My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

I wasn’t a hardcore fan of NemiJip, so I didn’t remember the names of every squad member that appeared in the original novel.

But there was one name among the supporting characters I couldn’t forget: Benny. After all, she was the only female senior soldier the heroine, Dalin, had in the original story!

Which meant…

Finally, I’m free from being the newbie!

Benny was destined to survive, and she would take my place as the rookie in the women’s quarters!

“Ah, Benny…”

“Salvia, do you know her from somewhere?”

Ishina gave me a puzzled look. My eyes were probably half-unfocused by now. There was no way Ishina, who’d only been a rookie for three months herself, could understand how I felt.

“It’s just… I think Benny is such a lovely name…”

“W-what?”

Ishina exchanged bewildered glances with Karon, while I could feel Milphy, who was standing behind me holding laundry, giving me a strange look. But I didn’t care.

Goodbye, newbie life!

Benny, you adorable creature. I’ll absolutely dote on you from now on.

***

I did have two female seniors, April and Yuri, but by the time Dalin enlisted, both had already left this unit, leaving Benny as her sole female senior.

Of course, there was the small issue of Salvia—the body I was now inhabiting—dying in the original story. But as long as I stayed vigilant, couldn’t I dodge that fate?

The important thing right now was that Benny would survive.

In the original, Benny was a prodigy. A genius of swordsmanship who wielded wind aura, on par with talents like Winter and Aquila.

Not only that, but Benny had an incredibly kind and gentle personality. Every time Dalin made a mistake, Benny would console her and tell her not to overdo it.

She was as loyal an ally to the heroine as any of the male leads. You know, the type of character often found in romance novels: the “devoted maid” archetype, ready to tear up over the tiniest act of kindness from the noble heroine, or when the adorable baby heroine in a childcare story shows low self-esteem, or even when the protagonist of a villainess novel suddenly starts acting kind.

In short, Benny was the kind of ally who always saw the best in the heroine and would never betray her, no matter the circumstances. Even if the male leads took all the glory, there was always room for one devoted female ally. Benny filled that role perfectly.

Sure, she was Dalin’s senior, so her rank was higher than a maid’s, but the essence of her character was the same: no matter what, she was there to say, “It’s okay! I’ll help you!”

Her personality was so selflessly kind it bordered on naïve.

So, to summarize: she was a talented prodigy with the personality of a pushover.

In other words, Benny was the perfect junior!

But the most important thing isn’t Benny’s amazing skills or her kind personality...

Benny had an incredible secret.

She was…

The daughter of a two-star general.

Her father held two stars.

Let me repeat: two stars.

Sure, after the Crown Prince assassination incident, two-star generals didn’t seem all that impressive, but in reality, their presence was like dropping a bomb on a unit.

Benny’s father wasn’t just a two-star general. He was a major general and division commander.

If that fact came to light, even the company commander would grovel before her, and her life in the army could become absurdly easy. However, in the original story, Benny kept it a secret because she hated people treating her differently.

So she was what you’d call a “hidden powerhouse.”

When did she reveal her identity again?

I couldn’t remember the exact moment, but I think it was when Dalin was in danger. Since Benny’s role was as Dalin’s ally, it made sense that she’d reveal her secret to save her. Just casually throwing away years of secrecy for Dalin’s sake… I couldn’t help but envy the heroine’s position again.

Anyway, for now, it seems like I’m the only one in this unit who knows Benny’s secret.

For the first time, I had a chance to use information from the original story! If I took good care of Benny, she’d naturally feel grateful toward me, right?

And maybe, if I ever found myself in a bind, Benny would use her power to help me out!

Benny, I’ll take care of you no matter what…

Using my knowledge from the original story made me feel like the heroine of a transmigration novel. My protagonist skills: +100.

“Nice to meet you, Benny.”

“Ah, hello…!”

When I greeted her casually, Benny flinched and quickly returned the greeting.

She looked younger than me, with a gentle, round face. Her glossy brown bob and flawless white skin gave off a faint air of elegance, as if she’d been raised in a loving environment.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Salvia.”

