The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]

Duke Leander had to know what had happened.

There was simply no way he could rest without answers.

After all, how was he supposed to sleep peacefully without knowing how he had apparently been instrumental in defeating some giant monstrosity while unconscious?

He just didn’t expect the whole story to be this complicated.

But for the sake of his very curious father, the ever-patient son tried to explain how everything had somehow connected.

”Our most obvious thought and priority had initially been the colossal creature that sprang up from the sea,” Luca began seriously, his golden eyes glinting as if preparing for a lecture. ”It’s just that I kept having this nagging feeling that the monster shared familiar characteristics with something I once learned about back in Tesseris.”

Duke Leander’s smile twitched. He really didn’t like the sound of that stinking place. But because he was a responsible and supportive parent, he managed not to interrupt.

”Then, just when we thought we were progressing,” Luca continued, ”we encountered a new problem. Not only were we hurled creatures that should’ve already gone through digestion, but we also faced a horde of monsters rising from the waters.”

Leander’s expression darkened.

”That proved to be rather complicated,” Luca said quickly, gesturing with both hands, ”because unlike the aberrant bloom, the smaller monsters were numerous and could hijack their hosts.”

”But Papa, did you know they also had really nice stingers that could actually mold into something sharper? It was a shame that each monster only had twelve tentacles, but no matter! Because there were many of them!”

”!!!”

Leander stared in disbelief. His brain was trying to process how he should really be reacting to this.

”In essence,” Luca explained with unnerving enthusiasm, ”when you arrived, the numerous monsters you fought were actually the parasitic anemones! They were desperately trying to mature by feeding on the bodies and crystal cores of their hosts!”

The Duke blinked, trying to process this.

”...So that’s why there were so many of them,” he muttered, horrified.

”Exactly!” Luca said brightly. ”So that got us wondering, where did they all come from? And how come we couldn’t find a clear source of energy from the giant bloom?”

He paused dramatically, clearly enjoying the rhythm of his own storytelling.

”But, Papa! That’s when we confirmed that there must have been another monster!”

The Duke gasped, though he had met that very same monster. ”Another one?!”

”Yes! The one we were fighting underwater! That was the parent of all those parasitic anemones!”

By this point, Luca’s excitement was reaching dangerous levels.

”After we dealt with the monsters,” Luca continued eagerly, ”we found out that before that kind of anemone reached maturity, it would feed on the host that managed to eat it as a larva!”

”Feed on the host that... eats it?”

”Yes!” Luca said cheerfully, as if talking about something adorable. ”That’s probably what pushed the aberrant bloom to move onto land! Aside from overcrowding, it would have needed a fresh food source to regenerate after the larva started consuming it from the inside out!”

”From the inside out?!”

”Uh-huh!” Luca nodded, clearly proud of his deduction. ”Unfortunately for the bloom, we managed to stop it from feeding properly. Though honestly, with how the parasitic monsters were leaving its body, they must’ve already taken everything they could. I do wonder what could’ve happened to it once all the mature parasites left.”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully, as if this were a casual science discussion and not about something that had nearly destroyed an entire coastline.

”Then again,” he added, brightening a little, ”it’s probably a good thing they only started leaving when we got there. Thanks to those parasitic anemones, the aberrant bloom didn’t have enough energy left to breed!”

”Though imagine if there had really been more than one of that big one, Papa!”

It was an explanation said with such cheerful pride that it could have easily been mistaken for a tale of triumph or a trophy-winning moment.

The tired boy was practically glowing now as he talked about parasites, monsters, corruption, and gonad-eating larvae that had the onlookers closing their legs.

But perhaps even more worrying was the father, who seemed to have figured out how he wanted to take this news and nodded along with the same excitement, his eyes shining as if he were hearing the most glorious tale of heroism.

”Yes, yes! Remarkable!” said the Duke, genuinely impressed. ”That level of adaptation is terrifyingly efficient!”

Butler Gary, watching this heartwarming display of familial enthusiasm, had to discreetly wipe away a tear.

What a touching sight—father and son bonding over biological horror and planetary parasites.

