My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

A while later, after things had settled down, I stuck close to Aquila, chattering away like usual.

“Did you change your mind?”

“About what?”

I looked up into his orange eyes and asked, “Well, you didn’t seem like you had any intention of looking after Karon before. What changed?”

Normally, the other privates would have scolded Aquila for dragging everyone into a mess, but since he rarely made mistakes and had willingly taken the blame, no one said much.

‘At least it ended with just him getting scolded, thank goodness.’

Instead of punishing everyone collectively, they’d let it slide after singling out Aquila. It was a smaller storm than I’d expected.

Meanwhile, Karon was probably back at the barracks, pacing anxiously and feeling terrible for causing Aquila trouble.

“…You said he’s just a kid.”

“Hmm?”

Aquila glanced down at me and spoke in a low voice.

“If you think he’s just a kid, then I’ll think of him that way too.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s call it practice for raising a child.”

“Aquila…!”

Overcome with emotion, I spread my arms wide and hugged him tightly.

“If I don’t look out for him, he’s going to get himself killed. What else can I do?”

“Uh-huh, I’m seriously moved.”

From that moment on, Aquila seemed to genuinely accept Karon as his responsibility, a junior he had to protect.

‘Now I see why Karon followed Aquila around so much in the original story.’

For Karon, his seniors—Aquila and me—were like family.

At first, Karon had been wary of Aquila, but it didn’t take long for him to warm up. Soon, he was smiling brightly whenever he was with Aquila, Ishina, or me.

Karon had always been a sociable, cheerful person, but the harsh environment of the Border Defense Army forced him to suppress those traits most of the time.

‘Honestly, looking after him feels less like mentoring a junior and more like taking care of a puppy….’

***

“Prepare for the regular monster subjugation mission.”

The biweekly company subjugation mission had arrived once again. With practiced hands, I packed my gear, ensuring I was prepared for the full two-day ordeal.

But today, my condition was at rock bottom.

‘Damn you, Mother Nature. Seriously.’

If I was going to reincarnate as an Arkon, a supposedly superior race, couldn’t the author have thrown in a feature where Arkons didn’t have periods?

While Salvia’s body, which I now inhabited, was blessedly free from the usual pains, the freezing mountains had a way of conjuring discomfort out of thin air.

“Evidence of a Tier-2 monster, the terrestrial hydra, was reported here. So where is it?”

“It’s likely hiding due to its breeding season, during which it becomes highly sensitive to its surroundings,” one of Gamma Platoon’s officers explained, responding to the company commander’s irritated grumbling.

“Hmm… that makes sense. What do you recommend we do?”

“Since it isn’t prone to attacking humans unprovoked, I suggest we cancel this mission and return to our platoons.”

“You’re all so uninspired… the company commander is disappointed in you.”

“…In that case, we should proceed with exterminating the hydra,” the officer backpedaled.

“Exactly. We’ll wait until it shows itself. We can’t let it keep breeding in this area.”

‘The answer was already decided, wasn’t it, you jerk?’

Suppressing my frustration, I rolled my eyes at the predictable outcome as the company commander issued orders to the platoons.

The plan was to camp near the hydra’s habitat. While setting up camp near a monster’s territory was a death wish under normal circumstances, terrestrial hydras in their breeding season were hypersensitive to threats. Instead of attacking, they would expose themselves by fleeing the area.

Each platoon began preparing with swift precision.

“Should we set up tents?”

“No… by the time we pack up and move, the hydra will have already escaped. Just lay ground cloths and sleep on those.”

‘Why today of all days…’

Sometimes, in urgent situations, we skipped setting up tents and slept on the bare ground with just a cloth. It was warmer than a sleeping bag but far less comfortable, and I was bracing for the worst sleep of my life.

“Alright, don’t forget to wake up for your assigned watch shift. Everyone, get some rest!”

Elliot’s orders echoed across the camp as I wriggled under the cloth meant to serve as a blanket.

Aquila lay to my left, Ishina to my right. The gentle sound of Ishina’s breathing soon indicated he’d fallen asleep.

‘I want to desert. I’ve always wanted to desert, but today I really, really want to desert.’

Clutching my aching abdomen, I frowned deeply.

Though I desperately wanted to curl up to relieve the discomfort, sleeping positions were strictly regulated in the Border Defense Army. Over time, I’d grown so accustomed to lying flat on my back that I couldn’t fall asleep any other way.

“Ugh…”

Biting my lip to suppress the sound, I moved my hands beneath the cloth in a futile attempt to distract myself from the pain.

