Salvia had died.
Milphy, Benny, and Jason wept uncontrollably.
Blair and Topio cursed, but somehow, even their profanity felt laced with sorrow.
Patty and Matty, for the first time, caused no trouble.
Winter locked himself in his quarters, looking like a man who had lost everything.
Karon sobbed like a child, again and again.
Aquila, with hollow eyes, kept shedding silent tears in secret.
And amidst all that, Ishina alone appeared unaffected.
He still wore the same gentle and kind expression as always.
But without a doubt, the one whose emotions were most violently unraveling beneath the surface was Ishina.
It was only after Salvia’s death that he realized—he had truly cherished her.
“This was my mistake...”
Ishina muttered, still wearing that ever-kind expression.
He only realized it after losing her. For the first time in his life, he had something he couldn’t bear to lose—and yet he only understood it once she was gone.
Memories of the past three years with Salvia filled his mind.
“...She really never listened, did she?”
She always acted sharp, always seemed strong, yet she constantly stood between Aquila and Winter with an innocent, oblivious face that frustrated him beyond belief.
And for some reason, Salvia always misunderstood him in the strangest ways.
Once, Ishina had casually mentioned that he didn’t feel much grief over other people’s deaths.
After that, Salvia had come to view him as a ruthless, cold-blooded person who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, ethics be damned.
That’s right... that’s how she saw me.
At the time, he had found it both frustrating and amusing.
Ishina smiled even more softly, lifting the corners of his lips.
Alright then, Salvia. Let’s do this.
If that’s how you saw me, then I’ll act exactly the way you imagined.
If I were really the person you thought I was, what would I do in this situation?
His mind worked quickly, recalling every scrap of knowledge he had picked up before enlistment.
And soon, one thought came to mind.
“Necromancy.”
Yes. There was a kind of black magic that could bring back the dead.
...When Altair had died, Yuri had found related materials and destroyed them. And since Ishina had been the one tasked with disposing of the remnants, he had memorized every step of the process.
Names of useful people flashed through his mind.
First, I’ll need Sanchez.
He could connect them to a necromancer.
Next, I’ll need Benny.
She would help control Sanchez. And more than anything, if Ishina knew Benny at all...
She sometimes mumbled about missing her father when things got tough. She once wondered aloud why he never got discharged. And yet, to the others, she claimed he was just a regular merchant...
Benny’s father was probably a high-ranking general. If his identity were exposed, it could throw the entire battalion into chaos.
That meant Benny would definitely help in establishing communication with a necromancer. If she revealed her background and requested to send an external letter, no officer would dare to refuse her.
And finally, he needed one last person—someone with unshakable resolve to carry out this difficult plan.
“Ah.”
The answer was obvious.
Because right now, there was someone completely unhinged over Salvia’s death.
And so, a short while later, Ishina was speaking to Aquila.
“Aquila, don’t you want to see Salvia again?”
Ishina wasn’t entirely sure what his feelings for her were. But frankly, that didn’t matter.
“I can show you how.”
If he could just see her smile again.
If she could blink at him with that oblivious look, making his blood pressure spike in frustration.
If he could just get his world back—
“Aquila, we need to contact a necromancer.”
Salvia, it’s okay. I’ll never step out of the limits of what you imagined me to be.
“We just need to make contact... You know about Benny’s father, don’t you?”
I’ll act exactly the way you thought I would.
We will never change.
We will always be together.
And then, just as their plan was coming together, an unexpected new recruit named Dalin arrived.
And Ishina’s plan became flawless.
“Dalin, you really don’t need to go that far. Death isn’t important.”
Because death didn’t matter.
The fact that Salvia had died—it didn’t matter at all.
Because soon, it would become meaningless.
Ishina did not grieve Salvia’s death.
Because, in the end, everything would return to normal.
***
Natural Disasters Can Be Stopped by Human Hands
Discharge Countdown: 1,644 Days.
Even after I dodged my originally scripted death, half a year had passed.
Of course, this goddamn Border Defense Army never stopped throwing new disasters at me, and each time, I wished for nothing more than to desert this insane place—
“Hey! Why are you just standing there? Get to work!”
“...Yes, sir.”
Of course, actual desertion never happened.
Neither did any nonsense about male leads suddenly obsessing over me.
"Salvia, can you check the inventory list?"
"Oh, Ishina. Got it."
"And be careful with the unit markings when you record the quantities."
Ishina’s eyes never left the papers in his hands—not even for a second.
His head is just filled with work, huh...
As expected, no romance was happening.
I should just take my discharge pay and live quietly after this...
Yes. A quiet, peaceful life.
Surviving in this insane world only made me crave stability even more.
Just as I was lost in thought, Benny emerged from the company headquarters, looking suspiciously cheerful.
I paused mid-shoveling and glanced up at her.
“You look like you’re in a good mood.”
“Oh? Do I?”
Benny’s brown hair, now long enough to brush over her shoulders, swayed as she walked, her face alight with joy.
