My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

The warehouse, hastily constructed like a military barracks, was far larger than its rough exterior suggested.
"So all their food and weapons are in there?"
Just taking that out would deal a major blow to the Second Prince’s forces.

To ensure the destruction of the warehouse, we had also been issued grenades—though, of course, only those authorized to use them could actually do so.
"Check your positions."
"Yes, sir."

"Right side, no hostiles."
"Left side, all clear."
As planned, our voices moved in order. The rear was being checked by another unit, so our priority was confirming what was inside the warehouse.

If there were enemies inside, we had been ordered to capture them and send them to the Imperial Palace’s prison—not kill them.
"Damn it, why are they still running around when their leader is already dead?"
Grumbling internally about soldiers without a master, I crept toward the warehouse entrance.

Just then, another unit emerged from the side path leading up the slope.
It was Karon’s unit.
"Karon!"

I gestured toward him, and his face immediately lit up in recognition.
"Are we moving in?"
"Yeah, let’s go."

After spending so much time together, we could communicate with just a glance.
Thanks to that, we executed a seamless joint operation, despite belonging to separate units.
At the entrance, I, positioned at the front of our platoon, motioned toward Karon.
Karon took a deep breath, then yanked aside the cloth covering the entrance.

"One hostile sighted!"
The moment I locked eyes with a Second Prince soldier inside, I shouted the warning.
Luckily, he was too stunned by the ambush to react quickly, making it easy to subdue him.

"Hyah!"
"Nice work."
Ash swiftly tackled the man, pinning him to the ground, while another soldier rushed in and tied him up.

But of course, the mission was far from over.
We had only just breached the warehouse.
Since we had already taken down one enemy at the entrance, anyone inside wouldn’t have time to prepare if we moved in immediately.

"Move in!"
I mouthed the order, and Karon nodded before gesturing to his men.
We stormed inside.

BANG!
The moment we entered, gunfire erupted.
Karon and I instinctively ducked.

Fortunately, the shots missed, and neither of us were hit.
"Two hostiles sighted!"
Two men stood inside, gripping their guns tightly. They had clearly heard the struggle at the entrance and had gotten ready.

My eyes darted to their weapons, quickly assessing them.
"That one’s a new model handgun—probably holds four bullets max. The rifle on the right has a larger magazine."
With that in mind, I decided on my target order.

First, I’d take down the rifle guy—then the handgun guy would run out of bullets soon enough.
"Karon! Right side!"
CRASH!

Karon lifted a massive table and hurled it at them.
The gunshots embedded into the wood as he charged forward.
The man on the right took the full impact of the table and collapsed, groaning in pain.

The left guy, still on the ground, scrambled for his handgun.
But I didn’t give him a chance.
I lunged forward, grabbing his wrist and tilting the gun upward.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
His shots went straight into the ceiling, the bullets clattering uselessly to the floor.
He stared at me in utter despair.

"Ugh—stop! Please!"
Meanwhile, Karon was handling the right-side soldier effortlessly.
Among the Arkons, there were very few who could match Karon in raw strength.

And against ordinary Imperial citizens?
The man was completely overpowered, struggling to even lift his head.
Still, I wasn’t going to take chances.

While Karon held him down, I quickly snatched the rifle out of his grip.
CLICK.
At that exact moment, I heard the unmistakable sound of a handgun being cocked.

"Shit!"
I had let my guard down.
The left-side soldier had reloaded his gun.

"Salvia!"
I barely had time to react.
Karon yanked me backward before I could even raise my weapon.

BANG!
The deafening gunshot rang out, the bullet whizzing past where I had just been standing.
"What the hell?!"

I tried to pull away, but Karon wouldn’t let go.
I knew he was strong, but this was ridiculous.
He must have sensed me trying to escape, because he tightened his grip instead.

Then—
"Apologies, Salvia!"
Karon threw me down.

And before I could react—
He lunged at the enemy.
The struggle was short-lived.

Of course, Karon won.
"Tie them up!"
At my shout, Luca—who had been waiting by the entrance—tossed over a rope.

Karon caught it and swiftly bound both men.
With our prisoners secured, the other soldiers dragged them away, gagging them to keep them from making noise.
"Detonation set! Fall back!"

Ash lit the explosives, and as the fuse burned down, we hurried down the mountain, prisoners in tow.
BOOM! BOOM!
A deafening explosion ripped through the air behind us.