After exchanging brief introductions, I started showing Benny around the quarters, pointing out the location of various supplies. Benny nodded attentively at everything I said.

Wow, she’s perfect.

Ever since I enlisted, nothing had gone this smoothly. Everything was so perfect it almost felt suspicious.

Things going too well in the military is a bad omen.

This couldn’t all be a dream, could it?

But seeing Benny’s lovely figure in front of me, it didn’t feel like a dream.

As I was painstakingly explaining the ins and outs of platoon life to Benny, Yuri, who had been lying on her bunk like she was watching TV, crooked a finger at me to come over.

I walked over, knowing she’d only sent Benny away because she had something to say to me.

Still sprawled like this place was her personal domain—which, given our status as lowly recruits, it essentially was—Yuri turned her sharp gaze toward Benny and spoke in a chilly tone.

“Rookie, you know where the bathroom is, right? Go wash your hands.”

“Pardon…?”

Out of nowhere, she told her to wash her hands. Benny, her brown eyes wide with confusion, hesitated. Yuri repeated herself, her voice laced with irritation.

“Basic hygiene is important. Go wash your hands.”

“Ah, understood!”

Wow, Benny really is a sweet kid…

She just obediently followed Yuri’s sudden and nonsensical order without even questioning it.

I turned my head to look at Yuri. Clearly, she had something to say to me and wanted Benny out of the way.

Once Benny had left, Yuri tilted her head at an angle and asked, her tone skeptical.

“So, why are you suddenly playing the angel again?”

Ah. It seemed Yuri didn’t like me getting attached to a rookie who might end up dead.

But this time, I had a confident answer.

“Yuri.”

“What?”

“I guarantee it. This rookie is definitely a genius.”

“…What?”

“My instincts are telling me so. Every time she swings her sword, the wind will ripple, and the earth will tremble. She’s definitely an incredible talent!”

Yuri stared at me, disbelief written all over her face.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m serious! I can feel it! This time, we’ve got a genius on our hands!”

“You’ve really lost it. Who tries to sell this kind of nonsense to a senior?”

***

And a week later, Yuri muttered under her breath:

“Well, would you look at that.”

Her quiet remark was drowned out by the cheers of the other seniors.

“Wow, it’s been ages since we’ve had a genius recruit!”

“This rookie’s something else!”

“Fantastic! Finally, we’ve got some real talent here!”

There was no need to elaborate on how outstanding Benny had been during her first swordsmanship training.

Having grown up with Arkon parents, Benny had apparently handled a sword even before enlisting. But the moment she held a blade, we all witnessed her natural brilliance.

A white aura blade swirled around her sword, and a gentle breeze began to stir from somewhere, making the grass quiver. Then, as she delivered a powerful, clean slash, a fierce gust of wind swept through everything in its path.

Clap, clap, clap—!

Amidst the scattering straw from the training dummy, applause erupted around Benny, who stood there with a bashful expression.

Of course, I was clapping enthusiastically along with the seniors.

“Perfect!”

A recruit who was both skilled and had a good personality—it was truly a flawless day!@@novelbin@@

“Salvia…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

As I kept clapping, Karon, looking as though I had betrayed him, drooped his eyes and spoke in a pitiful tone.

“Do you… like the new recruit better than me?”

“Don’t be silly. You’re my direct junior—that’s entirely different. Do you even know how much seniority you have over her?”

“But you never clapped for me like that…”

His words left me momentarily dumbfounded. Was I supposed to applaud him every time he did something? At that point, I’d be treating him like a trained dog, not a junior.

Still, to keep the peace, I had no choice but to placate him.

“Fine, I’ll make sure to clap for you from now on too.”

Clap, clap, clap—!

I gave him a light round of applause, and Karon’s expression instantly brightened.

Watching this, Aquila subtly started clapping along with me. Our gazes met in the air, and at this point, I could practically read Aquila’s thoughts just by looking at him.

“Do we really need to go this far?”

“Might as well—he likes it, doesn’t he?”