The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-Chapter 462: Look Around

Ollie was already there when Luca arrived, curled up like a crumpled ball on the steps just outside the library entrance, hunched over a holographic tablet, flipping through projected notes in a desperate attempt to cram. At the same time, his terminal kept pinging him with increasingly aggressive reminders to review.

"Ollie!"

The blonde sat up like he’d just been caught sneaking snacks into a test room. "Brother!"

He was excited to see Luca, but at the same time, his head—almost instinctively, as if by muscle memory—looked around for something. But when he found it was just the two of them, his shoulders momentarily drooped, his hair antenna that had swung around earlier suddenly looked listless.

Luca noticed and looked around as if trying to see what Ollie was looking for. "Were you looking for something?"

Ollie blinked, then shook his head too quickly. "No, not really. I mean, even I’m not sure what I was hoping to see."

"What’s important is that you’re here, brother!" he mumbled.

The mechanic let out a relieved sigh and immediately slumped forward, head bonking gently against Luca’s shoulder.

"I said I would be." Luca smiled and helped him stand up properly. "But brother, are you okay? You don’t look so good."

"I feel a little...weird. Like, something’s off."

Oh no.

Luca didn’t like that one bit and had to ask, concerned. "Did you eat?"

"Uhhh..." Ollie paused, actually thinking about it.

But the fact that the blonde before him had to think about it made him gasp. "Oh no! You didn’t, did you?!"

The blonde panicked. "I didn’t mean to skip, I just—there were things and then people and then I kind of ran a lot this morning..."

"No wonder!" Luca fussed, pulling his brother closer. "That’s probably why Kyle reminded me about this. He said to check on you!"

Ollie froze. "Kyle...did?"

Luca nodded, frowning as he placed a gentle hand on Ollie’s forehead. "He said you might not have eaten and might get too weak. And look at you. He was right! Brother, I think we should go to the medical bay, just to be safe!"

"W-Wait!" Ollie flailed. "No need for that! I’ll just...I’ll eat a snack!" He quickly fished something from the space button; it was his untouched thermal bag. "See? Snack!"

But Luca narrowed his eyes at the pitiful sight. "Brother, I don’t think one grilled cheese would be enough!"

"I’ll drink the soup too, brother!" Ollie mumbled before nibbling it nervously. Then, after a pause, he looked at Luca and asked quietly, "Did Kyle really tell you to check on me? I mean to ask if I ate?"

"Of course." Luca nodded seriously. "He was worried. Why?"

"No reason," Ollie said quickly, but the pink that flooded his ears said otherwise. He suddenly looked much less faint. "I just...I guess he didn’t forget about me. Even if he has a...a list or whatever back home."

Luca tilted his head. "List?"

"I-I’ll tell you later!" Ollie squeaked. "We should inform Instructor Moore that we’re here already!"

Luca blinked, but let it slide. "Okay. But you better eat while we wait, brother. And if it doesn’t get better, we’ll go to the medical bay, okay?"

It was a rare show of obedience, but Ollie thought that as the bigger brother, he must show a good example and not be unreasonable!

As they sat there waiting, Ollie tried to focus on eating, but his thoughts kept being invaded by questions about why someone would ask about him, and then he’d wonder why he hadn’t just gone if he was that concerned.

Pssh.

’Okay, maybe his brother was right. Maybe grilled cheese wasn’t enough...He should really have the soup too. And maybe even the breakfast he packed,’ he thought, chewing slowly.

He scrutinized his thermal bag as if it held state secrets. And as if it’d start spouting answers if he stared long enough.

After all, he had concerns.

There was that list.

A-and children. No, no! Just a child! Just one! He reminded himself as his brows furrowed in frustration.

The puffed-up mechanic swallowed hard, nearly choking on his bread.

"Brother? Are you alright? Are you still uncomfortable?"

"I’m fine! Just thinking!" He peeked at Luca, wondering when it would be good to ask.

Maybe later, he’ll prepare some snacks. And then he’ll ask him!

But before Ollie could further spiral into his thoughts, Instructor Moore arrived with his usual brisk step and no-nonsense tone.

"Ah. Good that you’re here. Let’s get to the materials so you’d have the time to actually look."

The two scrambled to their feet and followed the instructor as he led them toward a restricted wing of the library.

"Sir," Luca asked as they walked, "why are these conceptual designs even restricted? They weren’t even implemented, right?"

Instructor Moore didn’t seem bothered by the question. "They’re not restricted because they’re dangerous, at least not in the traditional sense. Rather, they’re... personal. Many of these designs carry the hopes and dreams of the mecha engineers who created them. Most of them poured their entire hearts into these models, despite knowing that they were likely impossible to make under the current conditions and technology. It’s less about secrecy and more about protecting something intimate."

Luca and Ollie exchanged looks, both understanding the sentiment more than most.

"There aren’t a lot of entries," Moore continued. "Back then, they didn’t have the luxury to fantasize. The focus was survival. Function. The manual mechas we have today were born out of that brutal necessity."

He keyed in a passcode at a terminal, and the sealed entryway slid open with a hiss.

Inside, the section glowed softly with clean lights, revealing rows upon rows of crystal-encased holographic designs, projections cycling through various sketches, materials, and specs.

To anyone who loved mechas, it was a treasure trove.

And for Luca and Ollie, it felt like stepping into a vault of forgotten dreams.

Their eyes widened as they slowly walked inside.

Ollie whispered, "Brother, what about asking D-29 to participate?"

But apparently, he didn’t need to ask, because the moment the little system realized they were looking at data, it had already started preparing.

Only this time, Luca raised a point, warning gently, "We have to treat these exhibits with respect. These aren’t just designs—they’re someone’s dreams."

D-29 prompted a question mark; not entirely sure about the correlation.

The system went quiet. And for once, it did not immediately connect with the library’s AI. Instead, it only took what could be seen, carefully observing the holograms without overstepping its bounds because even when it didn’t understand the rationale, it was a dutiful system that followed orders.

Luca and Ollie, one a mecha pilot with a brain trained to inscribe complex patterns, and the other a mechanic with forced expertise in the same, went about the area like they were parched for knowledge.

And with them was a very well-behaved little system, silently recording every publicly visible detail, faster than someone could say "Wow."

Because the moment a certain golden-eyed pilot turned around a corner, his eyes locked onto a design—and he knew, instinctively, that this was it.

He could definitely use this one as inspiration!

And if he made it yellow, won’t that be perfect?!

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m