My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

After that, he stared at me with the same look of disbelief.
“Salvia…?”

“Hm?”
Was he finding me unfamiliar after all this time? But I hadn’t changed much since I enlisted. My growth plates had closed a long time ago.
“Salvia… were you always this small?”

“…What?”
It was a bit rude to say something like that to a senior soldier, but I could tell there was no malice behind it, so I let it slide. Besides, I had always been soft on Karon, never quite able to get mad at him properly.
“I’ve always been this height.”

When I joined the Border Defense Army, I had already finished growing. I was neither particularly tall nor short—just average.
Karon fell silent for a moment. When he finally spoke again, his voice was noticeably deeper than before.
“How old were you when we first met?”

“Seventeen. Why?”
But instead of answering, Karon just kept staring at me, his expression unreadable.
“…You were small.”

“…What?”
The sudden shift to informal speech caught me off guard, but Karon seemed to be talking to himself.
“You were always this small…”

It was as if he had come to some kind of realization. He nodded slowly to himself, his broad shoulders and serious expression feeling completely unfamiliar to me.
“You’ve changed a lot.”
I said that half-jokingly, ready to tease him about how he’d grown into an adult now.

“…No, I haven’t.”
After saying that, Karon pulled up the corners of his lips into a smile.
It was the same bright, innocent smile as always.
“I’ve missed you, Salvia…”

He placed an arm around my shoulders, as if embracing me from behind. But unlike earlier, he wasn’t putting any weight on me this time. He was being careful.
“…Yeah? I missed you too.”
“Yes… I really, really missed you.”

Even though his voice had deepened, his tone and choice of words were the same as before. That familiarity finally allowed me to relax.
He might have grown a little, but he was still the same Karon I knew.
***

“Prepare to move out!”
The officer’s call snapped me back to reality.
I had been so caught up in reuniting with Karon that I had almost forgotten why we were even here.

"Karon, I have something for you."
"For me? What is it?"
He sounded excited.

There wasn’t enough time to explain things to him now. I could always give it to him after the mission—but I refused to be that stupid.
Karon, I have something for you after this mission.
Oh? What is it?
Haha, it’s a secret~
Salvia? Salvia! Stay with me! Salvia!!
K-Karon… In my pocket… there’s a necklace…
Hngh—found it! I found it!!
That’s… your father’s… keepsake…
…Salvia? Salvia!!!
Hell. No.
This world had a ridiculous sensitivity to death flags. If you so much as hinted at one, the universe would immediately try to kill you.

Instead, I simply handed Karon the pendant necklace.
"Do you know what this is?"
Karon took it with a puzzled expression, flipping open the oval-shaped locket. Inside was a single dried yellow flower.

“…What is this?”
He turned the necklace over, inspecting it carefully, but he didn’t seem to find any clues.
Watching his confusion, I felt a strange melancholy settle over me.

In a quiet voice, I answered.
“It’s your father’s keepsake.”
“…What?”

"Your parents served as officers in the Snowy Mountain Battalion. They both died in service. Your father, Kaisen, was once a company commander in our unit."
“…Oh.”
Karon’s expression went blank. His eyes, which had been filled with confusion just moments ago, darkened as he stared at the pendant.

“They had kept the keepsake in storage,” I continued. “I figured it should go to you. I don’t know what meaning it holds, though.”
As he listened, his gaze remained fixed on the dried yellow flower inside.
“Does it mean anything to you?”

When I had first been given the pendant, I had doubted whether it was really his parents’ keepsake.
The battalion commander had simply said:
"If that recruit is truly their son, he’ll find something within this pendant. Only those who are meant to see it will see what’s inside. If not, then it’s just an ordinary trinket."

If Karon really was their son, then there was supposed to be something inside this pendant only he could see.
Maybe it had magic in it? Maybe it would recognize Karon as its owner?
Karon continued staring at the flower, before slowly nodding.

"Yes… It means something."
“Oh? You see something?”
I leaned in, curious.

If Karon could see something I couldn’t, that meant…
But instead of answering, Karon simply smirked.
That damn knowing smile.

As if he had no intention of telling me what he saw.
Well, whatever.
If something had appeared, that just confirmed that he deserved to have the keepsake.

I chose not to press the issue. Instead, I quietly observed him, ready to comfort him depending on how he reacted.
Would he blame himself for not finding his parents sooner?
Would he mourn them?

