[Well. He's never had it put quite so plainly before. In fact, after a moment's stunned silence:]

I can't say that I realized Eren had noticed...

[No one ever mentions it...]

It's been a necessity. [Excuse.] You could call me a strategist, I guess - people have. I'm the Commander of the Scout Regiment now. [Strange. Wrong. A mistake.]

So. [He looks down at the tissue in his hands, uselessly weighing it up and down.] A necessity. That's all.