My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 37Vol 2.
Seeing a face that had no reason to be here, my eyes widened in shock—and so did hers.
“L-Lady Salvia? Why are you here?”
“I should be asking you that...?”
For a moment, my heart tensed, wondering if Benny had deserted. But then I realized—of course. Benny had been discharged by now. According to the revised military service period, she would have completed her duty just a few days ago. Time really flew.
“Oh, you’ve been discharged. But why are you here...?”
“I recently moved to this neighborhood and was handing out housewarming bread. My father told me it was time for me to start living independently. I heard that many hetero sapiens live in this town and that there’s relatively little discrimination, so it seemed like a good place....”
“Housewarming bread?”
Sure enough, Benny was holding a plate with bread on it. I guess in this world, it wasn’t housewarming rice cakes but bread. What a strange place.
“Wait, is this your house, Lady Salvia?”
Realizing that I lived here, Benny’s face brightened. She eagerly looked around, searching for someone.
“Lord Aquila! Where is Lord Aquila?”
“Oh, he went out to do some shopping. We live together.”
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
Overcome with excitement, Benny flung the bread into the air—only to miraculously catch it back on the plate. I paused for a second, momentarily impressed. Truly an incredible kid.
“C-Can I come in?!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
After letting the overly excited Benny inside, I noticed that she was awkwardly staring at April.
Right—those two had never met!
“April, this is my junior from the Cledore Mountain Battalion. She has the distinct characteristic of being the daughter of a Three-Star General. Benny, this is my old senior. Kind of like... my mentor.”
“The daughter of a Three-Star General, huh....”
“L-Lady Salvia’s mentor?”
April looked amused, while Benny’s eyes went round.
And then, the two stared each other down, like martial arts masters trying to gauge each other’s level.
After a moment of silent tension, they both relaxed at the same time. It seemed they had come to the conclusion that their skills were evenly matched and decided against fighting.
‘So you need that level of skill to be considered equals, huh....’
Damn it, if only my unknown father was a Three-Star General, I could’ve been on April’s level too! My father ruined my dreams!
“It’s been a while, Lord Karon.”
“Hey, Benny! I live next door.”
After Karon and Benny exchanged greetings, I spotted Victim standing awkwardly in the distance. He had been dragged to my house yet again for surveillance duty.
‘Wait a second, Benny....’
A fun idea crossed my mind, and I smirked before waving at Victim. He looked uneasy at my smile but obediently walked over.
“Benny, this is the dark sorcerer, Victim. He also reads tarot cards. Though, honestly, he’s pretty bad at it. Anyway, he’s on our side and has been helping us.”
“A d-dark sorcerer? What do you mean a dark sorcerer is on our side?”
“I’ll explain that later.”
Skipping over Benny’s confused reaction, I moved on to the more important matter.
“Victim, this is Benny—my former junior. She was Sanchez’s direct superior and the one Sanchez considers his mentor.”
“Hiik...! M-Master’s mentor?!”
Victim leaped back as if he’d seen a frog suddenly jump at him, while Benny just looked puzzled.
“Sanchez being my student... why— Oh, do you know Sanchez?”
“T-To think you are truly my master’s master!”
Victim’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
Then, after hesitating, he assumed a strange posture. He knelt down on both knees and pressed his forehead to the ground... Yep, it was the classic Boss pose.
“I will devote myself to serving you from now on!”
“Huh? Uh....”
Benny looked bewildered, but after a moment, she seemed to grasp the situation. Back in the Cledore Mountain Battalion, countless new recruits had been terrified upon seeing Sanchez’s exaggerated respect for Benny.
“Hoho.”
Meanwhile, I let out a pleased chuckle at the sight.
Lately, Victim hadn’t been listening to me as well as before, but thanks to Benny’s arrival, I could reestablish some discipline. Thank you, Benny!
“Salvia, you’re really becoming more like me.”
April said that with an evil grin as she watched me, but I effortlessly ignored her.
No way. That could never happen!
***
I told Benny everything—the secrets of the Border Defense Army and everything that had happened so far.
After listening to my explanation, Benny’s face turned pale with shock.
“My god... I can’t believe such injustices were happening all this time. And now you’re all being hunted....”
“Yeah, it’s completely unfair.”
“This must be corrected! I want to help, too!”
As expected of Benny, bringing her to our side was as easy as I had thought. If anything, she was just like Winter.
“When Sanchez is discharged, I’ll bring him to our side as well!”
“Hiieeek!”
At the mention of Sanchez’s name, Victim spasmed and jumped in fright.
Thanks to Benny’s promise to recruit Sanchez, we had gained another valuable ally. Hmm, the more of my juniors that get discharged, the larger our faction grows. What a fantastic development....
‘Wait, what if Patty and Matty get discharged too?’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
...Yeah, I should wrap up this revolution before that happens. I now had another reason to speed things up.
Just then, Aquila returned from the market. Seeing him, Benny’s face lit up again.
“Lord Aquila!”
“Benny?”
“I was discharged and moved nearby just recently!”
“I see.”
Aquila wasn’t particularly surprised. He simply nodded as he sat down on the sofa beside me.
“I knew she’d end up seeing us after her discharge one way or another.”
...Benny’s support for Aquila and me must have been really obvious if even he was saying that.
With Aquila now present, I spoke up.
