Chương 170: Chapter : 170

"Zinia is correct," Sayma stated politely, though the underlying stress in her voice was undeniable.

"Risa is awake, and she is officially cleared for combat. That is excellent news. However, that only brings our active roster total up to eight." The warm, happy mood in the indoor garden completely evaporated. The harsh, undeniable reality of the Emperor's strict tournament rules came crashing right back down on their heads. Laxmi groaned loudly, kicking a small clump of dirt.

"Are you kidding me? We are still short one person! If we don't have exactly nine people standing on that battlefield tomorrow, we are totally disqualified! We lose the ten points by default!" Princess Iris looked down at the grass, her violet eyes filled with deep, profound worry. She had tried everything. She had unsealed her most dangerous servant, but the math simply did not add up. Olivia was stuck at the border, and there was absolutely no one left in the estate to call upon.

Ira stood perfectly still, her face totally blank.

"Statistically speaking, producing a ninth servant out of thin air within the next twenty-four hours is utterly impossible. Our disqualification is imminent." The elite girls looked at each other in total despair. They had fought so incredibly hard. They had survived dungeons, toxic laboratories, and rival Royals, only to be completely defeated by a piece of missing paperwork. Ken Eliot stood at the back of the room. He watched his teammates panicking, stressing out over the rigid rules of the Empire.

He let out a long, loud, highly annoying yawn.

"Hey, guys," Ken called out lazily, raising his hand and completely destroying the serious atmosphere.

"I have a brilliant idea. Since we just need a ninth body on the field... can we just bring a potted plant, put a tiny little hat on it, and tell the judges it is a very quiet new recruit?" Laxmi spun around, her hands flaring with angry orange sparks.

"A plant does not count as a person, Ken! Are you completely stupid?!"

"It was just a suggestion!" Ken whined, throwing his hands up defensively.

"I am just trying to be creative! You guys have zero appreciation for out-of-the-box thinking!" As the girls started yelling at Ken for his ridiculous idea, the heavy realization settled over the entire 13th Unit. They were completely out of options, totally out of time, and absolutely destined to lose the tournament before they even got a chance to throw a single punch. The situation was completely hopeless.

Returning to the strategy room, the mood plummeted into absolute despair. The momentary joy of waking up Risa from her indoor garden completely vanished, replaced by the bitter, undeniable reality of the Emperor's strict tournament rules. They had eight people. The law required exactly nine. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Laxmi paced back and forth across the wooden floorboards, her boots clicking sharply with every angry step. She could not sit still.

Tiny, uncontrollable sparks of bright orange fire popped around her knuckles, reflecting exactly how frustrated she felt.

"I cannot believe this is happening," Laxmi complained, throwing her hands up in the air.

"We survived a dark dungeon! We stopped an illegal, toxic laboratory! We literally fought a giant snake boss! And now you are telling me we are going to be disqualified just because a bridge broke on the other side of the country? We are going to lose ten points by default without even getting a chance to throw a single punch!" Zinia leaned against the wall, crossing her strong arms. She looked just as annoyed, but she tried to keep her voice calm.

"Yelling about it isn't going to fix the broken bridge, Laxmi. The Emperor's rules are absolute. If Olivia is delayed, she is delayed. We cannot magically teleport her across the continent."

"But it is so unfair!" Laxmi fired back, stopping her pacing to glare at the large map on the table.

"We finally have a chance to prove to the entire capital that we are a top-tier unit in a direct, head-to-head match! I have so much energy right now! I was completely ready to roast our opponents, and now we just have to sit at home and watch it on television!" Sayma sat at the long wooden table, frantically flipping through her perfectly organized notebooks. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose, her eyes scanning the pages as fast as possible.

"There has to be an administrative extension," she muttered to herself, her polite tone replaced by intense stress.

"If I can just submit an appeal to the Upper Council judges regarding unexpected travel delays, maybe they will give us a twenty-four-hour grace period." Ira stood perfectly still near the window, staring blankly at the glass. Her face was entirely flat and devoid of any emotion.

"Statistically speaking," Ira stated in her robotic, deadpan voice, "the Upper Council rejects ninety-nine percent of all delay appeals. The tournament bracket is already scheduled and broadcasted to the public. They will not pause a nation-wide event for a single missing servant."

"Thank you for those incredibly depressing statistics, Ira," Naomi sighed, rubbing her temples. Naomi did not yell or stomp her feet, but she looked utterly defeated. She leaned against the back of Princess Iris's empty chair, staring down at the table. Just a few days ago, Naomi would have been furious, shouting at everyone to try harder. But after everything they had been through, she was just exhausted. She knew that no amount of wind magic or sharp daggers could fight a missing piece of paperwork.

Luna was sitting next to Sayma, resting her head flat on her crossed arms. She let out a massive, highly dramatic yawn.

"If we are disqualified, does that mean we get a day off tomorrow? Because if we aren't fighting, I would really like to sleep in until noon. Stress makes me incredibly sleepy." Sitting at the far end of the table, Ken Eliot slouched so far down in his chair that he was practically sliding onto the floor. His dark blue suit jacket was totally wrinkled, his shirt was untucked, and his tie was thrown loosely over his shoulder. He watched the elite girls panic and argue, feeling entirely comfortable in his seat.

Ken let out a loud, obnoxious chuckle, completely destroying the grim, miserable atmosphere in the room.

"You guys are making this way too complicated," Ken announced lazily, resting his hands behind his head.

"We don't need to write an appeal, and we definitely don't need to cry about it. We just need to use a little bit of creativity." Naomi turned her head to look at him. She did not glare at him with absolute disgust. Instead, she just gave him a tired, slightly amused look, exactly like someone dealing with a highly naughty, ridiculous friend.

"Ken, please. If you are going to suggest that we bring a potted plant and put a hat on it again, I am going to throw my boot at your head."

"No, no, that was my old plan," Ken smiled, waving his hand dismissively.

"I have a much better idea now. It is a flawless, highly advanced magical strategy."