The commander's handover

"Hange, the Survey Corps is entrusted to you. I hope you can lead these Wings of Freedom well."

Wearing a military uniform, Erwin handed a folded flag bearing the Wings of Freedom to Hange. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Survey Corps Soldiers and representatives of other legions and factions, Commander Erwin —no, it should now be said that he was the Commander Erwin Corps—passed the Commander of the Survey Corps to Hange Zoë.

Looking at the Wings of Freedom banner in her hand, Hange's expression was somewhat complicated. She slightly raised her head and whispered in a voice only she and Erwin could hear, "Erwin, you know I'm not suited to be Commander. I'm not cut out for it. Why not let Mike do it?"

Erwin smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "How will you know you can't do it if you don't try? Mike and Levi strongly support you becoming the Commander, as do your subordinates and the Survey Corps Soldiers. Everyone trusts you completely, Hange."

Hange was taken aback by what he heard. He turned his head and saw that most of the Survey Corps Soldiers had expectant eyes. His old buddies Nile and Mike, as well as his subordinates, were all smiling as if encouraging him. Even the guy who always had dead fish eyes had a rare smile on his face.

Suddenly, Hange felt a surge of responsibility welling up within her, and an unknown force encouraged her to straighten her back.

Erwin shouted at the opportune moment, "Gentlemen! Zoë Hange has taken office as the new Commander of the Survey Corps. She will lead the Survey Corps forward and Dedicate Your Hearts for the future of humanity and the future of Eldia!" Erwin clenched his right fist and slammed it into his left chest.

Immediately, the hundreds of Survey Corps Soldiers below the stage were also moved, placing their right fists on their left chests and shouting, "Dedicate Your Hearts! (心臓を捧げよ!)"

The Scout, including Eren, were chanting the declaration of Dedicate Your Hearts for humanity. Hange, on the stage, was also very excited, holding the Wings of Freedom flag in front of her and shouting the slogan along with them.

Amidst such enthusiastic cheers, Hange Zoë officially became the fourteenth Commander of the Survey Corps.

Representatives from other legions and factions applauded to celebrate the Survey Corps, while on a separate platform, Prime Minister Zackly and a group of Parliament representatives watched the scene with delight.

To be honest, the hundreds of Survey Corps Soldiers weren't really worth the attention of these important figures. They were more concerned about them because of the new Nanbu Command Commander Erwin, or rather, the Queen.

Indeed, Historia, dressed in a magnificent gown, was also on the Throne cheering for the Survey Corps. Her rosy cheeks left Ymir, who was standing beside her, speechless.

However, while some were happy, others were sad. Several pairs of eyes in the crowd were not friendly when they looked at Hange.

Arno, dressed in Military Police Brigade uniform, looked at the excited Hange and the Survey Corps Soldiers chanting slogans with a cold expression, a mocking smile unconsciously appearing on his face. "Dedicate Your Hearts for humanity? Don't they understand the plight of us Eldians?" Arno whispered to Lance beside him.

Lance frowned. "What do you mean?"

Arno sneered, "Are you still pretending to be confused? Don't you know Commander Hange? Don't you understand her attitude towards our Imperialists? With such a troublemaker around, how can our Imperialists develop?"

Lance paused for a moment, then said helplessly, "Arno, don't you think our current actions have strayed somewhat from our original intentions? We are here to restore the glory of the Eldians, not to scheme against our own people."

"If we're not united internally, how can we possibly restore the glory of the Eldians? There are always some naive guys who pin their hopes on negotiating with other countries. Negotiations? Negotiations my ass! Haven't the Eldia Restorationists told us enough? The humans in the outside world don't even consider us Eldians as human beings. Why should we negotiate?" Arno questioned Lance, Lance was rendered speechless.

But Lance had his bottom line. "No matter what, we can't lay a hand on our own people, Arno. That's our bottom line."

Arno forced a smile and said, "Of course..." but the look in his eyes wasn't exactly friendly.

Lance also saw Arno's gloomy gaze and was about to say something when a sudden voice from behind made them both pause.

"Senior! Would you be interested in learning more about our Eldia Revivalists?" A young man with a youthful face, wearing a uniform bearing the insignia of the Sword of Extermination, asked. Was he a young Training Corps from the Training Corps?

The brown-haired Training Corps was handing out a stack of leaflets to the Soldiers watching the Survey Corps Commander's handover Ritual, patiently explaining the Eldia Revivalists theory they were talking about.

Arno and Lance also took a flyer. Arno glanced at it briefly and then crumpled it into a ball with disdain, saying, "Full of nonsense, all empty talk!"

Lance, on the other hand, was watching very intently, his expression suggesting he was deep in thought.

Arno looked at the young Training Corps holding the leaflets with an unnatural expression. What was this suddenly appearing Eldia Revivalists? Had they been growing so rapidly lately? Many Soldiers around Arno showed a hint of interest as they looked at the leaflets, which made Arno feel threatened.

"Alex! You're here? Have you handed out all the flyers?" A blonde girl, also wearing Training Corps, ran towards them, panting.

Alex quickly waved his arms, and when he saw the girl's empty hands, he exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Louise, you've already finished? That's amazing!"

Louise touched her nose smugly. "Of course! Let's hurry up, I'm here to help you. Today's a rare day off, we must do our best to promote our Eldia Revivalists!"

Alex nodded vigorously in agreement.

Looking at the two energetic young Training Corps, even the usually stern Lance showed a rare smile. "These young Soldiers are really energetic these days."

Arno said nothing, threw away the crumpled paper in his hand, and left without looking back.

Among the crowd, some people were watching Arno and Lance's movements. Floch, dressed in plain clothes, stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall not far from the two. He observed their behavior until Commander Erwin announced Hange as the new Commander of the Survey Corps. Only then did Floch look away and silently bow to Hange and Erwin.

(P. S. Alex: The boy Yago met by chance in Chapter 57; Louise: The girl Mikasa saved in Trost District)

(P. S. I need to take my final exam in Marxism Muzi, so I'm taking the day off in advance. As usual, I'll make up for it with a double update the day after tomorrow.)