The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1354: A Simple Transaction

"I said " Prince Eren clarified nonchalantly, casually tracing abstract lines across the surface of the table. "They’re the ones who’ll bring back a mecha. Once they’ve succeeded, we can decide what to do with it from there."

"..."

Bram’s expression stiffened.

His master, however, seemed perfectly satisfied with his own reasoning.

"Besides, the affairs of the Outer Rim are hardly our responsibility. Why should we be held entirely accountable for something when we’re merely offering fair compensation for a service?"

Fair compensation?!

Was that seriously how His Highness intended to describe offering a year’s supply of Apex Black to anyone willing to steal an Imperial custom mecha?!

No.

Not just any of those ridiculously expensive custom builds from Solara, but one of the custom mechas belonging to that popular guild?!

Still, Bram knew better than to voice his objections.

So after a moment of strained silence, he could only lower his head.

"Understood, Your Highness. I’ll relay this new... proposal."

"As you should."

"..."

The Elven aide bowed once more before turning to leave.

And it wasn’t until he’d finally stepped outside the room that he realized just how much cold sweat had gathered beneath his clothes!

Weren’t they supposed to be conducting this entire operation as discreetly as possible?!

Then why did it suddenly seem as though they were deliberately creating more trouble than they’d ever be able to contain?!

Had his master actually lost his mind?!

Because those weren’t just any mechas!

And the people piloting them certainly weren’t ordinary cadets either!

If the pirates actually succeeded in stealing even one of those machines, or worse, if they were caught attempting to do so...

Wouldn’t the Empire of Solaris eventually come after them in full force?!

They might not know who was truly behind all this just yet, but if those pirates couldn’t even trust one another, how could anyone possibly consider them trustworthy?!

If it weren’t for their vested interest in the supposedly "neutralized" Apex Black, those pirates probably wouldn’t even be this cooperative in the first place!

Bram swallowed hard.

For the nth time since receiving his assignment, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the greatest danger to their operation was truly the Imperial military.

Or the prince who’d just decided that provoking the Empire this early on was an excellent way to acquire his new toy?

__

But sure enough, expecting a logical response from a bunch of addicts was apparently asking for too much!

Just like those pompous members of supposedly distinguished royal and noble families, once they’d gotten a taste of power, it was as though they’d suddenly lost the ability to think clearly!

Of course, those people would probably deny such "baseless" accusations.

They’d likely claim that anyone questioning their decisions was simply jealous of what they were poised to achieve now that they’d become stronger!

To someone who hadn’t completely lost their ability to reason just yet, such an argument sounded utterly stupid and childish. And yet, that very mindset was precisely how they’d managed to keep this entire operation relatively quiet.

After all, what idiot would willingly share the source of a power that could potentially overturn the very balance they were working so hard to manipulate?!

On the flip side, and rather regrettably for them, it seemed their desperation to maintain that advantage had also made them willing to undertake even the most absurd tasks, all for the sake of obtaining a few more sticks of Apex Black!

No wonder the people actually running these enterprises were usually strictly prohibited from consuming their own products!

Because otherwise, they’d probably end up just as crazy as the people Bram was currently speaking to!

"We’ll do it."

Before Bram could even question that remarkably confident declaration, another voice suddenly chimed in.

"It’s perfect timing, actually! That crazy bastard’s already with us. So if we can just leave with him, all the better!"

"..."

Bram stared at the communication terminal.

Had these people already lost their minds?!

Based on their not-so-clinical and definitely not-so-ethical trials, wasn’t that particular side effect supposed to take several more days to manifest?!

How could condition have deteriorated this quickly?!

He’d already picked the contractor with the most normal vitals, and yet even that person had reacted like this?!

But it wasn’t until he turned his attention toward the delayed footage, which had already been routed through so many channels that it was practically impossible to follow the battle in real time, that Bram finally understood what those sons of a gun were talking about.

They weren’t speaking figuratively!

Those bastards actually meant it!

Only, contrary to what he’d initially assumed, the pirates weren’t surrounding that particular DG mecha to prevent it from escaping.

No!

They were the ones trapped by him!