Flaming debris rained down, with branches and splinters flying in all directions.
The Second Prince’s forces would rush toward the noise, but by the time they figured out what had happened…
It would already be too late.

The other units would be waiting at the bottom of the mountain.
"Hah…"
Once I felt that the mission had been successfully completed, I finally relaxed and leaned on Karon as if to rest my shoulder against his. Of course, my hand didn’t quite reach his shoulder, so it ended up wrapping around his waist instead.

Karon seemed unsure how to react, looking around nervously before carefully supporting me.
“Salvia, are you alright?”
“Mm, just a little exhausted.”

However, there was something that definitely needed to be addressed right now.
“Why did you push me away earlier?”
Karon had stopped me from subduing the left-side man, holding me back and pushing me off to a corner. It had been disrespectful for a senior soldier to behave that way.

“I’m sorry, but…”
As Karon supported me, he looked down at me, apologetic.
“I was worried you might get hurt…”

“Come on, I was aware of the risks. I’m the type to value my own life, you know?”
“But I couldn’t just stand by. I’m really sorry…!”
Seeing how flustered Karon was, I decided not to press him further.

“You’ve gotten much stronger since before.”
“Time passed, and I’ve been working hard to get stronger.”
“You even talk back now.”

“W-Well, it’s not that I’m trying to disrespect you, Salvia…”
He didn’t seem to realize I was teasing him. His expression was so genuinely flustered, it made me smile.
When I raised an eyebrow, smiling mischievously, Karon blushed deeply.

Karon has always been the same as in the original story.
I had thought that Aquila and Winter might not love me like in the original, but it was clear now that Karon was still faithfully following his original character. It was reassuring, in a way, to see things progress the same as in the original story.
“Karon, you shouldn’t change, okay?”

“Eh? Of course not!”
Even though he didn’t fully understand what I meant, Karon nodded enthusiastically.
His reaction was so adorably innocent that I tried to pat his head—but ended up giving his shoulder a light tap instead.

***
On the way down the mountain, we encountered an unexpected challenge.
Monsters living on the mountain? No, it wasn’t that. It was…

“Hey, you can’t just go up the mountain like that!”
It was a group of people illegally hunting in the area.
When we first spotted them, we were completely stunned. The mountain was off-limits, so why were Empire citizens here? Were they really just here to gather herbs? The area had been strictly restricted by the Empire.

But the answer came quickly.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Yeah, typical army behavior.”

We had gotten used to the absurdity of things, ha ha.
Of course, we couldn’t afford to just stand there and get flustered. These civilians couldn’t just wander into an active military zone.
Our company commander, dealing with a hostage situation, had already gone down the mountain, and our platoon leader, a newly assigned second lieutenant, didn’t inspire much confidence.

It seemed like I was the one leading right now, so I stepped forward to approach them.
“Excuse me, but this mountain is currently under operation, and you need to leave immediately.”
“Oh, fine, we’ll just finish gathering these and leave.”

One of the men, looking like their leader, pointed to some roots sticking out of the ground. From the looks of it, they were definitely after some expensive herbs. But we couldn’t afford to let them continue.
“This mountain is currently a military operation zone. It’s extremely dangerous. If you stay here, you’ll be punished and may have to pay a fine.”
“Oh, really? You’re so uptight~.”

...This was exactly like those entitled jerks from my past life.
“We can forcefully escort you down, and you’ll still have to pay a fine. So please, leave now.”
I used the same stern tone I would with my juniors, and their expressions immediately shifted.

The skinny man, displeased by my authority, reluctantly stood up. I didn’t step back either, and we locked eyes as he stood tall before me.
“You know, do you have no respect for your elders? I’ll just finish up here and leave. You’re so rigid, no flexibility!”
He took a step closer to me. Judging by his attitude, it seemed better to just arrest him.

Just then, Karon, who had been quietly standing behind me, crouched down and whispered into my ear.
“Salvia, should I handle this?”
“What?”

Handle?
That word didn’t feel right at all—this wasn’t the time for a sudden genre shift.
“What do you mean, ‘handle’?”

“He’s being extremely rude to you. If you want, I can take care of it.”
It seemed like he was suggesting he would subdue them.
But what caught my attention was Karon’s behavior.

While speaking to me so politely, his eyes were fixed on the man with an intensity I’d never seen before. There was something deadly in his gaze. It was a look I hadn’t seen from him before.
It felt just like a typical obsessive male lead from a romance novel.