Chương 166: Chapter : 166

Princess Iris closed her eyes. She took a very long, very deep breath, steeling her nerves for what she had to do next. When she opened her violet eyes again, they were filled with absolute, uncompromising resolve.

"We are not going to forfeit this match," Princess Iris declared. She turned her head and looked straight down the hallway, staring directly at the very last, magically sealed door at the end of the corridor.

"It is time," Princess Iris announced.

"Sayma, prepare the counter-spells. We are going to unlock the door. It is time to awaken Risa." The girls in the room exchanged incredibly nervous glances. Even Laxmi, who was never afraid of anything, suddenly looked slightly pale. Ken stopped slouching and tilted his head.

"Wait, hold on," Ken said, raising his hand.

"You mean the room wrapped in giant metal chains? The one you guys specifically told me never to go near because the girl inside is basically a walking explosion? Are we totally sure this is a good idea?"

"We have absolutely no other choice, Ken," Naomi replied, her voice incredibly serious.

"If we want a chance at those ten points, we need our eighth member."

The strategy room remained in a state of high-alert panic. While Princess Iris and Sayma discussed the exact magical procedures required to safely unseal Risa's room without causing an accidental disaster, a much larger, completely glaring problem still hung over the table. Zinia scratched the back of her head, looking incredibly stressed.

"Okay, so we wake up Risa. That is great. I miss her anyway. But that still only brings our total number up to eight. We are still short one person. What are we going to do about our final roster spot?" Sayma immediately turned her attention away from Risa's unlocking procedure and grabbed a small, sleek magical communication device from her pocket.

"I am already on it," Sayma said, her fingers flying across the glowing screen of the device.

"Our ninth servant is Olivia Tiamat. She has been away on a highly classified, long-term reconnaissance mission near the border provinces. She is the strictest, most disciplined fighter on our entire roster."

"She is terrifying," Laxmi mumbled, crossing her arms.

"If she comes back, she is going to make us do a hundred push-ups just for breathing too loudly. But we definitely need her for this tournament." Sayma placed the communication device on the center of the wooden table. She initiated a direct, high-frequency magical link to the border outpost where Olivia was last stationed. A soft, blue holographic light projected upward from the device, swirling in the air as it searched for a connection. The entire room held their breath, staring at the swirling blue light.

"Come on, Olivia, pick up," Naomi whispered, tapping her foot nervously against the floorboards.

"We really need you to come home." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Ken slouched back in his chair, completely unbothered by the intense anxiety filling the room. He picked at a loose thread on his dark blue sleeve, entirely comfortable letting the girls stress out over the roster. He was absolutely not going to offer to use any of his secret magic to fix this. It was way too much effort, and he didn't care about the tournament rules anyway.

Finally, the blue holographic light stopped swirling. The device beeped twice, signaling a successful connection.

"Olivia!" Sayma called out eagerly, leaning over the device.

"Can you hear me? This is Vice-Captain Sayma. We have an absolute emergency at the estate. The Emperor just issued a mandatory nine-person tournament order. We need you to return to the capital immediately." The blue light flickered wildly, filled with static interference. The signal was terrible.

"Sayma..." a distorted, crackling voice replied from the device. The voice sounded incredibly strict and entirely exhausted.

"I received your initial ping... but I cannot return to the capital right now." The hope in the room completely shattered in a single second. Princess Iris stepped forward, her face full of concern.

"Olivia, what is wrong? Is your mission compromised?"

"Your Highness," Olivia's crackling voice answered respectfully.

"The situation at the border is highly volatile. A massive swarm of rogue magical beasts has destroyed the main bridge leading back to the central transport hub. My team is currently trapped on the far side of the ravine. We are completely cut off."

"Can you find another route?" Zinia asked frantically.

"Rent a boat? Climb a mountain? We are facing automatic disqualification if you do not stand in the arena with us!"

"I am trying," Olivia replied, the static getting worse.

"But the detour will take days. I am moving as fast as I can, but my return to the estate will be delayed by at least four or five more days. I am incredibly sorry, Princess. I will not make it in time for the match." The holographic blue light suddenly sparked, and the communication link went entirely dead. The device on the table turned dark. Nobody spoke. The silence in the strategy room was absolutely crushing. It felt like all the oxygen had been sucked right out of the building.

They had fought so incredibly hard to survive the slum dungeons and the toxic underground laboratories, only to be totally defeated by a simple scheduling conflict.

"Delayed by several days," Sayma repeated, her polite, composed demeanor completely cracking. She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes in pure misery.

"The tournament begins in exactly forty-eight hours. If Olivia is stuck at the border, we only have eight servants." Naomi slumped into a chair, burying her face in her hands.

"We are disqualified. We are going to lose the ten points by default. We won't even get a chance to throw a single punch. The other Royal units are going to laugh at us." Laxmi paced the room, kicking the leg of the table in total frustration.

"This is completely ridiculous! We shouldn't be punished just because a bridge broke! Why can't we just fight with eight people? I can easily do the work of two people! Just let me burn something!"

"The judges do not care about your enthusiasm, Laxmi," Ira stated in her robotic, deadpan voice.

"The law requires nine bodies on the field. Without nine bodies, our participation is statistically and legally impossible." Princess Iris stared blankly at the dark communication device. She looked incredibly sad, feeling completely helpless against the strict, unbending bureaucracy of the Upper Council. While the elite girls spiraled into an absolute panic, Ken Eliot let out a loud, lazy yawn.

He stretched his arms high above his head, interlocking his fingers, and leaned back so far his wooden chair balanced on its two back legs. He looked around at his highly stressed teammates with a goofy, completely relaxed smile.

"You guys are really bad at solving simple problems," Ken announced casually, breaking the miserable silence. Naomi lifted her head from her hands, glaring at him with pure exhaustion.

"Ken, if you do not have a brilliant, magical solution hidden in your pockets, please do not speak to me right now."