The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] - Chapter 697

Chapter 697: The Reunion Shelter

Same.

In truth, neither Nia nor Sera thought they would see anyone alive after that flight toward the temporary shelter.

At first, they didn’t even understand why they were heading there instead of returning to the base to warn everyone. It didn’t make sense. The base was supposed to be their point of contact, their safest route home.

But then they saw it.

Or rather, they saw what was no longer there.

The coastline they once knew, the familiar ridges, the tall towers that marked Outpost Four’s perimeter—all of it in ruins.

The land had become unrecognizable.

“!!!”

Sera’s hands tightened on the controls, her throat dry. Nia stared at the destruction in silent disbelief, her body trembling.

It wasn’t just wreckage. It was carnage.

That was when they learned about the truth: a massive beast tide that had emerged from the depths, followed by a tsunami so powerful it nearly swallowed everything.

Outpost Four was gone.

Nia bit her lip hard enough to taste blood. Her chest ached. She pressed a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making a sound, but her shoulders still shook.

She had been stationed there for a long time. These were people she worked with, laughed with, fought beside. They had survived raids, corruption breaches, and mechanical failures together.

And they had been so close.

Just one more week, and they would have gone home.

Sera noticed her own heart was heavy, but before she could say anything, a voice came through the comms—panicked but oddly gentle.

“I hope you find your friends and loved ones in the shelter,” the voice said quickly. “We should probably go before more monsters appear—”

Nia’s head snapped up. “What?! A shelter?! You’re saying there are survivors?!”

There was a pause on the other end. “Well, I haven’t been there yet,” the young cadet admitted, “but the rest are saying there are.”

For a second, Nia didn’t move while Sera held her controls tighter. Both of them felt the same thing.

A flicker of hope, raw and desperate.

Someone.

Anyone.

Please.

But what do you know?

The first face that even greeted them was Captain Nico, of all people!

The moment their boots hit the ground, Nico didn’t even wait for a word. He marched right up to the two women—who were still in sheer disbelief—and without so much as a “hello,” flicked both their foreheads.

“—Ow!” Nia yelped.

“Nico!” Sera gasped.

But before either could complain, Nico grabbed Sera by the shoulders, pulled her in, and kissed her forehead. “You scared me half to death,” he said softly, his voice cracking even as he tried to sound stern.

Then, in typical Nico fashion, he immediately switched tones and started roughly ruffling his sister’s hair like a madman. “Don’t do that again! What were you thinking—what if something happened?! Since when did asking for anomalies mean looking for the source by yourself?!”

Nia, sniffling and laughing at the same time, tried to fight him off. “You’re messing it up! Stop, stop, I’m not a kid anymore! Also, I didn’t go in there, okay, I was dragged in!”

That didn’t stop him. If anything, it made him worse.

By the time Nico finally let go, Lieutenant Sera was laughing while Sergeant Nia was an emotional, snotty mess who had her arms crossed, pretending to be offended. “Excuse me, I nearly died too, you know?!”

Nico blinked, then looked her up and down. “You look fine.”

“I’m emotionally scarred!” she shot back.

That did it. Everyone around them cracked up. The tension that had clung to their chests since the battle began finally broke apart with laughter.

Then, slowly, they realized they had an audience.

Dozens of soldiers, engineers, and medics had paused what they were doing to watch the reunion. Some were smiling, others were blinking rapidly like they’d suddenly gotten dust in their eyes for the nth time today.

Nico coughed and straightened up, trying to recover a shred of dignity. “Ahem. Welcome to the temporary shelter,” he said, voice dropping into what he clearly thought was a professional tone.

Set right outside the satellite station of Zone Four, rows upon rows of capsule facilities were teeming with people.

And among them—

“Wait,” Nia whispered. “Is that—?”

Before she could finish, a familiar face turned toward them.

Then another.

And another.

Recognition spread like wildfire. The cries that followed were half laughter, half sobs. People began running toward them—friends, comrades, people they honestly didn’t think they’d see again.

There were shouts of names, sudden embraces, laughter through tears.

Off to the side, Ollie stood perfectly still.

Perfectly. Still.

His little hair antenna quivered like it was receiving divine signals from heaven itself. The reunion unfolding in front of them—That captain hugging, flicking, and sniffling over the girls—had hit him right in the heart.

Kyle, ever the picture of calm, noticed it right away. “You alright there?”

Ollie didn’t answer. He just stared, lower lip trembling, eyes glistening like freshly polished glass.

