My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 153

The man who previously showed no interest in me was now fully focused, his nerves on edge as he listened intently.

This was where the real battle began. I just had to make sure he took the bait.

“Company Commander, have you heard about the legend of the Snowy Mountain Battalion?”

“The legend of the Snowy Mountain Battalion?”

“Yes, as you know, this battalion has an unusually high death rate.”

I whispered in a grim tone, adding to the ominous atmosphere.

“There are quite a few soldiers who claim to have seen ghosts.”

“W-what?! Ghosts?!”

“Yes. I believe the presence you felt that night might have been one.”

The company commander was the most superstitious person I had ever met. My plan was simple—implant a new superstition into his already paranoid mind and ensure he scared himself so much that he’d give up trying to find the culprit.

“A ghost? No, that’s impossible!”

But he didn’t fall for it as easily as I expected. With a resolute face, he protested.

“I already used a ghost detection kit on my first day here, and there were no signs of any ghosts!”

...Damn it. He was so devoted to his superstitions that it was actually backfiring on me.

But I wasn’t worried.

People like him—who took superstitions that seriously—were also the easiest to fool. If a superstition was unfamiliar yet convincing, they would cling to it without question.

And lucky for him, I came from a world he didn’t know. I had plenty of myths to tell.

“It must be a different kind of ghost. As you know, this place is freezing—cold enough to freeze corpses solid.”

“...So what?”

The ghost I was about to create would be an amalgamation of various supernatural beings.

“According to the legend, even if it’s buried, it crawls out of the ground on its own.”

A little bit of a zombie.

“Once it emerges, its body remains stiff from the cold, so it hops forward with its arms stretched out.”

A touch of jiangshi, the Chinese hopping vampire.

“AAAAAH!”

Sure enough, the company commander turned pale—beyond pale, really. His face had gone blue. He flailed his hands in pure panic, completely thrown off by this brand-new horror story.

“So... So you’re saying that kind of ghost exists in this battalion?”

“Yes, and what’s more...”

This wasn’t enough yet. I needed to add more detail to make it real.

“I’ve heard it feeds on human souls.”

“Guh...!”

“It does so because consuming souls allows it to escape its frozen body and enter a living one. Once it picks a target, it continuously drains their soul...”

I lowered my voice, speaking in an eerie, whispery tone.

“If someone faints, it means the ghost has already taken a part of their soul. If it happens repeatedly, and their soul is completely consumed... the ghost takes over their body.”

“N-no way! That’s absurd...!”

To strengthen his belief, I tied the story to something he already knew as true.

“They say this happens because, although the person dies, the magic contract binding them doesn’t break due to a magical error. There’s also a rumor that every time this ghost appears, a monster shows up nearby. Though I’m not sure if those things are related...”

“Wait, wait... A contracted Arkon... Monsters appearing one after another... No way!”

Got him.

Now, he would believe that an Arkon ghost—one bound by a contract—was summoning monsters. And since he thought I had no way of knowing this truth, he would trust my words even more.

“Th-there’s really such a legend?”

“Yes. You can ask the recruits.”

Of course, the recruits would all give the same answer.

After all, in exchange for cooperating with me on this, I had promised to be completely invisible until I was discharged.

Thrilled at the prospect of a peaceful three months without me causing trouble, they had eagerly memorized every single word of the legend I had crafted.

“Th-that makes sense. This place is so cold... bodies don’t decompose properly... A ghost legend seems plausible...”

Just as expected. Even without me saying anything more, he was filling in the gaps with his own imagination.

“Then... that night... The thing I felt listening in on my conversation... That was it?”

“Yes. And the footprints disappearing suddenly? That also makes sense, doesn’t it? Ghosts tend to appear and disappear without warning.”

“W-wait, didn’t you say the ghost chooses a target?”

“That’s right. And if the ghost was listening to you that night...”

I was about to push his fear to the absolute limit.

“There’s a very high chance that it has already chosen you as its target.”

“HUAAAH...!”

Gasping for air, the company commander frantically stretched out his arms, displaying the numerous bracelets clinking on his wrists.

“T-that’s impossible! Look at this! This bracelet wards off evil energy! This one enhances my health! This one blocks misfortune! And this one repels ghosts...!”

“But you don’t have one that repels the Snowy Mountain Battalion’s ghost, do you?”

“Ugh...! That’s... true...!”

Finally, accepting the gravity of his situation, he turned even paler than the ghost he feared. With trembling lips, he asked me in desperation.

“T-then do you know how to escape it? How do I stop being its target?”

