Chapter 92
Dalin had changed a lot compared to when she first enlisted.
The subtle confidence now visible on her face was proof enough.
“So,” I asked, “do you think you can handle military life a bit better now?”
Dalin answered with a serious expression.
“Yes. Thinking about it, military life doesn’t seem that bad.”
“…Are you insane?”
“There wasn’t really anything I could do outside, but strangely enough, the army suits me.”
“…So?”
“So I think it might be okay to stay in the military long-term.”
“W-What?! You’re saying you want to make it a career?!”
“Yes! I’m seriously considering it!”
…Looks like I boosted her confidence a little too much.
‘Ah—this isn’t what matters right now.’
I’d stiffened for a moment after guessing at Dalin’s past and realizing how she felt about me, and I nearly forgot something important.
“Dalin… you don’t hate me as much as I thought….”
Honestly, the mistakes Dalin had made so far didn’t seem like low self-esteem so much as her just being kind of clueless by nature….
She’d probably keep making clueless mistakes in the future too—just ‘confident’ clueless mistakes….
“So this crazy b*tch lost her sword?!”
Whether Dalin liked me more than I expected or not—why should I care?
Did she really think she could distract me with pointless emotional talk?
Did she think I’d go, “Ah, so that’s what happened!” and let her off the hook?!
There was no way in hell I’d go easy on her!
“Let’s start by smashing your head.”
“N-No… I really like you, Sarubia—”
“I don’t give a damn, you little sh*t!”
“Hey, did you get wrecked?”
Jason asked as he watched Dalin stumble back, completely battered. Since everyone had already seen Sarubia charging at Dalin with fury, the trainees were quietly keeping their heads down.
“Yes….”
Dalin drooped her head, looking unfairly treated.
“But I really do like Sarubia-nim. Then why does she keep grinding me into the dirt even though she knows that?”
At that, Benny’s face filled with disbelief.
“Dalin, do you really think Sarubia-nim would care about something like that?”
“Huh?”
“Normally people soften up when someone confesses feelings to them, but Sarubia-nim’s personality is already completely wrecked, so she doesn’t care about that stuff….”
After giving Dalin a thorough beating, I started running again.
Because after thinking about Dalin’s past, I’d made a decision—and I had to tell someone immediately.
When I rushed into the building, the first person I ran into was Ishina.
“Ishina-nim! Ishina-nim! Ishina-nim!”
“Sarubia, what is it? What happened?”
Ishina, his khaki-colored hair now long enough to reach his neck and tied back in a ponytail, turned around at the sound of my voice.
I stopped in front of him and declared solemnly,
“I don’t think this will work. I’ve made up my mind.”
“About what?”
The lives of Arcons I had seen and heard about so far.
Dalin’s life, living as a beautiful Arcon without a guardian.
And finally, the unknown world that would be waiting for me after discharge.
“I can’t stand it anymore.”
I could no longer tolerate this world.
Until now, I’d brushed it off as black comedy—laughing it away like, “Haha, what a crazy apocalypse!”—but I couldn’t leave this world as it was anymore.
“I’m going to uncover the secrets of this world.”
April had said it before.
That she would break the system of the Arcons and the Border Defense Force.
“After I’m discharged, somehow… I want to change this system.”
And because of that—
As insane as it sounded, I might have to walk straight into hell for my goal….
“I think I need to go to where A-A-April-nim is… and join forces.”
“You mean the Black Magic Search Special Unit? You said before that April-nim would be going there.”
“I could probably help from the outside too… but what’s certain is that, one way or another, I need to help A-A-April-nim….”
“Sarubia… you still can’t even pronounce April-nim’s name properly.”
“That’s because she is hell itself…. Anyway, that’s what I’m going to do.”
I met Ishina’s dark green eyes.
Whenever I was in front of him, I felt at ease and ended up spilling everything. No matter what I said, he listened kindly and worried for me.
After listening carefully, Ishina slowly nodded.
“Alright. Do that.”
