As soon as Randy’s words fell, twelve pairs of eyes, which included me, Luna and John, fell on Joshua.

If anyone was feeling apprehensive or excited, they didn’t show it. The same was true for me.

"That’s right," Joshua nodded, "That’s what I want to do because it’s the only way I can think of that could ensure this village doesn’t get wiped out. If any of you have any other ideas, you are welcome to say it."

"I agree with you. Just tell me when you want to leave." Randy said as soon as Joshua finished, then he stood up and walked out of the house.

No one tried to stop him because they knew he was still grieving for his best friend. In fact, if not for the fact that Oliver’s old mother and younger brother were still alive and he wanted to take care of them, they had no doubt that he would have entered the forest to slaughter as many Dark Beasts to avenge Oliver until his last breath.

There was silence in the room for a while until Luna gleaned at everyone, deep in thought, and said, "I also think uncle Joshua’s way is the only way we have a hope of survival."

"I agree." John added.

A short while later, others also agreed to save for one guy, who asked, "How many of the remaining 149 of us do you think will still be alive when we reach the city? Moreover, will they even let us enter?"

Immediately, everyone’s expressions fell. They all had these thoughts, but none dared to say it out loud because it would make their conviction of leaving the village weaker.

But now... someone had indeed said it.

Joshua glanced at the man who asked the question before he swept his gaze across everyone and slowly said, "I don’t know how many of us, or if anyone at all, will survive because the journey would be perilous. More so because we have lost one of our Awakened, and all of us haven’t recovered from our injuries.

But there is still a flicker of hope that, if not all of us, at least a few will reach the city. As for whether we can enter the city, we’ll only know when we are there. There are a lot of uncertainties, but that’s still a lot better than waiting here for the Dark Beasts to attack and kill us all."

Grim silence hung in the room.

Then the man nodded, "You are right. So, let’s go and hope all of us can reach the city."

"Mm." Joshua nodded, then looked at me, "What about you?"

I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been since he had made it clear by inviting me to this gathering that he really thought of me as one of them now.

I felt touched and trying not to let my selfish desires come in the way, I thought for a moment, then nodded, "Since we won’t be able to survive by staying here, we should leave the place."

With that, everyone supported Joshua’s idea.

Joshua turned to John, who despite being the weakest of all Awakened except Luna, was least injured, and said, "Let everyone know about our decision and tell them to pack their things. We will be leaving in two hours."

"Yes, uncle." John nodded and left the room. Others also left one after another.

When I and Luna were about to follow, Joshua spoke up, "Eren, stay back for a moment."

Luna glanced at me, nodded, then walked out, leaving only Joshua and me in the room.

"What is it, Mr. Joshua?" I asked when he didn’t speak.

"Thank you for saving me back there and helping John heal." Joshua said while pushing himself to stand up, then bowed his head, "I owe you."

I stared at him, then let out a sigh.

While I had been careful to not let anyone see when I made John drink the Healing Potion, there was someone who knew of this and this person was none other than John himself.

’And I thought he was unconscious and wouldn’t realize what happened.’ I thought.

Seeing the look in my eyes, Joshua must have guessed what I was worrying about and said, "Don’t worry. None except me and John know about it and I swear on my honor that no one else will know. You can also rest assured that we won’t try anything funny."

I stayed silent for a moment before I nodded, "I believe you."

Joshua nodded in response and I walked out of the room a moment later. He didn’t try to stop me or asked if I could give him whatever I gave John that healed most of his injuries.

...

When I walked out, I found Luna waiting outside the house.

"Why haven’t you gone to pack your things?" I asked.

"I thought I would ask you to help out since you have nothing to pack." she answered before raising her brows, "So?"

"Sure, let’s go." I nodded.

A small smile appeared on her lips when she heard this. Then she turned around and began walking away. I walked beside her, occasionally looking at her side profile.

I knew I should have controlled myself given the grim situation, but I couldn’t help it. I was an 18-years-old boy with raging hormones and she was just too attractive.

And the fact that I could feel she wanted to get closer to me, rely on me—though a part of me questioned whether she was being sincere—didn’t help it either.

"What?" she asked after a while.

I was caught off guard and I could feel my face turn warm, but I quickly composed myself and I asked, "What is it that you want?"

The question was double meaning.

If she was indeed sending me false singles, trying to take advantage of me, she would realize I was aware of her intentions and it wouldn’t be easy for her to manipulate me, but if this was not the case, she would assume I was asking about her dreams and wishes.

"What do I want?" She stopped walking and stared at the horizon.

After a few moments, she looked at me and took a deep breath, "I want three things the most."

"Hm?"