Bang!
“Mother of—!”
“Eek!”
Each time a fairy slammed into the window frame, Benny and I flinched in unison.
“Father... I miss you...”
Benny even muttered wistfully to herself, her voice tinged with despair.
‘No, Benny, no! If your father shows up here, it’ll be like a mild version of the Crown Prince Incident!’
And that would be far scarier than the swarm of fairies currently attacking our base.
Meanwhile, Yuri, who had been watching us cower, clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“Honestly, how do you two manage to fight monsters but get terrified of something like this?”
I felt deeply wronged. If given a choice, I’d rather face a giant monster than these grotesque bugs flying straight at me.
“Look at them! Don’t they look terrifying?!” I protested, my voice trembling.
Yuri stared at us, her expression one of utter disbelief.
“Yeah, well, the bugs are probably scared of you, too.”
...Why did that feel oddly familiar? Something about her tone struck a nerve, like a scolding I’d often heard in my past life.
Regardless of whether we were scared of the fairies or Yuri was judging us for it, the swarm continued its relentless assault.
A little while later, Yuri frowned, her expression more serious than before.
“...This is worse than I thought.”
“Pardon?”
“There are way more fairies than expected. I’m worried they might’ve found a gap we missed and gotten inside the building.”
Hearing her concern, I puffed up my chest and replied with confidence.
“Don’t worry! I checked everything thoroughly!”
“Good. Go check again.”
“...What?”
“Go outside and patrol the building. Now.”
Yuri nonchalantly pointed at Benny and me, her tone calm but firm, before waving us toward the exit.
‘Oh, for crying out loud...’
Resigned, I held back tears and reluctantly stepped outside with Benny.
“I want to desert...”
“I just want to see my father...”
Hearing Benny’s remark only made my desire to desert even stronger.
But if I deserted now, I’d probably get buried alive under the fairy swarm. Damn it. Guess I’ll hold off on deserting for now.
With heavy steps, we trudged down the hallway, where we spotted Sanchez wiping down a window with a rag.
“Sanchez?”
He was cleaning the window like it was an ordinary day, completely unfazed by the fairy swarm outside. Meanwhile, I hadn’t dared to go near a window since the attack began.
“Salvia! You’re here!”
Sanchez greeted me politely, as usual, but when he noticed Benny standing behind me, he immediately bowed at a sharp 90-degree angle. His hands were pressed firmly to his sides, and his head practically touched the floor.
...What kind of intense greeting was this? Did the genre of this world suddenly shift?
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Cleaning the window. It had smudges.”
Sanchez replied in his trademark deadpan tone. His answer left me staring at him in disbelief.
“Isn’t that bug a little too close for comfort?”
“I’m stronger than it.”
...Translation: Sanchez considered himself stronger than the fairies, so their presence didn’t faze him. Incredible. Sanchez truly judged everything by raw strength.
Honestly, it was a blessing Sanchez hadn’t been stationed here during the Crown Prince Incident. If he had, he probably would’ve beaten the Crown Prince to a pulp, and our unit would’ve been disbanded on the spot.
In any case, Sanchez being strong wasn’t news. Deciding to leave him to his own devices, I pulled Benny along to continue patrolling the building.
***
After starting the building patrol with Benny, I ran into Aquila.
The moment I saw him, I couldn’t hold back my frustration and immediately spilled my thoughts.
“I want to desert.”
“Same.”
Together, we dove into an existential conversation about why we were even in the military in the first place.
In other words, we both wanted to run for the hills.
As I casually handed over the rest of the patrol duties to Benny to continue chatting with Aquila, I suddenly heard the creaking sound of a door opening nearby.
“Ugh, it smells so stale...”
‘Ah, that must be Taro.’
Because all but one door had been sealed for the past two days, the air inside the squad building had grown rank. Taro, stepping out of the officers’ quarters, wrinkled his nose at the stifling smell in the hallway.
“What kind of curse is plaguing this unit, cough cough?”
Poor Taro... He’d been through nothing but misery since arriving here.
Even worse, Taro was practically at the end of his service. He only had three months left before discharge.
To have experienced the “Crown Prince Incident” at the start of his officer service and now endure the “Fairy Swarm Incident” at the end... Taro’s life truly seemed cursed. If nothing else, it had a poetic symmetry to it.
“Taro, are you alright?”
Winter, who had just emerged from the men’s quarters, glanced at Taro with a tone that suggested polite concern more than genuine worry.
“Hah, yeah... You’re struggling through this hell as a senior private, too...”
Taro collapsed onto the ground, groaning as he looked at Winter.
“You 78th recruits are about to be promoted soon... It’s rough, huh, slogging through all this as a senior private.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Don’t give me that...”
With a sigh, Taro stumbled back into his quarters.
And then Winter’s gaze met mine.