Nothing would really change just because I told someone, but I couldn’t stand keeping my resolve to myself.
Words gain power once they’re spoken out loud.
“But we’ll go together, Sarubia.”
“…What?”
I jerked my head up in shock.
That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. At most, I thought he’d cheer me on.
Who in their right mind would voluntarily walk into the hell where that lunatic April was?
…Damn it. That person was me.
“R-Really? I mean… why…?”
“Sarubia.”
Suddenly, Ishina’s expression turned distant.
“If I leave you alone… I honestly don’t know what kind of things you’ll get up to.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m genuinely worried about whether it’s safe to release you into the outside world after you’re discharged.”
“Release me? What are you even—”
“In this unit, there’s no one who worries about you more than I do. Just accept it.”
“…Yes.”
“Please don’t trust anyone too easily…. And don’t rely too much even on your peers.”
“But Aquila—”
“Just say you understand.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
I was completely bewildered, not knowing what kind of situation this even was, but all I could do was reaffirm my determination to destroy this system.
…But how do you break a system like this?
Do I just cut off the emperor’s head?
Discharge: D-1412 days
After I told Dalin she’d gained confidence, she really did seem different.
Of course, she was still a walking disaster with zero common sense—but compared to before, she at least had some courage now.
She no longer said things like, “I can’t do it.”
Ha. Watching a junior grow internally—could there really be a superior as perfect as me? Truly amazing.
“…Dalin, didn’t I tell you earlier to clean my area?”
“Ah! I forgot!”
“Head. Down.”
Even while obediently smashing her head into the ground, Dalin groaned and spoke.
“Ah, Sarubia-nim! Come to think of it, how often do you usually get angry? Like, every few seconds?”
“What did you say?”
“Jaiden-nim was wondering whether you get angry more often, or whether I mess up more often—so I thought I’d let him know!”
I decided to ignore her completely butchered honorifics for now.
“What, did Jaiden say, ‘Man, I wonder if Dalin screws up more, or if that crazy btch Sarubia loses her sht more often, huh?’”
“Ah, yes! That’s exactly what he said!”
“Jaiden, you little sh*t…. How dare you talk about me? You’re dead! Keep your head down! Don’t get up!”
I could clearly see Dalin’s ulterior motive—trying to subtly screw Jaiden over—but since it was pretty useful, I decided to let it slide.
“Those lunatics….”
Jason muttered with a sickened expression.
“That Dalin… I thought she was just from the Patty-and-Matty school of idiots, but she’s actually just crazy….”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“What did we do?”
He sighed deeply while looking at the peers on either side of him.
Senior: Sarubia.
Peers: Patty and Matty.
Junior: Dalin.
…There’s no way desertion is an option, right?
Milfy, one of the few seniors who truly understood him, nodded.
“I’m telling you, Sarubia-nim definitely remodeled Dalin. She used to be unbelievably spacey, but ever since Sarubia-nim personally marked her, she suddenly lost all sense of fear.”
“Wow. Truly terrifying. Creating a custom-made junior just for herself.”
“Be careful. If we keep talking like this, Dalin might snitch on us anytime. Just hearing her say ‘Huh?’ gives me chills all over now….”
As Milfy rubbed his arms, a shadow fell over his head. Startled, he looked up.
“Huh? What were you talking about?”
“D-Dalin! What brings you here?”
“Gasp. Is this somewhere I’m not supposed to come? I’ll correct myself.”
“Haha, of course not….”
“But you said something like ‘crazy? human? scary? human?’ Who was that about?”
“N-No, that’s not—”
Watching Milfy flounder, Jason clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.
“Huh? Jason, why are you closing your eyes?”
“Huh? Jason, what’s wrong?”
While his peers panicked on both sides, he prayed with absolute sincerity.
‘That crazy b*tch Sarubia has planted a perfect henchman.’
And so, even more desperately than Sarubia herself—
Jason earnestly prayed for Sarubia’s discharge day to come soon.
