocated. They think we're no longer willing to cooperate—so they believe that's why we suddenly wiped out one gang."
The vice-commander's face darkened. Veins bulged on the hands pressed against his desk.
"How the hell was I supposed to know that kid would act without filing a report? Fine. Real fine. He shows up and immediately cuts off my source of income!"
"But… he was received by the King. He also has the Medal of Valor," the battalion commander said cautiously. "Commander Nile also mentioned that he's special. We definitely can't deal with him the same way we handle other disobedient subordinates."
"Right. A 'royal favorite' can't be handled by conventional means."
The vice-commander sneered and waved his hand.
"Doesn't he like catching criminals? Fine. Go talk to the other groups. We'll give him opportunities—plenty of them—to catch bandits."
"Uh…"
"When that kid ends up dead at the hands of bandits," the vice-commander continued calmly as he lit a cigarette, "that won't have anything to do with us. Oh—and investigate his subordinates too. Find a weakness."
"Understood," the battalion commander nodded. "I'll take care of it right away."
"Good. Keep it clean."
"Yes, sir."
---
Morning.
It was the rest day for Lillian's batch of new recruits—a full day of free activity. Many had changed into civilian clothes and gone shopping or returned home. Even if the credit they received wasn't much, they had still earned bonuses, which meant a lot to most of them.
After all, most people who joined the Military Police didn't come from wealthy families. And unlike Lillian and Annie—one who grew up alone, the other with her only remaining family member thousands of miles away—most still had relatives waiting for them. In Lillian's opinion, that selfish old man of Annie's wasn't worth missing anyway.
"Marlo, you're not going home?" Lillian asked as he changed into civilian clothes, glancing at Marlo, who sat on the bed reading.
Marlow nodded. "It's only been a little over a week. No need to go back. I want to use this day to read more and make up for what I lack."
"I see."
Lillian thought that the books inside the Walls were unbearably dull—products of deliberate ignorance. Even fictional stories weren't allowed to depict anything beyond the Walls. Not even fantasy. Write it, and you'd be invited for a 'talk.' That alone spoke volumes about how suffocating it was.
"By the way, Captain" Marlow said suddenly, "there's something I still don't quite understand."
"What is it? And when it's just us, you don't need to call me 'Captain.' Just Lillian is fine."
"Oh… it's about yesterday. When you asked that child whether she wanted to become a soldier. I don't think she really wanted to."
"Hmm?"
"I could tell," Marlo said quietly. "It was admiration—or gratitude. She wanted to become a Military Police officer like you."
He looked troubled. "But if she grows up and really joins the Military Police, and then sees how different reality is from what she imagined… she'll be deeply disappointed."
"…"
"To be honest, people like you are rare in the Military Police. Most of them are indulgent, corrupt types…"
"You're right," Lillian said, nodding. "But so what?"
Marlow looked at him, confused.
"Learning how to judge right and wrong is something she must do herself. No one can do it for her," Lillian said calmly. "You're right—she may not truly want to be a soldier. She agreed because of me. And that is exactly my intention."
"If her parents were alive and her life stable, I would never have said that. But for her current situation, becoming a soldier is the safest way for her to survive the next three most vulnerable years of her life. You know what happens to unprotected young girls in the slums."
"After three years, she'll have at least some ability to protect herself. At that point, whatever choice she makes will truly be her own."
Marlo listened in a daze, then nodded slowly.
"You'd already thought that far ahead…?"
"Is it far?" Lillian replied. "Or did you simply never think about it?"
"…"
Marlo fell silent, then sighed heavily. "There must be so many children like her. It feels like we can't really help them."
"Help one when you can," Lillian said, glancing at the book in Marlo's hands. "When I get the chance, I'll give you a book. You definitely haven't read it. There's a line in it I really like."
"'To save one person is to save the entire world.'"
Marlow's eyes lit up. "What's the book called? I'll go look for it!"
Lillian smiled faintly. "'Schindler's List.' Don't worry—you won't find it."