The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1353: A Change of Priorities

"Unless you’ve got a death wish, don’t touch anything with your bare hands."

Not good.

Not good at all!

Sure, they’d already received confirmation from the rescued captives that this place was being used for some sort of illegal manufacturing operation, so the members of DG had naturally expected to find a considerable amount of suspicious materials that needed to be dealt with.

But actually seeing everything laid out before them was another matter entirely!

Especially when the mysterious pirate began taking out one space button after another, revealing even more materials that had apparently been stored away for safekeeping!

Even the considerably more experienced Imperial Prince and his aide couldn’t help but take several deep breaths as they stared at the increasingly alarming collection before them.

Luca, in particular, was feeling rather troubled.

Because while he desperately wanted to get his hands on those materials and determine exactly which ones were responsible for the contamination, there simply wasn’t enough time to conduct proper experiments!

And he certainly didn’t have the luxury of explaining to both the mysterious pirate and his own husband why he needed to be so terribly touchy with something that had already been declared potentially lethal.

Worse, Xavier would likely offer to do it himself if he insisted it was a crucial step!

So for now, all the golden-eyed cadet could do was silently hope that whoever was responsible for manufacturing these products happened to be a particularly stingy meanie.

After all, wouldn’t it make sense for someone running an illegal enterprise to minimize production costs while maximizing profits?

Perhaps they’d only bothered infusing certain ingredients with corruption instead of contaminating every single component!

And maybe, just maybe, the packaging itself wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the contents!

Well...

Sure.

Maybe in Luca’s dreams!

Because for the person who’d spent so much time and effort bringing this particular masterpiece into existence, how could he possibly allow something as insignificant as production costs to compromise the final product?

Wouldn’t that be an insult to everything he’d sacrificed just to get this far?

Then again, perhaps he couldn’t blame others for entertaining such foolish assumptions.

After all, no one but he truly understood what it had taken to reach this point, much less what else he was willing to offer up to achieve his ultimate goal.

And now that his life’s work was finally beginning to see the light of day, there was absolutely no reason for him to start cutting corners!

Whatever anyone else decided to do from this point onward, it wouldn’t change the fact that he’d already managed to get the ball roll—

"Your Highness..."

"..."

Aide Bram Calrune had barely opened his mouth when he immediately regretted speaking.

Because the moment his tentative voice interrupted the silence, the man seated before him slowly raised his eyes.

And the glare that greeted him was enough to make the aide instinctively straighten his back!

"What?"

"I apologize for the sudden interruption, Your Highness," Bram hurriedly replied, lowering his head. "But I’ve come to report as you ordered. It seems several of our contractors have already experienced... after being cornered during combat."

It was strange to refer to that state right before one’s death as a breakthrough, but what could a mere aide possibly do when his master had decided that was what he wanted to call it?

"Ha?"

The prince tilted his head.

"Cornered? Already?" he repeated, sounding distinctly unimpressed. "Even after being boosted, they’re still that weak?"

"Apologies, Your Highness. They’ve performed as expected against most of their opponents. However, it seems the group that encountered certain Imperial cadets hasn’t been able to measure up to your expectations."

"..."

Now, that was interesting.

The prince’s expression shifted slightly as he raised a brow, silently prompting his aide to elaborate.

Bram, who had a rather good idea which particular cadets his master was suddenly interested in, immediately continued.

"Yes, Your Highness. It seems the exercise was suspended and an evacuation order was issued. By the time they encountered our contractors, the cadets were already preparing to leave the outpost. However, a group of them apparently decided to stay behind and confront the relentless pirates instead."

He paused briefly before adding, "Moreover, judging by the footage transmitted by the pirates’ suits, I can confirm that those cadets are no longer using standard-issue manual mechas. In fact, those custom machines appear to be the very reason they’ve suddenly managed to gain the upper hand."

"Mechas, huh?"

The prince slowly leaned back in his seat, appearing to contemplate the information for a moment.

Then, much to his aide’s surprise, he suddenly asked:

"Then shouldn’t we get our hands on something similar?"

"...!"

Bram almost forgot to breathe.

Was His Highness actually suggesting they acquire one of those custom Imperial mechas?!

But how?!

If even the Federation hadn’t managed to get its hands on one despite all its efforts, then what chance did they have of obtaining something that clearly belonged to the Empire’s most promising cadets?!

Before Bram could figure out how to respond, however, his master spoke again.

"They’re still fighting, right?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness."

"Good."

Good?

What exactly was good about that?!

"Then tell them to change their priorities," the prince continued casually. "We’ve already conducted enough tests for now, and it’s obvious the others would simply follow suit. They might as well bring back a souvenir instead."

"..."

A souvenir?

Bram suddenly had a very bad feeling about where this conversation was going.

"Tell them I want at least one of those unusual custom mechas brought back intact," the prince instructed. "And whichever crew manages to accomplish that will be rewarded with access to a year’s supply of Apex Black."

A year’s supply?!

Bram’s eyes widened.

"Y-Your Highness! Are you saying we should take one of those mechas?!"

"No."

"...?"

The prince slowly turned his head.

"Have you gone deaf?"

Bram desperately wanted to shout those words, but considering the increasingly dangerous direction this conversation was taking, he wisely kept his mouth shut.

That didn’t mean he was any less concerned, though!

Because despite having served this particular master for so many years, even he was beginning to find it difficult to understand what the prince was thinking!