My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession

No, but isn’t the usual way the original story gets destroyed by having the male leads obsess over me? Why aren’t these XXs obsessed with me?

Of course, judging by Aquila’s attitude, it’s not like he has zero obsession with me, but that’s more of an obsession of the “only motivation” kind. What I’m talking about is obsession in the romantic sense.

Saving the heroine from all danger, using their power to stop the heroine from doing things she doesn’t want to do—stuff like that.

But no, I was still going out to hunt monsters in a few days, then doing a regiment training in a few weeks, and today, I was about to go on border patrol. The male leads would probably be working hard alongside me.

I wasn’t really expecting anything anymore, but still, it seemed like my discharge would come sooner than their obsession.

***

"Dalin, you remember what I said about the monster hunt, right? The precautions and everything."

"Yes, I remember...! You told me not to stab anyone with my sword!"

"Is that the only thing you remember, you XX? Well, I guess it's something..."

Seeing Dalin’s cheerful face despite the situation, I couldn’t help but sigh...

But today was really a day we needed to stay on edge.

Because we’d received a report about a dragon-like creature spotted in the mountains recently, today was the day our battalion was going dragon hunting.

This was an event straight from the original story—the "Black Dragon Hunt."

The Black Dragon was stronger than any dragons we had fought before. The fact that it was a ‘Black’ Dragon alone made it seem like the most powerful one.

Sure, it was a dragon hunt I had already experienced once, but I couldn’t forget the time I lost comrades to the dragons. For me, dragons were still a source of terror. But...

‘I’m the senior now.’

If I show fear here, it would shake the entire squad’s morale.

Looking at our squad’s strength compared to the past...

We didn’t have April, Louise, Brave, Leon, Plato, or Altair anymore.

But instead, the male leads from the original were now stronger, and we had Benny and Sanchez.

We weren’t lacking in strength compared to the past.

"Dalin, if you mess up today, you’re dead."

While gathering my things for the emergency dragon hunt, I whispered in a friendly voice to Dalin, who was walking behind me.

"I’ll say it again—don’t stab anyone with your sword, don’t leave formation, and just do what your seniors tell you."

"Yes, yes..."

"And... hold on a second."

Seeing Dalin walk ahead of me, I was at a loss for words.

"XX! How can you drag your sword along the ground like that?! I told you not to stab anyone next to you, and now you’re trying to stab the person behind you?! Damn it, XX! Don’t drag your sword on the ground!"

Do I really have to tell her this stuff?

Taking this idiot on a dragon hunt was making my life feel a lot more dangerous all of a sudden.

***

A little while later, we found the dragon, and our battle began.

"Third squad! Fall back and fire now!"

We were hunting the dragon much more smoothly than in the original.

As in the original, Aquila and Winter were performing brilliantly, Isina was assisting by firing her gun next to me, and Karon was looking after the confused recruits.

‘Now this is more like what the male leads should be doing.’

This scene was originally meant to showcase the male leads' strength, so their actions in battle were described in a very heroic way.

‘All male leads +15.’

Since we were fighting at the battalion level, our formation against the dragon was well organized.

Additionally, since it was broad daylight now, the situation was much better than the original, where we had to fight in pitch darkness.

At least so far, no one in our squad had died.

And while the male leads were fighting, I was doing my part too. That was...

"Dalin! Keep your eyes forward!"

Looking after recruit Dalin.

Since there was only one recruit, managing her to make sure she didn’t die was actually easier than in our class. The problem was that the recruit was Dalin.

"I told you! If you close your eyes during battle, you’ll die!"

"Th-that’s..."

Dalin was doing everything I told her not to do.

Closing her eyes during battle, not staying in her spot, listening with one ear and ignoring the command with the other, almost stabbing the person next to her with her sword...

"Look forward! Please!"

"Yes, yes...!"

"Move to the side!"

"AAAH!"

Even when the dragon was breathing fire, Dalin was just standing there like an idiot, so I had to shove her aside.

"Hey! Move forward! XX, you wanna die?!"

"I-I’m scared..."

It was time for the front squad to move forward, but Dalin hesitated, so I dragged her along to get her moving.

‘When we get back, she’s dead.’

