My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

“Oh! You’re here? I really missed you, Ishina!”

I greeted him in my most cheerful voice, but no response came.
“…Don’t tell me you heard everything?”
At Aquila’s question, Ishina nodded, his unfocused eyes betraying his distress. Well, anyone would be mortified if they suddenly walked in on people making marriage vows.

“What… is wrong with the way you two think?”
Ishina's voice trembled as he spoke. Then, as his gaze landed on Aquila’s hand still wrapped around my waist, his expression twisted into one of sheer disgust.
“Aquila, for now, just put her down. Salvia’s completely out of it because of the warmth. She’s just agreeing with everything you say without thinking.”

Aquila scowled but, after a moment, finally let go of me. The warmth instantly vanished, and like a fog lifting, my mind gradually began to clear.
“…Aquila, you do realize you’re kind of garbage, don’t you?”
Ishina’s eyes bore into Aquila like he was looking at actual trash.

“……”
“…How about we take this outside for a bit?”
I watched as Aquila was dragged away by his senior. In the meantime, I bent down to gather up the papers Ishina had dropped.

Now that I was away from Aquila’s body heat, my mind was functioning normally again.
I tried to piece together what had just happened. What exactly had gone on here…?
Until just a moment ago, I’d been absentmindedly agreeing to everything Aquila said. “Yeah, yeah,” I’d nodded along. But let’s take a step back and review the situation.

“I thought I raised you well, only for some bastard to come and take you away.”
“Salvia, isn’t it strange for you to marry someone who isn’t me?”
…So in other words, Aquila wants to marry me…

He proposed to me… He’s obsessed with me…
No matter how I looked at it, this was straight out of a romance fantasy novel!
“A romance fantasy? You’re telling me the feelings Aquila has for me are the kind of love you see in a romance fantasy?!”
And the moment I realized that, the only emotion I felt was—

“Goddamn it, this is pissing me off!”
Rage.
Now, of all times, he chooses to be obsessed?!

Sure, I won’t deny that Aquila has looked out for me more than most. But even in this romance fantasy world, I still suffered like hell!
When I was rolling in the mud, he didn’t give a damn about me. But now, with only a year left before discharge, when life has finally gotten easier, now he chooses to be obsessed?!
I wasn’t about to stand around wondering, “Huh? Why is Aquila suddenly obsessed with me?” Honestly, given the unique relationship we’d built, it wasn’t strange for Aquila to fall in love with me. What pissed me off was the timing.

And that line just now—that line pisses me off too!
Since when did you “raise” me well? You didn’t raise me, you hardened me, you bastard! No, I raised myself, goddammit! Because no one else took care of me!!
Fuming, I huffed angrily to myself for a while before deciding to practice the deep breathing method Ishina had once taught me.

“Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale…”
It was surprisingly effective at calming me down. Ishina really knew his stuff.
Alright. Let’s reassess the situation.

As hard as it is to believe, Aquila loves me. And he’s obsessed with me.
So when did this start?
“…Hold on.”

I recalled his behavior toward me so far.
He kept competing with Winter, looking after me, hugging me, following me wherever I went…
So all that wasn’t just camaraderie?

When he caught me as I fell from the waterfall—was that when it started?
“If you fall, Salvia, I fall with you.”
“No matter what it takes, I’ll bring you back to my side….”

“I’ll save you, no matter what. You’re never dying. I’ll make sure of it….”
Like a reel spinning backward, his words replayed in my mind.
And then I was overwhelmed again.

“ARGH! UGH!”
This whole time, I had an obsessed man right next to me, and I didn’t even notice?!
But wait—this isn’t my fault, right? Anyone would have had a hard time figuring this out!

Still… I couldn’t deny that I had been oblivious.
‘No way…’
I must have been a romance fantasy heroine all along.

Even my lack of awareness was perfectly in line with the typical clueless romance fantasy heroine trope…
All this time, I thought I was living in a military apocalypse battle thriller, but in reality, my life was an oblivious heroine’s romance fantasy.
“…Ha.”

