The meeting room was noisy and chaotic, even livelier than a street market. Overall, though, the New Army officers still held opposing opinions. Of course, there were also a few experienced officers with sharp insight who realized the deeper meaning behind the war, so it wasn't as if no one supported Yago.
Some radical young officers even proposed taking advantage of the Marleyans' current turmoil to strike them from behind—both to avenge the Eldians enslaved by Marley and to loudly announce to the world that the Eldian people had once again stepped onto the world stage.
It had to be said, the moment this idea was brought up, it truly stirred the hearts of many people. More than half of the officers turned their gazes toward Yago, who had remained silent at the head of the table.
Previously, the conflict between the Imperial Faction and the Revivalists on Paradis Island had spread far and wide. Although the Imperial Faction, under Arno Zott's leadership, had boldly launched a coup, the entire incident ultimately ended in an almost farcical manner, with the Imperial Faction losing everything in a single misstep.
Some members of the Imperial Faction even suspected that Arno Zott had been a spy sent by the Revivalists, deliberately encouraging them to go all in and leading them to complete annihilation. No matter how one looked at it, the Imperial Faction had failed. Their influence within the military was entirely reshuffled, the remaining noble factions were completely purged from the army, and the New Army's reforms had no need for those stubborn old aristocrats. As for the lower-ranking soldiers, they were all reorganized into the New Army and forced to undergo daily ideological and political reeducation.
With the fall of the Imperial Faction, the Revivalists naturally seized the opportunity to rapidly expand. It could even be said that on today's Paradis Island, the Revivalists stood alone in dominance, and their influence was still growing by the day.
More than three-quarters of the soldiers in the New Army had accepted the Revivalists' ideology. Much of that credit belonged to the backbone members of the Eldian Revolutionary Army who had come from Marley's capital. Furthermore, compared to the Imperial Faction's slogan of rebuilding the Eldian Empire, the Revivalists' call for the revival of the Eldian people sounded far gentler and more righteous, making it easier for ordinary civilians to accept, understand, and even support.
The rapid expansion of the Revivalists also caused Yago's power and status to swell dramatically. Even though Yago had yet to turn twenty, the titles of leader of the Eldian Revivalists and commander of the Eldian Revolutionary Army brought him enormous authority and glory.
In the eyes of many ordinary soldiers, Yago had practically become deified. That was also the reason why, when Yago forcefully demanded the position of Supreme Military Commander of Paradis Island, there had been no voices of opposition.
However, such power also brought Yago certain troubles.
Back when the Imperial Faction first rose on Paradis Island, the island parliament's upper echelons had deliberately supported both the Revivalists and the Imperial Faction to maintain balance.
But now, the higher-ups were equally unwilling to see the Revivalists monopolize Paradis Island. They were filled with wariness toward Yago.
It was rather ridiculous—a bunch of old men with a combined age of several hundred years fearing a young man who wasn't even twenty yet.
Prime Minister Pixis had privately sought out Yago and directly expressed the parliament's concerns about him. Yago, however, merely smiled it off. In truth, all the parliament could do was remain wary.
Not to mention Yago's personal influence within the New Army—even the hundred thousand Eldian Revolutionary Army soldiers stationed across the sea were enough to prevent the parliament from entertaining any reckless thoughts. Moreover, the Eastern region nations currently assisting Paradis Island's development also shared close ties with Yago.
Prime Minister Pixis naturally understood this very well.
But personally, he did not care in the slightest.
Why?
Was it trust in Yago's character, or some other reason?
No one knew.
Pixis only knew that the wine from across the sea stored in Yago's office tasted exceptionally good, and that before leaving, he absolutely had to take all of it with him.
Prime Minister Pixis had never been a stubborn or narrow-minded man. If he were, he never would have helped Erwin and the Survey Corps launch their coup back then.
In his heart, fine wine and the future of the Eldian people were what mattered most.
Ignoring the issue of age, based on Yago's abilities alone, Pixis felt that even if Yago truly established a military dictatorship, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He even thought letting Yago inherit the throne would be fine too.
After all, whoever sat on the throne was still sitting on the throne. Wouldn't replacing them with someone more capable be better?
Besides, the little queen on the throne spent all day thinking about skipping work anyway.
Still, Yago's decision to convene a high-level military meeting today left Prime Minister Pixis somewhat surprised.
Because logically speaking, if Yago truly wanted to launch a war, there was no need to convene any so-called high-level military meeting at all. He could completely ignore the officers' disputes. The ordinary soldiers all supported Yago anyway.
Whether war began or not was merely a matter of a single thought from Yago.
Yet now, Yago had voluntarily called everyone together to discuss it.
That made things rather intriguing.
A compromise?
One could put it that way.
Yago truly was compromising.
The authority and glory attached to him were never things he wanted. Neither the identity of leader of the Revivalists nor commander of the Revolutionary Army was something Yago desired.
As for military dictatorship or the throne itself, Yago had never once considered them.
If he truly had anything he wanted, then what Yago wanted was a simple life.
A normal nine-to-five job.
Regular vacations whenever he pleased.
High pay with little work.
Being able to stay by Annie's side every day.
Helping Annie take care of the children.
Showing concern for his parents.
That was the life Yago wanted.
But just like the power resting upon his shoulders, fate was something he had no choice but to face.
Only Yago knew the future.
And only Yago could change it.
In the memories of older Eren, Yago had seen the desperate Eren unleash the Rumbling to destroy the world, sacrificing his own life to fulfill the wishes of his comrades and loved ones, while the Eldian people slowly marched toward destruction amidst endless madness.
Yago could not bear to watch those scenes from older Eren's memories become reality.
He could not watch his family and companions die before his eyes one after another.
He could not watch the Eldian people head toward extinction.
Therefore, the burden of changing all of fate rested solely upon him.
There was no one he could confide in.
Nor did Yago have many choices.
If—
And only if—
One day Yago faced the same choice Eren once had...
What choice would he make?
Yago questioned his own heart.
But after a moment, even he couldn't help but laugh softly.
"What am I even thinking about? I'm a selfish person. Does this really require any thought?"
"Commander, please tell us your opinion," said a white-haired female officer decisively. She had once belonged to the Garrison Regiment and was now one of the New Army squad leaders.
Seeing her, Yago paused slightly.
He remembered her.
Back during the battle to reclaim Trost, when Eren's Titan identity had been exposed and a crowd of Garrison soldiers had shouted about eliminating Eren as a threat, the valiant female Squad Leader Rico before him had seemingly been among them.
Unexpectedly, Rico had joined the New Army.
Yago sighed faintly in thought.
"My opinion?"
Yago smiled.
"My opinion is very simple. We join the war... and defeat the Far East."
(A/N: Final Season already. We all know the ending that awaits us, yet we still watch on, just so we can say one final thing to the boy who spent his entire life chasing freedom: Safe travels, Eren.)