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CHAPTER 02
, it’s infuriating when I think about it. Why the hell am I using terms like “military buddies” when I’ve been possessed inside a romance fantasy novel?
“Alright, I’ll now give you a brief briefing about your future life in the Border Defense Corps.”
The man who had ridden the cart with us glared at us with sharp eyes.
Only now did I realize he wasn’t just a senior soldier—he was a platoon leader.
‘Why am I using words like “senior” and “platoon leader” in a romance fantasy world?!’
“There may be some among you who were unprepared and were dragged here after their contract magic activated and they were reported. But denying reality won’t change anything.”
At those words, one of my trembling fellow recruits stopped crying.
“In any case, everyone here knows that desertion is impossible due to magic.”
My expression grew even darker.
“If there’s any consolation, it’s that the Border Defense Corps pays quite well! The compensation and pension you receive for your service are amounts you would never even be able to touch in your entire lifetime if you worked elsewhere!”
‘So they’re probably paying a lot to prevent mass rebellion.’
But no matter how much money they give, who would want to fight monsters…? And seriously, eight years in the military? At least shorten the service period, come on.
“If you complete eight years of service, you will receive 3,000 Marne!”
At that, everyone looked up in shock. My eyes widened along with theirs.
3,000 Marne—that was a sum I had never even dared to imagine.
‘I heard 1,000 Marne is enough to buy a house in the capital.’
So 3,000 Marne means three houses in the capital? That was an absurd amount of money.
Fine. If I could endure eight years of military life in exchange for three houses in the capital, maybe I could grit my teeth and survive.
“Even your pension will be enough to live comfortably every month!”
‘The pension is tempting too.’
Even in my previous world, people tried to become civil servants because of stable pay and pensions.
‘And this is a fantasy-world military anyway. It’ll be different from what I imagine.’
My thoughts started turning positive. The original heroine clearly had some romance blooming in this military setting. That senior earlier probably just spoke harshly to scare us. Probably…
The platoon leader began explaining the ranks we would go through.
“Now, I will explain your eight-year service period! For the first two years, you will be trainees! That does not mean you won’t see combat—training will simply be your main duty.”
Two years as trainees? Are you serious, damn it?
“For the next two years, you will serve as first-class soldiers. During this time, you will handle most of the unit’s work.”
The more I listened, the more familiar the system felt.
“In the following two years, you will be promoted to second-class soldiers.”
Of course, I had never served in the military in my past life, so I knew almost nothing about it.
But thanks to military-themed variety shows I’d seen on TV, I had at least some basic knowledge.
‘Isn’t this just like private first class, corporal, and so on…?’
I knew there were four ranks—private, private first class, corporal, and sergeant—during mandatory service. This rofan military system just stretched each rank into two years, but structurally it looked similar.
‘Damn it, this really is the military…’
A chilling feeling that something was seriously wrong wouldn’t go away.
‘No, but this is a rofan military. The heroine even had romance here…’
As I tried to comfort myself, the platoon leader began explaining the final stage.
“For the last two years, you will leave this unit and be assigned to different units as command officers.”
This part was different from what I knew. Command officers? That sounded closer to officers than regular soldiers.
‘What was that called again? Instructor? Or non-commissioned officer?’
My father used to ramble about military stories whenever he drank, and I never thought I’d end up experiencing them firsthand. If I had known, I would’ve paid more attention.
Some recruits might be thinking, “Why do we split into different units? And isn’t it strange that so many soldiers become command officers?”
The platoon leader smiled faintly. Somehow, it felt ominous.
“By that time, not all of you will still be alive, so there will be no issue of excess personnel. That concludes the briefing.”
A cold silence spread through the space.
‘Damn it, right. They wouldn’t be handing out 3,000 Marne if money was endless.’
So not many would survive until then, meaning the imperial treasury wouldn’t run dry either…
The original Sarubia—this body I possessed—probably also died for that reason. Fighting monsters…
Damn it. Give me my romance fantasy back.
Today marks the day I have 2,920 days left until discharge.
And no matter how I think about it, this is ridiculous.
I had actually enjoyed reading “Four Madmen Who Are Obsessed With Me.”
It wasn’t very long—about 130 chapters—and the writing was simple and easy to understand without much thinking.
