Be Kind (Doctor Reader x Levi Ackerman)

Chapter 23: Erwin's Gamble

Chapter 23 - Erwin's Gamble

After Levi watched you walk away, he struts off to find Erwin to report on the slew of things that happened while he was gone. He explained everything from the ambush in Trost, to the battle under the chapel. Levi also made sure to recount all the details of the Trost incident in particular, since he was the one who commanded the cadets in his squad to kill. He told Erwin about how you saved Nifa, shook off two pursuers unarmed, managed to steal guns and a grenade from one of them, and your whole scheme that took down five of their men.

"She took down three men on her own, Erwin," Levi muttered, sounding like he was in disbelief. "She could've just gone down to warn us, but she went berserk and killed them."

"That's good, she's independent. You don't sound too happy with that," Erwin raises his brow.

"Because I'm not," Levi snorts, "I should be glad she's not a burden, but she could've gotten herself killed. We recruited her as a doctor, not an assassin for god's sake."

"And she proved to be useful for us, no?"

"She's supposed to be here to heal our soldiers and kill Titans, not kill people."

"It's a three-in-one package, we could use skills like that in our ranks," Erwin's eyes are glossy with newfound interest. "Our enemies are more than just Titans now."

"Don't even think about it, it'll traumatise her. I can already sense her losing it a little today. I never wanted to put her in this position or in danger."

"But that doctor," Erwin hummed. "She has truly gone beyond my expectations."

"I won't deny that she saved us," Levi scowls. "But you sent a doctor to become a killer, Erwin."

Erwin was silent for a while, and Levi sensed a shift in the air pressure. He knows not to press Erwin any further and gets a sense that he has overstepped a boundary.

Erwin finally breaks the silence. "But my gamble has paid off, don't you think?"

Levi narrows his eyes, not wanting to admit to Erwin's successful gamble to invest in Military Doctors, to invest in you as Section Commander, and sending you to these missions that involve the Interior Police.

"Fine. I'll trust your judgement on this, Erwin." Sometimes, even after years of knowing him, he still can't exactly figure out what Erwin is thinking.

Levi was one of the people who opposed Erwin's radical idea of bringing doctors into the Survey Corps and having them trained as Military Doctors. The idea was just too risky and there were too many uncertain variables to it. Why would he waste valuable medical personnel on the most dangerous military faction with the lowest survival rates? Many opposed the idea because it seemed too wasteful to have qualified doctors die out like flies on the battlefield, and would rather keep them safe within the Walls.

But Erwin was different. He saw the potential of having Military Doctors by the Scouts' side, the potential of saving lives of crucial Scout members on the battlefield. It's not to say the lives of his Scouts were unequal or that one Scout deserves to live more than the other, but one would be lying to say that they would rather save the life of a regular Scout than someone like Captain Levi. It would be too huge of a liability for the Scouts to lose members such as Levi, Hange, or Mikasa, and your job as a Military Doctor was to minimise the chances of losing such key members on the battlefield.

The gamble was whether these Military Doctors would become a burden to the Scouts or not. Training doctors to become soldiers surely is not an easy feat, and there was a risk that the doctors would not be able to survive the harsh realities of the military. You were particularly a big gamble for Erwin. Despite you being a top notch doctor from Wall Sina, your comfortable and affluent lifestyle within the Walls was initially a concern for Levi, who thought you wouldn't survive in the military.