My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 71

‘Is he just shameless? But seriously, why is he asking me pointless questions like that in the first place?’

I couldn’t figure anything out, but I decided to play along with him, pretending that nothing had happened between us.

“Why do you ask? Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong on my end,” Ishina replied, his green eyes curving softly as he smiled.

“How about you, Salvia? How are you doing these days?”

‘...So that’s what this is about.’

Anyone could tell from my increasingly haggard appearance lately that he was trying to probe me discreetly. Not that it wasn’t obvious.

Come to think of it, Ishina, who never used to talk to me, actually approached me first. My condition must have gotten worse than I thought.

“It’s just... the military is always the same.”

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“Really? Is that so?”

Before I could even answer, Benny, who’d been hovering around Aquila and me with a strange demeanor, suddenly interjected.

“No, she’s completely sleep-deprived.”

“Benny!”

‘...Okay, maybe I did curse out loud occasionally in the middle of the night while lying in bed.’

It seemed like Benny wanted to address the situation somehow. But seriously, spilling my personal issues without asking me first?

I shot a sharp glare at Benny, but he responded with his usual calm expression, completely unbothered.

“I had no choice. Ishina outranks you, so it’s only natural that I respond.”

“Just wait until we get back to the dorm...”

Using the fact that Ishina outranked me to his advantage, huh?

‘Benny, you’ve grown bold...’

“Salvia.”

A sudden warm breath brushed past my left ear, making me flinch.

“Wh-what?!”

Aquila, who had been silent until now, tightened his grip on the arm he was supporting and spoke.

“So, why can’t you sleep?”

...Damn it, I was trying to keep my condition under wraps.

But really, this was something that would resolve itself once the incident threatening my life was dealt with. The sense of betrayal I felt toward Ishina would naturally fade with time....

“It’s nothing. I just haven’t been feeling well lately, that’s all...”

I tried to deny it, but Aquila didn’t look convinced.

“What’s going on? Is it something you can’t talk about?”

Normally reserved, Aquila suddenly started firing off questions like a machine gun, while Ishina went quiet.

If he had any capacity for self-reflection, he’d probably realized by now that this situation stemmed from how coldly he’d treated me before.

‘Damn it, if you’re aware of that, then at least explain yourself.’

But Ishina kept silent as if he genuinely had nothing to say.

Meanwhile, Aquila’s reddish-orange eyes, which were staring directly at me, showed a deeper, more persistent concern than usual.

“Nothing’s happened recently, so why can’t you sleep all of a sudden? Is it because Dory died? Or because the new recruits aren’t getting along with you? Or because Yuri and Altair were discharged? ...Too many options.”

“I don’t know. I really don’t have anything to say.”

Cutting him off as if I had no intention of explaining, I noticed his gaze turning more dissatisfied. But this really wasn’t something he could help with.

“I’ll tell you later, when I can talk about it.”

“...Fine. Just make sure you keep that promise.”

Weakly, I hooked my pinky around his, sealing the promise.

***

But of course, Aquila wasn’t the only one who noticed my increasingly gaunt appearance.

“...Salvia, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine...”

“You don’t sound very convincing.”

“Yes, well, Winter, you’ve mentioned that about thirty times before, but I still haven’t managed to fix it. I’ll work on it.”

“...No, that’s not what I meant. Here, eat this.”

Looking down at the apple pudding Winter had placed on my plate, I decided to accept it gratefully. Two puddings! This was practically a feast.

“You don’t seem to have much energy because you’re eating so little.”

...At that, I glanced back and forth between Benny’s dainty princess-like portions and what seemed like a normal serving on my plate.

“I don’t think I’m eating too little, though... maybe...?”

Seriously, what were Winter’s standards? Benny was eating even less than I was, but I was the one getting scolded for not eating enough?

Ugh, in romance novels, whenever the female lead lost her appetite and grew frail, the male lead would go out of his way to prepare all sorts of delicacies to make her eat.

But in this hellish military life, all they could do was offer me their share of pudding. This reincarnation was definitely flawed.

“You weren’t eating your soup, so I thought you might not have an appetite.”

“...That’s because Patty accidentally spilled a ton of powdered lizardtail grass into the soup while running errands in the kitchen. It tasted awful...”

According to Benny, that powder was meant for repelling monsters, but it ended up repelling human palates too. Damn it.

“...I see. I’ll make sure Patty is dealt with appropriately.”

Winter’s expression turned sour for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and asked.

“Is there anything else you want?”

I stared at Winter, who seemed to think I was a fragile flower on the brink of withering, and decided to give an honest answer.

“Grapefruit tart drizzled with honey, topped with plenty of whipped cream, and a soufflé garnished with green grapes, strawberries, bananas, and melon. Oh, and apple crumble served with ice cream.”

“...I’ll arrange your guard duty during the best daytime slots instead.”

...Didn’t expect him to go that far. Hmm, I’ll add +20 to Winter’s male lead potential for this.

Meanwhile, Karon, desperate to grab my attention, was obviously another person who had noticed my state.

“Salvia, is there a subordinate bothering you?”

“Yes, you—could you just stay still for once?”

