I Became the Villain of Attack on Titan

"Have all the new ODM gear been inspected?"

Keith Shadis, the head of the cadet corps, stroked his beard as he spoke.

In response, the instructor placed a stack of documents on the table and said,

"Yes. All fifty units have been inspected. Starting this week, training should proceed without any issues."

"...I see. This is only the beginning."

Shadis carefully examined the documents on his desk.

The paperwork contained not only internal affairs of the cadet corps but also reports on the current state of the Survey Corps.

It had already been two years since he handed over the position of commander to Erwin.

Although he had practically thrown away the responsibility and fled from it, he felt grateful that a genius like Erwin had taken up the mantle.

"Still, just because Erwin is leading now doesn't mean the ones above will change…"

The reports were filled with mentions of the nobility.

As the Survey Corps' financial backers, the nobles constantly nitpicked at their every move.

They used their funding as a leash, attempting to control the Survey Corps as they pleased.

"At least the silver lining is that Erwin's new Long-Distance Scouting Formation has yielded significant results."

"Yes, Commander. Thanks to the new formation, the Survey Corps has been able to cover nearly twice the previous distance."

Twice the distance—an incredible achievement.

If this had been before the fall of Wall Maria, they might have gotten even closer to uncovering the secrets of the outside world…

But these days, the Survey Corps was reduced to scavenging for treasures the aristocrats had hidden within Wall Maria.

Lately, Shadis found himself thinking more and more about an old friend who had once lived there.

Grisha Yeager.

The father of the current cadet, Eren Yeager, and the husband of the woman Shadis had loved.

The last time he saw Grisha was right after the fall of Wall Maria.

Grisha had taken his son by the hand and disappeared somewhere.

Since then, there had been no news of him.

He had once asked Eren if he remembered anything, hoping he might recall his father's whereabouts.

But as expected, Eren knew nothing.

"A man from beyond the walls…"

"…Excuse me?"

Shadis' muttering startled the instructor, who responded in surprise.

"I wonder if I was the one who set humanity's freedom back by several steps."

A self-deprecating laugh escaped him.

He felt utterly pathetic.

He had acted coldly toward the woman he loved because of his own inferiority complex.

He had thrown away the chance to learn the truth about the world beyond the walls out of loyalty to a friend.

And in the end, he had failed to keep his promises to both the woman he loved and the friend he cherished.

Their child, Eren, had now ended up in the cadet corps.

"C-Commander, what do you mean by that…?"

The instructor's flustered voice reached his ears.

Shadis simply waved his hand.

"It's nothing. Pay it no mind. The older I get, the more nonsense I tend to spout…"

Regrets over the past had to end with him.

Right now, his priority was to do his best for the cadet corps.

That was the only way he could atone for his own incompetence.

Shadis straightened the stack of documents with a firm tap and said,

"Then as scheduled, we'll begin ODM gear training tomorrow."

If there was one fortunate thing in his otherwise miserable life, it was that many talented individuals had passed under his command.

Erwin had been one of them. So had Miche.

And now, there were promising talents like Mikasa and Shiniro.

Shadis' last remaining passion was in nurturing these successors.

"Come to think of it… it's been a while since I last saw Erwin."

As he gathered the papers, Shadis mused aloud.

A part of him had once wanted to proudly show off the cadets he had trained.

Though, considering most of them wouldn't be joining the Survey Corps, would that just be a pointless gesture?

…How laughably sentimental.

Shadis smirked to himself and shook his head.

Well, someday, he might find a chance to show them off.