My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 66Vol 2. .1

The Imperial Army had only just begun to adjust to the darkness and regain their vision.

And right at that moment—what would happen if we fired bullets infused with light-attribute aura?

“Arghhh!”

Having been in the darkness, they were suddenly exposed to blinding light, causing their vision to be temporarily paralyzed as they clutched at their eyes.

Light-attribute aura had the same effect as a flashbang. The Imperial soldiers staggered, unable to keep their balance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Of course, we didn’t miss that opportunity and launched a relentless attack.

While our pursuit unit had almost no casualties, the Imperial Army’s rear-line soldiers, who had been positioned at the back of their retreat formation, were completely defenseless and fell one by one.

“Retreat! Fall back immediately!”

The soldiers in the rear were now using those in the front as human shields to escape.

If we chased them too far, we didn’t know what might happen to us, so we let them go.

But one thing was certain—we had won an overwhelming victory in this battle.

“Waaahhh!”

Once again, we had pulled off a brilliant strategy and secured a massive win in this war. We had struck another blow against the Empire, which had always underestimated us.

My chest swelled with excitement and accomplishment. My cheeks flushed, and my heart pounded rapidly. Unable to contain my emotions, I grabbed Aquila beside me and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Aquila, we did it!”

“Yes, Salvia. You did it.”

Even while catching his breath, Aquila gazed at me with warm eyes and returned my embrace.

“You’re truly incredible. No matter what hardship comes your way, you push through with unwavering determination.”

“Well, you deserve some credit too. It’s a long explanation, but thanks to you calling me Ruby... Anyway, yeah.”

At my words, Aquila let out a silent chuckle. Then, without another word, he simply held me tighter.

And just like that, I spent time celebrating our hard-earned victory with Aquila and the other soldiers.

***

“They’re here!”

The moment I stepped into the conference room of the Alliance Government building, everyone inside shot up from their seats.

I blinked in confusion as I took in their faces. They were all beaming at me.

“Salvia, congratulations.”

April, attending the meeting as the highest executive of the new government’s administrative body, offered me her congratulations.

“What... do you mean?”

This was a gathering of key personnel to discuss future plans after defeating the Imperial Army. But for some reason, everyone was congratulating me.

“What do you mean, ‘what’? This victory is practically thanks to you.”

“Oh...”

I let out an awkward laugh. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but being praised like this was embarrassing.

As I hesitantly took my seat, the person sitting in the center of the room addressed me.

“Miss Salvia?”

“Y-Yes?!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

That man was none other than the former Supreme Commander of the Border Defense Army—now the head of the Alliance leadership.

He had won the election against the village chief of Egott and become the Chief Commissioner.

As the former commander of the Border Defense Army, he was someone ridiculously high up in rank compared to me, so I couldn’t help but be cautious.

But then, in a kind voice, he spoke to me.

“Miss Salvia, I’ve heard much about you before, but you truly are remarkable. You’ve done well in this operation, too.”

“A-Ah, it was nothing, really. Haha....”

To think I had caught the attention of the Chief Commissioner—

It really felt like I was becoming someone important.

Then, he handed me something that gleamed brilliantly. My eyes widened.

“This is...!”

A solid bar of gold was shimmering in my hands.

I stared in shock at both the Chief Commissioner and the gold bar, and he smiled as he explained.

“It’s a medal. Normally, we’d engrave your name on it, but since the northern region lacks skilled metalworkers, this will have to do.”

“This alone is already an incredible honor.”

Honestly, I was just excited to sell it and put the money toward my future wedding.

Of course, receiving a medal was an honor in itself, but still.

After enduring an awkward moment where everyone gave me warm smiles, the meeting finally began.

“The Imperial Army seems to have been far more intimidated by our aura bullets than expected. They show no signs ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) of launching another invasion.”

“They seem to be underestimating the Citizen Revolutionary Army instead. It looks like they’re planning to invade that region next.”

“Well, considering most of their troops are untrained farmers, the Imperial Army will probably think they can win just by sheer numbers. They’ll enjoy a temporary sense of superiority.”

In other words, the Imperial Army had completely lost interest in us. It was too soon to be certain, but for the time being, they wouldn’t be invading Alliance territory again.

The war was finally over.

What a relief.

Of course, we might have to fight a few more battles to continue protecting this city, but at least for now, I chose to be happy that this war had ended.

