D-370 Until Discharge.
I had spent a long time in the Snowy Mountain Battalion. By now, I had naturally become part of this unit, and it felt just as familiar as my previous one—Cledore Mountain Battalion.
Crash—!
At the sound of something collapsing outside, I frowned as I lay sprawled on my bed.
"Which bastards are making a racket when I’m trying to sleep?"
Come to think of it, things had been unusually quiet for a while. Maybe it was time to step outside and kill those noisy brats.
I threw open the door with that exact thought in mind, only to come face-to-face with Luna, who had just been about to enter my quarters.
"Miss Salvia!"
Having lived together for a year, Luna was well aware of my personality. Even so, she still beamed at me despite my scowl.
"I have good news!"
"What? What is it?"
Was the monster subjugation canceled? Or did I finally get a letter from Aquila?
Honestly, in this army, the only so-called "good news" was when pudding was served at mealtime, so I didn’t bother to hide my disinterest.
"There’s an external assignment!"
"That’s what you call good news? Are you out of your mind?"
Just thinking about descending this goddamn mountain already gave me a headache. Was she feeling proud just because she had endured six years in this frozen wasteland?
"It’s not like that! This time, a new firearm is being introduced, so each battalion is sending one platoon to learn how to use it."
"And?"
A new firearm was certainly a good thing, but the idea of going to learn about it sounded like a pain.
Still, if they were introducing new guns, did that mean we were finally getting a modernized rifle? The rifles used by the Snowy Mountain Battalion were a step up from the shotguns we had before, but they still had a lot of flaws. Maybe they had finally developed a proper rapid-fire model. Not that it really mattered to me, since I didn’t have much time left in the army.
"You came here just to tell me—wait a minute."
I had been about to brush Luna off when something clicked.
"Did you say all battalions of the Border Defense Army are sending a platoon each?"
"Yes, that’s right! Which means, Miss Salvia—"
"There’s a chance!"
I had momentarily forgotten about the biggest advantage of external assignments!
Winter, Yuri, and Altair had all met up during one of these. If I was lucky, maybe I’d run into Aquila, Karon, or Ishina this time!
It had been a full year since I last saw them. Their faces were already starting to fade from my memory.
If Alpha Platoon was chosen, I might even get to see Benny, Sanchez, Patty, Matty, or Jason again.
"Is our platoon being sent?"
"Yes, it looks like it!"
"Nice!"
I kept repeating the same word over and over, unable to hide my excitement. Luna, pleased by my reaction, cheerfully excused herself and left my room.
Had we really grown so close that she cared this much about my happiness?
"Yahoo! Miss Salvia’s gonna be in a good mood for the next few days!"
"Huh? Does that mean we don’t have to make snowmen anymore?"
"Yahoo!"
...So I was the only one who thought we were close? These damn brats...
***
D-364 Until Discharge.
Today was finally the day we were heading ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ out to learn how to use the new firearms, just as Luna had said.
Of course, I knew we’d mostly be stuck in training or listening to some dull speech, but even so, I found myself straightening my uniform like someone going on a field trip.
"Luna, look. My shirt collar isn’t crisp enough, is it?"
Ishina would definitely nag me to fix it.
"It looks perfect to me...."
"Hmm, then my shoelaces must be messy, right?"
"They’re perfect...."
"Ah, my buttons aren’t lined up properly!"
"They’re perfect!"
"Did you just yell at me?"
"...I would never."
After a long time spent obsessively checking my reflection in the mirror, I was finally ready to leave.
We’d probably be walking for a long time, maybe even marching at a grueling pace, but today, no matter how far we had to go, it wouldn’t feel exhausting!
We descended the mountain and walked for what felt like an eternity until finally—
"This is the place?"
We had arrived at the training facility.
As soon as the door swung open, the soldiers who had already arrived turned to stare at us.
They stood at attention, but whispers spread among them as they noticed the emblem on our uniforms.
"Aren’t they from the Snowy Mountain Battalion?"
"You mean that hellhole?"
"This place is already brutal—how could anywhere be worse?"
Their murmurs were quickly silenced by what appeared to be their senior officers.
We took our positions at the edge of the training area, and soon, an instructor walked over to us.
"Where’s the commanding officer here?"
"Right here."
I stepped forward, followed by Red, the junior officer who had recently joined our unit. The instructor glanced between us before handing me a set of documents.
"Each platoon must submit one personnel record."
"Understood."
"There’s a table inside that room. Fill it out and leave it there when you’re done."
...Ugh, should I just pass this off to someone else?
A tempting thought, but I shook my head and pulled myself together. No, today was a good day. I’d do this one myself.
"Alright... everything’s in order...."
I was sitting at the table, filling out the documents, when I heard footsteps approaching the room.
...Wait a second.
That sound was familiar. The moment I realized it, my head snapped up.
"Aquila!"
There he was.
"Salvia. It’s been a while."
Aquila strode toward me, unchanged.
"Aquila."
I closed the distance and hugged him tightly. His warmth spread through me, and I instinctively relaxed. His body temperature was exactly the way I liked it—warmer than average.
How long has it been?
It had been a year since I last saw his face. Considering that we had spent six years practically glued together, it was the longest we had ever been apart.
To me, he was something beyond family or friendship—someone irreplaceable and unmatched in my life.
