My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 52Vol 2.

After that, we welcomed the Border Defense Army pouring into the Imperial Palace.

At the moment I spotted familiar faces, including Jason, and exchanged greetings, a familiar face suddenly appeared among the soldiers.

It was the culprit who had kept me awake for the past few weeks with worry.

“A-Apirl!”

With her bright blonde hair flowing, April was walking confidently, accompanied by other Border Defense soldiers.

Though I had always felt awkward around her, I had been so worried about her being executed in front of the Imperial Palace alongside the Second Prince’s forces. Sometimes, I had nightmares of her being hung in front of the palace, dead.

The moment I saw her face, the tension in me snapped, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I approached her.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Of course, though the Imperial Guards did keep chasing me, I managed to escape fine.”

But even as she spoke those words, April looked quite disheveled. Despite her words, it seemed like she had endured quite a lot.

Curious about how she had been managing, I asked again.

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“What happened? Did you join the Border Defense Army after escaping?”

“No, I was hiding around and then stirred up the people in the capital.”

“Ah...”

As expected, she hadn’t been idle during this time.

“I’ve really missed you, hehe.”

“Salvia, you’re really acting like you’ve abandoned April...”

“Be quiet, Ishina. But now, what should we do?”

The Imperial Palace was noisy. This was because nothing had been decided yet.

The nobles and bourgeois were in complete shock that the Imperial Palace had been occupied by common citizens. They were supporting the Imperial Army to reclaim the palace first.

The Imperial Army was continuously trying to suppress the rebellion and restore the capital, but these efforts were constantly thwarted by the Border Defense Army. The Border Defense soldiers were surrounding the capital, maintaining a strict blockade.

The citizens who had taken control of the Imperial Palace seemed to be pondering how to completely drive out the Imperial Army in this situation.

We still had many problems to resolve.

“Why ask me? Salvia, it seems like you already have an answer.”

April asked me in a tone of trust, but for once, I didn’t know what to do. Hmm, if we followed my plan...

“How about exiling the Emperor to an island at the southernmost tip of the Empire? For seventy-nine years. He could escape, so we’ll need to watch him closely.”

“You’re really cruel.”

Hearing that, I felt a little wronged. Well, exile like that is pretty common on Earth...

“And what’s your plan?”

“Hmm, it seems like a group to manage the situation has started forming among the citizens. How about meeting with the leader of this organization to talk?”

Currently, in the Imperial Palace, discussions were ongoing among intellectuals from the Empire, and a kind of assembly was being organized voluntarily.

And what we needed to tell them was what we wanted...

Independence.

We wanted independent territories.

Though we had played a major role in toppling the Imperial family, we would not become the rulers of the Empire. After all, we were still a minority.

If we tried to dominate the Empire, we could trigger internal division.

Therefore, the best choice would be to divide some territories and set up autonomous cities.

“Salvia, but if we ask for land, will they just give it to us?”

Dalin tilted her head, asking next to me.

“No, that won’t happen. That’s why I’ve prepared something for the negotiations...”

Just as I was about to explain my plan to Dalin, I noticed April was watching Dalin with interest. Wait, this situation is...?!

‘Dalin and April’s showdown! It’s like a spear that pierces through anything versus a shield that blocks everything!’

Isn’t this the confrontation I’ve been waiting for? I started to feel intrigued.

I decided to introduce them to each other, thinking I’d observe who would win.

“April, this is Dalin, my junior. She’s currently serving as the platoon leader of the Snowy Mountain Battalion. Dalin, this is April, my senior. You could say she’s the leader of the revolutionary army.”

“Nice to meet you, April!”

I was impressed by how quickly Dalin remembered her name. What’s going on? Did she instinctively sense a life-threatening danger?

April, scanning Dalin with an observant gaze, slowly greeted her.

“Yeah. Nice to meet you, Dalin...”

Then April opened her mouth, looking strangely intrigued.

“Salvia, she looks a bit like you?”

“Huh? What a terrible thing to say...”

“Oh, really? Hehe, Salvia is my role model!”

Seeing the drastically different reactions from the two of us, April’s face became even more intrigued. What’s this? I’ve never had anything good happen when April makes that face toward me.

“So, Salvia, was I a good senior?”

‘That’s a tricky question.’

That’s a common question used to put a junior in an awkward spot. If you answer that the senior was good, they’ll pressure you to tell the truth, and if you answer honestly and say the senior was bad, they’ll accuse you of insulting your senior and move away.

And Dalin’s answer was:

“Yes, Salvia was a good senior!”

“Answer honestly...”

“How good was she as a senior? She always made us clean up between the floorboards for our respiratory health, and if we didn’t, she’d make us clean all night! And whenever I fell behind in training, she helped me a lot. She’d roll me on the floor whenever I fell behind!”

...What? Is she feeding me to April right now?

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That wasn’t answering that I was a good senior or a bad one... It was a bizarre answer that couldn’t be categorized.

April, like me, had a grotesque expression on her face.

“What is this kid...?”

Despite this, Dalin was smiling brightly. Watching her, I had a feeling I could guess the winner of this showdown.

“So, what kind of junior were you?”

“Of course, I was a good junior, right? Hehe.”

“Have you ever heard people say your head is in the clouds?”

“Wow! I heard that from Tar? just recently, and it was really fascinating!”

“This type, huh...”

April rubbed her forehead tiredly and waved her hand at me.

“Salvia, you keep this one around... How do you even have a conversation with her?”

