The who?

The... what, where, when, why, how?!

Naturally, young Owen had all sorts of questions.

Unfortunately, nobody in the room seemed capable of answering them because everyone just returned his gawking look with equally perplexed expressions.

Clearly, none of them were on the same page because how come the youngest Mylor had absolutely no idea what kind of game everyone else was playing here.

How exactly had he, a Junior Academy student who was simply fortunate enough to coast by without causing too many problems, suddenly become the center of discussion regarding special mechas?

Maybe if it had been about food, he would’ve understood. As a budding influencer and DG’s hidden marketing kid, being summoned to the Principal’s office over being caught because of some promotional shenanigans would’ve been entirely reasonable.

But this, of all things?

Moreover, a special mecha supposedly built by his brother.

So naturally, he asked the most logical question he could think of.

"Sir... which brother?"

To be fair, he had three older brothers and one older sister.

Sure, save for one, most of them had nothing to do with mechas unless one considered sourcing and selling parts...

But considering what life had been like recently, wasn’t it reasonable to ask?

Miracles seemed to happen every other day nowadays. For all he knew, Ozzie could’ve suddenly decided to switch career paths and become a mechanic. Or maybe one of his siblings had somehow purchased a special mecha and was currently trying to make him the scapegoat before their father found out.

Unfortunately, as Owen feared, the Principal immediately replied, "Well, who else but your older brother, Oliver Mylor?"

"WHAT?!"

"There’s no need to act surprised anymore. We’ve already received a request to excuse you from classes for a few days so you can attend the special licensure examination."

"In fact, from today onwards, we ask that you report for additional lessons so you can at least pilot it..."

Owen definitely heard the words. In fact, his ears were practically working overtime trying to catch every word coming from the gathered adults around him.

The problem was that they weren’t connecting.

"ME?!" he blurted out, pointing at himself.

"Yes, you," another teacher said.

"Who else would it be when your brother Otis has already committed his entire being to his research and couldn’t possibly spare time for mechas?"

At that point, Owen felt as though the entire room had lost its mind.

The teachers continued talking around him, discussing schedules, arrangements, permissions, and other things that sounded suspiciously like decisions that had already been made without his participation.

Every now and then, he’d catch a few recognizable words before immediately losing the thread again because none of it made sense.

Then one sentence finally broke through the noise.

"You’ll have some time before returning to class, so you should contact your brother-in-law."

"My brother-in-law...?!"

The Principal looked at him strangely.

"Child, are you feeling unwell?"

"Huh?"

"You’ve been acting strange since earlier. How is it possible to forget your own family? Is there any chance you have a concussion we should know about?"

"No, but—"

In fact, Owen was rapidly reaching the conclusion that he wasn’t the problem here.

Because from his perspective, everyone else seemed to have a concussion.

How else was he supposed to explain the increasingly bizarre things they kept saying with complete confidence?

It wasn’t as though Owen didn’t know who he privately—and very hopefully—referred to as his future brother-in-law.

Frankly speaking, only someone like that guy seemed capable of joining their family.

And the last time the admirable man had acknowledged their relationship, Owen had nearly died of pride right where he stood.

Still, he couldn’t exactly abuse the endearment, could he?

What if Kyle suddenly decided they were all too clingy?

As such, even at school, Owen refrained from calling him that whenever someone asked and simply referred to the youngest Nox as his brother’s boyfriend.

Which was exactly why he couldn’t understand why his teachers kept calling Kyle his brother-in-law.

Weren’t they worried about offending House Nox by making such a decision for themselves?

Wasn’t there a proper process for these things?

But what do you know? There was really no room to dwell on such mysteries because the adults around him had already decided that contacting Kyle was the solution to everything.

So eventually, Owen did.

The Academy hallway, particularly the one right by the Principal’s office, was supposed to be quiet. After all, who would risk loitering by that place unless they wanted to get dragged in for all sorts of questioning?

But that hadn’t been the case today of all days.

For in reality, there were at least three dozen students pretending not to listen, several teachers lingering nearby for reasons that definitely weren’t related to gossip, and enough eyes trained in Owen’s direction to make him feel like an exhibit.

However, none of that mattered to the youngest blond.

Because the moment he heard Kyle’s response, every coherent thought immediately vacated his body.

"WHAT?!"

The shout echoed through the hallway.

Heads turned.

Doors opened.

People froze.

"MARRIED?!"

Several nearby students nearly dropped what they were carrying.

"AS IN MARRIED-MARRIED?!"

The second shout carried even farther.

Far enough that people on other floors heard it.

Far enough that rumors began spreading before the call had even ended.

Far enough that by the time Owen finally lost consciousness from the scandalous revelation, half the Academy had already accepted the information as fact.

And from there, it only got worse.

Because while Owen Mylor spent the rest of the afternoon unconscious in the Medical Bay, the story continued its journey through the Junior Academy, into the capital, and eventually onto Star Net itself.

Unfortunately for the countless people who immediately wanted answers, the unexpected source of the news was currently unavailable after personally short-circuiting from the shock of receiving it.

As for the towering Mylor, maybe he would’ve had better chances had he followed Kyle’s instructions to sit first before continuing.

But because he hadn’t, well... he ended up having a date with a bed.