My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

"Aquila, my peer Blue seems to think that Isina is a bit of a strange person now," Salvia said with a smile.

It was Isina who had instructed Blue to share new information with Salvia whenever he learned something. He even spent time with the administrative staff to ensure Blue could gather information more easily.
"Ha-ha, it was nothing," Aquila replied.
"Well, of course, it was something we were supposed to do," Salvia added.

"I'm glad to see you in a good mood these days, Salvia!" Isina said, his voice warm.
At that moment, Isina, Aquila, and Karon were all smiling happily. If Salvia were there, she'd probably ask why they were so happy without her.
Meanwhile, Isina was reminded of what Blue had said to him earlier.

"Isina, Salvia said that it's usually closer to the peers than to the seniors, right?"
"...But?"
"He said both of you are fine with it."

"Well, that’s a bit tricky..."
Isina just wanted Salvia to listen to him more than to Aquila, but it seemed that goal might be difficult to achieve.
While he was lost in thought, Aquila tilted his mouth slightly in a smirk and added to Isina's thoughts.

"Isina, you said you weren’t going to get involved in this plan at first."
"But what could I do? It was frustrating."
Isina kept his smile as he replied.

"That little one, where could I even touch her?"
"True. Some people can't even hold someone's hand tightly for fear they might hurt them."
"...Wait, why are you holding hands? Don't do that!"

***
The day had come—822 days until discharge.
Time passed, and today was finally the day that Isina was getting promoted.
"Isina, where were you assigned?"

"The 40th Infantry Brigade."
"Oh, that's the place Yuri was assigned to, right?!"
"Yeah, that's right. But Yuri must have been discharged by now."

I felt a sense of nostalgia, like I was discovering the old traces of my comrades. It made me realize that I probably cherished the people in my unit more than I thought.
I wonder if Cool Mint Ice civilian 78 is doing well?
"Isina, I hope everything goes well for you there. I’ll definitely write to you in three months!"

I jotted down Isina's unit address and clenched both fists, saying it proudly. Isina looked at me with an oddly kind expression.
"Salvia, before I leave, there are a few things I want to say to you."
"What is it? By the way, I can now tie my boots perfectly, my hair is neatly tied, and I always keep my shirt collar stiff..."

"Yeah, not that."
Isina glanced at Aquila, who had been staring at us, and then moved closer to me, lowering his voice.
"Salvia, please, don't do anything dangerous and stay calm..."

"Yes!"
"Stop tempting Karon into doing dangerous things with you..."
"Yes..."

"And try to cut down on how often you get angry. I’m really worried about your health."
"But, Dalin started it first..."
"Stop with the 'but, Dalin' excuses too."

"..."
"Most importantly, one last thing."
Suddenly, Isina's gaze turned serious.

"Don't rely too much on your peers."
"...Hmm."
"Got it? Please at least pretend to listen to me."

"Absolutely! Got it! I’ll remember!"
"Good... then please write to me."
After leaving me with so many pieces of advice, Isina left for his promotion ceremony.

It felt bittersweet that a senior was leaving.
‘Isina wasn't as much of a schemer as I thought.’
He did say, "This is annoying," but he didn’t actually play the schemer. This was a total subversion of the usual trope. It was truly surprising.

Now that I think about it, what’s the point of comparing things to the original? I feel a bit bad for doubting every word Isina said.
‘I’ll treat him better when we meet after he’s discharged.’
After seeing Isina off, I turned to Aquila and Karon, who were beside me.

"It’s really just us now."
"Yeah."
"Isina said not to rely too much on you, Aquila. Hmm..."

I passed on his last words to Aquila, and Aquila, thinking for a moment, finally spoke.
"Then, doesn’t it mean it’s okay for me to rely on you?"
"...You’re right!"

That’s right! Instead of relying on Aquila, I’ll become an even cooler peer so that Aquila can rely on me!
By doing this, I’ll be following Isina’s advice, and he’ll be satisfied!
***

"Why is there a training exercise in the romance fantasy?"
"A month has passed, and I haven't gotten any pudding, so I’m not feeling great."
"Really? It’s okay, I’ll suggest something."

"Thanks! And also..."
We were in the middle of talking when we heard someone approaching, so I immediately stopped talking and moved away from Aquila.
Honestly, if anyone found out that I was clinging to Aquila’s arm like this, I knew it would probably end up with me in the brig.

‘Sorry, Isina.’
Isina had told me not to rely on Aquila, but what could I do? Aquila liked it when I relied on him, so what else was there to do?
In a way, isn’t it similar to him relying on me if I depend on him the way he wants?

"Salvia, Aquila."
The one walking towards us was Benny. Since Benny had always been my loyal junior, I relaxed and moved back to Aquila’s side.
"Oh, Benny. What’s up?"

"From now on, please call me ‘Piano Accompaniment Expert Benny.’"
"What?"
"I’m perfect for wedding accompaniments. Playing the piano has been my only hobby since I was young. I’m especially good at the songs commonly used at weddings."

