By the time Lillian arrived at the Survey Corps headquarters, it was already noon.
"They're not back yet?" he asked.
"New recruits," the soldier replied. "There's a lot for them to learn."
At the gate of headquarters, Lillian chatted casually with a member of the Survey Corps. He learned that the 104th Cadet Corps recruits had been taken out early in the morning by Commander Erwin for training and still hadn't returned.
"So, how was it?" the soldier asked with clear curiosity. "Was the king really that imposing?"
After all, Lillian's story had spread throughout the Walls. Surviving an expedition beyond the walls, being received by the king himself, and awarded the Medal of Valor—experiences like that were practically legendary.
"He was… fine," Lillian replied.
"That's amazing. I've never even seen the king. Then again, His Majesty stays in Wall Sina—no reason to come all the way to Rose."
As they spoke, a group of riders appeared in the distance, approaching rapidly. At the head of them was none other than Commander Erwin.
"They're back," the soldier said.
Behind Erwin were several veterans, but most of the group consisted of new recruits. Many familiar faces were among them.
As they drew closer, the cadets noticed Lillian standing there in a suit. Surprise flickered across their faces—they clearly hadn't expected to see him here.
In the middle of the formation, Krista lit up when she spotted him. She looked as if she wanted to speak, but after glancing at Erwin riding ahead, she swallowed her words and simply waved at him instead.
Erwin naturally noticed Lillian as well. Seeing this person of interest clearly piqued his curiosity, and the fleeting glint in his eyes did not escape Lillian.
So Erwin really is suspicious of me…
That suspicion, Lillian realized, hadn't started today.
Three years ago, after he returned from outside the Walls, Erwin had questioned him extensively—many of them trick questions. Thankfully, with the mind of an adult in a younger body, Lillian had barely managed to get through it. Still, Erwin had surely retained his doubts.
Later, during the graduation ceremony of the Cadet Corps, when Erwin gave his recruitment speech, Lillian had felt that his gaze lingered on him more than once. At the time, he hadn't been certain.
But now, he was almost one hundred percent sure.
Erwin likely suspected him of being an Intelligent Titan.
After all, Erwin had already deduced that the enemy was hiding within the military—and quite possibly among the new recruits. If Erwin had investigated Lillian's cadet history, then the incident with the broken maneuver gear simulator would surely have come to light. Suspicion was only natural.
When the group reached the gate, Lillian stepped forward and addressed Erwin directly.
"Commander Erwin. I am Lillian Kafka, a Military Police officer stationed in Stohess District, Wall Sina. I came today to visit my fellow cadets."
"That's acceptable," Erwin said with a nod. "But you'll only have one hour. After that, they have further training."
"Understood."
With that, Erwin rode into headquarters. The cadets, having been given permission to catch up, immediately dismounted and surrounded Lillian.
"Hey, Lillian—being in the Military Police really pays, huh?" Connie said enviously, reaching out to touch the fabric of Lillian's suit. "I couldn't afford this even with months of pay!"
"I only wore it when meeting the king," Lillian replied casually.
"Lillian! I saw in the papers that a bandit group got wiped out in your district yesterday! Were you involved? Were the bandits scary?"
Lillian nodded slightly. "They were manageable."
At someone's deliberate instruction, the newspapers hadn't mentioned that the operation had been led by Lillian and a group of new recruits—only that it was handled by the Military Police. Naturally, no one here knew the truth.
And Lillian had no intention of bragging about it anyway.
"Long time no see, Lillian," Eren said as he approached.
Lillian looked at him. Indeed, since Eren's Titan transformation, he had been taken away by the military. It had been over half a month since they'd last met.
"Yeah. It's been a while."
"I didn't expect you to join the Military Police."
The atmosphere grew awkward for a moment. Everyone could tell that this wasn't the most appropriate topic. But Eren was still Eren—this was before he became the decisive, ruthless figure of the future. His emotional intelligence was still a bit… straightforward.
Even so, Lillian still liked him. At this stage, Eren was genuinely a good friend who cared about others.
"So, uh… how is it in the Military Police?" Armin asked, as always trying to smooth things over. "Is the training tough?"
"Not as tough as yours," Lillian replied.
"Of course it is!" Jean grumbled. "We sleep less than six hours a day! The rest of the time we're training nonstop. Not like you lot, living the easy life!"
Lillian didn't bother responding.
"Alright, alright, enough of that," someone said. "Let's get the horses tied up first."
They headed inside together. Only after everyone else had gone in did Krista and Ymir walk up from behind.
"Krista, you've gotten prettier," Lillian said with a smile.
No matter what, over those three years, these two were the people he'd been closest to. Seeing them again genuinely made him happy.
"Hey! Don't say things like that!" Krista lightly punched his shoulder, her clear blue eyes filled with joy.
"Oi, shorty," Ymir said with her arms crossed, sizing him up. "You show up and immediately start hitting on my Krista? Looks like the Military Police really corrupted you. And you're dressed all fancy too."
"Long time no see, sharp-tongued woman," Lillian replied calmly, not rising to the bait. For a moment, he found himself at a loss for words.
Truth be told, he hadn't come with any grand purpose. He simply wanted to see them.
Though he'd told Annie something about a "thirty percent death rate," in reality, he knew that with Ymir around, Krista wouldn't be among those casualties.
In the end, he'd just been making excuses for himself.
Because really—it was simple.
He just wanted to see his friends again.
"I'm kind of hungry," Lillian said, glancing at the two of them. "As the 'hosts,' wouldn't you ladies like to treat me to a meal?"
"Huh?" Ymir raised an eyebrow. "I—"
"Sure!" Krista cut her off. "But we're not allowed to go out to eat. We can only eat at the mess hall. Still, the food here is really good—much better than when we were trainees!" As she spoke, she seemed to think of something and added a little shyly, "Of course, it probably still can't compare to what you get in the Military Police…"
"I'm telling you, do you all imagine the Military Police as some kind of paradise?"
Lillian felt a bit helpless. In everyone's eyes, it was as if the Military Police never had to work, earned high salaries, and ate exceptionally well.
"Huh? Isn't that how it is?" Krista blinked at him curiously.
"Let's talk while we walk."
The three of them headed toward the mess hall, and Lillian explained the general situation of the Military Police along the way.
"That kind of life you're imagining does exist—but only for officers. For first-year recruits like us, this is when we work the hardest. The pay is average, and the food is just slightly better than the trainee corps. Remember how that 'potato girl' said you could eat as much meat as you wanted every day if you joined the Military Police? If she really joined, she'd probably regret it to death."
What Lillian said was true. On the surface, the Military Police looked great, but in reality, life there wasn't much better than in the other branches. After layer upon layer of people above skimmed off benefits, what actually reached the soldiers was barely enough. Of course, once you survived your first year as a recruit and got familiar with your superiors, you could flip roles—going from being exploited to doing the exploiting.
"So it's like that…" Krista hadn't expected life in the Military Police to be this way.
Ymir, on the other hand, curled her lip disdainfully. "Even so, it's still better than the Survey Corps. At least you don't have to worry about getting eaten by Titans."
"That's true," Lillian said.
But some people, he thought, were far more terrifying than Titans.
"Then… Lillian, the reason you joined the Military Police is—?"
"To be honest, I think it's pretty boring too," Lillian said. "Joining the Military Police wasn't entirely my own choice. You should understand—the government needed a spokesperson who had returned from beyond the Walls, and they chose me. Of course, I could have refused."
"But you didn't," Ymir said.
"Of course he couldn't!" Krista said immediately. "That would have been dangerous, wouldn't it?"
"Maybe…"