“No, we manage to communicate just fine... She’s doing it on purpose!”

“I think she’s just naturally like that...”

And so, our trio confrontation ended with April surrendering and me taking Dalin under my wing.

...Why do I feel like I’ve lost out in this situation?

***

We moved into the Imperial Palace to meet with the representatives of the Citizens’ Assembly.

Inside the palace, the citizens' army had set up camp in tight rows. The luxurious furniture and decorations that adorned the palace were mostly destroyed. From the perspective of the citizens, who had been struggling to survive, seeing such symbols of luxury, which they could never have dreamed of, was undoubtedly a source of great anger.

Finally, we made our way to the drawing room used by the Emperor, where we found a few middle-aged men gathered. They were probably the intellectuals of the assembly.

As a note, there were two people from our side acting as representatives.

“Nice to meet you.”

One of them was none other than the commander of the Snowy Mountain Battalion, Gavle.

“Let’s sit and talk.”

The other was the commander of the Cledore Mountain Battalion.

I had been permitted to address him as Grain. When I ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) met him in the Imperial Palace, Grain greeted me warmly with a wide smile.

The surprising, yet not so surprising, fact was that Grain had also been a member of the Border Defense Army’s underground revolutionary faction for some time. At my surprise, Grain shouted with excitement.

“As expected! The value of that hair color truly shines through!”

He started with such a comment, and though it was absurd, it seemed like he genuinely welcomed me.

“I always believed that Salvia-chan would achieve something big, hehe!”

At any rate, when we were to speak with the Citizens’ Assembly, it seemed best for our side to send the seniors forward. So, Gavle and Grain decided to take the lead. I stood behind them on the couch and listened to the conversation.

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard you’ve made a great contribution to this cause.”

The first to speak was one of the men from the Citizens' Assembly. He extended his hand with a friendly smile, ready for a handshake.

“First of all, congratulations. The revolution was successful, haha.”

Though we, the hetero sapiens, had been discriminated against in the Empire, the citizens were now far more enraged at the royal family and the nobility, who had repeatedly exploited them, than at any fear of the hetero sapiens.

As the saying goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my ally,” it seemed they temporarily viewed us as their allies. Of course, how long this would last was uncertain.

“I also congratulate you. This is something we’ve all desperately wished for, isn’t it?”

Grain naturally accepted the handshake and responded.

“This revolution would have been impossible without the help of the hetero sapiens. We are truly grateful.”

“Haha, well, the citizens’ army has played a role too, of course.”

After a brief exchange of pleasantries about each other’s contributions, the conversation shifted to the main issue.

“So, what are you planning to do? Do you intend to establish a government with the Citizens’ Assembly?”

“Yes, of course, we need to set up a provisional government, but we also plan to ensure that the Citizens’ Assembly plays a key role in that process.”

Then, the man spoke in a cautious tone.

“How about the hetero sapiens joining us to form a coalition government?”

“Joining together?”

“Yes, if both factions combine their strength, we can stabilize the country and govern it effectively.”

“I see...”

“Well, as you know, we played a significant role from the beginning to the end of the Imperial Palace’s capture, and a provisional government is already being organized with the citizens at the core. Our position has become somewhat tricky.*”

When Gavle mentioned this, the man quickly waved his hands in protest.

“Please don’t say that. We really don’t intend to neglect the hetero sapiens. In fact, we recognize that your contribution is even greater. However, with you being a minority, it would be difficult for you to fully seize control of the vast Empire on your own, so shouldn’t we combine forces? Of course, I promise that we will give you enough authority in this process.”

“Well...”

After exchanging a look with Grain, Gavle smiled and answered.

“We are not interested in participating in the provisional government.”

“What? Then what do you plan to do?”

“You’ll know soon enough. But first, what about the military? Our soldiers are holding the line, but even now, the remaining Adolph Empire forces are still trying to reclaim the Imperial Palace. More importantly, the north is currently occupied by the Butein Kingdom’s army.”

“The Butein Kingdom’s army...”

As we mentioned the military, the man seemed to forget immediately about our rejection of his proposal. The atmosphere of the conversation became much more serious.

It was no wonder. The citizens were barely holding on. They were under attack from both outside and within.

The Butein Kingdom’s army, which had invaded through the borders we allowed, had taken control of the north and was marching toward the capital.

Thankfully, the Adolph Empire army was doing its best to hold them off, but they couldn’t fully commit to recapturing the Imperial Palace right now.

“We are currently planning to form a volunteer army to drive out the Butein Kingdom’s forces. We cannot allow the Adolph Empire to be invaded.”

The man said with a solemn voice. It was a typical declaration from a proud Adolph Empire citizen.

However, Grain raised an objection to his words.

“So, does this mean the Imperial army will fight? If that happens, we will likely have to align with the Imperial army again. And if the Imperial army gains strength, it will be difficult for us to continue the revolution.”

“That...”

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. This was the moment, the moment our planned response would come.

Soon, Gavle raised his head and said with a serious face.

“We will drive out the Butein Kingdom’s army and reclaim the northern territories they have stolen.”

“Really? If you can do that, we will be truly grateful.”

The man’s face lit up. To him, it must have felt like a light of salvation had appeared from the heavens.

“With the powerful strength of the hetero sapiens, I believe you can easily handle the Butein Kingdom’s army.”

As the man spoke with an elevated tone, Gavle’s firm voice interrupted.

“However, there is a condition.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“We want to establish an autonomous city for the hetero sapiens in the northern territories that we reclaim.”