Steward Han, however, had a different take. While this moved him, one couldn’t help but be concerned.

He just stared blankly at the pair, silently wondering if the parasitic anemones had lingering psychological side effects that the physicians might have missed.

”So the giant flower-looking thing was an actual parent?!” exclaimed the Duke suddenly, as if just realizing the most shocking part of the story. ”You’re telling me that thing had children?! And it sent them off to do the hunting?!”

”Yes, Papa. Jax was really upset about that, too,” Luca said solemnly.

Leander nodded gravely, his expression one of pure disappointment. ”Ah, who wouldn’t be? Such irresponsibility!”

”Right?” The son agreed sincerely.

”But son, what does all that have to do with me using the sword? And what happened after the giant mouth opened? B-because you called on that wolf...!”

Duke Leander’s voice faltered. He didn’t want to admit it, but he’d been dying to know what happened after that part.

”Oh! That!” Luca’s eyes lit up as if recalling his favorite moment. ”Well, you see, our first three attempts to get the crystal core failed spectacularly! We realized soon enough that the monster was securing the core by transferring it all over something likely similar to its nerve net!”

Leander blinked, unsure if he should be impressed or concerned. ”You mean it could... move its core?”

”Yes! Exactly!” Luca said brightly, completely unfazed. ”And our tracking system was nowhere near fast enough to follow the transfer before it vanished again. But your sword could, Papa! Because the material used to forge it is particularly sensitive to colossal cores!”

The Duke’s mouth fell open.

”So that’s what the vibrations were?”

Luca nodded enthusiastically. ”Yes! So if the sword ever reacts like that again, there’s a possibility that another colossal crystal core is nearby!”

Everyone in the room froze.

Luca’s eyes gleamed with hope.

The others, however, looked like they’d just been told a second apocalypse was pending.

There was definitely twitching, gasping, and maybe even a few souls quietly leaving their bodies in fear.

Meanwhile, Duke Leander was thrilled.

”Wow! Then, son, after I, ahem, passed out, how was the monster defeated?”

”All thanks to the first hit you’ve managed to let us land on the core, Papa!”

”???”

The Duke blinked, utterly confused. ”What do you mean?”

”We only needed one successful Resonance Marking,” Luca explained cheerfully, ”but we couldn’t land one before the monster noticed the threat. Your detection allowed us to create the first successful mark! That let us finish the rest!”

It had really been a wonderful thing when it worked. Luca had been so proud when he realized it had succeeded—so what was wrong? Why did his father have such a tearful expression?

But how could the father’s heart not bleed?

”T-then my son,” the Duke said weakly, his voice trembling as his throat tightened, ”did you... only need your papa for that one thing?”

The pain. Oh, the pain! The sheer heartbreak of being redundant, unable to be of more use to his precious son!

”Yes, Papa!”

The Duke almost had a heart attack. His chest rose dramatically as if he’d been struck by the sharp edge of fate itself.

The painnnn!

But Luca, completely oblivious to the emotional destruction he’d just caused, smiled fondly.

”Thankfully, that was all we needed! Otherwise, I would’ve worried too much about you, Papa. But I would’ve wanted to have you with us! I believe with your awesome skills, those large tentacles would’ve been cut up with cleaner cuts! That would’ve been phenomenal!”

Oh.

OH!

”R-really?” the Duke stammered, trying and failing to suppress the hope that had blossomed in his heart.

”Of course!” Luca said brightly. ”Papa, I promise I’ll figure out a better way to regulate the spiritual energy draw from your weapon, so you can definitely play for longer next time!”

Ah! This!

So his son hadn’t really thought of him as useless! He even wanted him there because of his phenomenal cuts!

How could a father be so lucky?!

The Duke’s heart swelled, his earlier pain instantly forgotten. His chest puffed up proudly, eyes glistening with paternal joy.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Duchess Amelia exhaled quietly and decided, mercifully, that it might be better not to mention Luca’s other praises.

Especially the ones about the young prince, who had apparently performed his own heroic feat.

Her husband looked far too happy right now.

He’d earned this moment of blissful ignorance.