My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

Discharge D-2403 Days.

At the training field, wielding a sword instead of my usual rifle, I repeatedly practiced slashes, imbuing the blade with aura. Though my primary weapon was a gun, it was always good to train with other weapons occasionally, so I made a habit of practicing swordsmanship now and then.

Of course, today’s reason for picking up a sword was a little different.

“Altair, sir, could you take a look at this move?”

“Oh, sure, Salvia. What’s with you picking up a sword today~?”

Altair, wearing his usual easygoing grin, strolled over in his relaxed manner.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to get back to basics, sir. After all, aren’t swords the most compatible weapon for Arkons?”

“Ha, exactly~!”

“It’s always best to stay grounded in the fundamentals, I believe.”

“Ah, you’re absolutely right…. Kids these days seem to forget that the sword is the foundation of it all, but you’ve got your head on straight, kid.”

Altair laughed heartily, slapping me on the back a couple of times. I returned his laughter with the most natural smile I could muster.

‘Time to go all-in on playing politics.’

In the timeline of the original novel, Winter eventually became the commanding officer of this unit. Normally, commanding officers are reassigned to units other than the ones they originally trained in, but Winter was lucky enough to stay with this one.

Having climbed the ranks as an A-grade soldier with close-knit, equally elite peers, Winter now wielded significant influence as a sergeant. He was a "powerful" senior, to say the least.

This was true for his peers as well, but what mattered most was that Winter’s authority would peak when he became the commanding officer here.

‘That’s why I need to align myself with Winter’s circle.’

And to do that, I’d first need to get close to Altair, who was much more approachable than the "cool-mint poster boy" Winter. Altair was friendly toward juniors, making him the perfect starting point.

Altair was a simple, easy-to-read character. I often grouped him and his blue-haired, blue-eyed peers together as the "Cool Mint Trio." Altair, however, had a dual personality—he was both laid-back and occasionally a bit old-fashioned.

He was the type to butter up seniors with funny jokes and camaraderie while cracking harmless jokes with juniors. But the moment something annoyed him, he’d snap with a dramatic, “Ah, you little brats, can’t you get your act together~?”

In short, he was like one of those office managers who think they’re hip and modern.

‘I never thought I’d find myself dabbling in military politics.’

I’d always enjoyed political intrigue in romance fantasies—stories about heroines risking everything in imperial courts or noble households. The thrill of watching enemies’ subordinates fall one by one, the high-stakes battles of wits—it was captivating.

I hadn’t imagined I’d end up playing politics in my own transmigration story, but here I was, diving headfirst into the game.

‘And of all political arenas, military politics is the finest.’

“Fufufu…”

As I suddenly chuckled ominously, Altair flinched.

“Hey, did I just hear Lady April’s laugh? Must’ve been my imagination…”

Grinning slightly, I envisioned the battlefield of political maneuvering that lay ahead.

***

This unit wasn’t particularly rife with factional conflicts or political scheming. After all, people dropped dead all too often; it made more sense to spend time honing your skills than engaging in petty power struggles.

But this was still a group of humans, and where there are humans, there are cliques. While conflicts weren’t severe, factions did exist.

In particular, the sergeants of the 78th batch—Winter, Altair, and Yuri—had a clear rivalry with the 77th batch, led by Magne and Zara.

Yes, the same Magne who had taken Jaiden under his wing.

I suspected the rivalry stemmed from the fact that the "Cool Mint Trio" of the 78th batch was exceptionally talented and often compared to the 77th batch. Over time, that comparison likely bred resentment among the older group.

‘Right now, the 78th batch has the lowest seniority among the sergeants, but considering the future, aligning with Winter’s faction is the smartest move.’

And so, here I was, stuck listening to Altair ramble on.

“So that’s how I managed to move that huge boulder all by myself~.”

“Wow, that’s incredible! How did you manage it?”

“Well, my palms were shaped like a piece of cloth back then.”

“Hahaha!”

“Cough! Cough!”

Yuri, who had been walking past us while chugging water from a bottle, suddenly burst into a fit of coughing, spitting out water dramatically.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you…?”

She pointed a trembling finger at Altair, her tone incredulous. Altair, ever laid-back, raised one hand in a casual wave.

“Yo, what’s up?”

“Salvia… you’ve been through so much, haven’t you?”

