My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 40Vol 2.

As soon as I heard the unfamiliar voice from inside the house, I instinctively pushed the door shut and held my ground. The Imperial Army was in there.

But I couldn't just stand here holding the door shut forever. I had to fight them. From the thudding sounds inside, there had ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) to be at least three Imperial soldiers.

As my face turned pale, April quickly shoved me back.

I stumbled backward, my pupils shaking as I looked at her, but April didn't even glance at me. She strode into the house without hesitation.

The moment she disappeared inside, something came flying toward me from within. I reflexively caught it.

"This is..."

A strange object shaped like a bomb. But there was no doubt—it was the dark magic artifact April had been looking for.

As I stared at it in confusion, April’s voice rang out from the darkened house.

"Salvia, go."

"What?"

"You can’t let them see your face. Run. Now!"

"Yes!"

This wasn’t the time to say something stupid like, ‘But...’ and waste time.

I followed April’s orders without hesitation, turning around and preparing to run. But just as I did, her voice called out again from behind me.

"From now on, I’m leaving my share of the fight to you."

"What...?"

It sounded like the words of someone who wouldn’t be coming back. That made me stop in my tracks.

"What are you standing around for? Get moving, you coward."

Her sharp words left me no choice but to turn away and run.

"Haha! So you're the owner of this house? We've finally caught you after waiting in ambush!"

"Come at me."

The sound of swords clashing violently echoed behind me, but I didn't stop running. I kept going until I was completely out of reach of April’s house.

"Haa... haah..."

Even as I ran, my head pounded like hell, but I couldn’t stop thinking.

Would April be safe?

The Imperial Army would continue hunting her down—would she make it out?

What would happen to our revolution?

Could it still succeed even if we lost our leader?

...Everything was falling apart.

***

After confirming that Salvia had left, April infused her sword with aura. A green glow, the same shade as her eyes, shimmered around her blade.

There were three Imperial soldiers inside. That was manageable on her own.

"Come at me."

She muttered the words indifferently, planting her feet firmly with her back to the direction Salvia had run.

She trusted Salvia.

From what April had seen, Salvia was more dedicated to the revolution than she was. She constantly came up with new ideas, ones even April hadn’t considered. That was why she could lead.

April would never return to the revolutionaries.

Not because she expected to lose and be captured.

But because, from now on, the Imperial Army would be hunting her relentlessly. She had to go into hiding, avoiding any contact with the Dark Magic Investigation Unit’s members.

From now on, Salvia had to be the leader of the revolution.

"What are you waiting for? Come at me."

As soon as April taunted them again, all three soldiers rushed forward.

At the same time, she unleashed her aura blade, and in an instant, thick green vines shot out, tightly wrapping around them.

As they struggled desperately to free themselves, April let out a soft chuckle.

"I told you. You can't win."

She glanced over her shoulder. Salvia was long gone.

Take care of it, Salvia.

***

As expected, all faces darkened at once. Those who had been close to April—Louise, Brave, and Leon—looked especially grim.

"...So April entrusted everything to you."

When Plato spoke in his usual calm voice, everyone's gaze shifted back to me.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

...So now I was the leader of the revolution? Not the protagonist of a romance fantasy, but the protagonist of a revolution?

I stood there awkwardly as El nodded.

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"If it’s Salvia, it makes sense."

"Of course. If anyone is to take over after April, it has to be Salvia."

"I agree."

As the others spoke one after another, I felt incredibly wronged. What the hell? Give me my image back. Even Aquila nodded along with them, making it all the more ridiculous.

"Anyway, even if April isn’t coming for a while, our plans won’t change. We proceed as scheduled."

As I spoke, I kept glancing toward the door. There was someone I was waiting for.

By now, things should have started happening...

To figure out when the Emperor would declare war, April and I had spent time poring over history books.

Benny’s father had subtly planted the idea in the Emperor’s head on a Thursday.

Preparing for war would take at least a week, plus two more days for the Border Defense Army to move toward Fleur-Rosen.

That would bring us to Sunday. But according to the Adolph Empire’s state religion, Sunday was the "Day of Peace," which meant war couldn’t be declared then. If the Emperor started a war on that day, he’d be branded a coward and face even harsher criticism.

So the most likely days were Monday or Tuesday.

And today was Monday. That was why I kept glancing at the door, waiting for good news.