She had learned more since she first enlisted, but her awareness was still far behind the others.

KRAA-

Just then, the dragon let out a loud roar.

Seeing the dragon thrashing around as if it still had plenty of fight left in it, the original story flashed in my mind.

‘Who died in this battle again?’

Ah, Nero!

His death caused Dalin to have a trauma, and after witnessing people dying around her, she started questioning the soldiers who casually moved forward, leading to romantic developments with the male leads.

‘I’ll save her if I can.’

I knew exactly how Nero died in the original, and I couldn’t just let that happen.

I quickly turned my head and spotted Nero.

Nero’s leg was stuck in some brambles. He was panicking from the dragon’s attack and couldn’t escape, helplessly struggling. If I left him like this, he’d definitely die.

"Dalin."

"Yes?"

"Open your eyes and follow orders properly. I’ll be right back."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

I figured it would be best to knock some sense into Nero by hitting the back of his head.

"Stay here!"

I yelled at Dalin and ran towards Nero, but there was a shadow right behind me.

"Are you crazy?"

Dalin had disobeyed my orders and followed me!

"You’re supposed to stay put!"

"What?!"

"I’m scared..."

"...She followed me because she was scared? That XX, when we get back, I’m going to XX her up!"

"Hey, pull yourself together!"

I did what I had planned and slapped Nero on the back of his head, making him snap out of it and get out of the thorns, then sent him back to his squad.

Now, it was time to get Dalin back to her position, but...

"Dalin, keep your eyes forward!"

XX, this is it.

I muttered to myself as I locked eyes with the dragon.

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...We made eye contact, huh... so that’s how it is...

"Dalin, run!"

It looked like the dragon was about to breathe fire on us!

Bang-! Bang-!

Isina quickly shot at the dragon’s head, and in that moment, I swiftly pulled Dalin out of the dragon’s fire range, but...

"Ah."

I saw Dalin, collapsed on the ground with her legs giving out.

"That XX..."

I was tempted to leave her there to her fate, but...

"...Sword? Linia?"

Dalin’s figure reminded me of my former self, so I couldn’t just leave her.

As the dragon’s head turned toward Dalin, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to pull her out in time.

"Dalin, channel your aura!"

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Your aura! Channel it now!"

Dalin was a user of light attribute aura. Her aura was especially effective against monsters created from dark powers.

I had already put her under the guidance of Benny, someone skilled enough to control her aura blades with precision.

The dragon’s mouth slowly opened, and it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion.

"You can do it! You have that power!"

At my desperate cry, Dalin flinched and tightly gripped her sword with both hands.

Her aura began to shine with bright light.

Then, even though her movements were a bit awkward, she swung the aura with her sword.

Kraaaah-!

The dragon let out a roar as the bright white blade struck it.

It wouldn’t die from just a single blade, but the wound in its mouth prevented it from breathing fire for the moment.

As the dragon staggered, the rest of the squad immediately pressed on with stronger attacks.

Taking advantage of the opening, I quickly dragged Dalin out of the danger zone and whispered in her ear.

"See, XX? I told you you could do it!"

The dragon had incredibly tough skin, enough to deflect aura blades shot by the others, but Dalin’s blade still had an effect because of the light attribute in it.

"Ah..."

"When we get back, you’re dead, XX..."

I absolutely had to get rid of this damn recruit.

Still, I was relieved that, through this battle, she seemed to have learned the importance of following senior commands immediately. That was a crucial skill for surviving in this apocalyptic world.

The battle continued for a while after that.

Winter managed to bring the dragon down, and Aquila pulled out the dragon’s heart.

"Aquila, if any part of the dragon’s organs is left, it can be misused. Burn them immediately."

"Understood."

As per Isina’s orders, Aquila burned the dragon’s remains in front of us. That fire attribute aura of his really had its uses.

After a brief commotion, it ended peacefully with no casualties in our squad, unlike the past.

***

Peaceful ending?

XX, I think I might have spoken too soon.

There was no way there was such a thing as a peaceful ending in this damn Border Defense Force... If "peace" existed, the Border Defense Force wouldn’t even exist in the first place.

"This... this crazy XX..."

What had Dalin done this time?