My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

Only then could I finally think seriously about Aquila’s proposal.
He had asked me to marry him. Because, according to him, it would be strange for us to marry anyone else.

No matter how I thought about it, that was definitely strange. How could we possibly marry someone else, not each other? Just as Aquila had said, it made perfect sense for us to get married….
“Aquila, about what you said earlier.”
“Yes, Salvia?”

Aquila sat down in front of me and, naturally, took my hand in his. Now that I was actually paying attention, the warmth in his gaze was unmistakable—it was blatant affection. That realization made my face heat up, and I quickly lowered my eyes, fumbling with my words.
“…I think you were right.”
“Of course.”

“It would be kind of weird if it wasn’t you….”
“You made the right choice.”
“…What do you even like about me?”

“You’re lovable.”
His warm hand reached for my head, softly stroking my hair before resting at my lower back.
“You’re always lovable. When you’re brave, when you’re angry, even when you’re struggling. All of you is lovable.”

“How much?”
“More than everything in this world combined.”
I slowly lifted my gaze. The moment our eyes met, I realized Aquila’s face was even closer than before.

“Salvia.”
“Yeah…?”
“Then, now—”

“No way in hell!”
Right at that moment, Ishina burst into the room.
Panting heavily, he grabbed the chair I was sitting on and dragged me backward.
“Do you two want to get thrown in the brig?! You know you’ll get locked up if you do this here, right?!”

…Oh, right. That was a rule.
If we kissed here and one of the instructors reported it, we’d both end up in military prison at this rank. Our male lead and female lead stats would drop by –500 each.
Aquila shot Ishina a look of pure irritation while I sat there awkwardly. Ishina, meanwhile, placed both hands on my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.

“Salvia, you’re smart. Think this through. You can’t afford to get locked up, right?”
“…Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have much time left until discharge, so it’s better to wait.”
Despite my strange, lingering emotions from how close his face had been just moments ago, Ishina was right.

“…This is driving me insane.”
Aquila buried his face in his hands and let out a deep, suffering sigh.
In the past, I would’ve asked him why the hell he looked so tormented—but now, I understood everything.

He loves me, and it’s killing him to hold back.
…Yeah. That makes sense now.
As awkward silence filled the air, the door swung open once again. This time, it was a commanding officer we didn’t recognize.

It was about time others started showing up. With that, we decided to put a pin in this conversation and pick it up later.
“Let’s finish this talk later.”
“Yeah.”

As I whispered to Aquila, Ishina let out yet another sigh. I had no idea what number sigh this was at this point.
“God, they say raising kids is useless….”
“Wait, am I useless…?”

At that, Ishina rolled his eyes before quickly answering. His usual warm expression had returned.
“No, Salvia. That’s not what I meant. I’m just saying it’s a little disappointing as your senior to see you so blinded by love….”
***

After that, the instructor began a lesson on new firearms, but I couldn’t focus at all.
I mean, who the hell could concentrate after suddenly getting proposed to by a guy they’d spent seven years treating as just another comrade?!
“…Salvia, what’s wrong?”

As I clutched my head for the seventeenth time, Luna, who was standing behind me, leaned in and whispered.
Right. If there was anyone in this unit who might take my problem seriously, it would be Luna.
“Luna, listen… I just got proposed to.”

“Holy shit… Who the hell was dumb enough to fall in love at first sight and propose? Damn, that poor idiot….”
“…That’s not it! It was a guy from my old unit. He said I’m the most lovable person in the world.”
“…He’s insane. Completely blinded by love.”

“What the hell did you just say?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
…Why does this feel completely unhelpful?

I was being serious, but Luna just widened her eyes and exchanged glances with Ash. Then, with a deadpan expression, she twirled her finger beside her head.
I couldn’t tell if she meant Aquila was crazy or me.
“Hey, focus.”

“Yes, sir.”
But before I could dwell on it, the instructor turned his attention to us, forcing me to refocus on firearms training.
The instructor explained the functionality of a new rifle and informed us that all soldiers would now be issued firearms. He also mentioned that firearms training would become much more rigorous.

And the more I thought about it…
This felt like preparation for war.
The ongoing military tensions with the Felony Empire had been weighing on my mind.

When fighting monsters, swords were more effective—most monsters had thick hides that could only be penetrated by aura-infused weapons.
But when fighting humans, it was different. The most efficient way to fight armed soldiers was to use guns ourselves.
So if war broke out and we were deployed to Felony Empire, we’d need to be proficient in firearms. The fact that they were suddenly issuing guns felt like another sign of impending war.