Yuri approached me, her eyes unusually warm as she took my hands in hers.

“You’ve really suffered, haven’t you? As your peer, I’m so sorry.”

Then, turning to Altair with a look of pure disdain, she yelled, “Why are you bullying her?”

“Bullying? What do you mean? Didn’t you see? We were just having a good laugh!”

“Shut up! Stop subjecting juniors to this nonsense!”

“Hey, how is this nonsense—”

“Your jokes are nonsense!”

With that, Yuri grabbed Altair by the arm and began dragging him away, casting me a glance full of pity as she did.

“Seriously, Taro blows up whenever someone disturbs his sleep, Magne hurls curses at everyone, and now you—your jokes are the worst kind of harassment!”

“Hey, my jokes aren’t that bad—”

“They’re the worst of all!”

I sighed deeply as Altair was dragged out of sight.

“Honestly, there’s not a single normal person here…”

Altair, with his excellent swordsmanship, had the appearance of a cheerful and dashing young man. Unlike many seniors in the unit, whose training had bulked them up considerably, he had a lean frame. His blue hair shimmered with a healthy sheen, his blue eyes were framed by long lashes, and his pale skin was unblemished. In short, he looked like an idol.

But behind his fresh appearance was the personality of the most old-fashioned and unfunny man in the unit.

Still, his easygoing nature made him popular with juniors. The real problem was that he thought they followed him because he was trendy and hilarious.

“No, I can endure this… I have to become Altair’s right-hand person no matter what.”

Grinding my teeth, I left the training ground, reminded of the mountain of laundry still waiting for me.

When I trudged into the laundry room, Karon’s eyes lit up as he looked up at me.

“Where did you go?”

“Altair, sir.”

I gave a curt reply and crouched beside him, ruffling his hair.

“Good job, you’ve been working hard.”

I felt the stares of the recruits, including Jaiden, but I ignored them.

‘At least now Jaiden knows I get along well with the seniors.’

The pile of white dress shirts in the basket reeked of blood—a souvenir from yesterday’s battle with the monsters. Everyone had been drenched in blood.

“Damn it, whose bright idea was it to make us wear white dress shirts?”

I grumbled, pulling out a shirt that had been soaking in cold water and smearing toothpaste onto a brush.@@novelbin@@

As much as I hated this life, it was moments like these that reminded me: NemiJip was, fundamentally, a romance fantasy. That meant certain fantasy elements applied even in this reality.

For instance, despite sweating buckets during grueling training, no one ever reeked of body odor. Hair didn’t get greasy, and everyone’s appearance was unnaturally attractive.

One of these "romance fantasy" touches was the uniforms.

‘Who wears white dress shirts into battle? Seriously.’

Clearly, the author had only cared about making the male leads look good. Thanks to that, every post-battle cleanup involved an exhausting effort to scrub bloodstains out of white shirts.

‘What’s the point of making them look cool if their actions ruin the vibe anyway?’

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d transmigrate into a romance fantasy only to end up scrubbing bloody dress shirts with toothpaste.

Toothpaste, by the way, worked wonders on bloodstains. I vaguely recalled hearing about using hydrogen peroxide in my old world, but good luck finding that here.

By the time I finished scrubbing, the minty smell of toothpaste was so overwhelming that even brushing my teeth later made me nauseous.

“I’ll finish the rest!”

“Look at our adorable youngest,” I said, unable to resist ruffling Karon’s hair again. Technically, he wasn’t the youngest anymore, but he’d always be the baby in my eyes.

“By the way, where are Ishina and Aquila?”

“Oh, they stepped out earlier. Said they had something to discuss.”

“What?”

I shot to my feet, the freshly cleaned shirt still in my hand, as Karon blinked at me in surprise.

“I have to catch up with them!”

I was already bored to death with laundry, and the fact that they’d escaped without me made my blood boil.

“Get up! We’re going after them!”

“But what about the rest of the work…?”

“It’s almost done, don’t worry!”

The hardest part—scrubbing out the bloodstains—was already finished. All that was left was hanging the shirts in the sun to dry, and that didn’t need many people.

‘Guess I’m done here!’

I shot an apologetic glance at the recruits. Still, with a rank gap of over a year, wasn’t it perfectly fair for them to handle the rest?