A Farewell to the Stars

As night fell, the stars shone and the surroundings dimmed, there were numerous bonfires burning brightly in an open space. 

At night, after numerous attempts to recognize some soldiers, it was necessary to cremate those who could not be identified, many days had passed and it was necessary to do it as soon as possible. 

Some of the families preferred to bury them in a cemetery, but not everyone had the resources and the time to do it, some soldiers did not even have relatives so they were cremated with the other soldiers. 

And even for those who wanted to bury their sons, it was a very complicated process due to the decomposition of the corpses. Takashi had made sure to do everything possible for Aldous to be buried, if it were not for the request he made to Commander Pixis, he would not have succeeded. 

In an open space, a group of cadets stood silently near the large flames. The light from the fire illuminated the surroundings, and a few people could be heard crying from time to time. 

Looking at these fires, the throbbing flames seemed to be burning inside Takashi's eyes. 

Connie was kneeling on the ground and burst into tears. He has always been an optimist. And his anger is because he couldn't do much in this war, he couldn't kill as many titans as he wanted to. Takashi knows that they were all just children who had experienced the most horrible things that can be experienced in this world, and they all have the right to cry and feel unstable.　 

Takashi felt that as time went by it became harder for him to show his true feelings, he couldn't be as visible as he was before. Looking at Jean, who was trembling as she clenched her fists, Takashi asked, "I guess you've decided to join the Survey Corps, right?" 

Holding a fistful of dirt in his hands, Jean lassoed a fist to the sky and said with determination, "Yes, just like you, I'm going to die too, I don't want to disappoint my friend with just ashes." 　　　　

Takashi looked at Jean with understanding, he too lost someone he didn't think he would take so much notice of, Aldous, a blacksmith. 

Mina, Franz, many soldiers had died even Jean's friend Marco Bott and Takashi could not be a hero to them. 

He still remembered when Marco Bott got in the way of the confrontation he had in the early days with Jean.

Only now did he remember that many of those who died, lived, and many of those who died were still dying with no way to change their fate. 

Takashi regretted that the power of his eyes was so restricted by the life he lost, otherwise he would have made sure this would turn out differently. 

Many newly graduated cadets could not believe that such a smart and capable guy had actually died, in everyone's general opinion, Marco was a talented soldier. 

Although Takashi doesn't like to excel in intelligence, his observation is more than enough to pick up on the minute details he needs to accomplish his goals. But still, there were very few people who surpassed him in intelligence.

Everyone had something special to excel in, Armin shone in intelligence but his skill in the use of three-dimensional maneuvering equipment was insufficient to stand out, Marco on his side was a complete soldier. But he died in a very strange way.　 

In Jean's words, no one watched Marco being killed by a titan. There were no witnesses to his death and the strangest thing that could be just a coincidence, was that Marco's body was not completely devoured. 

If no one watched Marco being devoured, how come his body remained intact after a single bite? Takashi could intuit that quite possibly a soldier took out the titan that had eaten Marco, and this same soldier was killed soon after.　　 

"I think if Marco were alive and his best friend dead, he'd join the Survey Corps too!" Takashi unscrewed the cap of the wine bottle in his hand. 

"Huh? How are you sure about that? He had always dreamed of dedicating his life to the king." Jean's expression was uncertain and he himself didn't know what he was thinking. 　 

When Marco Bott was trained in the corps, he dreamed of devoting himself to the king, and he really thought it was the most honorable thing in the world, so he aimed to become a military police officer.

Takashi sighed and handed the wine to Jean: "He was a very sensible person. If he knew what the hell the military police regiment was like, he wouldn't have thought that way." 

Taking the bottle of wine in Takashi's hands with surprise, Jean didn't know where he got it from, but now he didn't care to think about it. He took a long drink of wine and said, "Cough, cough. You talk like you know the gendarmerie well." 

"Yes, I had the opportunity to talk to many senior officers and I personally looked at the head of the gendarmerie regiment." 　 

"Oh? Let's talk about it. After all, that was my dream, although I don't plan to go there now." 

Takashi was a bit surprised. He looked towards the others and they were also waiting for his answer. 

With a slight smile, Takashi said, "Senior officers say that the longer you spend in the military police, the more useless you become. No matter what your intentions are, you'll end up becoming a corrupt scumbag." 

After a pause, Takashi flashed a smirk, "The gendarmerie regiment's treatment is still good, just remember to be obedient and in the early years bear all the work the superiors leave only to you." 

"Don't meddle in their affairs and don't let your stupid sense of justice explode, just turn a blind eye and you won't get into trouble. Make sure you get benefits that the seniors get, don't stop because of embarrassment." 

"After a few years, some new recruits will come and you will become a senior. When the time comes, you can hand over the job to the recruits, and you can play cards, drink and enjoy life every day." 

"Victims of victims, that's all." 

Everyone was stunned, not knowing what to say. 

Jean Kirstein was confused, this was really different from what he thought and not stupid at all, he could understand the meaning behind the gendarmerie regiment. Before he could ask anything, a cold voice came, "How do you know so clearly?" 

Following the voice, Takashi turned his head and saw Annie, the ice beauty who seemed to have no presence. 

She held out her hands and said, "A certain military policeman who spent ten years being a scumbag told his friend. It's no secret either, if you go to the gendarmerie you'll find out quickly." 

Everyone was silent for a moment after hearing the words, although Takashi's words weren't too direct, but as long as they weren't too stupid, they could understand how corrupt that place was. 

Takashi looked at everyone and said solemnly, "I don't want to say anymore, I will join the Survey Corps, but I won't persuade them to go to that place of death too! I will respect your decision, I personally recommend you to go to the safest place to protect your families." 

He took a step straight and walked to the blonde girl Annie aside, "Hey, that means you, you can go to the gendarmerie regiment and remember not to mind other people's business." 

Annie will go to the military police regiment, very firm in her words and has no intention of changing her mind. To be honest, Takashi doesn't quite understand why she is so determined to live in the inner city if that doesn't seem to be her longing. 

Annie looked at Takashi expressionlessly, "Do you think I'm the type of person with a strong sense of justice?" 

Takashi shook his head, "I don't know you very well, but you're good at being cold to people." 

"How can you tell you don't understand the heart of a weak woman?" Annie said in a calm voice.

"Haha, you should tell that to Eren, I understand women perfectly, especially Sasha." Takashi walked towards Sasha and extended his hand towards her shoulder. 

"Huh?" Sasha suddenly became nervous. 　　

"Sasha loves food, just food." Takashi said calmly. 

"Are you drunk?" Connie showed a strange expression seeing Takashi like that. 

"No, we just said goodbye, being the strongest of our group." Takashi said as he walked away from Sasha. 

"You talk very seriously, you can smile now and then." Jean said with a blush on his face. 

"I think he is drunk..." Connie muttered. 

"Hahahaha." Sasha scoffed at Jean's face at this point. 

"What? What's wrong?" Jean was puzzled by the situation. 

At this moment, Takashi was thinking about the exploration outside the wall. The battle against the female titan will be very dangerous. If he really needs to stop her, he has to consult with his uncle. 

It wouldn't be good at all to be exposed, but it wouldn't be good to see so many soldiers die either. If he gets the chance, he will definitely think about whether to eliminate the female titan once and for all. 

Takashi removed the bandage on the palm of his hand where the cut was made at Eren's trial. 　　

Looking at the scabbed wound, Takashi wiped the scab with his hand, revealing the tender white skin inside. Takashi's face was unsure under the firelight. 

In less than 8 hours, the wound that almost went through his palm was completely healed, and there was almost no scar left! 

"Is it because of the Chakra?" Takashi had doubts about it.