“Salvia.”
“Yes?”
“You changed your hairstyle.”
“What? Oh, uh, yes, I suppose I did.”
That was thanks to Ishina teaching me the technique of tying my hair three times so it wouldn’t stick out awkwardly. He’d even demonstrated on my hair this morning, leaving it much neater than when I did it myself.
The fact that Winter noticed? Impressive.
As I answered with my usual flat tone, Winter’s expression shifted.
Was it my imagination, or... were his ears turning red?
‘What the—?! Is he embarrassed looking at me? A romance trope?!’
My optimism flared back to life. Hope circuits, reboot!
I’d never forgotten that this world was originally a romance fantasy, and deep down, I clung to a sliver of hope.
So when one of the male leads from the original novel showed a physical reaction—a faint blush on his ears—I refused to dismiss it as mere irritation or anger. No, flushed ears or necks always signaled a romance trope!
I stared at Winter with a laser focus, my eyes practically sparkling, waiting for the big reveal.
But Winter spoke first.
“Ah, I thought it felt hotter. It’s because of him.”
Winter’s finger pointed at Aquila.
‘Wait... what?’
As I stood there, thoroughly confused, Aquila, now wearing a dissatisfied expression, addressed Winter.
“Winter, I just remembered—you’re due for a promotion in three months, right?”
Here we go again. Fire attribute versus ice attribute.
I still didn’t understand why humans in this world needed attributes like they were Pokémon, but watching Aquila and Winter clash over it was as ridiculous as it was exhausting.
“Congratulations in advance on becoming an officer,” Aquila said, though his tone lacked any genuine warmth.
Glancing at his crimson eyes, I quickly realized his true intent:
‘He’s mocking Winter, happy that he’ll soon leave the unit.’
“Yeah, promotion’s coming up,” Winter replied icily.
“But who knows? Maybe I’ll get reassigned here.”
The source of this c𝓸ntent is freewebnøvel.coɱ.
‘Is that a counterattack or just classic Winter analyzing every possibility?’
I couldn’t tell. Either way, the tension between them was palpable.
“The odds of that are slim, as you know. Hence my early congratulations,” Aquila said, his words laced with faux politeness.
“Well, odds are odds,” Winter retorted. “I’ll leave it to luck. Besides, we still have three months left.”
“Three months is hardly any time at all.”
“Three months is more than enough.”
Listening to their back-and-forth, I couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
‘What are they, noblewomen at a tea party?’
Every word was dripping with subtext, each statement veiling their true intentions. Seriously, why were they using this convoluted, passive-aggressive language while I, the supposed romance lead, stood here dumbfounded?
Their expressions remained stoic, but the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. I desperately wanted to escape this mess.
If someone walked in right now, they might mistake this for a love triangle between two male leads vying for the heroine.
But I knew better. This was the apocalypse. Nothing good ever happened here.
As I stood frozen, not knowing how to defuse the situation, Winter suddenly addressed me.
“Salvia.”
“Yes?”
“When I transfer to another unit.”
“Yes?”
“Would it be alright if I wrote to you?”
“...What?”
“I think I could help you after your discharge. And I’d like to offer that help.”
Winter’s piercing gaze demanded an answer, while Aquila’s fiery eyes burned into me.
‘What the hell is this situation?’
Why was I suddenly dragged into their petty posturing?
“Winter.”
This time, it was Aquila who spoke, his tone sharp.
“Be cautious. Avoid misunderstandings.”
“...What?”
“Have you forgotten Military Law, Volume 15, Chapter 93? Clause 1: If a romantic relationship develops within the military, the parties involved will be reassigned to separate units. Clause 2: Romantic relationships between commanding officers and subordinates are punishable by up to one year of imprisonment. Clause 3: Engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior within the military is punishable by up to two years of imprisonment.”
“...Why do you even have that memorized?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“It was memorable,” Aquila replied flatly.
“...Sure, okay.”
The worst part? Aquila had quoted something Winter had once lectured us about, word for word, throwing it right back at him.
But Winter didn’t flinch as he countered.
“True, but I’ll be in another unit in three months, so there’s no need to worry about misunderstandings.”
“And how do you feel about Clause 2?” Aquila pressed.
“Not all laws are just. Some are due for revision.”
Caught between the two of them, I felt my sanity slipping away.
Just then, another voice cut in.
“I sent you on patrol, and you’re here doing what exactly?”
I looked up to see Yuri glaring at me, her cold eyes filled with disapproval.
“Yuri!”
For a moment, it felt like a divine light shone behind her. My savior had arrived!
“If you’re done with patrol, go back to the barracks.”
...No, she wasn’t here to save me. She was here to scold me.
As I began silently cursing my unfair fate, Yuri thankfully shifted her focus away from me and turned to glance between Winter and Aquila.