I let out a stunned laugh. Aquila loves me?
Wait, if my life was a romance fantasy novel, then…
“Winter too?”

Winter’s golden key suddenly flashed through my mind. The one he said was for his home’s vault.
And then I thought about his behavior—how well he took care of me, how much he knew about me, how he’d always grumble when people compared me to Dalin, how he never reprimanded me even when I broke the rules…
No way.

Winter was in love with me too?!
Giving me that key—was that basically a proposal?!
I don’t know how or when it happened, but he just fell in love with me on his own!

…So when I was feeling proud of myself for getting into his good graces, he was actually falling in love with me?
Well, now that I think about it, I was the only one who actively approached him, even though everyone else was afraid of his cold and rigid nature. Looking back, I guess it makes sense…
Yeah… in romance fantasy novels, the heroine always makes the male leads fall for her and never even realizes it.

I had been acting just like a romance fantasy heroine.
Winter was just naturally reserved, so I never picked up on the fact that his romance arc had already been progressing in his mind.
Once again, let me be clear—I’m not normally this dense! But now that I had realized the truth, I saw all their actions in a completely different light.

“…My god.”
No wonder Aquila and Winter were always butting heads. No wonder Ishina always looked so fed up.
‘Wait, does that mean Ishina…?’

I started thinking about his actions toward me, but…
“Ugh, my neck…!”
“Salvia, would you just listen to me for once?”

“God, I’m exhausted….”
…Yeah, no. Definitely not.
Ishina cared about me, sure, but he clutched his neck way too often for it to be love.

And now I finally understood why he always did that. While the two guys obsessed over me, I had just been standing there like an oblivious idiot thinking, “Hehe, must be camaraderie!” No wonder Ishina was frustrated.
I suddenly felt a deep respect for him. Ishina, I’m sorry…
Lastly, what about Karon?

Hmm… well, he does listen to me very well.
But if anything, he felt more like my younger brother. Or a pet.
Not the feral beast tamed by the heroine who eventually snaps and devours her kind of pet. Just a really obedient one.

So yeah, Karon was definitely not in love with me.
After assessing everything, I finally reached my conclusion.
Aquila and Winter were both in love with me and obsessed with me, while I had been living my life like a completely oblivious romance fantasy heroine.

“…Are you fucking kidding me?”
If they had just fallen in love with me after gaining some seniority, like in the original novel, I could’ve enjoyed my time here in peace! But no, they had to start loving me while still juniors, and now here we are!
As I sat there in stunned disbelief, the door suddenly opened.

“Ishina!”
Ishina walked in looking thoroughly annoyed—but Aquila was nowhere in sight.
“Where’s Aquila?”

“He’s in quarantine from you for now. Haah, Salvia…”
With a deep sigh, he leaned on the table.
I decided to confirm my suspicions.

“Ishina, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“…Did Winter like me?”

“You’re just now realizing that? …Sigh. Whatever. At least you finally figured it out.”
Oh my god. It was all true.
“Then… was the key he gave me a proposal?”

“What do you think? Why else would he give you his house vault key?”
“…And Aquila loves me too?”
“Everyone in the 18th Company knew that except you.”

Wait.
Was Benny offering to play the piano at my wedding?!
Everything clicked into place.

I sat there, mouth agape, staring blankly ahead.
Then, as if on cue, Aquila stepped back into the room.
“…Ah.”

The moment I realized he was in love with me, he somehow looked… different.
His sleek black hair, glowing red eyes, and naturally upturned cat-like gaze—before, I had thought he resembled a sharp, temperamental kitten. But now, he looked like a fully grown predator.
In short—

“…Damn. He really does look like a male lead.”
For some reason, I couldn’t meet his gaze directly. I found myself averting my eyes, my cheeks growing warm.
“…Ahem.”

I cleared my throat and looked away, and Ishina’s face scrunched up in agony.
“God, you’re unbelievable…”