It took a considerable amount of time to travel by carriage into Wall Sina. From inside the carriage, Erwin slightly lifted the curtain, carefully observing the surroundings.
There were no signs of ambush or military encirclement, just the casually joking and unserious garrison soldiers as usual.
Asahi had hypothesized... no, it could only be one of two scenarios. Either Rod Reiss stubbornly persisted, controlling the current government to take some action, meaning the carriage would now be surrounded not by brainless garrison soldiers but by a fully armed squad and numerous assassins. Or, he valued his own life, refrained from any foolish actions, and let events proceed as they would.
Evidently, Rod Reiss, after his failure in his own chapel, did not dare to make any noise.
"Are you worried, Frieda? I noticed you've been quite tense since we started."
Erwin lowered the curtain and turned to Frieda, who was sitting opposite him inside the carriage. A day ago, she had woken up and learned about everything that happened the previous night, which made her feel awkward, even ashamed.
Of course, Asahi had confirmed that this was caused by the will of the Founder acting up and had nothing to do with her.
"Ah, no... it's just that, everything is really..."
"Crazy, isn't it?"
"Hmm... perhaps. Actually... since I learned that my entire inheriting lineage would be controlled by a single person, I should have anticipated these things. But this is still truly beyond imagination..."
Frieda gave an awkward smile.
Erwin knew what she was talking about. The concept of will-force or spiritual energy felt too far-fetched, even for him. Compared to that, the inherited Titan power could at least be explained from a scientific perspective, but spiritual power... Asahi himself admitted that unless it reached a certain level, it would likely be dismissed as a joke.
However, Erwin still believed everything he said was true. Because he, too, felt it—the presence of his departed comrades.
The two inside the carriage chatted pleasantly, with none of the atmosphere preceding a coup d'état.
Meanwhile, outside the carriage.
Only a few Survey Corps soldiers walked around. They were merely there for protection, but in reality, to make Erwin feel less lonely. Even Frieda inside the carriage was registered under the title of Erwin's bodyguard.
So, where was Asahi?
He was currently concealed between the buildings, slowly watching the carriage move toward the City Hall, where Erwin was about to be questioned by the leaders of the current government.
"I hope you guys can be gentle..."
He mumbled, his figure slipping away like a phantom, quietly approaching the crucial armory and supply areas situated within the political center.
Asahi had recently experienced a physical breakthrough, reaching an almost unimaginable peak. Dealing with ordinary people was as easy as eating and drinking. But out of caution, he still decided to neutralize most of the Garrison and stationed troops' strength first. After that, wouldn't a bunch of people carrying only muskets be much easier to deal with?
However, he had, after all, overestimated these Garrison soldiers. During his stealth, he personally witnessed them selling their own equipment for spending money—truly utterly useless.
Managing the home front in such a manner further solidified his determination to dismantle this cancerous government.
Asahi didn't expect a government to be, or capable of being, 100% clean in its operation. But the selling of military equipment was public, and besides the new recruits, surely everyone had a piece of the action. A government whose most basic foundation was like this, what good was there in keeping it? A lesson for the young generation?
Not to mention they were quick to eliminate unstable elements but as slow as a snail in managing the people.
As for Erwin, he was separated from his carriage and proceeded into the palace where the "King" resided, under subtle surveillance. Looking at the luxurious dome and corridors he set foot in for the first time, Erwin thought he might be very excited, but no, he was unusually calm.
This luxury could not intimidate him or blind him. Erwin knew too much; with the breadth of knowledge he possessed, these luxurious things were nothing more than a waste.
He stepped into a grand hall, where in the center sat an old man on a throne positioned on the highest step of the room. Sitting pompously with one hand resting on his chin and a slight lean, the "King" looked down at Erwin from his seat, which was more than half a normal person's height above the floor. Surrounding the old man, on the lower steps, were the highest-ranking officials, or rather, the highest-ranking nobles inside the Walls.
Through his exchanges and information from Rod Reiss, Erwin also knew the ultimate identity of these people: they belonged to the lineages that followed King Fritz into the Walls and were not suppressed by the Founding Titan.
So, correctly speaking, the old man sitting on the throne should be the person with the lowest status, as he was merely propped up as a puppet.
And yet another round of neither warm nor cold, polite greetings took place. One impatient noble directly asked Erwin.
"Commander Erwin, we are very pleased about your promotion. Now, we, everyone here, want to confirm one thing: is what former Survey Corps Captain Keith Shadis recorded and sent out true?"
"Do you mean the matter of the breaching Titan and the extent of the damage?"
Erwin's eyes narrowed slightly. His question was also a test for the nobles. Although he was preparing for a coup, he still hoped that they genuinely had some concern for the people, so he could be a little lenient.
Unfortunately, Erwin was about to be disappointed.
The representative noble was fundamentally unconcerned, brushing aside the new commander's question and pointing straight to Asahi.
"No, we need to know about that individual, the one with unrivaled strength who defeated all the Titans and sealed the hole in the Wall. That is very important."
The noble openly stated his entire purpose, or rather, the purpose of this whole group of people. To them, they didn't need to be wary of Erwin, because in their eyes, he was just a petty commander of a "corps" of a few dozen people, not even worthy of polishing their shoes, let alone having the status to influence them.
They were even thinking that if Erwin performed well, they would grant him a small allowance to maintain "scouting outside the Walls," like an owner tossing a bone to a dog. It sounded crude, but it was the truth.
"Yes, that person is real. I saw him with my own eyes leaping over buildings without using any support equipment. He just bounced, like children playing."
"The huge, terrifying Titans, which cost us countless lives to kill, were butchered by him like pigs."
From the eyes of the nobles, Erwin saw fear—concern that someone could threaten their power. But simultaneously, he also saw something called "greed."