Following Him (Rivamika)

Chapter 50

HOPE YOU ENJOY

PLEASE VOTE

********************************

As always, the promised day off came soon after the expedition. 

In truth, that single one day off was actually a four day off thing instead. It had surprised everyone but it seemed not everyone would be enjoying the first two day's off and so the other two would give everyone a chance to enjoy leave. 

Once everyone had returned to the camp, all squad leaders and captains met in one of the larger and nicer meeting rooms and placing down the piles of paper that should add up to t he exact number of soldiers in the survey corps. 

Every single soldier was given a single bit of thin paper that was folded up to be kept in their uniform jackets when riding out. A small pencil handed out before anyone had left the camp for the expedition so everyone held the chance to write down a name when needed. 

Leaving now, for Erwin and his trusted captains to go through each bit of paper and placed those with written names down in a new pile for them to look through and check if they were actually cowards, going through a mental break down or if a soldier was taking this chance to hopefully get rid of someone they didn't like. 

Almost every bit of paper was left blank since the strict use of the papers were to note down soldiers names that acted cowardly outside the wall or seemed freaked out even if they were aged and held years of practice. Facing titans was a dangerous and tough job, it played with one health and mental state until someone people just couldn't deal with it anymore and finally broke during an expedition. 

Erwin wanted everyone to be safe, the soldier who wasn't able to face titans and those around them. 

He wasn't going to simply fire those with their names written down. 

He or his trusted captains would speak with them in private and offer a more office like job within the camp so they never leave the walls again. To give them low level duties like they'd give to the injured who can't fight anymore but refuse retirement. 

If they  reject such a easy but preferred job offer, early retirement awaited them instead. 

Erwin would personal write a reference if the soldier decides to find work elsewhere, to live a normal life and leave the soldier life behind them. 

No soldier was going to be merely kicked out and left behind, that was a promise. 

But it also meant that a lot of digging had to be done towards the names given. A list of names that .. in the end, only filled half a piece of paper once they've jolted all the names down on one bit of paper instead of keeping the handful of papers that only held on of those names each on them. 

Erwin offered his Captains to see if their own squad members wished to help with such heavy job of spying on their fellow comrades and dig into their private lives to see if they truly did snap or stood as a coward. 

Mike had decided to brave up and ask his own squad first. He wasn't going to order them to help as he knew how uneasy this type of job could make a person feel. Spying on their comrade and searching for clues to see if they had finally broken down or stood as a coward that'd risk not only their own lives but everyone else's as well. That by hiding such facts even as Erwin asked for them to come forward, they could have held blood on their hands from past mistakes.