"Salvia! Salvia!"

Just then, Karon burst through the door, calling my name.

I had assigned him to check for any breaking news in the town square. Since his hair color was ordinary, he blended in well and was ideal for gathering information.

In his hands was a newspaper.

"Breaking news! The Empire has declared war!"

"Knew it!"

I clenched my fist in victory, and the others inside the house widened their eyes in shock.

Everything had gone according to plan. The Emperor had actually declared war.

And there was no way he would win. Because the key to his war—the Arkons—would never fight for him.

The magical contract forbade desertion, but it didn’t forbid insubordination. That was the loophole we had discovered.

As I basked in the imagined glory of our impending victory, El frowned and asked a question.

"But if war happens, won’t our own forces take damage? The casualties would be too great for this to be justified as part of the revolution. If people realize we manipulated this, there could be serious backlash."

Hearing that, I grinned.

"Oh, don’t worry. Because the last ship that left for the Kingdom of Butein... should be arriving right about now."

A few days ago, in preparation for war, the Imperial Palace had ordered all ships bound for Butein to be grounded.

But the last ship to leave belonged to the Empire’s largest agricultural magnate.

And onboard that ship was the best smooth-talker in the entire Border Defense Army—second only to me.

Altair.

Altair would sell the Empire’s secrets to Butein flawlessly.

***

"War?! Right before my discharge?! What the hell is this?!"

Jason clutched his head in despair.

Without a doubt, Jason believed he was the most miserable person in the Border Defense Army.

He had finally become a commissioned officer, settled into a comfortable role, and was only six months away from discharge—then this happened?

"Jason, what’s wrong?"

"Is it about the war?"

"Don’t worry!"

"We’ll be home soon!"

As if that weren’t enough, he had been assigned to the same unit as Patty and Matty.

This was an absolute nightmare. How could such a ridiculous coincidence happen? Was someone manipulating his life for entertainment?

Of course, if that were the worst of it, he would have counted himself lucky. But Jason’s bad luck didn’t end there.

"Argh! And now the sky’s raining trash again?!"

First, he had been assigned to the Snowy Mountain Battalion.

"Jason! Did you hear the news?"

Second, his new company commander was Dalin.

A legendary headache of a subordinate had now become a company commander. Jason could feel his blood boiling. And to make matters worse, even after being promoted, Dalin was still just as much of a menace. His life was a never-ending series of disasters.

Not long ago, during snow-clearing duty, he had even seen Dalin meeting Salvia. He barely managed to stop Patty and Matty from greeting her, keeping his identity hidden.

He had to avoid meeting Salvia again. She would undoubtedly call him "Just Jason," and that would definitely revive the old nickname he had tried so hard to bury.

But war—this was the worst thing that could have happened.

"That damn Emperor! Just drop dead already!"

As Jason was muttering his curses, Dalin approached and spoke in a low voice.

"Jason, don’t worry too much. We’re going to lose this war anyway."

"Yeah, thanks—wait, what?!"

"Tsk, tsk! Show some respect!"

"...Someone, please, just let me desert already!"

"Don’t worry too much, Jason, hehe."

Dalin patted Jason’s shoulder kindly.

"Alright, this isn’t the time for complaining. Jason, go get to work."

"Work? What work?"

All Border Defense Army troops had been ordered to leave their current stations and head toward Fleur-Rosen. Every second counted right now. So what work was Dalin talking about?

"Well, you see, Jason... I accidentally activated a dark magic artifact that attracts monsters from the border."

"...Excuse me?"

"Because of that, all the monsters beyond the border are now swarming this way! We need to go fight them!"

"Wh-what the hell?!"

Jason staggered, clutching his head.

What was he hearing? How could someone accidentally cause a disaster like this?

But before he could process it, the distant howls of monsters rang through the air.

His future—filled with bloody battles against swarms of monsters—flashed before his eyes.

"Haha, well, I’ll be going now."

"Hey! You caused this mess—where the hell do you think you’re going?!"

In the end, Jason abandoned all formalities and spoke informally to his commanding officer. But Dalin didn’t seem to mind. Smiling brightly, he replied.

"Well, I have to go to prison."

"What?!"

"After causing a mess like this, of course I’m going to get locked up. So, you go fight the monsters. Bye!"

"Just throw me in prison too!!!"

Only Jason’s desperate cries echoed through the snowy mountains.