Foreshadowing introduced earlier was resolved within three chapters, so readers never had to struggle remembering past details.
Each chapter ended in a way that made it impossible not to pay for the next one. The author really knew how to hook readers.
And most importantly, the male leads were easy to remember.
Honestly, for heavy rofan readers who binge everything, mixing up male leads and side characters is common.
But not in this novel.
“Okay, this one is the fire-type male lead. That one? Ah, the cool-type supporting male lead 1. That one is gentle-dark-supporting male lead 2, and that one is cute supporting male lead 3.”
Classic character design is the best. It imprints them instantly in your mind.
Anyway, because of that, I finished “Four Madmen Who Are Obsessed With Me” in a single day.
I read it casually, but maybe because of its military setting and fantasy abilities, it had quite a fanbase.
And in that novel, the military was portrayed like this:
“Are you the new recruit?”
“Yes! Nice to meet you! I’m Darlene!”
“…What was that? Didn’t you receive training?”
“Oh right! Nice to meet you! I’m Darlene!”
“What?”
“Nice to meet you! Isn’t that how it goes?”
“…Puhaha! Haha, it’s been a while since we got a funny rookie!”
The original heroine “Darlene” made everyone laugh by casually speaking informally to her superiors because she was cute.
“Sob…”
“Darlene, what’s wrong?”
“I-I lost my sword…”
“…So you were crying because you lost a shared item.”
“Sniff, yes… what do I do now…?”
“…Here, take mine.”
“P-pardon?”
“I’ll just say I lost it.”
“B-but then…”
“…Enough. Don’t say anything else.”
If Darlene lost shared equipment, the male leads would immediately offer theirs without hesitation.
“Um, h-how do I do this?”
“…You weren’t taught how to channel energy into a sword?”
“I, not really…”
“It’s fine. I’ll help you. Put your hand on the sword.”
“Thank you! Hehe!”
“Now hold it tight… and swing!”
“Eek!”
“…So? Do you get it now?”
“Yes! B-but what about the monsters I missed earlier because I couldn’t use my energy?”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of them.”
Did Darlene actually ever do her job properly? Unfortunately, I had never once seen her working properly…
‘Wait… isn’t she basically a legendary problem child? A disaster-level one?’
Anyway, regardless of Darlene’s abilities, that was the kind of military I had seen in the original novel.
Superiors and subordinates joking around, capable male leads covering for the heroine, and somehow romance blooming while monsters were being hunted…
‘So why the hell did this turn into a military abuse exposé?’
People who think “Eek! The male lead is suddenly obsessed with me!” in rofan novels should try possessing this world once. They’d realize obsessive romance is a luxury.
Right now, I’d even willingly accept being locked up by one of the male leads.
Being imprisoned in a luxurious, comfortable house is way better than being imprisoned in the military, damn it.
‘Is this some kind of parallel world? Is this even the same novel world? This military feels completely different.’
I thought this while holding what was basically a plank position for several dozen minutes.
My body was shaking uncontrollably, on the verge of collapsing, but when I saw a fellow recruit collapse and start rolling, I gritted my teeth.
“See? You had this incredible potential inside you all along, but you never knew it.”
The senior said with a satisfied smile as we trembled and endured with sheer grit.
“Only violence and fear can save us all.”
‘Damn it, what kind of line is that supposed to be in a romance fantasy?’
No matter how I think about it, something is seriously wrong with this world. I think I’ve said that at least fifty times today, but I fully mean it.
“Alright, stop.”
Finally, a voice that sounded like salvation came, and we all collapsed onto the ground at once.
“Who told you to lie down? Get up.”
‘Damn it…’
I couldn’t live without swearing, damn it.
As I struggled up with a deeply furrowed expression, I met eyes with a fellow recruit beside me.
Ah.
Jet-black hair falling over his forehead, sharp upward-slanted eyes, and cold orange irises.
He looked about my age, not yet fully adult. His sharp eyes gave off a cat-like, aloof impression, and his quiet orange gaze carried an unreadable aura.
‘So this must be…’
Aquila, one of the original male leads who made me realize this world was Ne-Mi-Jip.
In the novel, he was described as quiet and patient—but right now, he looked more desperate to desert than anyone else here.
…Yeah. So you’re human too.
Far from obsessing over me, it feels like the male lead might escape the military before I do.
