The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1218: A Little Something

Walking as stiff as a plank while practically vibrating from side to side, the young Mylor desperately wanted to throw himself at his older brother if not for the inconvenient fact that the entire arena was watching their every move.

Every step came with enough clinking and clanking to make him sound as though he’d swallowed an entire toolbox, and the shorter the distance between them became, the more convinced Owen was that he was marching toward the greatest betrayal of his young life.

At that, another unshed tear quietly joined the floodwaters already threatening to burst their banks.

By the time he finally reached the still-covered mecha waiting at the center of the arena, Owen was clinging to the last tattered scraps of his dignity, using every ounce of self-control he possessed not to collapse to his knees and demand an explanation before the whole Empire.

"Bro..." he said weakly. "Are you trying to get rid of me permanently?"

Then, eyes practically bulging out of his head, he grabbed both of Ollie’s shoulders.

"Or did you suddenly find out I’m not actually your brother? That I got switched at birth or something?!"

It sounded completely ridiculous.

But at that point, what else was he supposed to think?

Surely there had to be some explanation.

Unfortunately, instead of responding with the shell-shocked gasp Owen had expected from his older brother, the suddenly too serious examinee simply looked at him for a moment before calmly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"!"

The younger Mylor instinctively flinched.

That was by far scarier than getting scolded!

"Unfortunately for you," the blonde said with all the sympathy in the world, "this is precisely because we’re brothers in every sense of the word...

"If you were anyone else, do you honestly think this would’ve been possible?"

"!!!"

That was not the reassurance he wanted to hear!

"But professionals? Really?!" he cried. "I’m not even done with Junior Academy, and you want me to go up against them?!"

"Don’t ask " Ollie immediately defended himself. "They’re the ones who said it’s actually worse to fight beginners because they will drag you down to their level and shock you with inexperience!"

The mop spread a hand as though that conclusion hadn’t been reached partly because of him and Luca. But there was really no need for Owen to know that right now, was there?

The older blonde cleared his throat like a knowledgeable sage.

"Apparently, veterans are much easier to deal with because they just expect too much competence!"

He somehow managed to look genuinely serious while saying something that had the younger Mylor backtracking.

Owen had just opened his mouth to threaten that he was telling their mother about this outrageous bullying when Ollie suddenly smiled.

It was wide.

Bright.

Completely genuine.

His eyes even sparkled.

"But my baby brother, you don’t seriously think I’d send you out there without giving you a little something, do you?"

The words caught Owen off guard.

The shorter blonde turned toward the towering figure concealed beneath a thick layer of fabric.

For a moment, every trace of teasing disappeared from his face.

"I’m not sure if I’ll ever make something more unique than this," Ollie admitted quietly. "But right now... this is something I can honestly be proud of."

His gaze lingered on the hidden mecha, unmistakable pride filling his eyes before he looked back at his younger brother.

"But if I don’t sound convincing enough... then, at least trust everyone else who helped make this happen."

He grinned once again.

"Like that, you can be certain we won’t let you down."

Owen simply stood there.

All the imaginary jeers and ridicule that had been ringing in his head ever since he’d stepped into the arena gradually faded into silence as he stared at his older brother.

Somehow...

Seeing that carefree, boyish grin made it impossible to doubt him.

It really was something else.

Owen had noticed it more and more over the past two days, and he knew the rest of their siblings had noticed it as well.

They were all surprised by how much Ollie had matured during the relatively short time he’d truly spent away from home.

Had they not grown up with him for practically their entire lives, they might’ve believed that diligent yet oddly unhinged cadet was someone who merely happened to share the same blonde hair and hairstyle.

But the surprise was never because they thought Ollie wasn’t capable.

Quite the opposite.

None of them had ever doubted that he’d excel at anything he genuinely decided to pursue.

The problem had always been that he never really wanted to.

He’d been perfectly content coasting through life.

Yet ever since entering the Academy, every reunion made Owen feel as though he was watching his brother grow up right before his eyes.

More than that, he couldn’t help noticing how much Ollie trusted the people around him now.

Enough to say something like that with complete confidence when he’d always been one to doubt even his own thoughts.

Owen couldn’t help smiling.

He really was happy for his brother.

Like the giant crybaby he was, his eyes stung even more. He felt so proud that he almost forgot about the terrifying situation waiting for him.

Almost.

Just as he stepped forward, ready to crush his brother in a bear hug, Ollie suddenly raised a finger.

"Oh! Kyle said I should always include a disclaimer."

The blonde scratched his cheek.

"So... just to be safe... you might want to pray at least three times. I’m pretty sure I assembled everything correctly, but I forgot whether I tightened one particular screw enough."

Owen stared at him.

His brother couldn’t possibly be choosing to say something like that.

"!!!"

He was just about to let out another dramatic screech when Ollie suddenly stuck out his tongue, flashed a peace sign beside his face, and pressed a button.

Mechanical arms immediately pulled away the massive covering draped over the mecha.

Startled, Owen instinctively looked forward.

His entire body froze.

His mouth slowly fell open.

The audience wasn’t any different.

Everyone who had been watching the two brothers standing in the middle of the testing grounds found themselves caught completely off guard.

What greeted them was a build unlike anything they had expected.

The mecha stood at the center of the arena.

Massive.

Unyielding.

Its sleek, angular frame looked far too refined for something born from just two days of work, a gong, and an unreasonable number of controlled explosions.

Behind it rested a pair of folded wings that looked ready to unfurl at a moment’s notice.

Every line, every contour, carried the unmistakable confidence of something that had never once been built with compromise in mind.

It was unquestionably a breathtaking piece of engineering.

The catch was...

Since when had everything become black?