“Now then, let’s begin the presentations from each department regarding the city’s future operations.”

Following that, each division gave reports on their management plans.

I also presented the detailed education plan I had prepared.

They marveled at how innovative my proposal was, but for some reason, their gazes held both awe and fear.

Hmm. That was unsettling.

In any case, the Council of Leaders concluded with the official decision that the Imperial Army would not attempt another invasion.

***

After the meeting ended, I walked home with a light step, excitement bubbling inside me.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Aquila waiting for me, perfectly on time to greet me. I jumped into his arms without hesitation.

“Salvia, you’re back?”

“Yeah!”

I clung to him tightly, fully absorbing the warmth of his body—his temperature was always slightly higher than average. Then, I eagerly spilled everything that had happened in the meeting.

“It looks like the Imperial Army won’t attack us again. Oh, and the Chief Commissioner seems to have taken a liking to me. I received a medal as a reward for my contributions in the war. Ah, and guess what else....”

Aquila listened patiently, holding me the entire time, until finally, he gently set me back down on the ground.

Lately, I had been truly happy.

The Northern Alliance was finally stabilizing.

The threats against us were decreasing.

The Imperial interim government had fully recognized our legitimacy, and even the nobles who had remained in the Empire no longer dared to look our way after their crushing defeat.

On top of that, our wedding plans were flawless, and my personal relationships had no complications.

Everything was going perfectly!

For the first time in a long while, I decided to spend a warm, quiet evening with Aquila.

Seriously, we were newlyweds—weren’t we supposed to be in our honeymoon phase? How many existential crises had we gone through instead?!

After sharing some... quality time, we lay together in bed, and I slowly began telling Aquila all the things I hadn’t been able to share before.

“Aquila, I really think I’m happy these days.”

“So am I.”

“Call me by my nickname.”

“I love you, my Ruby.”

Especially when he called me by my nickname, my happiness overflowed. It filled me so much that I had to swallow it down, feeling almost full from the sheer warmth of it.

As my heart settled, words naturally flowed from my lips. I continued sharing idle, yet meaningful, conversations with him.

“Aquila, when did you say you first fell for me?”

“The moment I saw your eyes after you fell from the waterfall.”

“So that’s why you reacted so strangely whenever I mentioned that Winter was handsome?”

“...It was frustrating.”

“Haha, I didn’t mean anything by it.... Then was that why Ishina kept trying to separate us?”

“Ishina is sharp.”

“Wow, just as expected from a mastermind.”

“...You do know Ishina grabs his neck whenever he hears you call him that, right?”

“I know, but I don’t get why. Objectively speaking, he is a mastermind.”

“...Maybe you are the real mastermind, Ruby.”

“What? I didn’t even do anything!”

As I basked in the lighthearted joy of our conversation, a knocking sound came from downstairs.

Knock, knock, knock.

The moment I heard it, I frowned.

Who the hell was interrupting our sweet time together?!

It had to be someone who didn’t appreciate the greatness of love.

But considering how many people waltzed into our home like it was their own, it was impossible to guess who it might be. Grumbling, I grabbed some clothes and put them on. Aquila, beside me, started dressing as well.

“Who could it be? Ishina? Karon? Maybe Winter?”

“Could be Altair or Yuri.”

“Oh, right. Or maybe Dalin. Hmm, or Victim?”

As we tossed around guesses, we headed down the stairs together.

And when we opened the door—standing there in front of us was someone I never expected to see.

“...Patty? Matty? What are you two doing here?!”

Patty and Matty, who were practically inseparable, stood there side by side as always.

If I had to choose someone I was closer to, it would’ve been Jason, not these two.

I barely had any connection with Patty or Matty, so their sudden arrival left me completely bewildered.

And then, they dropped a bombshell.

“This is bad, Salvia!”

“We need your help!”

Now that I thought about it, something was off.

Earlier, I had referred to Patty and Matty as a pair, but in reality, their trio always included Jason.

Jason constantly cursed at them, but in truth, he worried about them more than anyone.

He always stuck to them wherever they went.

So where was Jason now?

Why were only Patty and Matty here?

“What happened?”

Sensing something serious, Aquila asked in a low voice, and I followed up, trying to calm them down.

“Yeah, tell me everything slowly.”

And then they spoke the words that made even less sense.

“Jason has been kidnapped!”

“WHAT?!”

And just like that, the final major incident before our wedding began.