"Uh, okay... but why are you telling me this?"
"Just remember it."
While I reacted with indifference, Aquila nodded and answered seriously. Benny looked satisfied and then got to the point.

"A new brigade commander is coming to take over."
"A new brigade commander?"
To be honest, the brigade commander wasn’t someone we interacted with much. We mostly lived in platoon or company units, and the brigade commander was someone we’d meet occasionally during marches or when hunting large monsters.

"Yeah, but it won’t affect us much, will it?"
I tilted my head, and Aquila met my gaze, lowering his voice.
"The whole unit’s atmosphere might change. If we’re unlucky, the training could become tougher."

"Ah, I see!"
I hadn’t been thinking too deeply about things lately, resolving everything with "violence and fear," so I hadn’t realized.
‘Come to think of it, this is something that happened in the original too.’

It was indeed mentioned in the original that the brigade commander would be changed.
But according to the description, the new brigade commander turned out to be surprisingly humane and kind.
So, maybe the atmosphere in the unit would improve rather than get worse, unlike what we expected.

***
The day of the new brigade commander’s ceremony arrived, and the three companies gathered in one place. The brigade commander looked at us and smiled warmly.
"If you ever face difficulties, feel free to come to me. I promise no one will suffer because of it."

Thankfully, he looked just like he did in the original.
In the original, he tried to take care of the soldiers’ lives as much as possible, and if someone made a mistake but it wasn’t a big deal, he would let it slide with a kind heart.
For example, Jason, who had been suffering in the original, once cried out:

"Ugh! I wish the Adolph Empire would just collapse!"
Unfortunately, the brigade commander overheard that and, despite the situation potentially leading to a disciplinary action or even imprisonment, he simply laughed it off and forgave Jason.
Therefore, unlike many of the typical officers, the brigade commander was truly a good person. His offer to seek him out if anyone had any issues was genuine.

Of course, no one would be crazy enough to actually believe him and seek him out.
Wait, this is...
‘A plot twist.’

When we get back to the unit, I’ll have to train Dalin properly to avoid any crazy acts. Now I’m prepared for this kind of adversity, ha-ha.
"Sometimes, I’ll have to give you unfair orders. But I promise, no matter the situation, your safety will always be my priority."
The brigade commander looked serious yet kind, with an expression that seemed to reflect the many years he had lived.

Later, I learned he was an Arkon. The officers in the Border Defense Army were a mix of Empire citizens and Arkons, for example, our platoon leader and company commander were Arkons, but the previous brigade commander had been an Empire citizen.
This time, with an Arkon as the brigade commander, life in the unit seemed to improve.
After the ceremony, he personally petitioned the government to improve our facilities, and we got new, up-to-date equipment—like replacing the legendary water bottles that hadn't changed in decades and the old clothes we used to patch ourselves.

Moreover, to increase the unit’s survival rate, the officers took a more active role in training and ensuring that the junior soldiers would be properly guided, and they reorganized guard duty schedules more efficiently.
It was hard to believe that the unit was actually improving.
"The reason the brigade commander was changed is probably related to your new juniors."

At a gathering with some of the other platoon mates, Blue from Beta Platoon said this.
"Our new juniors? Oh, Benny!"
Finally, everything clicked in my head.

Right, there’s no way something good like this would happen for no reason!
Since Benny’s identity had been revealed, there had been quite a bit of commotion in the higher-ups. It seems that the change in the brigade commander was related to all that. But anyway, our lives had improved, so it was a good thing.
"As I’ve said before, Benny is a really good junior."

Aquila nodded with a smile. I couldn’t recall many times when he smiled about other people.
"Benny’s really suited to being a piano accompanist, huh."
"What are you talking about?"

"You’ll understand later."
When I gave Aquila a puzzled look, Blue and Damien exchanged curious glances.
Anyway, we changed the subject and started discussing the country’s political situation.

"I heard that the Pelloni Empire and us aren’t getting along too well. They keep provoking us."
When I brought up something I had heard from Winter’s parents, Blue clapped his hands.
"Ah! So that’s why!"

"What do you mean?"
"Seems like our company commander has been worried about military matters lately. It must be in preparation for potential national conflicts."
"...This doesn’t sound like good news."

I felt a strange sense of foreboding. It really felt ominous.
And as I felt that ominous premonition, something truly bad happened.
Tap-tap-tap!

"It's ominous! It’s already ominous!"
When I heard footsteps running toward us, I sensed an even greater sense of dread. It seemed like someone was coming with bad news!
As my face turned pale and I became anxious, Aquila grabbed me from behind, holding me gently to calm me down. ...It was surprisingly effective in calming me down quickly.

"Ah, Damien! You’re here?"
A nervous-looking recruit from Gamma Platoon, someone I barely knew, called out to Damien.
"Yeah, what is it?"

"The officers wanted to discuss something, so they’ve gathered the senior soldiers…"
"XX, did someone mess up again?"
Damien grumbled as he stood up, but when he heard the next recruit’s words, he froze in place.

"They said it’s about the guerrilla training..."
"...What? Guerrilla training?"