The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1164: Kaleidoscope

Well.

That probably sounded confusing.

So perhaps it’d be best to rewind juuuust a little...

See, the whole thing began rather innocently.

The very first thing Jax saw after opening his eyes was a pair of enormous twinkling eyes staring right back at him, accompanied by enthusiastic fluttering lashes and an unmistakable little wiggle that’d almost certainly been copied from a certain blonde.

To be fair, while confused, he also thought it was incredibly cute.

He’d actually been planning to ask Killian what happened after he passed out, but judging from the little Queen pressing herself happily against his cheek while everyone else gathered around watching with obvious anticipation, that conversation would apparently have to wait.

"Uh..." Jax greeted after blinking a few times. "Good morning?"

Well...

It was probably morning somewhere in the universe.

That counted.

Only after looking around and hearing the most outrageous news did he realize quite a lot had apparently happened while he’d been asleep.

"What?!" His eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Queen Lulu actually escaped? And attempted peaceful protest?!"

He sounded thoroughly impressed.

"Wow."

Rather than looking horrified, Jax honestly seemed fascinated.

"Normally she’d even lock up after me."

He said it so matter-of-factly that everyone collectively paused.

"..."

Ah.

So that was how the ever-so-graceful cow managed to escape.

"..."

But since that was already water under the bridge and the appropriate disciplinary measures had most definitely been administered, they could finally move on to what the little Queen apparently believed was the most important matter at hand.

Namely...

Getting her treat.

The tiny Queen bee immediately began pleading with Jax for permission, unable to form actual words and instead resorting to a series of eager, high-pitched squeaks while pointing frantically at the box with both clawed paws. Every so often, she’d even flap her wings and wiggle in place as though convinced such dramatic gestures would strengthen her argument.

Jax blinked before looking up at everyone else. Of course, that was convincing enough. But unlike his usual easy-going self, who would happily try a worm if Luca claimed it was edible, he wasn’t nearly as lax when his children were involved. If anything, they were the exceptions that brought out the most careful, meticulous side of him. So instead of absentmindedly agreeing right away, he paused long enough to ask.

"So the others who ate what she’s holding actually got some sort of upgrades?"

"Yeah," Luca answered, scratching his cheek. "We figured it’d be better to wait for you to decide since... well... we didn’t really think it was appropriate to feed her without your permission."

The redhead appreciated the thought, and beneath those large, pleading eyes, he actually took the time to study the container the little Queen was gingerly presenting to him.

"Mn..."

Hmmm...

"Hm..."

Seeing how seriously Jax appeared to be considering the matter, everyone quietly waited for his verdict, only to nearly fall on their butts when he finally said,

"Okay, that’s pretty cool...! I don’t really sense anything strange from it. And if some of them actually grew after eating it, then shouldn’t we do it now? Otherwise we might end up buying the wrong things for her later. What if she grows even bigger and nothing fits?"

"..."

"..."

Off to one side, two Nox brothers reacted almost identically, perhaps for the first time that week, as both wore matching expressions of quiet resignation after hearing the redhead’s reasoning.

Then again...

What exactly was anyone supposed to argue against?

It wasn’t as though the concern itself lacked merit. If the little Queen really did grow after eating it, then buying clothes, furniture, or anything else beforehand could very well become a waste if she suddenly outgrew them overnight.

More importantly...

This was Jax.

The same guy who’d somehow managed to get into the Royal Military Academy almost entirely through the power of vibes.

And between all of them, the people who’d spent years cultivating the art of calculated risk-taking were painfully aware that they’d probably lose to the redhead whenever the decision came down to pure instinct.

There were really just things best left to fate, and this seemed to be one of them.

Before another opinion could even be voiced, the little Queen had already started celebrating. She fluttered around in a tiny victory dance before enthusiastically burying her whole face in the tofu-looking block of Luxury Pet Food, as though afraid someone might change their mind.

Naturally...

Everyone waited with anxious anticipation.

And waited.

Then waited some more.

"...?"

Just when Jax tilted his head and was about to ask, "Hey, does it normally take this lo—"

The words never got to finish.

Without warning, the world violently lurched beneath both his feet.

His vision suddenly fractured into a dizzying kaleidoscope of moving images. At first, everything was nothing more than an incomprehensible blur of shifting colors and broken light, but within moments the chaos sharpened into dozens upon dozens of simultaneous views—

Visions of what looked like the exact same room, with the exact same people...

But each one seemingly showing a completely different angle.

Above the ceiling.

Beside the windows.

Near the floor.

Behind Luca.

Somewhere beneath a chair.

Each fragment revealed the scene from a completely different vantage point, as though countless unseen observers had been quietly watching the room all along.

The sheer sensory overload was enough to bring even the most composed person to their knees.

"Shit..." Killian managed to choke out, instinctively grabbing onto the nearest solid object before realizing the room was somehow spinning in thirty different directions at once. "Brace yourselves...!"

The terrifying part...

Was that nobody else experienced any of it.

To everyone standing around them, the little Queen had merely stopped moving, hovering quietly in midair with blank, unfocused eyes, while both Jax and Killian suddenly looked as though they were about to collapse from overwhelming dizziness.

No one understood what was happening.

No one...

Except perhaps one blonde and his overly intrusive thoughts.

After watching the two sway alarmingly for several seconds, Ollie suddenly offered what he genuinely believed to be a practical solution. One he had always used when he felt motion sickness coming on.

"How about we just knock them out?"

"Huh...?"

Killian wasn’t entirely sure whether he’d actually heard that correctly or whether one of the seventy-three different viewpoints currently assaulting his brain had simply invented the sentence.

Unfortunately...

He never got the opportunity to verify.

The last thing he saw was a flash of fiery red rushing straight toward him before the spinning finally stopped altogether.

"What—"