Finale: Setting sail
"That white-haired girl didn't stop us, that's strange. Does she know Eren too?" he wondered.
Armin, sitting in the back of the car, nodded. "She does know Eren. I remember it was during the Trost Recapture Battle. If Prime Minister Pyxis hadn't arrived in time, and on Rico's advice, Eren, Mikasa, and I might have been blasted to smithereens by the Garrison Regiment's cannons."
"What? This white-haired guy is so ruthless? I never expected that."
In the back of the car, Eren listened to his Comrade discussing Rico without saying a word. He was still wondering what Rico's look had meant. Sure enough, as soon as Rico opened the back door of the car, she saw Eren hiding inside. In that instant, a look of surprise and relief flashed in her eyes.
Instead of capturing Eren, Rico cooperated and let Eren and his companions go. This was strange, as Eren didn't feel he had any special relationship with Rico. So why did Rico do this?
In the vast port, only one car was driving, allowing the ship that had quickly arrived at the port to dock.
Dozens of ships of all sizes and colors filled the port. A year ago, the port only had merchant ships from various countries in the Orient. Now, the flags of nearly a hundred countries have flown in this port.
The car quickly stopped in front of a small Destroyer, where several figures were already waiting by the gangway.
"Eren!" Mikasa, who had arrived first, didn't care about the stares of others and threw herself into Eren's arms. There was no other way; in order not to expose their location, Levi had to arrange for everyone to sneak out of the Capital in batches.
Pieck leaned against the gangway on her left shoulder, watching Mikasa and Eren embrace, and couldn't help but click her tongue. Reiner and Porco stood beside her.
Besides, there were many people present, including Armin, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Aili, Ivanor, and Bazel, who stood listlessly next to Ivanor.
Amidst the commotion, footsteps echoed down the gangway. Levi and his old subordinates escorted Queen Historia off the Destroyer, followed by Ymir, Annie, and Prime Minister Pyxis's signature bald head.
"Prime Minister Pyxis said with some emotion.
Pyxis laughed heartily a few times, "Occasionally, you young people should see the might of us old folks. Enough said, Yago is a good boy. If we can save him, what does it matter if I'm dismissed Prime Minister?"
"You all did a great job, you didn't disgrace the Survey Corps, I'm proud of you." Levi's gaze swept over everyone's faces. Time really flies. Those once-naive New Recruits have now grown into quite outstanding individuals. Hmm, they've just grown taller a bit too fast.
"Gentlemen, time waits for no one, there's no time for pleasantries. Commander Selina hasn't bought us much time, we need to hurry." A loud voice came from the Destroyer. Everyone looked over and saw Coris, wearing a brand-new Captain's uniform. As the only Marleyan Captain in Paradis, his deeds had long been known throughout Paradis.
There's no time to waste, everyone quickly make way for Eren and Mikasa to walk up the gangway.
Although everyone wanted to rescue Yago, they were no longer immature teenagers. They now bore the important responsibility of maintaining Paradis's development and could not extricate themselves from their responsibilities.
Historia is the Queen, the symbol of Paradis. Levi can take a few days off, but the Capital Defense Force cannot be without Commander forever. The Ministry of the Foreign Affairs Department is also busy with its own affairs and cannot do without Armin. Jean was also promoted to Officer in the Defense Force a few days ago. Connie and Sasha both need to be responsible for the local garrison at Wall Rose.
Although their responsibilities prevented them from joining the effort to save Yago, when Annie approached them hoping for their help, they all offered their assistance, even at the risk of potentially defying the Parliament.
The successful rescue of Eren from the Capital Parliament Building was made possible by the help of many people.
Thinking of this, Annie bowed deeply to everyone and said, "Thank you all."
Rang said, "We're all partners, what's there to thank? We're the ones who should really be saying thank you, don't you agree?"
The group exchanged knowing glances and smiled knowingly. Yes, they were the ones who should be thanking Yago for changing their Fate, Yago for preventing that hellish world from becoming a reality.
Armin walked up to Annie. Of course, he also saw the so-called "Fate" in Annie, but he had no opinion. If he had to choose, he would rather die than choose to become the "savior" who sacrificed Eren and countless Comrades.
"Annie, you must bring Yago back and tell him that everyone is extremely grateful to him. He is the savior, not only our savior, but also the savior of this world," Armin said sincerely.
Upon hearing this, Annie paused for a moment, then nodded firmly.
"Reiner, you bastard! I may not like you, but after rescuing Yago, we're still friends. I'll take you to apologize to Marco when we get back." Jean walked up to Reiner and punched Reiner hard on the shoulder.
Although his shoulder ached, Jean's words warmed Reiner's heart. The sins of the past had always weighed heavily on his mind, a hurdle he couldn't overcome. Reiner 'Reiner words offered a small measure of relief. "Alright, I will definitely rescue Yago. You and Marco wait. If you're not satisfied, I'll even give Marco a leg in return."
"Get out of here!"
Sasha handed Annie a large bag of meat snacks that she had prepared in advance, and said seriously, "When you guys come back, Annie, I'll take everyone to the Giant Log Forest for a hunt. I'm the commander there now, hehehe, so we can eat meat as much as we want."
Historia wasn't wearing a glamorous gown, but rather a simple military uniform like the others, which made her look quite dashing. She held Annie's hand and said firmly yet playfully, "Yago will be alright. The Queen's blessing is very effective."
Smack! Ivanor slapped the dejected Bazel on the head. "Don't look so down. You look like a coward. Do you still want to reform? If you don't, I'll throw you back into the Restoration Army's black jail right now."
After being patted on the shoulder by Ivanor, Bazel quickly put on a fawning smile, "No, you mustn't! Don't worry, Sister Ivanor! I will definitely reform myself and become a good person! I will definitely rescue Lord Yago!"
"Tch, stop talking nonsense. If it weren't for Aili-chan giving you a chance, I wouldn't bother with you."
"Yes, yes! And thank you, Sister Aili!"
Upon hearing this, Aili showed a disgusted expression. "Bazel, have you no shame? Who are you calling 'big sister'? She's only nineteen years old, and you, an old man, are calling her 'big sister'? Don't you have any decency?"
With a whistle, the Destroyer's massive hull began to move, slowly departing from the port.
Levi and the others stood in a line on the shore, watching the Destroyer sail away.
He slowly lowered his clenched right fist to his left chest, Dedicate Your Hearts! Prime Minister Pyxis, his eyes filled with expectation, said, "Good luck, and best of luck to you young men."