“Anyway, it seems forming an alliance with the Second Prince’s forces is no longer an option. We need to find another way.”
At my words, April slowly nodded.
“It’s more than just difficult. You were in the North, so you wouldn’t know, but the imperial family is hunting down the remnants of the Second Prince’s faction like bloodhounds. Dozens of people are being captured every day.”
“In that case, have you considered an alternative, Lady April?”
“Hm, I was thinking of storming the imperial palace ourselves and securing independent land without relying on the Second Prince’s forces.”
“I have another idea.”
Hearing the gravity in my voice, everyone turned their attention to me.
“We should harness the power of the common people—not the nobility, not the bourgeoisie, but the lower class.”
“What? Do they even have any power?”
“There’s something I realized while working as part of the Dark Sorcerer Special Forces.”
I spoke in a steady voice.
“The emperor has been so focused on suppressing the Second Prince’s forces and the dark sorcerers that he has completely neglected the lives of the people. As a result, the lower class is suffering more than ever.”
It wasn’t just the Arkons who were dissatisfied with the empire. I recalled the people I had encountered during my time in the Special Forces.
The village chief who lived in luxury, using a dark sorcery artifact, while orphaned siblings starved in the streets.
The young apothecary woman who had to flee into the mountains, accused of being a witch.
We needed to join forces with those who had grievances against this empire.
“The revolutionary organizations that existed in the previous generations of Arkons were interested in creating an autonomous nation governed by the people. They were already producing and distributing literature on the subject.”
“Wait a moment... that’s....”
Benny, who had been rolling her eyes as if searching her memory, cautiously asked,
“Isn’t that one of the books officially designated as seditious material by the government?”
...So it was banned literature. No wonder it all made too much sense.
“I heard it was circulated in secret among underground groups....”
“I-I see. In any case, that approach aligns better with the revolution we’ve been aiming for. What’s the point of building a republic for the nobles and bourgeoisie?”
From my perspective, that wasn’t the red taste I was after.
“Even if we gain power in such a republic, it would be no different from nobles granting us that privilege. And knowing their nature, accustomed as they are to using and exploiting others, who’s to say they wouldn’t betray us the moment they got the chance?”
“That’s true. I also heard that many of the Second Prince’s followers have been captured. Honestly, they’re just a paper tiger now.”
The Second Prince’s faction had lost most of their dark sorcerers. That meant we had no reason to align with them.
“Instead, what if we incite the citizens to revolt and create an autonomous state governed by the people? Then, through negotiations in the assembly, we can secure land specifically for the Arkons. After all, we’ll be confiscating land from the nobility anyway.”
“C-Confiscate the nobles’ lands?”
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Benny’s eyes widened at the radical suggestion. Well, she was an Arkon, but she had grown up in a bourgeois family, so her perspective might be different from mine.
“Wow! This is just like the story you told me before, Lady Salvia!”
Karon, on the other hand, was beaming, recalling the discussions we had about revolution in the past. Hmm, I had raised a proper revolutionary sapling.
“That’s an idealistic plan. But....”
April, after some deliberation, spoke again.
“Do you really think that’s the best course of action?”
“Yes. We can no longer entrust this country to a single ruler like the emperor. We must be the ones to lead it.”
I spoke firmly.
“There have been precedents in the past.”
Yes, autonomous cities had existed in this world before. It was centuries ago, but still.
“But those were just small cities. It’s hard to imagine an empire being governed that way.”
“That’s true. In reality, we might end up with another monarchy or a republic. But even so....”
“It’s worth trying.”
If we secured our own land, we would be able to protect it. Even if the monarchy was restored and the imperial army attacked, I was confident.
We were trained to defend land better than anyone.
A silence settled over the room for a moment. Then April spoke again.
“This isn’t a decision we can make on our own. I’ll reach out to the rest of our forces and get their input.”
“Understood.”
Curious about April’s stance, I glanced at her. If she supported me, many of our soldiers would as well.
“But Lady April, which side do you lean toward....”
“Me?”
She grinned.
“The most radical side.”
Hearing that, I finally felt reassured. As expected, April was thinking exactly like me!
Listening to our conversation, Benny also chimed in.
“Lady Salvia, I support your plan as well.”
“What? You too?”
“Yes, I believe the best approach is whatever benefits the lower class the most.”
‘As expected of Benny,’ always considering the most just course of action.
“Salvia, I like the way you think.”
“I agree too! Hehe!”
As for those two who just blindly agreed with everything I said... well, their opinions didn’t even need to be asked.
And with that, the meeting concluded.
A few days later—
"Salvia.
Make your plan more concrete.
It passed by majority vote."
I beamed as I read April’s succinct letter. As expected of her—straight to the point.
***
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
Alexander shot a sharp glare at the attendant who had burst into the room, causing a commotion.
“How dare you make such a ruckus in my presence?!”
The commander of the Imperial Army, who had been discussing the suppression of the Second Prince’s faction with the emperor, rebuked the attendant. But the man, clutching a stack of papers in his hands, hurried toward the emperor.
“I apologize, Your Majesty! [N O V E L I G H T] But these posters have been appearing on the streets lately. I thought you needed to see them immediately....”
The attendant was known for his keen instincts and had the emperor’s trust, so Alexander did not reprimand him further. If he was acting this urgently, something serious must have happened.
As he read the papers, Alexander couldn’t help but roar in anger.
“What the hell is this?!”