Because today, Benny had been promoted to Private First Class.
I was excited when I got promoted, too.
But now, I knew the truth—promotion is a trap.
"Enjoy your watch duty. With your skills, you probably won’t die, but still, right? Hahaha."
"H-ha... haha...."
Oh, and aside from Benny’s promotion, there was another change—
Because there were so few Lance Corporals left, Ishina, despite still being a Private First Class, had started handling Lance Corporal work.
"Salvia, there’s training today. Can you round up the recruits?"
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"Oh, yes, sir."
He was fully immersed in managing the juniors, and I dutifully assisted him with whatever he asked.
With Dream and Carrot gone and El promoted and transferred out just yesterday, our platoon now had only two Lance Corporals left—Blair and Topio.
Ever since Ishina began taking over responsibilities, he had been insanely busy. Even Winter had started helping out.
Well, I suppose being busy is a good thing.
The other seniors said Ishina’s "batch had loosened up," meaning there were very few seniors left in his immediate group, but plenty of juniors. Which, obviously, was a good thing.
Aquila and I were in a similar situation. We’d probably start taking on Lance Corporal duties soon, too.
But the reason our batch had "loosened up" so much... was because all the seniors in our group had died.
This goddamn apocalypse world...
Thud! Thud!
Fueled by frustration, I started digging fervently with my shovel, and Karon’s face lit up as he spotted me.
"Salvia!"
"Hey, hey, wait a second!"
I instinctively took a step back as Karon came barreling toward me.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
"Yes, ma’am!"
Was he still growing? Karon kept getting taller. In the original novel, Winter was the tallest of the male leads, but now, Karon was reaching his height.
Yet he still followed me around with that carefree, wagging-puppy energy, completely unaware of his own size.
"Oh, take the recruits to the training field behind the platoon quarters."
"Yes, ma’am!"
Seizing the opportunity, I immediately passed off Ishina’s orders to Karon. As expected, he obeyed without hesitation and dashed off.
Life has been pretty peaceful lately.
In this chaotic, unpredictable world, things had actually been calm for a while.
I nodded to myself in satisfaction.
Then froze.
Wait a second—I just jinxed myself, didn’t I?
Goddamn it. Something’s gonna happen.
What now? What’s coming this time?
***
"We’ve been assigned to an external mission."
Fuck.
I didn’t know what exactly it entailed, but the fact that it contained the word "mission" meant it definitely wasn’t good.
According to Winter, external missions meant being deployed outside the base whenever the empire required manpower.
Of course, this didn’t mean we’d get extra pay.
It just meant we’d waste more time commuting back and forth.
Since I had enlisted, not once had we been assigned an external mission. Even for Winter, it had been a long time.
"Fuck. We have to go outside?"
I muttered, looking utterly miserable.
Then, suddenly—
"...Wait. Have I been in here so long that my brain broke?"
I shot up and shook Aquila’s shoulders violently.
"We’re going outside! We’re leaving the base!"
Sure, it was for work, but still! In this godforsaken military hellhole where even leave didn’t exist, this was my first time in three and a half years stepping outside!
"Fresh air!"
I wanted to breathe in the polluted city air instead of this crisp, clean, suffocatingly fresh forest air!
I wanted to see extra thug NPCs waiting in alleyways to start cliché heroine-male lead encounters!
I wanted to see street vendors selling skewers!
I wanted to see fancy dress shops and dessert cafés catering to nobles!
I wanted to see—
The outside world!
"Finally... the outside world...!"
Since getting isekai’d into this goddamn Four Obsessed Madmen Cling to Me novel, I hadn’t seen the imperial capital, a single noble estate, an academy, or even a temple.
The moment the contract spell activated in my orphanage, I had been shoved into a rickety carriage and dragged straight here.
But now?
I could finally see the outside world.
Tears welled in my eyes.
"This is amazing...!"
"...Amazing?"
"Yes! I’ll finally get to see what these crazy Adolph Empire citizens look like, and I’m curious about the architectural style of this world! And—"
As usual, once I got excited, I started rambling.
That’s when Ishina, looking utterly exhausted, suddenly appeared.
"You two talking about the external mission?"
"Oh, Ishina. Are you done with work?"
"No. I’m on my way to do more work."
"...I see. Good luck, sir."
Ever since Ishina took on Lance Corporal duties, he looked even more dead inside than before.
"Oh, by the way, do you guys know why we’re being deployed?"
"We haven’t been told yet."
"Well... here’s the situation."
Ishina spoke in his usual calm and pleasant voice.
"A village got hit by heavy floods. We’re being sent to help with recovery."
"...Ah. So right now, the village is basically..."
"Yeah. A giant mud pit."
"Ah."
Yeah.
Figures.
Of course, my life wouldn’t go that smoothly.
Instead of the glorious fantasy world I had imagined, I would be wading through flood-ravaged sludge.
Fuck my life.