Words of Regret

"Would you like to come back with me to meet your grandparents? They might not even know you exist, Eren." In the hallway, Zeke, hands in his pockets, asked Eren beside him.

Eren leaned against the corridor railing, gazing absently at the distant city. The rows of houses stretched as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, a hint of melancholy flashed in Eren's green eyes, as if he had remembered something. Hearing Zeke's question, Eren shook his head. "No, there's no need for that. There's no need to disturb the peaceful lives of the two elders. It's fine as it is. If Father were still alive, he would think the same way. This is good for me, and good for them both."

Zeke chuckled, and couldn't help but walk over to Eren, reaching out to ruffle Eren hair with a look of pure enjoyment. "What a thoughtful child. If I could, I'd really like to be your Big Brother forever!"

Eren slapped Zeke's hand away impatiently. "Go away. I don't want Older Brother like you. If I could, I'd rather you go and reunite with Father right now."

Hearing Eren's words, Zeke wasn't angry. He stood beside Eren. Besides, Eren wasn't wrong. He only had one year left to live. He would use this last year, not for anything else, but to hell with the future of Eldia. He would just dedicate himself to making his Little Brother happy. Wasn't that a promise someone had made?

"By the way, when are you planning to get together with that Ackerman girl? Big Brother only has one year left, can't you let Big Brother attend one of his wedding banquets before you leave? That way I won't have any regrets," Zeke said teasingly.

Zeke was teasing Eren, but strangely, Eren didn't get angry. Instead, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, as if he had thought of something happy. "Yeah, no regrets. It'll be over soon, even if it's only four years. But Yago was right, everyone is selfish. Mikasa, I like you, no, I love you!"

Hearing Eren's words, Zeke's eyes widened. He... he actually said it? Zeke quickly looked around, but unfortunately, only he and Eren were there. After a long while, Zeke sighed regretfully, "What a pity. Couldn't you have said it in front of that girl? She would have even cut down Titan for you. If I had said it to her just now, how happy that Ackerman girl would have been."

Eren turned around, his green eyes pure and clear, and he looked very confident. He smiled at Zeke and said, "Only you heard what I just said, Zeke? I believe Zeke isn't the kind of person who would talk nonsense in front of others, right, Nii-san (Older Brother)?"

Although it wasn't the "Big Brother" he wanted to hear, Zeke still involuntarily trembled when he heard Eren call him "Older Brother," a strange emotion welling up inside him. "Yeah, that's right, I definitely am."

In the spacious office, Yago sat comfortably in a chair, legs crossed, twirling a pen in his hand. Yago's arrival had effectively given Selina's large office a new owner. After receiving a disapproving glare from Selina, Yago successfully settled into the large leather chair. Well, as the boss, he had to enjoy some privileges, right?

There seemed to be some commotion coming from the smaller office next door. That must be Erwin's office, right? These days, many new Officer who were formerly from the Survey Corps have taken leave to visit their old superior, Erwin. In this respect, our current Commander Hange is probably far inferior to him. Or rather, Yago has always believed that Hange is not suitable to be the Commander of the Survey Corps.

The research team might be the most suitable place for Hange, but Commander Hange doesn't agree. Although technology is very attractive, Commander Hange refuses to relinquish her position Commander of the Survey Corps. In her words, she can only hand over the Survey Corps with peace of mind when a truly suitable Commander appears. Yago is a good candidate, but going from Commander-in-Chief to Commander is like going from a general to a private. Yago, who has only enjoyed his privileges for two days, will not agree to it.

Before Yago lay a detailed world map on the table. The map was exquisite and accurate. Except for the location of Paradis Island, which was blank, all other places were marked in detail. Almost every city in every country was marked. On the map, many cities were already circled in red. There were many cities, and they came from all over the world. There were cities in Marley, cities in the Middle East, and even some cities in the Far East.

Looking at the cities he had enclosed, Yago revealed a rather wicked smile. War, cruel and ruthless, but it cannot be denied that war can sometimes be an opportunity.

Suddenly, a voice, audible only to him, rang in his ears. "Don't be silly, child. You know, if we work together, we can become gods! Gods who can control humanity, even the world!"

The seductive voice kept echoing in his ears, but Yago remained calm, still enthusiastically marking and circling on the map. When he became too annoyed, Yago swung his fist and punched his ear hard. A loud buzzing sound instantly rushed to his brain. Apart from a little pain, Yago finally got the peace and quiet he wanted.

It was at this moment that Annie pushed open the office door and saw Yago picking at his ear with his fingers.

"What are you doing?" Annie asked, puzzled, as she approached Yago. Yago's head was still ringing; he could only see Annie's mouth moving but couldn't hear anything. So he shouted loudly, "Annie, what did you say? I can't hear you!" (very loudly)

With a furrowed brow, Annie pulled over a chair and sat down next to Yago. He rummaged in his pocket for a moment, then pulled out a small box of cotton swabs. He took one out, grabbed Yago's ear without ceremony, pulled it close to his face, and then inserted the cotton swab into Yago's ear, gently twisting it. Although Yago's expression was contorted in pain from the pulling, the tingling sensation inside Yago ear was quite enjoyable.

After a while, Annie finally released Yago's ear. Yago looked quite comfortable, tossed aside the cotton swab, and Annie hummed softly, "Can you hear me now?"

Seeing that Annie seemed a little unhappy, Yago immediately stood up from his seat, happily hugged Annie, rubbed her hair, and said with a blissful expression, "I can hear you, I can hear you. I'm so happy to have Annie with me. Annie."

Annie hummed contentedly twice, but Annie also noticed that Yago's once deep and beautiful Black Eyes were now filled with exhaustion and bloodshot. Her heart suddenly trembled. Her boy had really been through so much lately, and she felt so sorry for him.