My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

"What the hell are we supposed to do?"
The officers still hadn't come up with a concrete solution.
I glanced over to where the Cledore Mountain Battalion was stationed.

In situations like this, I had a habit of instinctively seeking out Aquila.
"Hey, Red. Watch over the recruits for me."
"Huh? Uh… okay…."

The junior officer I had just put on the spot responded hesitantly.
Without hesitation, I smoothly maneuvered through the crowd, making my way toward the Cledore Mountain Battalion.
"Aquila!"

"Salvia."
The moment I appeared, he pulled me into his arms as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He didn’t seem fazed by the situation at all.

"What do you think this place is? Do you think we can escape?"
"Hard to say. This black magic is far more complex than I expected."
I stared at him, noting how calm he was.

"Why aren’t you freaking out?"
"Because there’s no reason to."
"What do you mean? We’re trapped."

"Yes, but you’re trapped with me."
…That was not the answer I had been expecting.
Feeling an inexplicable warmth rush to my cheeks, I blushed.
From the side, Benny, who had been watching with an amused expression, let out a chuckle.

Yeah. I knew exactly why she was acting like that now.
"Seriously, how are you two like this even in a situation like this? Can’t you at least pretend to prioritize your survival?"
"Ishina?"

At the familiar voice, I turned to see Ishina approaching, his expression exasperated.
"Are you two asking to get thrown into solitary confinement?"
"…No, sir."

I quickly took a step back from Aquila, and only then did Ishina seem satisfied.
"This isn’t the time for romance. I get it, you’re in love. Good for you. Actually, no, bad for you. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here alive."
His words brought me crashing back to reality.

Yeah, no matter how much romance I built with Aquila, the world around me was still a messed-up apocalypse. We were still in a life-threatening situation.
Even if I stood here and declared true love, no black mage was going to be so moved that they’d suddenly let us go.
The situation was still dire.

The officers continued their tense discussions with dark expressions, while the recruits whispered anxiously amongst themselves.
Then, among the group of Alpha Platoon recruits, I spotted Sanchez.
"Sanchez! It’s been a while!"

Hearing his name, Sanchez gave a small nod, his expression completely neutral.
"Ishina. Salvia. It’s good to see you."
"Yeah, have you been doing well?"

"Yes. I’ve been keeping up with my daily routine—1,000 sit-ups, 2,000 push-ups, and running 500 laps around the training field…."
"Uh-huh. Sounds like you’ve been doing just fine."
So, in other words, he was living his usual Sanchez life.

"Sanchez, do you know anything about this black magic?"
"Ah. The officers seemed to have figured it out already, but…."
Sanchez’s expression hardened as he looked beyond the rocky terrain.

"This entire space is a massive black magic-created pocket dimension. However, some illusion magic is mixed in, making it feel larger than it actually is."
"Really? You know that just by looking?"
I asked, genuinely impressed that there was no black magic Sanchez didn’t know about.

He gave a curt nod.
"Yes. A black mage once tried to trap me in a similar pocket dimension. But before they could, I broke their arm, flipped them over, and—"
"Okay, you can stop there."

Yeah. That sounded exactly like something Sanchez would do.
I had been about to dismiss it as just more of the same information we’d already gotten, but then Sanchez said something that made everyone pay attention.
"To sustain a pocket dimension like this, there must be at least one black mage trapped inside with us."

"What?"
My eyes sharpened.
"Then…"

"Yes. If we find the black mage and beat the crap out of them, we should be able to escape. If not, then there must be an object sustaining this space. Destroying that would work too. I don’t know the exact details, but either way, finding the black mage is the key."
I surveyed the jagged, uneven rock formations surrounding us. The terrain was too obstructed to see far ahead.
It was entirely possible that somewhere beyond this rocky expanse, a black mage was hiding.

"But doesn’t it seem like a waste of resources for a black mage to trap this many soldiers here? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to just attack us outright?"
At that moment, Sanchez said something that made my expression instantly darken.
"That, I do know for certain. Since this pocket dimension was created through black magic… it’s highly toxic to living beings."

"Toxic? How bad?"
"From what I remember, this place contains a mix of various toxic substances and carcinogens. It can raise blood pressure, cause headaches, triple the risk of developing cancer, increase the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes, induce coughing, and—"
"Wait. Are you a doctor? How do you know all this?"

For some reason, it felt like I was listening to an anti-smoking commercial.
I stared at Sanchez with a suspicious look, but he continued his explanation unfazed.
"…And lastly, prolonged exposure will gradually drain your life force, causing you to wither and die in a short period of time."

"THAT’S what you should have led with!"
He really needed to work on organizing his information better!
Now that I knew staying here too long could literally kill us, I started to feel unwell.

The sensation of my body weakening—it was probably just in my head, but I wasn’t the only one.
All around me, other soldiers were also nervously touching their arms and checking their pulses, as if suddenly aware of their mortality.
"In that case, we need to find the black mage immediately."

