My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

‘…Wish-granting?’
It was such a puzzling statement that I blinked for a moment.
But, well, it seemed unlikely that I would ever be nominated as the top soldier. There were plenty of soldiers in my platoon who were better than me.

Aquila and Benny were better at swordsmanship, Sanchez was stronger, Кaron had better stamina…
And considering the upcoming monster hunt, it was probably better not to waste my energy aiming for the title of top soldier.
However, the next words from the battalion commander made my eyes burn with rage once again.

“This time, we’ll have a shooting competition.”
...I can't lose this.
I'm done for, you bastards!

***
I was confident that my shooting skills were the best in our company.
In fact, everyone had about the same level of talent, but among those who used firearms in our company, I had the most experience.

So now, the important thing was to beat the soldiers from other companies.
The shooting competition was going to be about hitting flying disc-shaped targets. The person who knocked down the most discs would be named the top soldier.
“Of course, Salvia will be the best!”

As Dalin quickly flattered me, I was pleased and decided that next time she got herself into trouble, I’d give her a one-time amnesty.
At that moment, my competitors were one officer from the 16th company and a sergeant from the 17th company. The officer from the 16th company hit 9 out of 10 targets.
‘As expected, the officer is good.’

The order was decided randomly, so the officer was up first, and my turn came next.
I had to hit all ten targets. I clenched my teeth and gripped my gun tightly. The moment the disc flew into the air, I fired.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The small gunshots echoed, and after a moment, I slowly checked the discs that had fallen to the ground.

“Ten.”
All of them were hit!
I lowered my gun with a bright face and ran toward Aquila and Кaron. With this, the title of top soldier was practically mine.

“Salvia! You’re amazing!”
“Salvia, that was impressive.”
Кaron practically clung to my arm, praising me, and Aquila also complimented me. I felt incredibly pleased.

Of course, the real challenge wasn’t over yet. The sergeant from the 17th company could also hit all ten targets, so if she did, we’d have to have a rematch.
The sergeant from the 17th company and I locked eyes. With her purple hair tied up high, she raised one corner of her mouth, giving me a confident look.
‘Ugh, these kids these days have no manners.’

As usual, I thought that and shook my head lightly, then suddenly realized who she was.
‘…Is she Violet?’
Just like Benny’s swordsmanship was famous in other companies, Violet, this sergeant from the 17th company, was renowned for her shooting skills. But her most notable trait wasn’t that.

I had heard rumors about her…
‘She’s a crazy competition addict!’
Blue once told me there was a soldier in the 17th company obsessed with winning. Whenever she saw someone who could be her rival, she’d challenge them to compete and go crazy trying to win.

“There’s a crazy addict to competition in the 17th company.”
“Really? We’re lucky not to have that kind of psycho in our company. Must be exhausting for the newbies.”
“…Our company’s psycho is you, Salvia.”

“What did you just say?”
“Haha, nothing. I mean, we’re lucky there’s no psycho like you in our company…”
So this sergeant in front of me, she was the psycho from those rumors?

“Hah! Salvia, this is a competition! I’m definitely going to win this shooting contest!”
...And with that attitude, it seemed like Violet had taken a particular interest in me….
Once she got into the eyes of that crazy competition addict, I feared there was no way out. If Violet went into her superhuman mode, I might not even be able to stand against her!

But I couldn’t openly interfere with her. If I did, someone would surely step in to discipline me.
Of course, a normal soldier wouldn’t even think about interfering and would compete fairly, but this was the Border Defense Army. It’s a world where only the strong survive.
Wait, if I can’t directly interfere…

‘Then what if I interfere indirectly?!’
An excellent method, fitting for the world of survival, popped into my mind!
“Patty! Matty!”

“Huh?”
As Violet adjusted her gun, I stepped back a little, signaling Patty and Matty.
“Patty, Matty. Are you guys okay from the injuries you got last time?”

“Oh, from skipping rope with a clothesline!”
“The injuries?”
“Yeah! We’re fine!”

