The training itself was nothing special.
The first session was a shooting exercise. Compared to obstacle courses that required full-body exertion or drills that had us rolling through muddy terrain, this was nothing. We completed it with ease.
Before the next phase began, I managed to get close to Ishina again. His earlier words had left me with a lot to think about.
‘Should I really marry Aquila?’
Unlike Ishina, I wasn’t worried about love fading.
This was a romance fantasy world. That meant Aquila would love me forever—with unwavering, passionate, and devoted affection. That was the one advantage of this world.
And I was confident that I knew everything about Aquila. We had spent so much time together that our habits had synchronized. We knew each other well enough to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
Still, marriage wasn’t something to take lightly. I wanted to hear the opinions of those around me. Honestly, having spent so much time in the Border Defense Army, my standards might have ended up a little... different from everyone else’s.
“Ishina.”
“Yes, Salvia?”
I trotted up beside him, crouching slightly as I spoke. He responded in his usual warm tone.
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“I think it’s right for me to marry Aquila, but do you think it’s the right choice?”
Ishina stared at me for a moment before smiling in an odd way.
“What are you even worried about, Salvia? From what I can see, you two are simply destined for each other.”
“...Destined?”
Hearing that word from Ishina felt strange, so I asked again. He nodded.
“Yes, and objectively speaking, Aquila is an ideal husband.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Good looks? Check. Good physique? Check. Understands me better than anyone? Check. Absolutely faithful? Check. Highly capable? Check. Can handle household chores? Check. Would probably be good with kids? Likely.
“You’ve always wanted to build a family with someone. You and Aquila love each other, and he’s the perfect match for you.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“If you’d brought home someone truly terrible, I would have stopped you myself. Hell, I would have taken you in and lived with you instead, so you wouldn’t have to worry.”
‘...What?’
I could have sworn I just heard something weird.
I stared at Ishina with wide eyes, but his expression remained completely unchanged. It was so natural that it almost made me doubt whether I had heard anything unusual at all.
“H-ha... I see....”
I chose not to comment and quietly got up from my spot.
But I did hear what he said.
And I had a pretty good idea of where this situation was heading.
"I would have taken you in and lived with you instead, so you wouldn’t have to worry."
Was that... really something you’d say to a former subordinate you saw as a little sister?
Even if he did care about me as a comrade, would he really say that rather than let me marry someone terrible?
I wasn’t exactly oblivious. If I had been acting oblivious this whole time, it was only because this world had been relentless in trying to crush me. But normally, I was quick to pick up on things.
And now, I was pretty sure I understood what Ishina felt about me.
...Shit.
With Aquila and Winter already in love with me, I ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) wasn’t about to make the mistake of thinking, "Nah, there’s no way he feels the same way too~."
And then, I recalled how Ishina had acted when I barely survived my encounter with the Ghostgroom.
Ishina, who never attached himself to other people, had started treating me as his person after that. "The only person I’ve ever cared about." To him, I was very important.
Now, I was certain.
Even if Ishina’s feelings weren’t as overtly possessive as Aquila’s or Winter’s, the way he saw me wasn’t just as a younger sister.
His emotions ran far deeper than I had realized.
Maybe he didn’t see me as a romantic partner yet, but the kind of feelings he had for me...?
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Yeah. The kind that could turn a man into a madly obsessive love interest if things ever went wrong.
My life was rapidly descending into a full-blown romance fantasy.
***
Ishina silently observed Salvia, who looked utterly shaken.
“Hm.”
Seeing her again today had solidified his thoughts.
He had no interest in taking the role of her husband. He didn’t want to become romantically involved or marry her.
Of course, if Salvia had wanted that, he would have considered it. But she didn’t want that, so he wouldn’t pursue it. He was confident he could be whoever Salvia needed him to be.
More importantly, their conversation had led him to an important realization.
Love can end.
If love fades, then marriage can break apart.
But his relationship with Salvia wasn’t like that. The two of them had built a bond based on mutual trust and support—something that wouldn’t simply end.
Ishina had always preferred stability. That was why he had no desire to claim the unstable position of husband.
That spot can go to Aquila.
But if he could maintain their current relationship, he could stay by Salvia’s side for the rest of his life.
***
“Lady Salvia, you look deep in thought.”
“Yeah, my head’s a f***ing mess....”
Luna, clearly recognizing that something was off, spoke up. But I just stared blankly ahead, watching the other unit’s shooting exercise.
I had decided to continue acting the same around Ishina as before. After all, his feelings might not even be romantic. Maybe I was just the special person to him....
Then again, even if it wasn’t romantic, that was still a hell of a heavy emotion to deal with.
Regardless, I genuinely trusted Ishina and didn’t want to grow distant from him. And from what I could tell, he wanted to keep things as they were, too. That was probably why he kept emphasizing stability.
So if I just acted like nothing had changed, things wouldn’t get awkward.
The best way for a highly perceptive heroine to survive was to pretend to be oblivious.
Still, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
Was this real life? Three out of the four original male leads were in love with me?
Then why the hell didn’t any of you act obsessed before, huh?!
This was definitely all the prison’s fault. If it weren’t for the brig, I could have been enjoying an easy military life while basking in their obsessive devotion!
“AAARGH!”
“...Lady Salvia, what’s wrong this time?”
“I dunno, she’s always like this.”
While I fumed in frustration, the announcement for the next training exercise came through.
The next drill was meant to simulate fighting monsters and evaluate our combat strategies.
‘...Wait. How the hell are they gonna create fake monsters?’
This world didn’t have illusion magic. They wouldn’t use forbidden black magic to conjure them either. And there was no way they’d bring in actual monsters—that would be too dangerous.
And then, it hit us.
We had made a grave mistake in underestimating the Border Defense Army.
This was the military.
Where the impossible became reality.
For the "simulated monster battle," the Border Defense Army had come up with a genius solution.
“All right, from now on, we’ll take turns playing the role of monsters.”
‘...You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me.’
They seriously wanted us to play the monsters?
Every soldier looked at the officer in utter disbelief, but he was completely serious.
“This will improve both your combat effectiveness against monsters and your ability to fight humans.”
We’re not actual monsters, you dumb f***!
The method they presented for "monster acting" was as follows:
("RAAARGH!")What kind of insane bullsh*t was this?
“Oh, I swear to god, if I find out who came up with this training, I’m going to end them.”
I gritted my teeth. Ishina, standing a little distance away, flinched.
“Salvia... do you actually know who did it?”
“What? No, of course not. I just want to kill the bastard.”
“...I see.”
Meanwhile, the younger recruits were still processing the insanity.
“So we... tie ourselves together, growl like monsters, then switch roles and kill each other?”
“This is some next-level Border Defense Army bulls***.”
But acceptance came quickly.
Because this was the Border Defense Army.
And this? This was exactly the kind of absurd sh*t they would pull.
“Whatever. Orders are orders.”
Grumbling, we tied the ropes around our waists.
The opposing unit, the 2nd Battalion, belonged to the 40th Infantry Brigade—Ishina’s brigade.
They were already looking terrified of us.
We sighed and braced ourselves.
Now, even monster acting was part of our job.
I had never felt more miserable.