“We don’t know. Every soldier who was marked as a target eventually died in battle with monsters... So I suppose there’s no way to avoid it.”

“That’s impossible! There’s a way to exorcise every ghost!”

“Exorcising it, huh...? That’s true. There must be a way to exorcise it.”

I furrowed my brows, pretending to be deep in thought.

“To escape the Snowy Mountain Battalion’s ghost... Oh!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

I snapped my fingers as if I had just realized something.

“It’s the Snowy Mountain Battalion’s ghost. If you leave the Snowy Mountain Battalion, wouldn’t the ghost be gone?”

“T-that’s...!”

“But of course, that’s just my speculation. I was simply worried you might become a victim, so I thought I should let you know. Well then, I’ll be off.”

Leaving the company commander gripping his head in despair, I turned around, hiding a satisfied smirk.

Company Commander, from now on, you will be starring in a special horror event, directed by Salvia.

***

Of course, I knew a mere ghost story wasn’t enough to make him leave.

He wasn’t that easy of a target.

So now, I needed to make him believe the ghost was real.

And for that, I needed an accomplice.

The recruits? No, they were scared of me, but they wouldn’t go out of their way to help with something this elaborate. Besides, they could just tell the company commander the truth and get me locked up.

Instead, the perfect person to ask was...

“Red, so what do you think of my plan?”

“Hmmm, that’s...”

Red, a fellow officer who was sprawled out in his quarters like the laziest bum alive, scratched his head after listening to my explanation.

Then, with a grin, he spoke.

“That sounds hilarious!”

I knew how officers thought.

They were bored to death.

They weren’t stuck doing the same grueling training or mundane chores as the enlisted men, and they had enough strength to not fear monsters. As a result, they were constantly desperate for entertainment.

Which is why, when I proposed a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ ridiculous-sounding plan like pretending to be a ghost to terrify the company commander, Red didn’t ask why.

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He just got excited.

“This is gonna be fun! Finally, something interesting to do!”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure it’s very entertaining.”

“I mean, you’re even targeting an officer now? Salvia, your creativity is unmatched!”

...It seemed like he misunderstood my reasons, but oh well.

Either way, he was on board.

Perfect.

Now that I had my actor, I was fully prepared to deliver a proper horror experience to the company commander.

Let the ghost games begin.

***

“Company Commander! Company Commander!”

“W-who...? Salvia?!”

As soon as someone called his name, the company commander flinched. But upon realizing it was me, his expression slightly relaxed.

His complexion was darker than before, and the dark circles under his eyes were severe. He looked exactly like someone who hadn’t been sleeping well.

I knew that look all too well—I had worn the same face back when Dalin was a fresh recruit.

It seemed that the legend I had told him was working.

Unfortunately, he had yet to consider the possibility that I had simply lied to him and that the culprit who eavesdropped on his conversation wasn’t a ghost, but a person.

“I’m here to report on the upcoming training, sir.”

“Ah, training... R-right.”

As I relayed the usual training-related matters, I subtly glanced around.

I had already set up the scene beforehand, but as expected, it was just me and the company commander here.

More importantly, to the right was the hallway.

Thud—! Thud—!

Just as I was drawing out the conversation, the appointed time arrived, and heavy, rhythmic thudding echoed from somewhere.

“W-what... What is that sound?”

The company commander, who had already been on high alert for ghosts, widened his eyes in alarm.

I, however, casually muttered in an indifferent tone.

“Oh, it’s starting again...”

“W-what is?”

“The ghost I told you about earlier. It sometimes makes that thudding noise when it appears. But don’t worry—it usually disappears on its own, so as long as you’re not the target, you have nothing to—oh.”

“T-target?! You said I was the target!!”

The thudding sounds grew closer.

With trembling hands, the company commander slowly reached for the door, pushing it open to look out into the hallway.

And at that moment—

“Gah!”

Wrapped in a black turban to obscure his face, Red was hopping down the corridor with his arms stretched out in front of him.

To create the stench of a rotting corpse, he had even gone to the garbage disposal area right before the operation.

“Hrk...!”

The company commander clamped a hand over his mouth. His face was frozen in shock, looking as if he might collapse at any second.

But if he regained his senses and realized that what he saw was a person and not a ghost... I’d be completely screwed.

Of course, I already had a solution prepared for that.

Once again—let me remind you—I was an officer now. And I had fully absorbed all the underhanded tactics that officers used when I was still a recruit.

For instance...

“Hup—!”

I swiftly pulled a tranquilizer dart from my uniform and fired it straight at the company commander’s neck.