There was no way in hell I was going to let myself wither away in some black magic hellhole.
My discharge was just around the corner.
No way was I dying here, XX.

And as for the black mage responsible for all this…
Well, what a pity for them.
Because violence and fear just so happened to be the Border Defense Army’s specialty.

They were about to learn that the hard way.
***
The officers concluded their meeting quickly. It seemed that, through additional information exchange, they had also deduced that a black mage was present in this space. They relayed the same information Sanchez had shared with us to the rest of the soldiers.

I returned to the Snowy Mountain Battalion.
The atmosphere within the unit was uneasy. These were soldiers who had endured countless battles, yet black mages were an entirely unfamiliar enemy to them.
"Have you never done external missions to track down black mages?"

"No, sir. We rarely receive those kinds of assignments."
Their main objective had always been survival in the brutal Snowy Mountain region. A mission like this was a first for them.
"Well, I guess there's no choice. Once again, I’ll have to take good care of you guys."

"Haha, Salvia. Your discharge is coming up soon. You should take it easy—we’ll handle this ourselves…."
"No way. I can’t just sit back and let the recruits get hurt on their first black mage encounter. From now on, I’ll make sure to look after you all."
The recruits exchanged glances, as if touched by my words.

Sigh. Me, taking care of my juniors? As expected, I am a magnificent senior.
With that, we began our search, climbing up the uneven, rocky terrain. Of course, for Border Defense Army soldiers, scaling mountains was second nature. We could probably do it blindfolded.
"Everyone feeling okay?"

Remembering what Sanchez had said about this space draining life force, I checked on the recruits.
"Yes, we’re fine."
"No signs of anything unusual."

Yet, they all looked completely normal.
Huh? Are we just too strong?
"Salvia!"

A familiar voice called out from behind me.
I turned to see Karon, leading a group from ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) another unit, grinning brightly as he approached.
"Salvia! I knew you’d be here!"

"Yeah, I’ve been here this whole time."
"Do you know how to get out of here?"
"Uh… No? I’m trapped just like you, remember?"

I subtly slowed my pace so I could walk beside him and talk properly.
Then, I noticed something around his neck—an all-too-familiar necklace.
"Karon, you’re still wearing that necklace?"

It was the keepsake I had given him before, something that had belonged to his father.
Feeling oddly proud that I had helped return something meaningful to him, I smiled.
"Of course! Because you gave it to me, Salvia!"

"…Uh, well. Usually, people say their father gave them their heirloom, not their superior officer…."
Karon blinked as if genuinely realizing something for the first time.
"Oh! Is that how it works?"

"…What?"
Wait a second.
I distinctly remembered him claiming he had seen something in that necklace before.

And now, he was only just realizing that it was his father’s keepsake?
"I just really liked it because the flower inside looks like your eye color, Salvia!"
"Wait. So back when you said you saw something inside the necklace…"

"Yes! I saw your eye color!"
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
So that was it.

He had fixated on this necklace just because the flower inside reminded him of my eyes.
I suppose that level of obsession was a requirement for being a male lead in a romance fantasy novel.
More importantly, though, the battalion commander had told me that if Karon were truly the rightful owner of this necklace, he would naturally realize it himself.

Yet, Karon hadn’t realized anything.
Instead of uncovering a hidden truth, he had been thinking about me the entire time.
Wait. Could it be…?

Was I wrong about this necklace belonging to Karon’s father?
Had I blindly assumed it must be his, simply because this world followed romance novel tropes?
"Karon, focus on the necklace."

"You mean on your eye color?"
"No! Think about your father while looking at it!"
Karon obediently stared at the necklace, then gave me a firm nod.

"Alright! I’ll try!"
His eyes sharpened with intense concentration.
Yeah. If nothing else, he always took my instructions seriously.

"My father’s name… Kaisen…"
The moment he muttered the name—
Fwoosh!

A burst of light erupted from the necklace.
"W-What the hell?!"
The soldiers around us recoiled in alarm, stepping away from Karon.

But Karon himself remained rooted in place, staring straight into the light.
No—he wasn’t just staring.
He was seeing something.

"Ah."
A quiet exhale escaped his lips.
And for a brief second—

I barely recognized him.
His expression had changed.
He didn’t look like the cheerful, naive Karon I knew.

For the first time, his face held an air of maturity.
Like someone who had just uncovered a truth they had never known before.
***

Karon saw a vision within the necklace’s glow.
Beyond the light, he saw a man collapsed on the ground.
A pool of blood spread beneath him.

He’s been cut by a sword.
Examining the wound, Karon tilted his head in confusion.
He had spent years around Aquila and Winter, both masters of the sword. He had seen firsthand how their blades left their marks.

But he couldn’t understand why his father had a sword wound.
Didn’t Salvia say my father died fighting monsters?