"...?!"

What the—?!

Bram leaned closer to the display, staring at the footage in disbelief.

If those people couldn’t even get themselves out of their current predicament, then how the hell were they planning to steal the very mecha responsible for trapping them?!

And worse, how were they expecting to bring it back in one piece?!

"We have our ways," one of the pirates replied, sounding remarkably unconcerned. "But if we manage to pull this off, you’ll keep your word, won’t you?"

"...Naturally."

As if there could possibly be any other answer to something that unhinged...

Then again, it wasn’t as though any of them would still be around long enough to enjoy an entire year’s worth of the product anyway.

But that was hardly within Bram’s scope of responsibility, especially when his answer seemed to be all the reassurance those people needed.

Because just before the communication channel disconnected, Bram heard a series of low, dark snickers echoing through the transmission.

"...?"

__

Elsewhere, however, a dramatic gasp suddenly rang out!

And without even bothering to consult the others, one little system immediately took it upon itself to inform its precious employer of the latest development!

"Host! They’re also kidnappers! KIDNAPPERS!" D-29 cried indignantly through their shared communication channel. "They want to take just one of us?! What if they pick me?!"

"..."

"..."

For a moment, the listeners, consisting primarily of one guardian mecha, one baby system, and one very much human Jackson Taylor, genuinely didn’t know what to make of that declaration.

Especially when they were still in the middle of close-quarters combat with several pirate mechas, including the one that had just undergone a rather disturbing mutation!

Then again, for all intents and purposes, D-29 had actually been extremely helpful.

Thanks to the little system’s well-honed ability to worm its way into places it had absolutely no business accessing, they’d managed to reap even more benefits from Jax’s rather insane plan!

Because yes, the redhead had genuinely proposed reversing the purpose of his protective shields.

Instead of using them to keep the enemies why not use them to keep the enemies

And that was precisely what they’d done!

By extending his protective sphere around the pirate mechas, Jax had effectively turned his own defensive barrier into a makeshift prison, trapping the corrupted enemies inside for as long as possible.

At the very least, that should have helped contain the contamination until they could deal with it properly.

Of course, there was still the rather troublesome matter of all those witnesses, especially when they couldn’t exactly clean everything up without risking exposing Luca or the dungeon.

But while they were keeping the pirates confined, the little system had suggested using the opportunity to hack into their internal communications network so they’d be able to accomplish more things.

And that was how they’d managed to overhear such a bizarre conversation!

"...!"

As expected, the moment Luca learned what the pirates were planning, his response was immediate.

"Get away from them! We’re coming right back!" the golden-eyed cadet ordered through the communication channel. "It’s great that you’re trying to minimize the contamination, but it’s not worth putting yourselves at risk when they’re now trying to capture one of you!"

"..."

Well!

Wasn’t their Host just the sweetest?!

For a group that had already been prepared to maintain their positions until the situation was resolved, hearing how concerned Luca was about their safety was genuinely touching!

Though in truth, even they were worried, because regardless of how confident they were in their own abilities, they couldn’t afford to let even one of their mechas fall into enemy hands.

If that happened, wouldn’t the people responsible eventually trace everything straight back to Luca?!

And that was something none of them could allow!

However, while the others were considering their next move, Sid found himself wondering about something else entirely.

Just how were those pirates planning to accomplish something like that?!

It wasn’t as though they were dealing with ordinary mechas that could simply be seized and piloted away, especially when the enemies were already having so much trouble fighting them!

If the pirates had merely been making empty threats, Sid probably wouldn’t have given the matter much thought.

But the way they’d reacted...

The absolute certainty in their voices...

It was almost as though they genuinely believed they had a way to pull it off.

"..."

How curious.

Then again, perhaps it would’ve been better if one relatively unlucky guardian mecha hadn’t gone around planting flags by wondering about such things!

Because now he’d done it!

Just as Sid was contemplating what those pirates could possibly be planning, a certain redhead suddenly spoke through their shared communication channel.

And unlike his earlier excitement, Jax’s voice had dropped into a noticeably tense register.

"Wait."

"...?"

"I don’t feel good about this."