The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]
Chapter 421: Alert

Chapter 421: Alert

However, not everything was a lost cause when it came to the luck of certain people.

Especially not when the universe had a strange way of compensating.

For while someone was at risk of operating with questionable sidekicks, that same someone could also experience a sudden windfall.

Kyle fully expected the security upgrade deal to spiral into chaos. That was standard protocol when Count Taylor was involved. The man was a genius when it came to security systems, because he was also the same lunatic constantly trying to break into them.

In fact, it was something that most new clients didn’t realize when signing a contract with him. But for those who knew better, it was practically a tradition. Which was also why, when he first received the breach notification, Kyle thought they were in for a round of sleepless nights.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t that kind of breach. One that even the Imperial Crown Prince, who came in with a vengeance, didn’t expect.

Of all the things to guard for, what they couldn’t have imagined was having to guard against droves and droves of beasts seeking shelter.

That’s right. Beasts.

A group led by what looked like burrowers, of all things.

See, today was supposed to be the transfer of the germinated crops from the dungeon-linked space to the first completed aquaponic dome. And so, yesterday, the energy stabilizers were installed and activated to see if everything was within expectations.

However, it may have worked a little too well, as evidenced by the chaos that greeted them the next morning.

The alert actually only sounded when something got stuck in one of the vents, which was the scene that Kyle was suddenly seeing.

Caught in the vent was what looked like part of a luminous antler that must’ve come from one of these guys.

These guys, as in one of the many creatures that were quite literally waiting by the dome vent.

Big, small, furry, feathered. Some looked mildly threatening. Others just looked like they needed a nap.

Kyle figured that it must be due to the residual energy coming through the vents that opened according to a particular schedule.

But for the number of beasts to reach at least four or so dozens in one night, wasn’t this a bit too much?

And how come he felt a sense of danger just by being near this vent?

To the point that he was pretty sure that taking out the antler that was preventing the vent from closing would likely send him to an early grave.

So he called for reinforcements: a certain prince, a particular friend, and one vengeful little tortoise with a scarf.

"Kyle! What happened here?! Why and how did you end up surrounded by beasts?"

Jax finally arrived carrying the actual help that Kyle was hoping to enlist.

"It’s the spiritual energy coming out of the vents that likely attracted all these creatures here."

It was something they needed to investigate after this, but that would only be possible if he actually managed to get out of there alive.

"Tell me you bought lettuce, the lettuce for Tortie?" verified Kyle, who was going to clock his friend if he didn’t take the order seriously.

"Yes! But you didn’t tell me I needed to bring so much food for everyone?! I only have about enough to bribe Tortie!"

"Huh? Why would you need more food?"

"Of course, to feed these guys! Aren’t we rescuing beasts as part of our program?"

Ah shit.

Kyle felt a bit silly for forgetting this part and now realized that he couldn’t just use Tortie to drive them away from the vent.

Jax was right. This was one of their primary purposes for establishing the dungeon-linked space after all. But at this rate, they’d have to wait for their Captain at the very least.

When Xavier arrived at the scene of the crime, he was actually looking forward to at least getting someone to pay for interrupting his morning, only to realize that it might not be so bad.

While he couldn’t recognize all the creatures, there was one that stood out to him.

It was the Cindermoss Burrower, a rabbit-like beast that was rumored to excrete a fertile, ash-rich substance resembling soil, which several Imperial researchers had once sought after.

The problem was that they couldn’t get them to produce the desired outcome, which led them to abandon the project.

But somehow, Xavier had an inkling that it wasn’t that they didn’t produce the byproduct they were looking for, but that they couldn’t, much like Mr. Mittens couldn’t use his abilities until recently.

And if he was right, then his wife would likely love these guys.

So the prince naturally did what any sensible family-oriented man would do. He decided to take them back.

But only after notifying the beast experts of the duchy that they might have to look into a few creatures.

And that was a field day. One that involved ensuring that the spies they usually allowed in wouldn’t be able to see exactly what was happening.

There was a flurry of events, and it wasn’t until Xavier and a few more personnel came back with food and several healing pills that Kyle was able to leave his place in front of the vent without risking bodily harm.

But then it seemed like the adjutant made the right call in getting Tortie to come over, as it would’ve been a disaster for them had it not been for the guardian beast that got nearly everyone lying low in fear.

The beasts, in particular, were unusually cooperative after the tortoise, who didn’t like to work, decided to cut this onboarding procedure in half.

Instead of the beast experts needing to coax the beasts into being comfortable enough to be taken into the space, Tortie decided to make it easier by subjugating everyone.

From those boar-like beasts to those cranes, the guardian beast had them filing in line as if waiting for their turn.

"???"

Clearly, it was a shocking sight. Their mighty guardian beast, who had one lettuce leaf in his mouth and zero patience left to spare, waddled forward with all the authority of an emperor on a lunch break.

And it was efficient, good enough that they didn’t take forever as expected.

Although the smart-working Tortie would soon be glad about working so hard today, as the rewards would prove to be compensatory, because it was evident that the dungeon owner liked these children they picked up.

By the time Luca arrived, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

He’d first heard about this breach earlier, but it was unusual for any other detail to reach him.

So, the dungeon owner worried as he rushed to see what was wrong and if anyone had been injured, imagining the worst possible outcomes.

But none of them prepared him for what he saw.

A line of obedient beasts who were even sorted by species.

And standing in front of all of them, scarf fluttering in the wind, was Tortie. Regal. Overfed. And rightfully smug.

He turned to Luca, lettuce still in his mouth, and gave him a very slow, very pointed blink.

Luca stared, then blinked back.

Just what was this? And how come there were rows of beasts before him?

Apparently, they were trespassers seeking spiritual energy and shelter.

But more importantly, Luca, the resident money-grubber, suddenly heard the sounds of ka-ching, kaching, as D-29 rattled off its assessments about these beasts.

What trespassers.

Gifts.

These were gifts.

Something that his husband likely knew from how he was looking at him.

He liked them. And he really liked him!