My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 54Vol 2.

Aquila had never told me about his past.

Even so, I already knew the rough details.

All thanks to reading NemiJip, the original novel.

In the novel, Dalin had once asked Aquila about his family, and he had openly shared the truth with her. The gist of it was that, because he was destined to be sent to the Border Defense Army, his parents had abandoned him.

His parents had never considered themselves "Arkon." To them, Aquila was a stranger.

On top of that, they believed they wouldn’t be able to bear the pain of losing him when he inevitably died. So, they chose to abandon him before they could grow too attached.

When I first read that, I had thought it was absolutely ridiculous.

Seriously, what kind of messed-up world was this? Why was everyone so miserable?

After reincarnating, I had intentionally never asked Aquila about his family. I didn’t want to reopen old wounds.

And perhaps because he knew I had grown up in an orphanage, Aquila had never asked me about my family either.

Thus, we had spent our days together, never once mentioning family, and yet it had never felt unnatural.

But now—

Pandora’s box had been opened.

As I stood awkwardly between them, not knowing what to do, the woman—his mother—took hesitant steps toward Aquila.

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“You’re alive... You survived...”

A single tear slipped down her cheek.

Her hands shook as she reached toward Aquila, but before she could touch him, she collapsed onto her knees.

“Have you been discharged?”

“...Yes.”

“I see... So you survived all the way to the end...”

Watching her, I felt... strange.

Until now, I had assumed Aquila’s parents were obviously terrible people.

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I mean, what kind of parent abandons their child for a reason like that? It was insane.

But the woman before me—Aquila’s mother—looked as though she had truly, deeply loved him.

Of course, maybe this was just the convenient hypocrisy of someone who had suddenly reunited with their abandoned child after all these years.

As I stood there, glancing between them, Aquila briefly looked at me before finally speaking.

“...Let’s move somewhere else to talk.”

It seemed this was going to be a long conversation.

***

A little while later, we found ourselves seated in a café.

There were a lot of people around, but that worked in our favor—our voices blended into the noise, making it easier to talk without being overheard.

Across from us, Aquila’s mother sat with tear-streaked cheeks, her gaze scanning him as if searching for injuries.

She said nothing for a long time, just staring at him. Finally, after what felt like forever, she managed to speak.

“You’ve grown up so well. You made it through safely....”

She was clearly overwhelmed with emotion.

Aquila, on the other hand, remained utterly composed.

It was an uncomfortable sight—one person drowning in emotions, the other completely detached.

"My baby...."

She even had the audacity to call him that, making me glance at Aquila for his reaction.

Seriously? You abandoned him. How could you possibly use that term?

Aquila, however, remained unfazed. In a calm, emotionless tone, he asked,

“How is my father?”

“H-He’s... He’s in the capital right now.”

The capital?

At those words, I exchanged a look with Aquila. There was only one reason an ordinary citizen would be in the capital right now.

“Your father is participating in the Citizen’s Assembly. He believed this country had to change. He’s always thought that way. That’s why he was at the frontlines when the people rose up.”

So, Aquila’s parents were among the citizens who had taken part in the revolution.

Then, she said something unexpected.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“We didn’t revolt just because of heavy taxes or the emperor’s incompetence. The real reason we were angry was...”

She looked at Aquila with sorrowful eyes.

“...Because of you, Aquila. When we lost you to this country, we decided we couldn’t stand by and let a system that caused so much suffering continue to exist.”

I felt completely dumbfounded.

No, but... you abandoned him before anyone even had the chance to take him away.

What was this conversation even turning into?

Aquila’s mother—no, I didn’t even want to call her that anymore. This woman was infuriatingly hypocritical.

Yet, despite everything, Aquila remained as composed as ever.

“You’re saying you joined the revolution because of me?”

“Yes. Forcing people into the army just because they’re hetero sapiens—it’s wrong. A military where there’s no leave, no contact with the outside world—how is that acceptable? That’s not a military. That’s... that’s slavery.”

She wasn’t wrong. In fact, everything she said was completely right.

But the real question was—did she have the right to be the one saying this?

“After we gave you up, we reflected on it a lot. We regretted it, Aquila. No matter how afraid we were of losing you, abandoning you was the worst possible decision.”

Ah.

So she finally admitted it.

I stared at her with a look that said, Alright, keep going. Let’s hear what else you have to say.

“It was entirely our fault... Hhk... So after that, we started seeking out others who had lost their children to the Border Defense Army. We talked about this country, about everything wrong with it... And when this revolution broke out, we saw it as an opportunity and joined.”

That was new information.

Until now, I had assumed that only those enraged by the Empire’s incompetence had participated in the revolution. But it turned out that many people had joined because of their anger toward the conscription of hetero sapiens.

