My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 59Vol 2.

After Aquila restored my name, my illness vanished as if it had never existed. Victim, who had gone through the trouble of obtaining a rare potion for me, could only feel hollow disappointment.

More importantly, unlike before, I no longer felt empty. Now, I possessed every part that made up who I was, and they interlocked smoothly, making me just a bit happier.

And so, I fell even more in love with Aquila. Ishina only found us more unbearable to watch afterward.

In any case, when we returned to the capital after our leave, the city had already established a provisional government of the people. During that time, a Declaration of Rights for the Arkons had also been announced.

"To think that I’d live to witness such a historic moment—the proclamation of a human rights declaration..."

I trembled with emotion. Thinking back to the days when we were nothing more than monster fodder, I realized just how much had changed. At long last, even we had something as grand as ‘human rights.’

‘Wait. Why am I celebrating over something as basic as having my rights acknowledged?’

For a brief moment, I pitied myself. But for now, I decided to be grateful that I was at least being treated as a human being.

Of course, even though the issue of Arkon rights had been addressed, several tasks still remained. And one of them was—

"Your Majesty, I hope you live a long and happy life~."

—sending the Emperor into exile.

Until now, the Emperor had been confined to his office, and today, he was finally being exiled to Napoleon Island, located at the southernmost edge of the empire via the capital’s river. He was sentenced to seventy-nine years of exile—a decision made based on my proposal.

The Emperor was bound tightly in ropes, sitting aboard the ship. Several guards stood beside him to keep him in check.

‘Unfortunate for him, but yellow-toned ropes don’t suit a cool-toned Emperor.’

The contrast was too stark. A guillotine would have suited him better. What a shame.

I wouldn’t miss a spectacle like this for the world, so I stood by with Aquila, watching the ship's departure.

I wasn’t alone—several others who held grudges against the Emperor had also gathered. For example, Taro and Winter... Taro wiping his tears was quite the sight.

"Do you really think you’ll get away with this?!"

The Emperor, still unable to grasp reality, roared with a flushed face.

"I will rebuild my forces and return! I will restore the imperial family to its rightful place!"

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...How very Napoleon of him. The fact that the island was literally named "Napoleon Island" made this feel oddly eerie.

Still, I wasn’t worried—measures were already in place to ensure he never escaped. If it was that Napoleon Island, it would be secure.

"You’re deluding yourself."

I couldn’t pass up the chance to mock him, so I stepped closer, speaking in a cold tone.

"Your Majesty, do you know why we’re sending you to Napoleon Island?"

"What?"

"That island was violently occupied by the Empire a long time ago. Don’t expect its people to welcome you."

That was the truth. Just like the war between Arkons and the Empire, the original inhabitants of Napoleon Island had fought fiercely against Adolph’s forces.

Even now, despite being under the Empire’s rule, the islanders hated the Empire. They had been exploited for resources, and military conflicts still occasionally broke out, to the point that the Empire had stationed troops there for security.

When we informed the islanders that we would soon subdue the imperial forces on Napoleon Island and exile the Emperor there, they celebrated.

The islanders had nothing but hatred for the Emperor. There was no chance they’d treat him as a ruler.

The Emperor would never be able to rebuild his forces and return.

"This...!"

The Emperor’s mouth quivered in disbelief, and then, suddenly, he became desperate.

"Wait—seventy-nine years is too long, don’t you think? You could keep an eye on me right here in the capital, couldn’t you?"

Ah, so now he was afraid.

Of course, not a single ally of his remained on that island. Even those sent to guard him were revolutionaries who had fought against him. A man who had lived his entire life surrounded by imperial attendants was now forced to live among those who loathed him. I wondered if he’d even be able to sleep at night.

"Ah, so you’d rather stay in the capital?"

"Yes!"

Sensing a sliver of hope, the Emperor’s eyes gleamed.

"Besides, if I remain here, there will be more people watching over me. And even if you send me to Napoleon Island, there are still members of the imperial family left behind."

"Hmm..."

He was right—even if we exiled him, the imperial bloodline wouldn’t be completely wiped out. The cadet branches of the imperial family still existed.

After his exile, they would scramble to reclaim the capital, each believing they could become the next Emperor.

"But, Your Majesty, you should be grateful you even get to live on Napoleon Island."

"What?"

"The cadet branches of the imperial family? They’re all heading for the guillotine."

I thought of the furious revolutionary forces in the capital.

They wanted every single royal to be erased.

I hadn’t been involved in their decision-making, but clearly, they wanted to eliminate any future threats. The Emperor, on the other hand, was considered too undeserving of an easy death, so they had decided to exile him instead.

