Chapter 1281: A Handful of Outliers

Well...

Supposedly, there shouldn’t have been one.

Unfortunately, the Astral Cup had been postponed indefinitely, pending intense deliberations and what would undoubtedly become rather controversial petitions regarding competition balance.

And as if that wasn’t enough, no matter how many people insisted that the postponement was merely a logistical decision or an attempt to improve the upcoming competition, there seemed to be a general understanding of the far more likely reason.

A certain group of first-year cadets.

It was quite the sensational and exciting tale, really.

But for one particular institution, the consequences were considerably more immediate.

After all, said group of cadets had exploded into prominence so spectacularly that, more than a week earlier, several instructors gathered inside one of the Academy’s conference rooms had found themselves facing a dilemma none of their predecessors had probably ever needed to consider.

Instructor Moore stared at the documents in front of him.

Then at the others.

Then back at the documents.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

"Hey, this..." His brows furrowed. "Isn’t this a bit too unfair?!"

"..."

Nobody answered.

That somehow made it worse.

Moore grabbed one of the petitions and raised it incredulously.

"Do they seriously think every student we have is gifted?!" He gestured sharply toward another section. "And this? Since when was this allowed?!"

"..."

"Besides, with so little time left to alter the existing preparations, do they really expect us to open it up like this? Is that even logistically possible?"

Still, silence.

Not because anyone disagreed with him.

Quite the opposite.

Next to the head of the table, the Academy’s Vice Principal slowly lowered his gaze toward the truly ridiculous pile of petitions sitting before him.

They’d actually gone through the trouble of printing every single one.

Not because anyone particularly enjoyed wasting paper, especially when it was barely used anymore, but because displaying everything through a holographic projection simply hadn’t conveyed the sheer absurdity of how many requests they’d received.

The physical stack did.

Painfully so. ℴ

The Vice Principal stared at it for several long seconds.

Of course it’s unfair!

He wanted to say it too!

In fact, unfairness was only one of several things currently giving him a headache.

Truth be told, approving the proposal was probably the easiest part. All they had to do was agree.

Especially when these opportunistic bastards somehow kept coming up with answers for every loophole they tried to poke into the proposal!

But just as Moore had pointed out, wasn’t it far too unreasonable to assume that, simply because their current batch happened to contain a handful of extraordinary outliers, every other first-year cadet was somehow just as capable?

Capable enough to warrant this kind of welcome?

Of course, they would never dare belittle their own cadets. This was the Royal Military Academy, after all. They were supposed to be the most prestigious military institution around!

But wasn’t this asking far too much of practically anyone?!

And if they approved something this ridiculous only for the entire session to end in disaster, what would that do to the reputation of their esteemed Royal Military Academy?!

At the same time, if they didn’t approve it...

His gaze slowly returned to the pile.

Apparently, quite a number of very determined people were waiting for an answer.

Really, of all the years he could’ve held the position of Vice Principal and volunteered to oversee the next first-year immersion before the previous school year ended, did it really have to be this year?!

__

Still, contrary to the rather grim atmosphere inside that conference room more than a week ago, the morning of the mandatory orientation arrived surprisingly bright.

Which was probably fortunate, considering the number of cadets who should’ve been plagued by random sneezing and hacking coughs from how many people had apparently been talking about them behind closed doors!

And somehow, the morning became even brighter when Luca woke up much earlier than necessary.

Not that his husband was surprised.

The moment his eyes opened, the golden-eyed cadet practically bounced off the mattress, stretching both arms high above his head with a wide yawn before darting straight into the bathroom.

Xavier remained exactly where he was.

The sharp rush of running water started almost immediately, followed by the unmistakable sounds of someone brushing his teeth with far too much enthusiasm for that hour of the morning.

About three minutes later, Luca came scurrying back out.

He hopped onto the edge of the mattress, leaned over his still-lying husband, and planted one brisk, sweet kiss directly on Xavier’s face.

"Mwah!"

Xavier cracked open one eye.

Luca was already staring down at him with the brightest, most expectant expression imaginable.

"Good morning!"

"..."

Since the Imperial Crown Prince had yet to brush his own teeth, he wisely refrained from returning the kiss.

Instead, Xavier reached up and affectionately ruffled his little wife’s already messy hair before gently motioning for him to settle down.

Luca obediently sat.

For approximately three seconds.

By then, Xavier had already swung his legs over the side of the bed and headed toward the bathroom, while a surprisingly intense conversation began right outside the door.

"Just in case they aren’t mentioned during the presentation, Host," D-29 hummed seriously as a holographic checklist appeared in front of it, "you asked me to remind you to inquire about the primary mode of transportation, whether you need to arrive at the meeting point in advance, whether there are permission forms requiring parental signatures, and whether any additional fees need to be paid."

Luca nodded earnestly after every item.

"You also created a specific reminder regarding permitted snacks and whether consumption of said snacks will be allowed during transportation!"

"Right!"

The golden-eyed cadet looked so focused that anyone unaware of the subject might’ve assumed D-29 was briefing him on an upcoming military operation.

Unfortunately, one guardian mecha sharing the same sea of consciousness knew exactly what this was about.

Sid listened to the excited conversation with a heavy heart.

He genuinely didn’t know how to explain that a Royal Military Academy field trip probably wasn’t the cheerful, leisurely excursion his little Master seemed to be imagining.

Then again...

This was Luca Kyros.

Sid’s gaze lingered on him.

Could anyone actually guarantee that it wouldn’t somehow turn into exactly that for him?

Regardless, there was one instruction Sid had forcefully insisted D-29 include.

Breakfast.

Especially considering how a certain dungeon owner tended to live on air whenever he got too excited, and how one particular redhead would probably be far too emotionally conflicted to remember that his giant build required a considerable number of calories to sustain.

At times like this, someone who was still sensible ought to at least do this much.