The prison was silent.
Then, all of a sudden, the sound of a lock being opened rang out, and Roger was brought in.
Unlike the other prisoners—who were shoved, barked at, and marched forward under guard—Roger was almost treated as if he were being escorted in as an honored guest.
The guards knew exactly who he was. They also knew he could transform into an absurdly powerful Titan at any moment, smash through the prison walls, and walk out. So they were extremely respectful, not daring to say a single rude word to him.
More than that, they even felt there was no point in imprisoning Roger at all.
After all, you couldn't possibly hold him—so why bother locking him up?
It was only because the higher-ups had repeatedly stressed that he had to be detained—and that it had to be solitary—that they had no choice but to "invite" this living "ancestor" into the prison.
"Mr. Roger… is there anything else you need?" one guard asked with a flattering smile, speaking to the man who was a prisoner in name only, but a terrifying figure they absolutely could not afford to offend.
Roger looked around at the cell.
Clean. Neat. Beautiful.
It was better than a presidential suite—so good it was ridiculous.
"You normally keep prisoners in a place like this?" Roger asked, genuinely baffled. This didn't look like a prison at all.
"Ah—n-no! It's just… we heard you were coming, so…"
"Take me to a normal cell," Roger said. "Staying in a place like this won't calm the public—it'll cause the opposite. At a time like this, I don't want any more bloodshed. Even one less person… makes me sick."
"…O-okay. Yes."
The guard nodded frantically, gesturing "this way," and led Roger into an ordinary cell instead.
There, flies buzzed everywhere. The walls were blackened. The bed was a filthy mess. The entire place felt suffocating.
Roger nodded. "Now this is more like it."
He sat down calmly and began thinking through his next steps.
The guard wore a completely confused expression, unable to understand what kind of madness had possessed Roger.
A perfectly luxurious cell was right there, and he chose this dump instead.
But no matter what, it was Roger's own decision.
So be it.
"Then, Mr. Roger… I'll be going now?" the guard said with a small bow. "If you need anything, just call out. I'm in the nearby watch room—I'll hear you the moment you shout."
"Mhm." Roger nodded.
"Alright—yes."
The guard turned to leave.
"Hey, wait."
"Huh?" The guard froze, suddenly flustered at being called back.
But Roger was oddly easygoing.
"You forgot to lock the door," he said, pointing at the lock.
"Oh—oh!!"
Only then did the guard remember he was a prison guard at all, and hurriedly locked it.
With a heavy clang, the iron door shut. The lock clicked into place, and the guard slowly walked away.
Roger faced the wall, considering what came next.
The Survey Corps rejected Roger's unreasonable demand in the name of putting people first—and won overwhelming public support.
People sang and laughed, cheering their victory.
They threw flowers onto the Survey Corps soldiers, shouting "heroes," desperate to offer them their highest respect.
On the road back to headquarters, praise and song filled every corner.
Hange was pleased. For the first time, she truly felt like she had made a real decision as commander—one that led humanity down the correct path.
But behind her, Armin wore a face full of worry.
Then again, he always looked worried, so no one paid attention.
The Scorpion Corps didn't rebel. They didn't go insane and storm the prison to drag Roger back out.
Because they knew a tiny prison like this could never hold their boss in the first place.
And the reason their boss had walked in so calmly was obvious—he had plans. He had contingencies. He had something coming next.
So when the Survey Corps basked in their moment of glory, the Scorpion Corps chose silence—no obstruction, no support.
Nelly Quick and Levi thought the same way the rank-and-file did. They trusted Roger and waited for his next move, so they stayed steady and didn't deliberately stir up trouble.
Still, Nelly Quick kept a sharp edge to his caution. He told Levi to dispatch units and strengthen patrols along the coastline of Paradis Island.
Levi understood what Nelly Quick was thinking: he was deeply concerned about the "mysterious force" Roger had mentioned, and wanted to prepare defenses in advance.
Without hesitation—because in truth, Levi had already planned the same thing. He'd long intended to organize a kind of naval infantry force near the coastline, meant to deal with any outside powers that might attempt to land on the island in the future.
It was just that right now, they couldn't spare the manpower.
The ruling government inside the Walls dismissed Levi's proposals for beyond-the-Wall operations. More than that, they suspected that Levi leaving the city at a time like this meant he was plotting something.
Because Levi was the commander of the Scorpion Corps… and their leader had just been thrown into prison.
At a moment like this, the Scorpion Corps—Roger's private armed force—should stay inside the city and behave, not march out of the gates.
In the vast, empty council hall, the government's debate became fierce.
"Roger has been captured—this is a great step for humanity. It means humanity can finally break free from Roger's control, live as our true selves, and find real freedom."
"At a time like this, the Scorpion Corps requesting permission to leave the city—no matter what reason they give—must be denied."
"Otherwise, the Scorpion Corps is extremely likely to establish themselves outside the Walls, form a rebel regime, and use that as leverage—encircling the Walls to force us to hand Roger over."
"And by then, it will already be too late."
"Don't wait until you've made an irreversible mistake before you regret it!"
"We were never the same as those thieves and bandits in the first place!"
In the council, the new commander of the Military Police spoke with righteous fury—his tone hateful, his stance absolute.
The voices around him echoed in agreement.
"Huh? I don't think that's necessary…" Hange stood up awkwardly and defended the Scorpion Corps. "The Scorpion Corps makes up more than half of the armed forces inside the Walls. If they wanted to rebel and split off, why wouldn't they have done it earlier? Why wait until after Roger was arrested?"
"Precisely because they're more than half, they're even more dangerous to ignore, Commander Hange!" the Military Police commander shot back. "They didn't rebel before because the Survey Corps was watching them—if they showed signs of treason, the government could immediately implement scorched-earth measures and starve them out until they couldn't even find a blade of grass to chew. But now it's different. This has touched their reverse scale—if they decide to fight to the death, it will cause massive bloodshed. So we must contain them. Put them under house arrest. Absolutely do not let them out!"
"But—"
"That makes sense," President Darius Zackly said. Everyone turned toward him at once. "This is a sensitive time. We can't simply let the Scorpion Corps leave so easily. Furthermore, the Military Police must allocate personnel to monitor them strictly. The moment there's any suspicious movement, report to me immediately."
"Yes!"
The Military Police commander accepted the order.
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