Would he be angry that they hadn’t been able to raise him?
But Karon’s reaction was none of those things.
“Salvia, shouldn’t you be getting ready for the mission?”

“…Huh?”
Karon lifted his head, looking at me with a perfectly neutral expression.
“Salvia, shouldn’t you be getting ready for the mission?”

There was no trace of tears in his eyes. His voice was as cheerful as ever. Even as I studied his face closely, I couldn’t see any signs of him trying to suppress grief or shock.
It was as if… it just didn’t hit him that hard.
"Well, he doesn’t have any real memories of them, after all."

To Karon, they were practically strangers. His reaction made sense. Maybe I was the one who had been projecting too much onto the situation.
With a casual motion, Karon snapped the locket shut and slipped it into his pocket, completely unfazed.
Rather than being distracted, he actually seemed… in a better mood than before.

“Karon, are you okay?” I asked.
“Hm? Why wouldn’t I be?” he responded brightly.
“…Right.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Karon had always defied my expectations.
Even back then, when we encountered a dark mage, he didn’t react like everyone else. Instead of screaming about killing him, he simply followed my lead and let him go.
Karon had always had a way of acting just slightly offbeat from conventional wisdom.

"As expected of Male Lead #4..."
If it had been me, I wouldn’t have been able to focus on the mission at all.
But Karon? He was completely fine.

"Sir Karon, we really need to go now."
A young woman came running toward us, looking like one of Karon’s junior soldiers.
She had brown hair tied into two cute pigtails, and the insignia on her uniform marked her as a senior private.

As soon as our eyes met, she gave me a polite nod.
“Oh! Are you Salvia?”
“…Huh?”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Luca, one of Sir Karon’s junior soldiers in his platoon!”
Her name was adorably fitting, so I glanced at her with interest.
“I’ve heard a lot about you! Sir Karon always talks about you—he says you’re an amazing senior soldier!”

“…Oh, really?”
Feeling a little awkward, I gave a small, stiff smile.
Luca, on the other hand, was completely at ease, grinning brightly.

Something about her reminded me a bit of Karon.
"Wait… Could she be…?"
Was she his love interest?

It wouldn’t be unusual. Cute side-character-type male leads often ended up with equally cute female side-characters.
“Karon was really struggling without you around!” she added.
“…Oh? Haha…”

"He said that when he gets discharged, you two will definitely be together!"
I hesitated for a second.
Wait.

Was she trying to stake a claim on Karon?
Did she see me as a rival or something?
To clear up any misunderstandings, I casually let it slip.

"Oh, Karon and I are like siblings. I’m actually engaged to someone else—both of us see Karon as a younger brother."
“…What?”
Luca’s eyes went wide.

“…Wait, you’re engaged?!”
“…Salvia, who?” Karon asked, equally shocked.
I was caught completely off guard by their reactions.

"Karon, I’m getting married to Aquila."
“Oh, I see.”
Karon accepted it immediately, as if that made perfect sense.

But Luca…?
"…No way… How could this happen…"
She looked devastated.

…What the hell?
That was not the reaction I had expected.
What exactly was going on between these two?

The mission began, and we cautiously climbed the mountain, rifles in hand.
Since this was a stealth raid, we moved with extreme caution.
Of course, our brightly colored hair and navy uniforms weren’t exactly ideal for a surprise attack.

So the plan was simple—attack before they had time to react.
As we moved, the company commander at the front spoke.
"Men, fighting against humans is different from fighting monsters. But don’t let that discourage you. Remember that you are serving your country."

Honestly, I doubted anyone here needed that speech except him.
Still, he had a point.
If the Second Prince’s forces attacked, we would have to fire back.

This might be the first time some of us had to kill another human.
"Will I be able to handle it?"
In movies, there’s always that classic line: "This is your first time shooting a person, isn’t it?"

Killing a human is completely different from killing anything else.
Even as an experienced sharpshooter, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull the trigger when the moment came.
But I couldn’t afford to let my doubts show.

I turned and whispered to the junior soldiers behind me.
"Listen, if you hesitate when they attack, you’ll be the one who dies first. This isn’t any different from fighting monsters. The only difference is who kills you in the end."
I could see the tension in their posture.

They had already been stiff with nerves, but now their bodies were completely rigid.
Still, a little bit of fear was fine.
It might even keep them alive.

Before long, the target came into view—
The supply depot.