Kyle blinked, already biting back a grin. “You’ve been staring for a while.”

When Ollie finally turned his head, it was with the face of someone trying very, very hard not to cry. His chin wobbled, his lip quivered, and his hair antenna swayed like a distressed metronome.

“I-it’s just so, so beautiful!” Ollie choked, voice shaking.

Kyle almost lost it. He pressed a hand against his mouth to hide the growing smile. “You’re very moved, huh?”

“It’s—sniff—family! They’re hugging!”

The adjutant exhaled through his nose, amused. “You sure you don’t want to join a cleanup operation while you’re at it? Maybe loot a few things, get your mind off the tears?”

“Looting?!” It was like the call of the wild, and the little hoarder’s ears perked up. But what about the emotions? How could he miss all the once-in-a-lifetime emotions happening here?

Kyle followed his gaze toward the reuniting comrades, and his smirk softened. “If you want to stay and help out here, it’s fine. I can go out alone.”

But that was apparently the wrong thing to say.

Ollie’s entire expression changed—shock, confusion, and panic all in one. His hair antenna stood straight up like it was personally offended.

“Wha—What did you just say?!”

Kyle blinked. “That you could stay?”

“No! No, no, no! We can’t split up!” Ollie grabbed his arm as if separation would cause immediate death. “The others might be mentally strong, but I—I might not make it!”

Kyle blinked twice, amused. “Not make it?”

“Yes!” Ollie nodded furiously, tears threatening to escape again. “So we just have to always go everywhere together!”

The people nearby glanced at them curiously. The sight of a flustered blonde clinging to a tall cadet was… eye-catching, to say the least.

Kyle leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You know, between the two of us, I think you’re stronger than you think. You survived fine without me for a while.”

Ollie gasped like he’d just heard heresy. His antenna swiveled sharply. “That’s not true! And even if it was—it’s not the same anymore! I’ve been… fundamentally changed!”

Kyle raised a brow, clearly entertained. “Fundamentally changed?”

“Yes!” Ollie said, puffing his chest, dramatic as always. “Fundamentally!”

“Oh?” Kyle’s lips curved into a lazy smile. He bent down slightly so his words brushed close to the mop’s ear. “Is it when Owen called you a princess because of that article he read?”

“W-WHAT—!” Ollie nearly jumped out of his boots. His hair shot up like it had static. “How do you even know about that?!”

Kyle chuckled lowly.

Ollie, red as a tomato, clapped both hands over Kyle’s mouth in panic. “W-who wants to be a princess, anyway?!”

Kyle raised an eyebrow, voice muffled beneath Ollie’s hands. “Oh? You don’t want to?”

Ollie froze, eyes darting everywhere before his lips formed a pout that betrayed him completely.

Obviously, there was something wrong with that article Owen found because it said that princesses were damsels in distress, but how could that be true when all the princesses he knew could squish a person to death with their bare hands? So clearly it couldn’t be trusted.

But who wouldn’t like the part about being pampered and treasured?

Well, apparently, Owen, because he says that in the end, not everyone can be like their Pop, so most men would leave.

Hmph!

However, in front of Ollie’s visible pout, Kyle’s smile just deepened. “Don’t worry. It’s impossible to find fault when I’m the one who made you that way.”

“Made—what?!”

“And besides,” Kyle continued, tone light, “maybe the article didn’t even mean a real princess. Have you ever met one who wasn’t strong enough to kill?”

“!!!”

Ollie stared at him, actually agreeable. Sure enough, the article was wrong!

Kyle looked far too pleased with himself.

So Ollie did the only reasonable thing. He shoved his hands over Kyle’s face again, muffling the laughter that was about to erupt, and quickly spun on his heel to escape.

“I’m going to collect things!” he shouted as he marched off, ears red.

Kyle straightened up, still chuckling, and called after him. “I thought you said we should go everywhere together?”

Ollie froze mid-step but refused to look back.

Kyle smiled to himself as he watched the mop’s hair antenna bounce indignantly with each step away.

Honestly, he thought as he followed behind, between the two of them, it might actually be him who needed his little star more.

Thank you very much to the following people for the gifts and Golden Tickets! <3

– _111111

– Jaefiona

– Nasu_case

– MasGuardian

– AlliP_reads

– RCece

– Robcia

– MirCat

– Glennis

– Synore

– Afia_Bonsu

Thank you to everyone who sent comments, reviews, and power stones my way! I really appreciate all of you! Have a wonderful day!