It made sense.

As the hetero sapien bloodline grew thinner, the Empire had started conscripting even those with only a trace of their blood.

It wasn’t uncommon for a family where the parents hadn’t served in the military to end up sending their children instead.

A good example was Patty and Matty. They were so close to being full imperial citizens that their hetero sapien traits were barely noticeable. Their weak physical abilities alone were proof of that.

So, of course, there were parents who raged ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) against a system that forcibly took their children.

Some must have watched in fear, dreading the day their own children would be sent away.

In the end, a large portion of the revolutionaries had been motivated by their hatred of the conscription system.

Once she finished speaking, Aquila slowly opened his mouth.

“...So, what do you want from me?”

“I... I just—”

“Are you asking for forgiveness?”

“I—I know I don’t deserve that. I know it’s impossible. But... but...”

Her gaze flickered between me and Aquila.

“I just want to know how you’re doing. Have you... Have you gotten married? I just want to hear about your life. That’s all.”

“I have someone I’m about to marry.”

Aquila’s expression stiffened for a moment, as if gathering his courage, before he finally continued.

“And I don’t see why I need to keep in contact with you.”

“A-Aquila! Please, just think about it again. Just once...”

At this rate, it was never going to end.

So I grabbed Aquila’s arm and pulled him up from his seat.

He took my hand without resistance, following my lead.

As we stood to leave, the woman’s eyes filled with despair.

Watching her, Aquila slowly spoke.

“...I’ll think about it. I’ll come back here in two days, at the same time.”

“Y-Yes! Please, just consider it! I won’t ask for anything more!”

I let out a quiet sigh.

Seriously.

Aquila might look like a cold-hearted guy, but he was too soft for his own good.

Not that being soft-hearted was a bad thing. Between the two of us, at least one of us had to have a kind soul, I suppose.

But seeing him hesitate even now—it was frustrating.

Not that I was planning to butt into his family affairs.

So instead, I yanked on his hand and spoke in a deliberately cheerful voice.

“Let’s go look at clothes.”

“...Clothes?”

“Yeah. My wedding dress!”

***

Ever since meeting his birth mother, Aquila’s mind had been in turmoil.

"Mother... Father..."

He had always been a child who rarely showed his emotions outwardly. But deep down, he had truly loved his parents. That was why being abandoned by them had left such a deep wound.

And now, the only person who could ever see through his heart—Salvia—was the one he loved.

Look at her now. The moment she sensed his turmoil, she had immediately dragged him off to look at wedding dresses, knowing he needed a distraction.

As Aquila sat waiting for her to come out in the dress, he remained lost in thought.

Unlike before, he no longer needed his parents.

Because now, he had Salvia—the family he had chosen for himself.

To him, the family he had chosen held far more meaning than the one tied to him by blood.

But still, seeing his mother cry in front of him, saying she had missed him... it made his heart waver.

Could he really abandon them completely?

He didn’t know what to do.

"Salvia is enough. Just Salvia. That’s all I need."

He muttered the words like a mantra, willing himself to believe them.

But his mother’s face kept floating in his mind.

Just as he was about to shake his head to clear his thoughts—

"Aquila?"

He looked up.

And there she was.

Salvia stood before him, dressed in a white wedding gown.

The mermaid-fit dress accentuated the elegant curves sculpted by years of training. Yet, the cascading fabric at the hem added just the right amount of grandeur, keeping it from looking too simple.

The shimmering gemstones embroidered in a wave-like pattern made her look like a siren emerging from the sea, while the exposed neckline, arms, and collarbones highlighted the pale glow of her skin.

In short—

Salvia, in a wedding dress, looked like an otherworldly being who had descended to ensnare him in love and kill him on the spot.

If she asked for his life at that moment, he would have gladly offered it up.

And just like that, all thoughts of his parents—

"They don’t matter."

—were blown away in an instant.

"Salvia, you’re so beautif—" Cough! Cough!

“What the—? Did you choke on air? Are you okay?!”

“S-Sorry, but you’re too beautiful, so can you stay back a little? Cough!”

Words poured out of him in an uncharacteristically flustered manner as his brain short-circuited.

How... How could a person be this beautiful?

This had to be illegal.

“A-Aquila?! Get a grip!”

“Salvia, I only need you....”

The bond with his parents no longer held any real meaning for him.

As long as he had Salvia, he could live just fine in this world.

“O-Okay, that’s a good resolution and all, but your eyes aren’t focusing!”

“No... I need to take a closer look....”

“Hey! Pull yourself together!”

And so, in just ten minutes, all of Aquila’s worries about his parents were completely and utterly erased.