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

After that, we set off in a carriage to find a place to live.

Since the discharge ceremony had taken place in the northernmost region where the Border Defense Army was stationed, it was a remote part of the empire. But for my plans, we needed to head toward the capital.

"Where are we going? I’d prefer the capital."

"I already looked into it."

Aquila’s eyes gleamed.

"There’s a district in the capital called Biotun. Apparently, a lot of Arkons live there."

"Perfect. Let’s go there."

The thought of seeing the imperial capital for the first time was unexpectedly exciting.

Until now, the only towns I had seen were all in the north. I barely knew anything about the empire’s true appearance.

But since the Border Defense Army was stationed at the empire’s northernmost point, reaching the capital took an excruciatingly long time.

In the end, we had to stop and stay at an inn for the night, planning to continue our journey the next day.

We chose a decent-looking inn. But honestly, after years of camping in the freezing mountains, anything with a roof and a bed felt like a luxury.

The moment we stepped inside, my mouth fell open in awe.

A cozy tavern on the first floor, wooden staircases, a rustic atmosphere...

This was exactly the kind of inn I imagined in a romance fantasy novel!

For a split second, I half-expected to overhear a disguised emperor, a duke, or a knight scheming in the corner.

As I admired the classic setting, Aquila suddenly spoke beside me.

"Salvia, since we’re getting married soon, shouldn’t we just share a room?"

"...That makes sense?"

Thinking about it, he was right.

We were getting married anyway. And it would save money.

"Alright, let’s do that!"

The innkeeper handed us a single key, unfazed by our military uniforms. Clearly, Arkons passed through here often.

As we climbed the stairs, I muttered,

"We should buy new clothes tomorrow. These stand out too much."

"Yeah, let’s get something comfortable."

The long day had finally caught up to me.

A morning of discharge ceremonies, an afternoon of removing contract magic, and an evening spent traveling by carriage...

By the time we entered the room, exhaustion crashed over me.

I collapsed onto the bed.

"Ugh, I’m dead...."

My eyes drooped shut immediately.

As I buried my face in the mattress, I vaguely heard Aquila’s voice above me.

"I’ll check if they serve meals downstairs."

"Mm...."

We had been riding the carriage all day without eating, so we were both starving and exhausted. A horrible combination.

But honestly, nothing felt difficult anymore.

Not after finally achieving freedom.

The inn’s air was slightly musty, and the bed wasn’t particularly soft, but I didn’t care.

I was discharged.

I was free from that hellhole.

Sure, I still had to deal with the insane Adolph Empire’s royal family at some point.

But from now on, I could do whatever I wanted, and no one could stop me.

‘I don’t have to worry about dying anymore.’

No more monsters threatening my life.

No more anxiety about my comrades dying around me.

And most importantly, I had Aquila.

He wasn’t going anywhere.

Lying on the bed with a contented smile, I finally stirred, feeling a little more awake.

Aquila was nowhere in sight.

‘Oh, right. He went downstairs to check about food.’

He had probably gone to the first floor of the inn.

"Might as well take a bath now."

I needed to wash away the lingering scent of the Border Defense Army.

Yeah, it was time to shed my past and start fresh.

I grinned as I opened the bathroom door—

And froze.

"Oh...."

Standing there, midway through undressing, was Aquila.

Our eyes met.

"S-Sorry...."

I quickly shut the door.

...But wait.

How many times had we seen each other in worse situations?

We had fought together, lived together, survived through hell together.

And we were getting married.

At this point, seeing each other naked shouldn’t even matter.

...Wait.

Wait.

‘What the hell did I just see?’

As my frozen brain slowly rebooted, the image I had just witnessed flashed back into my mind.

No, wait.

That’s not right.

Something wasn’t right.

I yanked the door open again.

"Salvia, what is it?"

Aquila looked at me, his expression mildly embarrassed.

I stared at him.

Then, I pointed.

"Hey, um..."

This doesn’t make sense.

"That... uh... um..."

My face must have turned completely pale.

Because while Aquila might be flustered about me staring,

I was a thousand times more flustered by what I saw.

"Wait. Just... hold on...."

And then it hit me.

‘This world... is a romance fantasy.’

Of course.

Of course, it is.

And what I just saw...

Was something straight out of a romance fantasy.

I never wanted to confirm it like this.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

As I continued staring blankly, Aquila seemed to realize what I was so shocked about.

He hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking,

"...Are you surprised?"

“No, no. Just stay there and listen from a distance.”

I was genuinely distressed.

If I were reading a romance fantasy novel right now, I would probably be squealing with excitement over this kind of scene. But when it was happening to me personally? That was a completely different story.

Yeah... if Aquila were just some random guy, I would’ve just thought, Wow, impressive and moved on.

But the fact that I had promised to marry this man? That made everything so much worse.

So it’s me, huh? I’m the one in this situation.

I think I mentioned this before, but Nemijip followed a very classic romance fantasy formula.

Male leads with exceptional abilities. That was a major trope.

Male leads with ridiculously good looks. Even more major.

And then there was one element even more important than their strength or beauty.

And Aquila... was the male lead of a romance fantasy novel.

Yeah. That’s just how it was.

I had been thinking about this... thing... way too much, but honestly, how could I not? This was all Aquila’s fault for making me have this crisis in the first place.

“This is seriously messing with my head....”

I had read countless novels where the female lead would overreact to seeing the male lead’s naked body—gasping, hiccupping, even bursting into tears. And every time, I thought, That’s so unrealistic. That’s just some exaggerated, overly innocent heroine nonsense.

But right now? I was forced to eat my words.

“J-just wait a minute. I need some time to process this.”

I never thought of myself as a particularly naive person. But in the face of this overwhelming reality, my brain had completely shut down.

Fuck. I feel like I’ve lost all vocabulary. I don’t even know how to describe this situation.

Unbelievable, but at this moment, I was truly “dazed.”

No, but seriously, it’s not my fault I’m reacting like this.

It’s the male leads in these novels who force the heroines into this state.

Poor heroines... who wouldn’t freeze up in a situation like this?

“...Are you used to it now?”

Aquila, who had been °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° waiting patiently, finally spoke in an awkward voice.

Yeah, he’s probably embarrassed too.

No, but this is seriously not okay.

“W-wait, hold on, just—just wait....”

I lost all ability to form proper sentences and just kept repeating the same words.

But I finally gathered my courage.

I forced myself to face reality.

And then failed spectacularly.

I immediately became distressed again.

“...Sigh.”

“...You’re not sighing because you’re disappointed, are you?”

“Are you insane? H-how would I be disappointed?”

For a brief moment, I wondered if every man in this world looked like that.

...Yeah, no. That’s impossible.

He’s the male lead.

He’s... insanely well-built.

“...L-let’s put that aside for now.”

“...Why?”

“B-because it looks like it would hurt, and I’m not mentally prepared.”

“...Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.”

“Have you lost all shame? That’s not something you can control with ‘effort.’ And how exactly are you going to ‘try harder’ with that?”

The moment those words left my mouth, I suddenly felt a wave of despair crash over me.

My voice even started trembling.

At least I wasn’t hiccupping like the heroines in novels. But let’s be real, it was entirely his fault that I was in this state.

“Y-you... You seriously have no conscience. How the hell is that even possible?”

“It’s fine, Salvia. I’ll take good care of you.”

As he said that, he took a step forward.

I immediately stepped back. Twice.

“N-no, no, no! Just—listen, I-I can’t! I’m just not ready yet!”

“If I leave you like this, I feel like you’ll never be ready.”

“Well, duh! And that’s your fault for having zero sense of restraint!”

“That’s why I’ll guide you through it. Once we do it the first time, everything after that will be easier.”

“No, no, that’s not how this works! Your body isn’t suddenly going to change just because we do it once! Just—just stay there for a second!”

Just as I was on the verge of a full-blown meltdown,

Knock, knock, knock.

“I brought your meals.”

“Yes!”

At the sound of the innkeeper’s voice, I enthusiastically responded.

“Let’s eat first, okay?”

Aquila’s expression darkened slightly, but I shoved him into the bathroom and rushed to accept the food.

A while later, he came out, fully dressed again.

I felt awkward all over again.

But I forced myself to avoid looking at him and focused on the tray of food instead.

Oh god.

So this is romance fantasy?

This content is taken from fгeewebnovёl.com.

Romance fantasy is a hell of a thing, huh....

I used to wonder why romance fantasy scenarios never happened in my life.

Turns out, romance fantasy had been around me this whole time.

I just... never wanted to experience it like this.

And so, our excruciatingly awkward meal continued, while I spiraled into a deep existential crisis about what it really meant to live inside a romance fantasy novel.