My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

"If you're saying that, is there a major issue? From what I saw, they just seemed like your average, slightly incompetent recruits. Are they ridiculously bad? Or did one of them screw up with you somehow?"

“Not exactly.”

As I fired off my barrage of questions, Aquila fell silent for a moment before finally speaking words I hadn’t anticipated.

“You know the recruit with the gray hair?”

“Oh, I remember! What was their name again…?”

“Gray.”

“Ah, such a straightforward name,” Karon chimed in cheerfully.

“Anyway, what about Gray?” I asked, curious.

Listening to our back-and-forth, Aquila replied bluntly.

“Their eyes. They look arrogant.”

“Huh?”

“Of course, I get that this place is hell, and everyone’s eyes are dead. But Gray’s eyes? They’re unsettling.”

“What, like you think they might challenge you or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. They wouldn’t dare.”

I nodded at Aquila’s sharp gaze and fiery orange eyes. Yeah, no one in their right mind would pick a fight with someone like him, especially with his fire-attribute aura radiating intimidation.

Then, without a word, Aquila glanced to the side.

‘Ah.’

Following his gaze, I saw Karon. Slowly, I nodded in understanding.

‘So they think Karon’s an easy target.’

Karon, who was always smiling and seemed approachable, probably came off as soft. And with only one batch difference in rank, an arrogant recruit might feel emboldened enough to try and challenge him.

But still, rank was rank. Even if it was just a single batch difference, seniors were seniors. Gray’s attitude could definitely be a problem in a place like this.

“All right. Next time I see them looking smug, I won’t let it slide,” I said firmly.

“And what exactly would you do?” Aquila scoffed, giving me a look that was half disbelief, half amusement.

“I’m saying I’ll keep an eye on it! I already promised to look after our baby Karon, didn’t I? Of course, it’s best if nothing happens, but…”

Before I could finish, Blair burst out of a nearby building, wildly gesturing at us. His frantic movements left no doubt that something serious had happened.

Thanks to a few months of military life sharpening my instincts, I immediately knew it was urgent. We bolted toward him without hesitation.

Blair’s face was pale as a sheet. Even before he spoke, a heavy sense of foreboding settled over me.

And the moment he opened his mouth, I found myself once again cursing the fact that my world was anything but a romance novel.

Because Blair shouted the following words:

“Emergency! April has summoned all recruits to assemble under her!”

Damn it. I didn’t know what was going on, but one thing was clear: something massive had just blown up.

Just kill me already.

***

‘God, please, just send me to a romance fantasy world. I’d even take obsessive male leads—just get me out of this place. I swear, I’ll change my preferences and learn to enjoy obsession if that’s what it takes...’

As I followed Blair into the building, I couldn’t help but wonder about the twisted mechanics of this godforsaken world.

Seriously, doesn’t everything about this scream romance fantasy? A name like Salvia, coral-colored hair, and golden eyes? Come on, it’s textbook.

The world itself, with its Arkons and monsters, was typical fantasy fare. And look at Aquila and Winter—those faces, those abilities, those physiques. They’re practically the epitome of male leads.

‘So why, why would anyone mix this world with a real military system?!’

And not even a modern military. No, this was some archaic hellhole brimming with violence and terror straight out of the last century.

‘Damn it, a group assembly? Really?’

If there’s anything worse in this military culture than the punishment itself, it’s group assemblies. The ultimate nightmare. The epitome of collective suffering. And the most insidious of them all?

‘Everyone above you and below me, assemble.’

This wasn’t just about the recruits or a specific mistake. No, this was a declaration that everyone—from the lowest recruit to the highest senior—was going to be crushed under the weight of punishment. It was enough to make you want to desert on the spot.

‘What the hell did the recruits mess up this time?’

And to top it off, this assembly was orchestrated by April, the reigning queen of psychological torment. Even just hearing her name made me want to desert immediately.

This cursed military never let me catch a break. Whether it was seniors or recruits causing trouble, the fallout always seemed to land squarely on me.

The moment I stepped into the room where the seniors were lined up, the oppressive atmosphere hit me like a wall, and I instinctively took a step back. But there was no avoiding it—I forced myself forward, swallowing hard.

‘The air feels… different.’

The chill in the room was palpable, suffocating. Even if Winter were radiating his ice-attribute aura, it wouldn’t have made the room feel this cold.

