Chapter 36: Fuel Leakage

Words : 1050 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 36: Fuel Leakage Leonard was indeed taken by surprise that the culprit was quite meticulous. The damage on the tube was very minimal and would be difficult to spot if it weren’t for the foul stench. But then a question came up. Why would a slightly damaged tube emit such a foul stench? The culprit clearly intended to be very discreet in their action. They went as far as damaging the tube slightly for a small but constant fuel leakage which meant they had a lot more plans in their mind. Could such a meticulous plan be foiled because they failed to conceal or mask the foul stench? Just when Leonard was stuck in his thoughts, the door to the fueling room suddenly opened. Three people then entered the room, with one of them having a more distinct uniform that indicated its rank was higher than the other two. "Routine check on fueling room at 0145. Make sure the mana tanks are functioning properly and that the fuel is in the calculated amount." "Yes, Sir Kent!" The two regular crewmates saluted and began their routine checking. While they checked on the mana tanks and the fuel, the person in charge, Kent, was jotting down notes and inspecting the tubes. As they came across the damaged tube that Leonard had spotted, Kent and the other two crewmate’s expressions remained nonchalant. It appeared that they didn’t notice any damage or smell any of the foul stench. ’Are they faking it?’ Confused, Leonard was starting to doubt their routine check. But when he stayed on the vent and spent the next half an hour watching them thoroughly check everything, he was struck in a daze. "Routine check on fueling room ended at 0215. No problem detected." Kent appeared satisfied with the result. "Now, we need to check on everything else. Time is of the essence. The Crown Prince cannot be disturbed once the morning sun rises." He continued and exited the fueling room alongside the two other crewmates. Once everyone was out of the room, Leonard heard them locking the door, preventing anyone from entering the fueling room. Such meticulousness and detail caused Leonard to have a migraine. He wanted to open the vent and entered inside to check, but discovered that even the vent was locked. The only reason he was able to crawl inside the ventilation in the first place was because his private chamber was like an exclusive section. Other than him, no one else on the ship would be daring enough to enter without his presence. To summarize, it wasn’t that his vent wasn’t locked due to carelessness, but it was that nobody dared to enter his chamber to lock it. ’Even so, how come they didn’t spot the damage and foul stench?’ He shook his head in confusion and decided to return to Mirelle. He had spent more than half an hour in the vent, so he doubted she could sit still and be relaxed. Sometime later, he returned to his chamber, much to Mirelle’s relief. "Where were you?" She quickly asked in concern. "If it weren’t for the mana connection being active, then I would have thought you met some mishaps." Contrary to her questioning, Leonard raised an eyebrow and sensed that she seemed somewhat out of breath. "Did you really moan for the past half an hour?" He raised the question. Instantly, Mirelle’s face turned beet red. She kept silent, but the facial expression alone had already betrayed her. She had in fact moaned for the past half an hour. "Pfft, I didn’t believe you actually went through with it." Leonard suddenly burst out in laughter and nearly had tears seeping out the corner of his eyes. "The chamber is equipped with sound formation, so even if you scream at the top of your lungs, the outside wouldn’t have heard anything." "You—" Speechless and utterly embarrassed, Mirelle was close to the edge of firing a spell at him. She practically lost her voice in the middle of moaning like some heated whore just to prevent anyone from suspecting he was missing. "Anyway, let’s move on to the main topic." He clasped his hands and explained his discovery. "You’re saying you smelled a foul stench and spotted a damaged tube near the mana tank in the fueling room, but the inspection crews failed to detect anything?" Even when raising this question, Mirelle appeared to be very confused. "Are you positive that they aren’t enemies in disguise?" She pressed on. "They were very diligent and recorded everything. I highly doubt an enemy would waste that much time, especially when most of the terminology they used was quite advanced." Leonard responded. In those half an hour, he had nearly fallen asleep due to the complicated terminology they used in their conversation. "This is odd." Mirelle frowned. "Mhmm, so let’s go investigate." He chuckled, grabbed her hand, and dragged her alongside to the door. She was startled by the sudden action, and before she could talk, the door was opened already. Instantly, the crewmates guarding outside the chamber were alarmed as they quickly bowed their heads in the presence of Leonard. Despite their heads being kept low, their gazes were able to see the hand holding between them. "Phew, that was a good exercise. Let’s take a look around the ship to calm ourselves." Leonard laughed heartily. Mirelle’s face was still somewhat out of breath from the constant moaning, and the crewmates were able to capture a glimpse of it. At that moment, their mind had already imagined what was happening inside the chamber. Their thoughts were further solidified when Leonard dropped a stern warning. "Oh, right. The chamber is off-limits because it’s filled with some lovely fragrance. I better not catch anyone entering." After saying so, Leonard boldly took large strides to another corridor, his hand holding tightly on Mirelle’s. As their silhouette disappeared, the two crewmates glanced at each other. "The Crown Prince sure knows how to enjoy life." One of them lamented and closed the door, not daring to enter the chamber at all. "Agreed. Did you see how exhausted and pale-faced she looked? The fight must have been intense for her to be so drained, but the Crown Prince was still energetic."

Chapter 36: Fuel Leakage

Comments (0)