"But they’re innocent!"

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"They were well aware of the Empire’s secrets."

Seeing no further point in conversing with him, I signaled for the ship to depart.

The Emperor screamed something at me, but I ignored him and stepped back.

Bwooo—

With the blast of the ship’s horn, it set sail. The Emperor’s figure slowly receded from view.

"You! If I ever return, I will see you executed!"

Even as # Nоvеlight # he vanished into the distance, he continued pointing his finger at me and shouting.

I merely smirked.

Is this what it feels like to be the mastermind pulling the strings?

It felt thrilling. Was this how Ishina felt all the time?

Keeping a faintly satisfied smile, I turned back to the gathered crowd.

"With one major task completed, I feel refreshed. Of course, there’s still much to do."

"That’s true."

Yuri responded in her usual indifferent tone.

"The most pressing matter is defending the capital from the Imperial Army and expanding the provisional government’s control."

"Well, that’s for the provisional government to handle, isn’t it? We only need to protect our own autonomous city."

Honestly, I didn’t care whether the Empire’s revolution succeeded or failed.

Because in the end, the revolution of the Arkons had already succeeded.

And there was still one final matter to settle.

"Now then, let’s go."

"Where?"

"To drive out the Butein Kingdom’s army."

We were about to take back the land that would become our independent city-state.

***

Though the citizen revolutionaries had settled the fate of the imperial family, one major task remained—dealing with the noble-backed Imperial Army and the Butein Kingdom’s forces.

We incited the empire’s citizens to rise against the Imperial Army, forcing them into battle. Thanks to that, the nobles were now solely the revolutionaries’ problem.

On the other hand, the Butein Kingdom’s army was our responsibility. That was the price we had agreed to pay in exchange for securing our autonomous city.

Even retired Arkons willingly took up arms again. Every single one of them longed for freedom and didn’t hesitate to risk their lives.

And so, here I was, fully armed, marching forward with a rifle in hand.

Never in my life did I think that after being discharged, I’d end up marching again.

XX!

As we marched north, nightfall forced us to halt.

"Alright, we’ll set up camp here for the night!"

At the commander’s orders, we began pitching tents.

"XX, even after discharge, I still have to camp like this? How does that make sense?!"

I grumbled, yet my hands never stopped moving. My body was already too conditioned to the Border Defense Army’s training to resist.

While I was setting up my tent, Aquila suddenly approached.

"Aquila?"

He was assigned a different tent from mine—so what was he doing here?

But instead of speaking, he simply stared at my face for a long time.

...That expression.

‘That’s the face he makes when he’s about to say something serious.’

There was no way I wouldn’t notice what was on his mind.

Pausing my tent setup, I took his hand and asked seriously:

"Aquila, what is it?"

"Salvia, I...."

In a cautious voice, he said something completely unexpected.

"I don’t want you to take part in this war."

"...What? Why?"

The words caught me off guard. I widened my eyes, searching his face—was he being serious?

He was.

"Isn’t it obvious for Arkons to fight in this war? This is our chance to fulfill our greatest wish."

"There are plenty of others who can fight. You’ve already suffered enough completing the revolution. You don’t have to take part in this as well."

I stared at him for a long moment before speaking in a quiet voice.

"You’re afraid I’ll die, aren’t you?"

"...Yes."

That was it.

Aquila was afraid that I would die or be seriously injured in this war.

And honestly, his fear wasn’t unreasonable.

Because war was truly dangerous.

Sure, Arkons had superior physical abilities, but fighting against multiple humans was different from fighting a single monster.

Aura was powerful enough to pierce even a monster’s thick hide, but it couldn’t be projected over long distances—meaning that when facing distant enemies, we had to rely on guns instead of aura.

And in gun-based melee combat, numbers were everything.

The Butein Kingdom’s army vastly outnumbered us.

In other words, a lot of us would die.

"I understand how you feel. But I..."

I bit my lip before speaking in a determined voice.

"I don’t want to be a coward. I want to fight alongside everyone else."

"I know you’re strong. But, for my sake, please reconsider, Ruby."

Aquila called my name with an urgency I had never heard before.

For a moment, I hesitated.

Whenever he called me by name, I could never truly refuse him.

After a long silence, I finally spoke in a small voice.

"...Alright. But I can’t stay out of it entirely. Instead, let’s think of a strategy tomorrow to reduce casualties."

"Salvia, I—"

"No matter what, I can’t just sit this war out."

On this matter, I was firm.

I refused to enjoy privileges without shouldering any of the responsibility.

I would not back down.

"Aquila, let’s discuss this again tomorrow."

In the end, I cut off the conversation and sent him back.