‘God, save us… someone, anyone…’

I silently prayed as I lined up with the others. Judging by their expressions, none of the seniors seemed to understand why they were there either.

‘Which recruit messed up this time?’@@novelbin@@

The four recruits stood stiffly, their faces filled with tension. It was impossible to pinpoint the culprit just from looking at them. But it didn’t take long to figure it out—April’s gaze was fixed on one person: Gray. The one Aquila had said looked arrogant.

‘Damn it, I knew it! You can’t argue with first impressions!’

While I stood frozen in the suffocating air, April finally opened her mouth. Her soft green eyes, reminiscent of spring, curved into what could only be described as a devil’s smile.

“Repeat what you said earlier, recruit.”

“…I didn’t mean it.”

Gray’s tone was defiant, bordering on insolent. The moment the words left his mouth, every senior present broke out in goosebumps, glancing nervously at April to gauge her reaction.

“Oh, really? What do you mean you didn’t mean it? Are you asking to die?”

“Did I tell you to open your mouth? When did I rename you Recruit without my knowledge?”

Leon snapped at Gray, but April’s sharp rebuke silenced him, leaving Gray to stew in his growing discomfort.

Gray, who had been stubbornly holding his ground, seemed to realize how badly things had spiraled. His face grew paler by the second as he stammered out an apology.

“I-I’m sorry…! Please forgive me just this once.”

April tilted her head, her smile still plastered on her face. “Oh, really? Tell us again what you said earlier.”

“I-I must have lost my mind… I’m sorry…”

‘I can guess what happened.’

Gray must have underestimated April, judging her by her appearance, and said something wildly disrespectful.

‘Rule number one: never judge someone by their looks, or you’ll regret it.’

April heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I suppose there’s no helping it. Since you won’t say it yourself, your seniors will have to run laps on the training field until you feel like talking.”

She clapped her hand on Louise’s shoulder, her expression as sweet as ever.

Even the ever-calm Louise cast a dark, murderous glare at Gray, who was on the verge of tears.

Finally, Gray broke. His voice was trembling as he admitted, “I-I asked if April’s peers were all weaker than her… and that’s why they all died…”

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

‘What… the hell…?’

First, the sheer audacity. Gray, a freshly conscripted recruit, had the nerve to ask the most senior soldier in the company such an insulting question.

‘Back in my day, we wouldn’t even make eye contact with April, let alone ask something that stupid.’

Second, the content of his comment. It wasn’t just rude; it was a direct attack on April’s abilities and a mockery of her peers. It was as if he was implying they were so weak they couldn’t survive.

And third…

‘They didn’t die because they were weak.’

Every soldier here had lost at least one comrade—whether it was a senior, peer, or junior. We carried those losses with us, promising to live on in their stead. Gray’s careless words had trampled all over that unspoken vow.

“This little…!” Plato growled, his voice thick with rare anger.

‘Right. Plato lost all six of his peers, didn’t he?’

“Is something wrong with your brain?” Leon spat, his voice sharp with rage. Brave, normally reserved, glared at Gray, his fists clenched.

Even Louise, the quiet and composed one, muttered coldly, “We’ll have to start your training from scratch.”

April, of course, remained calm, her voice dripping with mock sympathy. “Oh, come on. It’s not the recruit’s fault. They’re just having trouble adjusting to the unit.”

Her words only made the room feel colder. It was as if the air temperature dropped by a degree with every word she spoke.

“This is all because you seniors didn’t help them adapt properly…” she added with a theatrical sigh.

‘Goddamn it.’

I could feel the storm brewing. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

“There’s no other choice. You guys can handle it, right? I believe in you!” she said with a grin.

Let me say this again: April is absolutely insane.

When recruits mess up, you’d almost prefer she just hit them. But no, she never lays a hand on them. Instead, she comes up with the most creative forms of torture imaginable.

And so, under the pale moonlight, we found ourselves combing the ground for metal marbles scattered across a bed of sharp pebbles.

This was one of April’s favorite methods of torment: tossing steel marbles onto a rocky surface and making us find them.

‘Why, God, why did you give her creativity on top of her insanity?’

A crazy junior who gets their seniors into trouble. A creative senior who finds new ways to torment their juniors.

Between the two, I didn’t know which was worse.

Honestly, I just wanted to desert.