“Pfft!”
It seemed like Violet overheard Patty and Matty’s conversation, and she burst into laughter, bending over.
‘Of course, there’s always a use for anything.’

Jumping rope with a clothesline, talking like that. I was used to Patty and Matty’s antics by now, but others from different units would probably find this hilarious.
“Are you okay from the injuries you got while on external duty? I’m worried you might aggravate them during training.”
“Ah! We got bit by an eagle!”

“You mean when we were struggling and fell, getting caught in a tree?”
“Yeah! Thanks to getting caught in the tree, we didn’t get hurt too badly!”
“Jason saved us! It’s really thanks to Jason!”

“Cough!”
Now Violet was almost crying with laughter.
After a while, when she had to shoot again, she lost focus and only managed to hit seven targets.

‘Well, it was a bit underhanded, but…’
But I had to shoot every day while listening to such conversations from Patty and Matty!
The Border Defense Army truly was a survival-of-the-fittest world.

That day, I earned a wish-granting privilege from the battalion commander. Even though Violet muttered, “Ugh… defeat…,” glaring at me with intense hatred, I had achieved my goal.
“Hmm. Salvia, was it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What do you want?”
…Honestly, when I heard ‘wish-granting,’ I instinctively got excited, but I didn’t know what to ask for. I had never actually thought about what I wanted. Should I ask for leave from guard duty?
“If you want, I can let you go out for a while, or exchange letters with someone from outside, or allow a short meeting.”

‘So you can even get leave or a meeting?’
The battalion commander was much more generous than I had imagined. As he looked down at me with kindly eyes, I was genuinely moved and praised his character.
“Looks like you can’t answer right now. Anyway, there’s still a lot of guerrilla training left, so we can talk again after that.”

“Yes, understood!”
I decided to think about what I truly wanted.
After all, there wasn’t anyone from the outside world that I wanted to meet. But maybe I could go out and eat some delicious food. It was a very pleasant dilemma.

***
During the five days of guerrilla training, we ended up sharing the barracks… no, the accommodations with soldiers from other units.
There were so few women in the unit that this happened. It wasn’t bad sharing with soldiers from other platoons, but the problem was that there were soldiers from other companies in the accommodations. I had never seen those unfamiliar faces before.

Since there was a separate officer’s dormitory, I would likely be the highest-ranking when I became an officer next month. So, I didn’t really need to worry about it.
“Salvia, thank you for your hard work during training!”
“Oh, Rosan. You too, good job.”

Rosan, who was Damien’s junior from my gamma platoon, greeted me. I briefly talked with the junior soldiers from Beta and Gamma platoons.
Then, the sergeant from Beta platoon, Alice, glanced toward a certain person and said,
“Salvia, did you have a fight with her?”

She was looking at Violet, who was glaring at me with sharp eyes.
“…Well, I guess I did piss her off a bit.”
Honestly, even I thought the way I did it was a bit cowardly… hmm.

“Well, she doesn’t know Salvia, so…”
Alice said, exchanging a strange look with Rosan and nodding.
“What does that mean?”

“Well, we’ve learned to accept whatever you do, Salvia, but someone who doesn’t know you might hold a grudge like that.”
“Because we don’t have the fear that others do.”
...I really couldn’t understand what they meant, and just as I was narrowing my eyes,

“…I won’t lose again.”
Violet, with burning eyes, said that to me.
“…What?”

“I never thought of using such methods to win in a competition. From now on, I’ll win at all costs.”
“…Who are you competing with?”
“Of course, it’s you, Salvia.”

I realized.
I think I’m screwed. That crazy competition addict has got her sights on me.
And it seems like she’s learned ‘unfair methods’ from me, even though she originally fought fair and square.

“Wow, there’s another crazy person besides Salvia.”
“Violet-nim is going to be so obsessed with winning. Whoever it is, I feel sorry for them. She’ll stick to them like a leech.”
“I heard she’s not an ordinary one either.”

As the juniors from our company and Violet’s company murmured to each other, I only held my head in both hands, feeling the pain.
Why do these weirdos keep attaching themselves to me wherever I go? I was seriously going crazy.