The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1265: Power Grid

"Hmm... this is really pretty cool..."

Luca hovered in midair, his body fluidly straightening to the left and then to the right as he floated around while intently watching his good brother.

Ollie was still standing right in the middle of the clearing, clutching what Kyle had explained was actually more like a discharge rod than just a lightning one while standing atop a thick, dry slab of Ebonite.

Auntie Cece had mentioned earlier that there didn’t really seem to be any need for such a strong electrical insulator. And that while they weren’t quite sure about the full extent of Ollie’s electrokinesic abilities—given how her sworn brother couldn’t exactly control the electricity just yet—they were at least certain that he possessed some sort of electroimmunity.

That was great news for the blonde, who was still going strong despite how much time had passed since he first started discharging. At least they didn’t have to rush and risk making mistakes when his physical body wasn’t in nearly as much danger as they’d initially feared.

Still, Kyle, the star’s concerned husband, insisted on having Ollie use both the slab the rod.

If not for any actual physical benefit, then maybe they’d at least have some helpful psychosomatic effects.

Thankfully, no one really questioned the experienced adjutant’s logic.

Sure enough, as someone who was deeply comforted by familiar things like Kyle’s oversized shirts, glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars, and fuzzy slippers, simply having something tangible provided by his loved ones made things much easier for Ollie.

Granted, that reassurance still didn’t stop the anxious blonde from verbally declaring his last will every so often in case he somehow didn’t make it.

And unfortunately, even if they wanted to give him a little more comfort, perhaps with some snacks or one of his usual favorite items, they couldn’t exactly risk bringing any of those things close to him either.

Not when Ollie was already at risk of frying or damaging anything that wasn’t part of their official cadet uniforms, which were thankfully rated for deep-space travel and could withstand far more punishment than ordinary clothing.

But surprisingly, of all the things Luca was currently evaluating as he tried to figure out what could possibly help his good brother, what everyone else hadn’t expected him to be so amazed by was a rather unexpectedly mundane thing.

And just what was that?

Well, in a sense, batteries.

But in more specific terms, the fact that even before this current era, people had already figured out how to harness lightning to farm and convert it into usable electricity.

"..."

The Imperial Crown Prince, or, well... basically everyone else present, listened intently as Luca excitedly explained what he’d just realized.

Apparently, unlike the people of the Hyperion Super Cluster, those back on that ultra-dubious planet called Tesseris still treated lightning as a rather uneconomical and inconsistent source of energy.

"The lightning rods I know used to go on top of buildings, and they were mostly for protection rather than energy generation," Luca explained. "So instead of being connected to batteries like the one my brother is next to, the metal rods are usually connected to another one that’s driven deep into the ground!"

But while everyone certainly enjoyed seeing his pure delight over the discovery, it didn’t take long before they started zeroing in on a rather startling contrast.

Because for beings who seemed to possess far better and more natural control over their bloodline abilities...

How come the people of Tesseris couldn’t even harness the raw power of lightning?

They’d simply been grounding all of it?!

Just what kind of place was Tesseris for it to be so incredibly unpredictable, packed with all those things the Empire would consider absolute treasures, yet somehow lacking basic things that even the poorest and practically abandoned mining planets would still have?!

Was that why they hadn’t even ventured out of their own planet?

Well, at least there were newer clues they could add to their growing repository of information, such as how lightning storms apparently weren’t big enough of an issue there for anyone to place harnessing them at the top of their innovation needs.

Knowing that, they could probably rule out planets with thick, turbulent atmospheres filled with strong winds, colliding ice crystals, and significant internal heat.

Then again, they were already searching for those uncanny planets that could naturally support life without needing the same technology they did, so it wasn’t like they had a lot of choices to begin with.

After all, based on Luca’s original descriptions of Tesseris, anyone who managed to find a planet like that would’ve either hidden its existence from everyone else or used it as some sort of massive leverage if they couldn’t protect it on their own.

And that might sound like an exaggeration, but there were already people in the Empire willing to pay with prime properties for several packs of Luca’s instant noodles.

So what more if they learned that one elusive planet had of those resources?!

Xavier unconsciously narrowed his eyes, his mind already turning over the necessity of expediting their search, especially after learning that there had apparently been so many of those people called Espers back there that they might actually pose a danger to the Empire if left unchecked.

Though all of that was honestly secondary to the real reason they’d been looking for that place.

Because it didn’t really matter how much of a threat those Espers posed when their entire planet could simply be taken out by an external planetary attack if worse came to worst.

But what truly made them a target in the mind of one particular prince was the simple fact that Luca had suffered a lot there!

And it was only right for Xavier, as his dutiful husband, to ensure that proper repayment was made.

He thought all of this without realizing that the people standing nearby were already starting to notice how the surrounding air had suddenly become distinctly colder!

The more time passed, the busier Xavier’s brain became. His thoughts spiraled into a ruthless, chaotic plan of everything he intended to do once they finally found Tesseris, leaving him so intensely focused that he completely failed to notice just how frightening the atmosphere around him had become.

But suddenly, all those dark thoughts were snapped cleanly in two when his little wife’s bright voice suddenly rang out,

"Okay! I think I’m ready now! I’m coming over, Brother!"

"!"