Suddenly, my hand brushed against something warm. Reflexively, I gripped it tightly.

I already knew it was Aquila’s hand.

The moment I grabbed onto his cold fingers, he immediately enveloped my hands with his larger, warmer ones.

“What’s wrong?”

He turned his head slightly toward me, his voice a low whisper meant to avoid alerting the other soldiers.

“You’re warm.”

“That’s not what I meant. Are you hurt somewhere?”

Even in the darkness, his sharp red eyes locked onto mine, piercing as ever.

Whenever Aquila stared at me like that, as if he could see through everything, it stirred an unidentifiable feeling in me.

“Yeah.”

“Want me to hold your hand?”

Though he didn’t press for details, I knew from his tone that he already understood.

The warmth of his hands contrasted sharply with the cold seeping into my back from the ground and the icy air brushing against my face.

Wordlessly, I guided his hand down to my abdomen.

“Not my hand?”

“Just keep it there.”

“Alright.”

The warmth radiating from his hand soothed the pain, and I felt myself finally relaxing.

“Goodnight.”

“You too.”

That brief exchange was enough.

It might seem strange to others, but Aquila and I weren’t just comrades—we were each other’s sole allies, our entire worlds.

“…Hey, I’m not asleep, you know.”

Ishina’s awkward voice came from my right, snapping us back to reality. Aquila and I fell silent in unison.@@novelbin@@

‘…Yeah, that probably looked weird.’

Sorry, Ishina. Always sorry.

“Terrestrial hydra spotted! Get up!”

The shout jolted me upright in an instant.

This reflexive response to wake-up calls was something ingrained in every soldier within a month of joining.

It was dawn, the forest around us painted in hues of blue as night gave way to morning. The faint light made visibility tolerable—a blessing, considering the alternative.

‘Ugh, the thought of stumbling through pitch darkness gives me PTSD.’

“First Squad, Second Squad, prepare!”

By now, my rifle was already in my hands, a habit honed through experience.

The faint, snake-like stench of the hydra reached my nose, and I wrinkled it in disgust as I took aim.

The terrestrial hydra was a grotesque nine-headed red serpent. Unlike its aquatic counterpart, which was venomous and difficult to approach, the terrestrial version lacked poison. However, its ability to regrow two heads for every one severed made it no less dangerous.

“Aquila, Winter! Move to the center!”

Aquila could cauterize the wounds with his fire aura to prevent regrowth, while Winter’s ice aura could freeze the stumps to achieve the same effect.

“You two sever the heads! Second Squad, protect them from the other heads! April, support them!”

With the squad leader’s orders, Aquila and Winter charged forward, each taking a flank.

“Take this!”

April redirected an attacking head with her plant aura, while the rest of us provided cover for Aquila and Winter.

The key was to prevent anyone else from severing a head, which would only worsen the situation. Easier said than done.

“Hey! Don’t chop the heads, idiot!”

Sure enough, someone ignored the order. As a result, a severed neck sprouted two new heads almost immediately.

“Shooters! Target the eyes! Fire!”

The captain’s command rang out, and we all instinctively ducked to avoid stray bullets.

Taking a deep breath, I aimed my rifle at the hydra’s head.

“You damned monster… You’re the reason I’m stuck in this hellhole.”

The thought only fueled my anger. If it weren’t for monsters like this, I wouldn’t be suffering in the Border Defense Army.

Through my simmering rage, I squeezed the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet hit its mark, striking one of the hydra’s eyes. As blood spurted, the hydra thrashed violently, and Winter seized the opportunity to freeze and sever its neck.

“Nice shot, Salvia.”

Louise’s calm praise came from my right, and her words gave me a surge of confidence.

“Thanks, but there’s plenty more where that came from,” I muttered.

Fueled by both anger and determination, I fired shot after shot, each one landing with precision.

Aquila and Winter systematically decapitated the hydra, while the rest of us held the creature at bay. Eventually, the hydra’s headless body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Good work! Privates, handle the corpse!”

As I caught my breath, Altair approached with a grin.

“Salvia, you’ve gotten stronger since we talked about your swordsmanship.”

“…Thank you, sir.”

The heat of the rifle lingered on my palms, spreading through my body and making me feel oddly restless.

‘…The more I hold a gun, the angrier I get.’

Altair gave me a curious look before turning to Winter.

“Hey, I heard you told Salvia to take up shooting?”

“Yeah.”

“Figured. You were watching her pretty closely during training. Didn’t know you cared so much.”

‘Winter was watching me?’

For the first time in months, my mind spun with positivity.

Was this… the start of a romance subplot?