My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

There was no room for excuses.

As I stood there, gaping like a fish out of water, looking like I might faint at any moment, Winter spoke again.

"You’re not seriously thinking about crossing the border, are you?"

"Wh-what? No, absolutely not. It’s just that, um… well…"

I couldn’t find a way to wiggle out of this mess. All I could do was stammer.

Winter’s face remained cold, his expression sharper than usual. What I used to think was just his resting face now looked more like he was ready to kill me. He resembled the grim reaper.

"At least you’re not dealing with severe depression. That’s a relief."

"...What?"

Still pale as a ghost, I could only repeat, "What?" over and over as Winter continued speaking in his usual calm tone.

"You’re normally fearless. Why are you so nervous today?"

"Huh?"

I cautiously observed his face, noting that he didn’t seem to be scolding me. Now that I thought about it, it was odd that he’d waited a full week after the incident to bring this up. If he intended to rip me apart, he wouldn’t have waited so long.

"S-sorry…"

I intentionally infused my voice with tension as I apologized, trying to gauge his reaction. Winter gave me a look of mild confusion.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because… I reported it…"

His eyebrows twitched slightly at the word "reported."

"Reporting? That was a justified complaint."

His voice suddenly flared with righteous indignation.

"The imperial family directly implemented that system to address the hardships of military life. All you did was follow protocol and file a legitimate grievance. If anyone penalizes you for that, it’s equivalent to defying the imperial family."

Wow. That’s so Winter.

I remembered him saying before that military law trumped unspoken rules and that above military law stood the imperial authority.

Winter had kept my secret out of loyalty to the empire!

"I’ll keep the fact that you wrote it a secret. Anonymity is the rule for love letters, after all."

"Winter…"

I gazed at him with wide, sparkling eyes.

Of course, I wasn’t foolish enough to think, "Does Winter like me? Is this the beginning of a romance arc?"

The reason was simple. If Winter liked me, it would violate his principles, and he’d transfer out of the company.

I knew him well by now. Winter would never break a rule. How he managed to control his emotions might seem like a mystery, but this was a man who could sense vibrations in the ground, the presence of others, and even regulate his own breathing. Controlling his emotions would be a trivial matter for someone like him.

Winter, apparently not finished, spoke again.

"As always, there’s so much I want to correct."

…And the moment of admiration was gone.

"But since it helped me, I’ll let it slide."

"Huh?"

"What you did ended up benefiting me. It’s only fair that I return the favor."

Benefiting him… He must have been referring to how my letter indirectly helped him take down Gagne without lifting a finger.

"If you need help in the future, as long as it doesn’t break any rules, let me know."

Wait a minute. For Winter—of all people—to say something like that first?

It was practically a declaration that I was part of his faction!

In exchange for the help I had given him, he was now offering his assistance in return.

The wave of emotion returned.

"Winter, you’re truly the best senior ever…!"

At that moment, I forgot about the existence of all other seniors and elevated Winter to the top spot in my heart.

No grudges, no fuss—just straightforward and reliable. Cool, minty, and icy—he truly was the best!

Winter, seemingly indifferent to my sparkling gaze, walked away in his signature cool manner.

Even his retreating figure looked effortlessly composed.

That understated exit…!

I decided then and there to increase Winter’s "coolness points" in my mind.

***

"Hey, looks like someone dropped something over there."

"Oh, oh! Sorry!"

As Winter pointed to a stray sock on the floor, his junior, Private First Class Denin, darted forward to pick it up without hesitation.

Winter stood still, waiting patiently as a junior cleaned near Altair’s spot in the barracks. When the area was finally clear, he sat down beside Altair.

"Ah, Winter! I-I'm sorry!"

Trainee Milphy, who had been cleaning nearby, froze in terror the moment he saw Winter and scurried away, bowing repeatedly. As Winter calmly took his seat, Altair burst into laughter.

"Pfft—hahaha!"

Winter turned to him, his voice firm. "What’s so funny?"

"Isn’t it hilarious?" Altair pretended to wipe away tears of laughter. "Your juniors act like you’re some kind of deadly weapon. They’re terrified of you!"

"What exactly about that is funny?"

"That! That’s what’s funny, too!" Altair grinned.

Winter rarely engaged in casual conversations within the platoon, and even when he did, it was only with his fellow 78th classmates, Altair and Yuri. Altair, in particular, always found Winter entertaining.

Listening to Altair’s teasing, Winter’s thoughts drifted to Salvia.

It was true—he was accustomed to juniors being scared of him. But Salvia was different. She showed no fear toward him at all. It seemed like fear just wasn’t in her nature.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to share this observation with Altair.

"Salvia is—"

Altair’s expression shifted strangely.

"—What’s up?" Winter asked.

"No, nothing… Go on."

Winter continued, despite Altair’s odd expression. "Salvia is probably the boldest person in this platoon."

"Yeah, she does seem that way when she looks at you. What, did she act like that again today?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…"

Altair appeared deep in thought, then leaned in closer to Winter, lowering his voice. "So, why? Are you interested?"

Winter didn’t understand the question. Showing personal interest in a junior in that way was a violation of military law—how could such a thing even be possible?

Altair saw Winter’s blank expression and chuckled, his features relaxing.

"Phew. That’s the Winter I know."

"Don’t entertain such pointless thoughts," Winter replied firmly.

Pulling out his notebook, he began jotting down his usual daily log. Altair, still grinning, watched him.

"Yep, back to your rigid self, scribbling away. That’s more like—"

Suddenly, Altair froze mid-sentence.

"Hey, Winter."

His hand trembling slightly, Altair reached out and grabbed Winter’s arm.

"Hey, hey, you…"

Altair pointed to a letter in Winter’s notebook.

"Why did you flip this letter?"@@novelbin@@

There it was: an "S," written in reverse. The flipped letter stood out starkly against the otherwise perfect script.

For a moment, Winter held his breath.

He had no idea why he had written the letter that way.

"…I’ve probably seen too many flipped letters recently. It must’ve been a mistake."

"Where exactly have you been seeing flipped letters?" Altair pressed, eyes narrowing.

Winter couldn’t answer. He knew Salvia often wrote her letters that way, but why had he done it? That was a question he couldn’t explain.

The silence stretched long. Altair, now unsettled, muttered in a dazed voice, "What’s wrong with you…?"

Altair could sense it—something was off.

His friend, who had always been so predictable and orderly, was starting to show cracks in his armor.

What the cause was, only Winter himself could know. But Altair couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that Winter was slowly spiraling into something unrecognizable.