At that, Karon looked dejected but still didn’t stop trailing after me.

“If you’re having trouble sleeping, you could try mixing Macervelli flower pollen with water—”

“That’s a drug, you idiot!”

Seriously, how does he even remember stuff like that after losing his memory?

“Where did you even learn that? Who told you?”

“...I wonder? I have no idea why I know this.”

Seeing Karon widen his eyes innocently as if he genuinely didn’t understand, I sighed heavily. The road of raising a child was long and arduous.

***

Today, I stood on duty again with my haggard face.

I wanted to give up and just sit down to rest, but since you never know when a monster might suddenly appear during border duty, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

At least, the person on duty with me wasn’t one of those psychotic, morally bankrupt seniors, but Winter. It was probably intentional on his part to set it up this way.

Either way, as long as Winter was beside me, I was certain I wouldn’t die during this shift.

Winter hadn’t said much to me so far, just occasionally glancing in my direction.

“...Salvia, if you feel like you need some rest, let me know. I can arrange for you to be excused from duty as much as possible.”

“I’m fine... but isn’t that against the rules?”

Winter going against regulations? That was odd enough to make me pause...

‘Wait, is this a romance fantasy trope?!’

“Even if strict adherence to rules isn’t possible, there are moments when flexible judgment is necessary. Rules should never take precedence over basic human compassion. And this is one of those moments...”

“No, no, I’m really fine...”

...Sigh, so Winter’s top principle was “compassion toward others,” rather than military law. A romance cliché? Of course not. That makes sense.

As I weakly declined Winter’s offer, I suddenly felt a strange sense of foreboding and straightened my posture.

It wasn’t just me who felt it—Winter, too, had fixed his gaze beyond the border.

...Something was there. There was definitely something.

A chilling aura that instinctively made my skin crawl. The overwhelming presence of a massive predator that made me want to flee.

Even though there wasn’t a single breeze, the leaves piled near the border began to rustle softly.

‘Is the ground shaking?’

Before Winter and I had a chance to exchange words about the situation, a shadow loomed over the ground.

“Ah...”

I let out a gasp, quickly covering my mouth in shock. No, I needed to stay silent. Somehow, I had a gut feeling about that monster.

‘I shouldn’t let it notice me.’

The creature that appeared beyond the border had a shape unlike anything I’d ever seen.

For example, dragons were terrifying and grotesque, sure, but they at least resembled the monsters I’d read about in countless fictional works.

But this... the thing in front of me...

‘It’s massive.’

Its size was beyond comprehension. Even though years had passed since I was reincarnated into this novel, the creature looked as big as the skyscrapers I faintly remembered from my previous life.

A giant black body so dark I couldn’t even make out its surface.

It looked vaguely mammalian but had six legs, a massive hippo-like mouth, and a tail reminiscent of a lizard’s.

As I held my breath, my trembling hands gripping my rifle, the monster turned its massive body and slowly retreated the way it had come.

Only after its shadow disappeared completely did I finally breathe again.

“Hah... Hah...”

My legs gave out, and I felt myself sinking to the ground.

“What the hell was that...”

Before my knees could hit the ground, Winter grabbed my arm and gently helped me sit down.

“Winter...”

“Salvia, are you alright? Is your breathing steady? Do you feel any chest pain?”

“...It’s not that bad.”

Winter’s overreaction seemed to calm my racing heart, which had been pounding from the encounter.

“More importantly, what... what was that monster we just saw?”

There was no way that giant and grotesque creature wasn’t a first-tier monster. It had to be. The types of first-tier monsters weren’t that many, so it should be easy to deduce.

A massive black body, a lizard-like appearance with six legs, and that distinctive giant mouth... I racked my brain.

“Ghostgroom, isn’t it?”

When I spoke the name that came to mind, Winter nodded.

“That’s right. You remembered well. It’s a Ghostgroom.”

Ghostgroom, nicknamed the “Phantom Groom,” was a monster known for swallowing people whole with its enormous mouth.

Surprisingly, it was an herbivorous monster that didn’t hunt animals—only humans. Its diet consisted of plants or people, nothing else. Talk about extreme preferences....

‘...Wait a minute.’

I felt like I was forgetting something crucial about Ghostgrooms.

‘Why was it called the Phantom Groom?’

I vaguely recalled hearing Linia mutter something about it while memorizing facts. A faint image of Linia standing in the corridor next to me came to mind.

“Ghostgroom, a monster that swallows people whole with its giant mouth. Ugh, I can’t seem to memorize this... Oh, it’s called Phantom Groom because it mostly preys on women.”

...And what was the key detail about the monster that killed Salvia in the original novel?

One, its hide was so tough that even steel couldn’t pierce it.

Two, it was enormous.

Damn it... a death flag.

So, in summary...

‘This is a death flag for me, damn it!’

I felt like I’d just watched the entire side story where Ghostgroom devoured the original Salvia whole.

Now that I think about it, the Ghostgroom’s appearance was reminiscent of a boa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant. To think I might end up as that elephant... what a novel experience.

I could already picture my future, setting out to hunt the Ghostgroom only to be digested by it. Damn it.