My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 152

He closed his eyes with a focused expression, but suddenly, as if something had just clicked, his eyes shot open, and he shouted.

“That’s it! The culprit ran away without making a single sound! Damn it, that means their luck will run away too... Just like a true villain. Absolutely evil.”

That was because, after I turned the corner to avoid pursuit yesterday, I had taken off my shoes and walked in just my socks.

“Among us, who can walk naturally without making a sound?!”

The answer to that question was obvious. Of course, he wasn’t going to find me that way. Because...

“Well, sir... We can all walk without making a sound.”

“What? Why?”

“That’s because we’re not allowed to make any noise in the hallway when Salvia is sleeping...”

“Haha...”

Yeah, that’s how it was. When I awkwardly looked at the company commander and raised the corners of my mouth in a forced smile, he ground his teeth in frustration.

‘My training methods have proven useful again.’

Just how far ahead can I see into the future? Every time I think about it, I realize—I really am a damn genius.

Since even the recruits had demonstrated how to walk silently, the company commander seemed to conclude that, for now, he had no way forward. His face flushed red, and he stormed off back to his office.

But even then, he didn’t seem to be giving up, as he left with these parting words.

“I will find out who it was... I will never give up.”

Until now, he had never shown the slightest interest in us. But for the first time, I could hear real passion and determination in his voice...

‘Shit.’

I thought I had escaped danger unscathed, but he was clearly dead set on finding the culprit no matter what. Yeah, I was well and truly screwed.

I had only three months left until discharge—just three months. As long as I didn’t get caught in that time, I’d be home free. That meant the only thing I had to do from now on was...

‘Hide as best as I can!’

I would erase my presence to the point that he completely forgot I even existed! And even if he found out I was the culprit, I would hide so well that he wouldn’t be able to catch me!

And hiding was practically a passive skill for a soldier nearing the end of their service. It was a technique passed down through generations.

Thus, I resolved to master the art of stealth to a level rivaling that of a ninja. And so, the game of hide-and-seek between me and the company commander began.

***

Knock, knock, knock—

“Salvia, ma’am? I’m coming in.”

I heard one of the recruits opening the door to my quarters.

“Huh? She’s not here? Where could she be?”

Failing to find me, he left the room. I peeked my head out from the pile of sleeping bags stacked in the corner.

“Nice, seems like I’m well hidden here.”

It seemed like I had found a decent hiding spot.

Just as I was about to crawl out of the sleeping bag to look for an even better location, I heard the sound of footsteps. Since the recruits had all been trained to walk silently, that meant it had to be an officer.

Sensing danger, I tucked my entire body—including every last strand of hair—into the sleeping bag just as the door burst open.

“Where is the officer in charge...? Huh. No one here.”

It was the company commander’s voice!

He didn’t even seem to know that this was my room. Once he confirmed I wasn’t inside, he promptly closed the door and left.

“Whew...”

I had barely managed to escape danger this time, but I had no idea how things would turn out from here. This was only the most basic level of stealth. I still had a long way to go.

***

“Hey, soldier passing by! Come here for a second!”

On my way back to my quarters after finishing my meal, I heard the company commander’s voice from ahead.

‘It’s starting.’

Lately, he had been stopping soldiers one by one along every well-traveled path, questioning them.

“Tsk, I guess I’ll have to take another route.”

Saying so, I glanced at a nearby tree.

Tch!

Leaping up, I grabbed onto the trunk and used the momentum to climb to a safe spot. Then, I maneuvered over to the dining hall roof, crawled up the slanted tiles, and leaped precariously onto the opposite side of the roof.

“Hey, didn’t something just move in that tree?”

“A bird, maybe?”

“Is that so? Maybe I’ve been too exhausted lately. I should go drink some tree-root tea or something.”

I could hear the company commander’s clueless voice trailing off, but I couldn’t let my guard down just yet. This was only intermediate-level stealth. I needed more training.

***

Finally, I had mastered advanced stealth techniques.

“Okay, another day safely survived.”

To go to the bathroom without being caught by the company commander, I had started sneaking out through my window, crawling across the roof, and climbing down through the bathroom window.

After making it to the restroom undetected and completing my mission, I grinned with satisfaction. Lately, I had grown incredibly skilled at navigating rooftops.

Good, life has been pretty peaceful la— wait a second.

“...Was this peaceful?”

I suddenly had the unsettling realization that I had completely lost my concept of what ‘peace’ was.

For the past few days, aside from meal times, I hadn’t seen a single person. I had been living like a ninja, avoiding all human contact. Was this really normal?

Shit, I must have been so brainwashed by the Border Defense Army that I lost the ability to think rationally. No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t right! Something was very, very wrong!

“I can’t live like this anymore!”

Since when was it normal to have to climb walls and rooftops just to go to the bathroom? I needed a better solution!

Sick and tired of constantly sneaking around, I boldly stepped out into the hallway, regardless of whether the company commander was nearby or not. At that moment, I remembered a letter Ishina had sent me.

