The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1368: Where Nothing Should Be

"Really?!"

Almost immediately, Luca’s entire face lit up, his golden eyes practically sparkling!

After all, hadn’t this been what he’d been trying to negotiate with the suspicious pirate from the very beginning?!

And now the man was actually offering to pay the appropriate price without needing any further persuasion!

How wonderful! Maybe that would appease the distressed D-29, though he wasn’t quite sure about handing over the shard he was holding.

But before Luca could really agree to what the unusual mister promised, Xavier, who’d been standing quietly behind him, unknowingly tilted his head.

"..."

Kyle, who’d grown accustomed to watching for the Prince’s subtle movements and had been waiting for them throughout the conversation, glanced toward the pirate before straightening slightly.

"Then are you ready to make a deal now?" he asked politely.

His expression remained perfectly professional, although there was something about the way he held the pirate’s gaze that made the question sound considerably more challenging than it should’ve been.

"..."

The pirate stared at him.

Then, as though he’d finally remembered something important, he let out a scoff that sounded equal parts resignation and amusement.

Right.

A trace.

Clearly, he’d gotten his head knocked around somewhere along the way and momentarily forgotten about that.

He’d only be making things difficult for himself if he tried to pay with whatever currency he currently had available. These weren’t exactly the kind of successors who’d survived by being passive, and with his own identity still questionable, striking a deal with them right now wouldn’t be in his best interest.

He really needed to stop getting so worked up.

"...Fine."

The man sighed, glancing toward the shard still held securely in Luca’s hand. Not that they could do much with it while they were still inside this place anyway...

"Hold on to that for now. Consider it temporary collateral until I can fulfill my end of the bargain."

"!"

"But make sure you return it once everything’s settled," he added firmly. "That thing isn’t something you can just keep."

Luca glanced toward his three companions, who exchanged knowing looks before giving him subtle nods of approval, as though they already had something planned. With their agreement, the golden-eyed cadet nodded so enthusiastically at the pirate that the man couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d actually listened to the second half of what he’d said.

Still, before he could think too much about it, the same young man had already turned toward him with an incredibly bright smile.

"Customer! Then what about directing us to our comrades now?"

"..."

Customer?

The pirate’s expression stiffened.

They’d been calling him mister just moments ago and now he’d suddenly become a customer? Was it because they probably used all those spiritual energy-infused supplies on him?

For someone so young, why did he feel like growing white hair when facing these guys?

"Haaa..."

The man drew in a long breath before slowly shaking his head, feeling another phantom headache coming on despite how remarkably clear his mind actually felt at the moment.

"You do realize I came in here with all of you, right?" he finally asked, looking at the four cadets in disbelief. "I’m not even sure your comrades are here."

"But if they are?"

"..."

The pirate rubbed his forehead.

"If they are, then we’ll have to look for the larger caverns," he explained, finally pushing himself to his feet and dusting off his back. "The landing zones can vary depending on the size of whatever passed through the openings, so if we’re talking about something as large as a mecha..."

"Uh, no."

"...?"

The pirate paused.

"No?"

Luca shook his head.

"More like battleships."

"...!"

The man’s hand froze halfway through brushing the dust off his clothes.

What?!

"Battleships?!"

He looked up so abruptly that he nearly strained his neck.

"You actually think an entire battleship got sucked in here?!"

What kind of ridiculous expectation was that?!

Pods he could understand, since those were what the bastards typically used to transport people and goods without revealing what they were actually doing. They’d knock people unconscious so they wouldn’t know how they’d gotten from point A to point B, then offer explanations that sounded plausible enough but were nowhere close to the truth.

But a battleship?!

Just how enormous would an opening have to be to swallow something like that?! Even with Apex Black, could those idiots actually manage to open a passage that large?!

Ah, but maybe...

He’d been unconscious for most of what had happened earlier, and considering how practically impossible communication was inside this place, he’d naturally assumed these cadets were simply hoping their missing comrades had somehow ended up in the same labyrinth.

But they were talking about entire battleships?! Plural?!

The pirate stared at them, waiting for someone to laugh and tell him he’d misunderstood.

Nope.

Four pairs of eyes stared right back at him, and not a single one looked as though they were joking.

"..."

The pirate slowly closed his mouth.

Just what had happened while he was unconscious?!

He’d thought they were merely looking for a few missing people, not entire vessels! Not that he wished anything bad would happen to those cadets. They were mostly a bunch of kids, after all. But this changed things considerably!

"Well, hell..." he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "There’s a whole lot of nothing in this place, so you’d better hope those people brought enough provisions to hold out until we find them."

It would’ve been fine if they were simply dealing with people from his own crew, but with all sorts of outsiders potentially showing up, they’d have to find a cavern large enough to hide even a single battleship!

Still, considering he’d been practically knocking on death’s door just a short while ago, what right did he have to complain about having a few more problems to deal with?

At least he was alive!

Moreover, it wasn’t as though they’d actually let him do the planning. Sure, he was the captain of a pirate crew, but given his background, he ought to consider himself lucky they were even allowing him to weigh in on things.

Then again, that might only be because they didn’t know who he really was...

Until then, he could only hope that at least some of what he remembered about this place still held true.

"Come on," he finally grunted, gesturing toward one of the passages. "We won’t find anything standing around here."

"Okay!"

"Thank you, Mister!"

"..."

The pirate glanced back at the two shorter cadets, who were already preparing to follow him.

But with all four looking at him so expectantly, what else could he do but try to find something useful in a place where there was practically nothing?!

And so, with a resigned sigh, the pirate finally began leading the way.

Ah, but if only there really had been nothing to find.

Because elsewhere within that very same cavern, just far away from the individuals who were currently worrying about an entirely different problem, the supposedly quiet chambers were anything but peaceful.

A heavy impact suddenly reverberated through the darkness.

Then came another.

Somewhere beyond the rocky walls, faint clicking and rattling sounds began to mingle with the repeated banging against the ground, filling the surrounding passages with noises that certainly hadn’t been made in a while.