The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1244: Personal Stakes

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Enzo Harcrest whom the dungeon owner had forgotten.

Then again, even if the missing soldier had slipped Luca’s mind a little in the process of surviving the past few days, it wouldn’t have been that bad.

After all, there were people who simply couldn’t forget about him.

Like one Eden Harcrest, who’d barely managed to close her eyes since hearing the word come out of Marshal Julian’s mouth.

For someone who’d always been considerably more comfortable and productive within the safety of four walls, the Tech Specialist had suddenly developed the overwhelming urge to go out there herself.

In fact, she felt like she might actually suffocate if she didn’t get picked for the mission! They’d been told to wait for feedback or confirmation, and she’d been all over the place ever since. Any more suspense and she might genuinely end up at some temple praying for divine intervention.

An opportunity to get as close to the area as possible while being officially sanctioned by the Imperial Military was practically the best deal Eden could’ve ever hoped for. Just remembering how she and Curtis had cornered the Marshal and practically begged for the assignment was enough to make her normally steady hands tremble.

If only things were that simple, and all that mattered was how desperately she wanted the job.

Because while Eden had been trusted with considerably more sensitive information than most, she was perfectly aware that having such a personal stake outside the mission’s primary objective could make her a dangerous choice for the assignment.

What if she prioritized searching for her brother over investigating that damned incense burner?

What if she found something that looked remotely promising and insisted on following a false lead simply because she desperately wanted it to be true?

Those were all valid concerns.

Hell, if Eden had been sitting in the Marshal’s position, she probably would’ve questioned her suitability for the exact same reasons!

Fortunately or unfortunately, she wasn’t.

Instead, she was the one stuck waiting for an answer.

So all she could really do was wait there and stew in her own distress.

"Nova to Eden."

"Anyone in there?"

Eden’s eyes snapped toward the suddenly annoying prig lightly knocking his knuckles against the top of her head.

"What."

It was technically supposed to be a question. But with the way Eden said it, anyone unfamiliar with her would’ve easily mistaken it for a threat.

for Curtis, he was already far too deep into this and far too accustomed to everything to have any hope of escaping, so all he could really do was accept his own life choices with open arms.

And perhaps because he’d somehow gathered enough indulgence to last him an entire decade, the Deputy Officer didn’t even fire back with one of his usual retorts, which probably would’ve ended with him shrinking by an entire head.

Instead, he simply said, "It may not look like it right now, but I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at getting picked."

Eden stared at him.

Same boyish face that was somehow as handsome as he was annoying, and just like that, she felt some of her agitation settle. Sure enough, seeing him right before a fight probably wasn’t the best idea when he had this irritating tendency to mellow her out whenever he wasn’t deliberately being difficult.

Anyone who knew the two of them primarily as the pair perpetually engaged in some form of verbal warfare would’ve probably found the entire exchange deeply disturbing.

Because Curtis had just tried to reassure Eden without deliberately annoying her in the process, and somehow, Eden hadn’t immediately responded with something scathing.

Instead, she quietly asked, "How do you know?"

The Tech Specialist looked almost like a wounded kitten.

Worse, she didn’t even protest when Curtis leaned down until his forehead lightly touched hers.

"I could tell you I’m banking on all those years I’ve nearly worked myself to death," he murmured, "but I have a feeling you’d be more comfortable if I simply said, ’I just know.’"

Eden’s cheeks immediately puffed up.

There.

That was more like the bastard she knew.

Still, as part of that day’s quota, she couldn’t deny that his presence was actually helping.

Or maybe it had more to do with what Curtis said next.

"And even if they only pick me because of your job description, I’ll still look for him."

Eden’s fingers twitched.

"I’ll look once, then look again," Curtis continued. "Hell, just for you, I’ll even do it a third time for good measure."

Without seeming to notice what she was doing, Eden’s hand reached over and lightly curled around the bottom of his shirt cuff.

It was such a tiny gesture of reliance that Curtis wisely decided not to point it out.

For several precious seconds, they even managed to maintain that sickeningly pink atmosphere. But after so long spent butting heads, it was difficult to completely shake habits that had already become second nature.

Therefore, even at the risk of getting a perfectly good kidney kicked, the Deputy Officer and full-time boyfriend decided to once again open his mouth.

"...Surely, there’d be no need to go exploring on your own or running off somewhere only to get caught, right?"

And just like that, judgment day arrived as Eden’s all-too-experienced eyes narrowed.

Curtis saw it.

And rightfully dodged the jab aimed straight at his stomach.

"I see you want to die, ah!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Curtis cried out with great exaggeration as Eden immediately went after him, eventually allowing himself to get caught despite having already made it perfectly clear that he could dodge her if he really wanted to.

If acting like an idiot for a few minutes could stop Eden from sinking back into those increasingly dark thoughts, then he’d happily sacrifice a little dignity.

And maybe a few ribs.

But before their strangely playful could continue, some pitiful soul who’d been assigned to fetch them made the terrible mistake of arriving at exactly the wrong moment.

"A-AHEM!"

Curtis and Eden stopped.

The soldier standing several steps away looked like he’d just witnessed something he absolutely hadn’t been authorized to see and wouldn’t have willingly subjected himself to even in exchange for money.

"T-The Marshal is calling for you both!"

He practically screamed the words.

Then, without waiting for either of them to respond, the poor soldier turned around and fled for the sake of his eyes.

Curtis blinked.

Eden blinked.

For one brief second, neither moved.

Then their heads whipped toward each other.

The Marshal was calling for of them.

That could mean a lot of things.

But considering exactly what they’d been waiting for, neither dared waste another second wondering.

Without another word, the pair turned at the same time and practically power-walked straight toward the Marshal’s office.