During our time apart, I had been endlessly lonely, and the cold of the Snowy Mountain Battalion had only made it worse.
Now that he was right in front of me, I felt a rush of emotion stronger than anything I had ever experienced—not even slaying a first-grade monster had come close to this.
"So, you got assigned to this too, huh?"
"Yeah. As soon as I heard about it, I signed up right away."
We were short on time to confirm attendance through letters, so we relied on intuition—and fortunately, we were on the same wavelength. Well, we always were.
"Do you think Ishina will be here too?"
"No idea. I didn’t see his unit outside. Come on, sit down."
Aquila pulled out a chair and sat, so I moved to sit in the one next to him.
"Not there."
Instead of the chair, he patted his lap, signaling me to sit there instead. I hesitated for a moment.
Were we always like this?
It had been a year, and my memories of how we used to be were a bit hazy. But were we really this close?
"Come here. I’ll hold you."
"Mm."
But after shivering in the freezing hellhole that was the Snowy Mountain Battalion, his warmth was too tempting to resist. I had missed him too much over the past year.
In the end, I quietly settled onto his lap. His hands, warmer than anyone else's, naturally wrapped around my waist.
That was when I realized—this feeling had always been there whenever I was with Aquila.
I leaned my face against his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. I had missed him so much. Seeing that he hadn't changed at all was strangely reassuring.
"Aquilaaa..."
"Mm."
"I really missed you. So much...."
He probably couldn’t fully understand how I felt. I had resigned myself to not seeing him for another year, so having this unexpected chance was an immense relief.
Aquila rested his hand on my head, gently stroking my hair. His touch was so soft and warm that I felt my body relax completely.
Yeah... he always did this when I was upset....
"You were always this pretty."
"...Huh?"
"It feels like such a waste, missing out on you for a whole year."
...Had Aquila ever said something like that to me before?
Wait a second. Sure, we used to hug sometimes, but had we ever held each other this tightly?
Just as I started to feel that something was off—
"Salvia."
"Mm?"
"What’s your plan? What are you going to do after this?"
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
"Mm, just quietly wait for my discharge."
One more year. If I could endure just one more year, my miserable time in the Border Defense Army would finally be over.
"And after that? What are you planning to do once you're discharged?"
"Buy a house in the capital."
Just imagining it made me smile. Finally, I could achieve my dream of homeownership!
"And then?"
"Start a rebellion?"
"...Anything else?"
"Oh, yeah, there’s something else."
I lifted my head from his shoulder, looking directly into his eyes.
"I'm going to get married."
For a brief moment, there was silence. The hand that had been stroking my hair froze.
"Who’s the bastard?"
"What?"
"Who are you planning to marry?"
"Oh, no one yet. I haven’t decided. I just figured I’d get married someday...."
Aquila had never spoken to me in such a sharp tone before. Unsettled by his sudden intensity, I cautiously explained myself.
"That’s a relief."
Come to think of it, he might have assumed I had found someone in my current battalion. Maybe I should clarify a bit more.
"I mean, I’m an orphan. I don’t have a family, and I think it’d be nice to have one. So as soon as I’m discharged, I want to get married."
"You haven’t picked anyone yet, right?"
"Of course not! I’m not even dating anyone."
"Good."
I lifted my gaze to meet his eyes—and froze. His usual sharp, orange eyes were practically blazing. Then, Aquila gave me a slow, eerie smile.
"For a second, I thought I raised you well just for some bastard to snatch you away."
...And that was when I finally understood the strange sense of unease I had been feeling.
...What the hell?
I wasn’t slow. I wasn’t clueless.
The genre suddenly changed.
I couldn’t not recognize what he was feeling. This... this was unmistakably—
This was a damn romance fantasy.
I sat there, frozen in shock at this abrupt plot development, while Aquila carried on as if nothing had happened.
"Alright, Salvia. Listen to me."
"Mm."
Still keeping me on his lap, Aquila tightened his grip around my waist. His warmth spread through me, making my thoughts go hazy.
"What do people do after they get married?"
"Um, have a wedding?"
"Besides that."
"Uh..."
I thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant.
"Oh, you mean sex?"
"...You really didn’t have to say it so bluntly."
Aquila’s ears turned red as he lightly tapped my waist.
"Right. Anyway, after getting married, there’s a wedding night. Right?"
"Yeah."
"Have you ever...?"
"I’ve been locked in the army for seven years. What do you think? You’re in the same boat."
"...Fair enough. So that means it'll be your first time."
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"Then who are you going to do it with?"
Wait a second—Aquila had a point.
We had been through everything together for the past six years. My first time experiencing all sorts of new things had always been with him.
"Huh. It’d be weird if I didn’t do it with you first."
"Exactly."
Every major moment in my life had been with Aquila. Every first had been with him.
So wouldn’t that be the case for this, too?
"Salvia, wouldn’t it be weird to marry someone who isn’t me?"
"Now that you mention it... yeah, that would be weird."
If I was going to experience all my firsts with Aquila, then wouldn’t marrying him make the most sense?
"So, what do you think now?"
"You’re right... I should probably just marry you...."
At that moment, something tumbled to the floor with a thud.
"Ishina?"
I turned my head—and there was Ishina, standing in the doorway, frozen with a horrified expression.
An armful of papers lay scattered around his feet, completely forgotten.