Fuck. I need to get discharged before the war starts.
I knew the smartest thing to do was to get the hell out of this country as soon as possible. But… there was still something I needed to take care of first.
I couldn't just leave this nation behind. There was one thing I had to do before I ran.

I had to take out the Emperor before the war started.
If war broke out, we would be the ones suffering the most. That meant I had to prevent it at all costs.
If I eliminated the Emperor before he had the chance to declare war, he wouldn’t have the time or opportunity to start it. With internal chaos in the empire, war would no longer be an option—because they’d lose.

So that was it. My new top priority was speeding up the Emperor’s downfall.
After we finished the theoretical part of the lesson, we moved to the outdoor training field for live firearm drills.
As we marched toward the new training field, our formation remained tight, and I didn’t have a chance to approach Aquila or Ishina.

Instead, I scanned the area for Karon, but he was nowhere to be seen. He probably hadn’t been selected for this training.
‘So Karon’s unit wasn’t picked for this.’
Since Aquila was here, that meant Benny, Sanchez, Patty, Matty, and Jason from Alpha Platoon were likely here too. I had to find a way to talk to them later.

When we arrived, I immediately noticed that the outdoor training facility was way better than our usual one.
As we lined up for firearms practice, the instructor scanned the group and asked:
“Anyone from their unit want to volunteer for the demonstration?”

One of the clueless rookies glanced at me.
I sighed.
“You think I’m gonna volunteer for this at my rank?”

“Haha, of course not!”
“No way, sir, heh.”
Damn these cocky little shits. This wasn’t about skill—this was about seniority.

In the end, Norman volunteered for our unit.
And as I watched him prepare, I thought:
‘Okay. His stance looks good.’

If it hadn’t been, I would’ve ripped into him for disgracing the Snowy Mountain Battalion.
But, unfortunately for me and luckily for him, Norman pulled off a flawless demonstration.
Bang! Bang!

The instructor nodded approvingly.
“Hm. As expected from Snowy Mountain Battalion.”
The instructor nodded in satisfaction at Norman’s high accuracy. Around us, soldiers from other units stared at him—some with respect, others with outright fear.

“The rest of Snowy Mountain Battalion must be just as skilled, correct?”
“Yes, sir!”
I had no idea why he was asking that, but as always in the military, Norman answered without hesitation.

“In that case, Snowy Mountain Battalion will also be added to the mission candidate list.”
The instructor scribbled something in his notebook.
A bad feeling settled over us.

…What the hell?
It felt like we were about to get drafted into a mission just because we were good at shooting.
Seven years in the Border Defense Army had sharpened my instincts, and my fellow senior soldiers seemed to sense it too. Their uneasy glances and hushed murmurs confirmed it.

“What is this? External deployment?”
“An assignment where we’ll need to use a lot of firearms? What kind of mission is this…?”
Despite our unease, the instructor’s expression gave away nothing as he turned to survey the rest of the units.

“Anyone else want to demonstrate?”
The moment he finished speaking, a hand shot up.
Aquila?

He really didn’t need to volunteer for this at his rank. Not only that, but marksmanship wasn’t even his specialty.
Yet, he calmly picked up a rifle and met my eyes.
His lips moved.

“I’ll go.”
The meaning was clear.
‘He’s figured it out too.’

He had realized that the instructor was selecting soldiers for a mission.
The instructor was likely still looking for another unit to send on the assignment. Aquila must have stepped up on purpose to ensure that his unit was chosen instead.
If I didn’t know his true feelings, I might have thought, Wow, what a real brother-in-arms moment!

But now, knowing how obsessed he was with me, I couldn’t just blindly chalk it up to camaraderie.
Instead, I simply felt the weight of his love for me once again and, for some reason, found myself embarrassed. I instinctively shrank back into the crowd, hiding among my unit.
BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Oh, excellent! I always thought Cleodore Mountain Battalion was only good at climbing, but it looks like I was mistaken.”
The instructor smiled and wrote another note in his book—just like before.
And then, from the ranks of another unit, a familiar voice rang out.

“I’d like to take a shot as well.”
It was Ishina.
Standing perfectly upright, he raised his hand.

He looked straight at me first.
Then, with deliberate intensity, he turned to glare at Aquila.