‘If you’re struggling with something, asking your subordinates for advice isn’t a bad idea.’

Ishina was a wise person. When it came to things like this, she was bound to be right. After all, she had even predicted I would end up in a situation where I needed advice.

I knocked on the recruits’ quarters and stepped inside.

“Sa-Salvia, ma’am? What brings you here?”

The recruits were visibly startled. It made sense—after all, I had been in hiding for days. Keeping a serious expression, I asked them.

“Alright, listen up. Let’s say there’s an assassin in the military.”

“...Sorry, what?”

“You heard me right. Just hear me out till the end. Let’s say there’s an assassin, and they’re trying to kill you. But since we’re in the army, we can’t run away. So, what would you do?”

The recruits exchanged uneasy glances, whispering among themselves.

“What’s going on? Is she trying to start another weird game? The officers always come up with strange games, don’t they? Even Red is always like that.”

“No, maybe she’s actually planning to kill us. Like, she’s the assassin.”

“...Is that it?”

“Hey, you dumbasses! Why would I—wait.”

I had been about to snap at them when, like a bolt of lightning, realization struck, and I closed my mouth.

‘Wow, Ishina, you’re amazing.’

It really was true—talking things over with others helped you find the answer! Thanks to them, I had figured it out!

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Right now, if the company commander found out I had eavesdropped on him, I was dead. That was why I had been avoiding him.

But what if... I flipped the situation?

What if I eliminated him first?

“Yes, that’s it! I just have to kill him first!”

“P-please spare us.”

“Is this another one of your assassin games? Should we just try running away?”

Ignoring the panicked recruits, I raised my arms and cheered in triumph.

‘Thank you, Ishina, for once again giving me the answer!’

As expected of the original mastermind, her advice was second to none. I had found my solution.

I wasn’t going to run away from the company commander anymore.

Instead, I was going to take him out first.

***

Now, I had a new problem. How exactly was I supposed to get rid of the company commander?

Of course, I couldn’t remove him in a physical sense. There were limits to what I could do in this place.

Instead, I was a master of military politics. I had already sent multiple seniors and juniors to their doom using my expertise in maneuvering.

I had never tried using my skills against an officer before, but...

‘This is my home turf!’

If we were talking about time spent in the Snowy Mountain Battalion, I outranked him. I had a home-field advantage.

As I plotted various schemes in my head with a sly grin, the recruits whispered anxiously among themselves.

“If a murder happens in the unit, what happens to us? Could we get locked up for aiding and abetting?”

“No, I think Salvia would erase all traces. She wouldn’t leave behind any evidence.”

“As expected.”

“...What the hell do you mean, ‘as expected’?! I’M NOT KILLING HIM! I’m not killing him!”

I had no intention of physically killing him! Socially destroying him? Now, that was another story.

‘This is the kind of thing Ishina would be great at.’

Unfortunately, Ishina had already been discharged and was out in the civilian world. I couldn’t exchange letters with him either—outgoing mail from the unit was impossible.

I needed to think.

First, the company commander had already been exiled here to the frontlines of the Border Defense Army after screwing up in the Royal Guard. If he caused another incident here, there would be nowhere left for him to go.

That meant the safest approach would be to get him kicked out of the military altogether.

More importantly, before I could drive him out, I had to cut off any connections he still had outside the unit. If someone within the battalion used those ties to leak the truth about Arkon service... in the worst-case scenario, the Imperial Court itself could intervene.

Damn it. As much as I hated to admit it...

‘The recruits might be right. A physical method is necessary.’

Even if I dumped the company commander into some remote wasteland, he could still send letters to his contacts. I had to ensure he couldn’t send messages at all.

...But was physically eliminating him even an option? There had to be something ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) between the physical and the political approach—some middle ground.

‘Wait a second. Now that I think about it...’

A memory surfaced—one of the company commander’s peculiar traits.

He was superstitious.

Extremely so.

If I played my cards right, I could make him isolate himself.

“That’s it!”

With a perfect plan forming in my head, I sprinted off to find the company commander.

***

It had been weeks since I last saw the company commander’s face. After all the trouble I had gone through to avoid him, it felt strange to seek him out now.

“Company Commander!”

“...Who are you?”

As expected, when I called out to him, he didn’t even recognize me.

“I am Salvia, officer of Alpha Platoon, 288th Company.”

“Alpha Platoon’s Salvia...? Oh, you’re that officer who was hiding out like me!”

Now that he remembered who I was, the company commander immediately started interrogating me.

“More importantly, are you sure you haven’t been wandering the hallways alone at night? I swear, I’m not trying to punish you—I have a serious reason for asking...”

“No, sir, I haven’t. However, I do have something to report regarding that matter.”

“...What is it?”

His eyes gleamed with a greedy light, clearly expecting useful information.

“For the past few nights, you’ve been trying to catch the culprit who was sneaking through the hallways. But you haven’t succeeded, have you?”

“That’s right. So? Do you know something?”

Visit ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience.

“If you felt someone’s presence but couldn’t find them, then... I have a theory.”